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"What is the purpose of becoming stronger?"
Na'er was somewhat confused by Xu Yuan's question.
For a moment, she hesitated.
However, she quickly found an answer that she believed in.
"To become strong is to protect oneself."
As Xu Yuan listened to Na'er's words, he fell into deep thought.
Was Na'er cultivating to grow stronger so she could protect herself?
What she wanted to protect wasn't just herself—it likely included her ideals, soul beasts, and even humanity.
Xu Yuan began reflecting on the meaning of his own pursuit of strength.
"Only the strong have a voice."
Yun Ming appeared behind the two at some point.
He had noticed earlier that Xu Yuan's mental state seemed off. Upon paying closer attention, he realized his disciple was troubled by such thoughts.
The strong held the power to speak, while the weak were destined to be ruled.
Without strength, no matter how valuable one might be, they were nothing more than a disposable chess piece in someone else's hands—albeit a valuable one.
Xu Yuan recalled his father.
Lacking innate soul power and strength, his father somehow provoked Qiangu Dongfeng and was killed outright.
Xu Yuan never saw his father's remains; there was nothing left. All he received was a wanted notice accusing his parents of betraying the Spirit Pagoda. In truth, everyone knew they had already been secretly dealt with by the Spirit Pagoda.
They were just ordinary people who had died.
That was Xu Yuan's initial motivation for growing stronger—the first urgent need for power to uncover the truth.
Later, Xu Yuan became immersed in cultivation, enjoying the process and striving for perfection in every path he pursued.
Now, he began pondering the true meaning of becoming stronger.
With Yun Ming's reminder, he finally understood what strength truly meant to him.
Becoming stronger was about ensuring his fate wasn't controlled by others. If there were any other purposes, then the goal of strength was simply to become stronger—a pure pursuit driven by life's instincts.
"Have you figured it out?" Yun Ming watched as Xu Yuan's gaze grew resolute. He nodded, feeling reassured.
"Teacher, what does it mean to be truly powerful?" Xu Yuan countered with a question.
But Yun Ming turned the question back on him.
"What do you think it means to be powerful?"
"Being powerful means no one and nothing can threaten me," Xu Yuan replied without hesitation.
If you fear no threats, then surely that is true strength.
Yun Ming shook his head. "How can anyone be fearless against all threats? There will always be someone stronger, something greater. Strength is relative. Compared to those weaker than you, you are the strong one. Even if you stand at the peak of the continent, you'll still find room to grow stronger—you just need to chase it, to explore. Others are also chasing their growth. Even the strongest of the past, once they slack off, will be surpassed. So, no matter what level we're at, all we can do is strive to surpass our current selves."
Why does this keep sounding more and more philosophical?
Xu Yuan silently grumbled to himself before refocusing the conversation on its core.
"Are there still things on this continent that can threaten you, Teacher?" he asked in astonishment.
Yun Ming smiled but did not respond.
As the Master of the Sea God Pavilion, his access to secrets was significant.
The moment Xu Yuan asked, three specific items involuntarily surfaced in Yun Ming's mind.
Any one of those three—if forced into a direct confrontation—he wasn't confident he could withstand.
Of course, Yun Ming was certain he could evade or survive the explosion's epicenter.
Still, he had to admit that the term "Godslayer" in "Godslayer Missiles" was no empty threat. If faced with them, Yun Ming wouldn't foolishly try to withstand the blast directly. At his level, he would undoubtedly sense the impending danger and avoid the explosive core.
Xu Yuan observed Yun Ming's expression, unsure of what his teacher was thinking.
But he had already hinted enough. Surely, Yun Ming would now be more vigilant about the Godslayer Missiles?
"Huh? Are there really things on this continent that can threaten Teacher?" Na'er exclaimed in shock, unable to accept the idea that her seemingly invincible teacher could be vulnerable.
Yun Ming's brows slightly rose. He gently patted Na'er's head and said warmly, "They're just inanimate objects. Na'er, remember—even the most powerful missile is meaningless if it can't hit its target."
Xu Yuan's eyebrows also rose.
Na'er was such a great assist!
"But what if the enemy forces the target to endure the damage?" Xu Yuan pressed.
"Hmm?" Yun Ming frowned and looked at Xu Yuan.
What did he mean?
"Aren't there records of soul engineers from ten thousand years ago? Back then, soul engineers fought using soul-guided cannons. Didn't they have ways to force their enemies to take the brunt of their attacks?"
Carpet bombing, explosions, locking onto targets, even preemptively blocking escape routes?
But that required an extremely high level of combat awareness—something the soul engineers of ten thousand years ago lacked.
"Who could possibly force Teacher?" Na'er placed her hands on her hips and looked at Xu Yuan, saying coyly, "Teacher is the strongest in the world! If we can't dodge, Teacher can surely dodge however he pleases!"
After speaking, Na'er blinked and sneakily glanced at Yun Ming.
Hmm, what I just said actually made sense.
We can't dodge...
Yun Ming's gaze turned sharp again.
What Na'er said was indeed reasonable.
If the Godslayer Missiles were to fall on Shrek...
"The Federation shouldn't have fallen so far."
Yun Ming still chose to believe in the rationality of the Federation's higher-ups.
Of course, belief didn't mean complacency—he would remain vigilant.
When the Godslayer Missiles were first created, even the Master of the Sea God Pavilion at the time, along with the leaders of Shrek Academy and the Tang Sect, had all felt fear.
But as the missiles were tightly controlled and proper safeguards were put in place, Shrek gradually forgot about the threat.
Now, reminded by Xu Yuan and Na'er, Yun Ming couldn't ignore it.
He could feel it.
At his level, he could trust his intuition about subtle changes.
Before being reminded, it was one thing—but now that Xu Yuan and Na'er had brought the threat to his attention, he could sense that the danger posed by the Godslayer Missiles wasn't just theoretical.
"Has something already gone wrong with the Godslayer Missiles?"
Lost in thought, Yun Ming approached Na'er, gently patting her head and reassuring her, "Don't worry. Teacher won't let such things fall on your heads."
Xu Yuan internally praised Na'er for her top-tier contribution today.
Having passed the burden of worry to their teacher, he took Na'er to a barbecue stall near the Outer Court gates, treating her to a feast.
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Sea God Pavilion
Yun Ming convened a meeting of the Sea God Pavilion.
For someone of his caliber, intuition was something he could rely on deeply.
Unfounded panic didn't exist for him.
"Master, isn't it too early for a Sea God Pavilion meeting?"
"Why has this meeting been called? Is there some major event?"
"Could it be to decide the members of the new generation of the Seven Treasures of Shrek?"
Zhuo Shi and the others looked at Yun Ming, whose expression remained calm, speculating about the reason for this meeting.
They all knew of Xu Yuan's existence and understood that this generation would inevitably produce the next Seven Treasures of Shrek—and Xu Yuan would be their leader!
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