Douluo:Peerless Tang Sect: Douluo of Peaceful Heaven

After the banquet ended, the group parted ways at the gates of Shrek Academy.

Zhu Ziyang and Jiang Nannan returned to the Inner Court.

"Brother, you seem really interested in that Huo Yuhao, huh?" Jiang Nannan finally couldn't hold back her curiosity and asked as they walked. "Why is that?"

"Because I find him interesting," Zhu Ziyang explained. "I have a feeling that Huo Yuhao's future will be incredibly bright."

"Wow, you think that highly of him? But why?" Jiang Nannan was puzzled. "Even though he has an innate body-type martial soul, his talent is poor. He's already eleven years old and his soul power is only at rank thirteen. If it weren't for joining Tang Sect, he wouldn't have even made it into the academy!"

"No particular reason. Just a gut feeling," Zhu Ziyang replied with a smile. Of course, he couldn't tell Jiang Nannan that he'd read a book that said Huo Yuhao would become a great talent. So he could only let time reveal the truth.

"I see, alright then." Jiang Nannan let the topic go and smiled. "Let's hope he really lives up to your expectations, otherwise, Xiaoya might be heartbroken."

"Hehehe, he will." Zhu Ziyang chuckled.

Jiang Nannan lost interest in talking about Huo Yuhao and instead said enthusiastically, "Brother, I heard that three of this year's new students are already Soul Elders!"

"Three Soul Elders?!" Zhu Ziyang was surprised. "That's intriguing. Do you know who they are?"

"Nope, not even Xiaoya knows," Jiang Nannan said, shaking her head.

"Oh!" Zhu Ziyang fell into thought. In previous years, just one Soul Elder among the freshmen would already be shocking, but this time, there were three. He couldn't help but wonder—were these three meant to serve as stepping stones for Huo Yuhao? After all, it's a classic move in fantasy stories to contrast a quirky genius against universally acknowledged prodigies.

—

Meanwhile, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong had returned to their dormitory.

"Wang Dong, I'm going to cultivate!" Huo Yuhao was full of energy. Zhu Ziyang's words had fired him up, and as soon as they got back, he rushed to sit cross-legged on his bed.

"That early?" Wang Dong was surprised, but quickly brushed it off—Huo Yuhao was a known cultivation maniac. "Alright then, I'm going to sleep for a bit. I'll cultivate after I wake up."

"Mm!" Huo Yuhao closed his eyes and began cultivating, ignoring Wang Dong.

"Tianmeng-ge, Tianmeng-ge!" Huo Yuhao called out in his spiritual sea.

"What are you yelling for, little Yuhao?" A fat, snow-white worm appeared lazily.

"Did you hear what Brother Ziyang said at dinner?" Huo Yuhao asked expectantly. His trust in Tianmeng surpassed anyone else, so he couldn't wait to hear his thoughts on Zhu Ziyang. "Do you think it's true?"

"How should I know if it's true or not?" Tianmeng's voice was exasperated. "I'm not human like you guys—how would I understand all the twists and turns of your martial soul logic?"

"Ah, I see..." Huo Yuhao said, a bit disappointed.

"But," Tianmeng noticed his mood and suddenly changed his tone, "that guy Zhu Ziyang probably wasn't wrong. Your Spiritual Eye martial soul can indeed be nurtured with soul power. And the Evil-Eyed Tyrant soul beast he mentioned—yes, that would be a great fit for your soul ring. If you get the chance, your third or later rings could definitely come from that species."

"Really? That's awesome!" Huo Yuhao cheered happily. "I knew Brother Ziyang looked kind and trustworthy. Why would he lie to me?"

"You're seriously trusting someone just after one meeting?" Tianmeng said, annoyed. "But still, that human is no ordinary person. It wouldn't hurt to get closer to him. I sensed the aura of a true dragon on him—ugh, how unpleasant!"

The big bug Tianmeng shivered at the memory of being dominated by Ditian over the past tens of thousands of years.

"True dragon aura?" Huo Yuhao tilted his head, confused.

