Douluo: Peerless Beastmaster King

No matter how much Dai Yueheng and the others complained, Zhou Sicheng continued to put them through high-intensity training.

After enjoying a delicious meal, Zhou Sicheng bid everyone farewell and headed to the Sea God's Pavilion to continue studying the Bright Holy Dragon's various soul skills with Elder Mu, as well as Mu Lao's personal insights into martial souls.

Zhou Sicheng was already exceptionally talented, and with Mu Lao's patient guidance, his progress was skyrocketing.

Today, it wasn't just Zhou Sicheng who had arrived—Bei Bei was also there.

At the moment, Bei Bei was sitting under a tree with Elder Mu, accompanying him as they admired the sunset reflected on the surface of Sea God Lake.

Seeing Zhou Sicheng approach, Bei Bei stood up and greeted him with a smile. "Brother Zhou."

Although Bei Bei now knew that Zhou Sicheng had become Elder Xuan's final disciple, they still addressed each other the same way as before. Their relationship hadn't grown distant due to Zhou Sicheng's elevated status.

Zhou Sicheng returned the smile. "Bei Bei, what brings you here?"

Bei Bei didn't hide anything and spoke openly. "Grand Elder asked me to come. He said he wanted to help me reinforce the foundation of my martial soul."

Zhou Sicheng raised an eyebrow slightly. Although Bei Bei's martial soul was originally the top-tier Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, it had since mutated and now contained the Bright Holy Dragon's bloodline.

His martial soul now should be called the Blue Lightning Bright Tyrant Dragon—primarily based on the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, with a mutated infusion of the Bright Holy Dragon's bloodline.

However, the mutation wasn't yet stable. At present, his martial soul still predominantly took the form of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon. Elder Mu had already laid the groundwork for him; once Bei Bei's cultivation grew stronger, Mu Lao would help him fully awaken the Bright Holy Dragon bloodline.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Sicheng nodded slightly and accompanied him to Elder Mu's side. "Teacher."

Elder Mu wore a kind smile, his voice warm and gentle. "Sicheng, although Bei Bei is two years older than you, in the world of soul masters, it's always been 'the capable are the masters.' Since he calls you Brother Zhou, I hope you'll look after him a bit more from now on. You've inherited my martial soul, so I'd like you to help guide his training when you can."

Zhou Sicheng nodded. "Of course, Teacher. Even if you didn't say anything, I would've done so anyway."

Bei Bei, moved by the words, couldn't help but interject. "Grand Elder, Brother Zhou has already helped me more than enough. With the tournament coming up, he's already so busy he barely touches the ground. I'd rather not trouble him further."

"Besides, I haven't fallen behind in my cultivation either. I just broke through Rank 40 last night. I only need one more soul ring to reach the Soul Ancestor level."

Mu Lao gently nodded. "Looks like those two juniors from the Outer Court gave you quite the motivation."

Bei Bei showed a bitter smile. "I wouldn't have felt pressured if I were only comparing myself to Brother Zhou. But those two younger brothers of his—second years, and already Soul Ancestors. If I don't work harder, I'll be left in the dust."

"Besides, I'm your great-grandson. I can't let you lose face, can I?"

Zhou Sicheng reassured him, "Those two just got lucky. You're still the strongest offense-type soul master in the Outer Court—there's still a long way to go before they catch up."

Bei Bei waved his hands quickly. "Please, Brother Zhou, don't try to comfort me—makes me feel even worse! With Cao Jinxuan's control abilities, I bet even in the Inner Court he'd be formidable. When he and Long Xiangyue team up, I doubt even if I partnered with Xu Sanshi we'd gain the upper hand!"

Listening to the conversation between the two youths, Elder Mu remained silent, simply observing. He knew the deeper truths behind their words. Everyone has their own opportunities—some things can't be forced.

After a moment, Mu Lao gently patted Bei Bei's shoulder. "You... if only you had this competitive drive earlier, you wouldn't have just reached Rank 40 now. I've never placed strict demands on you, but as you can see, the academy is full of rising talents. If you want to stand out, you'll have to put in more effort."

Bei Bei's expression turned serious. "I understand, Grand Elder."

Elder Mu didn't mind Zhou Sicheng being present and asked Bei Bei in a soft voice, "How are things between you and Tang Ya?"

Bei Bei's expression froze for a moment. His previous confidence and pride quickly faded. After a brief hesitation, he answered, "I know what you're getting at. Her Blue Silver Grass martial soul does make cultivation difficult, but she's followed Brother Zhou's advice and found a new path. I believe she'll surprise you in the future."

Mu Lao sighed lightly. "I won't force you into anything. Otherwise, I wouldn't have let you join Tang Sect in the first place. But you must understand—without sufficient strength, you won't be able to protect anyone."

Bei Bei remained silent for a long while before his gaze turned resolute. "I understand, Grand Elder. From now on, I'll make cultivation my top priority."

Zhou Sicheng quietly listened to their conversation, pondering to himself. He had the nagging feeling that Bei Bei's visit today wasn't just about training under him. Surely it wasn't as simple as asking for cultivation guidance?

