It had been a little over half a month since leaving the competition.
Inside the semi-finished product of the Soul Guidance Device Mimicry Laboratory at the Sun Moon Empire Royal Soul Engineer Academy.
Huo Yuhao slowly opened his eyes, golden light spilling from them.
He felt the surging Soul Power within his body and slowly let out a breath.
The white gas he exhaled traveled over three meters before slowly dissipating.
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Soul Power Level Thirty, achieved!
In the Sea of Consciousness, Huo Yuhao looked at the Sea of Consciousness beneath his feet; it could no longer be called a mere pond.
Nourished by a large amount of Chaos Qi, it had grown to the size of a small lake, and its color was no longer transparent, appearing slightly turbid.
Faint ripples surfaced, indicating that some kind of change was about to occur.
Electrolux's small gray sphere still floated above it, its gray light flickering, and the face of an aged, white-robed old man appeared in Huo Yuhao's Sea of Consciousness.
Huo Yuhao exclaimed in surprise, "Elder Yi, has your divine sense recovered?"
The old man smiled faintly, nodding toward the Skydream Iceworm and Ice Empress who were approaching, and then said:
"Partially recovered, but still far from a full recovery."
"Yuhao, although the surroundings of your Sea of Consciousness have an effect similar to nurturing a soul..."
"It's no longer appropriate for me to get any closer to this Sea of Consciousness."
Huo Yuhao had thought Electrolux was afraid of causing him any inconvenience, so he quickly said:
"Elder Yi, as long as my Sea of Consciousness is still helpful for your recovery..."
"I don't mind you getting close to my Sea of Consciousness at all."
The old man's smile grew wider:
"The transformation your Sea of Consciousness is about to undergo this time is likely different from previous ones."
"If I approach your Sea of Consciousness as I did before..."
"I might lose myself and be assimilated at any moment."
The Skydream Iceworm was astonished, "That droplet's status is actually that high?"
"A change at just Yuhao's current level can actually affect your inherently powerful divine sense?"
Electrolux shook his head and did not elaborate on that droplet:
"Big Worm, Little Scorpion, you two should also avoid getting too close to Yuhao's Sea of Consciousness for now. Move your activity area higher up."
"When Yuhao reaches the third ring, you can slightly release some of your seal power to supplement his Sea of Consciousness and enhance his Mental Power."
"Elder Yi, what should I do?" Huo Yuhao asked curiously.
Electrolux looked at the slightly turbid Sea of Consciousness and pondered for a moment:
"Perhaps, starting with your fourth Spirit Ring, you can solidify the abilities this mutated Sea of Consciousness grants you into Spirit Ring skills."
"That droplet is, after all, not native to this world and has no connection to the Martial Soul."
"But its status is incomparably high."
"If you do this, your affinity with it will be higher, which can help you control, or rather, accommodate it, to a certain extent in the future."
Accommodate? Huo Yuhao trembled inwardly, savoring that word.
Electrolux's words continued:
"Right now, within your Sea of Consciousness, something seems to be gradually turning from illusory into reality."
"When it completely finishes transforming, you should be able to fish out one or two items usable at your current stage."
...
At Tranquility Hall, Feng Yu stood by the desk pouring tea for Huo Yuhao and Jing Hongchen.
Jing Hongchen glanced at the report on Huo Yuhao's physical condition in his hand:
"Body Strength: Level Forty-three."
"Body Resilience: Level Forty-six."
"Soul Power Fluctuation: Level Thirty."
"Height: one meter seventy-five."
"Weight: sixty-four kilograms."
"Bone Age..."
Then he recalled Huo Yuhao's Mental Power strength, which was close to the Spirit Emperor level, shown when he assisted in overcoming technical difficulties with the giant humanoid Soul Guidance Device some time ago.
He was finally persuaded by Huo Yuhao's hard strength and agreed to Huo Yuhao's plan to absorb the ten-thousand-year Silver Hero Beast.
But he had one condition: that Huo Yuhao absorb the Spirit Ring in the cultivation meditation room of Tranquility Hall, so he could provide timely assistance.
