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, not a single new work-study student had enrolled to join the Seventh Dormitory until today.

The ones graduating this time were Chen Huang and Xiao Shan.

They were undoubtedly the two most unique students to ever walk out of Nuoding City Junior Soul Master Academy.

Xiao Shan was the strongest graduate in the history of the academy. Her current Soul Power Level was 30; she only needed to obtain one more Soul Ring to become a powerful Soul Elder.

Indeed, a Soul Elder—the level of the strongest soul masters openly active in Nuoding City. Of course, having accidentally broken the academy's record, Xiao Shan felt quite apologetic. However, the school did not check soul power levels, so they remained unaware that the record had been shattered.

She had only reached this level because she had been suppressing her growth to avoid advancing too quickly; otherwise, she would have already obtained her third Soul Ring and become a Soul Elder.

Chen Huang, on the other hand, was standard, with a Soul Power Level of 10. Most graduates from this small place were only at level ten-something when they finished. He was simply missing a Soul Ring.

Despite his low soul power, his combat strength was outrageously high. Without even using his Martial Soul, he could take on twenty people at once. He was a campus legend. Since he had become wealthy, he had paid his tuition on time and was no longer a work-study student, though he had never moved out of the dormitory.

He had been stuck at level 10 for several years. He could have obtained his first Soul Ring four years ago, but he chose not to.

Chen Huang wanted to obtain an unprecedented thousand-year First Soul Ring, which was why he had been suppressing himself.

At twelve years old, his physical fitness was countless times better than when he was six. Over the years, he had tempered his body to an incredibly powerful state. At the very least, even Xiao Shan, a level 30 soul master, could not compare to his physical prowess. In other words, this thousand-year First Soul Ring was well within his grasp.

He had spent five or six years building his foundation. While "foundation building" is a term known in fantasy cultivation, its literal meaning here was the same as laying the groundwork for a house—the process of establishing a base.

Chen Huang's foundation building involved perfecting his mastery of every skill he possessed, using the National Martial Arts method of Tiger Leopard Thunder Sound, combined with the brutal physical conditioning of the Six Powers, and tempering his body with the Pure Yang Limitless Skill. His soul power was also exceptionally pure.

Even Tang Hao would click his tongue in wonder, full of praise.

At the end of the first semester, he had officially taken Chen Huang as his disciple. However, for now, he could only be considered his personal disciple, not a member of the Clear Sky Sect, as Tang Hao was currently a traitor to the sect and had no authority to induct anyone.

Chen Huang and Xiao Shan were childhood sweethearts who grew up together. Their coordination was flawless, and they even possessed a Martial Soul Fusion Skill as a trump card. Tang Hao had nothing to complain about. Furthermore, Chen Huang possessed self-created soul skills taught by an unknown female soul master, making his combat power quite formidable.

Tang Hao did not tell Chen Huang much about his own identity, nor did he mention that he was a Titled Douluo; he simply claimed to be a soul master with decent strength living in seclusion.

When Tang Hao offered to take him as a disciple, Chen Huang was surprised, but he did not hesitate to bow and accept. After all, his teacher today would eventually become his father-in-law.

Tang Hao had also gifted Chen Huang the storage soul tool he had taken from the Old Bat. Although the space was small—only four cubic meters—it was sufficient. With this, he no longer had to carry that bundle around; keeping a soul bone in a cloth bag was far too unsafe.

Yang Jian had already delivered the magic treasure he had forged. Since Chen Huang didn't know how to play musical instruments, the spiritual material, which would have been best suited for an instrument with genjutsu capabilities, was instead crafted into a wooden staff. It was named simply: the Mizong Staff. This item could not be stored within the body—most magic treasures from the Precious Lotus Lantern world were like that, only becoming easy to store once one's strength reached a high enough level. He had no choice but to keep it in his storage soul tool.

Tang Hao agreed with Chen Huang's theories and ideas. The boy's physical fitness was indeed impressive; by the age of twelve, he already possessed the physique of a Soul Elder, so absorbing a thousand-year soul ring was not impossible. If one's talent was lacking, obtaining an over-the-limit soul ring was a viable path to progress.

The two of them received their graduation certificates and planned to pack their things and return to Sacred Soul Village shortly. Afterward, they intended to head to the Star Dou Great Forest to obtain his first soul ring.

So many years had passed, and they were no longer playing around as they once did. A small candied hawthorn stall had grown into a dessert shop with decent decor, a place many young women in Nuoding City visited every day.

Chen Huang had asked Tang Hao to oversee it. Since he was his teacher, he might as well be a "tool man" for him. Chen Huang was too young to run a shop conveniently, so Tang Hao was the nominal boss, along with a hired female manager and a female clerk. He didn't have to worry about a thing.

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

Over the next six years, branches of the Little Grass Dessert Shop spread throughout the Fasnuo Province, totaling twelve locations.

Among all the chat group members, Chen Huang and Tsunade lived the most comfortably, while Xiao Fugui had the most exhausting life. Yang Jian lived in constant anxiety, and Zephyr's fleet had begun to resemble a pirate guerrilla force, becoming fierce and famous throughout the New World.

