Welcome our new Patrons: Walden Tolbert and Edward Parsons
------------------------------------------------------
Upon returning to the Douluo Plane, Xu Yuan was summoned by the Golden Ancient Tree into its consciousness space.
The scene in the consciousness space depicted a cosmic starry sky—the structure of stars.
Deep down, Xu Yuan hoped that his soul core could evolve in the direction of a star.
However, it was obvious that such a feat couldn't be achieved in one step.
He could only break down the rhythm of a star as much as possible, referencing certain processes and principles to improve the efficiency of his soul core.
The most common element within a star was gaseous elements!
Xu Yuan's soul core wasn't gaseous but existed in a state where solid and liquid coexisted—strictly speaking, it was liquid, just compressed beyond the density of a typical solid state.
Under his current soul core structure, once the soul power at the very core solidified, it would explode, creating an environment of high energy.
In this high-energy state, the threshold for the solidification of liquid soul power increased, indirectly raising the upper limit of its density.
The greater the density in the same volume, the greater the mass.
The same applied to soul power. For a soul core of the same size, the greater its density, the larger the total amount of soul power it contained.
Xu Yuan's current soul core structure would only grow stronger over time, continuously compressing soul power. Moreover, as the soul core strengthened, its stability would also improve simultaneously.
"Hmm?"
Xu Yuan withdrew from his perception of the soul core.
He halted the mech mid-flight, suspending it in the air, and quickly completed the fusion of his battle armor inside the mech.
He spread his spiritual power outward, observing everything around him.
A faint premonition told him that danger was approaching.
Xu Yuan furrowed his brows.
At this moment, who could be targeting him?
Qiangu Dongfeng?
The first person he thought of was Qiangu Dongfeng, the Tower Master of the Spirit Pagoda, given their past enmity.
Based on his recent performance, the Spirit Pagoda should have already taken notice.
However, it was unlikely that Qiangu Dongfeng would act directly.
As Yun Ming's direct disciple, if anything were to happen to Xu Yuan, even the slightest suspicion cast on Qiangu Dongfeng would result in severe consequences for the entire Spirit Pagoda.
There was precedent for this.
Even the Federation had faced repercussions when a few members of the Shrek Seven Monsters fell due to internal conflicts. The then Elder of the Sea God Pavilion had confronted them, leading to a complete overhaul of the Federation's upper echelons.
And that was the Federation.
If a non-official force like the Spirit Pagoda were involved, Shrek would likely strike even harder.
"Evil soul masters?"
The Spirit Pagoda wouldn't dare. Other legitimate forces wouldn't either. That left only the evil soul masters—only the Holy Spirit Sect.
Xu Yuan became extremely vigilant.
He knew how terrifying evil soul masters could be.
Having studied the methods of two evil soul masters, he understood just how "broken" their powers were, making them even more fearsome.
The abilities of evil soul masters often involved laws and exploited loopholes in the soul master cultivation system, allowing them to rapidly increase their soul power and employ bizarre techniques.
"Giggle giggle, you're quite cautious, little one."
A melodious yet icy voice echoed.
Xu Yuan's heart sank.
Even after hearing the voice, he still couldn't pinpoint its source.
Clearly, this was an evil soul master beyond his ability to handle.
A Super Douluo?
In this era, the Holy Spirit Sect only had a few Super Douluos.
Would figures like the Demon Emperor, Ghost Emperor, or Halosa personally intervene?
If it were one of the Four Great Heavenly Kings, who could it be?
Xu Yuan's mind raced, quickly recalling the intelligence he had gathered, and soon zeroed in on the target.
Dark Phoenix Douluo, Leng Yulai!
The weakest among the Four Great Heavenly Kings, but still a Level 97 power-type soul master.
She was the younger sister of Leng Yao Zhu, the Vice Tower Master of the Spirit Pagoda, with the martial soul Dark Phoenix and the divine artifact Space-Time Divine Shuttle!
Among the Four Great Heavenly Kings, there were two women. The other, with the Dark Bell martial soul, wouldn't have such a cold tone, so Xu Yuan made an initial judgment.
The most crucial factor was the Space-Time Divine Shuttle.
Xu Yuan didn't believe that a mere Super Douluo could possess such terrifying stealth capabilities—her voice had already been heard, yet he still couldn't locate her.
Xu Yuan remained tense, his gaze fixed on the fluctuating space in front of him as a figure emerged.
A figure clad in black armor appeared.
Seeing the silhouette and sensing the faint fluctuations of soul power, Xu Yuan confirmed his suspicions.
"Dark Phoenix Douluo!"
"Hmm?"
Leng Yulai clearly hadn't expected to be recognized.
She had just appeared, without displaying any signature abilities. How had this guy figured it out?
After all, even if she attacked, modern soul masters might not recognize her techniques.
She had been active in an era long past. Unless someone was very familiar with her, they wouldn't identify her in battle right away.
Let alone now—she had barely appeared, and he had already named her title. This was something Leng Yulai had never anticipated.
Leng Yulai scanned her surroundings, gripping the Space-Time Divine Shuttle in her palm, and felt slightly reassured.
With the Space-Time Divine Shuttle, her perception should be intact. There were no other strong individuals nearby.
Even if her senses failed, she could still rely on the Space-Time Divine Shuttle to escape.
Turning her attention to Xu Yuan, curiosity got the better of her.
"You know me? How did you figure out my identity?"
Xu Yuan hesitated briefly before giving a "reasonable" answer.
"I've heard about your past interactions with my teacher and your relationship with the Sky Phoenix Douluo. I've met the Sky Phoenix Douluo before, and since I'm particularly sensitive to bloodline power, I sensed the presence of phoenix bloodline power from you, which closely resembles the fluctuations of the Sky Phoenix Douluo."
Leng Yulai sneered.
And you deduced my identity from that?
"No way around it. My brain works fast," Xu Yuan shrugged, as if stating the obvious.
Leng Yulai didn't believe a word of it.
Heard about my interactions with Yun Ming?
Who would tell you?
"My teacher once mentioned you to me," Xu Yuan said calmly.
That single sentence caught Leng Yulai's attention.
"What did he say?"
"He said that back then, you had feelings of admiration for him, and the Sky Phoenix Douluo did too."
"Nonsense! He would never say that to you!" Leng Yulai immediately cut him off, dismissing the claim.
"He's my teacher, and I'm his male disciple. Why wouldn't he tell me these things?" Xu Yuan countered.
Leng Yulai paused briefly, then stopped questioning.
"So why did he tell you this?"
"Because I'm investigating the situation of evil soul masters," Xu Yuan replied bluntly.
"Evil soul masters?"
"Yes. I asked my teacher about powerful evil soul masters from the past few centuries, and he specifically brought you up. He said that if your Dark Phoenix martial soul is cultivated improperly, it might degenerate into an evil soul master. He was quite worried."
Xu Yuan carefully chose his words.
Currently, although Leng Yulai was one of the Four Great Heavenly Kings of the Holy Spirit Sect, this information shouldn't have leaked yet.
And Xu Yuan shouldn't know this either.
All the stories he fabricated were based on this premise.
"Worried?" Leng Yulai sneered but, for some reason, allowed Xu Yuan to continue.
------------------------------------------------------
40+ Chapters Ahead: patreon.com/EphemeralShadow
There's something for free patrons too! Free Patrons receive 1 chapter in advance :)