Restoring Strength

Lu Wu slowly closed his eyes and began circulating the cultivation method that Taiyi, Kun Peng, and he had jointly derived, with himself as its foundation—the one best suited to him.

"Th-this is?"

Ten Thousand Demons King stared at the snow-white little beast before him in horror. His clones outside were constantly alerting him to changes in the ambient heaven-and-earth energy.

In truth, the beasts could clearly see heaven-and-earth energy continuously gathering and compressing above Lu Wu, radiating fluctuations that made them tremble in fear.

If someone could fly above the Star Dou Great Forest and look down upon it, they would see thin wisps of heaven-and-earth energy constantly converging toward the center of the forest. As they gathered, they steadily increased, forming a white ocean.

"The heaven-and-earth energy of the Star Dou Great Forest has vanished!"

Because of the unique nature of his race, Ten Thousand Demons King had clones throughout the Star Dou Great Forest. He simply could not control the distant ones very well due to the limits of his spiritual power, though he could still remain in contact with them.

The clone he had at the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest told him that, in a short time, Lu Wu had gathered all the heaven-and-earth energy of the entire forest here. Even replenishing it would take some time.

Lu Wu opened his mouth, and the White Pearl was sucked into it and disappeared.

"Lu Master? Are you all right?"

Di Tian looked at Lu Wu in astonishment, only to find that there was barely any reaction from his body.

"What does absorbing this little energy amount to? It merely restored a bit of my strength."

There was a hint of grievance in Lu Wu's voice. He had already prepared himself for the low quality of energy on the Douluo Continent, but he had not expected it to be this low. Though he would convert other forms of energy when he found other worlds in the future, the energy quality here would require him to spend much more time converting his system.

"Forget it. I'm the one who has seen the future, after all."

Lu Wu pulled himself together again.

Xiong Jun felt Lu Wu's gaze and instinctively swallowed. Lu Wu had compressed and absorbed so much heaven-and-earth energy without anything happening, but if Xiong Jun endured even a tiny fraction of it, he would definitely explode. The Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear would have to change its name to the Dark Gold Exploding Bear.

For a time, the Fierce Beasts grew even more respectful toward Lu Wu.

"My strength has recovered a little. Next, I'll teach you cultivation methods."

Lu Wu sat up from the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's back, his expression turning solemn.

Seeing his manner, the Fierce Beasts also straightened their expressions and sat upright.

"The cultivation methods I will teach you are secret teachings of the Demon Race. In return, I will only teach you the first layer. However, mastering this first layer will at least bring you to the level Gu Yuena had once reached. As for what comes after, you must join the Demon Race to obtain it."

Hearing this, the Fierce Beasts looked at one another. Only the first layer? Completing it would let them reach their lord's former realm? Their first reaction was disbelief. Could Lu Wu have simply made it up to fool them? Yet the Silver Dragon King's transformation proved that he had no need to deceive them.

"Lu Master, is your race the Demon Race? Can we join it?"

Bi Ji was still the more attentive one and noticed the key point.

"No. I am Bai Ze, and I belong to the Demon Race."

Lu Wu slowly shook his head before explaining.

"The Demon Race is a collective term, much like the Soul Beast race and the dragon race. It is a union of other races, so naturally, you may join."

"However, after joining, your race's fortune will become linked to the Demon Race's fortune. When the Demon Race is strong, your race will be strong; when the Demon Race is weak, your race will be weak."

The Fierce Beasts all had different thoughts. The first layer alone could bring them to their lord's former realm—then what about the second and third layers? Even Di Tian, who had always devoted himself to the revival of the Soul Beast race, felt somewhat lost.

"Can our Soul Beast race join the Demon Race?"

Gu Yuena's cool voice rang by the beasts' ears, leaving them momentarily unable to react.

"Of course. But as you are now, you are not qualified to be called demons—not even the weakest demons."

A smile appeared on Lu Wu's face. Taking in subordinates was just that easy.

Gu Yuena's heart burned with excitement. She was the only one who had personally experienced his methods, and the gap between him and the Soul Beast race was simply too vast.

She did not want to become someone else's subordinate either. Ever since gaining consciousness, she had been the ruler of the Soul Beast race. But he was offering far too much, and Gu Yuena simply could not refuse.

Di Tian's gaze was filled with astonishment. He had seemingly never expected that the lord he had waited so long for would, upon her very emergence, intend to lead the Soul Beast race into pledging allegiance to someone else.

But what could he do? That was his lord. Di Tian could only obediently follow her orders.

Life was hard. Di Tian sighed.

Xiong Jun's eyes, however, lit up. Though he sometimes obeyed Di Tian's commands, it was only because Di Tian had truly defeated him. He believed in the law of the jungle and respected only the strong. He did not care who led him, so long as they were stronger than him.

Gu Yuena's words just now meant they had a chance to obtain strength on a higher level. How could Xiong Jun not be excited?

"All right, let's begin the instruction first. Afterward, I'll transform you into demons."

Lu Wu stood upright. A bright violet glint flashed through his blue eyes, and in the next instant, the Fierce Beasts fell asleep, collapsing onto the ground in a disorderly heap. Within their Sea of Spirit, spiritual bodies split off by Lu Wu would teach them the cultivation methods again and again. They would not awaken until they had fully mastered them.

Understanding and excitement flashed through Gu Yuena's eyes. Once the Fierce Beasts awoke, their strength would surely increase greatly, and the revival of the Soul Beast race would become even more hopeful.

..."Mu En, based on the intelligence we received, the previous phenomenon may be related to the changes in the Star Dou Great Forest. But according to the intelligence agents' descriptions, that silver dragon large enough to cover the sky and block out the sun is truly difficult to believe."

Lin Old could not help rising to his feet. It was simply difficult not to connect the two events. Shrek City was very close to the Star Dou Great Forest and had been affected more severely; many students had already begun to panic.

"If one person says it, it may be false. If ten people say it, they may also be lying. But if so many people all describe the same thing, then no matter how unbelievable it may be, it is true."

A somewhat aged voice came from the reclining chair. A trace of worry flashed through Mu En's eyes.

He could not hold on for many more years. Xuan Zi was too reckless, while Shao Zhe was too frivolous. They had yet to find someone truly suited to succeed as master of the Sea God Pavilion.

Though the continent's situation appeared temporarily stable because of the changes in the heavens, the pressure beneath it would only grow greater. One day, the sky would collapse and the earth would split. He did not know whether Shrek Academy would still be able to stand safely at the continent's peak when that day came. The strength of a single academy was still far too weak.

"The Di Tian recorded in the archives is a black dragon. Though there is no description of his true form, it should not compare to that silver dragon capable of affecting the entire Star Dou Great Forest. In other words..."

Before another elder could finish speaking, the Sea God Pavilion fell silent once more. None of them dared believe the thought in their hearts.

"Temporarily withdraw our investigation of the Star Dou Great Forest. If the three great empires ask, say that due to the changes in the heavens, we did not send anyone to investigate. They will share their intelligence with Shrek Academy then."

Mu En's voice grew heavier, but his words clearly lightened the atmosphere within the Sea God Pavilion.

Mu En looked at everyone's reactions and sighed inwardly once more before falling into thought.

...By the Lake of Life in the Star Dou Great Forest.

"You're going to?"

Gu Yuena looked at Lu Wu, who was making strange movements before her, and asked in confusion.