"You're looking down on me, aren't you? I don't need you to take me along. Just you wait—I'll sneak out on my own before long."
Yun Ze smiled and replied casually.
"Suit yourself. I'll just remind you that skipping class at Shrek Academy can get you expelled."
Ye Xinglan fell silent, then stomped her foot behind Yun Ze.
After leaving Shrek Academy, Yun Ze took out his Soul Guidance Communicator and called Guan Yue.
"Ze'er, you got your father to give in so quickly? That's impressive. How strong are you now, roughly? Do you have a good idea?"
Yun Ze shrugged and replied,
"By conventional standards, I'm probably around the Soul Ancestor level. If I use my trump cards, I should be able to kill anyone below level 61 who's a Soul Emperor without Battle Armor. I haven't faced anyone with Battle Armor yet, so I can't estimate how that would go."
Guan Yue's voice came through the Soul Guidance Communicator, sounding surprised.
"You've improved that quickly? You can already fight a Soul Emperor? But that's still a bit uncertain. After all, Soul Masters at the Soul Emperor level these days—especially young ones—almost always have Battle Armor. At the very least, they'll have One-Word Battle Armor."
Yun Ze nodded. Guan Yue continued,
"How about this: come to the War God Temple first. I'll assess your physical strength. If you're ready, you can get started on your Battle Armor ahead of schedule."
Yun Ze replied,
"That won't be necessary. I've already looked into Battle Armor. I want a set of One-Word Battle Armor made from Spirit Alloy, though, so I can't make it myself yet. I've basically finished the design already."
"I called you about two things. First, I'm planning to buy a Soul Guidance Mecha for transportation, so I'd like the War God Temple to get me a permit without going through my father."
Guan Yue nodded and picked up the thread.
"That's easy. I understand—you'd attract too much attention going through your father. The War God Temple is authorized to issue mecha permits, so there's no problem. If you don't have a good place to buy a mecha, you can check with the War God Temple, too."
Yun Ze nodded and continued,
"The second thing is that I want to use the War God Temple's resources to find out whether there are any Evil Soul Masters I can handle. After all, the main reason I came out here was to get some experience."
At that, Guan Yue fell briefly silent before replying,
"We'll talk about it once you get to the War God Temple. If I tell you over the Soul Guidance Communicator, you might not remember a word, you hothead."
Yun Ze: "..."
Ming Capital, West Mountain Region.
This was a military zone under the Federation's control, but Guan Yue had clearly given them advance notice. Yun Ze encountered no obstacles on his way in, though his identity was checked once.
He entered the War God Temple and went up to the seventeenth floor, where he knocked on the metal door engraved with the words "Heaven-Surpassing."
Guan Yue had been waiting for him. As soon as Yun Ze arrived, he stood up and placed a hand on Yun Ze's shoulder.
A spear intent flowed from Guan Yue's palm and into Yun Ze's body.
After a while, Guan Yue clicked his tongue and said,
"How strange. You've already reached Spear Heart. Both the Heaven-Propping Spear and the Heaven-Surpassing Spear come as naturally to you as moving your own arm. You've reached the point where you carry a spear in your heart, yet your path doesn't seem to be the path of the Spear God."
"To put it simply, the path of the Spear God is just a detour for you. It isn't the true path you're walking."
Guan Yue hesitated, looking at Yun Ze. There was something he hadn't said aloud: during the test, Yun Ze's spear intent had carried an aura of destruction.
Everyone who had walked the Path of Destruction before had met the same end: they destroyed everything, then ultimately destroyed themselves.
Yun Ze had no idea what Guan Yue was thinking. But he remembered why he'd come, so he said,
"Teacher, that's not certain yet. No one can predict the future. If we could, there'd be no need to cultivate so hard."
Guan Yue nodded, clearly agreeing with Yun Ze. Then he took out a file folder and handed it to him.
"If you're asking what kind of mission would suit you, honestly, none of the missions that make it to my desk are easy."
"But it's almost as if fate arranged it—there really is a mission that suits you. They say strange noises have been heard in Heaven Dou City lately, especially around Heaven Dou Cemetery."
"The War God Temple branch there has sent people to investigate several times. No matter what level they were, they weren't harmed, but they couldn't find anything either. If you're interested, go take a look."
Yun Ze accepted the folder Guan Yue handed him, then nodded.
"Understood. Thank you, Teacher."
After Yun Ze left the War God Temple, Guan Yue sat in his chair and pondered for a while. Then he picked up his Soul Guidance Communicator.
The call connected quickly. Guan Yue spoke to the person on the other end.
"Senior Brother, have you considered the problem with Ze'er?"
Yun Ming sounded puzzled.
"What have you noticed?"
Guan Yue replied doubtfully,
"Didn't you realize that Ze'er's path doesn't lie in becoming a Spear God at all? He's gone down the extremely dangerous Path of Destruction."
Yun Ming chuckled.
"What's wrong with the Path of Destruction? At its core, a Spear God taking lives is also a form of destruction. Ze'er has just gone deeper."
Guan Yue repeated his warning.
"You don't need me to remind you what happened to Soul Masters who followed the Path of Destruction before, do you?"
Yun Ming laughed.
"And that's why you call me Senior Brother. You see far less than I do."
"Do you really think Ze'er is walking only the Path of Destruction? He's on another path, one purer than mere destruction. He's only taken half a step onto it, yet he's already radiating an immense divinity."
"One day, when Ze'er truly sets foot on that path—and perhaps even reaches its end—his achievements won't be something an ordinary Limit Douluo could match. He may well reach the realm we've been pursuing all this time."
Guan Yue stared at the Soul Guidance Communicator in his hand. If they hadn't been speaking through it, he would have grabbed Yun Ming by the collar.
"What did you say? You think Ze'er can forge a new path to godhood?"
Yun Ming's voice was even calmer as he replied,
"Before I tested Ze'er myself, I wasn't entirely convinced either. But once you've seen his true condition, you'll know I'm telling the truth. Still, no one can predict the future. For now, it's only a conjecture..."
Before you continue