Six Years Later

Nuoding City Junior Soul Master Academy.

Another graduation season had arrived. Three years ago, Chen Huang and Xiao Shan had seen off the last batch of work-study students. Since then, no new work-study students had enrolled or joined the Seventh Dormitory.

This time, the graduates were Chen Huang and Xiao Shan.

The two of them were undoubtedly the most exceptional students ever produced by Nuoding City Junior Soul Master Academy.

Xiao Shan was the strongest graduate in the history of Nuoding City Junior Soul Master Academy. Her Soul Power Level was now level 30. Once she obtained another Spirit Ring, she would become a Soul Elder.

That was right, a Soul Elder. Even the strongest Soul Masters known publicly in Nuoding City were only at that level. Of course, Xiao Shan was very sorry for accidentally breaking their record. But the academy did not check Soul Power Levels, so they had no idea that the record had already been shattered.

She was only at this level because she had been suppressing her advancement, deliberately preventing herself from leveling up too quickly. Otherwise, she would have already acquired her third Spirit Ring and become a Soul Elder.

Chen Huang, meanwhile, was fairly ordinary, with a Soul Power Level of 10. Graduates from a small place like this were usually only in their teens when they graduated. He merely lacked a Spirit Ring.

Although his Soul Power Level was low, his combat strength was absurdly high. Without even using his Martial Soul, he could take on ten or twenty people alone. He was a campus legend. Since he had money now, he had paid all his later tuition on time and was no longer a work-study student. However, he had not changed dormitories.

He had been stuck at level 10 for several years. He could have acquired his First Soul Ring four years ago, but he had chosen not to.

Chen Huang wanted to obtain an unprecedented Thousand-Year Spirit Ring as his first soul ring, which was why he had kept suppressing himself.

At twelve years old, his physical condition was many times greater than it had been at six. After several years of tempering, his body had become immensely powerful. At the very least, Xiao Shan, a level 30 Soul Master, could not compare to him physically. In other words, obtaining a Thousand-Year Spirit Ring as his First Ring was practically guaranteed.

He had spent five or six years laying his Foundation Establishment. The Foundation Establishment people knew was a realm in fantasy cultivation stories, but that was not what the term truly meant. Literally, it was like building a house—you had to lay the foundation first. It referred to that process of laying the groundwork.

Chen Huang's Foundation Establishment involved perfectly mastering every ability he possessed. He used the Tiger Leopard Thunder Sound method of National Martial Arts, combined with the monstrous physical training of the Six Powers and the Pure Yang Limitless Skill, to temper his body. Even his Soul Power was incomparably pure.

Even Tang Hao clicked his tongue in amazement and praised him endlessly.

At the end of the first semester, Tang Hao had formally accepted Chen Huang as his disciple. However, Chen Huang could only be considered Tang Hao's disciple for now, not a disciple of the Clear Sky Sect. Tang Hao was currently regarded as a traitor to the Clear Sky Sect, so what right did he have to recruit disciples for it?

Chen Huang and Xiao Shan were Childhood Sweethearts, innocent companions who had grown up together. Their coordination was flawless, and they possessed a trump card like a Martial Soul Fusion Skill. Tang Hao had nothing to criticize. Besides, Chen Huang also had the Self-Created Soul Skills taught by that unknown female Soul Master. His combat strength was far from weak.

Tang Hao did not tell Chen Huang much about his identity, nor did he mention that he was a Titled Douluo. He only said that he was a Soul Master with decent strength who had chosen to live in seclusion here.

When Tang Hao wanted to take him as a disciple, Chen Huang had been surprised. But he did not hesitate and formally acknowledged him as his master. He was officially his teacher now, so wouldn't he become his father-in-law in the future?

Tang Hao also gave Chen Huang the Storage Soul Tool he had previously obtained from Old Bat. Although the space inside was rather small, only four cubic meters, it was enough. With this Storage Soul Tool, he no longer had to carry that bundle on his back. Keeping a Spirit Bone in there was far safer.

