"Since the Fox King and Tiger King weren't affected, I shouldn't be either."
Of course, Xu Yuan's greatest confidence stemmed from his own abilities.
"Using Living Metal as the first layer of transition, combined with the Blood Demon's absorption, even a fragment of a dragon soul wouldn't be able to affect my bloodline."
Thus, the dragon qi and dragon souls within the Dragon Valley would serve as the purest nourishment for Xu Yuan's blood essence cultivation.
As for the year-long seal on his soul power, it wasn't much of an issue for Xu Yuan.
This "seal" wasn't like the complete lockdown of the Seven Forbidden Techniques—it merely suppressed his soul power below the Soul King level.
He could still use his soul skills and martial soul as usual.
Moreover, Xu Yuan's reliance on soul power wasn't particularly heavy. As long as his blood essence and vitality remained intact, his overall strength wouldn't be significantly impacted.
"Looking at it this way, entering the Dragon Valley would bring me considerable benefits without much downside," Xu Yuan mused, already leaning toward accepting Hu Jie's offer.
Upon returning to the Star Luo Grand Hotel, Xu Yuan dialed a soul-guided communication.
"Hello, Teacher."
"What is it?" Mu Ye sounded busy on the other end, though Xu Yuan had no idea what he could be occupied with on the Star Luo Continent.
"Teacher, I met with Senior Ancestor today."
There was a noticeable silence on Mu Ye's side. After a while, his voice came through the communicator.
"How did it go?"
"Not bad. Senior Ancestor expressed approval of the sect re-emerging but said he'll continue staying in the Tang Sect, claiming he can provide assistance that way."
Xu Yuan shared his impressions.
"Teacher, I think Senior Ancestor still harbors some lingering resentment toward the sect. You should visit him yourself and spend more time reconnecting so he can return to the sect sooner."
Mu Ye had watched over Xu Yuan's cultivation for nine years and knew him well.
From Xu Yuan's words, Mu Ye picked up on the key phrase.
"Reconnect."
How exactly?
"I'll head to the Tang Sect once I'm done here," Mu Ye replied directly.
"Teacher, what are you busy with?" Xu Yuan asked, puzzled.
Without answering, Mu Ye quickly ended the call.
Staring at the disconnected communicator, Xu Yuan sighed inwardly.
What was all this secrecy about?
A knock came at the door. Xu Yuan opened it to find Yuan'en Yehui standing outside.
"Something on your mind?" Xu Yuan asked, surprised.
Yuanen Yehui hesitated for a moment before nodding.
"Come in."
Xu Yuan gestured for her to enter his room.
"Have a seat."
Yuanen Yehui sat down on a chair in Xu Yuan's room.
He poured her a glass of water.
"What's troubling you? Speak your mind."
"Xu Yuan, you have a deep understanding of martial souls. I'd like to ask for your help."
"What kind of help?" Xu Yuan's heart stirred, already guessing what she might say.
"You know my second martial soul, the Fallen Angel, has characteristics of an evil martial soul."
"A martial soul is just a martial soul; a soul master is still a soul master. Having a dark-leaning martial soul doesn't make one an evil soul master," Xu Yuan said calmly.
"But my martial soul isn't something I can cultivate properly just by sheer willpower." Yuanen Yehui clenched her teeth, not revealing the full truth about her Fallen Angel but voicing her request nonetheless.
---
"I've come to ask if you could redesign the core components of my battle armor to suppress the growth of my second martial soul."
Xu Yuan frowned.
"Are you sure? Your previous battle armor designs always aimed to integrate the advantages of both twin martial souls. Why the sudden change to suppressing your second martial soul?"
This was unexpected for Xu Yuan.
While he understood Yuanen Yehui's concerns, he didn't fully grasp why she felt this way or made such a request.
"Xu Yuan, please. I'm sincerely asking for your help."
"It's something I can do, but I still advise against it."
However, Yuanen Yehui remained resolute.
She had spent a long time contemplating this decision.
Xu Yuan was the most knowledgeable about martial soul research, cultivated multiple auxiliary professions, and had the deepest understanding of battle armor design. He was undoubtedly the best person to create the blueprint she needed.
"Yuanen, there must be something dangerous about your second martial soul. I think it'd be better if you told me. Sharing the burden with others would prevent you from bottling it up and spiraling into self-doubt," Xu Yuan continued, trying to persuade her gently.
Still, his tone wasn't forceful.
"I understand your request. We can modify the design before the final three core components are crafted. I won't start revising your design until after the tournament ends, so you still have time to reconsider."
Yuanen Yehui left Xu Yuan's room in silence.
Back in her own room, a figure quietly peeked out from the corridor, glancing between Xu Yuan's room and Yuanen Yehui's. Wide-eyed, they seemed to have discovered some secret.
Who knows if Xie Xie would thank them for noticing.
Yuanen Yehui's visit hadn't been part of Xu Yuan's expectations.
However, her appearance and request drew his attention to her Fallen Angel martial soul.
"In the original storyline, Er Ming, alongside the Limit Douluo of the Yuanen family, scared off the Demon Plane and forced them to sever their connection. That's a waste of the Demon Plane's potential."
"If we could reverse-anchor the Demon Plane and siphon some of its power, the gains would be immense."
Xu Yuan might not have the strength himself, but he had a teacher.
Yun Ming was the strongest being on the continent—not just among human soul masters but also surpassing most soul beasts. Even compared to Yun Ming, Er Ming's strength paled significantly.
Under Er Ming's leadership, they managed to repel the Demon Plane. Naturally, Yun Ming would have even more capability to do so.
"The Abyssal Plane is an energy-based plane, which makes it tricky. Absorbing its energy is extremely difficult."
An energy-based plane meant every bit of energy bore the imprint of the plane itself, completely controlled by it and hard to extract.
But material planes were different.
The Demon Plane should also be a material plane.
If they could use the Demon Plane as a specimen—a stepping stone for studying how to absorb foreign plane energies—they might discover a way to reverse-absorb energy from the Abyssal Plane.
"I need to find a way to get Yuanen to open up about her Fallen Angel martial soul. Once this training is over, I'll ask Teacher to help resolve this issue."
The tournament was still ongoing.
Three days later
Xu Yuan faced his second match.
Whether by coincidence or design, his second individual battle was against the Fox King, Su Mu.
"Please welcome both competitors to the arena."
As the referee's voice faded, Xu Yuan and Su Mu took their positions on the platform.
Su Mu's expression was serious, cautious.
Dai Yun'er hadn't fully tested the limits of Xu Yuan's forbidden techniques, so Su Mu bore the heavy responsibility of uncovering their extent.
His mission was to probe the effectiveness of Xu Yuan's forbidden techniques.
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