"Yuhao, sealed within this rank seven Soul Guidance Device is that ten-thousand-year Silver Hero Beast."
Jing Hongchen placed an object on the desk in front of Huo Yuhao.
Huo Yuhao looked at the magnificent treasure vase embedded with gems and covered in core formations, and asked curiously:
"Teacher, how much did it cost to buy this ten-thousand-year Silver Hero Beast?"
The feeling of displaying strength in front of a favored disciple shared a considerable similarity with what Xiao Hongchen often mentioned as'showing off in front of others.'
Jing Hongchen smiled lightly, "This isn't about money. Without sufficient status, one wouldn't even be qualified to know about this matter."
"Five million Gold Soul Coins. This is the price after a discount."
"Besides the value of this Soul Beast itself, there are also fees for manual capture and the rank seven sealing Soul Guidance Device."
Huo Yuhao gasped in cold air.
Good heavens, 5 million Gold Soul Coins for a third Spirit Ring—what a rich person!
Oh, this Soul Beast is mine?
That changes things.
Huo Yuhao glanced at Feng Yu and noticed that his expression didn't seem to match his thoughts.
Hmm? The Chaos Qi he could obtain from Senior Brother Feng was getting less and less.
Huo Yuhao took the rank seven sealing Soul Guidance Device and walked toward the cultivation meditation room behind the office...
Everything proceeded smoothly and without incident, and he successfully absorbed the Silver Hero Beast, whose age barely reached ten thousand years.
Imprint allowed him to copy an opponent's Spirit Ability the instant it was used, storing it in his own Spirit Ring.
When needed, he could unleash it. Its power was affected by cultivation level; if the cultivation levels matched, the power would not diminish.
The limitation was that only one Spirit Ability obtained via Imprint could be stored. The limit for Imprint usage was three times a day.
After reading the information from Imprint, Huo Yuhao felt the abundant power within his body.
Looking at his three Spirit Rings—yellow, black, and actually white, purple, and black—he felt extremely invigorated.
The transformation of the Sea of Consciousness might be completed tonight, and then the abilities in the Spectator sequence would be enhanced again.
What change would the next sequence of the Telepathist bring?
What good things could he fish out of the Sea of Consciousness this time?
Jing Hongchen, sitting in the office sipping tea, couldn't stop smiling as he sensed Huo Yuhao's Soul Power fluctuation, which had already stepped into the Spirit Elder level, from the cultivation meditation room.
He simply couldn't figure out how such a genius could have fallen into his lap.
Mastering the first to third ranks of Soul Engineer in thirteen months!
Twin Martial Souls, Ultimate Martial Soul, and most importantly, this nearly perfect temperament of not being arrogant or impatient, moving forward steadily.
It suited his taste perfectly!
...
Back in his dormitory, Huo Yuhao had nothing pressing to do. After all, the transformation of the Sea of Consciousness was not something he could casually influence.
He took out the rank four absorption formation that had a slight error and began studying it.
Then he attempted to replicate this error onto a rank three absorption formation.
Finally, based on the inspiration from that time, he inscribed a rank three core formation capable of absorbing homologous Soul Power with minimal loss.
Although this rank three core formation was immature and had many issues,
Huo Yuhao still named it the "Ultimate Absorption Formation," believing it had huge potential for optimization.
He held a rank three laminar flow output core formation in his left hand and a rank three Ultimate Absorption Formation in his right hand.
Just as he was contemplating how to combine and apply these two core formations, which offered no practical offensive or defensive capabilities,
An anomaly occurred in his Sea of Consciousness.
Spirit Space.
Huo Yuhao's spirit body stood suspended in mid-air, anxiously watching below.
The Sea of Consciousness suddenly shot out brilliant, multicolored light, and every ray of light was like a mirror reflecting the human heart.
Every mirror corresponded to a thought Huo Yuhao had deciphered.
This time, the range of the Sea of Consciousness remained unchanged, but its color was much murkier than what he had seen before.
Finally, all the light rays collapsed inward, forming a heart that was stained with a faint blue and had become crystalline.
Huo Yuhao noticed that this heart flowed with dreamlike colors, as if a diamond were being illuminated by light.