"A true dragon martial soul," Tianmeng explained. "Your Senior Brother Beibei has the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, which counts as a true dragon too, but just a regular one. That Zhu Ziyang's martial soul, from its aura, feels like a pure-blooded true dragon—like Ditian, that bastard!"

"Regular true dragon? Pure-blooded true dragon?" Huo Yuhao was even more confused. His knowledge was limited—not illiterate, but definitely clueless about soul matters.

"Ugh, I can't explain it clearly either. Just know that Zhu Ziyang is way stronger than Beibei," Tianmeng said vaguely, not really knowing the full story himself.

"Oh, okay." Huo Yuhao nodded. Then he asked, "Tianmeng-ge, you know about Evil-Eyed Tyrants? What kind of soul beasts are they?"

"Now that's a good question!" Tianmeng instantly perked up. "Evil-Eyed Tyrants are unique to the Sun-Moon Continent. They're all spiritual-type beasts, and because of their strange appearance—they look like giant eyeballs—they're often called 'Big Eyeballs' by the beasts in the Star Dou Forest. I must admit, they're perfect for your soul rings!"

"Big Eyeballs?" Huo Yuhao couldn't help but imagine it, his expression turning odd.

"Their leader, the Evil-Eyed Tyrant Sovereign—known as the Evil Emperor—is ranked second among the Ten Great Ferocious Beasts and has a cultivation of 700,000 years!" Tianmeng said, increasingly excited. "I know about them because the Evil Emperor is one of the few who ever made Ditian suffer! I still remember that battle—it was glorious!"

"Seven hundred thousand years?" Huo Yuhao was shocked, though not deeply—he had no reference for what that even meant. He just knew it sounded powerful.

"If you ask me, the Evil Emperor would make a perfect ninth soul ring for your Spiritual Eye!" Tianmeng said boldly, eyes gleaming with ambition. "If you could inherit his ultimate skill—Light of Time and Space—that would be even better! Even Ditian fears that technique!"

"Uh..." Huo Yuhao was dumbfounded. He shook his head with a wry smile. "Tianmeng-ge, aren't you getting a bit ahead of yourself?"

"How could I be?" Tianmeng said proudly. "Once you get your second ring and fuse with the second martial soul I've picked out for you, you'll take off! With us by your side, even Ditian won't be worth worrying about!"

"Hahaha..." Huo Yuhao just laughed it off and didn't take him seriously.

—

Back at his wooden cabin, Zhu Ziyang was preparing to cultivate.

He took out a deep purple soul bone from his Starflame Ring and studied it carefully, hesitating over whether to absorb it.

It was a left arm bone from a 50,000-year-old Death Puppet—a gift from Yan Shaozhe before going into seclusion, offered as an apology.

Zhu Ziyang knew exactly why Yan Shaozhe had to apologize. Mu En had severely reprimanded him and ordered him into seclusion beneath the Golden Ancient Tree, forbidding him from emerging until he broke through to Rank 97. Zhu Ziyang figured it might be ten years or more before they saw him again.

As a light-type soul master, scheming too much was a serious burden for Yan Shaozhe. Reaching Rank 96 was already a stroke of luck. If he wanted to hit Rank 97, he would have to purge the shadows from his heart and find his true light again—otherwise, it would never happen.

The soul bone in Zhu Ziyang's hand was Yan Shaozhe's parting gift.

The Death Puppet was a rare and powerful death-attribute soul beast resembling a human and capable of manipulating bones and spirits. Mu En had initially wanted to find one for Zhu Ziyang's fifth soul ring.

This left arm bone contained a fixed soul skill: Death Puppet—a trump-card life-saving skill that creates a puppet to absorb one fatal blow in his place.

After a long while, Zhu Ziyang made up his mind and decided to absorb it. The more life-saving tools, the better.

Especially since this was a 50,000-year soul bone perfectly suited to his attributes. Even as a disciple of Sea God's Pavilion and an Inner Court student, chances like this were rare. He'd be a fool not to accept it.