Heaven Dou Branch

"Would the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect really do something as cruel as murder someone and cut off their lineage?"

Dugu Yan found it hard to believe. "I once met Ning Fengzhi, the Sect Master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, when I accompanied my grandfather. He was warm and cordial to everyone. He didn't seem like that kind of person!"

"That's because no one had threatened his fundamental interests!"

Xiao Yu said gravely, "As the Sect Master of one of the Upper Three Sects, if he lacked scheming and means, how could he command two formidable Titled Douluo like Sword and Bone with his level seventy-nine Soul Power, which could never advance further? The Clear Sky Sect has been in seclusion for years, while the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect is now expanding rapidly, with its industries spread across nearly every corner of the Douluo Continent. It is already showing signs of becoming the number one sect in the world. As the helmsman of such a sect, do you really think he is some humble and courteous gentleman?"

Seeing that Dugu Yan was still doubtful, Xiao Yu did not explain further. He waved a hand and said, "Believe it or not, but for the sake of your friendship with Ling Ling, and because I helped resolve the flaw in your family's martial soul, I hope you won't reveal the changes in Ling Ling's martial soul to anyone!"

"Fine. I swear upon my martial soul that I will not reveal a single word about Ling Ling."

Dugu Yan immediately gave her assurance. From the looks of it, Ye Lingling shared Xiao Yu's thoughts anyway. Their sisterly bond ran deep, so she would respect Ye Lingling's decision.

Xiao Yu lowered his head and rubbed Ye Lingling's delicate little head again. "Ling Ling, I still need to obtain my fourth spirit ring. Stay here and wait for me to return. The spiritual energy here is abundant, so cultivating here is far better than cultivating outside."

"Mm."

Ye Lingling nodded, then reminded Xiao Yu, "Be careful."

"Don't worry!"

Xiao Yu laughed heartily and left the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well with Milo and Aiolia, heading deeper into Sunset Forest in search of a suitable spirit beast.

This time, Xiao Yu's luck was not bad. Less than two hours into their journey, they encountered a suitable spirit beast: a Tyrant Dragon with roughly twelve thousand years of cultivation.

Xiao Yu and the others' good fortune was the Tyrant Dragon's misfortune. This ten-thousand-year spirit beast had once roamed freely through Sunset Forest, but how could it have imagined that two Titled Douluo-level powerhouses would come knocking at its doorstep?

The poor Tyrant Dragon suffered a brutal beating from the two Titled Douluo. While it was on the verge of death, Xiao Yu pierced its brain with a single sword strike, bringing its unfortunate fate to an end.

A black ring of light slowly emerged. Xiao Yu did not hesitate. He sat down cross-legged and, guided by his Soul Power, began absorbing the Ten Thousand Year Spirit Ring.

The impact brought by a Ten Thousand Year Spirit Ring was indeed terrifying. Although Xiao Yu had prepared in advance, and both his physical strength and spiritual power far surpassed those of ordinary soul masters, he still felt unbearable pain.

Fortunately, with the support of pills refined from several immortal herbs, Xiao Yu was still able to remain conscious.

The impact of the Ten Thousand Year Spirit Ring lasted nearly two hours before gradually stabilizing. Xiao Yu knew that he had passed the most difficult stage. What remained was the process of absorbing the spirit ring's energy to increase his Soul Power, strengthen his body, and form a spirit skill. For Xiao Yu, this was simply a natural progression, and he finished the absorption in less than half an hour.

After absorbing this Ten Thousand Year Spirit Ring, coupled with the accumulation from his recent Soul Power cultivation at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, Xiao Yu crossed two major thresholds and directly broke through to level forty-three.

His fourth spirit ring granted Xiao Yu a powerful offensive spirit skill: Underworld Sword Thousand Decisive Strikes. Using the Underworld Sword as its core, it unleashed countless beams of sword light within a ten-meter radius, and the damage dealt to enemies could stack.

After absorbing the spirit ring, Xiao Yu returned to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. Its spiritual energy was abundant, and since Dugu Bo had given such a treasured place to him, he naturally had to make full use of it. Even after becoming a god, Tang God King still treated it as the Tang family's private territory. Naturally, Xiao Yu could not afford to waste it either.

Xiao Yu planned to use the area surrounding the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well as a foundation, with the Poison Array Dugu Bo had set up around the perimeter as its boundary. He would establish a Heaven Dou City branch of the Nine Stars Hall, modeled after the blacksmith association in Gengxin City. The initial plan was for Yang Wudi to oversee it, while one or two Titled Douluo would be transferred there later.

The continent was still relatively peaceful for now, but Xiao Yu knew that in a little over ten years, Spirit Hall would launch its campaign to unify the continent. When that time came, the situation across the entire continent would become unpredictable and perilous.

Among the four great kingdoms of the Heaven Dou Empire, Silvia Kingdom ranked at the bottom. Its location was also too remote. It was suitable for quietly building strength in the early stages, but not for stepping onto the stage of conquest later on.

What he was doing now was driving a wedge into Heaven Dou City. Once Spirit Hall launched the Soul Hunting Operation, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect suffered severe losses, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan was exterminated, and Heaven Dou City became embroiled in the vortex of conflict among the major powers, he would openly step in. With his advantage of foresight and the foundation he had accumulated, he would seize the opportunity to take control of the Heaven Dou Empire. He had no intention of letting the empire's million-strong army fall into Tang San's hands.

For the following period, Xiao Yu remained at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. While cultivating, he also arranged for workers to enter the valley outside the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well and construct the Nine Stars Hall's branch.

As for why he did not build it directly within the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, although the spiritual energy inside was abundant and cultivation was several times faster than outside, not every soul master could withstand its immense energy fluctuations.

At present, only Xiao Yu, who had taken pills made from Infernal Delicate Apricot and Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass, could remain inside the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well cultivating around the clock. After staying for a full day, Zilong and the others had to leave the valley to rest and recover before they could continue cultivating.

As for Ye Lingling and Dugu Yan, although they had also taken the pills, they were girls after all, and their physical strength was inherently weaker by comparison. Dugu Yan, a Battle Soul Master, could barely cultivate inside for around half a day, while Ye Lingling, an auxiliary-type soul master, could no longer endure after only a few hours. Moreover, both were students of Heaven Dou Royal Academy, so they only came over occasionally on rest days.

In addition, the Soul Tool business between Nine Hearted Begonia and the Nine Stars Hall was finalized. After Ye Renxin paid the deposit, Xiao Yu arranged for personnel to deliver the Soul Tools they had ordered from the Nine Stars Hall headquarters. Eden and Yi Hui also broke through to level forty during this period, so they accompanied the transport convoy.

After arriving at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, with the support of pills made from immortal herbs and their own formidable strength, the two achieved the same feat as Xiao Yu: obtaining Ten Thousand Year fourth spirit rings.

Not long after the two entered the Soul Ancestor realm, Zilong, unwilling to fall behind, also broke through to level forty. Relying on his own strength, he absorbed a spirit ring that had just reached ten thousand years, becoming the fourth Soul Ancestor on the team.