Douluo Continent: The Eternal Order of the Azure Sky.

Because beneath the surface of light and darkness lies Kong Tianxu's sword intent.

He sees the sky as black, and the sky as white, but in reality the sky is both black and white. Only after black and white is the true nature of heaven revealed.

The Heavenly Heart Sword. He wasn't even qualified to see it.

It is difficult to see the will of Heaven when one cuts through the darkness to see the light.

Ji Juechen slowly knelt down, his trembling hand reaching out to grasp the hilt of the Sword of Judgment, which was stuck in the ground.

A cold touch came, and the vast and contradictory power of light and darkness within the sword pulsed faintly. He closed his eyes, and two lines of clear tears silently slid down the cheeks of this sword fanatic.

This is the path he wants to pursue.

At this moment, under the watchful eyes of everyone, Ji Juechen remained kneeling, lost in a state of profound enlightenment meditation.

The second speed bump is now resolved.

Kong Tianxu stopped looking at him and gently said to Xu Tianzhen, who was curiously observing him in his arms, "It's too noisy here, let's go somewhere else?"

Xu Tianzhen lifted her head from his neck, her tears still wet, but her eyes crinkled with laughter as she nodded vigorously, her face filled with unreserved trust and happiness.

"it is good!"

The next moment, purple and gold shone brightly.

Without warning, the Starry Wings unfurled behind Kong Tianxu, their mysterious and noble vortexes swirling in the sunlight. With a gentle flap of the wings, an overwhelming updraft lifted the two of them, instantly raising them several feet off the ground.

Under the stunned gazes of everyone, Kong Tianxu embraced Xu Tianzhen's waist, his soul power surging around his Starry Sacred Wings. His figure transformed into a dazzling purple-gold streak of light, streaking across the sky above the trial field and hurtling towards the distant azure horizon. In just a few breaths, he disappeared from everyone's sight.

"……Depend on."

Xiao Hongchen stared at the rapidly disappearing point of light, and after a long while, he finally managed to squeeze out a single word.

He lay back down heavily, staring at the sky, feeling pain all over his body.

Comparisons are odious; Kong Tianxu has even become a Soul Saint.

He's not feeling well!

……

A streak of purple-gold light streaked across the sky, moving with incredible speed yet maintaining remarkable stability. Xu Tianzhen held Kong Tianxu tightly, the wind whistling in their ears, their feet illuminating the rapidly shrinking Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy and the approaching outline of the imperial city.

She finally couldn't hold back any longer and asked the question that had been lingering in her mind for so long:

"Tianxu, why aren't you representing our academy in the competition? Everyone is looking forward to your return to lead us in defending our championship title."

"The rules of this competition have changed, allowing sects to form teams to participate. Therefore, I plan to represent my sect in the competition."

Kong Tianxu smiled slightly: "Your Highness, would you like to come with me?"

"Mmm." Xu Tianzhen nodded subconsciously to the hamster, then, as if remembering something, she suddenly looked up, her beautiful eyes wide with disbelief, and said, "A sect? When did you get a sect? Could it be..."

A thought flashed through her mind, and a name that had risen to prominence in recent years yet was shrouded in deep mystery came to mind: "The Holy Spirit Cult?!"

Chapter 255 Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear Cub

"Very clever." Kong Tianxu smiled, not denying it.

Xu Tianzhen's mouth opened slightly. She thought of Xu Guoyi, who had always been on guard against the Holy Spirit Cult merging with the Temple of Worship, and Xu Tianran, who was quite pleased with the Holy Spirit Cult being gradually and deeply bound to the war chariot of the Sun and Moon Empire.

If Kong Tianxu were to represent the Holy Spirit Cult in battle, the implications would be...

She had a vague premonition that the place Kong Tianxu was taking her this time might force her to make some choices.

But she realized what was most important to her many years ago, didn't she?

Thinking of this, Xu Tianzhen stopped talking and simply pressed her soft body closer to Kong Tianxu's embrace, as if she wanted to draw more courage and determination from this embrace.

“We’ll visit Grandpa first, and then… go see someone.” Noticing Xu Tianzhen’s subtle change in emotion, Kong Tianxu’s tone also became slightly heavy.

“Grandpa Kong? I haven’t visited him in a long time.” Xu Tianzhen nodded immediately. As for “visiting a person,” although she was curious, she obediently did not ask further.

With a slight flutter of the Starry Wings, they reached a speed that ordinary flying soul tools could hardly match. The purple-gold light streaked across the sky, and about a quarter of an hour later, the two landed in a seemingly ordinary mountain forest on the outskirts of Mingdu.

Ancient trees tower all around, vines entwine, and it is a place rarely visited by people.

"Where is this..." Xu Tianzhen looked around but didn't see any buildings.

Kong Tianxu didn't explain. He took her hand and led her to a rock wall covered in moss. He stretched out his finger, and a wisp of extremely fine purple-gold soul power seeped out from the tip of his finger, quickly pointing at several seemingly naturally formed uneven textures on the rock wall.

