Three Years to Break Through to Soul Elder

Di Tian asked in a low voice, "My lord, are you certain that person has already fallen?"

"Certain."

Gu Yuena did not hesitate in the slightest.

"If I had not confirmed that fact, I would not have risked worsening my injuries by taking human form ahead of time."

The Divine Realm had already vanished, and the Golden Dragon King's Divine Core had fallen onto Douluo Continent. For the soul beast race, this was a once-in-a-thousand-years opportunity.

As long as she found the Golden Dragon King's Divine Core and devoured it, she could complete her bloodline, recover from her injuries, and perhaps even touch the Dragon God's realm once more.

When that time came, it would also be time to settle the old debts between humans and soul beasts.

Di Tian thought of the Golden Dragon Spear again.

"My lord, if it was not those two deities from the lower realm, then what happened to the Golden Dragon Spear?"

"It is a divine artifact."

Gu Yuena raised her eyes and looked at Di Tian.

"Although Second-Level Deities can evade your perception, if I force myself to act regardless of my injuries, they would not be my match."

"They would be even less capable of sneaking into the Star Dou Great Forest beneath my very eyes."

The Silver Dragon King's divine sense had long since reached the God King level. Even though the Douluo Plane restricted deities, if Gu Yuena were willing to pay the price, the power she could truly unleash would still be enough to crush ordinary First-Level Deities.

Let alone two Second-Level Deities.

"The Golden Dragon Spear was not stolen."

Gu Yuena's gaze fell upon the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, and her violet eyes softened slightly.

"It left on its own."

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion raised her head.

"It left on its own?"

"Divine artifacts possess spirits."

Gu Yuena spoke slowly.

"Someone obtained the Golden Dragon King's Divine Core and inherited his bloodline as well."

"The Golden Dragon Spear sensed its true master, so it willingly changed owners."

The lakeside fell silent. Di Tian's expression turned grave, Bi Ji lightly covered her mouth, her eyes brimming with undisguised shock, while Zi Ji's smile faded as well.

"My lord, are you saying that someone has already fused with the Divine Core?"

"That is right."

Gu Yuena nodded. Her gaze passed through layer after layer of forest toward the direction of the Sun Moon Empire.

"That person is there."

Di Tian clenched his fists.

"Then we should immediately go to the Sun Moon Empire and find that person."

"No rush."

Gu Yuena shook her head.

"The Divine Core has already acknowledged a master. Recklessly approaching would only alert the enemy."

"Besides, my injuries are too severe right now. I cannot confront that person head-on immediately."

"Find him first."

A complicated glimmer flashed through the depths of Gu Yuena's violet eyes.

"Confirm the Divine Core's condition, then decide what to do next."

What she did not say was that anyone capable of earning the Golden Dragon King's Divine Core's recognition could not be ordinary. Moreover, even the Golden Dragon Spear had willingly changed masters.

That meant the purity of the Golden Dragon King's Bloodline within that person far surpassed even the Imperial Auspicious Beast's, perhaps to the point of being no different from the true Golden Dragon King.

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion lay in Zi Ji's arms and asked carefully,

"My lord, what about my Golden Dragon Spear?"

Seeing her aggrieved expression, Gu Yuena's face softened somewhat.

"Do not worry."

"Since the divine artifact has chosen a new master, it will not easily return."

"But it was once yours."

Gu Yuena reached out and gently tapped the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's third eye. A strand of silver divine power merged into it.

"I will help you find that person."

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion blinked all three eyes.

"What if he refuses to give it back?"

Gu Yuena fell silent for a moment.

"Then we will take it back."

Di Tian, Zi Ji, and Bi Ji all raised their heads at once.

Gu Yuena gazed toward the Sun Moon Empire. Her silver hair drifted gently in the breeze. Her face was youthful and her figure petite, yet a chill belonging to the ruler of the dragon race had already surfaced in those violet eyes.

"Find him first."

"And the Golden Dragon King's Divine Core."

Three years passed in the blink of an eye.

In the year 10,010 of the Douluo Calendar, nine years had passed since Xu Tianming had transmigrated to Douluo Continent.

Inside a secret chamber of Mo Mang Palace, the golden radiance gradually faded. Xu Tianming sat cross-legged at the center of the chamber, the golden dragon phantom behind him slowly vanishing as the Soul Power raging through his body settled down.

He exhaled slowly and opened his eyes. It was as though tiny suns burned within his red vertical pupils. Three golden Blood Essence Soul Rings rose and fell around his body, radiating a heavy, tyrannical dragon's might.

"Level thirty."

Feeling the power within his body, now several times stronger than before, Xu Tianming could not stop the corners of his mouth from lifting.

Just moments ago, he had successfully reached level thirty. With the Golden Dragon King's Divine Core's power, he had also conveniently obtained his third Blood Essence Soul Ring. Next came the third Soul Ring for his Sun Martial Soul.

With a thought from Xu Tianming, the dragon scales and horns on his body swiftly receded, and his red vertical pupils returned to normal.

A golden sun rose in his palm. Two Soul Rings emerged beneath his feet, one golden-red and the other purple.

Over three years, his Soul Power had risen by seventeen levels.

Before level thirty, the Ultimate Martial Soul's drawback of slow cultivation had not yet become apparent. Combined with the Sun Moon Meditation Method, the Golden Dragon King's Divine Core, and a vast amount of resources, Xu Tianming's cultivation speed had not been slow.

Of course, he had not obtained his second Soul Ring through a wish. The first wish had produced a Medium Rift Realm, and Xu Tianming still remembered it vividly.

No one knew what sort of trouble the next wish might cause.

So this time, he did not continue courting death. Instead, he obediently entered the Imperial Secret Realm and killed a soul beast around five thousand years old.

It had been a Sun Bird with a trace of Golden Crow bloodline. It possessed both fire and light attributes, making it quite compatible with Xu Tianming's Sun Martial Soul.

The second soul skill he obtained was called Sun's Blessing. During the day, it could triple all his attributes, while at night, it could still double them. The skill looked rather simple, but its effect was overwhelmingly tyrannical.

When word spread that Xu Tianming had absorbed a five-thousand-year second Soul Ring, the entire royal family erupted.

Kong Deming even came personally to examine his body. In the end, the conclusion Kong Deming reached stunned everyone: Xu Tianming's physical strength had already left soul masters of the same level far behind.

Once he broke through to Soul Elder, his physical strength would be no weaker than that of a Soul King. He would be fully qualified to attempt absorbing a ten-thousand-year Soul Ring, provided his spiritual power could keep up and reach the Soul King level as well.

The backlash from a ten-thousand-year soul beast's lingering soul after its death was the true reason ordinary soul masters could not withstand ten-thousand-year Soul Rings.

Xu Tianming had long been prepared for this. Although he did not specialize in spiritual power, he possessed the soul of someone who had lived two lives, so his spiritual power had always been strong. A Stellaron had also merged into his body.

A Stellaron was inherently a product of the Path of Harmony, and Harmony, coincidentally, was one of the Paths that specialized in the spiritual realm.