Immediately afterward, a lot of information arose in his mind.
Psychologist:
It advances a step beyond the foundation of a "Telepathist," beginning to directly influence the target.
For example, it can cure problems like the target's mania, or it can make the target manic and lose their sanity.
The Sea of Consciousness can extend its tendrils deep into the subconscious Domain.
It can carry out spiritual guidance and treatment, and it can also apply complex psychological suggestion, forming the initial shape of "manipulation."
Subconscious Domain?
Huo Yuhao skillfully organized the esoteric knowledge he gained after advancing to "Psychologist."
He read the description of the Psychologist's specific abilities.
"Deterrence" can make a single target or multiple targets panic instantly and become chaotic, as if facing a giant dragon. It has a miraculous effect when combined with simulation.
"Mania" can detonate the target's emotions or psychological state, causing them to fall into "mania." They suffer severe spiritual damage, and in some cases, it can even cause the target to lose control directly.
Lose control?
Huo Yuhao had never heard of the concept of losing control.
Compared to the previous two abilities, what concerned him more was "Psychological Suggestion":
Through specific actions, language, or mediums,
It suggests to the target, making them unconsciously follow the Psychologist's arrangements, or intensely and sincerely feel unwilling to violate a certain promise.
It can also enter the collective sea of the subconscious through self-psychological suggestion.
Collective sea of the subconscious?
Huo Yuhao's eyes moved. This was the connection between the group and the individual, just like the previous subconscious Domain.
It was like the relationship between the ocean and the rivers flowing into it.
The Telepathist's mind-reading ability was also enhanced:
It allows direct communication with the target's mental body through mediums like candlelight or pure dew, placing the target in a semi-hypnotic state.
The subconscious Domain does not always represent the entirety of consciousness, whereas the mental body often represents a person's true thoughts.
As for the final ability, "Soothing," it is also called "Psychoanalysis."
It can handle loss of control, but Huo Yuhao temporarily found no practical use for it.
What relieved Huo Yuhao the most was that every time he successfully manipulated using the "Psychological Suggestion" ability, a drop of chaos water would feed back and merge into the Sea of Consciousness.
Compared to the Chaos Qi, the color didn't change, but the total amount increased.
It was fortunate that there was a method for greater improvement; otherwise, relying solely on the Chaos Qi obtained from mind-reading would truly take a lot of time.
Electrolux looked at the Sea of Consciousness, which was gradually calming down, and smiled,
"Yuhao, go down and see what you can salvage."
"This is your own Sea of Consciousness; you won't be in danger of being dissolved."
Huo Yuhao nodded, and under the gaze of the Ice Empress and the Skydream Iceworm, he jumped directly into the Sea of Consciousness.
Upon contacting the Sea of Consciousness, Huo Yuhao's first feeling was that it was slightly viscous.
Did it seem to have a bit more oiliness than before?
Huo Yuhao didn't think much of it and sank downward in the Sea of Consciousness, which was currently only the size of a small lake.
Even though it had just undergone transformation, the Sea of Consciousness had gained some mysterious characteristics.
For instance, the deeper it went, the deeper the spatial collapse seemed to be.
This resulted in the bottom of the small lake-sized Sea of Consciousness barely supporting his spirit body when Huo Yuhao reached the bottom.
Huo Yuhao looked down; this place seemed to have a heavier sense of illusion and a lighter sense of reality.
Several vaguely discernible objects were floating uncertainly, making it impossible to tell whether they truly existed.
Huo Yuhao reached out towards one object, only to find that it scattered into light particles upon contact, falling into the deep, bottomless, dark void.
Huo Yuhao mused thoughtfully, focused on an object that seemed more tangible and less illusory, and reached out to grab it directly.
The moment Huo Yuhao made contact with it,
It was as if he saw a sealed basement, where the walls, floor, and ceiling were covered with meaningless, bizarre characters.
Crash!
This object instantly shed some of its illusion, and its reality deepened.
Huo Yuhao looked closely; it was a common quill pen, seemingly capable of writing without ink.
It was extremely illusory, as if using it once would cause its illusory side to regain dominance.
This was an extraordinary item usable only once!