"Crackling..."

A low, rumbling sound of machinery turning filled the air, and the thick rock wall silently slid open, revealing a deep, downward-sloping passageway.

The lights came on one by one, and the walls on both sides of the passage were as smooth as a mirror. They were made entirely of rare metals, with intricate soul-guiding core magic array patterns flowing faintly.

“This is the Hall of Offerings,” Kong Tianxu explained casually, then added after a moment’s thought, “the one that’s called the Royal Research Institute.”

Xu Tianzhen suddenly realized what was happening, glanced at Kong Tianxu in surprise, and obediently followed him inside.

In the Sun Moon Empire, high-ranking Soul Masters who have reached the seventh ring or above, if they are formally trained and have an eighth or even ninth-level Soul Master lineage, will mostly know that although Mingde Hall is known as the heart of the empire and its research on Soul Guidance technology often brings about considerable technological changes, some core secrets of the empire's research on the most cutting-edge Soul Guidance devices are not handled by Mingde Hall, but by the Hall of Worship.

To draw an analogy, the difference between the two is that Mingdetang's research often focuses on star topics such as soul-guided bionics, sealed baby bottles, and large humanoid soul-guided devices, with the ultimate goal of promoting their widespread civilian use across the country.

The Hall of Offerings, on the other hand, is responsible for cutting-edge military research.

One of the Sun Moon Empire's greatest trump cards today—the Linked Soul Tool—was born in the Hall of Worship.

In the hands of a Soul Master Corps, the linked Soul Tools are enough to create offensive and defensive capabilities at the level of a Limit Douluo, only with poor mobility.

The topic being researched by the Hall of Offerings is called the High-Energy Compressed Soul Guidance Array Soul Guidance Device. One such array can store soul power equivalent to the total soul power of one hundred Title Douluos, which is an energy accumulation that touches the realm of demigods.

Therefore, the Royal Palace has always been referred to as the Royal Research Institute. Almost all the level nine Soul Masters of the Sun Moon Empire are members of this institute, and only those who have reached level nine are qualified to join it.

This statement is not wrong; in fact, there is indeed a Royal Research Institute, but it is not located in the same place as the temples within the Imperial City.

To be precise, the ancestral halls in the imperial city are merely one node in the true royal research institute, remarkably similar to the unassuming secret base before us.

The tunnel's internal structure was extremely complex, with many twists and turns and numerous branching paths, yet Kong Tianxu navigated it with ease.

Along the way, the two talked in hushed tones, recounting the bits and pieces of the past three years since they parted ways.

Xu Tianzhen told Kong Tianxu that her sixth soul ring came from the ten-headed Fiery Sun Serpent she killed in Hell Road.

After absorbing the inner core of this ancient beast, she not only gained the powerful Heavenly Sun Soaring Domain as her sixth soul skill, but her martial soul also seemed to undergo a strange evolution, able to briefly manifest six sun martial souls, though the consumption was enormous.

The effects of the Sun and Moon Soul-Nourishing Pill are also incredibly miraculous, helping her steadily improve her strength. Now her soul power has reached level sixty-eight, and the pill's power continues to flow endlessly.

Kong Tianxu smiled slightly. The wonder of the Sun and Moon Soul-Nourishing Pill lies in its powerful aftereffects. While the Qiankun Creation Pill might provide a more noticeable boost to soul power in the short term, there is a significant difference between the two in terms of both the total amount and the quality of the boost.

As for Tianzhen's martial soul evolution and domain soul skill, it is quite similar to that of Ma Hongjun, the Evil Fire Phoenix among the Shrek Seven Devils ten thousand years ago.

Ma Hongjun combined the seventh soul ring, the Fire Phoenix, with the ten-headed Fiery Sun Serpent, two ancient divine beasts, to create the Nine-Headed Fire Phoenix. Although it did not reach the level of the ultimate fire, its martial soul quality was extremely high, completely comparable to the ultimate martial soul.

Will the naive Sun Martial Soul, combined with the inner core of the Ten-Headed Blazing Sun Serpent, continue to evolve in the future, eventually reaching the Seven Suns, Eight Suns, Nine Suns, or even... the realm of Ten Suns Soaring Across the Sky?

“However, Sister Cain is even faster,” Xu Tianzhen said with a hint of admiration and a touch of resentment. “When we last met, she said she was almost at the Soul Saint level.”

"Her," Kong Tianxu said, patting Xu Tianzhen's head, "is already a Soul Saint. She just broke through not long ago."

Xu Tianzhen stuck out her tongue and muttered under her breath, "You two are really monsters..."

As the two spoke, they passed through several hidden mechanisms and portals, finally arriving at a heavy door covered with a thin layer of frost.

At the entrance, three sharp-looking elderly men, all identical in appearance and attire, stood solemnly.