With Elder Mu—a peerless figure—offering instruction, wouldn't that be more effective than anything he could come up with?

Sure enough, as the conversation continued between the grandfather and grandson, it eventually shifted toward Zhou Sicheng.

Elder Mu didn't beat around the bush and spoke in a gentle tone, "Sicheng, now that Tang Sect is in decline, I hope that once you have the strength, you'll look after it as much as possible."

Zhou Sicheng didn't reject the request and nodded in agreement. "Of course. Even without your request, just based on my relationship with Bei Bei, Xiao Ya, and Yuhao, I wouldn't sit by and do nothing."

As long as they didn't ask him to join Tang Sect as an elder or protector or anything like that—he could work with anything else.

With Zhou Sicheng's clear answer, Mu Lao finally smiled with satisfaction and then began teaching both Zhou Sicheng and Bei Bei their cultivation techniques.

Once the training session ended and Zhou Sicheng left, Bei Bei squatted in front of Mu Lao, sighing in amazement at just how terrifying Brother Zhou had become.

He had originally thought that Zhou had just imitated Mu Lao's techniques by contracting soul beasts. But now he realized—this wasn't imitation. Zhou Sicheng had outright copied Mu Lao's martial soul.

He couldn't help but sigh in awe. How could one person be this absurd? He's practically omnipotent!

However, Mu Lao didn't tell Bei Bei the truth about Zhou Sicheng's contracted soul beasts. He merely said it was a special ability Zhou possessed and said nothing more.

Since Zhou Sicheng was now considered Shrek Academy's top secret, they had to treat that fact with the highest level of confidentiality. Even though Bei Bei was his great-grandson, he would not receive special treatment.

…

After spending the night cultivating at his villa, Zhou Sicheng felt completely refreshed the next morning. He made his way to the Sea God's Pavilion to continue his training under Mu Lao.

However, when he arrived, Mu Lao's usual lounge chair wasn't outside. Somewhat puzzled, Zhou Sicheng walked into the Pavilion, heading toward the third floor to find his teacher.

The Sea God's Pavilion had three floors in total. The third floor was where Mu Lao lived. It was a small space of only a few dozen square meters, furnished simply with a wooden bed, table, and chairs—truly a return to simplicity.

Just as Zhou Sicheng entered the Pavilion's main hall, he spotted Yan Shaozhe coming out of the doorway.

Zhou Sicheng was slightly surprised. "Senior Brother?"

Looking inside, he saw Ye Guyi and Ma Xiaotao standing gracefully next to Elder Mu, who was currently beaming with joy.

Upon seeing Zhou Sicheng, Yan Shaozhe grinned. "You've really outdone yourself, kid. Now that you have the Mirror Shadow Beast, in the future I'll pass down my Radiant Phoenix to you as well."

Hearing that, Zhou Sicheng immediately understood—Yan Shaozhe and the others must have returned some time ago, and they'd even been discussing his progress.

Zhou Sicheng smiled. "Even if you hadn't said it, I was going to ask you for it eventually."

Yan Shaozhe patted Zhou Sichen on the shoulder. "We'll chat more later. Since you've been away for quite some time, Meier has been overwhelmed handling things alone. I need to get back to work."

Zhou Sichen nodded slightly and stepped aside to let him pass.

Just before leaving, Yan Shaozhe turned back and added, "This time, Boneyi had quite the harvest. You'll be surprised when you hear about it."

"?" Zhou Sichen looked slightly puzzled.

Yan Shaozhe left Sea God's Pavilion, and only then did Zhou Sichen step inside.

Seeing Ye Guyi and Ma Xiaotao, he called out joyfully, "Big Sis, Xiaotao, you're back!"

The two of them smiled warmly, their faces glowing with happiness.

Elder Mu waved his hand. "Come, let's talk outside."

Hearing this, Ye Guyi pushed Elder Mu out of the main hall, and the group gathered outside under the rising sun.

Zhou Sichen looked intently at Ye Guyi. "Senior Brother just said that your gains this time were huge—enough to shock me. What exactly did you encounter?"

At his question, Ma Xiaotao jumped in. "Just thinking about it still gives me chills. We faced quite a few unexpected incidents while obtaining our soul rings."

Ye Guyi nodded in agreement.

Elder Mu reclined silently on his lounge chair, listening to the three youths recount the tale.

Ye Guyi and Ma Xiaotao took turns explaining everything that had happened during the month they were gone. At first, Zhou Sichen thought they were exaggerating—until they mentioned Ye Guyi's seventh soul ring...

Ye Guyi stepped back slightly and activated her martial soul. Seven soul rings rose around her: two yellow, two purple, two black, and one red!

The seventh ring emitted a deep blood-red light—it was a 100,000-year soul ring.

Even Zhou Sichen couldn't help but marvel at her astonishing luck—obtaining a 100,000-year soul ring as her seventh ring was almost unheard of.

Originally, Ye Guyi's seventh ring was supposed to be a heavily injured Light Dragon Horse with a cultivation of just over 90,000 years. Yan Shaozhe had suppressed it with ease. However, during the moment Ye Guyi delivered the final blow, something unexpected happened.

