Spirit Hall's Golden Generation

"Don't bother trying..." Huo Wu shook her head in a daze. Her rock-solid confidence had been shattered by that single finger. "A loss is a loss... You were right. I'm too slow. Even if I used Repelling Fire Ring, I could only delay my defeat by a few seconds. I'll leave now. Also, I apologize for what I said in anger just now. I didn't mean to look down on you. You really are handsome, and you're not some pretty boy."

"You've got a bit of taste, at least." Shui Yue'er nodded approvingly.

Shui Bing'er was utterly speechless and raised a hand to her forehead.

Was that really the important part?

Even being lovestruck had to have limits, didn't it?

She should have focused on Ye Qingcang's explosive speed just now: how he had circled around Mother, a Soul Douluo, appeared before Huo Wu in an instant, and pressed a finger wreathed in transparent airflow against Huo Wu's forehead. The strength displayed in every one of those actions—his speed had been so fast that even I, a bystander, hadn't seen it at all, not merely failed to see it clearly. So, if he could defeat Huo Wu in one move, he could defeat us in one move as well. That was the important part, wasn't it?

As for his appearance, it truly was outstanding.

But she had to understand that good looks couldn't put food on the table.

Appearance was a bonus. Strength was the foundation.

My foolish little sister...

Still, Ye Qingcang was far more broad-minded than most people imagined!

How would an ordinary person handle this conflict?

They would drive Huo Wu and the others away.

They might even ridicule Huo Wu and the others.

But for Ye Qingcang, his roots and branches were proportional!

The deeper his roots went, the darker and crueler they became.

Yet his branches would grow ever more luxuriant, brimming with life.

When facing enemies like Tang San, Yu Xiaogang, and Dai Mubai—enemies who could never become friends—whether they were obvious threats standing in the open or tumors still lurking in the shadows, he would devour them with the most flawless darkness, sealing off their escape routes step by step, like the ruthless final bosses in countless manga and novels.

Yet if he possessed only ruthlessness and darkness, Qian Renxue could never have become his friend, nor could he have made everyone at Blue Tyrant Academy wholeheartedly acknowledge him, the top-ranked member of the Heaven Ranking, as though he were a god!

He had always believed that people needed to distinguish four things!

The first: What did one possess?

The second: What did one need?

The third: What could one discard?

The fourth: What could one never discard?

He possessed every item that existed in fantasy!

What he needed was sufficient spiritual power!

As long as he had enough spiritual power, he could materialize every item that existed only in fantasy. For example, the various ninjutsu he had materialized from Fire Shadow; the representative example was the Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation he had used against Tang San. There was also the Gate of Babylon he had materialized from the Absolute Demonic Beast Front. Although he could not materialize the many Noble Phantasms contained within the Gate of Babylon—because its setting was that it possessed every Noble Phantasm, even the Greater Grail—his spiritual power was insufficient to create a perfect Gate of Babylon. He could only strip away most of its functions, repeatedly lowering its upper limit to the level he could currently control, then use it as his martial soul and attach soul rings to it. But even an imitation version of the Chains of Heaven still possessed the ability to bind Tang Chen, a God Trial Taker!

And his definition of "sufficient" was infinite spiritual power!

What counted as sufficient?

Only when he himself was satisfied would it be sufficient!

A person's desires could never be satisfied!

Therefore, he needed infinite spiritual power!

And infinite spiritual power required an infinitely strong body to control it!

Otherwise, yin and yang would fall out of balance.

The representative example was Uchiha Itachi from Fire Shadow.

He had been too young, his spiritual power too strong, and his body had been unable to keep up.

In the end, Bloodline Disease struck repeatedly.

That was the purpose behind his creation of Stellar Martial Arts!

With Illusion Realization, pursuing any Extreme Style would be wasting this golden finger. Illusion Realization meant encompassing all things. In that regard, perhaps he and Gilgamesh would have something in common to discuss.

And what he could discard was everything except emotions and the people connected to them, life and the people connected to it, himself and the golden finger that defined him!

In other words...

Stellar Martial Arts?

He could do without it!

Alchemy?

He could do without it!

The Asura God Sword?

He could do without it!

The Gate of Babylon?

He could do without it!

Any soul bone, immortal herb, soul ring, or treasure was merely something he could create as long as he had enough spiritual power!

He simply disliked gaining things without earning them!

It was not because those things were particularly precious!

And what he could not discard were the principles mentioned above: emotions and the people connected to them, such as his adoptive mother Liu Erlong and his friend Qian Renxue; life and the people connected to it, such as Violet, who belonged only to him; himself and the golden finger that defined him, such as Illusion Realization. Those were the things he could never discard.