The three men appeared to be at least seventy years old, extremely thin, and with deeply wrinkled faces. Their gray hair was simply loose, and their eyes, though dull and cloudy, now shone with a sharp and piercing light.

Their most distinctive features are their noses, which curve like an eagle's beak, and their lips, which are as thin as a blade.

The three old men were all dressed in gray robes, each holding a long, jet-black cane, about ten feet long. At the top of each cane was a gray gem the size of a human head, faintly emitting powerful energy fluctuations characteristic of an eighth-level soul tool.

The three brothers, all of whom are extremely rare Soul Masters among evil Soul Masters, are none other than the three brothers Zhongli Tian, ​​Zhongli Di, and Zhongli Ren, who possess the Netherworld Serpent Martial Soul.

"Greetings, Holy Emperor." Upon seeing Kong Tianxu, the three Zhongli brothers all showed a hint of respect in their eyes and bowed. However, their voices were extremely unpleasant to hear, hoarse like broken bellows.

As evil spirit masters, their presence in the highly confidential Imperial Research Institute speaks volumes about their inclinations within the Holy Spirit Cult.

Despite being Zhongli Wu's servants, these three brothers were actually loyal to Ye Xishui, the Supreme Master of the Sect. After Ye Xishui expressed his support for Kong Tianxu, they naturally switched sides to this young Holy Emperor.

As one of the Holy Spirit Cult Leader's most trusted people, they possessed considerable knowledge, and often, the list of evil spirit masters that Cain secretly dealt with was provided by them.

It's laughable that Zhongli Wu repeatedly flew into a rage over this matter, beating his subordinate elders mercilessly. Little did he know that no matter how much you guard against someone, it's hard to guard against a traitor within your own ranks.

Kong Tianxu nodded in acknowledgment, without offering any further explanation. He hoped to elevate Tianzhen to that position in the future, and she only needed to be aware of these darker aspects; she didn't need to know too much.

Xu Tianzhen nodded to the three Zhongli brothers, and her vigorous blood and soul power fluctuations surprised them.

She herself felt that the soul power fluctuations of each of the three Zhongli brothers were in no way inferior to those of Rong Momo, and she also gained a more intuitive understanding of the title of Holy Emperor and Kong Tianxu's control over the Holy Spirit Sect.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Zhongli Tian stepped forward and triggered the mechanism.

The heavy door slid open silently, and a chilling aura surged out instantly, causing even Xu Tianzhen, whose cultivation was already close to the pinnacle of fire, to shiver.

Only then did she realize that the door was made of wood, a meter thick, yet even so, a layer of frost had formed on the outside, showing just how low the temperature was inside the sealed room.

The terrifyingly low temperature only surprised Xu Tianzhen for a moment; however, the scene in the center of the sealed room made her hold her breath—

This is a rather spacious, secluded room, simply furnished, yet possessing an almost hallucinatory, strange beauty.

The walls and dome are inlaid with a deep blue crystal, crystal clear, varying in size and scattered. Under the soft, soul-guiding light of the room, these crystals refract a dreamlike, shimmering glow.

A massive snowball, over three meters in diameter, hovered silently in the center of the sealed chamber. Its entire body was crystal clear, as if compressed and condensed from the purest, millennia-old ice, emitting a visible white mist of cold air. It seemed to be continuously absorbing the terrifyingly low temperature of the entire room.

“This is…” Xu Tianzhen subconsciously tightened her grip on Kong Tianxu’s hand.

Kong Tianxu's gaze fell on the snowball, his eyes softening with concern. He asked softly, "Grandpa, how is the Snow Emperor?"

After releasing Yan Shaozhe that day, Kong Tianxu had Ye Xishui take Xue Di back to the secret base of the Sun Moon Empire first, and specially used a large amount of Ice Extreme Divine Crystals to decorate this secret room for Xue Di to recuperate.

"Since returning, she has remained in this deep slumber. Her breathing is steady and long, and her life force is abundant, even stronger than before, but there is no sign of her waking up. The room has been set up with the highest purity ice crystal array as you requested, simulating the environment of the ten-thousand-year-old Xuanbing Cave, but it seems... the effect is not good."

Kong Deming emerged from the shadows on one side of the secret room and smiled gently at Xu Tianzhen. Xu Tianzhen also greeted him politely, clearly indicating that the two were already familiar with each other.

Kong Tianxu walked to the huge ice crystal snowball, reached out and gently touched its cold, icy surface, feeling the steady yet profound soul power fluctuations within.

He nodded, his expression showing little surprise, as if he had expected it.

This state should be Xue Di's innate skill - transformation.

The Ice Extreme Divine Crystal is effective, but it's still too slow for someone of Snow Empress's cultivation level.

After the competition, he will take Xue Di to the Ten Thousand Year Ice Cave below the Earth Dragon Gate, and Xue Di will surely wake up then.

“Tianzhen,” Kong Tianxu said after a moment’s thought, turning his head to look at Xu Tianzhen with a frank gaze. “This is Xue’er. She once saved my life.”