At Tian Yuan Pavilion, before the meeting began, Zhu Ziyang found Xuan Zi and learned more detailed information about the black-robed mysterious person who had blocked their path.
According to Xuan Zi, the black-robed person's power was extremely strong, his aura contained a profound stability, and he made him feel powerless. Xuan Zi specifically emphasized that the feeling of powerlessness the black-robed person brought him was even greater than that from Mu En!
Zhu Ziyang was basically certain that the black-robed mysterious person was the Tai Tan Giant Ape. For some reason, he inexplicably thought of the strong man they met when they first went to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. He always felt that the strong man and the Tai Tan Giant Ape were related, and it was possible they were the same person.
After asking, Zhu Ziyang left Xuan Zi's room and told him that he no longer needed to worry about academy affairs and could focus on recuperating, as his injuries this time were very serious. Although he appeared unharmed on the outside, his internal organs were somewhat displaced. If not for his strong cultivation, he would have collapsed long ago.
After leaving Xuan Zi's room, Zhu Ziyang appeared directly in the Tian Yuan Pavilion hall. At this time, Old Lin, Old Zhuang, Yan Shaozhe, Cai Meier, and Ma Xiaotao were already in place. Why was Ma Xiaotao also there? That was because Ma Xiaotao, as a Spirit of ultimate fire, even though she had not yet reached the Super Douluo level, already possessed the combat power of a Super Douluo, so she was qualified to attend the Tian Yuan Pavilion meeting.
The content of this Tian Yuan Pavilion meeting was actually very simple, with only two matters.
First, fully advance the Yuntian Plan, striving to establish a Tian Yuan Academy in every town on the original Douluo Continent within the next five to ten years.
Second, regarding Empress's Advent plan, it currently seemed that The Empress plan was only one step away from final success. When this final step would be taken no longer needed discussion. The only issue worth discussing now was when the Sun Moon Empire, under Zhang Lexuan's rule, would be able to unify the continent.
Only a unified continent would align with Shrek Academy's ultimate reform plan.
The meeting did not last too long and ended directly. The meeting members left the Tian Yuan Pavilion hall one after another, leaving only Zhu Ziyang sitting motionless.
He was deep in thought. In fact, there were still a few major issues he had not brought up for discussion.
First and foremost was the development of Shrek Academy's Soul Tool technology. He still had a Ninth-grade Soul Tool fixed-position cannonball in his possession, but since the two deans of the Soul Tool Department were not present, this matter could only be postponed.
Secondly, there were Soul Spirits. He wanted to promote Soul Spirits, but the interests of the Soul Spirit System were too great, and it involved the Spirit Beast race. Whether the Spirit Beast race would recognize the Soul Spirit System was still an unknown, requiring him to communicate with them personally. The entry point for this matter was Fifth Huan'er. Judging from Fifth Huan'er's attitude towards Soul Spirits, she was inclined towards them. With the backing of this chosen daughter of the Spirit Beast race, Zhu Ziyang felt that the promotion and establishment of the Soul Spirit System should not be a big problem.
Then there were Zhu Ziyang's views on the development of the current Spirit Master's world, the definition of the relationship between the Spirit Master's world and the secular world, and a series of fundamental major issues concerning the Spirit Master's world. He did not bring them up, partly because he only had a preliminary concept that had not yet fully formed, and partly due to strength. If he were to transform the Spirit Master's world according to his ideas, then a Limit Douluo would not be enough; only a God could make everyone willing.
Zhu Ziyang thought a lot, and suddenly, he looked up, a slight smile on his lips, and murmured, "He's here."
As soon as he finished speaking, Huo Yuhao's voice came from outside Tian Yuan Pavilion, "Senior Brother, are you there?"
"Come in."
Huo Yuhao walked into Tian Yuan Pavilion, went straight to Zhu Ziyang, his face filled with hope and urgency, and asked, "Senior Brother, what exactly happened to Xiao Xiao's soul?"
"Xiao Xiao's soul disappeared from her body. This is the fundamental reason she fell into a coma and her vitality is constantly draining," Zhu Ziyang said, "And the reason her soul disappeared is related to Qiankun Questioning Valley!"
"Qiankun Questioning Valley?!" Huo Yuhao's face showed pain, clearly having a very bad impression of Qiankun Questioning Valley. He asked, "Senior Brother, do you mean that Qiankun Questioning Valley took Xiao Xiao's soul?"
"Something like that," Zhu Ziyang's eyes flashed with a glimmer of light, and he said, "To be precise, it's possible that the God within Qiankun Questioning Valley abducted Xiao Xiao's soul. There's also another possibility, which is that Xiao Xiao's soul shattered in Qiankun Questioning Valley and dispersed between heaven and earth."
"This, this…" Huo Yuhao's face instantly turned ugly. He said, "Senior Brother, the God of Love took Xiao Xiao's soul, didn't she? Why would she do such a thing?"
