Elder Han's summons, the Gu Family's Demon Dragon Douluo, and Leng Yaozhu and Na'er's trip to the East Sea alone

Seemingly because of her beloved disciple's "needless worries."

Leng Yaozhu was very displeased.

And so, in the days that followed, Su Xun and Na'er's lessons became even more demanding.

Na'er complained incessantly, while Su Xun reaped the bitter fruit he had sown.

Still, their improvements in every area were plain to see.

Amid these days of pain and pleasure, time flew by. In the blink of an eye, half a year had passed.

That day, Su Xun finally mastered and fully integrated all the forging knowledge Jin Yue had taught him.

Apart from his initial Creation Spirit Forging, his success rate with ordinary single-metal Spirit Forging had gradually stabilized as well.

It was also that day that Han Tianyi took the rare initiative to summon Su Xun.

"Teacher, Elder Han wants to see me."

Su Xun took the initiative to let her know.

Leng Yaozhu shifted her gaze toward him, a glimmer passing through her phoenix eyes. Seemingly understanding something, she nodded gently.

"Go ahead."

Na'er was wearing hot pants and a cropped T-shirt, leaving her waist and long legs exposed.

She had been keeping a constant eye on Su Xun's movements, but upon hearing that he was going to the ninety-fifth floor, she immediately pretended she had heard nothing.

With a serious expression, she trained with undivided attention.

Su Xun caught sight of her out of the corner of his eye, chuckled inwardly, and turned to leave.

Na'er's exasperated voice rang out behind him:

"Su! Xun! You've changed! You used to always ask if I wanted to come along!"

"Then do you want to come along?"

"No way."

Na'er put on a haughty air, only to hear a bang as the door closed.

She immediately pursed her lips.

"Go on, then! Let Elder Han train you to death!"

Leng Yaozhu's delicate brows drew together as she said displeasedly:

"Focus. Half a year has passed, and you still haven't broken through to Soul Elder. Aren't you ashamed?"

Na'er stuck out her tongue, then immediately reined in her wandering thoughts and truly focused.

After absorbing his third Soul Spirit half a year ago, Su Xun's soul power had surged straight to rank thirty-four.

Now, another half year had passed, and his Soul Power Level had already reached thirty-five. He was even nearing rank thirty-six.

In the blink of an eye, she had gone from being in the lead to trailing him by a full six ranks of soul power.

Naturally, her heart was filled with urgency, but she also felt rather powerless. All she could do was curse Su Xun for absorbing a Soul Spirit at every stage. It was practically cheating!

The ninety-fifth floor.

Su Xun entered as usual. To his surprise, the entire ninety-fifth floor was, for once, not displaying its usual illusion of an island in the middle of a lake. Instead, it revealed its true appearance.

The tall, large-headed Han Tianyi stood in the middle of the room, dressed in a long robe with a somewhat old-fashioned style.

When Su Xun arrived, he first looked him over carefully, then nodded gently.

"Not bad."

"Come. I'll take you somewhere today."

As he spoke, he beckoned without waiting for a response, and Su Xun felt the world spin around him.

The next instant, Han Tianyi had already brought him outside the Spirit Pagoda. Then, silver light flashed in Han Tianyi's hand.

An enormous black head appeared before them.

"Huh..."

Su Xun blinked, utterly bewildered for a moment.

Then he realized that this was Han Tianyi's mecha, which was likewise an unconventional model.

Its black paintwork left no doubt that it was a Black-Grade Mecha.

Given his status and standing, upgrading it to a divine-grade mecha should not have been difficult.

But for Han Tianyi, the most important thing at present was breaking through to Limit Douluo.

Besides, he already possessed Four-Word Battle Armor. To him, a mecha was merely a means of transportation.

He would not waste his energy on it.

In fact, Leng Yaozhu and the other Limit Douluo-level powerhouses were much the same.

They devoted their energy to pursuing higher realms, rather than abandoning the root to chase the branches.

