The battle had ended.
The entire Elephant Armor Sect returned to its former tranquility.
Huyan Zhen was the first to walk out of the council hall.
Wearing a beaming smile, he came to Ye Tian's side and reached out in congratulations:
"Congratulations, Lord Ye Tian, on your victory."
"The vile Elder Hall is already close to its end."
Ye Tian's gaze was fixed on the distance. He glanced back at Huyan Zhen and spoke calmly:
"Remember, the Elder Hall isn't evil. They've merely fallen behind the times."
It was clearly unwise to deny the contributions made to the Spirit Hall by the Seven Worships.
What needed to be done now was simply to reclaim the power in the hands of the Elder Hall.
And that was all.
There was no need to beat them down completely and assign them the role of "villain."
Just then, a squad captain approached with firm steps.
He held out two spatial rings with both hands, respectfully saluting Ye Tian:
"Master, these were personally removed by Qianjun Douluo before he was taken away. He asked me to hand them over to you."
"He also asked me to pass on a message."
"He said that, having been defeated by you, Master, these things are to be considered your spoils of war."
Upon hearing this—
Huyan Zhen beside him showed an expression full of envy.
These two rings belonged to Spirit Hall's Elders.
Just the rings themselves were worth millions of gold soul coins.
The value of the items inside was even harder to estimate with money.
This time, Ye Tian was going to make a huge gain.
However, to Huyan Zhen's surprise, Ye Tian's expression didn't change much.
Ye Tian reached out and took the two rings, his consciousness diving into them to carefully investigate.
After sweeping his awareness through the storage space—
A faint smile appeared on Ye Tian's face.
He had to admit, Qianjun Douluo, a titled Douluo for nearly a century, had indeed accumulated a fortune.
Treasures were piled high like small hills. Ye Tian roughly estimated that there were nearly ten million gold soul coins.
The quantity of rare heavenly and earthly treasures was also astonishing.
Among them were even some Ye Tian had never seen before.
This made Ye Tian click his tongue in amazement—Douluo Continent truly was a land of abundance.
The treasures he'd seen so far were merely the tip of the iceberg.
These treasures were likely collected over nearly a hundred years by Qianjun Douluo.
Aside from rare resources, at the center of the storage space—
Ye Tian found a tattered box.
It was riddled with wormholes,
likely having been corroded over several centuries, showing its age.
With a thought, Ye Tian brought the box out from the storage space.
"What kind of box is that?"
The moment it appeared, it piqued everyone's curiosity.
The Sea Witch stepped forward, eyeing the box and asking.
Ye Tian chuckled: "We'll know once we open it."
To be placed at the center of Qianjun Douluo's storage space, the box surely wasn't something worthless.
Hearing this, the Sea Witch didn't hold back.
With soul power flowing in her jade-like hand, she gently waved.
The worn-out box was immediately opened.
Peering inside, she found no precious treasure.
Only a single golden, shell-like fragment quietly lay inside.
"It appears to be a scale from a soul beast."
The well-informed Elder Ghost Douluo stepped forward and spoke hesitantly, uncertain if his guess was correct.
Zhou Long also stepped forward curiously, trying to pick up the scale to examine it.
But the moment he touched it—
He quickly retracted his hand.
"It's really hot," Zhou Long said with a serious expression.
"It must be something special," Elder Ghost muttered thoughtfully, touching his forehead.
Listening to their discussion, Ye Tian mused, "This might be a scale from the Golden Dragon King."
"Golden Dragon King?" Everyone looked up in confusion.
"Haven't dragons already disappeared from the continent? Are there still true dragon-type soul beasts on the continent?" Elder Ghost asked in disbelief.
Compared to Elder Ghost's confusion, the Sea Witch and Xiao Bai appeared much calmer.
After all, they had witnessed Ye Tian and Xiao Wu being summoned into a secret realm by the Silver Dragon King in the Star Dou Forest.
The Sea Witch asked in surprise, "Could the Golden Dragon King be the Silver Dragon King's elder brother?"
"In a sense, yes," Ye Tian smiled faintly.
He looked down at Gu Yuena in his arms, then at the dragon scale:
"This dragon scale might help with Gu Yuena's growth."
After all, during the battle, Gu Yuena had absorbed the Sea Jiao Pearl and the dragon soul components from the two Elders' spirits.
Compared to the Sea Jiao Pearl, the dragon scale clearly contained more power.
