Heading to Heaven Dou City, A Chance Encounter Discussing the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well

For the next month, Xia Ming's life was carved into two distinct, clearly defined halves.

By day, he trained alongside the six members of the reserve team.

By night, he returned alone to Sea God Island to undergo special training under the personal guidance of Yan Shaozhe.

During this month, the six members of the reserve team completely extinguished any desire to compete with Xia Ming.

That initial disdain born from his age had vanished into thin air after a single six-on-one training match.

They had poured out all their strength, exhausted every tactic, and even utilized the full-course amplification from Gongyang Mo, yet they hadn't managed to force Xia Ming to take even a single step back.

That battle left them with nothing but a profound sense of powerlessness and a clear realization of the chasm in their strength.

"Xia Ming, you are simply unreasonable!"

During a break in training, Chen Zifeng leaned on his martial soul, the Soul-Chasing Sword, his breathing still ragged and his face filled with frustration and helplessness.

"We can accept being crushed by your strength, but for your defense—wouldn't it take at least a Soul Emperor to make you bleed?"

Just moments ago, under the powerful amplification of Gongyang Mo, Chen Zifeng had believed his strongest sword strike was no less powerful than that of a high-level Assault System Soul King.

However, when the blade touched Xia Ming's arm, it didn't even leave a white mark, and the recoil nearly knocked his martial soul from his grasp.

Hearing this, Xia Ming merely shrugged slightly, offering no explanation.

Chen Zifeng's speculation actually underestimated him to a great degree.

While his strength could be adjusted at will, the physical defense he gained from the Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff martial soul was an absolute, tangible reality.

Let alone Chen Zifeng, even if Zhang Lexuan, who was approaching the level of a Soul Saint, were to strike with all her might, she still wouldn't be able to break his defense.

If he were to stack all his buffs and defend with everything he had, even an ordinary Soul Douluo would likely find him troublesome.

But this truth was too shocking, so he could only accept the other party's "overestimation."

"Alright, training ends here for today." Yan Shaozhe's voice rang out at the right moment, cutting off the group's discussion.

His gaze swept over the seven young men and women, finally lingering on Xia Ming for a moment before he continued:

"Return and prepare yourselves. Assemble at the martial arts arena tomorrow to depart with the main team. I will be leading the team for this All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament, and the location is Heaven Dou City."

Heaven Dou City?

Upon hearing these three words, Xia Ming's expression shifted slightly.

There was nothing particularly special about the city itself, but the key was that it sat right next to the Sunset Forest.

And within the Sunset Forest lay an opportunity that almost every transmigrator who arrived on the Douluo Continent had to obtain: the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well.

Xia Ming was naturally no exception.

His current talent and potential were already unparalleled in the history of the continent.

But who would refuse to go further and lay an even stronger foundation?

Following his current path, he was confident he could reach the pinnacle of the continent in the future, perhaps even surpassing the Beast God Di Tian.

However, the hypothetical enemy hanging in his mind had never been anyone on the Douluo Continent.

It was Tang San!

Regardless of the man's many flaws, he was a genuine dual-god, and one of those was a God King!

Without the strength of a God King, defeating or even killing him was simply impossible!

Even Xia Ming couldn't think of a good method for the time being; he could only take things one step at a time.

Regardless, increasing his own foundation was certainly the right move.

And immortal herbs were undoubtedly one of the most direct ways for him to significantly improve his foundation before becoming a god.

He had to get his hands on them.

But the problem was, how?

He couldn't explain the source of his intelligence.

How could a seven-year-old child who had grown up in Shrek City know the top-secret information regarding the core of the Sunset Forest?

Not to mention that the area was shrouded year-round in terrifying toxic miasma bred by the Jade Phosphorus Seven-Absolute Flower.

Without an attribute like Ultimate Fire or Ultimate Ice that naturally countered all poisons, or a high-level ability for spatial travel, trespassing there would be no different from seeking death.

It seems I must first find a reasonable excuse... Xia Ming lowered his eyes, sighing inwardly.

