Chapter 17: The Dao Heart Shatters: Gu Yue and Xiao Na Triumph, the Wuji Dao

Donghai City Primary Soul Ascension Platform.

While Tang Wulin was dazed, Na’er, panicked by concern, kicked him out of the Soul Ascension Platform; seeing this, Zhang Yangzi and Wang Jinxi, both severely injured by the Golden Dragon Claw, immediately fled—leaving only three in the forest.

Zhao Xuanzhen, Na’er, Gu Yue.

“You’re Gu Yue?” Zhao Xuanzhen confirmed.

“Correct.”

Gu Yue’s tone remained unruffled, undisturbed by facing two monsters alone.

Zhao Xuanzhen gazed at Gu Yue and suddenly realized she was unexpectedly beautiful—her features exquisite, skin pale as warm lambswool bathed in sunlight, her jet-black eyes like still lakes shimmering with liquid light, rippling gently.

Scanning his memories, Zhao Xuanzhen found the reason for Gu Yue’s changed appearance in 0.25 seconds.

In another timeline, Gu Yue and Na’er made a wager: Gu Yue would use an ordinary appearance to get close to Tang Wulin and make him fall for her; if successful, Na’er would willingly abandon her humanity, and the two would merge into one—Silver Dragon King Gu Yue Na reborn.

Since Na’er wandered to Shrek City, the world had changed: Na’er joined the Spirit Transmission Tower and never knew Tang Wulin, while Gu Yue entered Donghai Academy solely to seize the Golden Dragon King’s Divine Core.

In this life, there was no romantic wager; with the Silver Dragon King’s dragon pride, Gu Yue would never deliberately alter her appearance—this breathtaking beauty was her true form.

Perhaps due to preconceptions, knowing both were halves of the Silver Dragon King, Zhao Xuanzhen strangely felt their eyes bore some resemblance—but their vastly different temperaments erased any such similarity.

After observing Gu Yue’s transformation, Zhao Xuanzhen spoke: “Spirit Transmission Tower, Zhao Xuanzhen. Na’er.”

“I am your examiner today. Defeat me, and you automatically become a core disciple of the Spirit Transmission Tower. Otherwise, the Tower will reassess your overall potential.”

Hearing this, Leng Yaoju outside smiled in satisfaction; with her Elemental Master martial soul and her reclusive family background, Gu Yue would become a member of the Spirit Transmission Tower no matter her performance—Zhao Xuanzhen merely exploited information asymmetry to force her to give her all.

“Fine!”

Gu Yue’s reply was crisp and decisive—the Spirit Transmission Tower was non-negotiable; she would climb to the very top, step by step.

Two yellow soul rings rose, releasing a 21st-level soul power aura; Na’er beamed with pride and secretly stuck out her tongue.

Hehe, Gu Yue, my little sister—I have higher soul power than you!

A vein throbbed on Gu Yue’s temple; the accidental soul split that created Na’er during her transformation, combined with the primal wound of her Silver Dragon King true form, had forced her to spend three years in quiet recuperation in the Star Dou Great Forest just to regain a sliver of power—and now the primary culprit mocked her!

“She’s so scary, Zhao Xuanzhen—not like me, sweet and adorable!”

Na’er transformed into a pitifully innocent beauty, stabbing Gu Yue in the back with blatant cruelty, seizing every chance to slander her!

Gu Yue’s face flushed with anger; she coldly snorted, and her first and second soul rings flared simultaneously—around her body, earth, water, wind, fire… coalesced into colored elemental orbs.

First soul skill: Elemental Tide. Second soul skill: Elemental Control.

Unlike Na’er, who wielded the Silver Dragon Spear, Gu Yue inherited the Silver Dragon King’s most formidable elemental abilities. Neither skill was offensive; their effects were massive soul power enhancement and explosive surge of surrounding elemental forces—Gu Yue’s combat style was to bombard enemies with multiple elements.

Azure light swirled; fierce winds forged countless sharp wind blades, shrieking as they tore through air toward Zhao Xuanzhen.

“Xun character: Wind Blades.”

Zhao Xuanzhen’s eyes turned deep blue; the Eight Trigrams Qimen Dao Art unfolded—stronger winds descended, instantly erasing Gu Yue’s wind elements.

Gu Yue’s expression turned grim; she raised both hands, fingertips glowing crimson, wild fire elements converging into a series of blazing fireballs that rained down on Zhao Xuanzhen.

“Li character: Flame Bullets.”

The fireballs met the same fate as the wind blades—the Eight Trigrams Qimen’s Flame Bullets shattered them, then surged forward with unrelenting momentum, aimed squarely at Gu Yue.

“Boom—”

A wall of earth erupted, the Flame Bullets exploding into waves of crimson fire that spread, devouring vast stretches of forest; the landscape turned blackened, temperature skyrocketing.

Gu Yue used earth elements to block the Flame Bullets, then, hidden by the firewave, hurled an ice spike—but it collided midair with another ice spike!

“Impossible! Absolutely impossible!”

