After Xu Mingxi left the Sun-Moon Valley, he began studying the black crystal orb in his hand. According to the Moon Goddess, this world seemed to be connected to starlight, but no matter how hard he tried, the starlight merely floated on the surface of the crystal and could not penetrate it at all.
Deliberately giving a wisp of moonlight essence to the medicine-pounding rabbit beside him, Xu Mingxi took out the gift the high priest had given him before he left—a black square box containing the remains of Yang Yanwu.
Even though he knew most of the contents were soul bones, Xu Mingxi still washed his hands first, bowed toward the Sun-Moon Valley, and then slowly opened the box.
As soon as it was opened, a red light appeared. A burning aura filled the room, and the soul bone wrapped in red light floated in the air.
Although Xu Mingxi had never studied how to identify soul bones, he could tell from the powerful energy it emitted that this soul bone was of far higher quality than the left arm bone of the hundred-thousand-year-old fire-stealing lizard he had previously absorbed.
"This looks more like a leg soul bone, but I can't tell which side it belongs to."
After being tormented by a two-hundred-thousand-year-old soul beast for two years, Xu Mingxi's soul power had naturally reached level 89. As long as he absorbed this soul bone and used its energy, he might break through to level 90.
But before that, they still needed to confirm the soul bone's location with the three elders and find a new, suitable place to go into seclusion.
Since Emperor Xu Zilong of the Sun-Moon Empire learned that the inheritance of the gods might appear in the world, he issued a decree to conduct a large-scale search throughout the Sun-Moon Empire.
Even the small valley where the secret realm of the Sun-Moon Valley was located had seen several waves of visitors. Although all were handled by the three elders, the atmosphere there was no longer peaceful.
Moreover, they also wanted to seek information about a hundred-thousand-year-old soul beast. Even if Xu Mingxi didn't break through after absorbing the soul bone, he was close.
Xu Mingxi did not want to return to the Douluo Continent to hunt for his ninth soul ring. Besides the long time it would take, he also wanted to go to the Sun-Moon Empire with the Grand Elder to try some local specialties after his breakthrough.
As soon as the four of them arrived in the Sun-Moon Continent, they headed straight for the inheritance site. The three elders were worried that Xu Mingxi hadn't ventured far and was only wandering in nearby cities, so he knew little about the details of the Sun-Moon Continent.
They all decided to go to Yuesheng City, which the locals described as the largest metropolis in the southern Sun-Moon Empire, to rest for a bit and familiarize themselves with the continent.
Meanwhile, at Notting College in Notting City, Heaven Dou Empire of the Douluo Continent, an ordinary teacher was writing at his desk. The letter was addressed to the person in charge of the Star Crown Sect outpost in Heaven Dou and contained everything about Yu Xiaogang and Tang San after they entered Notting University.
Since his cousin Liu Erlong was killed by the Spirit Hall, Yu Xiaogang knew he had no power to take revenge, and he also knew the sect would never avenge him.
After Flender left, he fled Heaven Dou City alone and escaped to this remote small town, where he acted like a master and lived off free food and drink at Notting College.
The dean was born a commoner, and though he didn't fully believe that Yu Xiaogang—a weak soul master—could know so much, the ten core competitive principles of martial soul that he published were indeed helpful to common-born soul masters. So the dean turned a blind eye to his desire to remain at Notting University.
Tang San was accepted into the Holy Soul Village six months ago through the part-time student quota. As soon as he arrived at the gate, Yu Xiaogang accidentally discovered the secret of his twin martial souls.
Despite his teachers' sincere objections, he knelt and took Yu Xiaogang as his master on the spot, beginning the path of adding poison, entanglement, parasitism, and various small tricks into his Blue Silver Emperor martial soul.
The sect leader received this information and was greatly confused. The Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul? Could it be that Tang Hao's wife back then was just a weed?
After years of searching and with the help of the local tyrant Dugu Bo, the Star Crown Sect had found the Blue Silver Emperor's inheritance site in the Sunset Forest, and they had indeed discovered a ten-thousand-year-old Blue Silver King soul beast there.
According to what Xu Mingxi said before he left, if Tang San returned before he turned 32, he would personally handle the matter. If not, he would send a Titled Douluo to destroy him entirely.
The sect leader walked out of the hall, looked up at the stars in the sky, and sighed softly.
Now, six years had passed since Xu Mingxi left, and the sect's new generation had grown up.
The strongest, Xu Mingguang, had become a high-level Soul Saint and had acquired a piece of ten-thousand-year-old whale glue by chance, thanks to the Star Crown Sect.
The sect had begun looking for a suitable hundred-thousand-year-old soul beast for him, and they could start the soul hunt once he reached level 80.
Other outstanding young members like Xu Mingwei and Xu Mingyue had also broken through to Soul Saint level with the help of magical herbs.
Xu Mingxing did not take magical herbs, but he and Xu Mingyue had a martial soul fusion technique, which could slightly accelerate their cultivation. He was now also a high-level Soul Emperor.
It could be said that the Star Crown Sect was in a period of rapid development, and once Xu Mingxi and the three elders returned, the sect would be ready to show its fangs to the world.
Xu Mingxi, on his journey, suddenly sneezed and received worried glances from the three elders.
Even the two elders with the lowest cultivation among the four were level 82 Soul Douluos, and they moved very quickly. After asking some townsfolk for directions, they arrived outside Yuesheng City in just two days.
The grand city was built with dark silver bricks and stones and was heavily guarded by patrolling soldiers in silver armor.
The scene at the city gate shocked Xu Mingxi and the others. The heavy city gate was closed, but outside it was a group of ragged refugees. They surrounded Yuesheng City's gate and refused to leave no matter how loudly the soldiers on the wall shouted at them.
A sharp-eyed soldier on the wall spotted Xu Mingxi and his companions. Seeing their elegant attire and powerful aura, he figured they were big figures in the world of soul masters and quickly warned them:
"I truly apologize, gentlemen. By the mayor's orders, Yuesheng City will keep its gates closed for the next two days. You may enter the city on your own."
The lead soldier didn't want to offend the four who clearly weren't easy to deal with. He knew in his heart that the city lord didn't want the refugees to enter the city, which was why the gates were closed. Otherwise, he wouldn't dare let anyone in, no matter how brave he was.
He was initially hesitant, but when he saw three chains of starlight extend from Elder Eight's body and lift the group to the city wall, he felt very pleased with his decision.
Being able to fly unaided meant they were at least Soul Saints. City lords sought to win the favor of such people. As a lowly city guard, it was lucky he didn't offend them.
Putting aside the fact that the lead soldier quickly reported the arrival of the Soul Saints, Xu Mingxi and his companions' first impression of Yuesheng City was that it was clean—too clean, even.
There was no dirt or clutter on the white-silver brick streets, pedestrians walked slowly, and there were no small vendors on either side of the road.