Over the next month, Xia Ming's life was divided into two clearly distinct parts.
During the day, he trained alongside the six members of the reserve team.
At night, he returned alone to Sea God Island for special training under Yan Shaozhe's personal guidance.
Over that month, the six reserve team members completely gave up any notion of competing with Xia Ming.
The disdain born of their age difference had vanished entirely after a six-versus-one training match.
They had gone all out, used every tactic at their disposal, and even received Gongyang Mo's continuous buffs, yet they had failed to force Xia Ming back even a single step.
That battle left them with nothing but a profound sense of helplessness and a clear understanding of the gap in their strength.
"Xia Ming, this is just unreasonable!"
During a break in training, Chen Zifeng leaned on his Martial Soul, the Soul-Chasing Sword. Still short of breath, his face was full of frustration and resignation.
"We can accept you overpowering us, but your defense... doesn't it take at least a Soul Emperor to make you bleed?"
Just moments ago, bolstered by Gongyang Mo's powerful enhancements, Chen Zifeng believed that the might of his strongest sword strike was no weaker than that of a high-level assault-type Soul King.
Yet when his blade touched Xia Ming's arm, it failed to leave even a pale mark. The rebounding force nearly knocked his Martial Soul from his hand.
At that, Xia Ming merely shrugged slightly without offering an explanation.
Chen Zifeng's estimate had actually underestimated him by a great deal.
He could control his strength as he pleased, but the physical defense granted by the Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff Martial Soul was very real.
Not to mention Chen Zifeng—even Zhang Lexuan, whose strength approached that of a Soul Saint, could not break through his defense even at full power.
If he stacked all his buffs and focused entirely on defense, even an ordinary Soul Douluo would likely find him troublesome.
The truth was simply too shocking, so he could only let them maintain their "overestimation."
"Alright, today's training ends here." Yan Shaozhe's voice rang out at just the right moment, interrupting their discussion.
His gaze swept across the seven boys and girls before lingering on Xia Ming for a moment. Then he continued.
"Go back and prepare yourselves. Gather at the training ground tomorrow and depart together with the main team.
I will lead the team for this edition of the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament. It will be held in Heaven Dou City."
Heaven Dou City?
Upon hearing those three words, Xia Ming's expression shifted slightly.
The city itself was nothing special. What mattered was that it stood right beside Sunset Forest.
And within Sunset Forest was an opportunity that nearly every transmigrator who came to Douluo Continent had to obtain: the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well.
Xia Ming was naturally no exception.
His current talent and potential could already be called unprecedented across the continent.
But who would refuse the chance to go even further and establish a stronger foundation?
If he proceeded step by step, he was confident that he could eventually reach the pinnacle of the continent, perhaps even surpass Beast God Di Tian.
However, the imagined enemy hanging over his heart had never been these people of Douluo Continent.
It was Tang San!
No matter how many flaws Tang San had, he was still a genuine holder of two God Positions, one of them even being a God King God Position!
Without strength at the God King level, defeating him—let alone killing him—would be utterly impossible!
Even Xia Ming could not think of any good solution for the time being. He could only take things one step at a time.
No matter what, strengthening his own foundation could never be wrong.
And immortal herbs were undoubtedly one of the most direct ways for him to greatly improve that foundation before becoming a god.
He had to get them.
But the question was, how?
He had no way to explain where the information had come from.
How could a seven-year-old child who had grown up in Shrek City know the core secret of Sunset Forest?
Much less the fact that the place was shrouded year-round in a terrifying poisonous miasma nurtured by the Jade Phosphorus Seven-Absolute Flower.
Without an attribute that naturally countered all poisons, such as Ultimate Fire or Ultimate Ice, or profound spatial traversal abilities, barging in would be no different from seeking death.
Looks like I need to find a reasonable excuse first... Xia Ming lowered his eyes and sighed inwardly.
His most urgent task was to come up with a plausible explanation before the tournament ended and they left Heaven Dou City.
