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Far away, in the Shrine of the Spirit Hall located in the distant Wuhun City, the noble and holy statue of the six-winged angel radiated a serene light that calmed the hearts of all who gazed upon it.
Guarding this sacred place was Qian Daoliu, the Great Elder of the Angel God. He observed the phenomenon with confusion, as his prayers to the Ancestral God had gone unanswered for a long time. What could this sudden display of light signify?
"Ancestral God, are you warning me? It seems the Douluo Continent is about to become restless once more."
Summoning the true hidden strength of the Spirit Hall, he issued orders to prepare for vigilance.
However, Qian Daoliu had completely misunderstood. The reason the angel statue glowed was not a divine warning but rather a sign of Qianqian's martial soul surpassing the ordinary six-winged angel awakening, granting her the qualification to undergo the Angel God's Trial.
But with the Angel God having fallen, the statue could not provide Qian Daoliu with proper guidance.
In the year 2621 of the Douluo Calendar, Qian Daoliu welcomed the first grandchild of his life. Sensing the hardships she would face in the future, he named her Qian Renxue.
Meanwhile, everything at the Tian Xing Academy had fallen into its proper rhythm. The academy's curriculum had become a model emulated by other institutions across the continent.
Especially valuable was Ye Wen's detailed cultivation guide, which became a treasure for many academies. By tailoring instruction to each student's aptitude, ensuring minimal interference with their future potential, the approach was refreshing despite being somewhat troublesome. It allowed students to progress further in their cultivation journeys.
Among Ye Wen's ten direct disciples, besides the initial immortal herb essences they consumed, over the past three years, Ye Wen had continuously provided them with new essences to purify their bodies of impurities and strengthen their inherent weaknesses.
The Twin Stars of Hao Tian, after suffering repeated setbacks, reemerged onto the scene. This time, however, they were wiser. They no longer dared to provoke the major powers indiscriminately, as none of the surviving soul master factions were simple entities.
During this period, Ye Wen also heard rumors of a spirited woman traveling alongside them, earning the trio the nickname "Hao Tian Three Siblings."
He wondered if Tang Yuehua would cry upon hearing this news.
"The gears of fate have begun to turn. I never expected that even after intercepting Ah Yin, they would still encounter another woman.
But is this woman truly a spirit beast? Only by seeing her in person can we know.
Is someone secretly orchestrating this behind the scenes? Ah Yin being a 100,000-year spirit beast might be a coincidence, but if another 100,000-year spirit beast appears, then it's worth questioning."
Ye Wen's gaze grew deep as he stared into the distance.
Though the Hao Tian Hammer was powerful, it wasn't an overwhelmingly dominant super martial soul. Its strength lay in the accumulated soul skills passed down through generations within the sect. When Hao Tian Hammer soul masters awakened, their innate soul power was typically above level seven, giving them a promising chance to reach Soul Douluo. Most reached Soul Sage, but producing four or five Title Douluos from one generation was extraordinary. Among the upper three sects' Title Douluos, they accounted for more than half.
By the time of the great battle against the Spirit Hall, the seven elders, along with the Tang Hao brothers and Tang San, totaled ten Title Douluos—half of the allied forces' total. These numbers were simply too suspicious.
"Are you the one pulling strings behind the scenes, Asura God? Tang Chen, Tang Hao, and Tang San all possess the Killing God Domain. There are countless opportunities for manipulation."
But none of this concerned Ye Wen at the moment. He steeled his resolve, reaffirming his commitment to cultivating a neutral faction.
No matter how skilled one was, they couldn't withstand overwhelming odds. Moreover, two fists couldn't match four hands.
To cultivate a single Title Douluo without divine intervention required at least thirty years. Even with godlike immunity like Li Jianzhi's, there would eventually come a day when a countermeasure was found.
There was no such thing as an invincible soul skill—only invincible people. The path to true strength lay in constant improvement and adaptation.
Over the next three years, things continued smoothly. Every year, applications to the Tian Xing Academy remained highly competitive. The Qianlong Conference attracted numerous hidden geniuses from among the common folk, dazzling the major powers with the potential Ye Wen had uncovered.
However, because Ye Wen had promised from the start not to restrict the freedom of those who joined, many promising young soul masters were lured away by the larger factions through early contracts.
Ye Wen didn't mind this. He was pursuing an elite strategy. As long as he secured the truly exceptional talents, the rest—those who were merely above average—could be handed over to the two empires or other factions without issue.
This approach earned him increasing respect among civilian soul masters while avoiding suspicion from the two empires.
Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, five years had passed since the founding of the Tian Xing Advanced Academy.
Soul master academies followed a six-year system for elementary, intermediate, and advanced levels. Typically, soul masters graduated around the age of twenty-four or twenty-five.
And soon, the continent-wide Advanced Soul Master Tournament, held every five years, was approaching.
Looking at his direct disciples, the highest cultivation level was nearing the breakthrough to Soul Sage, while the lowest had already reached the threshold of Soul King.
With such a lineup, participating in the tournament felt less like competing and more like dominating a pond full of fish.
As the Tian Xing Academy was affiliated with both empires, Ye Wen technically qualified to enter teams in both regional competitions. To avoid offending either empire, he decided to register teams in both regions.
The composition of the teams depended on nationality. Among Ye Wen's ten direct disciples, only Dao Ba and Chen Youyu hailed from the Star Luo Empire. Naturally, they became the captain and vice-captain of the team heading to Star Luo.
The remaining members were selected through martial arts trials from the Star Luo class.
As for tactics, Dao Ba's soul power had already reached level 62, making him a Soul Emperor. Even relying solely on raw soul power, he could easily crush this year's Star Luo teams—brute force alone would suffice.
For the Tian Dou team, Ye Wen planned to send only Huo siblings and Dugu Xin. The younger disciples would wait until the next tournament, as the age limit for the Advanced Soul Master Tournament was 25.
Releasing too many outstanding talents at once might provoke envy from the two empires.
By the way, the Huo siblings had now reached levels 68 and 69, respectively, already touching the threshold of Soul Sage. Sending them into the competition was akin to dropping missiles into a fish pond.
The team heading to Tian Dou would be led by Ye Wen himself, while the team going to Star Luo would be led by Dugu Bo. After five years of training, the medical soul masters were also ready to graduate. Ye Wen planned to bring them along to this grand event, as they formed the foundation of his future plans.
It was time to organize a team-building activity to strengthen relationships.
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