Nothing happened that night.
Morning sunlight streamed through the window lattice into the small courtyard. Mu Tianyi slowly finished cultivating and exhaled a breath of stale air.
The phantom shadows of the Twin Dragons behind him dissipated as well.
He opened his eyes and shook his head with slight helplessness.
Still no progress.
Although the phantoms of the two Holy Dragons could overlap briefly, they were always short of that indescribable something needed for true fusion.
However, Mu Tianyi was not in a hurry.
A Martial Soul Fusion Skill belonged to the pinnacle of the soul master world.
Even with an ordinary two-person Martial Soul Fusion Skill, countless soul masters could spend their entire lives without ever touching its threshold.
Not to mention that his was a self fusion.
It could not be rushed.
Mu Tianyi rolled out of bed, fetched a basin of cold water in the courtyard to wash his face, changed into clean clothes, and pushed open the door.
The Inner Court cafeteria was not far from his small courtyard. He arrived after passing through two corridors.
The cafeteria was not large, but its dishes were exquisite, specially prepared for Inner Court students and the academy's upper ranks.
When Mu Tianyi entered, several Inner Court students were already having breakfast inside.
He swept his gaze across the room, saw no one he knew, and served himself breakfast before finding a window seat.
A bowl of rice porridge, a plate of side dishes, two steamed buns, and a fried egg.
Simple, but satisfying.
After breakfast, Mu Tianyi wiped his mouth, rose to his feet, and headed toward Sea God Pavilion.
Sea God Pavilion stood at the center of Sea God Island, an ancient and elegant building.
It was the heart of Shrek Academy, as well as where Mu En lived and handled the academy's affairs.
Mu Tianyi made his way up to the second floor with practiced ease, stopped outside Mu En's study, and knocked.
"Come in."
Mu En's aged yet resonant voice came from within.
Mu Tianyi pushed the door open and entered.
In the study, Mu En sat in a grand chair by the window, holding a cup of hot tea.
His silver-white hair draped over his shoulders, while the morning light spilling in through the window gave him a faint golden glow.
The old man looked up at Mu Tianyi and grinned.
"You're here?"
"I'm here." Mu Tianyi was not polite either. He sat down in a nearby chair. "Great-Grandfather, what are we learning today?"
This was a rule Mu En had established.
Every morning, the two of them met at Sea God Pavilion, where Mu En personally guided Mu Tianyi in the methods of using the Bright Sacred Dragon.
Mu En was one of the strongest light-attributed Limit Douluos of the present age. With a teacher of that caliber personally instructing him, Mu Tianyi was naturally delighted.
Mu En set down his teacup, his gaze settling on Mu Tianyi's face. He looked him over from head to toe before asking,
"Has there been any progress with that matter?"
Naturally, Mu Tianyi knew what he meant.
When he had confessed his idea for a Self Martial Soul Fusion Skill to Mu En, the old man had approved of it and offered him plenty of guidance.
Mu Tianyi shook his head, his tone calm.
"Not yet. The two dragons can overlap briefly, but I still can't take that final step toward true fusion."
Mu En stroked his beard and nodded, showing no disappointment.
"What's the rush?" The old man snorted, lifted his teacup, and took a sip. "You're only eight. How many people spend their entire lives unable to even glimpse the edge of a Martial Soul Fusion Skill? The fact that you've already shown signs of it is an enormous stroke of fortune."
"You're right, Great-Grandfather." Mu Tianyi smiled.
Mu En set down his teacup, rose to his feet, and walked to the open space in the middle of the study with the aid of his cane.
"All right, put that matter aside for now. Today, Great-Grandfather will teach you something else."
Mu Tianyi's spirits rose, and he sat up straighter.
Mu En turned to face him, and his deep gaze became considerably more solemn.
"Tianyi, what Great-Grandfather is about to teach you today is the culmination of everything I have learned in my life."
The old man spoke neither quickly nor slowly, yet every word carried weight.
"A Self-Created Soul Skill—Reign Over the World."
Mu Tianyi's eyes lit up.
Reign Over the World.
He had seen that name in the original work.
It was Mu En's signature technique, combining both mental and physical attacks to completely suppress an opponent on the levels of mentality and will.
In the original work, the Dragon God Douluo had made countless powerful enemies tremble in fear with this move.
