Level 50, Taking Leave

Mu En spoke slowly, his tone carrying the clarity of one who had seen through the affairs of the world. "Geniuses all have the pride of geniuses."

"If we rush to recruit him like desperate bootlickers, offering him a pile of conditions, we might instead annoy the boy. Then we'd only end up with our warm faces pressed against his cold backside. That wouldn't be worth it."

Yan Shaozhe nodded repeatedly. "Elder Mu is absolutely right. Even Tang Ya, that girl from the Tang Sect, personally tried to recruit him before, and he politely refused. That alone shows how proud this child is. What he hates most is being forced."

Mu En sat upright in the seat of honor, his aged voice spreading throughout the entire Sea God Pavilion as he made the final decision:

"Enough. The rules are set. From today onward, there is nothing wrong with wanting to recruit this boy, but no one is to rush in blindly and fawn over him. The choice will be left entirely to him. Everyone present, whether from the Martial Soul Department or the Soul Guidance Department, is forbidden from using recruitment as an excuse to disturb his daily cultivation and life."

The elders all bowed in agreement, and no one dared raise another objection.

"Meeting adjourned."

Mu En lightly waved his hand. With those words, the impromptu Sea God Pavilion meeting came to an end.

The elders rose one after another and walked out, each burdened with their own thoughts. Xuan Zi brought up the rear, his old face still flushed. He had been rendered speechless earlier, and he was finding it hard to save face.

Once everyone had left, only Mu En remained in the vast Sea God Pavilion hall.

He sat alone in the Pavilion Master's white jade chair, his gaze piercing through the sea of clouds outside the hall toward the direction of Shrek Outer Court. Deep contemplation filled his aged eyes.

He murmured quietly to himself, his heart heavy. "It looks like the skies over the Douluo Continent are about to change."

Even now, he still could not figure out Yu Chen's origins, nor could he determine whether the boy's appearance would bring fortune or disaster. His only prayer was that Yu Chen was not an infiltrator sent by those bastards from the Sun Moon Empire.

Having lived for centuries and seen countless people, Mu En felt a powerful premonition rise within him. This eleven-year-old child with the Golden Dragon bloodline would undoubtedly become someone capable of stirring the winds and clouds. He would surely cause an earth-shaking upheaval in the future.

Mu En covered his mouth and coughed softly twice. After several muffled coughs, his aged body trembled slightly.

He lowered his head to look at his wrinkled, withered hands, and a sorrowful feeling of a hero in his twilight years welled up within him. His body had been worsening by the day lately, and the sensation of his lifespan nearing its end had become increasingly intense. He knew full well that the days he had left in this world were likely numbered.

He slowly raised his eyes, his gaze falling toward the Outer Court once more as he silently made up his mind. Even if Yu Chen was unwilling to remain at Shrek in the future and refused to join any faction within the academy, he still had to lay the groundwork early and forge a deep bond between Shrek and the boy.

They absolutely could not let an unparalleled prodigy like this slip away without forming a connection. When the continent fell into turmoil in the future, this friendship might become Shrek's protective talisman.

At that moment, Yu Chen, curled up in his dormitory, had no idea that those old fossils from Sea God Pavilion had just held a meeting centered around him.

Yu Chen muttered under his breath, his eyes burning. "I need to hurry and push for level fifty."

The premonition in his heart had grown clearer and clearer. The words he had heard in his dream before were likely not an illusion, but a genuine opportunity.

He immediately got to work. Raising a hand, he took out the storage soul tool at his waist. With a flicker of light at his fingertips, he removed a pile of prepared rare medicinal herbs and arranged them neatly beside him before tossing them all into the alchemy cauldron.

Yu Chen sat quietly beside the cauldron and waited patiently, focusing on the warm medicinal power circulating within. Alchemy cultivation depended on heat control. Once the temperature was right, he could begin tempering himself.

He reached out to test the rim of the cauldron, sensing the gentle medicinal power rising within. A sharp glint flashed through Yu Chen's eyes. "Almost ready."

The cauldron before him was quite large, far roomier than the standard alchemy furnaces at the academy. It could easily hold a huge quantity of herbs at once.

Without the slightest hesitation, Yu Chen leaped up and jumped straight into the medicinal cauldron! The scalding, concentrated medicinal liquid instantly submerged his entire body, enveloping every limb and bone.