Yang Jian had long since delivered the Magic Treasure he had forged for him. Chen Huang did not understand musical instruments, and originally, that Spiritual Material would have been best made into an instrument capable of Genjutsu attacks. In the end, it could only be forged into a wooden staff. Its name was simple: the Mizong Staff. This thing could not be stored inside the body. Most Magic Treasures in the Precious Lotus Lantern World were like that; only when one's strength was high enough could they be put away easily. So it had to be kept in the Storage Soul Tool.

Tang Hao agreed with Chen Huang's theories and ideas. This child's physical condition was indeed impressive. By the age of twelve, he already possessed the physical strength of an ordinary Soul Elder. Absorbing a Thousand-Year Spirit Ring was not impossible. Even if his talent was lacking, having a Spirit Ring beyond the normal age limit would not mean he had no chance of advancing further.

The two received their graduation certificates and planned to pack their things before returning to Sacred Soul Village. After that, they would likely head to the Star Dou Great Forest to obtain his First Soul Ring.

After all these years, things were no longer the small-time ventures they had once been. A tiny candied hawthorn stall had become a nicely decorated dessert shop, a place many young women in Nuoding City visited every day.

Chen Huang had asked Tang Hao to oversee it. Since he had become his teacher, he might as well serve as a useful tool. Chen Huang was too young to conveniently run a shop himself, so Tang Hao was the nominal owner. They had also hired a female manager and a female clerk. Chen Huang did not need to worry about anything at all.

After earning more money, they opened another dessert shop in neighboring Modan City. It was then that they settled on the shop's name: Little Grass.

In six years, Little Grass Dessert Shop branches had spread throughout Fasnuo Province. There were twelve in total.

Among all the group members, Chen Huang and Tsunade lived the most comfortably, while Xiao Fugui was the most exhausted. Yang Jian was constantly on edge, while Zephyr's warship had begun to resemble a pirate guerrilla force, awe-inspiring and notorious throughout the New World.

Zhang Sanfeng was also quite busy. The difference in time flow between worlds was closely related to World Level, so he had been trying to raise his world's level as quickly as possible.

Within Wudang territory, Zhang Sanfeng used Sweet Potatoes, Corn, and later Potatoes that Chen Huang sent over after thinking of them. After planting them on a small scale, they had more food than they could ever eat. He did not take Zhu Yuanzhang as a disciple, but he opened Wudang's gates wide and recruited disciples in great numbers. Many children of suitable age entered Wudang, along with quite a few who joined later in life.

Zhang Sanfeng took Zhang Wuji to Kunlun, where they found the Nine Yang Divine Skill and destroyed Zhuwu Lianhuan Manor along the way, obtaining the One Yang Finger. He also removed the Heavenly Sword from the True Martial Statue, took the Nine Yin Manual from within it, and then reforged the Heavenly Sword. Abbess Miejue had since taken it away.

Along the way, he brought Zhou Zhiruo and Yang Buhui back with him, accepting them into Wudang as companions for Zhang Wuji.

Later, using those two divine skills as the foundation, he created a cultivation method especially suited for Foundation Establishment. It was now the method he taught Wudang disciples, called the Wudang Skill. He also passed on the body-tempering path of National Martial Arts to those Wudang disciples.

The current Wudang was at the height of its glory in the martial world. Shaolin, wary of its rise, had likewise opened its gates widely, yet it still could not catch up. To say nothing else, that marvelous Tai Chi Fist alone had earned Wudang immense fame in the martial world.

Some younger disciples could not learn it, but Zhang Cui Shan had fairly good talent. He had learned the Tai Chi Fist well and had also attained considerable accomplishment in National Martial Arts. In just one year, under Zhang Sanfeng's guidance, he reached Dark Strength. He was now the face of Wudang.

