Douluo: Traveling Through a Peerless World, Journey in Time and Space

For example, I feel like I'm maliciously pretending to be a student of Shrek Academy.

Even if I don't think I'm faking it, attracting too much attention is never a good thing. I don't belong to this era—I can't afford to be in the spotlight.

Shi Yu quickened his pace, not wanting to draw any more attention.

When he arrived at the antique shop, he was immediately noticed. The shopkeeper had also recognized the school uniform of Shrek Academy.

The school badge and the characters embroidered on the chest were still quite recognizable.

Seeing that he might be a student of Shrek Academy, the shop owner personally came out to greet him, displaying great enthusiasm.

"The identity of a Shrek Academy student really is something special,"Shi Yu muttered inwardly, realizing the weight those words carried.

"I accidentally got a few silver soul coins. Could you take a look and tell me what they might be worth?"Shi Yu pulled out a few silver soul coins and handed them over.

The shopkeeper was a bespectacled middle-aged man who introduced himself as Boss Wang.

He took the coins, adjusted his glasses, and examined them closely, as though trying to discern the intricate patterns on them.

"Is this… a silver soul coin minted ten thousand years ago?"Boss Wang quickly spotted something and looked up at Shi Yu in surprise.

"Yeah," Shi Yu nodded calmly.

"Hiss—"Boss Wang sucked in a sharp breath. Something from ten thousand years ago was incredibly rare and valuable.

He examined the coin more thoroughly, constantly rubbing the surface with practiced hands, his expression growing increasingly serious.

Shi Yu kept his gaze on him, silently observing the shopkeeper's reactions while trying to guess the coin's potential value.

"Why is this silver soul coin so… new?"Boss Wang finally voiced his confusion.

Something ten thousand years old shouldn't look so pristine—not a spot of rust or aging. It was suspicious.

"It was preserved in a storage-type soul tool by my elders,"Shi Yu replied smoothly with a rehearsed line."It's been very well maintained, so it looks newer than expected."

"Even so, this level of preservation is…" Boss Wang still frowned in doubt.

"There are always special cases,"Shi Yu replied with a casual smile."Some items age, some don't. Not every antique needs to look ancient.What matters is whether this is a coin from ten thousand years ago, right?"

Boss Wang didn't argue further. He continued studying the coins and soon reached a conclusion.

He gripped the silver coin tightly and looked at Shi Yu, many thoughts racing through his mind.

The coins were authentic—he was certain. And though their pristine condition seemed odd, it could actually make them more valuable.Old artifacts are rare. Brand new antiques? Even rarer.

Rarity equals value. This might even be more valuable than a typical aged coin from that era.

The question now was: What price should he offer?

Too high, and he'd take a loss. Too low, and he might offend the seller.And this seller was a student of Shrek Academy.

That status alone was enough to make anyone cautious. These students were all elite talents, highly likely to become powerful soul masters in the future.

It wasn't worth offending someone like that just for a little profit.

What's more, the other party was watching him—eyes full of wariness, clearly on guard against a lowball offer.

Be smart, Boss Wang reminded himself, suppressing his greed.

Ten minutes later, Shi Yu walked out of the antique shop with five million federal coins.

It was all stored on a single card, making it easy to carry.

He had sold just a few silver soul coins and received five million in return.

The price could've been even higher if he had gone through an auction, but that would have taken too long—and it wasn't worth the delay.

Shi Yu had chosen to sell quickly, even if it meant earning a bit less.The five million was already within his expectations.

The first thing he did after receiving the money was to buy a communicator—this era's equivalent of a smartphone.

Spending ten thousand on a top-tier model, he sat down to begin his research.

The first term he searched was:"How long has it been since Huo Yuhao disappeared from the Douluo Continent?"—hoping to determine the current timeline.

The answer: 10,010 years.

"Then this must be during Tang Wulin's era,"Shi Yu thought to himself."I wonder how old Tang Wulin is now… Has he entered Shrek Academy yet?Is he still in Donghai City? Or maybe he's studying in Aolai City?"

Shi Yu's thoughts raced.He never stopped analyzing and searching for the information he needed.

What mattered most now was:

How to qualify for entry into the Soul Ascension Platform.

He remembered something:In the Soul Ascension Platform located in Donghai City, there was once an external soul bone belonging to a Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear.

It was an extremely valuable item.

Now that he was in Donghai City, he couldn't let this opportunity pass.

"I just don't know if the soul bone is still there…If Tang Wulin has already entered Shrek Academy, maybe it's already gone.But if not—there's still a chance. No matter what, I have to try."

Fortunately, even without a soul, he could still enter the Soul Ascension Platform.

On the official website of the Spirit Pagoda, he found the rules for entry:

Having a soul was not a requirement.Even with only soul rings, one could enter and rely on the platform's energy to enhance their soul ring's age.

Of course, the effects were less than one-tenth of those gained by someone with a soul, and there were risks—Soul rings could be damaged by the platform's energy.

A warning on the website said:

"Not recommended for soul masters without a soul."

But "not recommended" wasn't the same as "prohibited."

Shi Yu still had a chance.

The real challenge was how to gain entry qualification.Money alone wasn't enough. You needed a background, or the easier option—join the Spirit Pagoda.

"Joining the Spirit Pagoda might be a good move,"Shi Yu seriously considered it.

After all, this era was full of things that didn't exist during the Peerless Tang Sect period:

Souls

High-level soul tools

Battle armor

Mechas...

If he could master these, then return to the Peerless Tang Sect timeline—Wouldn't that be a dimensionality reduction strike?

Of them all, the thing he desired most was the soul.

Souls could solve the biggest problem—acquiring soul rings.

A soul could grant multiple soul rings.If he found the right soul beast and turned it into a soul, he might never need to worry about his second or third soul ring again.

They would even evolve automatically with time.

Some methods could also increase the soul rings' age, making them far superior to traditional ones.

But to obtain soul technology, it seemed he would have to join the Spirit Pagoda.This kind of tech was not publicly available.

"Whatever. I'll take it step by step,"Shi Yu sighed.

He was a bit worried—If he traveled back in time after seven days, there would be a strange gap in his timeline.How would the Spirit Pagoda react to his sudden disappearance?

But after some thought, he decided not to worry about it too much.

"If I disappear, they won't be able to find me anyway,"he consoled himself.

"So let's just take it one step at a time."