Join my Patreon to be 30 chapters ahead of the webnovel releases:
patreon.com/ZeroMoney
I would appreciate your help if you could join my Patreon and support me because it would keep me motivated.
******
"So this is Shrek's inner court?" At this moment, Xiao Hongchen was visibly amazed.
No wonder the soul masters cultivated by Shrek Academy in the past often surpassed those of Sun-Moon Hall in terms of rank, even though the latter regularly consumed rare medicinal herbs to accelerate their cultivation.
Even without entering the inner court, Xiao Hongchen had already sensed it while passing through the outer court— the concentration of natural energy throughout Shrek Academy was on par with the exclusive cultivation chambers of Sun-Moon Hall.
Soul tools have a wide range of applications, including the use of soul formations that gather the energy of heaven and earth. Naturally, such formations were inscribed within Sun-Moon Hall.
However, even with these formations, Sun-Moon Hall could not compare to the natural energy gathered by the Golden Ancient Tree.
In fact, it wasn't just the Golden Ancient Tree that concentrated energy; Shrek Academy was situated at the very center of the entire Douluo Continent, a place where natural energy gathered on its own. The tree simply further refined this energy, making the environment within Shrek exceptionally suited for soul master cultivation.
Moreover, the energy here was not only denser, but it also seemed to facilitate deeper insights for soul masters.
Xiao Hongchen could already feel his soul power stirring restlessly within him.
He was certain that his cultivation this time would yield significant progress.
Meng Hongchen had also closed her eyes, silently absorbing the aura emitted by the Golden Ancient Tree and sensing the surrounding energy density with joy in her heart.
Her martial soul possessed an inherent flaw— as her soul power increased, she would be increasingly affected by the toxins it produced.
However, Su Yu had chosen for her a Nine-Rank Dragon Zhi—an immortal herb born from the absorption of extreme ice and fire energies. After consumption, it not only purified her elemental attributes as a water and fire-type soul master, but for beast-type martial soul users, the dragon aura it contained could even promote the evolution of their martial soul.
Under the transformation of the Nine-Rank Dragon Zhi, Meng Hongchen's martial soul had indeed evolved.
While the poison attribute remained, it had completely become a tool under her control through this evolution.
Literally.
Her poison attribute was now a unique ability created through her martial soul rather than an innate toxic trait of the martial soul itself.
In truth, the toxins of the Scarlet-eyed Ice Toad were originally a form of ice poison born from powerful ice energy, later fused with fire poison after intense fire attribute refinement.
Essentially, this toxicity was a distinctive feature of the Scarlet-eyed Ice Toad, not an inherent attribute.
Its toxins were simply byproducts of its unique ice and fire attributes, shaped by its internal structure.
After consuming the Nine-Rank Dragon Zhi, Meng Hongchen's mastery over both ice and fire attributes had nearly reached an extreme level.
Although she hadn't achieved the true extremes, it was only because the herb's effects had mainly enhanced her control over the two elements rather than pushing the attributes themselves to their ultimate limits.
Now, as long as Meng Hongchen did not actively channel her soul power to produce ice-fire poison, her martial soul would not carry any toxicity.
As a result, the flaw in her martial soul had effectively been resolved.
Additionally, the near-extreme nature of the two opposing attributes allowed her to generate ice-fire poison or unleash powerful elemental clashes with offensive force no less than that of truly extreme attributes.
At this moment, standing close to the Golden Ancient Tree and immersed in its aura, Meng Hongchen felt she had reached a critical bottleneck.
As long as she entered the Sea God Pavilion for a period of cultivation, she would gain an unprecedented opportunity.
From afar, Su Yu gazed at the scene, already sensing a rich aura of laws enveloping the Golden Ancient Tree.
Even he, at this moment, could not truly grasp the power of laws, but through the existence of the Life and Death Rune, he could sense fluctuations in the law of life and death, using it as a medium to further perceive the ripples of other laws.
"As expected of the Golden Ancient Tree," Su Yu murmured in admiration.
The title 'core of the plane' was no exaggeration.
This Golden Ancient Tree was undoubtedly the true core of the entire plane.
Seeing the genuine expressions of awe on the faces of the newcomers, without a hint of pretense, Xuanzi and the other Sea God Pavilion Elders couldn't help but show looks of pride.
"This is our Shrek's Sea God Pavilion!"
Su Yu paid no attention to the elders' expressions and followed them across the Sea God Lake, entering the Sea God Pavilion together.
"This honorable Level Nine Soul Engineer, please halt here," Elder Song said calmly, blocking Xuan Ziwen's path.
According to their agreement, Sun-Moon Hall was allowed to send five individuals into the Sea God Pavilion for cultivation.
Strictly speaking, Xuan Ziwen was merely responsible for escorting the five participants.
Following them all the way to the gates of the Sea God Pavilion was already the limit of his involvement.
Xuan Ziwen did not insist, nor did he show any displeasure. He simply stopped and watched as Su Yu and the others entered the Sea God Pavilion.
---
Inside the Sea God Pavilion
Su Yu felt an unprecedented sense of comfort.
Throughout the Sea God Pavilion, an abundance of natural energy nourished his body, as though refining it from within.
"I wonder if this has the effect of enhancing one's innate aptitude?" Su Yu pondered.
However, he didn't particularly care about such an effect.
After all, even if it did enhance one's aptitude, it wouldn't happen in a short time, and the overall improvement would likely be limited— at most, a minor benefit for him.
What truly captured Su Yu's focus were the fluctuations of laws that surrounded him.
Yes—this was it.
Su Yu possessed extraordinary comprehension, born from a soul inherently attuned to the laws of the world. This granted him unique insight in both cultivation and enlightenment, often allowing him to enter a state of sudden clarity.
His greatest application of this gift lay in the rune system he had pioneered— using runes, he could almost materialize the laws into tangible form.
Now, within the Golden Ancient Tree, Su Yu could clearly sense the fluctuations of those laws. As he pondered the obstacles he had encountered in cultivation, he effortlessly found breakthroughs.
His soul power was already stirring, eager to imprint itself within him, carving new marks and pushing him toward the next level.
However, Su Yu no longer needed simple soul power breakthroughs. The two pressing matters before him were the condensation of a second soul core and the selection of his ninth soul ring.
"I'll first connect with the will of the plane. If that goes smoothly, the ninth soul ring shouldn't be an issue. As for the second soul core, that will depend on the virtual soul core technology."
Virtual Soul Core—a concept Su Yu had proposed to Kong Deming before the Continental Soul Master Tournament, intended to enrich the soul armor system.
If this technology succeeded, a soul master would no longer be limited to the three internal soul cores. Instead, their soul armor could simulate a soul core, resonating with their true cores and enhancing their power.
When Su Yu first proposed this technology, his main goal was to facilitate the formation of the second and third soul cores, not merely to boost the fusion between soul armor and soul master.
"My teacher has already developed the technology to its bottleneck. Now, with the insights I gain here in the Golden Ancient Tree, I wonder if I can fully perfect it."
Su Yu hesitated only briefly before regaining his composure.
"With my talent—it is more than enough."
(End of Chapter)