Another Breakthrough, Mu Tianyi's Plan, Ten-Thousand-Year Third Soul Ring, Unreliable Xuan Zi

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, more than half a year had passed.

The parasol leaves on Sea God Island turned green, then yellow; the lake froze, then thawed.

Mu Tianyi's life was packed full of cultivation.

In the mornings, he studied Reign Over the World and the use of the Bright Sacred Dragon with Mu En. In the afternoons, he honed his proficiency with the Yin-Yang Divine Dragon Transformation on his own. At night, he still had to make time to absorb the endless Light power overflowing from the Dragon Core.

Zhang Lexuan gradually adapted to living with him as well. She made all three meals each day with new variations, and her cooking skills grew ever more refined.

Over those past several months, Mu Tianyi's Soul Power Level broke through once again.

He rose all the way from level twenty-five to level thirty.

Even Mu En was astonished by that number.

A thousand words ultimately condensed into a single sentence: "My grandson Tianyi has the makings of a god!"

Sea God Pavilion.

Mu En sat in his grand armchair. Looking at the excited Mu Tianyi, he smiled. "All right, look at you getting worked up. Tomorrow, I'll send someone to take you hunting for a soul ring."

Mu Tianyi's eyes lit up.

This was his third soul ring!

"Great-Grandfather, regarding the soul ring's age..." Mu Tianyi began tentatively.

Mu En glanced at him and set down his teacup.

"What do you think?"

Mu Tianyi pondered for a moment, then raised his head with a resolute tone. "I plan to absorb a ten-thousand-year soul ring."

Mu En's brows twitched slightly, but he did not rush to reject the idea.

"Given my current circumstances, a thousand-year soul ring would actually be beneath me. A ten-thousand-year one is what suits me best."

He spoke with complete confidence.

His first and second soul rings were both thousand-year rings. If his third soul ring was still only a thousand-year ring, the increase to his current strength would be limited.

Moreover, after being tempered by the Yin-Yang Divine Dragon Transformation, his physical strength far surpassed that of soul masters at the same level.

Mu En stroked his beard and pondered for a moment.

"A ten-thousand-year soul ring at level thirty... If it were anyone else, your great-grandfather would certainly refuse. But you..."

The old man looked at Mu Tianyi, shook his head, then nodded.

"Fine. You know what you're doing, so your great-grandfather won't say more."

As for the soul shock of a ten-thousand-year soul beast...

It could take that up with my Dragon Core.

That was the crystallization of an ancient Light-element giant dragon's lifelong essence.

The soul impact of a mere ten-thousand-year soul beast was nothing more than a grandson meeting his grandfather before the Dragon Core.

"Then tomorrow, your great-grandfather will have Xuan Zi take you." Mu En lifted his teacup and blew away the foam. "Setting everything else aside, that fellow is excellent at finding soul beasts."

Mu Tianyi nodded in acknowledgment, then stood and took his leave.

After leaving Sea God Pavilion, the night breeze brushed against his face.

Mu Tianyi walked back toward his small courtyard with light steps, already beginning to plan out his third soul ring.

With a ten-thousand-year soul ring and the qualitative transformation brought by a third soul skill, what level would his combat strength reach?

In his Yin-Yang Divine Dragon Transformation state, could he wrestle with a Soul Sage?

Just thinking about it made his blood boil.

The corners of his lips lifted unconsciously.

Then his smile suddenly froze.

Mu Tianyi stopped, and the string in his mind abruptly tightened.

No, something's wrong!

Xuan Zi?...

Wasn't that Elder Xuan?!!

He had been so happy just now that he overlooked the weight of the name Mu En had mentioned.

This was bad!

Xuan Zi's strength was absolutely among the very best of humanity on the Douluo Continent.

But the problem was...

This man's record of leading teams was nothing short of disastrous.

First, there was the time Zhang Lexuan obtained her hundred-thousand-year eighth soul ring. Then there was the encirclement of the Death God Messenger before a tournament.

It was hard to imagine that this was the kind of performance a level ninety-eight Super Douluo should have.

