Wind and Space

There was no sun or moon in the Inheritance Hall, nor any concept of time.

Xiao Xiao sat cross-legged on the Dragon Crystal Meditation Cushion. The Four Symbols Heaven-Suppressing Cauldron floated before her, the three phantom images of divine beasts on its body flickering in and out.

Her brows were tightly furrowed. Soul Power surged restlessly around her, and countless wisps of cyan Wind Origin energy circled her body, yet they still couldn't merge with the cauldron.

Xiao Xiao had been sitting here for two whole months.

From the very first day they entered the Inheritance Hall, the Wind Dragon King had used the power of his remnant soul to fill the entire hall with the tangible essence of Wind Origin.

Every wisp of wind here carried the purest markings of the Laws. All she had to do was reach out and touch it to clearly feel the wind's circulation, its birth and demise, and its boundless freedom...

Xue Yuheng had the Power of Creation as his foundation, while the Wordless Heavenly Book could precisely break down the markings of the Laws. He had come to understand the underlying logic of Wind Origin in just half a month.

Wind was the freest energy in heaven and earth, a flowing Law beyond the Five Elements. Its essence was an endless cycle of circulation.

Xue Yuheng could even fuse Wind Origin with Ultimate Ice, allowing the four Soul Skills the Ice Empress had given him to be unleashed instantly, without any need to build up power.

He could also use his Martial Soul, the Wordless Heavenly Book, as a conduit to draw upon the Wind Origin in the hall and freely control the flow of air throughout it.

But Xiao Xiao had reached a bottleneck.

Her Three-Life Soul-Suppressing Cauldron—and now her Four Symbols Heaven-Suppressing Cauldron—had always been tools for control and suppression.

She wanted to control violent attacks, control chaotic space, control everything restless in the world.

But the essence of wind was movement.

It was a boundless flow, a ceaseless surge, a freedom without borders or constraints.

Control and movement were inherently opposing Laws.

The more Xiao Xiao tried to use the Zhentian Cauldron to control and forcibly command the wind, the more Wind Origin resisted, and the more impossible it became for it to merge with the cauldron.

For two months, she had tried and failed again and again. Her Soul Power had fallen into disarray several times, and the crack in the Four Symbols Heaven-Suppressing Cauldron had grown wider, yet she still couldn't take that final step.

"Don't push yourself so hard."

A warm hand gently rested on top of Xiao Xiao's head.

Xue Yuheng sat down beside her and sent a thread of gentle Power of Creation into her, steadying her surging Soul Power. His voice was filled with concern.

"Take a break. Don't push yourself too much."

Xiao Xiao opened her eyes, her rims faintly red. Her voice carried a hint of grievance and self-doubt. "Xiao Xue, am I stupid?

"You understood it ages ago, but I haven't made any progress at all.

"Am I simply not worthy of Senior Wind Dragon's legacy?"

"Silly girl, don't talk nonsense."

Xue Yuheng pinched her cheek, his voice gentle. "You and I are different. My Power of Creation naturally accommodates all Laws, so understanding Wind Origin was only to be expected.

"But your Four Symbols Cauldron has to make Wind Origin part of your Martial Soul. That was always going to be much harder than what I had to do."

He lifted a hand and swept it through the air. Wind Origin in the hall instantly gathered in his palm, forming a swirling cyan vortex that never stopped moving.

"You've always thought that suppression and movement are incompatible, haven't you?" Xue Yuheng asked softly as he looked at her.

Xiao Xiao nodded. That was precisely the biggest obstacle she faced.

"Then have you ever wondered why the Wind Dragon can stand alongside Xuanwu, White Tiger, and Vermilion Bird among the Four Symbols, forming a closed loop?"

Xue Yuheng lightly tapped the air with his fingertip. A transparent barrier instantly appeared around the vortex, enclosing it. No matter how quickly the vortex spun, it couldn't escape the barrier.

"Xuanwu governs defense—it's stillness. White Tiger and Golden Crow govern offense—they're movement. Wind Dragon governs life; it embraces all things."

Xue Yuheng had really only read aloud the words from the Wordless Heavenly Book, but the Wind Dragon King, watching the two of them from a corner, silently nodded.

As the saying went, a master could show you the door, but the rest was up to you.

He had already given them the most precious source Laws. If they still couldn't understand them, there was nothing more he could do.

"Within your Zhentian Cauldron, you are heaven and earth."

"To suppress heaven and earth doesn't mean freezing everything in place and turning it into stagnant water.

"It means bringing all restless things into your order."

"What you need to do isn't use the cauldron to suppress the wind. You need to use it to give the wind a home."

Those few words seemed to point Xiao Xiao in a new direction.

The Four Symbols Heaven-Suppressing Cauldron wasn't merely a tool for suppression. It was a vessel for the closed loop of the Four Symbols, a world that could bear the source power of the four divine beasts.

If Xuanwu, White Tiger, and Golden Crow could merge within the cauldron, then Wind Dragon's Wind Origin could as well.

Xiao Xiao took a deep breath and slowly closed her eyes.

