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Upon hearing Xiao Jia's explanation, the nine Dragon Kings within Xu Yuan's dream realm fell into deep contemplation.
Ten thousand years ago?
What had happened ten thousand years ago?
What kind of catastrophic upheaval could cause a fracture in the bloodlines of an entire plane's dragon race?
Even the nine Dragon Kings were momentarily at a loss as to what this upheaval might have been.
"Are there any records within your dragon race that describe the scene of this upheaval?"
"Yes. The entire plane was in turmoil. A massive crack appeared in the sky, the seas surged violently, and the sea level rose, submerging the continents for a full decade. Afterward, the sea level receded, and the plane gradually returned to its original state."
The continents had been submerged for an entire decade?
Xu Yuan was stunned.
The sea level had risen out of nowhere, completely submerging the continents?
That didn't make sense.
No matter how severe changes in the ocean might be, it was hard to imagine the overall sea level rising to such an extent.
Occasional tsunamis flooding coastal cities could be understood, but directly submerging entire continents? That was an exaggeration.
"Did you explore the cause of this upheaval afterward? Did you find out why these events occurred?"
Xiao Jia shook his head.
"The power of the sea is limitless. When we had dragon monarchs among us, we could conduct some exploration of the oceans. But with all our monarchs and overlords gone, we no longer have the ability to explore the seas."
"What about other races?" Xu Yuan pressed.
Xiao Jia replied, "Other races are the same as us dragons."
The same outcome?
Xu Yuan understood.
It was likely that the entire plane had experienced a calamity.
Had the plane's essence been damaged?
One must understand that all cultivators—even extraordinary beings who relied solely on their innate bloodline growth—derived their power from the plane they inhabited.
Without the nurturing soil of a plane, cultivation would be impossible.
If the essence of the Douluo Plane were to be damaged, the entire cultivation system would collapse, and perhaps all soul masters would lose the ability to reach the near-god level.
Conversely, if the Douluo Star were to ascend to the status of a god-level planet, the cultivation system would be nourished, new paths would open up, and soul masters could continue their cultivation beyond Level 99.
The suppression of the entire dragon population in the Dragon Plane was likely due to damage to the plane's essence, which in turn disrupted the rules related to the cultivation system.
As for those rare individuals who managed to break through their limitations and reach the overlord level under such conditions, it was probably not a true breakthrough in terms of cultivation but rather a temporary burst of power.
"By the way, have any of your dragons in the Demon Plane broken through to the overlord level?" Xu Yuan asked.
"Yes, but only those dragons with extraordinary bloodline potential succeeded after being infused with Archie's demon bloodline."
Xu Yuan nodded slightly.
"One of my predecessors wants to examine your body. Don't resist when it happens."
As Xu Yuan spoke, a yellow light shot into Xiao Jia's body.
Xiao Jia felt an overwhelming pressure from the bloodline.
The dragon race in the Dragon Plane had no connection to the bloodline of the Dragon God.
Although Xiao Jia's dragon bloodline was of extremely high quality, it had no inheritance relationship with the Dragon God's lineage. The pressure he felt stemmed purely from the quality of his bloodline.
"There's nothing wrong with the bloodline itself."
Mountain Dragon King returned to Xu Yuan's dream space, puzzled by the results of the examination.
If there was no issue with the bloodline, why had this situation arisen?
Although it seemed that the problem lay in the damage to the plane's cultivation system, if that were truly the case, the impact should have left traces on the bloodline.
When the system broke, so too did the bloodline.
Yet, in reality, there was no defect in Xiao Jia's bloodline.
"Xiao Jia's current physical condition fully aligns with that of a normal dragon, and the quality of his bloodline remains unaffected," said the Dark Dragon King.
The Light Dragon King joined the discussion.
"It must be an issue with the Dragon Plane. In that case, Xu Yuan, you shouldn't enter it. Avoid being influenced by the Dragon Plane."
If entering the Dragon Plane were to cloud his own cultivation potential, that would be disastrous.
After the Light Dragon King spoke, the nine Dragon Kings reached a consensus and stopped requesting that Xu Yuan enter the Dragon Plane.
However, Xu Yuan's curiosity had been piqued.
Still, he was aware of the dangers involved.
"A malfunction in an entire plane's cultivation system is quite an interesting subject for research."
Xu Yuan thought, "I'll gather more intelligence. I need to confirm whether Archie has ever descended upon the Dragon Plane, whether any Great Demons have entered it, whether any overlord demons with Great Demon potential have entered, and whether they were affected after entering."
Once he confirmed this information, Xu Yuan could draw preliminary conclusions and decide whether to explore the Dragon Plane.
In truth, Xu Yuan wasn't sure what he might uncover through exploration.
For meaningful results, a truly top-tier powerhouse would need to investigate.
Someone like Yun Ming.
"For now, the crisis of the two Godslayer Missiles still looms. Master can't leave the academy yet. At the very least, we'll have to wait until the Holy Spirit Sect uses them before Master can spare the time to explore the anomalies of the Dragon Plane."
Xu Yuan sighed.
Looking toward Archie's territory, Xu Yuan reluctantly retreated.
Xiao Jia's bloodline was of extremely high quality. According to the Mountain Dragon King, his bloodline could perfectly inherit the Mountain Dragon King's bloodline powers. Through the inheritance, he could complete the evolution of his bloodline.
And if his bloodline evolved, he might also have a chance to overcome the influence imposed by the Dragon Plane.
"Nine seniors, soul beasts in the Douluo Plane cannot ascend to godhood. If Xiao Jia enters the Douluo Plane and accepts the Mountain Dragon King's bloodline inheritance, wouldn't he essentially become a soul beast?"
"So, what are you thinking?" the Mountain Dragon King asked.
Although Xiao Jia's bloodline quality was high, it was merely high. Even with a true dragon bloodline, achieving godhood was no easy feat.
With his current limits capped, solving this issue would already be a tremendous boon.
And yet, he was still thinking about ascending to godhood?
Greedy, much?
After pondering for a moment, Xu Yuan said, "Nothing. I just want to observe Xiao Jia's transformation. I need to perceive the entire process."
"That's fine," the Mountain Dragon King immediately agreed on Xiao Jia's behalf.
"Xiao Jia, let's go."
Xu Yuan finalized the plan with the nine Dragon Kings in the dream realm and patted Xiao Jia's claw.
"Benefactor, where are we going?"
"To my hometown."
---
Shrek City
Ya Li looked at the towering dragon standing beside Xu Yuan—four meters tall and six meters long—and gave a strange expression.
"Xiao Yuan, where did you find this?"
Xu Yuan explained the existence of the Dragon Plane to Ya Li.
Ya Li's eyes sparkled with surprise.
Her astonishment wasn't about the existence of the Dragon Plane or Xu Yuan's ability to explore it.
What surprised her now was the role of the Demon Plane.
Only now did she realize that Shrek hadn't fully grasped the implications of reverse-invasion into the Demon Plane.
The Demon Plane connected to numerous other planes, functioning as a transit platform that provided Shrek Academy's soul masters with opportunities to interact with many different planes.
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