Bringing Them All Back to the Empire Would Be Even Better!

A beam of golden light descended silently and without warning over the Body Sect.

Minghui, who was exceptionally sensitive to Life Aura, instinctively looked up just in time to glimpse the golden light falling straight toward his teacher, Du Busi.

He was instantly startled, countless thoughts racing through his mind. He envied his teacher, rejoiced that his teacher had received the Goddess of Life's favor, and instinctively thought of a possibility.

This should be the Goddess of Life's response, grateful that the Body Sect had done so many good deeds over the past few years and greatly increased her faith.

The next moment, a gentle female voice rang out in his mind.

"Child, your idea is very good, and it is indeed feasible. However, to accomplish it, you must explore and put it into practice yourself. Deities cannot interfere with the lower realm. I'm sorry, but I cannot give you any help, nor can I."

"Because this is a path that belongs to you alone."

Holy hell! The Goddess of Life can really hear my prayers? Minghui was inwardly shocked.

He had only wanted to give it a try!

But what did the Goddess of Life mean by that? He could fully understand the first part, that Deities could not interfere with the lower realm and therefore could not offer any help.

But the latter part, given what she had said before, was clearly somewhat redundant. Could it be a hint?

After the Second Awakening of his Body Martial Soul, his mind had become much sharper. Without needing to think further, he considered that possibility.

A path that belongs to me alone... Could she be hinting that I can use this path to become a god?

"Thank you for your guidance, Goddess?" Whether that was the case or not, he would respond first and test the waters.

However, the Goddess gave no response at all and directly fell silent.

On the other side, though, a voice suddenly rang out in Du Busi's mind as he bathed in the Light of Life.

Du Busi's spirits immediately lifted, and his expression became even more devout and resolute.

No one around him spoke. Everyone remained kneeling where they were, even though they had also noticed the golden light descending from the sky.

Some wore devout expressions and responded with sincere prayers. Others calmed their minds and focused their spirits, accelerating the circulation of Soul Power within their bodies as they strove to absorb the vast Life Force shining upon them.

For a moment, the plaza was utterly silent.

However, it did not last long. The golden light came quickly and went quickly, lasting only a single breath—roughly four seconds—before dispersing.

It was far more fleeting than when it had descended upon Minghui.

But the effect it brought...

Boom! A vast aura suddenly erupted without warning, spreading outward with Du Busi at its center. A fierce wind immediately swept across the plaza, making everyone's robes billow.

Did Teacher—did the Sect Leader break through? The signs were far too obvious, and everyone could not help but consider the possibility.

When Minghui's sickly body had recovered, the change in his complexion had also been obvious, but it was nowhere near as shocking as the transformation Du Busi now displayed.

The Sect Leader was a peerless powerhouse who had been stuck at Rank 98 for many years, yet he had broken through after bathing in a single ray of golden light. The contrast was unmistakable and profoundly stirring!

"Heaven bless the Body Sect!" The Grand Elder sighed from the bottom of his heart, his expression agitated.

The Sect giving birth to a Rank 99 Limit Douluo undoubtedly signified that its strength had advanced another step. Its standing in the Soul Master World would likewise rise with the tide, reaching an even greater level. From now on, no one would dare look down on them, much less call them an unorthodox sect.

The pent-up resentment that had been bottled up in his heart for years was finally completely dispelled. Although the Sect had made a great show of strength outside and had been thriving, without a Limit Douluo to oversee it, there had always been a certain lack of confidence.

But now, it was secure. Finally, truly secure!

"Thank you, Goddess of Life, for your blessing!"

An elderly man behind them cried out devoutly, his voice vigorous. Clearly, his body had undergone a beneficial change after being illuminated by the Light of Life.

"Thank you." Many people present followed suit and kowtowed. Most of them were family members living at the foot of the mountain.

They had no ability to help the younger generation with anything, so they could only pray to the Deity and offer their children their most heartfelt blessings.

Du Busi also opened his eyes at that moment. He rose to his feet, then turned to face the crowd.

Only then did everyone clearly see his transformation. He stood tall and straight, his body robust, his features sharply defined, and the wrinkles at the corners of his brows completely gone. His entire person appeared much younger.

Compared to before, it was as though he had directly reverted from a middle-aged man in his forties to a man in his prime in his early thirties.

"Everyone, rise." Even his voice had become more powerful.

The crowd rose one after another and offered their congratulations.

"Congratulations, Sect Leader!"

"It is all thanks to the Goddess of Life's blessing." Du Busi's tone was deeply emotional. After directly bathing in the Light of Life, his bodily functions had completely returned to their peak, even surpassing them. This had further awakened the potential of his Body Martial Soul, raising its quality to another level. As the quality of his Martial Soul rose, the bottleneck restraining his cultivation naturally broke through.

The reason he had been unable to break through before was that his Martial Soul's potential was insufficient. Coupled with his advanced age and his declining physical condition, he had always remained just one step short.

In a situation like this, without a special opportunity, the longer one delayed, the harder it would most likely become to break through.

He had originally fallen into despair.

Until the last time he had been illuminated by the Light of Life. His bodily functions had recovered considerably then, rekindling his hope.

And today, after directly bathing in the Light of Life, his bottleneck had shattered on the spot. In one word: incredible!

