Star Dou Great Forest.
Core area.
Shards of sunlight filtered through the ancient tree canopy as Bear Lord and other fierce beasts stood upon thick branches, eyes glued towards Shrek Academy.
Even as the golden beam in the sky faded, they couldn't look away.
Everyone understood what Di Tian had gone to do.
But the heartache remained.
Especially Bear Lord, whose eyes grew hollow. Like Bi Ji, he was among the unluckiest, as replacements had long since arrived.
From the first moment he saw that little one of his clan, regret had gnawed his heart—he wished he could call out to the child, let go of his own opportunity, but pride kept him silent.
Until today…
Why wasn't I the first to meet Su Wen?!
The bloodline of the Amethyst Behemoth is just too tempting for any Darkgold Dreadclaw Bear to resist. It's our duty to restore our ancestor's glory—but why not me?
Bi Ji's case was even worse; her replacement was someone she delivered with her own hands.
Scarlet King smacked his lips:
"Sigh, Bear Lord, do you think that one's even thought about us? There've been a dozen slots now, but not a single one for us."
"Piss off!" Bear Lord growled, glaring.
Already annoyed, and you're rubbing it in further.
"He has his reasons…" Myriad Demon King said calmly, hands behind his back. "All the beast he's caught may lack in battle strength, but their innate talent is first-class and precious."
"So are we weak?" Bear Lord shot back.
"Even if there were twice as many spirit balls, you might still not get picked, unless your talent matches Xuan Ji's, or you invested in him when he was still weak." Myriad Demon King chuckled.
"But you can't put aside your pride…"
He sighed softly.
But isn't that the same for him? Years ago, when Su Wen rescued Rui Beast and negotiated with Di Tian, he'd witnessed the power of spirit balls—but was too proud to step forward.
If only he'd taken a chance! Like Snow Empress, betting everything. Even if there were restrictions, you could compress your power, offer yourself up, or at least make a good impression like Tianmeng Ice Silkworm…
It wouldn't have become like this.
"Hmph!"
Bear Lord glared at Myriad Demon King, suppressing his fury.
In the past, he'd have fought him in an instant, but now…
No more drive for it.
"Nevertheless, for the Star Dou Great Forest, this is a good thing. At least we no longer have to worry about how to coexist with humans—the master and that one have already paved the way." Dressed in a green gown, transformed into a gentle beauty, Bi Ji spoke softly.
"That's true…" Bear Lord was taken aback.
"Yeah, with a dozen or more 'senior' soul beasts, each ruling their own worlds, achieving godhood and their own elemental authorities, the Star Dou and all its beasts will prosper. We'll just have to live off their leftovers and it'll be good enough…" Myriad Demon King said gloomily.
At these words, all the fierce beasts fell silent.
That meant that the soul beasts that once seemed insignificant would now become the ones they'd have to curry favor with.
"Bi Ji, maybe you can do some pillow talk for us, see if there's any way, try to open a path for your brothers." Scarlet King suggested sneakily.
"To us, the emperor may be powerful, but to him—probably not enough. Especially since even the master… Even if Di Tian vouches for me, it probably won't help." Bi Ji shook her head gently.
"I'm not talking about Di Tian." Scarlet King looked serious.
"Then who?" Bi Ji was confused.
Silence.
All the beasts looked at Scarlet King, faces unreadable.
When Bi Ji realized what he meant, she snapped, scowling: "Scram!"
Bear Lord was amazed—does he think Di Tian's dead?
Already scheming to move up?
"Just kidding." Scarlet King shrugged, looking wronged. "It's normal in the beast world, isn't it?"
"Even under me, I have a bunch of lionesses—some were widows, right… That's what humans call them, right? Widows?"
"…6," Myriad Demon King grunted, glancing at Scarlet King with disgust. "Us plant-types breed ourselves—we don't need your chaos."
"Does that mean you can be male or female then?" Scarlet King teased, putting his arm around him. "Bro, sometimes you've got to make your own opportunities."
"Get lost!"
Myriad Demon King's form became an enormous treefolk, binding Scarlet King in vines, especially over his mouth, and dragged him away.
"Such dirty tricks—shameful!"
He spat and looked blankly at the others: "Something happened in my territory. I'm off."
Then melted into the earth.
Zi Ji, who'd been silent, coughed lightly and looked around, "Ahem… I'm going to see the master. She must miss me after all this time!"
With a burst of wings, she flew into the sky.
Leaving just Bear Lord and Bi Ji exchanging glances.
"Why does it seem everyone's headed to Shrek Academy?"
Bear Lord twitched.
"..."
"Level ninety. Next up: time to forge the second soul core…"
Su Wen took a deep breath.
He moved the "battlefield" inside the Azure Luan's spirit world.
The second core would be a hundred, a thousand times more powerful than the first—channeling soul power into a black hole strong enough to flatten all of Shrek Academy.
Of course, Di Tian also succeeded by forging his own dual cores at the bottom of the Lake of Life, a place rich in vitality that increased his rate of success.
Now, the Azure Luan's Lake of Life might already rival, if not surpass, that of the Star Dou Great Forest.
The first soul core is the core of a soul master; its spin represents their cultivation pathways. The second, yin-yang complementary soul core, must spin the opposite way.
If the first turns right, the second must turn left.
That's the challenge of twin yin-yang soul cores.