One that would stand up to scrutiny and not arouse the suspicions of powerful figures like Yan Shaozhe.
What should I do?
He thought about it all night, but even when it was time to leave the next day, Xia Ming had not found a particularly good reason.
Led by Yan Shaozhe and Zhang Lexuan, the group left Shrek City and raced toward Heaven Dou City.
None of them were ordinary Soul Masters, and they traveled at incredible speed, stopping only briefly along the way to rest.
During one break, Xia Ming casually moved over to Zhang Lexuan's side.
He raised his little face and asked in a curious child's voice.
"Sister Lexuan, I heard that you lived in Heaven Dou City when you were young. Is that right?"
Zhang Lexuan paused slightly. A trace of barely perceptible sorrow and nostalgia flashed through her eyes, and she gently nodded. "Mm."
She had been born into an aristocratic family of the Heaven Dou Empire. Later, another great noble family had persecuted and exterminated her entire household, leaving her as the only survivor.
Later, a teacher from the academy found her in the outskirts, and Elder Mu avenged her.
To repay that kindness, she agreed to become the child bride of his great-grandson, Bei Bei.
However, that agreement had quietly changed half a year ago.
As though he had not noticed the subtle change in her emotions, Xia Ming continued playing the role of a knowledge-hungry child.
"I also read in some miscellaneous books that there is a treasured place called the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well in Sunset Forest outside Heaven Dou City!
The books say that Shrek's ancestors found immortal herbs there ten thousand years ago, which was why they could ultimately become gods...
Sister Lexuan, is that true?"
He made full use of his greatest advantage: his age.
Few people would think that a child his age could harbor malicious intentions.
Besides, he wore an expression of someone merely repeating something he had heard. It was impossible to be overly demanding of a child.
Zhang Lexuan parted her lips slightly but did not answer. She did not know the answer herself.
Their conversation happened to be overheard by Yan Shaozhe, who was not far away.
He walked over slowly and picked up the thread of the conversation, his tone carrying a touch of sentiment.
"Some academy records do indeed mention this matter, so it should be true.
Unfortunately, over the past ten thousand years, the precise location of that treasured place has long been lost. No one has ever managed to find it again."
"Ah..." He suddenly sighed. "If we could find the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well, it would be of tremendous help to the academy today."
Xia Ming glanced at him, knowing why Yan Shaozhe said that.
One reason was his disciple, Ma Xiaotao, who was plagued by evil fire every day.
If she could obtain a Cockscomb Phoenix Chrysanthemum, her Martial Soul could evolve. Not only would it resolve her evil fire problem, it could also allow her to become Ultimate Fire.
The other reason was Mu En.
No one knew how many immortal herbs the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well contained.
But there was certainly a chance that it possessed immortal herbs capable of healing injuries.
Given the effects of immortal herbs, even Mu En's injuries were not necessarily without hope.
And if Mu En recovered, the meaning of having a Limit Douluo at the height of his power guarding Shrek was self-evident.
"What if there is a layer of poisonous miasma outside it?" Xia Ming suddenly said.
"What do you mean?"
"I heard that the Poison Douluo from ten thousand years ago set up a layer of poisonous miasma outside the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well, making it impossible for anyone except those he acknowledged to enter.
What if the reason the location of the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well has never been exposed over the past ten thousand years is because that poisonous miasma is still there, perhaps even stronger than before?" Xia Ming "reminded" him.
Of course, he knew how the poisonous miasma surrounding the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well had come to be.
But he could hardly say directly that it had been done by their "pure and noble" ancestor Tang San. He could only make Dugu Bo, who had been dead for ten thousand years, take the blame.
"Haha..." Yan Shaozhe seemed amused by Xia Ming's innocent words.
"Little junior brother, what you said does not seem entirely impossible."
Clearly, he did not take Xia Ming's words to heart.
However, after hearing Xia Ming's two "unintentional remarks," someone hidden nearby showed a slight change in expression.
"Go look for it."
Before you continue