Gu Yue’s composure shattered; her lovely face twisted. Identical skills—yet the Silver Dragon King’s elemental power had been defeated by a human. If it were merely soul power superiority, she’d accept it—but she sensed from Zhao Xuanzhen’s Dao Art a suppression of her very connection to this world’s elements!

“Why impossible?”

Zhao Xuanzhen smiled lightly: “The Eight Trigrams Qimen governs the transformations of heaven and earth!”

“Kun character: Earthquake!”

The ground trembled violently; countless grains of sand and stones levitated, forming a mountain-sized stone serpent whose jaws split open over 180 degrees, fangs glowing with earth power as it lunged to devour Gu Yue.

“Ice Storm!”

Gu Yue bit her crimson lips deeply, commanding ice and wind elements to summon a blizzard tornado; as the stone serpent charged, the tornado exploded—ice shards and flying debris collided midair, blue ice prisms and earth fragments raining down like a storm.

Both commanded elemental forces; Zhao Xuanzhen pointed into the void, summoning hurricanes from both sides; Gu Yue clasped her hands, forming a hemispherical ice shield from water. The moment the hurricane struck, the ice surface sprouted dense flame patterns—water and fire elements fused; the surroundings shattered into ruins.

The sky flickered erratically. Gu Yue hovered on wind, violet light igniting in her pupils; light and dark elements coalesced into solid tendrils. Zhao Xuanzhen flipped midair, the hurricane morphing into a drill, piercing through the shockwave from the light-dark tendrils and shattering Gu Yue’s temporary water shield into mist.

“Combined elements can’t beat single-element mastery—the heavens aid you, not me!” Gu Yue gritted her teeth. “What power is this?!”

“Within my domain, I am heaven and earth. I am cosmic law. The strength of elements, their generation and destruction—I dictate them.”

Zhao Xuanzhen’s deep blue eyes grew darker; all ambient elemental forces began collapsing. Gu Yue, horrified, realized her elemental control was being overwritten by a higher-dimensional authority—even the wind sustaining her flight betrayed her!

“Brilliant, Zhao Xuanzhen! Crush her utterly!”

Na’er was ecstatic, punching the air left and right, cheering Zhao Xuanzhen on.

Gu Yue shot Na’er a murderous glare—she was on the verge of breaking her Dao heart, and this creature was still taunting her!

“Basic elements are useless. To turn defeat into victory, I must strike unexpectedly!”

After all, she was the Silver Dragon’s wisdom incarnate; Gu Yue calmed, swiftly seeking a breakthrough.

A flash of silver—Gu Yue teleported above Zhao Xuanzhen, each hand gripping an ice blade: Spatial Element, Instantaneous Transfer!

“Qian character: Teleport.”

Zhao Xuanzhen vanished, reappearing beside Na’er.

“Xun character: Wind Rope.”

Whirling winds wove into a blue wind rope; Gu Yue’s waist tightened, her body dragged downward. She summoned dark elements to corrode the rope—but as soon as one strand dissolved, more wrapped around her, gently yet irresistibly sealing her joints and vital points.

The final wind rope bound her hands; the girl glared at Zhao Xuanzhen, half-furious, half-helpless.

Seeing Gu Yue immobilized, Na’er burst into wild delight, sprinting over, her face inches from Gu Yue’s, eyes darting mischievously:

“Oh my, Gu Yue, what happened? Your strongest element couldn’t beat Zhao Xuanzhen? As second examiner, I’m deeply disappointed~”

“Let me go!”

Gu Yue’s face burned with defiance—she wanted to rip Na’er apart right then and there!

“Nope, nope!”

Under Gu Yue’s murderous gaze, Na’er pinched her delicate nose hard—revenge for the four-year-old pursuit by the Ten Thousand Demons King!

Xiao Na triumphant!

“Enough.”

Zhao Xuanzhen pulled Na’er back before she could draw a turtle on Gu Yue’s face, then released the wind ropes.

Gu Yue rubbed her swollen wrists, lost in thought—then a faint blush of shyness flickered across her cheeks.

“Through the soul tool screen broadcast, the Spirit Transmission Tower’s high command witnessed our entire battle,” Zhao Xuanzhen said.

“Can I become a core disciple?” Gu Yue couldn’t help asking.

She planned to execute a scheme—requiring her to become a core member of the Spirit Transmission Tower. Earlier, Zhao Xuanzhen had utterly suppressed her elemental power; she feared the Tower wouldn’t value her as expected.

“Go home and wait for news.”

Zhao Xuanzhen said calmly.

“I request a re-evaluation,” Gu Yue said. “Have someone else fight me—say… your companion, Na’er.”

“Who’s afraid of whom!”

Na’er drew the Silver Dragon Spear; Gu Yue summoned multiple elements—the two girls instantly crackled with hostility, silver and black sparks flying.

Zhao Xuanzhen sighed, pulling Na’er back, and looked at Gu Yue: “Opportunity comes once. We have a Spirit Transmission Tower mission—no time to spare.”

Gu Yue’s eyes dimmed slightly as she watched Zhao Xuanzhen and Na’er depart; then she sighed softly and voluntarily exited the Primary Soul Ascension Platform.

Slowly awakening, Gu Yue saw Tang Wulin, Xie Xie, Zhang Yangzi, Wang Jinxi still entranced by the battle footage, and Wu Changkong equally moved.

