Douluo: Brains Over Bloodline

Fang Yuan ranked eighth among the Shrek Seven Monsters, but he had never been overly concerned about it.

His minimal contribution during the initial exploration didn't mean he lacked value.

On the contrary, in the time that followed, his exploration of the Demon Plane provided significant assistance to Shrek.

This time, he had spent an entire month away from Shrek City, not heading to Yuan City but instead venturing alone into the Demon Plane for a full month of solo exploration!

This was unprecedented in Shrek's exploration efforts.

Even Tang Wulin, whose physical constitution allowed him to adapt seamlessly to the Demon Plane's ambient energy without any acclimation period, hadn't undertaken such an exploration.

And Fang Yuan's ability to do so was closely tied to his martial soul.

The Sealing Stele.

Through battles with demon creatures, Fang Yuan discovered another use for his Sealing Stele.

With the help of the Sealing Stele, Fang Yuan became the first to complete the refinement process under the plane's ambient energy.

Under the sealing power of the Sealing Stele, even the chaotic ambient energy became subdued, allowing him to smoothly absorb and refine it while tempering his meridians.

After just one round of refinement, once he adapted to the ambient energy, all he needed to do was maintain the suppression of its volatile elements through the Sealing Stele. This enabled him to utilize the ambient energy for cultivation and recovery as usual.

This was the reason he could survive and explore alone in the outside world for an entire month.

Of course, this wasn't Fang Yuan's greatest achievement.

For him, the most significant gain was the multitude of demons sealed within his Sealing Stele.

Yes, demons.

Using his Sealing Stele, he relentlessly suppressed and sealed demons.

The most powerful demon currently sealed inside his Sealing Stele was a Demon Lord equivalent to the Soul Sage level in the soul master system.

By sealing this Demon Lord, Fang Yuan could harness its power to bolster himself.

Over time, the Sealing Stele would also assimilate the Demon Lord's power, converting it into Fang Yuan's own strength.

In other words, by suppressing and sealing other beings, he could gradually digest their power for his own use.

To a certain extent, the Sealing Stele now bore similarities to an evil martial soul.

The difference lay in the fact that the Sealing Stele's digestion process was long and did not involve outright consumption of the sealed being. Instead, it adapted to the assistance provided by the sealed entity.

If he suppressed a Soul King-level being, he could borrow the Soul King's power to enhance himself. His daily cultivation would then involve gradually adapting to the absorbed being's energy absorption and refinement efficiency.

The more beings he suppressed, the greater the cumulative boost.

Of course, the enhancement had to remain within his capacity, and he needed to adapt to the absorbed power. The higher his adaptation, the more profound the boost became.

Especially in the Demon Plane, suppressing demons directly aided his refinement of the ambient energy, causing his soul power to break through repeatedly.

So far, he had advanced three levels in the Demon Plane.

When he returned to the academy from the Star Luo Continent, Fang Yuan was at Level 45. Afterward, he entered a deep meditation session in the Sea God Pavilion, gaining insight into the sealing properties of his martial soul—though at the time, he didn't know how to apply this trait.

Before entering the Demon Plane, he had broken through to Level 46.

After spending half a year in the Demon Plane, he consecutively broke through three levels, reaching Level 49!

He had caught up to Ye Xinglan.

Ye Xinglan was still stuck at Level 49.

Fang Yuan smiled confidently.

"This plan went smoothly. By sealing this Demon Lord, I can leverage its power to at least double my cultivation efficiency. Breaking through to Level 50 should be much easier."

The key wasn't just the doubled cultivation efficiency—it was the additional motivation gained from the Demon Lord's power, which was equivalent to the Soul Sage level.

Even if he couldn't fully replicate a Soul Sage's cultivation intensity, the amplitude and quality of the Demon Lord's energy refinement were undeniable.

This gave Fang Yuan full confidence to swiftly surpass the Level 50 barrier.

It wasn't just Level 50. He believed he could also breeze through Levels 60 and 70 afterward.

Using the Sealing Stele's properties, he could capture—ahem, suppress—more enemies to aid his cultivation.

Currently, the upper limit of what his Sealing Stele could seal was a severely injured Demon Lord. But once he reached the Soul King or Soul Emperor level himself, this limit would increase, allowing him to suppress even stronger beings.

Of course, the prerequisite was defeating and suppressing them.

Fortunately, after breaking through to Level 50, Fang Yuan was confident he could match a fully powered Demon Lord at the Soul Sage level. At that point, he planned to venture out again and seal two more Demon Lords.

This would make his cultivation as a Soul King even smoother.

"The battle armor allows me to fight opponents two levels above mine. With the added boost from this Demon Lord, fighting other Demon Lords two levels above me won't be a problem. Then, using the power of three Demon Lords, I can further enhance my cultivation."

This was a virtuous cycle.

The existence of battle armor was key to achieving such high-efficiency progress.

A glimmer of hope shone in Fang Yuan's eyes.

The future was promising.

"I need to ask Brother Yuan to forge the final Spirit Alloy. As for the previous components, I'll see if Brother Yuan has better materials. I want my battle armor to be the best it can possibly be."

---

When Xu Yuan returned to the Demon Plane, the first person he encountered was Fang Yuan.

"Brother Yuan."

Xu Yuan looked at Fang Yuan and immediately noticed the changes in him.

It was obvious.

When Xu Yuan had left, Fang Yuan was only at Level 46. That was already two months after the Gates of Hell had opened, and Fang Yuan hadn't broken through a single level.

Now, four months later, he had broken through three levels?

Even accounting for the previous two months, advancing three levels in six months was quite impressive.

Xu Yuan himself—aside from the boost from the Golden Ancient Tree—had never experienced such rapid advancement during his Soul Elder phase.

"It seems this place suits you," Xu Yuan remarked.

Fang Yuan grinned sheepishly and got straight to the point.

"Brother Yuan, are you free right now? I feel like I'll break through to Level 50 within the next two months. Regarding the creation of battle armor..."

Xu Yuan was quite astonished.

Confident of breaking through to Level 50 in two months?

"Are you sure your breakthroughs aren't consuming your potential or eroding your foundation?" Xu Yuan asked seriously.

Fang Yuan shook his head.

"Don't worry, Brother Yuan. I know what I'm doing. My soul power has been cultivated step by step, and every level I've broken through was achieved through gradual accumulation."

Seeing that Fang Yuan appeared sincere, Xu Yuan decided not to press further.

Everyone had their own opportunities.

Hadn't Xu Yuan himself smoothly transitioned from Level 49 to Level 50?

"The Spirit Alloys you need—I can forge them all. Over the next two months, I'll find time to prepare them for you. Once you break through, just come find me. By the way, how's your mech design skill coming along? If you've reached Level 5, you can start designing your own battle armor. The previous battle armor arrays will need to be refined and adjusted."

------------------------------------------------------

40+ Chapters Ahead Guaranteed: patreon.com/EphemeralShadow

There's something for free patrons too! Free Patrons receive 1 chapter in advance :)