Chapter 73: The Nine Treasures Clan Still on Shrek's Hook After Ten Thousand Years!
In the blink of an eye, all Seven Devils of Shrek appeared before Jiang Chen at once.
Jiang Chen: …
"Oh, really? Targeting me now, are you, Yao Ling?"
Looks like it's time to ask Di Tian to knock some sense into you.
Even when the system summoned all seven Shrek members, the simulation still followed the programmed balancing rules—each projection's soul power couldn't exceed the appropriate level.
But for Jiang Chen, "limits" were just a meaningless suggestion.
"Alright," he said calmly. "Show time."
He met the first opponent head-on—one dramatic slap later, the projection was obliterated.
"Next!"
Two purple soul rings coiled around him, their color fading, turning into pure golden radiance—million-year rings.
"Second Soul Skill—Evil God Transformation!"
Black wings burst open from his back.
The tower challenge had begun.
First floor. Tenth. Twenty-first. Thirty-first. Forty-first.
"He's… climbing that fast?!"
The others gawked at the rapidly flashing numbers on the virtual display.
They had expected Jiang Chen to be strong, perhaps strong enough to reach the fortieth or fiftieth floor. That would already surpass anything they'd ever seen—even among Shrek Academy's so-called prodigies.
But this… this was absurd.
The Tower of Heaven was designed to measure only soul power level—not age or combat history.
Jiang Chen wasn't climbing; he was skipping.
Every battle ended in a blink.
Clearing the first twenty floors instantly was one thing, but the fortieth? He was still one-shotting everything?
That wasn't just strong—this was downright inhuman.
One by one, the students lowered their heads.
There was no comparison. Watching any further might actually break their will to live.
All that was left was despair.
At least Tang Wulin's fight against the virtual Sea God Tang San was fast-paced but comprehensible.
Jiang Chen's? It was unfair by definition.
"First Soul Skill—Blue Silver Bind!"
"First Soul Skill—Blue Silver Bind!"
Two Tangs. Two Blue Silver Grasses. Two identical soul skills.
Head-on collision—sheer restraint versus pure power.
Obviously, the one carrying the Golden Dragon King bloodline came out on top.
Tang Wulin's vines crushed the opponent's in seconds, coiling around the virtual Sea God and pinning him down.
"Release me! You have chosen the path of death!"
Wulin rolled his eyes. "He says that every single time! Does he know any other words?"
Even he was starting to pity the Pagoda's programmers.
"Old Tang, seriously—listen to this. Isn't that embarrassing?"
Tang San, in his consciousness: …
Still, in the end—with the Tang God King's guidance and Tang Wulin's persistence—they defeated the Sea God's projection.
When the reward list appeared, Tang Wulin hesitated briefly before, on Tang San's advice, choosing a Mysterious Water Pill (Xuan Shui Dan).
A dark-blue, marble-sized pill covered in delicate white lines, exuding a light mist and a faint, refreshing scent.
Originally exclusive to the Xuanming Sect, this pill was priceless—crafted from the essence of dozens of water-element beasts and plants.
To maintain good relations with the Spirit Pagoda (and quietly distance themselves from Shrek), the sect had agreed to trade the formula in exchange for the right to contract Inherited Spirit Souls.
Their martial soul, the Xuanming Turtle, required not only rare rituals for evolution but also a strong soul contract—particularly to reach its ultimate form, the Golden Xuanwu.
The sect's founder, Xu Sanshi, had once contracted such a creature, the Golden Hawksbill Turtle. Even after his death, that ancient spirit lingered.
Only the Pagoda's technology could maintain its contract link; otherwise, it risked being reclaimed and repurposed. Losing it would be an irreparable catastrophe for the Xuanming Sect.
It was a problem many great clans now faced.
Without the Spirit Pagoda, they couldn't contract their ancestral spirits; with it, they couldn't fully side with Shrek Academy.
After all—every soul master dreamed of Shrek. Who could resist the name of the academy that had produced gods?
Fortunately, the Pagoda's restrictions weren't too harsh… unlike Shrek's.
The academy forbade anyone with contracted spirits from joining its Inner Court. Only after years of pressure from the major forces did they relax the rule—to allow them in but bar them from the Sea God Pavilion.
Yet even now, there were diehard families hopelessly devoted to Shrek—chief among them, the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Clan.
For nearly ten thousand years, they'd danced to Shrek's tune. All because Shrek claimed to possess the secret to evolving the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda into the Nine Treasures form.
And yet, despite this promise, not once had Shrek shared the Killer Emerald Tulip required for that evolution.
Instead, they dangled the possibility in front of the clan—generation after generation—luring their children to enroll at Shrek Academy.
For millennia, the Nine Treasures Clan, once one of the Upper Three Sects alongside the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan and Clear Sky Sect, had produced countless disciples… but not a single true Nine Treasures user.
Their glory faded, their prestige shattered to the point where they were now barely above the Xuanming Sect—often the butt of jokes at noble gatherings.
The Blue Lightning Clan had fared no better—reduced to little more than Shrek's loyal hounds.
So now, most great families struggled to balance the two powers, secretly trading priceless heirlooms like the Xuan Shui Dan in exchange for Spirit Pagoda privileges.
The pill's description spoke for itself:
"Xuan Shui Dan—mild in nature, easily absorbed. Greatly enhances soul power and purifies the body. When modified by the Federation, it can raise the soul power level of any sub–rank-30 soul master by at least one rank. It also refines aptitude, boosting innate soul power by one level or more—especially significant for low-talent cultivators."
Before the modern age, those born with rank-three innate soul power rarely ever reached the three-ring stage.
Even now, innate rank determined cultivation speed more than anything else.
A medicine capable of raising that limit was priceless beyond measure.
"I only had rank-three innate soul power… so for me, this is huge!"
Tang Wulin's eyes lit up. "The Spirit Pagoda really doesn't skimp on rewards!"
"Shrek Academy must have nothing like this, right?"
The instant he said that, Tang San's expression went icy.
How dare my own son compare that petty Pagoda to the glory of Shrek?!
The Ice-Fire Well alone could buy out their entire organization!
Tang San's patience snapped.
The Spirit Pagoda had already stolen his son's allegiance. Now it was stealing his respect.
"This accursed Pagoda," he growled in his divine heart.
"When I return—"
"There will be reckoning!"
(END CHAPTER)
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