“Did you see? The gap between you and your peers across the continent,” Wu Changkong’s voice was cold.

“No comparison—we’re like naive children.”

Tang Wulin smiled bitterly; Zhao Xuanzhen didn’t just outmaneuver his strength—he’d shown him with a single plain punch that the one who redirects a thousand pounds must himself wield a thousand pounds.

“A chasm as vast as heaven’s barrier.”

Xie Xie’s confidence shattered; Na’er’s Silver Dragon Spear appeared and vanished unpredictably—even the combined Light-Shadow Dragon Daggers couldn’t withstand a few strikes. Zhang Yangzi and Wang Jinxi were much the same—the most talented Class Zero of Donghai Academy had been utterly crushed by prodigies.

“There are always greater beings beyond, greater heavens beyond. Experiencing this gap early is beneficial—it prevents arrogance.”

After a half-second pause, Wu Changkong shifted tone: “But never doubt yourselves—you are all geniuses worthy of Shrek Academy. Yet those two, even among Shrek’s ranks, are once-in-thousands-of-years prodigies.”

“Especially Zhao Xuanzhen—I saw no weakness in him. Close-range, he counters Wulin; long-range, he surpasses Gu Yue. Controlling multiple elements implies immense spiritual depth—his overall strength is nearly flawless.”

“In my judgment, he is almost certainly the next leader of the Spirit Transmission Tower. At that point, the Tower may even surpass Shrek Academy and ascend as the continent’s number one soul master force.”

“That terrifying?!”

Except for Gu Yue, everyone in Class Zero gaped.

“It’s true,” Wu Changkong nodded slightly. “After the holiday ends, I will train you more harshly. You must relentlessly pursue Zhao Xuanzhen.”

“A-Are we adding supplements to training?!”

Class Zero wailed in agony at Donghai’s Spirit Transmission Tower, while Zhao Xuanzhen and Na’er advanced deeper into the Primary Soul Ascension Platform, seeking the guardian Leng Yaoju mentioned.

Having defeated Tang Wulin, the numerical king, and Gu Yue, the mechanism king, Zhao Xuanzhen felt elated—turns out, I’m the true master of technique!

The Golden and Silver Dragon Kings? I’m the true descendant of dragons!

The next instant, his soul power surged effortlessly from peak 29th level to 30th level—a pitch-black soul ring quietly coalesced within Zhao Xuanzhen.

Na’er spun the Silver Dragon Spear; though she refused to admit it, Gu Yue’s presence had stirred unease within her. She prodded Zhao Xuanzhen’s arm with her fingertip, testing:

“Zhao Xuanzhen, is Gu Yue pretty?”

“A woman’s appearance is not for outsiders to judge.”

Zhao Xuanzhen immediately erected his defenses—nice try, you clumsy trickster!

“You must answer—who’s more beautiful, the two of us?” Na’er stamped her foot in anger.

“One of you two is very beautiful.”

“...”

Na’er clenched her soft white fist, threatening: “You’d better say it’s me!”

“Whoa—”

A powerful aura suddenly erupted in the distance; both of them immediately suppressed all inappropriate emotions.

The aura spread rapidly; the forest’s light dimmed abruptly, and the chirping of insects and birds fell silent.

The earth trembled as a massive bear, its entire body covered in dark gold fur, tore through the towering ancient trees before them, appearing in their sight. The bear stood over five meters tall, its back broad and muscular, its body as thick as a city wall, and its powerful forelimbs ended in cold, dark golden claws.

“A thousand-year Dark Gold Claw Bear—nine out of ten, it’s the guardian of the Ascension Platform...”

Zhao Xuanzhen’s eyes gleamed slightly; replacing the hundred-year Dark Gold Claw Bear with a thousand-year one, and this new guardian seemed to conceal something profound!

The Spirit Transmission Tower’s primary Ascension Platform headquarters also had a thousand-year Dark Gold Claw Bear as its guardian, giving Zhao Xuanzhen a direct point of comparison. This Dark Gold Claw Bear in Donghai City had thicker, sharper claws than the headquarters guardian, glowing with a commanding dark gold luster!

“Two claws on one beast? Teacher gave us quite a gift...”

Zhao Xuanzhen finally understood Leng Yaoju’s intention—no wonder she forced them to kill the guardian!

“Shriek—”

Another piercing shriek rang out; a giant single eye floated toward them, four silver tentacles hanging to the ground, carving deep grooves. The Dark Gold Claw Bear was dominant and fierce, but the giant eye was even colder and more monstrous!

Thousand-year, Evil Eye Tyrant!

“Zhao Xuanzhen, I’ll take the Evil Eye Tyrant!”

Na’er volunteered—her gift must be claimed by herself!

Both dashed toward their opponents; Zhao Xuanzhen’s three ten-thousand-year soul rings spiraled upward, the third one blazing brilliantly!

Black-and-white ripples spread wildly; his black hair began turning white from the roots, his body, spirit, and soul power shattered their constraints, stepping into another realm!

Third soul skill: The Way of Wuji!

From strength, become greater strength!

(End of Chapter)