This time, she no longer forcibly used her Soul Power to suppress the Wind Origin around her. Instead, she used her Soul Power as a guide and the cauldron as a boundary, gently drawing the drifting cyan Wind Origin into it, bit by bit.

There was no resistance, no conflict.

The once-violent Wind Origin now seemed like birds returning to their nest, streaming docilely into the Four Symbols Cauldron.

The cauldron shook violently, erupting in dazzling cyan light.

The phantom images of Xuanwu, White Tiger, and Vermilion Bird all let out long roars. In the empty place on the cauldron where the Dragon had been absent for so long, a winding Azure Dragon phantom slowly appeared.

Though it was still faint, it had already formed a perfect loop with the other three phantom images.

Rumble—

The fluctuations of the Laws of heaven and earth spread out from the cauldron.

Xiao Xiao had finally understood the Law of Wind Origin that belonged to her.

Beside her, Xue Yuheng watched her break through, a tender smile touching his lips.

At the same time, the Wordless Heavenly Book slowly opened before him. The complete General Outline of Wind Origin flowed into its pages, merging completely with his Power of Creation.

In the corner of the hall, the Wind Dragon King's remnant soul sensed the fluctuations of the Laws and smiled with satisfaction.

But his gaze turned toward the depths of the void, his expression growing serious.

"Understanding Wind Origin is only the beginning," he murmured. "The ultimate form of wind is space. You must understand that wind and space are one."

The yearlong period was drawing to a close.

The doors of the Inheritance Hall swung open, and Xue Yuheng and Xiao Xiao walked out side by side.

Less than four days had passed in the outside world, but the two of them had already undergone a complete transformation.

A faint cyan aura of wind swirled around Xiao Xiao. The Four Symbols Heaven-Suppressing Cauldron floated at her side, its four divine beasts—Wind Dragon, Xuanwu, White Tiger, and Golden Crow—solid and lifelike.

Xue Yuheng stood beside her, his aura restrained yet unfathomably deep. The Wordless Heavenly Book had merged into his brow, and Wind Origin, the Power of Creation, and his Ultimate Ice attribute had fused perfectly.

"It seems you're ready."

The Wind Dragon King's figure in cyan robes appeared before them.

He looked at the two of them with approval in his eyes, then raised a hand. The entire void instantly twisted.

The Thirty-Three Heavens Storm appeared—a force capable of tearing apart even the body of a Limit Douluo.

But this time, the violent astral winds were as gentle as streams before Xiao Xiao, flowing along with her movements.

"You've understood Wind Origin, but do you know what lies at the end of wind?" the Wind Dragon King asked solemnly.

"Space," Xue Yuheng answered first, his gaze resolute. "Wind is the vessel of space, and space is the boundary of wind. Without wind, space is lifeless.

"Without space, wind has nowhere to exist. Wind and space are one."

That was the conclusion he had reached after a year of countless deductions with Xiao Xiao and the Wordless Heavenly Book.

It was also the fundamental reason the Wind Dragon King could wield both the Laws of Wind and Space.

"Precisely." The Wind Dragon King laughed heartily. "Back then, I relied on the Laws of Wind and Space to roam the ancient world, undefeated by anyone.

"If that scoundrel hadn't ambushed me... No matter."

As his voice fell, the Wind Dragon King pointed a finger.

The entire void collapsed, transforming into a chaotic battlefield.

Ultimate ice froze the entire space. Black spatial rifts spread across the world, while the divine power of ice and snow gathered into the towering phantom of a man.

He had long, snow-white hair and held a silver-white longsword. He merely stood there, yet it seemed even heaven and earth would freeze around him.

Using the power of the Dragon Pearl, the Wind Dragon King had recreated the battle in which he had been ambushed.

The ancient Ice God Xue Yuheng had seen in the Ice Empress's Heart Tribulation illusion seemed somewhat different from this one. This version looked younger.

Unfortunately, after becoming Xue Yuheng's Wisdom Soul Ring, the Ice Empress had remained asleep in his Spirit Sea because she lacked sufficient spiritual power.

"The final trial is to break out of this battlefield using the Laws of Wind and Space." The Wind Dragon King's voice rang out through the chaos.

"Only when you've truly mastered Wind and Space will you be worthy of inheriting my legacy and avenging me."

Almost at the same time, the Ice God's phantom moved.

The divine power of ice and snow swept toward them, instantly freezing the space around both of them. Countless spatial rifts attacked from every direction, threatening to tear them to pieces.

This strike perfectly recreated the move the Ice God had used to ambush the Wind Dragon King: sealing space, freezing Soul Power, and leaving no way to evade.

"Xiao Xiao!"

"Coming!"

The two exchanged a knowing glance.

The Wordless Heavenly Book opened before Xue Yuheng. The Power of Creation, together with a trace of the Laws of Wind and Space he had comprehended, gathered into a beam of light and fused with Xiao Xiao.

This was Xue Yuheng's method of fighting, similar to the Hell White Tiger. Through the Power of Creation, his Wordless Heavenly Book Martial Soul could fuse with a female Soul Master's Martial Soul.