"Watch carefully."
Mu En offered no further explanation.
He simply stood there without even releasing his martial soul.
Then...
Mu Tianyi's pupils suddenly contracted.
The Mu En before him was still the same Mu En, white-haired and bent with age.
But his aura had changed.
Like a volcano that had slept for a thousand years, it suddenly erupted!
Mu En's eyes shone with dazzling golden light, and an immense mental pressure, vast as the sea, crushed down upon him like a collapsing mountain.
Mu Tianyi felt as though an invisible giant hand had seized his heart.
Breathing became difficult.
The study vanished from his sight. Sea God Pavilion vanished as well.
In their place was an endless expanse of light.
Blinding, scorching, impossible to look at directly.
At the end of that light, an enormous Bright Sacred Dragon, vast enough to cover the heavens and blot out the sun, coiled between heaven and earth. Its golden dragon eyes looked down upon him from above.
That was...
Mu En's martial soul true form?
No.
That was a mental illusion created by Reign Over the World!
Mu Tianyi clenched his teeth, frantically circulating the Soul Power within his body as he tried to resist that mental crushing force.
But he discovered...
He could not block it at all.
Under the gaze of that Bright Sacred Dragon, his will was like a small boat in a raging storm, ready to capsize at any moment.
That feeling was not a difference in strength, but a crushing difference in level.
It was as if he faced not a person, but the heavens themselves.
An ant gazing at the sky.
If the heavens demanded your submission, then you had no choice but to submit.
Mu Tianyi's legs trembled.
His consciousness began to blur. That golden dragon shadow drew closer and closer...
It was about to swallow him whole.
At that critical moment, Mu Tianyi suddenly bit through his tongue.
The searing pain jolted his nerves. He desperately held on to the last shred of clarity in his mind and endured.
The illusion receded like a retreating tide.
Mu Tianyi panted heavily, his back already soaked in cold sweat.
Mu En withdrew his aura and returned to being that bent old man leaning on a cane.
He looked at Mu Tianyi, his eyes full of gratification.
"Not bad."
The old man nodded. His tone was calm, but he could not hide the amusement in his eyes.
"To withstand thirty percent of my aura without falling, you're even stronger than Great-Grandfather expected."
Mu Tianyi wiped the sweat from his forehead and gave a wry smile.
"Great-Grandfather, you were trying to scare me to death."
Mu En burst into laughter, then turned serious.
"Tianyi, Great-Grandfather can teach you Reign Over the World. But remember this."
The old man's voice deepened.
"Soul skills are dead, but people are alive. You may learn my moves, but you cannot walk my path."
"You must carve out your own path."
Mu Tianyi fell silent for a moment before nodding solemnly.
"I understand, Great-Grandfather."
Mu En smiled in satisfaction and raised his right hand, tapping the air with his index finger.
A thread of golden light shot from his fingertip and entered Mu Tianyi's brow.
An enormous amount of information instantly flooded Mu Tianyi's mind:
The cultivation method for Reign Over the World, the techniques for channeling power, the core principles behind the use of mental strength... every detail appeared one by one.
"These are Great-Grandfather's experiences. Take them and study them slowly." Mu En returned to his grand chair and picked up his teacup. "But remember, after reading them, you must think for yourself and practice for yourself."
"Great-Grandfather's path can only serve as a reference. You must create your own Reign Over the World."
"Yes."
Mu Tianyi closed his eyes and rapidly reviewed the information in his mind while recalling the sensation he had experienced within the illusion.
That suffocating feeling of being crushed by mental force...
That helplessness when facing a being of a higher order...
Suddenly, an inspiration flashed through his mind.
Mu Tianyi abruptly opened his eyes.
The core of Reign Over the World was to suppress an opponent with mental strength and will, causing them to collapse mentally before the battle even began.
And his Bright Sacred Dragon and Dark Sacred Dragon represented light and order, darkness and Destruction.
What if he integrated the concept of Reign Over the World's mental suppression into the Twin Dragons?
He could use the sacred pressure of the Bright Sacred Dragon to intimidate the opponent's mind, and the abyssal aura of the Dark Sacred Dragon to devour the opponent's fighting spirit...
One light and one dark, one positive and one negative.
Two utterly different yet complementary forms of pressure descending at the same time—
What kind of effect would that have?
Before you continue