Everyone had thought that the rise in World Level would be a sudden transformation. They had not expected it to be as subtle as rain nourishing things in silence. It was somewhat like the recovery of spiritual energy. The Heavenly Sword World was gradually growing stronger, bit by bit. Its time flow was also slowly catching up with the worlds where the others lived. Cultivation in their world was becoming increasingly easier. Over the past few years, quite a few experts on Qiu Qianren's level had emerged.

The person who gained the most was still Zhang Sanfeng. As the one who had single-handedly driven the world's growth, he naturally received many benefits. He felt that cultivation had become effortless, with all kinds of profound mysteries and principles seemingly within reach.

The Heavenly Sword World could not advance yet. It had previously only grown to the limit of a world at this level; now it had truly touched that threshold. Only after Zhang Sanfeng completed the widespread promotion of National Martial Arts and several more years passed would it be possible.

Why was Tsunade said to be living comfortably? Because every day, she gambled a little, researched Ninjutsu, taught her disciples, studied Zhang Sanfeng's Internal Energy and National Martial Arts, as well as the Taijutsu and Haki from Zephyr's world, and visited Shikkotsu Forest every so often to learn Sage Art.

For some reason, the Chat Group had not brought in anyone new for a long time. It had clearly been rather frequent in the beginning. The Chat Group explained that it had initially needed to recruit people to build up the framework of the group, which was why it had pulled in so many. Now that it already had these members, bringing in new people had slowed down.

Not long ago, it had brought in a new member.

Fat Otaku Hammer God.

He was, well, a god.

Thor from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Unfortunately, his father had died, his mother had been killed by Malekith, his sister had died in Ragnarok, and his younger brother Loki had died at Thanos's hands. Loki had only died recently. This was the period of Avengers Three.

Thanos had gathered all six Infinity Stones and wiped out half the life in the entire universe with a snap of his fingers. Although Thor had eventually killed Thanos, the Infinity Stones had also been destroyed. Thor had therefore fallen completely into depression.

"You should have gone for the head." Thor still remembered Thanos's mocking words clearly. If he had struck Thanos's head, perhaps that snap would never have happened.

For the first time, the group members truly understood the wonder of the Heavens and Myriad Worlds, as well as what power really meant. Between Yang Jian and Thanos, it was hard to say who was stronger. Though the Chat Group said that the World Level of the Precious Lotus Lantern Three Realms was higher, Yang Jian could not accomplish such a feat. The only explanation was that the Infinity Stones were absurdly powerful.

Especially the ability of the Time Stone that Thor described—it truly filled everyone with longing. Who would not want to change time?

Yang Jian wanted to bring back his parents and elder brother. Xiao Fugui wanted to save his grandfather. Tsunade wanted to see her grandfathers and grandmother, as well as her boyfriend and younger brother. Zephyr wanted to save his students. Zhang Sanfeng also wanted to have a sweet romance.

Of course, none of those assumptions could come true. The Time Stone had already been destroyed, and it was not that powerful in other worlds anyway. The Time Stone was formidable because of the unique nature of the Infinity Stones within the Marvel universe.

The maximum age limit of Spirit Rings that a Soul Master could absorb depended on the Soul Master's physical condition.

Generally speaking, most high-level Soul Masters in the Douluo World were nobles with fairly decent talent. They would reach level 10 Soul Power at six or seven years old and then acquire their first soul ring. Those who were later would be around eight.

Therefore, the maximum age limit for a first soul ring referred to the limit for children around six or seven years old, which was a little over four hundred years.

But what if the person was twelve years old? And a Soul Master who had focused on tempering their body?

If one deliberately chose not to acquire the first soul ring and kept delaying it for several years, until one's physical condition underwent a tremendous leap, then a First Ring Thousand Year was not impossible.

There was nothing more to write about Nuoding City. Let us climb directly into a time machine and head six years into the future to see Xiao Huang's first soul ring.