Time flew by, and two years passed in the blink of an eye.
In the forests surrounding the Spirit Mountain Range, two young figures were moving swiftly through the woods.
Compared to two years ago, Su Cheng hadn't changed much.
He had grown taller, and his face was no longer as youthful as before, with his features becoming more defined and angular.
Beside him, however, Su Yue had undergone an earth-shattering transformation.
Her once stylish short silver hair had, unbeknownst to her, grown down to her waist. Whenever a gentle breeze blew through the forest, her silver strands floated with the wind, resembling strands of silky crystal. Under the sunlight that filtered through the leaves, her hair shimmered with a unique and radiant brilliance.
Standing close to 1.8 meters tall, she was now nearly half a head taller than the not-yet-15-year-old Su Cheng. Her combat-ready, form-fitting white outfit perfectly accentuated her fully developed figure. Her long, straight legs moved gracefully with each step.
Her indifferent, pretty face remained as cold as ever, looking even more mature than Su Cheng, appearing around sixteen years old.
Her eyebrows had long lost the innocence of the past, and her once large, round eyes had matured and become alluring. Only her purple pupils remained as pure and clear as before, free from any impurities, like a deep, bottomless pool.
Now, she once again exhibited some of the captivating beauty she had shown the first time she transformed in front of Su Cheng, before she began her re-cultivation.
The reason for her transformation was simple.
In the short span of the past two years, Su Yue's cultivation had advanced rapidly. She had gone from a one-ring Spirit Master to a five-ring Spirit King, unlocking much of the Silver Dragon King's potential.
However, at her current level, her cultivation speed had noticeably slowed down.
With each major level she advanced, the soul power required for further improvement increased significantly. The vast energy stored within her martial spirit could no longer replenish her strength as quickly as before.
This wasn't necessarily a bad thing, as it allowed her to gain more natural control over her power.
In truth, for Su Yue, it made little difference whether she spent three, five, or even ten to twenty years cultivating—it was all just a small fraction of time for her.
However, if she didn't invest enough time in consolidating her foundation at lower levels, she would undoubtedly have to spend several times more effort to make up for it when she reached higher levels.
Over the past two years, Su Cheng and Su Yue had traveled to many places together.
At first, they mainly focused on exploring different areas to broaden their horizons.
But about a year ago, when Su Yue obtained her third soul ring and advanced to Spirit Elder, their journey shifted from simply experiencing the world to regular combat training.
From the Sunset Forest to the outskirts of the Star Dou Forest, and from the extreme north to the vast seas, she had fought numerous ten-thousand-year-old wild soul beasts and faced off against spirit masters in the Spirit Arena.
This accelerated her familiarity with and mastery over her power.
Of course, during this time, they couldn't avoid encountering danger or even getting injured.
But with Su Cheng protecting her, they never faced a truly life-threatening crisis.
In addition to this, Su Cheng didn't slack off in gathering intelligence. He secretly observed Tang Hao and Tang San, and he even went to the Blue Silver Grass Forest. Unfortunately, he couldn't find Ah Yin's trace, nor did he sense the presence of the Blue Silver Emperor's right leg bone.
However, in the Blue Silver Grass Forest, he did warn the Blue Silver King not to let Tang San awaken the Blue Silver Emperor Spirit in the future.
As for whether the Blue Silver King would break the agreement, that wasn't something Su Cheng was concerned with.
He wasn't going to kill the Blue Silver King just for that possibility.
Now, Su Cheng's approach to handling things had undergone significant changes.
In the past, when his strength was weak, he had to be meticulous and eliminate every possible threat to ensure success.
But as his power grew, he now had more leeway for mistakes, allowing him to tolerate situations like this.
In contrast, it was these "old acquaintances" who were more worth cherishing.
The two of them were quick on their feet, and before long, the tall and grand Spirit City came into view in the distance.
Su Cheng glanced at Su Yue walking beside him and reminded her, "Alright, stop showing off. Hide your hair and eye color. We're almost there."
Aside from her appearance and height, as well as her increasingly human-like behavior, Su Cheng had also noticed that Su Yue seemed to have become more vain than before.
Unless necessary, she rarely concealed her unique hair and eye color, often preferring to display her silver hair and purple eyes.
Su Yue, however, ignored him, as if she hadn't heard his words, continuing to walk forward in silence.
"…," Su Cheng sighed helplessly and added, "Sister."
Upon hearing this form of address, Su Yue's lips curled slightly. Only then did she revert her appearance to black hair and black eyes.
Although she had only changed the color of her hair and pupils, it was as if a brilliant pearl had been dulled, and her stunning beauty was instantly diminished.
Her features were still as exquisite as ever, but they no longer carried the overwhelming, almost divine allure they had before.
Seeing Su Yue's changed appearance, Su Cheng felt a slight sense of loss, but mostly relief.
He had to admit, even he felt a bit pressured when facing Su Yue in her original form.
Before this, he had never thought it was possible for someone's appearance alone to create such a strange sense of oppression.
The young girl lifted her gaze toward the towering city in the distance and said calmly, "I know this place."
Su Cheng wasn't surprised and nodded lightly. "Yes, it's the strongest human force on the continent. There are more than ten Title Douluo here."
"No, that's not what I meant," Su Yue's eyes took on a hint of peculiarity. "Actually, before the birth of the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, the power of fate on the Douluo Continent was concentrated in Spirit City. But it wasn't this one; back then, Spirit City wasn't located here."
Su Cheng turned to her in surprise.
This was something he had never expected.
After pondering for a moment, he couldn't help but ask, "The power of fate... what exactly is it? Why do I feel like you seem to know a lot about it?"
In the past, Su Cheng only had a vague understanding of fate.
He knew that concepts like fate, destiny, and luck were fundamentally different, but he couldn't quite distinguish the differences clearly.
For instance, Tang San and the Shrek Seven Devils always seemed to turn danger into safety and encounter endless opportunities.
Such a protagonist-like fate clearly couldn't be explained by luck or talent alone.
Then there was his own reality, which seemed to carry some kind of mission.
And then there was the Three-Eyed Golden Lion in the Star Dou Forest, representing yet another unique case.
If he could understand this concept, it would greatly benefit him. At the very least, it would make it much easier to identify those marked by fate.