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

In the Wudang region, thanks to sweet potatoes, corn, and the potatoes Chen Huang had sent over later, they had an endless supply of food after small-scale planting. He did not take Zhu Yuanzhang as a disciple, but he opened the gates of Wudang wide, recruiting disciples extensively. Many age-appropriate children joined Wudang, along with some who had converted later in life.

Zhang Sanfeng took Zhang Wuji to Kunlun, where they found the Nine Yang Divine Skill, incidentally destroyed the Zhuwu Lianhuan Manor, and obtained the One Yang Finger. He also retrieved the Heavenly Sword from the True Martial Statue, extracted the Nine Yin Manual from it, and then had the Heavenly Sword reforged. It had since been taken by Abbess Miejue.

Along the way, he took Zhou Zhiruo and Yang Buhui back to Wudang to be playmates for Zhang Wuji.

Later, using these two divine skills as a foundation, he created a technique perfectly suited for foundation building. This was what he now taught his disciples in Wudang, calling it the Wudang Skill. He also passed down the National Martial Arts method of body tempering to these disciples.

Wudang was now at the height of its power in the martial arts world. Shaolin, wary of them, had also opened its gates wide, but they still couldn't keep up. If nothing else, that masterful Tai Chi Fist had earned a massive reputation in the martial arts world.

Some of the younger disciples couldn't master it, but Zhang Cui Shan had good talent. He learned Tai Chi Fist well and achieved significant accomplishments in National Martial Arts. In just one year, under Zhang Sanfeng's guidance, he had achieved Dark Strength. He was now the face of Wudang.

Everyone had expected the promotion of the world level to be a sudden, dramatic change. Instead, it was as silent as spring rain soaking the earth. It was somewhat like the recovery of spiritual energy; the Heavenly Sword World was growing and maturing bit by bit. The flow of time was slowly catching up to the worlds of the others. Cultivation in their world had become increasingly easy, and in just a few years, many experts on the level of the old Qiu Qianren had emerged.

The one who gained the most was Zhang Sanfeng. As the person pushing the world's growth, he naturally received many benefits. He felt that cultivation had become incredibly easy, and all sorts of profound truths seemed within his reach.

The Heavenly Sword World could not be promoted yet. It had previously only reached the limit of its world level; now, it was truly touching that threshold. It wouldn't be possible until Zhang Sanfeng finished popularizing National Martial Arts and a few more years had passed.

As for why Tsunade said she was very comfortable, it was because she spent her days gambling, researching ninjutsu, teaching her disciples, and incidentally studying Zhang Sanfeng's internal energy and National Martial Arts, as well as the physical techniques and Haki from Zephyr's world. Every few days, she would visit Shikkotsu Forest to study Sage Arts.

As for the chat group, for some reason, it hadn't recruited anyone in a long time, despite the frequency at the beginning. The chat group explained that it had only recruited people initially to build the framework of the group. Now that the members were in place, the recruitment had slowed down.

A while ago, a new member had just been added: the Fat Otaku Hammer God.

This was, well, a god.

He was the 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 brother Loki had died at the hands of Thanos. Loki had died only recently—during the time of the Avengers.

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

"You should have gone for the head." Thanos's mockery was something Thor still remembered clearly. If he had aimed for the head, perhaps that snap would never have happened.

The members were, for the first time, realizing the wonders of the Heavens and Myriad Worlds and understanding what true power was. Whether Yang Jian or Thanos was stronger was hard to say. Although the chat group stated that the world level of the Precious Lotus Lantern was higher, even Yang Jian couldn't perform such a feat. It could only be explained by the sheer power of the Infinity Stones.

Especially what Thor said about the power of the Time Stone—it truly made everyone yearn for it. Who wouldn't want to change time?

Yang Jian wanted to save his parents and eldest brother. Xiao Fugui wanted to save his grandfather. Tsunade wanted to see her grandfathers, grandmother, boyfriend, and brother. Zephyr wanted to save his students. Zhang Sanfeng even wanted to experience a sweet romance.

Of course, the above assumptions were invalid. The Time Stone had been destroyed, and it wasn't that powerful in other worlds. The Time Stone was only powerful because of the unique nature of the Infinity Stones within the Marvel Universe.

The maximum age limit for a Soul Ring that a soul master can absorb depends on the soul master's physical constitution.

Generally speaking, in the Douluo World, most high-level soul masters are nobles with decent talent. They reach level ten soul power at the age of six or seven and then obtain their First Soul Ring. Those who are a bit slower reach it around age eight.

Therefore, the limit for a First Soul Ring should refer to children around six or seven years old, with a limit of just over four hundred years.

But what about someone who is twelve years old? Especially a soul master who has focused on tempering their own body.

If one consciously avoids obtaining a First Soul Ring and drags it out for several years, waiting for their physical constitution to improve by leaps and bounds, then a thousand-year First Soul Ring is not impossible.

There is nothing left to write about Nuoding City, so let us hop into a time machine and head six years into the future to see Xiao Huang's First Soul Ring.