Undercurrents Surging

Year 290 of Levant, year 370 of the Intermission, Dragon Valley Forest, the mountain peak where the spatial rift was activated.

Rus Wang had finished his visit to the Light Dragon King, and for once, a figure followed behind him: Zi Ji, the Hell Demon Dragon King, who had been staying in the Dragon Valley World to receive guidance from the Light Dragon King and learn Dragon Clan Secret Techniques.

Zi Ji, whose talent for learning was not particularly outstanding, had spent a full twenty years under the diligent efforts of the Light Dragon King and the demonstrations led by Barus, barely managing to master three Dragon Clan Secret Techniques that were both crucial and immensely beneficial to the Star Dou Forest.

The ability to vanish from the sight of gods in the God Realm, short-range random teleportation within 100 kilometers, and the secret technique for creating a 10-square-kilometer pocket dimension.

One for concealment, one for escape, and one to allow the young to grow in an absolutely safe environment.

These could be achieved either by engraving runes onto one's body, directly channeling Soul Power, or by using common materials found on Douluo Planet to construct runic arrays.

Barus had learned these three in a mere three years, while it had taken Zi Ji twenty. More importantly, Barus was a young dragon of only two hundred-plus years, barely considered an adult among the dragon race (the higher the cultivation age, the longer the lifespan; adulthood here is calculated based on the average lifespan of the dragon race), which made Zi Ji, who had lived for tens of thousands of years, feel ashamed—it was simply too embarrassing for a dragon.

It reached the point where even the Light Dragon King sighed, telling her that if any dragon asked who her master was in the future, she should just refrain from mentioning him.

"It's really so embarrassing, truly."

Zi Ji, in her human form, squatted on the ground, covering her cheeks.

"Actually, it's nothing. If it were me learning, I might be even worse than you, Zi Ji."

"Lord Rus Wang, please don't tease me. Even if you couldn't learn the Dragon Clan Secret Techniques, just the fact that you are the Dragon King of Dragon Valley Forest and Zheer Continent is enough that Senior Light Dragon King wouldn't say anything to you."

During these twenty years of study, it was impossible for Zi Ji to stay in the Dragon Valley World the entire time, so she naturally visited the northern lands of the Zheer Continent where the Elves resided. She then became completely immersed in an environment where she didn't need to worry about being hunted; why had these Elves appeared so late?

"Now I still have to go back to the Star Dou Forest to work with Di Tian, that fellow clansman who has nothing but strength and no brains. Whether I can teach them these three secret techniques, and whether I can guard against the four great thieves—the Tang Sect, the Spirit Pagoda, Shrek Academy, and the three human empires—stealing them, is going to be a real disaster."

After being fiercely drilled in the basics of the dragon race by the Light Dragon King and constantly reprimanded while learning these three secret techniques, Zi Ji's brain felt as if it had been reset like a computer, clearing out the complex data and beginning to run smoothly.

It was also under the guidance of the Light Dragon King that she felt he was right; Di Tian, who was born earlier than her and had once stayed in the Dragon God Realm, had truly lived his life in vain. Since the fall of the Dragon God, he had spent his days pinning all his hopes on the awakening of the Silver Dragon King, and had likely forgotten the Dragon Clan Secret Techniques entirely.

"Oh, I'm afraid you won't be able to go back just yet, Zi Ji."

Rus looked at Zi Ji, whose face had turned sour, and delivered what was, for her, not exactly good news.

"Huh? Did the Star Luo Empire try to launch the twenty-fourth Black Water River Battle without properly repairing the roads, and fail to break through the Great River Defense Line of the indigenous kingdom again?"

"No. According to intelligence from the Grey Feather Division and military infiltrators sent into human society, something major has happened within the Star Luo Empire on the Douluo Continent. For the past few years, the number of personnel on ships returning from the Star Luo Continent to the empire's homeland has been strictly limited. Meanwhile, the transport of raw materials for shipbuilding and the migration of the population from the homeland to the Star Luo Continent have begun to surge in a straight line."

"Hiss, let me guess. If I remember correctly, after that generation of the swindler Huo Yuhao was buried, the Star Luo Empire produced a level 99, the Douling Empire produced a level 99, and Shrek Academy steadily produced a level 99. They were already quite old when I took the boat here."

Zi Ji then stroked her chin, combining this with the information about the big shots who maintained the stability of the three kingdoms on the Douluo Continent and prevented them from being annexed by the Sun Moon Empire before she came to the Dragon Valley Forest.

"If the Star Luo Empire is in such a hurry to move the population from the Douluo Continent to this Star Luo Continent they claim as their own, I'm afraid it can only be related to the death of the Douling Empire's Limit Douluo and the nearing end of the Star Luo Empire's Limit Douluo's lifespan, right?"

"Congratulations, Zi Ji, you guessed it all correctly. Indeed, there is a problem with the Limit Douluos of the Star Luo Empire and the Douling Empire."

"It's already been thirty-nine years. Even if those two two-hundred-year-old humans were resilient, one has already exhausted his lifespan, and as for the other with only thirty-some years left, how much strength can he really retain?"

Humans are at a total disadvantage compared to soul beasts in this regard; they kill soul beasts to hunt for their soul rings, only to find that in the end, there is no hope of becoming a god.

Zi Ji stood up, placed her hands behind her head, and sighed: "It's a pity that the Soul Spirits of those soul rings hunted by humans have likely all dissipated as non-recoverable resources."

Zi Ji thought for a moment; before going back to face the high blood pressure, she might as well give herself a proper vacation, so she asked Rus Wang.

"Since I can't go back to the Star Dou Forest for a while, take me to the Zheer Continent, Lord Rus Wang. It's a perfect chance to go see your 22-year-old granddaughter, Toriya."

On the Douluo Continent, separated by the sea, compared to the Sun Moon Empire's royal family, military, and citizens—who were jubilant and sharpening their blades, waiting for the remaining two of those three "dogs" to die of old age so they could launch the final battle for the unification of the continent—the atmosphere at Shrek Academy, the Star Luo Empire, and the Douling Empire was one of mourning.

The reason was simple: the Limit Douluo of the Douling Empire had died.

At Shrek Academy's Sea God Pavilion, Zhang Cheng, the Guardian Douluo who had come secretly from the Star Luo Empire, had age spots covering his resolute face. Although he still maintained a cold and composed expression, the signs of aging could no longer be concealed.

And while Mu Huican, the Limit Douluo of Shrek Academy, was in slightly better condition, he himself was not doing much better. If there was one thing Shrek Academy had going for it compared to the Star Luo Empire and the completely finished Douling Empire, it was that the academy had four level 98 Title Douluos, one of whom would inevitably reach level 99 and take on the heavy responsibility of being the Sea God Pavilion Master.

But for the next Sea God Pavilion Master, maintaining the stalemate between the Shrek Academy-Star Luo Empire-Douling Empire alliance and the Sun Moon Empire would likely be even more difficult.

Seeing Zhang Cheng take his seat, Mu Huican skipped any welcoming ceremony and spoke directly.

"According to information we commissioned the Tang Sect to scout, the Sun Moon Empire welcomed a Limit Douluo of their own a few years ago, and he seems to be very young, only a hundred-plus years old."

In an instant, a heavy weight was added to the atmosphere of the previously quiet wooden house.

"Is the information reliable?"

"The Tang Sect informed us that to verify whether the Sun Moon Empire truly had a Limit Douluo, they lost a level 94, and the Sun Moon Empire did not use this to make a public statement. It is absolutely reliable."

"Then I'm afraid our Star Luo Empire will have to start the Mountain Relocation Plan ahead of schedule."