Chapter 21: Six Years of Growth (Part 2)

After accepting Qian Renxue's invitation, Wu Tong became a guest official of the Crown Prince's residence and moved into the residence she had prepared for him in Heaven Dou City—Wutong Courtyard.

Although he was still under surveillance, Wu Tong had no objections. After all, it could also be considered a form of protection.

Even after arriving in Heaven Dou City, Wu Tong didn't allow himself to relax. After experiencing over a dozen assassination attempts during his journey, he had come to understand a simple truth: as long as you haven't grown strong, even if you have potential, it means nothing.

Wu Tong knew that he still needed sufficient strength to make the other powers hesitate, to stop them from crushing him like an ant.

Strength meant power, influence, and connections.

But it took far too long to increase his actual strength. As for power—unless he became the leader of a major force—it still wouldn't be enough to resist those ravenous wolves.

So Wu Tong sought to gain sufficient influence in the shortest time possible. And there was only one thing he could do: increase his renown on the Douluo Continent and expand his network. Once he was acknowledged and respected by the world, even the two empires and the Spirit Hall would have to think twice before targeting him.

With that goal in mind, Wu Tong began preparing. He spent his days moving between Qian Renxue's private library and Wutong Courtyard.

Qian Renxue, curious about Wu Tong's behavior, began helping him gather all kinds of knowledge, eager to see what sort of results he could achieve.

Study, gather data, organize and analyze, summarize, test… Wu Tong repeated the tedious process over and over.

With the vast accumulation of knowledge, Wu Tong's understanding of the martial soul system deepened. Based on this knowledge, he began formulating ways to improve the martial soul system and spread those ideas far and wide…

"The Importance of Nutritional Supplementation—On the Feasibility of Enhancing Innate Soul Power through Ample Soul Beast Meat"

"Whale Gelatin—A Treasure for Enhancing Physical Constitution"

"No One Is Born Useless—On the Applications of Various Martial Souls Across Different Fields"

"The Nature of Martial Souls—Evolution During Historical Development"

"A Brief Discussion on the Improvement of Meditation Techniques"

One theoretical paper after another, each with high feasibility after testing, was published by Wu Tong and spread across the continent. The marvelous hypotheses and practical solutions within them rapidly boosted his reputation, pushing Wu Tong to the height of fame.

The Continent's Greatest Scholar, Master of Martial Soul Research, Saint of Medicine… various accolades were bestowed upon Wu Tong.

As Wu Tong's fame grew throughout the Douluo Continent, the major powers, due to public opinion, began to tread carefully and no longer dared to suppress him as they pleased.

After all, as the ancient saying goes: The ruler is the boat, the people are the water. The water can carry the boat, but it can also overturn it.

Once Wu Tong had expanded his network to cover the entire continent, his life gradually began to stabilize.

...

Returning to the present moment, Wu Tong held the now-cold tea in his hand, took another sip, then set it down on the tray and got up to leave the Crown Prince's residence.

By the time Wu Tong returned to Wutong Courtyard, it was already evening.

He lay down on the bed, began to relax his body, and activated the Shaoyang True Qi within him. The qi, which normally flowed along a set path, now began to follow the route for soul skill release, guided by Wu Tong's will.

"Second Soul Skill: Dream World."

As the soul skill activated, Wu Tong felt his head grow heavy and a wave of drowsiness surge through him.

He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, allowed himself to fully relax, then let out a yawn and slipped into slumber.

As Wu Tong's consciousness faded, he felt as if a gentle force was guiding him through a vast, star-filled sky—until he finally arrived in a dreamlike world.

When Wu Tong opened his eyes again, he found himself in a vast white space—a boundless, pure white world.

This white wasn't a glaring brightness, nor was it a dull pallor. It was a soft and profound tone, as if capable of embracing all things in existence, like a gentle veil draped quietly over the surroundings.

Looking up, the ceiling stretched infinitely into pure whiteness, seemingly extending to the ends of the universe. The ground beneath his feet was the same white—smooth and level, like a giant mirror reflecting the soft light from the sky.

Wu Tong waved his hand casually, and the surrounding white space began to shift with his thoughts. Colors changed, structures dissolved and reformed, layers intertwined… like a puzzle being disassembled and rearranged before him.

Once everything settled, a breathtakingly beautiful valley appeared in front of him.

The scenery within the valley was poetic and picturesque. The four seasons cycled endlessly, changing with each moment. In just one hour, spring turned to summer.

Yet the tender green grass remained unchanged. Regardless of the season, it stayed as soft as a velvet carpet, covering every corner of the valley and showcasing nature's gentleness and vitality.

Faced with this scene that clearly defied natural law, Wu Tong showed no surprise.

This was his second soul skill, derived from the spirit ring of the soul beast Huomeng Peach Tree—Dream World.

[Huomeng Peach Tree: A plant-type soul beast, native to the Star Dou Great Forest. It can hypnotize enemies through pollen, drawing them into a dream world where it manipulates the dream to destroy the enemy's spirit. Once the enemy dies within the dream, the tree's roots absorb the corpse into the earth to serve as nourishment.]

With the help of the Crown Prince's residence, Wu Tong had successfully hunted the Huomeng Peach Tree and obtained the dream-space soul skill he had long desired.

Its effect was the creation of a dream space that only affected himself.

At first glance, it seemed useless. But within the dream, Wu Tong remained fully conscious and had complete control. He could shape and alter the dream world at will, and even stretch time—turning a moment into a millennium.

In this dream world, Wu Tong was a god.

Because of this, Wu Tong used the dream space as his personal laboratory. No matter the injury he suffered inside, he could recover instantly with a single thought.

He casually lay down on the ground, and a sapling rapidly sprouted beneath him. It grew, stretched, and expanded at astonishing speed.

In moments, it became a towering tree, lifting Wu Tong's body so he could rest against its trunk.

Seated comfortably, Wu Tong brushed his hand over his body and waved to the side.

Another "Wu Tong" appeared in front of him.

The new "Wu Tong" was completely unclothed and semi-transparent. His internal organs, skin, flesh, and bones were clearly visible.

With a thought, the body structure vanished.

Countless fine lines of light appeared inside the figure. Pale red gas flowed through the lines, connecting seven hundred and twenty light points.

Nearly a third of those points had already turned pale red.

These lines, stretching from head to toe, were the meridians within Wu Tong's body. The glowing points were his acupoints.

The ones turning red were filled with Lesser Sun True Qi. The complete meridian and acupoint diagram was now displayed within his body.

(End of Chapter)

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