"I can tell you—but for Chen Yi's safety, you master and disciple must swear on your martial souls."
At these words, the master and disciple both hesitated. On the Douluo Continent, martial souls were everything. Once you swore upon your martial soul, a single misstep meant soul destroyed and person dead.
"It's not that I don't trust you." The Third Elder placed his hand on the bluestone table, lowering his voice. "It's that this matter is too important. If it leaks, not only will that child Chen Yi become the target of all, but my Body Sect will face extermination."
Shui Qingmei's heart suddenly sped up half a beat. What on earth could make even the Body Sect face possible annihilation?
The current Body Sect had four Douluo in one sect. Even the Spirit Hall didn't dare to push them too far.
A martial-soul oath was too important. She wanted to discuss it with her teacher first. But the next instant, Shui Qingmei's expression changed drastically.
She saw Qing Yun slowly raise her right hand. Ice-blue soul power gathered in her palm, condensing into a long sword of ice—Qing Yun's martial soul, the Cloud Sword Sword. Sword-light was chilling; the cold radiance bit to the bone.
"I, Qing Yun, swear upon my Cloud Sword Sword martial soul: what I hear today, I shall never pass to a third person. If I violate this oath, my martial soul shall shatter, my sword shall be destroyed, and I shall die, forever cast into the abyss, cut off from the path of a soul master."
As her words fell, the ice-blue sword-shadow quivered lightly. A wisp of frigid soul power quietly melded into the world, as if she had signed a contract with heaven and earth.
Seeing this, Shui Qingmei knew she no longer had a choice. She took a deep breath. Light-blue soul power seeped out from her fingertips, and the surrounding temperature dropped again. With a phoenix cry, an ice-blue luan bird manifested before her—her martial soul, Condensed Water Flying Bend.
"I, Shui Qingmei, swear upon my Condensed Water Flying Bend martial soul: what happens today shall never be passed on. Should I violate it, my martial soul shall shatter, my luan be buried beneath the heavens, forever cut off from heaven and earth."
As her words fell, the Condensed Water Flying Bend shuddered and, with a mournful cry, dissipated in front of them, leaving only a few feathers of light drifting slowly down.
Only when master and disciple both made their great oaths did the Third Elder nod in satisfaction. The next moment, he lightly waved his right hand, and an invisible soul power covered the entire room.
The few of them fixed their eyes on him. Although Mu Xi knew how the Third Elder had broken through to Titled Douluo, she had never actually seen a soul core.
The Third Elder laughed.
Powerful blood and qi surged forth along with Titled Douluo–level soul power. In an instant, dazzling blood-light flared from his chest.
Shui Qingmei leaned closer, her eyes wide. She could clearly feel the gentle soul power emanating from that glow. Her instincts told her this light was the very secret behind the Third Elder's breakthrough—but no matter how she looked, aside from it being stronger than the soul power fluctuations in other areas, she couldn't see anything special.
"Old dog, this thing is what let you break through? Are you kidding me?"
Not only Shui Qingmei saw nothing, Qing Yun was the same. She frowned and asked.
"It's precisely thanks to this." The Third Elder's fingers lightly brushed his chest, as if touching the soul core within. His tone carried a complex smile. "This thing is called a soul core. It's a compressed core of soul power, and even more so, a divine item that can let one soar into the heavens in a single step."
He then explained the function of the soul core to them.
The more they listened, the more shocked they became. A soul core was far beyond "one step into the heavens"—it was downright heaven-defying. But thinking of that, they couldn't help becoming suspicious as well.
"Are you sure? If a soul core is truly this formidable, how did your Body Sect discover it?"
It wasn't that they were looking down on the Body Sect, but that the sect had been too busy just researching secondary awakening. How could they have the spare capacity to create such a heaven-defying secret method as well?
"Of course it's real. I'm not afraid to tell you: our sect master went into seclusion a year ago, and the Second Elder came out of seclusion a few months ago with his cultivation already at level ninety-five. The First Elder has even touched the barrier to level ninety-six—stepping into Super Douluo is just a matter of time."
The master and disciple both felt their scalps go numb. The Body Sect had actually become this strong. Didn't this already far surpass the Upper Three Sects?
Unless the three great sects allied together or Tang Chen returned, purely in terms of top combat power, the Body Sect could already be compared to the entire Upper Three Sects combined.
"As for where this soul-core method came from—heh. Our Body Sect indeed doesn't have that much time to study such a thing. But there is a type of existence that has endless time to research. For them, creating a soul-core method is nothing more than opening their eyes a bit."
"What kind of existence?"
Qing Yun and Shui Qingmei were completely confused. They had never heard of such mysterious and unfathomable powers on the Douluo Continent. Even the "Two Peaks" of the past were far from enough.
"Gods."
The master and disciple's eyes shrank.
Gods?
How could it be gods?
Apart from the Angel God of the Spirit Hall, could there be other gods appearing on the Douluo Continent? Had the Body Sect obtained the legacy of some divine being?