A person of absolute rationality was a god.

Gods were all lonely.

He did not want to be a lonely god. He only wanted to be a person of flesh and blood.

Therefore, developing Blue Tyrant Academy, teaching Stellar Martial Arts, and advancing Soul Guidance Technology were simply his contributions to this family. He hoped this family would become better, and he also hoped to bring better changes and hope to the common people of this world.

And he chose the philosophy of survival of the fittest, instilling it into Blue Tyrant Academy, because this world was neither beautiful nor kind. Right now, he stood at the forefront for Blue Tyrant Academy. One day, these students would graduate and enter this world that was neither beautiful nor kind. Just as resisting the night did not require endurance but fire, he demanded that these students prove themselves—at the very least, let him know that those under his protection were not a pack of trash, but future towering trees!

Thus, the deeper his roots, the higher he stood.

The higher he stood, the farther his gaze reached.

The farther his gaze reached, the broader his heart became.

With a thought, with an opened mind, he suddenly felt that the road ahead beneath heaven was nothing more than this!

Benefits?

What benefit could be greater than goodwill?

No benefit retained its value forever!

Only goodwill endured for all eternity!

Therefore...

"If you don't mind, we can travel together." Seeing the astonishment in Huo Wu's eyes, as well as the surprised expressions of Huo Wushuang, Feng Xiaotian, Shui Feng, and everyone else besides the Blue Tyrant Academy students led by Violet, Ye Qingcang smiled and extended an invitation to Huo Wu and the others. "I said it before: we were just playing around. I admire your frankness and straightforwardness. There was never any conflict to begin with, and I have never believed there was any conflict that had been escalated. This is merely a special sort of fate between us, existing in this special way. Why not become friends and travel together? We're all from the Heaven Dou circle, and we're all here to hunt soul rings. In the Star Dou Great Forest, we can look after one another."

"I lost!" Huo Wu stared into Ye Qingcang's sincere eyes. After repeating herself once, she repeated it again. "I lost to you!"

"Can't we be friends just because you lost?" Ye Qingcang laughed and extended his hand. His open and dignified bearing as a leader stirred an involuntary feeling of sincere admiration within Huo Wu. "When I, Ye Qingcang, make friends, I never judge by victory or defeat. If everyone in the world made friends according to victory and defeat, if those who lost to me were unworthy of being my friends, then how many friends in this world could stand on equal footing with me?"

Huo Wu unconsciously reached out and clasped Ye Qingcang's hand.

This time, Feng Xiaotian was not jealous.

Someone without strength but with astonishing bearing was not worth his attention.

Someone with strength alone but a narrow heart might humiliate him.

But someone who had both strength and bearing would only earn his wholehearted respect.

This friend was worth making!

No fight, no friendship—such was the unrestrained flamboyance of youth!

They were all young people!

So, he sheepishly admitted in his heart that he wanted this friend too!

"Dad..." Huo Wu did not notice how unusual it was that Feng Xiaotian had not been jealous this time. After shaking Ye Qingcang's hand, she turned and called out to the dazed Huo Lie in the distance, testing the wishes of her old father.

"Then we'll impose on you..." Huo Lie's tone was full of emotion. He cupped his hands toward Ye Qingcang and Shui Feng, then greeted Liu Erlong, who had finally arrived. Seeing these young people getting acquainted with one another, he turned to Feng Wuji, whose face was also filled with nostalgia, and smiled. "Youth is wonderful. I seem to see my former self!"

"They are fortunate."

"We weren't this united back then."

"Though I don't know how long their unity can last, or whether it can endure until they reach our current age in the face of reality, they are fortunate regardless."

Feng Wuji's envy was sincere. He sighed. "That child has the temperament of a leader. Most fortunate of all, he also has the heart of a leader. And most impossible to envy is his appearance—a born focal point, a born leader. You saw it too. They met only once, yet he has already charmed these youngsters to this extent. They may not yet follow his every command, but for him to let them put aside their past grievances and even make your daughter put aside hers to become friends with him—remarkable, truly remarkable!"

"Speaking of which..." Huo Lie casually slung an arm around his good brother Feng Wuji's shoulder. While waiting for the female student who had just killed the Fire Enchantress to absorb her soul ring, he watched the youths' vitality and reminisced about the past. "How did us old-timers first meet?"

