Searching for the Dragon Gate

Mu Xi's eyes widened as she stared fixedly at her father, Mu Chen, and cried out in disbelief.

"What?! You want the two of them to take my dad as their master?!"

Mu Chen raised a hand to soothe his agitated daughter, signaling for her to calm down.

Mang Tian shrugged at the side, his tone frank.

"My forging has been stuck at Spirit Forging for many years. I have long since reached the limits of what I can teach.

Chen An and Wuling are both forging talents seen once in ten thousand years. Their gifts far surpass those of ordinary people. If they stay with me, I will only delay their future and limit how far they can go.

That is why I want them to enter your father's tutelage and receive guidance at a higher level."

Mu Xi still looked utterly resistant, her brows tightly furrowed.

"But the forging lineage has always been passed down from one master to one disciple! Changing masters midway is no different from betraying one's master. Everyone would despise them for it!"

Mu Chen smiled faintly at her words.

"Rules are dead, but people are alive. No teacher would ever stop their disciple from reaching a higher platform.

As long as Mang Tian agrees, and Chen An and Wuling are willing, what is wrong with having two masters?"

Even so, when they left the Forging Association, Mu Xi was still in low spirits.

She walked alone ahead of them, biting her finger as she muttered under her breath.

"Damn it, was I just cast aside like this...? I'm not willing to accept it..."

After walking some distance, she suddenly stopped and turned around, staring directly at the brother and sister behind her.

Most of the aggression had faded from her face, but her eyes still carried a stubborn refusal to lose.

"Hey, you two brats. I also heard that your first-year class has formed some Class Zero.

Since you have obtained such a rare opportunity, make sure you seize it and work yourselves to the bone!"

"Yes, Senior."

Chen An and Tang Wuling answered in unison.

Mu Xi let out a soft sigh. As a senior, she offered them a word of encouragement and watched the two walk away.

Only after their backs had disappeared did she lower her head and wonder whether she should devote more time to forging practice herself.

A day passed in the blink of an eye.

Wu Changkong suddenly broke from his usual routine.

"Today, we will not be having theory class. We are going to the Spirit Ascension Platform. The academy has secured the qualification for you to enter the Spirit Ascension Platform once a week."

As he led everyone outside, he slowly explained the origins of the Spirit Ascension Platform.

Simply put, the Spirit Ascension Platform was a virtual space created by the Spirit Pagoda specifically for Soul Masters to train in.

There, they could hone their combat skills, injure and absorb the spiritual energy emitted by Soul Beasts within the space, and use it to increase the age of their Soul Rings.

The Spirit Pagoda divided it into different tiers. With their current strength, they could only enter the Junior Spirit Ascension Platform.

Walking amid the group, Chen An quietly sank into thought, countless thoughts churning in his heart.

He knew that the Spirit Pagoda had originally been established through Huo Yuhao's efforts, with the goal of allowing humans and Soul Beasts to coexist and reducing the slaughter between them.

But after Huo Yuhao ascended and departed, the entire Spirit Pagoda fell under the control of the Qian Gu Family.

Not only did it fail to ease the conflict between humans and Soul Beasts, but the Spirit Pagoda even sacrificed many Soul Beasts in order to research Soul Spirits, accelerating the Soul Beast race's march toward extinction.

Later, in order to suppress Shrek Academy, it even colluded with those lunatics from the Holy Spirit Cult and invited wolves into the house.

Chen An had previously heard at Shrek that the Evil Soul Masters hidden within Shrek had been growing increasingly active lately.

It seemed they had laid their plans years before the attack took place.

The Tang Sect had its own problems as well. It proclaimed itself a righteous sect while secretly selling weapons to the Federation Empire.

Shrek Academy was immensely powerful, but also far too arrogant.

It stood beyond the laws of the Empire and Federation. Conflict upon conflict piled up, eventually leading to Shrek's tragic destruction.

Looking across the major powers of the continent today, every one of them had its own issues. None was truly worthy of complete trust.

Chen An thought that Gu Yue's target was the Spirit Pagoda, while Na'er was at Shrek.

If he were a competent subordinate, he would definitely choose to infiltrate the Tang Sect as a spy.

But he was fundamentally a transmigrator. He did not crave their resources, nor was he some obsessed fan who had grown up listening to the exploits of some Douluo.

Whether he joined a faction or not made no difference. The only thing he cared about was how much contact he would still have with Gu Yue and the others in the future.

If joining one of those factions benefited him, then joining would be fine, but only if it involved people or events that could affect the Roulette.

Chen An was not particularly willing to join if there was no benefit to be gained.

Or perhaps Gu Yue would have him remain on the Star Luo Continent to study Soul Devices?

Hard to say.

As long as he made the most of these next few years to increase his strength and relied on the Roulette to draw stronger abilities, he would not become a weakling at the mercy of others amid the chaos to come.

The Abyss Plane would invade in the future, plunging the entire continent into misery. That would be the true calamity.

He was only nine years old, yet his soul power had already reached Rank 30. He still had plenty of time to grow.

As they continued onward, Chen An recalled the past. Every section of the Roulette that had been reorganized could be traced to a known source.

Only the Carp Bloodline within him, marked as a Dragonkind Bloodline and accompanied by Bloodline Evolution, originated from the ancient legend of a carp leaping over the Dragon Gate.

To complete the evolution, he had to pass the trial of leaping over the Dragon Gate.

But where exactly was the Dragon Gate? Would a corresponding phenomenon emerge out of nowhere somewhere on Douluo Continent?

Or would it reveal itself once his bloodline reached its critical point?

Chen An had no way of knowing, but this concerned the foundation of his bloodline. He would keep a close eye on every clue related to the Dragon Gate.

Before long, everyone arrived at Eastsea City's Spirit Pagoda.

It was one of the Spirit Pagoda's eighteen major branch towers, known to the world as the Eighteen Heavenly Pillars. The enormous tower stood a full four hundred meters tall.

Its octagonal base was vast and imposing, while the tower narrowed inward as it rose. Its pointed peak pierced the clouds, an awe-inspiring sight even from afar, far beyond what the tiny branch in Aolai City could compare to.

Tang Wuling and Xie Xie gazed at the majestic tower and could not help exclaiming in amazement.

Gu Yue's expression remained calm, revealing little emotion. Chen An, meanwhile, stood where he was, his thoughts drifting far away.

Director Long Hengxu was already waiting there. He led the group into the tower and took them down in a dedicated soul-powered elevator toward the underground Spirit Ascension Platform area.

Along the way, Long Hengxu repeatedly emphasized the precautions for the Spirit Ascension Platform.

The world inside the Spirit Ascension Platform was not real. If they suffered severe injuries within it, their spirits would suffer backlash as well.

Chen An felt that it was like an extremely realistic immersive survival game.

Filled with curiosity and faint anticipation, everyone lay down in their respective connection pods. The lids slowly closed, and they gradually shut their eyes.

Suction pads from various instruments emerged around them and swiftly adhered seamlessly to different parts of their bodies.

As though entering a subconscious space, Chen An briefly lost all sensation of his body.

When he opened his eyes again, the scene had changed to an unfamiliar place.

The surroundings were filled with forests and weeds.

"Star Dou Great Forest..."

Chen An muttered as he looked at the scene so similar to his memories. After observing the environment, he began to move.