Huo Yuhao selectively ignored the second possibility. Although he didn't understand what the second possibility meant, a shattered soul sounded more serious than a soul being abducted, and he resisted such a possibility in his heart.
"Hmph!" Zhu Ziyang wasn't surprised by Huo Yuhao's reaction. He sneered and said, "The God of Love has long since fallen, how could she abduct Xiao Xiao's soul! So, the one who acted against Xiao Xiao can only be another God who has taken over Qiankun Questioning Valley!"
"Senior Brother, you know which God it is, don't you?" Huo Yuhao heard Zhu Ziyang's confident tone, and a strong sense of hope immediately rose in his heart. He immediately said anxiously, "Please, tell me!"
"Yu Hao, with your current strength, even if you know which God it is, what can you do?" Zhu Ziyang didn't tell Huo Yuhao the answer, but instead asked.
"I…" Huo Yuhao froze, then a smile uglier than crying appeared on his face, and he murmured, "That's right, I'm just a Spirit King, how can I contend with a God?"
"Therefore, you have only one choice, and that is to become a God!" Zhu Ziyang gripped Huo Yuhao's shoulder, looking at him with burning eyes, and said word by word, "Only by becoming a God can you save Xiao Xiao, otherwise, Xiao Xiao will die because of you!"
"Become a God?" Huo Yuhao's eyes were filled with confusion, because the goal of becoming a God was indeed somewhat familiar yet strange to him. But when he saw Zhu Ziyang's burning gaze and heard that Xiao Xiao would die because of him, the confusion in his eyes immediately disappeared. For the first time, he was so resolute. He stood up directly and shouted with immense determination, "That's right, I want to become a God! I must become a God!"
"Very good." Zhu Ziyang nodded with satisfaction and said, "With your talent, becoming a Limit Douluo is not difficult. After becoming a Limit Douluo, you will have hundreds of years to search for the ruins of Gods. Therefore, your top priority right now is to improve your cultivation, understood?!"
"I understand!" Huo Yuhao awoke as if from a dream, his face filled with fighting Spirit and hope. He said, "I will definitely cultivate diligently!"
"Hmm, good fighting Spirit." Zhu Ziyang smiled and patted Huo Yuhao's shoulder, saying, "Go, in a few days, Senior Brother will take you to a place that can help you!"
"I understand, Senior Brother!" Huo Yuhao nodded heavily, saying.
Then, Huo Yuhao turned to leave. As he was about to walk out of Tian Yuan Pavilion, Zhu Ziyang spoke again. He said, "Yu Hao, when you have time, think more about your teacher's dying words. The answer you seek is within them!"
Huo Yuhao paused, then nodded, and left.
Zhu Ziyang watched Huo Yuhao's retreating figure, his heart completely calm. He had no doubt about Huo Yuhao's ability to become a God. After all, this was the Son of Fortune, the person the Sea God Tang San wanted to obtain. How could the Gods of the God Realm remain indifferent? Moreover, the Sea God had already invested so much effort in him. If Huo Yuhao couldn't become a God, wouldn't the Sea God suffer a huge loss?
Therefore, from any perspective, the possibility of Huo Yuhao becoming a God was very high, it was just a matter of whether it would be smooth or not. And what Zhu Ziyang had to do was to guide Huo Yuhao in the direction Zhu Ziyang wanted to see.
"Ziyang, are you that optimistic about Yu Hao?" Not long after Huo Yuhao left Tian Yuan Pavilion, a golden figure suddenly appeared beside Zhu Ziyang, looking in the direction Huo Yuhao had left, his voice full of doubt.
"Teacher, it's not that I'm optimistic about Yu Hao, but that the Sea God is optimistic about Yu Hao!" Zhu Ziyang was not at all surprised by this golden figure, but his address to the figure revealed the figure's identity.
Dragon God Douluo Mu En!
It turned out that when Mu En fell, his physical body dissipated into heaven and earth, but his soul merged into the Golden Ancient Tree. This was a unified choice of successive Sea God Pavilion Masters of Shrek Academy: after death, their souls would merge into the Golden Ancient Tree, which meant they could continue to protect the academy, but also meant they completely lost the possibility of rebirth and reincarnation.
Therefore, no matter what, the feelings of successive Sea God Pavilion Masters of Shrek Academy for Shrek Academy were beyond reproach.
"Alas! It's truly perplexing, how could that one become like this? Why does he make things difficult for us mortals?" Mu En sighed, then said, "Oh, by the way, Ziyang, take this."
Mu En threw a blue-gold jade stone to Zhu Ziyang. Zhu Ziyang took the jade stone, and immediately, a vast, all-encompassing aura appeared before his eyes. A profound and long-lasting special energy emanated from the jade stone. His eyes widened slightly, and he instantly realized what this energy was.
divine force!