In its dying struggle, the Light Dragon Horse devoured the Holy Light Sword—a Tier 7 soul tool that Zhou Sichen had crafted and gifted to Ye Guyi.

Fortunately, Ye Guyi's final strike still went through. Although they lost a Tier 7 soul tool—one she dearly cherished, especially since it had been custom-made by Zhou Sichen and gradually upgraded—it wasn't a total loss considering the reward.

However, during the absorption process, a strange anomaly occurred. The hilt of the Holy Light Sword contained a pearl imbued with light-attributed essence. After the Light Dragon Horse devoured it, something mysterious happened during the soul shock phase: the originally 90,000-year soul ring somehow evolved—breaking through to 100,000 years at the very last moment.

And right at that critical juncture of absorption, the black seventh soul ring on Ye Guyi's body abruptly turned crimson. Both Yan Shaozhe and Ma Xiaotao, who were standing guard, were stunned!

But there was nothing they could do. All they could do was pray that Ye Guyi would make it through safely.

Ye Guyi herself was taken aback, but there was no turning back at that point. Absorbing a soul ring, especially at such a crucial stage, was a matter of life and death.

Interrupting the process would guarantee her death via soul ring explosion.

So she gritted her teeth and pressed on, enduring the pain of her body breaking down. Yet, in that moment, she felt a strange power within her helping to stabilize her body—guiding and assisting in the absorption and digestion of the ring's immense energy.

She teetered at the edge of collapse, unable to relax for even a second.

Only after the process was complete did she realize the truth: it had been the medicinal effects of the Lovesick Heartbroken Red's offspring variant that Zhou Sichen had given her—an elixir that had quite literally saved her life and enabled her to absorb a 100,000-year soul ring.

After showing off the ring, Ye Guyi approached Zhou Sichen with excitement written all over her face. "Sichen, this sub-variant is way stronger than we expected! If Teacher took it, even if it doesn't help him walk again, it would absolutely extend his lifespan!"

Zhou Sichen nodded. Ye Guyi's experience alone was proof enough of the miraculous effects of the Lovesick Heartbroken Red's offspring.

He couldn't help but wonder—was this what they called a blessing in disguise?

Still, something about the situation felt off. While the Lovesick Heartbroken Red was undoubtedly worthy of its title as an immortal emperor herb, even an offspring version should only be half as potent at best. Its miraculous effects were astounding—but not incomprehensible.

But the fact that a critically injured Light Dragon Horse could reach 100,000 years just by devouring the Holy Light Sword?

Cases like this weren't unheard of. For example, ten thousand years ago, the successor of the Sea God—now known as Tang Godking—absorbed three 90,000-year soul rings from Titan Ant Emperors. Due to the clashing energies, all three soul rings were forcibly pushed past the 100,000-year threshold.

But that was the protagonist of fate, after all. It made sense for him to have such cheat-level luck.

Ye Guyi, on the other hand, wasn't Tang Godking. Sure, her story had long diverged from the original canon—but to encounter such a miracle?

There's a world of difference between a 99,999-year soul ring and a full 100,000-year ring in terms of soul power amplification.

Now that she had such a seventh ring, as long as she maintained her current pace and talent, barring any accidents, she had basically secured her qualification for becoming a Rank 99 Limit Douluo in the future.

The others—including Elder Mu—assumed that her solid foundation, help from an immortal herb, and good luck explained it all.

But Zhou Sichen couldn't shake a nagging feeling that something deeper was going on. Could it be… destiny?

He had already changed so many things from the original timeline. Compared to the canon's protagonist Huo Hang, Zhou Sichen was even more of a monster—more talented and more overpowered.

If the world were to now reassign the title of Heaven's Chosen Child, wouldn't he be the obvious candidate?

A suspicion began to form in Zhou Sichen's mind: Could Ye Guyi have encountered such luck simply because of her close relationship with him, the newly chosen Child of Destiny?

This wasn't a baseless guess. For over a year now, Zhou Sichen had occasionally felt a strange guiding force—something working behind the scenes.

Like when he ventured to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. Or when he arrived at Shrek. Or even… his secret ambition to overthrow Tang Godking's millennia-old plan.

Lately, everything had gone remarkably smoothly—almost too smoothly. It was as if an invisible hand was steering fate in his favor.

More importantly, Zhou Sichen knew something others didn't: the consciousness of the Douluo Plane was in the process of being replaced—by the father of a certain god-king. Meanwhile, the core of the plane—the Golden Ancient Tree—was slowly being devoured by the mother of that same god-king...

If only Zhou Sichen had a way to communicate with the will of the Douluo Plane. If the plane really had placed its bet on him—then there was a real chance to work together!

At this moment, Zhou Sichen had a bold, almost absurd idea: Could the plane's will be considered a soul beast?

And more importantly: Could he form a contract with it using the Book of Contracts?

If that were possible, Zhou Sichen could truly soar.

According to the Book of Contracts' rules, once he ascended to godhood and began breaking through within the Divine Realm, the contracted plane consciousness would also evolve.

That would mean…

Zhou Sichen might just be able to create a new Divine Realm.

And just as this thought surfaced—

He felt a strange surge of emotion approaching...

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