In an instant, faint golden light surged from beneath his skin. Fine, dense, hard dragon scales emerged layer by layer along his limbs and spine, firmly covering his entire body.

Yu Chen stood quietly in the cauldron full of potent medicinal liquid, allowing the warm medicinal power to continuously scour his body. The golden dragon scales on his skin glimmered faintly, expanding and contracting as though breathing while absorbing the scattered essence of the medicine.

"The grade of these herbs is still a little lacking."

Relying on them to purify the Golden Dragon bloodline was simply unrealistic. At most, they offered some psychological comfort. Still, something was better than nothing. The medicinal power in this cauldron was rich, seeping through the gaps between the dragon scales and into every meridian in his body. It was perfect for tempering the foundation of his soul power and forcefully charging toward level fifty.

At that moment, the spiritual energy scattered throughout heaven and earth seemed to find an outlet and surged madly toward the medicinal cauldron.

The speed at which Yu Chen absorbed the energy of heaven and earth increased severalfold! The golden dragon scales trembled without pause, swallowing streams of pure energy into his body as the dormant soul power within him instantly began to boil.

The temperature of the medicinal liquid was perfect, and the Golden Dragon bloodline within his body was fully activated. His blood and qi boiled hotly throughout his body, as though his entire bloodline were being cooked within his flesh. A domineering and powerful force spread out from his dantian, leaving him so comfortable he almost wanted to groan.

In that intensely pleasurable state, Yu Chen soaked in the medicinal liquid for an entire night.

As the medicinal power scoured his body throughout the night and the energy of heaven and earth flowed into him, the dragon scales around him continued to gleam with golden light while his soul power steadily climbed as if riding a rocket.

Boom—!

A vast surge of soul power shattered through its restraints. Golden light flashed in Yu Chen's eyes as he shouted inwardly, Level forty-nine, achieved!

The dragon scales across his body erupted with blinding golden radiance. The remaining medicinal power in the liquid was instantly drained dry, and his meridians expanded several times over. He was only one final step away from level fifty!

It was not just his soul power that had broken through. After being tempered by the medicinal liquid for an entire night, his physical strength had risen dramatically as well.

The Golden Dragon bloodline was already unmatched in terms of physical prowess. After a night of soaking and tempering in medicinal power, his muscles, bones, skin, and flesh had all risen to another level. In his current state, ordinary attacks from Soul Ancestors would likely not even leave a mark on him.

Although this cauldron of medicinal liquid could not make the Golden Dragon bloodline undergo a transformation, the nightlong scouring of medicinal power had completely activated the dormant vitality within it.

Golden light flowed across the dragon scales covering his body, while the power of the dragon race hidden deep within his flesh gradually awakened. Once he found a suitable soul ring in the future, it would undergo a complete transformation.

The next morning, sunlight streamed into the room through the window. Yu Chen slowly opened his eyes, and the golden dragon scales flowing across his body gradually sank back beneath his flesh.

The medicinal liquid in the cauldron had already completely dried up, leaving behind only a pile of spent herbal residue at the bottom.

After a night of medicinal tempering and nonstop absorption of the energy of heaven and earth, his soul power had broken through its restraints and firmly entered the threshold of a level fifty Soul King!

With the medicinal liquid tempering his body all night and the foundation of his top-tier Golden Dragon bloodline, his body had become absurdly powerful. Enduring a hundred-thousand-year soul ring? That would be no problem at all. There would not be even the slightest backlash from his body tearing apart.

Yu Chen stretched, and a series of crackling pops rang out from his bones. His eyes were filled with exhilaration.

"Damn, this state is incredible!" Yu Chen shook his hand, feeling the surging power within him. "With the brute strength I have now, one punch would send even a wild bull flying."

Yu Chen casually packed his belongings. The moment he stepped out of the dormitory, he ran straight into Wang Dong.

The moment Wang Dong saw him carrying a bag, she immediately asked, "You look like you're about to run away. Where are you planning to go?"

Yu Chen answered casually, "Nothing much. I'm going to ask the academy for leave and head out to hunt a soul ring."

Wang Dong's eyes instantly widened, her voice full of shock. "Hunt a soul ring? Don't tell me you've already reached level fifty?!"

-------------------------------Please vote with recommendation tickets and monthly tickets.

What do you all think about the future development? Since the protagonist has taken leave, there's no reason for him to come back.

Just share your thoughts on which faction he should join.

1. Sun Moon Empire.

2. Body Sect.