Zhu Ziyang looked at Mu En in disbelief, but Mu En smiled calmly. He explained, "You're not wrong, there is indeed a divine force within this jade stone. This was a blessing bestowed by the Sea God four thousand years ago when the Golden Crow Douluo led the original Douluo Three Kingdoms to defeat the Sun Moon Empire and established the Sea God Pavilion under the Golden Ancient Tree."
It contains three divine forces from the Sea God, each of which can unleash a powerful Seagod's Light. The first two divine forces were used during the beast tides in past years, and the Beast God Di Tian suffered losses twice, which is why he has been quiet for so long.
Now, only one Sea God divine force remains. With you, Ziyang, this divine force is dispensable for the academy, so I'll give it to you. Perhaps you can gain insight into the difference between divine force and spirit power from it."
"So that's how it is!" Zhu Ziyang's face showed understanding, then a playful smile appeared on his face, and he said, "So, the Sea God did indeed protect the academy at first, but why has he become like this now? Is it his true nature exposed? Or is there another hidden reason? Tsk tsk, I'm getting more and more curious."
"Haha, I, this old man, am also very curious, but unfortunately, I won't be able to witness it. I can only rely on you, Ziyang." Mu En couldn't help but laugh upon hearing this.
"Alright, Teacher, once I ascend to the God Realm and figure out the reason, I will definitely transmit it down immediately and tell you all." Zhu Ziyang also laughed and said.
The master and disciple were very joyful, and the Tian Yuan Pavilion hall was filled with a cheerful atmosphere.
—
God Realm.
The Sea God in the Sea God Hall was in a very bad mood, because he had used so many trump cards this time, yet none of his plans had succeeded. This greatly damaged his image as the Sea God, a strategist, and an enlightened and mighty figure.
So, at this moment, he was reviewing the reasons for the failure of his operation.
Firstly, he violated God Realm regulations, restored Da Ming's divine officer strength, and sent him to intercept and kill Zhu Ziyang and the Fire God's inheritor, completely eliminating these two variables. However, he never expected that Da Ming would be so useless, actually being counter-killed by two mortals! This was too humiliating for him, the Sea God.
However, he, the Sea God, was after all righteous and honorable, how could he blame Da Ming? All blame should go to that Fire God, who actually gave a divine artifact to a mortal! Publicly violating God Realm laws, he has already chosen the path of death, so let's make a note of it for now!
Secondly, he personally intervened in Qiankun Questioning Valley, attempting to bring Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong together and eliminate the third party between them. Such a pure act of love was actually met with backlash from that bitch, the God of Love. How hateful! If not for that bitch, the God of Love, interfering, how could he have failed at the last step?
He was only one step away from making Huo Yuhao fall deeply in love with Wang Dong!
However, fortunately, he was one step ahead! The Sea God proudly extended his hand. In his palm, a soul was curled up. The soul vaguely appeared to be a petite woman, though her face was unclear.
A trace of hatred flashed in his eyes, and he already hated the God of Love in his heart.
That bitch, she had clearly already fallen, and he, as the Sea God, presided over Qiankun Questioning Valley for her. Such a gesture of respect, yet she still wouldn't accept it. Hmph, she truly is a bitch. As punishment, she, the God of Love, should never think of returning to the God Realm from now on. A mere First-level God, daring to defy him, the Sea God, she deserves to be punished!
Finally, the Sea God extended his other hand. On the palm of this hand, another soul was curled up. A rare trace of tenderness appeared in his eyes, and he murmured, "Xiao Qi, it's coming soon, just wait a little longer! Dad has already chosen a lover for you, he will definitely be the most suitable person for you!"
At this time, in another palace in the God Realm.
"I really didn't expect that Tang San fellow to be so shameless!" The God of Fire said angrily, while the God of Water beside him tried to comfort him with a helpless look.
"Alright, don't be angry anymore. After so many years, don't we all know what kind of person that Sea God is?" The God of Water said gently, "Besides, isn't Ma Xiaotao very promising? To be honest, this girl makes my heart flutter, but unfortunately, she's not suitable for my God Position!"
"If I hadn't left a backup plan, that beast might really have cost me my inheritor!" The God of Fire was still very annoyed. He hugged the God of Water's waist, resting his head on her chest, complaining like a child, "Ah Shui, why am I so unlucky? Every time I find a successor I like, something always goes wrong.
The first time was Ma Hongjun, I even opened a back door for him, but he still failed. The second time was Ji Dong, also my most favored successor, but he was snatched by Lord Evil. This time, Ma Xiaotao was actually intercepted and killed by the Sea God!
Wuwuwu, why am I so unlucky!"
"Alright, alright, didn't all that pass already!" The God of Water embraced the God of Fire, her eyes full of tenderness, and gently comforted him, "Ma Xiaotao has already completed her Eighth Trial, hasn't she? With the inheritor of Lord Death present, I think she will soon complete her Ninth Trial. At that time, we will be able to leave the confines of the God Realm and seek true freedom!"
"Mmm hmm!" The God of Fire left the God of Water's embrace, his face also filled with anticipation.