He crouched down, guiding Gu Yuena's little hand to touch the dragon scale.
The moment they made contact—
Something magical happened.
The golden dragon scale immediately melted into golden liquid.
It flowed into Gu Yuena's palm and slowly vanished.
"How can this child absorb a dragon scale?!"
Elder Ghost was extremely shocked.
He suddenly recalled that during the fierce battle,
It was Gu Yuena who had intervened and forcibly ended the fight.
Thinking of this—
Elder Ghost felt a chill in his heart.
The little girl in Ye Tian's arms… might be stronger than a Super Douluo!
Seeing the shock on Elder Ghost's face, Ye Tian smiled faintly but offered no further explanation.
The Silver Dragon King's power, when used properly, was like a sword capable of slaying dragons.
But if misused, it could be like playing with fire.
After all, Ye Tian was fully aware of Gu Yuena's cold and ruthless nature.
So her power—though immense—was nothing to brag about.
The relationship between him and Gu Yuena was more about mutual benefit.
Of course, if Gu Yuena's human personality was dominant, that would be a different matter entirely.
Ye Tian looked around at the group: "Now that Qianjun and Jiang Long Douluo are dealt with, it's time for us to return to Spirit City."
"But before that, we need to visit the Star Luo Forest near Star Luo City."
"To search for clues regarding a divine inheritance."
This matter had to be resolved quickly.
After all, the information wasn't exclusive to him.
Black Blade Douluo of the Star Luo Empire's Elder Council also knew of it.
If the divine inheritance fell into the hands of the Star Luo Empire, it would cause major problems.
To avoid that, their return to Spirit City would have to be delayed.
"I have no objections," the Sea Witch was the first to express her support.
By Ye Tian's side, she felt as though she'd rediscovered the thrill of adventure from her youth—
Something she hadn't experienced once in her forty years as a Elder on Sea God Island.
She sincerely hoped that this feeling would continue.
At this point, she even hoped Ye Tian wouldn't ascend to godhood.
That way, she could stay by his side forever.
And Lord Bo Saixi wouldn't have to sacrifice herself for the divine inheritance.
After the Sea Witch spoke, Elder Ghost smiled and shrugged at Ye Tian:
"Before we set out, Her Holiness the Pope already instructed Porcupine Fish and me to follow your lead in all things."
"Well, I'm going wherever the Sea Witch goes," Xiao Bai added with a pout.
Seeing that everyone agreed—
Ye Tian smiled faintly: "Good. Rest today. We set off tomorrow."
"Lord Ye Tian!"
At this moment—
Huyan Zhen caught up again.
He waved at Ye Tian, his broad face full of a flattering smile.
"Lord Ye Tian, I heard from my son Huyan Li in the council hall just now—"
"Your Polaris Squad has many outstanding craftsmen."
At this point, Huyan Zhen paused, his smile growing even more eager.
"Since you'll be leaving, would it be possible to leave behind a few craftsmen to help guide our Elephant Armor Sect in ore mining?"
Earlier in the council hall, Huyan Zhen had already learned from his son about the water pump.
This little gadget alone had allowed many previously flooded mines to resume operations.
This was something that could potentially double the income of the Elephant Armored Sect.
At this moment, Huyan Zhen was already feeling a bit lucky that he had held out until the end and hadn't defected.
Otherwise, the outcome would've been completely fruitless—like drawing water with a bamboo basket.
The entire Elephant Armored Sect might have ended up just being someone else's stepping stone.
Hearing Huyan Zhen's request, Ye Tian squinted his eyes slightly and gave him a smile.
"You think I can just hand over this kind of technological secret?"
Huyan Zhen's face fell immediately.
But he was unwilling to give up and insisted, "Lord Ye Tian, my Elephant Armored Sect is willing to pay for it."
"...Not just that!"
He gritted his teeth.
He knew: no sacrifice, no gain.
The technology in Ye Tian's hands had already proven its incredible productivity.
And Ye Tian himself held a high position in the Spirit Hall.
Someone like him was absolutely worth building a relationship with.
If Ye Tian and the Elephant Armored Sect could become allies, then at the very least, the sect would enjoy a hundred years of peace.
Thinking of that, the pained expression on Huyan Zhen's face lessened slightly.
He spoke up, "If Lord Ye Tian agrees, my Elephant Armored Sect can offer you ten percent of the profits... no—twenty percent!"
Hearing that, Ye Tian smiled faintly. "Why would I want twenty percent of your profits?"
