Douluo: I, the Sun God

Dai Mubai and Ge Erdan bickered and sparred all the way to where Xu Yang was.

At this point, Xu Yang had also completed his daily cultivation. Over the past ten months, both Dai Mubai and the others had clearly felt the changes in him. Not only had his presence become more ethereal, even his aura seemed so natural and unremarkable, as if he had completely merged with heaven and earth.

This kind of transformation told them one thing—Xu Yang had become even stronger.

Even though Xu Yang hadn't made a move during this time, they had witnessed the terrifying intensity of his training. Not to mention the soul core explosions during cultivation, just watching him temper his body and train with his blade under gravity pressure rings—so dense they distorted the air—was enough. They couldn't even get close to the training area.

Seeing Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing arrive, Xu Yang spoke lightly, "There are just two months left until the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament. Your training is more or less complete. Will you return to Shrek Academy now, or stay at the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School?"

Although Zhu Zhuqing had fallen out with Grandmaster, her ties with the rest of the Shrek team remained. During the ten months of training, she and Dai Mubai had returned to Shrek several times to visit Ma Hongjun and Oscar.

Xu Yang was well aware of this, which was why he asked.

Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing also understood what Xu Yang's question meant—he was about to return to Heaven Dou Academy and rejoin the Emperor Team for group training in preparation for the tournament. Which meant their time training here was coming to an end.

After a moment of thought, Dai Mubai responded in a low voice, "Brother Yang, Zhuqing and I will go back to Shrek. The contest between us and Davis and Zhu Zhuyun needs a stage—and the Elite Tournament is the best platform. Only by returning to Shrek do we have a chance."

Ning Rongrong and Ge Erdan remained calm—they had clearly expected this outcome.

Xu Yang smiled and looked at the two of them earnestly. Teasingly, he asked, "You think you can win?"

Dai Mubai responded with a confident grin, "After training under you, Brother Yang, how could we not be confident? I believe I can defeat Davis now."

"Good. Confidence is key," Xu Yang nodded in satisfaction. He pulled out two new bracelets from his spatial ring and tossed them over to Dai Mubai. "Don't forget the promise between us."

"Of course!" Dai Mubai answered seriously.

Xu Yang had been willing to train Dai Mubai largely because of his identity—Crown Prince of the Star Luo Empire. Unlike traditional royal successions, the Star Luo throne is decided through competition—the strongest heir claims the crown.

This meant Dai Mubai truly had a chance at becoming emperor. If that happened, Xu Yang would have a powerful ally and an invaluable favor to call in, which was vital to his long-term plans.

And Dai Mubai, too, understood this. Still, he was genuinely grateful. Without Xu Yang, he would never have gotten close to touching that position. Xu Yang had given him the opportunity. As long as Xu Yang's future requests were within reason, he would help however he could.

After the five shared a final meal together, Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing departed the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School and returned to Shrek Academy. Xu Yang, too, left the sect for the first time in months—returning to the Emperor Team at Heaven Dou Academy.

Currently, the entire Emperor Team had reached the Soul Ancestor realm, and Yu Tianheng had already broken through to Rank 52 as a Soul King. As for Dugu Yan, her progress was monstrous—having consumed an immortal herb, her cultivation had skyrocketed to Rank 58, a level unprecedented in the academy's history.

Xu Yang, of course, wasn't counted among them. Everyone in the Emperor Team knew this "cheat-level" guy couldn't be measured by normal standards. Two years ago, their whole team couldn't even beat him together.

Now, the Emperor Team was undergoing intense training. Yu Tianheng had taken over as the new team captain, responsible for strategic planning, while Dugu Yan led on-field command. Xu Yang didn't take the captaincy simply because he spent too much time away. He'd already relinquished it to Yu Tianheng during his travels with Sword Douluo.

And honestly, Yu Tianheng had done a great job and earned everyone's respect.

After training, Yu Tianheng and Dugu Yan spotted a familiar figure yawning by the sidelines. Dugu Yan rushed over excitedly, threw herself into his arms, kissed him, and gave him a light punch, pretending to scold: "You finally remembered to come back? Done cultivating?"

Xu Yang pulled her close without a care for the envious looks around them—especially Osler, who was still embarrassingly single.

He chuckled, "Cultivation is on pause for now. I'm back to help us win the championship. Once we've got that, I'll move on to the next stage."

Yu Tianheng snorted, "Even without you, we'd still win!"

This year's Emperor Team was the strongest in its history—not only did they have two Soul Kings, the rest were top-tier Soul Ancestors. Their teamwork was seamless. He truly believed they had what it took.

Xu Yang simply smiled without arguing.

The team was strong, but their opponents were no pushovers. According to the intelligence network of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, other teams had shown frightening improvement due to the use of whale glue and high-year soul rings.

Godwind Academy's Feng Xiaotian, Skywater Academy's Shui Bing'er, Blazing Academy's Huo Wu, and Thunderclap Academy's Yu Tianxin had all reached the Soul King level. That's a massive leap from the original timeline, entirely due to the resource advantage from high-year soul rings.

In this context, the Emperor Team would face serious challenges. Not to mention the Spirit Hall and Star Luo teams. Spirit Hall's "Golden Generation" had three members already at Rank 56, with two more Soul Kings and two others at Rank 49, about to break through.

Star Luo's team was slightly weaker than Spirit Hall's but still on par with the Emperor Team. Davis was a Rank 52 Soul King and, alongside the Rank 49 Zhu Zhuyun, could unleash the terrifying martial soul fusion skill—Hell White Tiger. As a pure offensive fusion technique, Hell White Tiger could easily wipe out Soul King-level enemies.

As the team relaxed and chatted about recent training, Xu Yang simply sat to the side, listening quietly and occasionally showing affection with Dugu Yan—shamelessly feeding dog food to the rest of the team.

Soon it was back to training. Because Xu Yang's strength was ridiculously above the team's level, instructor Qin Ming didn't include him in regular group drills. The others simply couldn't keep up. Instead, Xu Yang was being treated as a hidden ace—a trump card to be deployed only when needed.

Xu Yang was perfectly happy with that. While observing the others, he continued refining his nearly complete Inner Core Technique, waiting for the day when he reached the realm of Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown, Five Energies Returning to the Origin—and formed his core.