"That goes back to a Soul Master Competition between Blazing Fire Academy and my Tianshui Academy many years ago..." Shui Feng crossed her arms and walked over with Liu Erlong. She looked at these young people, who had unexpectedly merged into the same circle due to the arrival of Blazing Fire Academy and Shenfeng Academy, where water and fire could actually coexist. Her expression was especially complicated as she watched her daughter Shui Yue'er chatting and laughing with Huo Lie's daughter Huo Wu. "You and I met at about this age too, didn't we?"

"More or less. No more than a year apart." Huo Lie rubbed his chin. Since he had never beaten Shui Feng, his tone was somewhat timid. "Back then, we looked down on each other. You said we at Blazing Fire Academy were all brutes controlled by our emotions, while I called you at Tianshui Academy a bunch of cold, stiff women. In the blink of an eye, so many years have passed..."

Liu Erlong gave an awkward, polite smile.

Shui Feng clenched her fists as if she wanted to say something but stopped herself.

Feng Wuji could only raise a hand to his forehead in silence.

To be fair, the assessment was not wrong.

Was his emotional intelligence negative?

The earlier remarks were one thing, but did he really need to recall in such detail, right in front of Shui Feng, how he had called Tianshui Academy a bunch of cold, stiff women?

Just as Blue Tyrant Academy, Tianshui Academy, Blazing Fire Academy, and Shenfeng Academy gathered together, increasing their group from just over fifty people at departure to nearly a hundred, another Soul Hunting Squad in the Star Dou Great Forest advanced straight toward the four academies from another direction.

This was an exceptionally elite Soul Hunting Squad.

One Soul King, two quasi-Soul Kings, and four Soul Ancestors were merely the weakest members of the team. Twenty-four Soul Saints formed the backbone of this Soul Hunting Squad, and above them stood two Titled Douluo!

Moreover, they were Super Douluo above level ninety-five!

It could be said that, so long as they did not encounter a 100,000 Year Soul Beast or a beast tide, this squad could swagger through the Star Dou Great Forest unhindered!

Looking across the entire world, only three factions could field a similar lineup!

Spirit Hall, which had nearly twenty Titled Douluo.

The Clear Sky Sect, which had nearly ten Titled Douluo.

And the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, which could barely scrape together such a force.

Now, however, the Clear Sky Sect had sealed itself away after being beaten into disarray by Spirit Hall, even abandoning the Four Element Families. As for the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Ning Rongrong was among Blue Tyrant Academy's group. It was impossible for them to assemble such a team, nor did they have another heir worthy of such treatment. With the possibilities narrowed down this far, there was no need to explain where this elite Soul Hunting Squad came from.

And within this Soul Hunting Squad...

Other than the two Titled Douluo...

The most eye-catching were the three Soul Kings.

The oldest was only twenty-one.

The youngest was only twenty.

In the era of the Unrivaled Tang Sect ten thousand years later, twenty-year-old Soul Kings would already be among the best of their generation, comparable to Ling Luochen, Chen Zifeng, Xi Xi, and the others among the Shrek Seven Devils, though slightly weaker than leading figures fully nurtured by Shrek Academy, such as Ma Xiaotao, Dai Yueheng, and Gongyang Mo. One could imagine what it meant in this era for three twenty-year-old Soul Kings to appear at once!

Huo Wu was four years older than Tang San and had only barely reached level forty.

Feng Xiaotian was nine years older than Tang San and was only at level forty-three.

Each of these three Soul Kings was merely six or seven years older than Tang San, yet they had already reached level fifty. One of them had even acquired his soul ring, and the accumulated foundation had directly pushed him to level fifty-one.

With such talent, according to Yu Xiaogang's theory, they would surely become the leading figures among the younger generation of the future Douluo Continent, without equal.

Of course, Yu Xiaogang's theories had never been accurate.

What was a leading figure?

These three Soul Kings whom Spirit Hall praised as the "Golden Generation" still fell far too short. Without Ye Qingcang, Qian Renxue would be the leading figure among the younger generation.

Below Qian Renxue came Tang San and Oscar.

Below Tang San and Oscar came Ning Rongrong, Ma Hongjun, Shui Bing'er, and the Golden Generation. Below them came Dai Mubai, Zhu Zhuqing, Xiao Wu, Huo Wu, Feng Xiaotian, and the others, together forming a pyramid-shaped structure.

All this could show was that this Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang was full of hot air.

He had never proposed or proven any viewpoint of his own from scratch.

Even the few theories he had were disproven by Tang San.

Thanks to #Broken Bridge Misty Rain& for the 200 reward.

One more thing: donate within your means; no pressure.