With such a heavy degree of illusion, it probably couldn't be taken out of the Sea of Consciousness either.
The moment this pen fell into Huo Yuhao's hand, the illusion and reality above the several previously vague and floating objects instantly lost balance.
Seeing that the illusion was about to completely suppress reality, causing them all to cease existing,
Huo Yuhao quickly used all his strength to grab the nearest object.
The balance was instantly broken, and the remaining objects fell into the darkness.
Hiss!
A strange and indescribable murmur was heard, stimulating Huo Yuhao's head until it was chaotic and his consciousness fuzzy.
After a while, Huo Yuhao gradually regained consciousness.
What just happened?
Who was calling out?
He recalled the murmur from before with a heavy heart but could not find an answer.
Perhaps this was the price of gaining something: you must accept the cost of obtaining it.
Only then did Huo Yuhao examine the two items he had obtained.
The one he just obtained was an item that changed its form.
At one moment it was a dull, unremarkable liquid that inexplicably made one thirsty, and at the next, it transformed into a shadow mass seemingly covered in spikes.
A piece of information surged into his mind:
Witch Sequence Nine: Assassin, Potion/Extraordinary Characteristic
Can temporarily change the body, gaining feather-like lightness, along with solidified eagle vision and dark vision.
Skilled at hiding in shadows, possessing nimble footsteps, agile movements, and the ability to unleash all strength in a single strike.
By role-playing according to the sequence name, one can digest and completely control it.
Huo Yuhao examined it carefully and found no side effects to this Assassin Potion.
Assassin?
Role-playing an assassin? That didn't seem difficult.
According to the description, the abilities it provided were not exaggerated, but the part about "unleashing all strength in a single strike" was quite noteworthy.
Moreover, it was only Sequence Nine, probably just the starting point of a sequence ability, similar to the Spectator he obtained back then.
Huo Yuhao's intuition told him that this was not something he should absorb or use.
But since he had gone to the trouble of salvaging it, and it seemed he could bring it out of the Sea of Consciousness, he might as well keep it for now.
Huo Yuhao then turned his attention to the quill pen, gently stroking it, and a piece of information that did not belong to this world flooded his mind:
Pen of Al-Suhod (Illusory), Codename 008
This is an ordinary-looking feather pen.
When brought into reality, it can write without ink.
Every story it writes will become reality.
Once you know of it, it also knows you, and everyone you come into contact with.
The more you learn about it, the more likely you are to be written into the story it weaves.
All of its previous owners, every researcher who studied it, died for strange reasons.
It caused the death of an Angel; whether it can directly affect a True God is yet to be confirmed...
Angel?
True God?
Huo Yuhao's eyes flickered, feeling that he had come into contact with a different realm.
However, no matter how strong its side effects are once brought into reality,
In its current purely illusory state, it should not have corresponding side effects, right?
Morning light streamed through the window, illuminating Huo Yuhao as he slowly opened his eyes.
Just then, there was a knock on the door.
Knock, knock!
When Huo Yuhao opened the door, he saw a young man with short white hair leaning against the wall, dressed very dashingly.
The young woman had silver-threaded blue eyes, possessing natural grace and beauty. A simple white dress further highlighted her pure and refined temperament.
As soon as Xiao Hongchen saw Huo Yuhao open the door, he slowly straightened up, staring intently at him:
"Yuhao, did you absorb a ten-thousand-year Silver Hero Beast for your third Spirit Ring?"
"What did the soul shock from a ten-thousand-year Soul Beast feel like?"
Jing Hongchen had only told Xiao Hongchen about this afterward, so as not to let him disturb Huo Yuhao's breakthrough state.
When Xiao Hongchen learned about it, his whole world collapsed.
Since childhood, he had painstakingly devoted himself to studying soul tool knowledge, allowing him to make a stunning debut after enrollment.
He had pushed Ma Rulong off one ranking list after another.
It took him a full three years to achieve the title of the number one genius at the Sun Moon Empire Royal Soul Engineer Academy.
Once Huo Yuhao revealed his third Spirit Ring, it would severely shake his status as the number one genius!