The urgent priority was to weave a story that could justify itself and not arouse the suspicion of experts like Yan Shaozhe before the tournament ended and they left Heaven Dou City.

What should I do?

He pondered for the entire night, and by the time they set off the next day, Xia Ming still hadn't found a particularly good reason.

Led by Yan Shaozhe and Zhang Lexuan, the team left Shrek City and sped toward Heaven Dou City.

None of them were ordinary soul masters, so their pace was extremely fast, with only short, brief stops for rest along the way.

During a break, Xia Ming moved casually to Zhang Lexuan's side.

He tilted his small face upward and asked in a curious, childish voice:

"Sister Lexuan, I heard that you lived in Heaven Dou City when you were little, is that right?"

Zhang Lexuan was slightly startled, a trace of imperceptible sorrow and reminiscence flashing through her eyes, and she nodded gently: "Mm."

She was born into a noble family in the Heaven Dou Empire, but later, her family was persecuted and wiped out by another great noble house, leaving her the sole survivor.

She was later picked up from the outskirts by a teacher from the academy, and Elder Mu helped her take her revenge.

To repay that debt of gratitude, she agreed to the condition of becoming the child bride of his great-grandson, Bei Bei.

However, that agreement had been quietly changed over half a year ago.

Xia Ming seemed not to notice the subtle fluctuations in her mood, continuing to play the part of a knowledge-hungry child:

"I also heard in some miscellaneous books that in the Sunset Forest outside Heaven Dou City, there is a treasure land called the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well!

The books say that the Shrek ancestors from ten thousand years ago found immortal herbs there, which allowed them to eventually become gods...

Sister Lexuan, is that true?"

He made full use of his greatest advantage, which was his age.

Not many people would think he could harbor any ill intentions at this age.

Moreover, he wore an expression of having only heard these things through hearsay; one could not be too harsh on a child.

Zhang Lexuan opened her mouth slightly, but she did not answer the question, as she did not know the answer herself.

The conversation between the two was overheard by Yan Shaozhe, who was not far away.

He walked over slowly and took up the thread of the conversation, his tone carrying a hint of emotion:

"Some of the academy's records do indeed mention this matter; it should be true.

It is just a pity that for ten thousand years, the exact location of this treasure land has long been lost to history, and no one has been able to find it again."

"Sigh—" He suddenly let out a soft sigh, "If the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well could be found, it would be a tremendous help to the academy today."

Xia Ming glanced at him, knowing the reason why Yan Shaozhe said this.

One reason was his disciple, Ma Xiaotao, who was plagued by evil fire day and night.

If she could obtain a Cockscomb Phoenix Chrysanthemum, her martial soul could be upgraded; not only would it solve the problem of the evil fire, but it could also evolve into the Ultimate Fire.

The other reason was for Mu En.

No one knew how many immortal herbs were in the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well.

But it was absolutely possible that healing herbs existed among them.

With the efficacy of immortal herbs, even Mu En's injuries would not be without hope.

And once Mu En recovered, the significance of having a peak Limit Douluo holding down the fort for Shrek went without saying.

"What if it's because there is a layer of poisonous miasma outside?" Xia Ming suddenly spoke up.

"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 other than those he approved of to enter.

What if the reason the location of the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well hasn't been exposed for ten thousand years is because this layer of miasma is still there, or perhaps even stronger?" Xia Ming "reminded" him.

He certainly knew where the current poisonous miasma outside the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well came from.

But he couldn't exactly say it was their "pure and noble" ancestor Tang San who did it, so he could only let Dugu Bo, who had been dead for ten thousand years, take the blame.

"Haha—" Yan Shaozhe seemed to be amused by Xia Ming's naive words.

"Little Junior Brother, what you say doesn't seem impossible."

Clearly, he did not take Xia Ming's words to heart.

However, upon hearing Xia Ming's two "unintentional remarks," one person in the shadows had a change in expression.

"Go and look for it."