With Ning Fengzhi and Chen Xin back at the clan, Gu Xuan wasted no time. The very next day, he took Dugu Yan and Ning Rongrong back to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan. It was finally time for him to set off with Gu Rong to hunt for his fourth soul ring.
Upon returning, Gu Xuan immediately sought out Ning Fengzhi. The Sect Master was currently the picture of vitality; the joy of breaking through Rank 80 was something Ning Fengzhi still hadn't fully processed. More importantly, the acquisition of his eighth soul skill had vastly increased his survivability, fueling his ambitions for the clan's future.
Zuo Yi had also secured a soul ring that left him more than satisfied. After scouring the Star Dou Great Forest for three months, the group had finally located a ninety-five-thousand-year Emerald Demon Bird.
The Emerald Demon Bird was a top-tier avian soul beast, known to be so ferocious that powerful individuals of the species were said to feast on the eyes of giant dragons. It was famous for two things: extreme speed and lethal attack power. In terms of pure velocity, the Emerald Demon Bird rivaled the Needle-Tailed Swift, but its offensive capabilities far outstripped the latter. As Zuo Yi's ninth soul ring, it provided him with a terrifying boost. Based on speed alone, the current Zuo Yi was arguably the fastest man on the continent; if he were to open a post office, he could likely guarantee one-day delivery across the entire land.
Of course, given the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan's immense wealth, they would never dream of letting a Titled Douluo waste his time on such trivialities.
After a brief period of catching up with Ning Fengzhi and Chen Xin, Gu Xuan and Gu Rong set off for the Star Dou Great Forest that afternoon.
Before they left, Gu Rong personally tested Gu Xuan's combat prowess and mental strength. To his utter disbelief, Gu Xuan truly possessed a physical constitution and Spiritual Power comparable to a Soul Emperor. Gu Rong could rationalize the physical side—two Immortal Herbs, the inheritance of the Dragon Kings, and a ninety-three-thousand-year External Soul Bone would make anyone a monster. But the mental strength was a shock until Gu Xuan explained he had consumed another Immortal Herb specifically for Spiritual Power.
Gu Rong was now eager to see the results. Dugu Yan's fourth ring was an eleven-thousand-year ring, and it had made her terrifying. If Gu Xuan successfully absorbed a ring nearly thirty-thousand years old for his fourth slot, wouldn't he be even more beyond common sense?
They weren't alone on this trip. Gu Xuan and Gu Rong had brought another person: Li Li. She had recently broken through Rank 30 and was still three months shy of her twelfth birthday.
Li Li's Martial Soul was the Man-Faced Demon Spider. While not at the very peak of Martial Souls, it was undeniably top-tier, known in the soul beast world as the "slaughterer of small beasts." After consuming the Withered Bone Corrosive Poison Vine, her talent was now on par with—if not superior to—the original Shrek Seven Devils. Since she had been selected for special training by the clan since childhood, her access to resources like Whale Glue was abundant, leaving her foundation far stronger than the Shrek group at the same stage.
Interestingly, Li Li and Zuo Yan had grown up together. Despite the two-year age gap, they had recently started dating—a development Gu Xuan was happy to see. Since both were part of his future "Divine" team, having them encourage each other was a positive influence.
Dugu Yan had already returned to Heaven Dou Imperial Academy, taking the pills Gu Xuan refined for Yu Tianheng and the others with her. The talent of the Heaven Dou team was respectable; while perhaps not at the "legendary" level yet, they were strong candidates for becoming high-level Soul Douluos or even Titled Douluos. Yu Tianheng, in particular, was described in the original history as having talent on par with the current Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect Master. If Yu Yuanzhen could reach Rank 95, there was no reason Yu Tianheng couldn't do the same with proper resources.
Now that they had Whale Glue for physical tempering and Gu Xuan's medicinal pills, the members of the Emperor Team were on track to become Titled Douluos who would eventually serve as Gu Xuan's powerful allies—or perhaps his vanguard.
Ning Rongrong remained in the clan. Her progress was so rapid and her Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda so rare that Gu Xuan didn't want her exposed to the world just yet. Even though she protested, Ning Fengzhi insisted she stay within the clan to cultivate. However, young girls are naturally drawn to the world outside; the more you forbid them from leaving, the more they want to run.
Because Gu Xuan had kept her at home, her path had already diverged from the original history. Without her, the "Shrek Seven Devils" couldn't truly form.
Thinking of Shrek, Gu Xuan's mind drifted to Xiao Wu—a hundred-thousand-year soul ring walking on two legs—and Oscar, a true genius and the first food-system Soul Master with innate full soul power. Gu Xuan hadn't been in a position to move on Shrek before, but it didn't matter. Shrek couldn't even fill a seven-person roster now, and their growth potential was capped. A genius like Oscar wouldn't stay confined to a small place like Shrek forever; there would be plenty of opportunities to recruit him later. After all, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan was one of the Upper Three Sects and had no enmity with Shrek.
It took only half a day for Gu Rong to bring Gu Xuan and Li Li to the Star Dou Great Forest. They headed straight for the territory of the Spatial Demon Dragon.
Gu Xuan was impatient to secure this ring. He desperately wanted to experience the sensation of opening a spatial portal. He was confident in the outcome; for a Bone Dragon Martial Soul, a Spatial Demon Dragon almost always provided the "Spatial Portal" skill because the Martial Soul itself already mastered the laws of space. Soul skills were the result of the Martial Soul's characteristics merging with a soul beast's abilities. Unless his luck was cosmically bad, the portal was as good as his.
(End of Chapter)
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