After all, without pouring enormous effort into a divine-grade mecha, it was very difficult to bring it to a high level.

"This is my mecha. Its name is Black Brain."

Han Tianyi brought him inside the mecha. With a slight stir of his thoughts, several thruster nozzles immediately emerged from the back of the Black Brain mecha, propelling it swiftly away from Shrek City.

Leng Yaozhu stood by a window on the hundredth floor, watching the departing Black Brain mecha, hidden concern in her eyes.

Just then, her Soul Communicator vibrated.

She took it out and checked it. It was a message from Pei Hai.

[Pei Hai]: Your Excellency, as you instructed, I have investigated Gu Yue's identity and background.

[Pei Hai]: She comes from a secluded family. Her mother is a Titled Douluo whose title is Demon Dragon.

Leng Yaozhu looked at the messages and fell into thought.

About three months earlier, Pei Hai had sent word that a girl named Gu Yue had appeared in the East Sea. Her martial soul was the unusual Elemental Master, allowing her to control multiple elemental powers. Her talent was astonishing.

At the time, she had not paid it much attention, merely instructing Pei Hai to continue observing her.

After all, in her eyes, no one's talent could surpass that of her beloved disciple, Su Xun.

Controlling multiple elemental powers was certainly extraordinary, but having multiple elements often also meant that one's control over each individual element might be more mediocre.

However, during the Primary Spirit Ascension Platform's recent unrest period, Gu Yue's performance had been astonishing. Only then had Leng Yaozhu begun taking her seriously again.

At the same time, Gu Yue's family had also approached Pei Hai, hoping to contact the Spirit Pagoda's senior leadership through him.

Their intentions were obvious.

Although their family had a Titled Douluo, the gulf between them and the truly top-tier families of the present day was immense.

Gu Yue possessed exceptional talent, but the resources needed for her to develop were beyond what her family could afford.

Thus, becoming the disciple of a top-tier powerhouse would be the best choice.

In fact, from Leng Yaozhu's perspective, few top-tier powerhouses could refuse the talent Gu Yue had displayed.

But clearly, Gu Yue had grand ambitions. She did not merely want to take just any top-tier powerhouse as her teacher.

As the East Sea Spirit Pagoda Master, Pei Hai naturally held extraordinary status and standing as well.

Contacting the Spirit Pagoda Master was not difficult.

As one of the strongest and wealthiest top-tier powers of the time, the Spirit Pagoda was indeed one of the best choices, and also the easiest to contact.

However, the Gu Family had clearly miscalculated one thing.

Pei Hai was her man, and any information he obtained would reach her ears immediately.

Leng Yaozhu considered for a moment, then replied: Arrange a meeting with them.

Pei Hai replied instantly: Understood.

Leng Yaozhu put away her communicator and looked at Na'er.

"Come on. We're going out."

Hearing that they were going out, Na'er's eyes immediately lit up. Then, remembering something, she hurriedly said:

"Wait a moment, Aunt Leng. I'll go get Su Xun."

As she spoke, she started to run outside.

Leng Yaozhu caught Na'er by the back of her collar and said with a smile:

"When did you become so thoughtful? You even remembered to invite Little Xun."

Na'er's eyes widened.

"Aunt Leng, you've always had a huge misunderstanding about me!"

Leng Yaozhu chuckled, then said:

"It'll just be you and me this time. Little Xun has something else to do."

Na'er gave an "Oh," inwardly cursing Su Xun for going off on his own.

Then she remembered that Su Xun was suffering at Elder Han's hands, and immediately felt a burst of secret delight.

At the same time, she asked:

"Aunt Leng, where are we going?"

"Eastsea City."

Eastsea City?

Na'er's heart skipped a beat, and she felt a little uneasy.

"A-Aunt Leng, why are we suddenly going to Eastsea City?"

Leng Yaozhu looked utterly surprised.

"Weren't you always clamoring to go to the seaside and enjoy freedom, sunshine, and good food?"

Na'er laughed awkwardly.

"Huh? W-was I? How come I don't remember?"