Huo Yuhao had already achieved his promotion goal, and his mood was much more relaxed. Seeing the situation, he immediately felt playful.
He pretended to be indifferent:
"Yes, my third Spirit Ring is indeed a black Spirit Ring of ten-thousand-year limit."
"As for soul shock? I didn't feel much, after all, my Mental Power was only a hair's breadth away from the Spirit Emperor level back then."
"Senior Brother Xiao, don't be too surprised."
"Perhaps it's because I have a little talent."
Saying this, Huo Yuhao casually used "Psychological Suggestion," planting an overly shocked suggestion in Xiao Hongchen's mind.
"Is that sweat?" Xiao Hongchen touched his thigh in disbelief, then relaxed, "So it was pee. I was wondering how talent of this level could make me sweat."
He then touched his butt in disbelief again: "No! Why did I almost shit myself?!"
Was the effect of Psychological Suggestion really that exaggerated? Huo Yuhao's eye twitched slightly.
He felt that the Chaos Qi feedback in his Sea of Consciousness provided an enhancement effect for the Sea of Consciousness dozens of times greater than that of Chaos Qi.
"Pfft! Hahahaha!"
Meng Hongchen laughed so hard her flowers trembled. She finally straightened up and said, "Sorry, Brother, that was too funny."
"Actually, after studying with you for so many years, I feel like I gained more from discussing things with Junior Brother for two days!"
The pee and shit were, of course, illusions. Xiao Hongchen held his forehead and sighed toward the sky:
"Little Meng, are you already turning against me? Alas!"
"Since Xiao was born, why must Hao be born?"
"It's not that I'm not strong enough, it's that Yuhao is too unreasonable."
Huo Yuhao withdrew his gaze, shrugged, and said: "Senior Sister Meng, Senior Brother Xiao. How did you find my dormitory?"
"Is there something urgent?"
Meng Hongchen composed herself, suppressing the uncontrollable laughter, and said coquettishly: "We're being distant. You broke through to the third ring at Tranquility Hall yesterday, why didn't you notify us?"
Huo Yuhao chuckled: "Weren't you two busy practicing tactics these past two days?"
"I heard from Senior Brother Ma that this year is the most promising one."
"The reserve team and the main team are all sharpening their knives, and the intensity of tactical practice is several times that of previous terms."
Xiao Hongchen hadn't had Huo Yuhao's Mental Detection these past few days.
Coupled with his previous boast after defeating Ma Rulong, which Feng Tingting had vigorously promoted, he ended up being severely 'taken care of' by Ma Rulong during tactical practice.
He complained bitterly:
"Yuhao, without you, that Ma Rulong abused me terribly!"
"He constantly chased me from one end of the Soul Dueling Platform to the other."
"And he kept saying, 'Don't you know how to make the soul tool rays turn red? Show me!'. I really can't take it anymore!"
"After more than a month, Tingting hasn't even found suitable promotional material!"
Huo Yuhao gave Xiao Hongchen a reassuring look, then looked at Meng Hongchen, feeling somewhat hesitant.
He thought that the Sequence Nine magic potion named Assassin would actually suit Meng Hongchen very well.
Not only could it change the body in a short time, granting feather-like lightness, but it also provided powerful eyesight and dark vision.
It suited someone skilled at hiding in shadows, possessing nimble footwork, agile movements, and the ability to unleash all their power in a single strike.
It offered physical enhancement, increased flexibility, and also provided burst power and stealth.
Wasn't this perfect for the close-combat Soul Engineer path that Meng Hongchen specialized in?
Moreover, this was only Sequence Nine, with significant room for upgrades.
When Meng Hongchen finished absorbing it, whenever he managed to retrieve subsequent sequence magic potions from his Sea of Consciousness,
She could still upgrade.
Meng Hongchen had helped him countless times since he enrolled.
Huo Yuhao was, after all, just a young man, and towards a senior sister who was known as the most dazzling gem of Mingdu and was close to his age,
There was indeed a bit of youthful admiration. Huo Yuhao couldn't deceive himself.
There were plenty of reasons to give it to Meng Hongchen, but there was a very strong reason not to give it:
That was, he couldn't actually guarantee the complete safety of this magic potion.
