Douluo: Brains Over Bloodline

Even if a deity reincarnates, they can still be overshadowed by their own nephew.

Xu Shengqun admitted that he had been utterly panicked when he first learned that Douluo Star still harbored the powerful Silver Dragon King. However, upon hearing that she was reincarnating and even having a nearly certain guess about her identity, he calmed down.

Mystery is always the most terrifying.

Now that he knew who the Silver Dragon King became after transforming and understood Gu Yue's behavior over the years, Xu Shengqun no longer saw Gu Yue as just a human but as the Silver Dragon King.

How he viewed Gu Yue before could now be applied to assessing the threat of the Silver Dragon King.

Of course, on top of that, he would need to exercise caution around her.

"Hmph, so that Gu Yue is actually the Silver Dragon King. No wonder her purpose for joining the Spirit Pagoda must have been impure."

Back then, Gu Yue, along with the other gifted students from East Sea City's Zero Class, had explicitly rejected Wu Changkong's invitation to join the Tang Sect, opting instead to enter the Spirit Pagoda. Xu Shengqun was well aware of this since East Sea City fell under his jurisdiction, and he knew everything happening within it.

The Phoenix Douluo had poached a talented student from his region—how could he not know the details?

At the time, he thought it was just the Spirit Pagoda's luck.

Now, however, it seemed that it wasn't about how persuasive or proactive anyone had been—it was all part of her premeditated plan to infiltrate the Spirit Pagoda.

"No one knows her true intentions, but one thing is certain: she doesn't harbor good feelings toward human soul masters," Xu Yuan said.

She had chosen to reincarnate yet separated her human emotions, clearly indicating her attitude toward humanity.

Xu Shengqun nodded, signaling that he would be vigilant.

"As for Qiangu Dongfeng, he previously used various methods to court Gu Yue because of her talent and research abilities. Now it seems this was all part of Gu Yue's plan—she likely wanted to leverage his influence. 

Now that Dong Feng has more problems piling up, she has distanced herself from him while subtly positioning herself to vie for the next Tower Master position using her teacher's influence.

Now that we know her true identity, her goals are clear."

Knowing some truths makes revisiting past events much clearer.

That was exactly how Xu Shengqun felt at this moment.

"Gu Yue recently seems to have achieved a major technological breakthrough. I don't yet know the specifics, but it's undoubtedly an important development—and there's definitely a hidden agenda behind it."

Xu Yuan quietly waited as Xu Shengqun muttered to himself.

He also heaved a sigh of relief.

By simply explaining Gu Yue's identity, Xu Shengqun could take precautions on his own.

At least for now, the schemes Gu Yue employed in the original storyline could all be preemptively countered.

Xu Yuan gave Xu Shengqun ample time to process Gu Yue's identity. When he finally recovered from the shock, Xu Yuan dropped another bombshell.

"Uncle, none of this is the most important thing. True strength is the foundation. All conspiracies and tricks are meaningless in the face of absolute power," Xu Yuan said gravely.

"The advantage Gu Yue currently holds over us is her potential ceiling. As the reincarnation of the Silver Dragon King, we can't predict whether she will smoothly ascend to the level of a deity. Therefore, before she regains her peak state, we must find our own path to godhood and stay ahead of her!"

Xu Shengqun snapped back to attention, his expression growing serious.

Indeed.

Although Xu Yuan currently outshone Tang Wulin and Gu Yue, who wielded the powers of the Golden and Silver Dragon Kings, their future potential was inherently higher.

There was still one major hurdle before Xu Yuan.

Becoming a god.

To continue suppressing them, they needed to successfully ascend to godhood.

Xu Shengqun recalled what Xu Yuan had said earlier—within ten years, Douluo Star would inevitably encounter an opportunity.

"At present, the upper limit for soul master growth is still Level 99. Level 100 cannot be broken through, nor can cultivation proceed beyond it. But all of this will change in the near future," Xu Yuan said without dragging things out, revealing everything directly. "From what I know, Douluo Star's soul master system has long been fully developed. In fact, its progression below the godly realm surpasses many systems with divine cultivation paths. The reason it hasn't broken through lies in the plane's limitations."

The plane itself forbids it.

"At present, the plane cannot sustain a Level 100 soul master. To break through to godhood, one must rely on inheriting a divine position, just like the Sea God and Spirit Ice Douluo did in the past. They could only ascend to a higher level by inheriting a divine position.

However, we currently lack divine inheritance and have lost contact with the divine realm. Therefore, we must pursue a breakthrough through the normal cultivation system—by finding a way to elevate the plane."

Xu Yuan explained methodically.

"To elevate a plane, the simplest and most direct method can be compared to our soul master cultivation—using energy accumulation."

"For example, absorbing energy from other planes to allow this plane to advance."

Xu Shengqun's eyes widened, and he took a deep breath before voicing his doubts.

"How much energy would it take to meet the requirements for Douluo Star's advancement?"

Xu Yuan looked at his uncle.

"In fact, we've already discovered another plane and established contact. However, it's only on par with Douluo Star, and the distance between them is vast. Even if we could absorb some energy, it wouldn't make a difference for the entire plane."

The Golden Ancient Tree could absorb energy from the Demon Plane to strengthen itself, but transferring that energy to the entire plane would be insufficient. Thus, the tree didn't do that. Instead, it converted all the energy absorbed from the Demon Plane into its own power, preparing for the upcoming impact of the Godslayer Missiles.

"In fact, the energy gained from absorption might not even match the amount Douluo Star is currently losing."

Xu Yuan looked at his uncle and finally brought up the key point.

A name flashed through Xu Shengqun's mind.

"The Abyss!" Xu Yuan pronounced these two words heavily.

Xu Shengqun didn't know how his nephew knew about the Abyss's existence, but now wasn't the time to question Xu Yuan's sources. What Xu Yuan had said earlier was far more captivating.

"The Abyss constantly devours Douluo Star's energy. No matter how many Abyss creatures we kill, their life energy flows back into the Abyss, leaving not a trace behind. Over thousands of years, this has caused the stagnation of the soul master system."

It was highly abnormal for there to be so many soul masters capable of unleashing godlike power below the godly realm, yet no cultivation path to reach godhood existed. This was a deformed development.

And the root cause of it all was the Abyss.

The Abyss was like a parasite clinging to Douluo Star, continuously sucking it dry.

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