The first is one's "self." The second is the opposite—before energy spirals out of control, they must find a balance.
Like Di Tian, whose many "mini black holes" store soul power, meaning with enough time, his future strength can always rise.
Unlike Elder Mu, Ye Xishui, Long Xiaoyao—no matter how strong, they always meet an unbreakable bottleneck at the Limit Douluo boundary.
"Buzz…"
At this moment, before Su Wen, a crimson Pill hovered up and down, radiating waves of intense heat, flames flickering around it, clearing a space beneath the lake.
This was the fire dragon core, one of the twin dragon cores he'd picked up from the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well back then.
As the Water-Fire Dragon King, this Pill could rival a first-rank God in its prime. Even after countless years, it was still tough as ever. Even after giving some to Ma Xiaotao to aid her training, after all this time, less than a tenth had been used.
"Are you sure?" Gu Yuena hesitated.
The yin-yang path is extremely difficult.
The first absorbed the water dragon core—fine, as a natal core, it just means a lot more energy to digest.
The second, the fire dragon core, not just another dragon core, but one that directly opposed the water attribute.
The difficulty was simply sky-high.
Juggling the two was enough to raze the world.
"I suppose I count as having dragon blood now…" Su Wen mused.
In Dragon Valley, he'd obtained full "recognition" from the dragon clan—even if it's all just bones and souls now, it was still recognition.
Every dragon soul, instinctively, now saw him as kin.
If the Dragon God were reborn, he'd surely be stunned for a moment.
Plus, thanks to his bond with his pets, Di Tian and Gu Yuena both shared their dragon traits and bloodline with him.
He believed the tiniest thread of dragon spirit lingering in the Pill wouldn't reject him...
"Alright, then…" Gu Yuena's expression remained worried, but she said nothing more.
The Azure Luan hovered by, calm as always.
For things like this, it never once complained. As long as its master could succeed, even blowing up the spirit world would be worth it.
"Hu…"
Su Wen breathed out.
His gaze grew sharp.
His eyes closed.
A flash of blue light appeared, then pure cold surged, and if it weren't for the fire Pill, the entire bottom of the lake would be sealed in frost.
At the same time, an ice-blue soul core glimmered near his dantian.
"Draw the core's energy first…"
Gu Yuena called.
"Liya! Suppress his Spirit Core's hypnosis!"
"Yes!"
At the bottom of the lake, an azure figure appeared—a mermaid with teal hair cascading down her shoulders, looking like a beautiful fairy.
She sang softly—a power called Eternal Silence Lullaby (always hits below god-level).
The voice was gentle but had strange magic; it could make people instantly tranquil.
Su Wen was doing all he could to empty his mind and stop his resistance.
"Alright, let's start…"
Gu Yuena narrowed her eyes.
But this was only the beginning.
Many ice-attribute soul beasts appeared, striving to absorb energy from the first core. At first, things went well, but after half was drained, a surge of resistance suddenly broke the flow.
"Pfft~"
Liya spat a mouthful of blood, face going pale.
"Mental backlash…"
"Such terrifying spiritual power."
A healing light covered her, and two priestly soul beasts behind her nodded, reassuring: we've got you.
"Now!" Gu Yuena ordered urgently.
"Hu…"
Su Wen opened his eyes amid his body's instinctive retaliation.
But he knew this was his limit.
He'd drained as much as possible from the first soul core.
At this moment, Gu Yuena sealed off the surrounding spiritual energy, so the core couldn't refill.
"Buzz…"
The fire dragon core let out a dragon's roar and edged closer to the ice core.
Left and right, slowly rotating.
The first clash.
A vortex formed underwater—one side bone-chilling, one side scorching—just like the Ice and Fire Well.
"He's swallowing the whole Ice and Fire Well inside his body…" Dà Yǎn exclaimed.
"His odds are good," Di Tian mused. "I succeeded with my own sturdy body, but his physique... Let's just say, even now, I probably can't outmatch him."
"He's basically a humanoid million-year soul beast."
"Wanna spar?" Xuan Ji's eyes shone. "Now you're a million-year beast, and your bloodline advanced, so it's not bullying anymore."
Her blood made her combative and savage by nature.
Every new spirit beast eventually got a challenge from her. The last one was Qiong Qi—the fight was so intense they practically destroyed the spirit world before stopping.
"He's transcending; is this the time?" Di Tian frowned.
"With my body, nothing can go wrong," Xuan Ji declared. "Believe in the power of stats."
"Stats…?" It was the first time Di Tian had heard that term. It actually fit perfectly.
She and Bear Lord—they're both total monsters.
"Say, did you ever hear the master mention taking in Bear Lord and the rest…" Di Tian asked.
"Bear Lord? My ancestor?" Xuan Ji shook her head. "I overheard the master say he's not talented enough. Not even top three among the clan. But as for Myriad Demon King and the Abyssal Demon Dragon… top tier."
"He's strong, but for the entire Darkgold Dreadclaw Bear clan, not even in the top three."
"…"
Di Tian twitched.
No kidding. The Darkgold clan, truly monstrous.
He forced a regretful tone, but he couldn't help but smirk: "What a pity. We've known each other so long; I wanted to bring him along."
"You can still suggest it to the master…" Xuan Ji offered.
"Ahem, so, when do we fight?" Di Tian changed the subject.
...