This was not something from this world after all, and he didn't know if there were any conspiracies behind it.
"Junior Brother, why are you looking at me like that?" Meng Hongchen touched her delicate face in confusion:
"I don't have flowers on my face. What are you thinking about?"
Huo Yuhao's expression showed hesitation, but he still asked:
"Senior Sister Meng, I mean, if..."
"If there was an item that was neither a Spirit Ring nor a Soul Bone."
"It could systematically enhance a person's abilities, perhaps even more effectively than a Spirit Ring, and it also had good upgrade potential."
"But it has one drawback: it's impossible to completely rule out whether it will bring about danger."
"Senior Sister Meng, what do you think?"
"Impossible to completely rule out? Meaning it's roughly controllable?" Seeing Huo Yuhao nod, Meng Hongchen said with mock annoyance:
"Junior Brother, do you even understand what an independent sector is?"
"The closer a Spirit Master gets to the peak, the more saturated their Soul Bones and Spirit Rings become."
"There is also an upper limit to the number of Soul Guidance Devices a Soul Engineer can use simultaneously."
"At that time, if there were such an item independent of the Spirit Master system,"
"Then that Spirit Master's ceiling would be raised a level higher than other Spirit Masters, comparable to Twin Martial Souls!"
"Do you understand what I mean now?" Meng Hongchen reached out and tapped Huo Yuhao:
"Never mind if the danger is roughly controllable. Even if there was immense danger, no Spirit Master would be unmoved."
Xiao Hongchen also nodded repeatedly and casually added: "If you gave me such an item, I'd even be willing to turn into a woman!"
Huo Yuhao became less decisive when matters involved people close to him.
It wasn't urgent anyway, so he rubbed his temples and said: "Senior Sister Meng, you didn't just come to congratulate me, did you?"
"Guess?" Meng Hongchen smiled faintly.
Huo Yuhao's thoughts flickered, and he blurted out: "The sixth-rank live ammunition soul tool sniper rifle is finished?"
Xiao Hongchen chuckled: "That's right! The strongest killing weapon for this competition, we rushed to finish it just in time."
...
Today was a rest day.
The three of them went to retrieve the completed sixth-rank live ammunition soul tool sniper rifle, then found Feng Tingting, and had a small gathering at the same restaurant from the previous holiday.
After eating heartily, Meng Hongchen invited Feng Tingting to go shopping arm-in-arm.
This left Huo Yuhao and Xiao Hongchen behind in the restaurant, chatting animatedly.
As Meng Hongchen and Feng Tingting strolled, they noticed a few girls ahead wearing academy uniforms, discussing something while holding copies of "soul tool master genius."
Meng Hongchen subtly moved closer to listen.
It turned out that after Huo Yuhao became famous before the academy started, he had quite a few female fans on campus.
As she listened, the female students' discussion grew bolder:
"Huo Yuhao is so pure-looking. Seeing him makes me want to line up."
"Don't fight, everyone. I've already set my sights on him. I'm collecting his daily routes to ambush him!"
"Honey trap. I don't believe I can't win over Huo Yuhao!"
"Giving up trap! I'm going to use the giving up trap! I found out his dorm location!"
This explicit joking made Meng Hongchen, who was eavesdropping nearby, laugh despite herself.
But what kind of person was Meng Hongchen?
As intelligent as she was, she naturally knew that stepping in directly to fight these female fans was the worst strategy.
With her status, she naturally had her own way to help Huo Yuhao control the public opinion both inside and outside the academy.
After walking a little further away from Feng Tingting,
Meng Hongchen carefully considered her words, then put on a serious expression on her beautiful face and said:
"Sister Tingting, I see some wild bees and butterflies in the academy who have their eyes on Junior Brother."
"Junior Brother is in a rapid ascent period for both his cultivation and technical skills; he cannot be disturbed by them."
"Oh! I'll control the content output of 'soul tool master genius.'" Feng Tingting understood immediately and teased:
"We can't let some sluts in the academy affect Yuhao's shining success in the soul tool field."
That wasn't enough; she also needed to communicate with other smaller-circulation periodicals.