In this state, the female Soul Master's overall attributes were increased by two hundred percent.

The Ice God's phantom swung his sword again, freezing the entire world with the divine power of ice and snow.

But this time, Xiao Xiao's Four Symbols Heaven-Suppressing Cauldron locked onto the Ice God's form.

Goddess Transformation!

At that moment, Xiao Xiao seemed like a celestial goddess descending from the heavens. She soared through the air and swept her hands diagonally. A faint breeze swept through this empty space in a way that should have been impossible.

The wind grew stronger and stronger, until it finally became a gale.

It was the Self-Created Soul Skill Xiao Xiao had comprehended with the help of Xue Yuheng's Power of Creation!

Thirty-Three Heavens Storm!

Crack—

The Ice God's phantom was instantly torn into fragments.

The chaos dispersed, and the void returned to stillness.

The Wind Dragon King stood before them, visibly excited.

"Good! Good! Good!" He repeated the word three times, his voice trembling. "You are worthy of my legacy!"

Xiao Xiao had actually comprehended a Soul Skill unique to the Wind Dragon King: the Thirty-Three Heavens Storm, the very power that had allowed him to roam countless worlds.

He had once used it to defeat countless enemies. That was why seeing Xiao Xiao perform its initial form had moved him so deeply.

His legacy had an heir. The talent of humans was truly astonishing.

The Wind Dragon King raised his hand. The Dragon Pearl at the center of the dragon skeleton's brow slowly flew out and stopped before Xiao Xiao.

The Inheritance Hall transformed into a ring shaped like a dragon's claw and drifted in front of Xue Yuheng.

"Xiao Xiao, Xue Yuheng, from this day onward, you are my personal disciples.

"Help me pass the Inheritance Hall of the Wind Dragon Clan on to whatever members of the Dragon Clan still remain on the continent."

With that done, the Wind Dragon King's figure gradually became transparent.

He wasn't afraid that Xue Yuheng and Xiao Xiao would absorb the legacy, because only those with Dragon Clan blood could open it.

The Wind Dragon King had always longed for freedom. He had waited for more than a hundred thousand years and had long since grown weary of it.

Seven thousand years ago, a disciple of the Heavenly Dragon Gate had accidentally fallen from Dragon Suppression Cliff and discovered this place.

For seven thousand years, not a single member of the Heavenly Dragon Gate had entered the Thirty-Third Heaven. The person from a thousand years ago had once given him hope, but unfortunately, he had been love-struck.

Now that he had entrusted his legacy and let go of his obsession, it was time for the Wind Dragon King to leave.

A God Level remnant soul wouldn't naturally dissipate unless attacked by power of the same level. That was one of the rules of this world.

The Wind Dragon King would become a traveler and roam the heavens, just like Electrolux.

Perhaps one day, he too would become the "old grandfather" of some Child of Destiny...

"Children." The Wind Dragon King looked at them, his voice growing fainter. "Half of the Ice God's divine core is my source power. Fused with my Dragon Pearl, it will suppress him greatly.

"He's about to awaken, and Douluo Continent may soon fall into chaos."

"Protect this continent for me."

As the Dragon God's son, the Wind Dragon King had been born on Douluo Continent. He loved this land deeply.

That was why he could have left earlier, but had insisted on passing on his legacy before going.

Xiao Xiao and Xue Yuheng looked regretful. Memories of the Wind Dragon King's guidance over the past year came back vividly. They had started out as mere acquaintances, yet now they had become true master and disciples.

Though Xue Yuheng, as a transmigrator, didn't feel much affection for the Wind Dragon King, he still promised, "Teacher, I'll see to it that the Dragon Clan is settled."

The Wind Dragon King smiled in satisfaction. Xue Yuheng's promise pleased him, for he could see the ambition and talent of this six-year-old boy. His remnant soul dispersed with the wind.

The Dragon Tomb fell silent once more.

The two bowed deeply in the direction where the Wind Dragon King had vanished.

In one year and four months—more than five months in the outside world—they had fallen from Dragon Suppression Cliff, braved the Thirty-Three Heavens Storm, entered the Wind Dragon King's tomb, comprehended Wind Origin, mastered Wind and Space, and undergone a transformation most Soul Masters couldn't achieve in a lifetime.

Xue Yuheng raised his hand and drew upon the Laws of Wind and Space. The Wordless Heavenly Book slowly opened.

A stable spatial passage opened before them. On the other side stood a massive city.

"We should go." Xue Yuheng looked at Xiao Xiao and took her hand. "Xiao Xiao, once we go out and reconnect with the Laws of the continent, your Martial Soul's tribulation will come.

"Don't worry. I'm here."

Xiao Xiao squeezed his hand in return. Resolve shone in her eyes as she nodded.

The two walked forward side by side and stepped into the spatial passage.

The doors of the Wind Dragon King's tomb slowly closed. This demiplane now belonged to Xue Yuheng and Xiao Xiao.

The Thirty-Three Heavens Storm fell silent once more.

And the storm on Douluo Continent had only just begun.