This was no longer something luck could explain.

To the point that, in the webnovel circles of his previous life, an additional conspiracy theory about Xuan Zi had emerged:

That he was an elder of the Holy Spirit Cult.

On the surface, he was one of Shrek Academy's stabilizing pillars.

In reality, his record of leading teams was even more effective than the Holy Spirit Cult taking action themselves.

At that thought, Mu Tianyi felt terrible.

"Great-Grandfather, are you hoping your great-grandson dies?"

Mu Tianyi shook his head with a bitter smile.

But on second thought, he relaxed slightly.

He was Mu En's direct descendant, after all, and one of Shrek's future pillars.

No matter how absurd Xuan Zi was, he would not make a joke out of him, right?

Probably...

Early the next morning, Mu Tianyi arrived at Sea God Pavilion.

When he pushed open the door, a familiar, eye-searing figure was already slumped in a guest chair.

Xuan Zi.

The vice master of Sea God Pavilion, a level ninety-eight Super Douluo.

At that moment, he sat sprawled in the chair with one leg crossed over the other, a grass stem of unknown origin dangling from his mouth as he chewed it boredly.

Xuan Zi was not actually bad-looking. At first glance, he was even the sort who looked rather pleasant the longer one looked.

But he simply could not be bothered with his appearance.

His hair hung in a messy tangle, as though it had not been tended to in years.

His clothes were even more unbearable to look at.

No one knew how many years he had worn them. The cuffs were frayed, and several oil stains on the lapels could not be washed out.

Sitting there, he looked exactly like a vagrant who had just crawled out of a garbage heap.

When Mu Tianyi entered, Xuan Zi was listlessly chewing the grass stem in his mouth.

The instant he saw him, his eyes lit up.

He sprang out of the chair and waved broadly, his voice so loud the entire floor could hear it.

"Yo! Tianyi's here!"

Mu Tianyi tugged at the corner of his mouth. "Good morning, Elder Xuan."

"Why call me Elder Xuan? Call me Grandpa Xuan!" Xuan Zi strode over in a few steps, then planted his palm, as large as a cattail fan, atop Mu Tianyi's head and rubbed it back and forth twice.

"Your great-grandfather praised you to the heavens. Let me tell you, your great-grandfather has never praised anyone in his life. You're the first!"

Mu Tianyi's hair was tousled into a mess by his rubbing. Feeling somewhat displeased, he quietly took half a step back.

"You flatter me, Grandpa Xuan."

"What flattery? When it comes to your great-grandfather's words, I wouldn't doubt even a punctuation mark."

Xuan Zi withdrew his hand, planted both hands on his hips, and sized Mu Tianyi up and down, his gaze filled with undisguised excitement.

"You brat are really something. Our Shrek Academy is about to produce another monster!"

Mu Tianyi maintained a polite smile without looking too awkward.

This was not his first time meeting Xuan Zi.

As Shrek's princeling, Mu Tianyi had been treated like a crown prince from the moment he was born.

During his years living in the Inner Court, he would occasionally run into Xuan Zi around the academy every few days.

They knew each other's identities, but had little interaction.

At most, they nodded when they met. They had never even spoken.

"All right, stop standing around. Let's go." Xuan Zi waved a large hand, turned, and headed outside, patting his chest as he spoke.

"Don't worry. Today, Grandpa Xuan will definitely find you the very best soul ring. You'll absolutely be satisfied!"

Mu Tianyi nodded and followed, the unease in his heart easing somewhat.

At least that attitude sounded fairly reliable.

The two left Sea God Pavilion. Rather than taking the main entrance, Xuan Zi directly took Mu Tianyi into the air.

Xuan Zi did not have Mu En's brains, nor did he think as much as Mu En.

He completely forgot that Mu Tianyi was still a child.

A level ninety-eight Super Douluo flying at full speed... was ridiculously fast.

Mu Tianyi was suspended in midair, held by the back of his collar in Xuan Zi's grip, while the wind howled past his ears.

He only felt that his body was flying through the sky while his soul chased after it from behind.