"What nonsense are you spouting? The Douluo Continent hasn't had any news of gods for ten thousand years. Just based on your Body Sect, would a supreme god favor you?"
The Third Elder looked proudly at Qing Yun and laughed aloud.
"That's right—just based on our Body Sect."
Looking at that smug face, Qing Yun had to restrain the urge to stab him with a sword. She wanted to see if he'd slip somewhere in his words. Then, recalling his and Mu Xi's unusual behavior, a small figure suddenly surfaced in her mind.
"Chen Yi!"
"What?"
Shui Qingmei turned to look at her teacher. Why bring up that little fellow all of a sudden?
Qing Yun ignored Shui Qingmei's confusion and instead stared at the Third Elder and her own little disciple.
"It's Chen Yi, isn't it?"
Mu Xi nodded heavily. She spoke in a deep voice to her teacher and senior sister.
"Xiao Yi has received the favor of a god and become the inheritor of His god position."
"Divine inheritance?"
Shui Qingmei took half a step back in shock, bumping into the pillar behind her. She had always thought that gods were a distant word, like the reflection of the moon in the icy lake of Skywater Academy—visible but untouchable. How could there really be someone who obtained a divine inheritance?
Qing Yun said nothing, merely staring at that soul-core glow in a daze. She knew this was very likely true. Soul cores had never been heard of before. Even if you knew the principle, you would need a massive amount of time and manpower to experiment. Moreover, according to what he said, the soul core had to be condensed at around eight rings. Data this precise would be impossible to obtain without countless trials.
The Body Sect was notorious for having few people. Just experimenting with secondary awakenings already made their hearts bleed—let alone experimenting with soul cores, which would mean certain death once you started. Even the Spirit Hall didn't have that kind of capital. Only legendary gods could create such a perfectly fitting secret method in a short time.
"The Body Sect is going to produce a god."
Shui Qingmei's incredulous murmur echoed in the silent room. She had always thought an Ultimate Douluo was the peak. Now someone told her that in this era, someone would become a god—no matter how she thought about it, it sounded absurd.
"Teacher, Senior Sister."
Mu Xi's voice finally pulled the two out of their daze. Seeing the terror in their eyes, Mu Xi pursed her lips.
"I know this is hard to believe, but it's the truth. The reason I want the academy to join the Body Sect is precisely this. As long as Xiao Yi becomes a god in the future, Skywater Academy will naturally rise with the tide. Becoming the number one academy under heaven wouldn't be impossible."
Hearing Mu Xi's gentle voice, Shui Qingmei's face suddenly flushed red. When Mu Xi had proposed creating an alliance completely dominated by the Body Sect, she had thought Mu Xi was blinded by love, and had drawn her sword on the spot, furiously calling her an ungrateful white-eyed wolf. Now that she thought about it, she realized it had been she herself who hadn't known what was good for her.
"Junior Sister, I'm sorry."
Shui Qingmei lowered her head, her voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz.
"It was me who lost my temper without figuring things out first. Don't take it to heart."
Mu Xi froze for a moment. Her senior sister had always been strong-willed—she would correct her mistakes, but never admit them. This was the first time she'd ever apologized to her. Mu Xi's eyes curved into crescents.
"Senior Sister, what are you saying? I know you were acting for the academy's sake."
Mu Xi turned to look at Qing Yun, her tone becoming extremely serious.
"Teacher, aside from the sect, no one knows about Xiao Yi receiving a divine inheritance. I'm telling you because I hope you can stand together with us. I promise you, the future of Skywater Academy will be unimaginably brilliant."
Qing Yun fell silent, her fingers unconsciously stroking the teacup in front of her. It wasn't that she wasn't tempted—on the contrary, she was very tempted. Cooperating with a future god, whose mother was a student of Skywater and her own disciple she had raised from childhood—there was almost no chance of a betrayal. This was practically an investment with infinite returns and no capital. But if anything went wrong, if the Spirit Hall discovered it, not only would their master-disciple line die, Skywater Academy might be doomed forever.
Shui Qingmei said nothing either, remaining silent for a long time before lifting the fragrant tea Mu Xi had poured and downing it in one gulp. The faint aroma spread in her mouth.
"Alright."
Qing Yun finally spoke. Her voice carried a subtle tremor.
"We agree. But remember, if anything goes wrong on Chen Yi's side, the first ones we must protect are the disciples of Skywater Academy."
Mu Xi's eyes lit up instantly, as if stars had fallen into them. She nodded hard, her voice trembling slightly.
"Teacher, rest assured! I promise I will never allow anything to happen to the academy!"
Seeing Mu Xi's joy, Shui Qingmei couldn't help but smile as well.
Qing Yun gazed at the distant sea of clouds and sighed softly. She didn't know if this decision was right or wrong—but she knew that for Skywater Academy and for the disciples by her side, she had to walk this path.