But he also understood that all of this was thanks to his disciple, as well as the Goddess of Life, whose attention had descended because of his disciple.

"Everyone!" He lightly raised his Double Arms and spoke loudly. "When the Goddess bestowed her blessing upon this Old Man just now, she also delivered a divine oracle, expressing gratitude for the good deeds we have performed over the past few years. The reason we were fortunate enough to receive this blessing is also because of that."

"The Goddess did not say anything further, but we must never forget her grace."

"From this day forth, we must continue our efforts with even greater diligence!"

"Yes, Sect Leader!" The disciples regarded the Goddess of Life's acknowledgment as an honor and shouted passionately.

Du Busi continued speaking, offering further encouragement before laying out the Sect's upcoming arrangements.

He also mentioned that his disciple would be going to Shrek Academy after the new year for training and explained why.

He stated that from now on, any disciples training outside who heard any force discussing Minghui were to pay close attention and report back promptly, preventing certain forces from secretly attempting to harm him.

The disciples all knew that it was only after Junior Disciple Minghui had come to the Sect that they had received the attention of the Twin Gods, so they naturally roared their agreement.

"Sect Leader, rest assured! Whoever wishes to harm Junior Disciple Minghui is an enemy of our Body Sect. No matter how far away they are, we will punish them!"

"That's right! Even if they run to the ends of the earth, we'll drag them out and beat them until their own mother can't recognize them!"

"..."

Minghui was deeply moved and thanked them repeatedly.

Du Busi nodded slightly and announced the end of the gathering.

Now that the quality of his Martial Soul had improved, he felt that he could further increase the age of his Soul Rings. After stabilizing his cultivation a little, he intended to head to the Hundred Beast Cave to absorb Beast Spirits, striving to turn his Soul Ring configuration into six black and three red.

Mu En, Long Xiaoyao, Ye Xishui—every last one of them would be defeated by him in the future!

Bathing in the Light of Life had brought him benefits beyond merely improving the quality of his Martial Soul and allowing him to further raise his Soul Ring age. He felt that its greatest benefit was likely the formidable regenerative ability it had granted his body.

When his disciple had bathed in the Light of Life before, this ability had mainly been added to the Light Attribute of the Radiant Plume Divine Bow.

But his Martial Soul was himself, so the blessing had directly enhanced his fleshly body.

He could now clearly sense the abundant vitality within him. Nonfatal injuries could easily heal on their own.

And that meant he could abandon part of his defense and attack without restraint!

"Yes, Sect Leader."

Loud responses rang across the plaza as everyone gradually dispersed, each returning home to find their families.

"Teacher, you've just broken through, so you should go stabilize your cultivation first. Don't worry about me!" Minghui said with a smile.

Given his Martial Soul abilities and his affinity with the life attribute, he could fully sense the terrifying vitality concealed within his teacher's body.

With Rank 99 cultivation and a physical body surpassing even his prime, bolstered by the Golden Third Awakening, there was practically no opponent to be found on this continent apart from gods. So when he went to Shrek Academy in the future, well, it would be fine to be a little more arrogant.

It couldn't be helped—his teacher was awesome!

Du Busi nodded slightly. "Then I shall go stabilize my cultivation properly first. I'll come out tomorrow and personally see you off."

With that, he turned and left under Minghui's gaze.

Only after he had disappeared from view did Minghui turn around and say with a grin, "Senior Brother Aotian, Senior Sister Vina, shall we get together tonight?"

"Sure. We can hold a farewell banquet for you while we're at it." Vina smiled. "I'll cook myself!"

"That sounds wonderful." Minghui smiled, then turned to Long Aotian.

"Senior Brother, to be honest, I'm a little envious of you."

The honest-looking Long Aotian instinctively scratched his head. Princess Vina's pretty face reddened, and then she teased, "Junior Disciple, I know there's a great beauty named Ma Xiaotao in Shrek Academy's Inner Court. She's a disciple of Yan Shaozhe, the dean of the Martial Soul Department."

"Her Martial Soul is the Evil Fire Phoenix, while yours possesses ultimate Ice Attribute. You happen to be able to help her suppress her evil fire."

"Hehe, given your qualities, Junior Disciple, why not seize this chance and win her over in one fell swoop?"

Compared to having her remain at Shrek Academy, Vina felt that luring such a prodigy away would be more beneficial to the Heaven Dou Empire. After all, the Body Sect was still the Heaven Dou Empire's guardian sect.

If they could bring Zhang Lexuan, whom she had met before, along with the group of Inner Court students following her, back to the Empire as well...

That would be even better.

"Senior Sister, now that you mention her, I'm feeling a little nervous. I heard that girl has quite the fiery temper!" Minghui said with some apprehension.

"More importantly, she's seven years older than me, and her cultivation is much higher too. I'm a little worried she'll bully me when I get there."

"Junior Disciple, I believe in your strength." Princess Vina lifted her chin slightly. "And if you truly don't like her, that great beauty named Zhang Lexuan is well-read and reasonable, polite and dignified, with a gentle personality too. I think she's also quite good. Even the Sect Leader approved of her back then."

Senior Sister, I never expected you to be this kind of person. Minghui was rather surprised.

"Senior Sister, how did I never realize before that you had the talent to be a matchmaker?"

"..."