Could it be that Hu Liena was originally the true protagonist of Douluo Continent?
In the original story, the reason her ending wasn't good was purely because of the appearance of Tang San, a transmigrator who was never supposed to exist?
From a god's perspective, although Hu Liena lost her parents at an early age and grew up depending on her brother, Xie Yue, she had the support of Spirit Hall, the most powerful organization in the soul master world, ensuring her safety.
Later, Hu Liena became the disciple of the Pope, Bibi Dong. Due to her own past, Bibi Dong poured all her motherly love into Hu Liena, treating her like her own child. From a teacher's perspective, Bibi Dong was undoubtedly an outstanding mentor.
Her teacher was the future Rakshasa God, her senior sister was the future Angel God, and she herself, due to her exceptional talent and relentless efforts, became the Holy Maiden of Spirit Hall. Later, when Spirit Hall transitioned into the Spirit Empire, she advanced from the Holy Maiden of Spirit Hall to the Holy Maiden of the Spirit Empire, officially becoming the first in line to inherit the imperial throne.
If there had been no variable like Tang San, the transmigrator, then with two deities supporting it, the Spirit Empire would have undoubtedly unified the continent.
Once her teacher Bibi Dong and senior sister Qian Renxue ascended to the Divine Realm, Hu Liena would have become the sole Empress of the unified Douluo Continent. Furthermore, she would have an unshakable backing, with two deities in the Divine Realm securing her rule, making her imperial authority absolutely unassailable.
Hmm, if not for Tang San's miraculous turnaround, the old master of immortal herbs, Dugu Bo, would likely have been eliminated by Spirit Hall's experts in the ensuing continental war.
After Spirit Hall unified the continent and counted its spoils, it would probably discover the treasure trove of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
Coincidentally, Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan had considerable knowledge of immortal herbs. At that point, Hu Liena might have used these divine herbs to overcome her talent limitations, becoming one of the most gifted soul masters on the continent.
With top-tier talent and the protection of two first-rank deities, Hu Liena's eventual ascension to godhood would be inevitable. Isn't this the perfect protagonist template?
Although there was no direct evidence, Mu Yang believed that his speculation likely represented the original trajectory of Douluo Continent in a world without any transmigrators.
Retracting his drifting thoughts, Mu Yang focused on the present.
Although Hu Liena's mental strength was not weak, compared to him—who had practiced the Lunar Mind Refining Technique and had even consumed the Autumn Dew Tear—there was still a considerable gap.
The initial years of an external soul bone matched the age of the soul ring it came with, and its growth was tied to the soul master's cultivation level. Since Hu Liena was only a five-ring Soul King at the moment, the age of her eye-shaped external soul bone and its ability would not be too high.
Whether soul skills or soul bones, if their age was low, their effects would naturally be limited—unless they were among the rarest rule-defying abilities.
If Mu Yang's True Illusion Realm and Soul Capturing Secret Art could affect most seven-ring Soul Sages, then Hu Liena's Heavenly Fox Illusion Realm, granted by her soul bone, would struggle even against newly advanced Soul Sages and would likely only work on ordinary soul masters around level 70 who had yet to acquire their seventh soul ring.
Without much thought, Mu Yang prepared to forcibly break Hu Liena's technique and wipe out Spirit Hall's battle team.
However, just as he was about to take action, he hesitated.
Undoubtedly, Hu Liena's Heavenly Fox Illusion Realm could affect most level 70 soul masters. If he were to break it instantly, wouldn't that be equivalent to revealing that his mental strength was at least on par with a seven-ring Soul Sage?
Mental power at the level of a seven-ring Soul Sage, coupled with the mental secret arts he had demonstrated—setting aside his soul power level and the number of soul rings—wouldn't that make him a seven-ring spiritual control-type Soul Sage?
No, no, absolutely not. He couldn't afford to expose such a level of mental strength.
After all, he had recently pulled off something big!
Spirit Hall surely had plenty of sharp-minded individuals. If he exposed his formidable spiritual strength now, it could lead them to connect him to the destruction of the Heaven Dou Sacred Hall by Tang Hao. That would spell disaster.
A mutual defeat?
Suddenly, a thought flashed through Mu Yang's mind.
If he and Hu Liena could appear to suffer a mutual defeat, it would prove that his spiritual power wasn't at the level of a seven-ring Soul Sage, ensuring that no one would suspect him of being the mastermind behind the destruction of the Heaven Dou Sacred Hall.
As for whether some genius might suspect Huo Lie of using a secret mental technique to cause that destruction?
As long as they didn't suspect him, nothing else mattered.
Even if Spirit Hall suspected that Huo Lie, a Title Douluo, was responsible, it wouldn't be a problem. Tang Hao had already taken the fall for it, and Spirit Hall wouldn't want to antagonize the now formidable Blazing Academy.
The real issue wasn't that Spirit Hall would seek revenge on him for being the true culprit.
Mu Yang was worried that if Spirit Hall saw him as a genuine threat, they might decide to eliminate him, regardless of his "plastic brotherhood" with Qian Renxue.
That was a very real possibility. After all, in Spirit Hall's eyes, if he had already orchestrated the destruction of the Heaven Dou Sacred Hall using Tang Hao's hand, it was clear he harbored strong hostility toward them.
A soul master genius with a neutral stance might be tolerated, but one who bore clear enmity? It would be best to eliminate such a threat early.
Although this wasn't his original intention, he couldn't stop others from seeing it that way!
Having figured out the key points, Mu Yang immediately restrained his spiritual power, ensuring that he was just weak enough to be drawn into Hu Liena's illusion while still maintaining enough willpower to struggle free.
You'd be surprised—playing weak, especially without anyone seeing through it, was actually quite difficult. Most people couldn't pull it off.
Luckily, this wasn't a challenge for Mu Yang. Without a cheat, control over one's own strength ultimately came down to practice.
Diligent training in offensive and defensive techniques improved control over soul power, and practicing spiritual secret arts naturally enhanced control over mental power.
Soon, as his "weakened" spiritual strength faltered, Mu Yang's consciousness was drawn into Hu Liena's Heavenly Fox Illusion Realm.
His vision shifted, and what he saw in front of him was still the competition stage before the Pope's Palace.
Except for the fact that in reality, Hu Liena had already activated her illusion technique, while in the illusion, the match had yet to officially begin. Even the referee hadn't announced the start, and Hu Liena had yet to release her martial soul. The transition between illusion and reality was seamless.
Of course, from Mu Yang's perspective, the world before him seemed somewhat unreal—almost as if he could shatter it with a mere thought.
Is this just a simple illusion, or something akin to a true illusion realm?
Casually observing the illusion, Mu Yang couldn't help but ponder to himself.