He spread his hands. "It's not like the Elephant Armored Sect is the only one with iron mines on the continent."
"And my technology is universal."
"I can just buy any mine and produce myself—wouldn't I earn even more that way?"
"And I wouldn't need to split profits with anyone."
At that, Huyan Zhen's face turned a little awkward.
In truth, possessing iron mines wasn't much of an advantage.
Thinking this through, Huyan Zhen suddenly had no idea what kind of conditions he could even offer Ye Tian.
After all, in front of Ye Tian, anything he proposed was practically worthless.
Seeing Huyan Zhen sinking into disappointment, Ye Tian stepped forward and patted him on the shoulder.
"Don't get too discouraged."
"You've been a steadfast supporter of the Spirit Hall."
"Even if you haven't earned merit, you've certainly endured hardship, haven't you?"
"For that reason alone, I'll still help your Elephant Armored Sect."
At those words, Huyan Zhen suddenly understood.
So that was it—Ye Tian just wanted him to realize that this technology wasn't something the Elephant Armored Sect could buy.
But because they had performed a significant service in the recent battle, Ye Tian was willing to overlook the cost and grant them access to the technology.
Understanding that, Huyan Zhen's eyes filled with deep gratitude.
"Thank you, Lord Ye Tian."
"No need for thanks. You've earned it. As for the profit share you wanted to give me—keep it."
The Elephant Armored Sect's entire foundation was worth no more than two million gold soul coins.
Even if they offered twenty percent, it would only amount to four hundred thousand coins.
To him, that was just a drop in the bucket.
Rather than making Huyan Zhen suffer heartache, it was better to extend goodwill and just decline.
That way, the Elephant Armored Sect's loyalty to the Spirit Hall would only grow stronger.
——
Elephant Armor City wasn't too far from Star Luo City, the capital of the Star Luo Empire.
With the speed of a Titled Douluo, it took just two days to reach there from Elephant Armor City.
However, the group didn't enter the city.
Instead, they followed the map and headed straight into the Star Luo Forest on the outskirts.
"That ahead is the forest edge. Let's spread out. If we overlap our spiritual senses, we should be able to search the entire forest within a day and a half."
The Sea Witch suggested.
"As expected, strength lies in numbers," Ye Tian looked at the map in his hand and smiled calmly.
At his side were now five Titled Douluo.
If he had to search the entire forest alone, it might take him a year or more just to walk through the whole thing.
Next to Ye Tian…
Dai Ya, with her long golden hair, glanced back at the barely visible city walls of Star Luo City. Her starry eyes dimmed with sorrow.
Ye Tian, who was standing close by, immediately caught on to his sister's mood.
In fact, from the very moment they set out for the Star Luo region, Ye Tian had been watching Dai Ya's emotions carefully.
After all, familiar places often stirred up unpleasant memories.
He feared that Dai Ya might do something foolish—like going alone to seek revenge on the Star Luo Empire.
If that happened, he, as her younger brother, would feel incredibly guilty.
He reached out and gently stroked Dai Ya's hair, speaking softly:
"Don't overthink it. One day, we'll return to that city and make those who did wrong pay in blood."
Upon hearing that, Dai Ya lowered her gaze.
Right now, her heart was conflicted.
She knew Ye Tian could pull it off.
But she didn't want him to take the risk.
After all, this was an empire they were dealing with.
And their enemy... was the ruler of that empire.
The danger was obvious.
With heavy thoughts swirling inside, Dai Ya forced out a smile.
She looked up at Ye Tian and said, "I believe in you, little brother."
Hearing that, Ye Tian smiled.
He held her hand and walked forward.
His voice was calm and steady:
"Don't worry. No matter what happens, I will always protect you."
—
Once inside the Star Luo Forest...
The Titled Douluo spread out to begin the search for the divine inheritance.
In truth, Ye Tian didn't even need to assign the task in detail.
Aside from Xiao Bai, the other four Titled Douluo were highly motivated.
After all, finding it meant gaining the chance to become a god.
Even if the odds were slim.
No one was willing to give up that opportunity.
As for why Xiao Bai wasn't interested—well, the reason was simple.
She was a soul beast.
And soul beasts couldn't inherit godhood.
So Xiao Bai stayed by Ye Tian's side, tasked with protecting him.
A fairly relaxed duty.
But—
During the spiritual search, Xiao Bai soon discovered an unusually peculiar location.
(End of Chapter)