Meng Hongchen curled her lips, feeling a little proud.
I am quite smart, you know!
Mingdou Mountain Range, Star Luo Empire Western Army Group, central stationed area.
Shrek Academy's team participating in the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Duel Tournament had arrived.
Besides the many geniuses from the main team, reserve team, and spectator team, the group also included accompanying teachers Zhou Yi and Wang Shengjia.
Zhou Yi came along because her class produced the dean's closed-door disciple, and Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao were both in the reserve team.
Tang Yin was the most outstanding student she had ever taught.
She had a premonition that even though Tang Yin was only a thirty-fifth level Spirit Elder, he would definitely have a shining moment in this competition.
Once Tang Yin won the championship, her name, Zhou Yi, would surely resound throughout the world!
As for Wang Shengjia, he joined the team as Wang Yan's assistant, thanks to his excellent data analysis skills.
Wang Yan led the group towards Duke Dai Hao of the White Tiger Duke's Mansion, who had been waiting there for a long time.
After some pleasantries, Dai Hao looked at Dai Yueheng and Dai Huabin, feeling both pleased and a little regretful.
He was pleased that both of his sons were in this team, which proved they were both top-tier geniuses—a sign of great prosperity for the White Tiger Duke's Mansion!
His regret was that Dai Huabin was only on the spectator team and wouldn't have a chance to compete.
Otherwise, before Dai Hao returned to Star Luo to watch the competition, he would definitely visit his ancestors to inform them of this good fortune.
Within the team, Ma Xiaotao curiously asked Dai Yueheng:
"Then how many wives does your father have?"
Dai Yueheng was stunned, his gaze instantly becoming a little strange: "Only my mother. In our generation, there are only my brother Huabin and I."
"Father is very self-disciplined when it comes to women. He often says that if a man cannot control his desires for women, then he will not achieve great things."
At the edge of the team, Tang Yin's fingertips trembled slightly, the whites of his eyes turned bluish, and his gaze was unfocused yet fixed on a certain spot.
His throat unconsciously swallowed, and he felt as if his bones had been removed.
Damn it, Ma Xiaotao's evil flame is poisonous!
It's addictive!
He looked at Ma Xiaotao with difficulty, forcing a strained smile, and whispered:
"Senior Sister, I haven't absorbed your evil flame in a while, have I?"
Heh, the dean's closed-door disciple is an addict? Wang Shengjia, at the end of the team, subtly pushed up his silver-rimmed glasses.
He cast his gaze towards the depths of the Mingdou Mountain Range.
A few days before departure, Wang Shengjia learned, by virtue of being an accompanying teacher,
that the target of this trip was his Cousin, and that the monitoring group had a Super Douluo secretly protecting them.
He sent a secret message of two words through special channels to the Death Messenger:
Run fast!
But the Death Messenger had been an Evil Soul Master for a long time, his sanity severely affected by evil energy, and his personality was stubborn and arrogant.
Furthermore, Wang Shengjia intentionally protected himself, minimizing the information in the secret message.
So whether the Death Messenger would listen to this advice, he didn't know; he had, in any case, done his utmost.
After Dai Yueheng managed to borrow several flying Soul Guidance Devices, Dai Hao watched his two sons depart, murmuring to himself:
"The strength of the accompanying powerhouses is so great that I cannot even sense it; they must be Super Douluo."
"Dealing with an Evil Soul Master who is only at the Soul King level, Yueheng and Huabin should be perfectly safe."
In the flying team, Dai Yueheng spoke eloquently to Tang Yin:
"I have completed twenty-eight monitoring missions so far, not far from thirty."
"In this process, I have killed bandits who committed rape and plunder, corrupt officials who disregarded human life, and saved enslaved children."
"The Inner Court's motto is: strength equals responsibility, and heart walks with kindness. I wish to share this with you all."
Wang Shengjia listened expressionlessly.
Heh, easy to say.
Students who are far from completing thirty missions to graduate have no choice but to use those who resemble Evil Soul Masters to make up the numbers.
This is killing the innocent to claim credit.
The Evil Soul Masters like Crow Douluo and Scorpion Tiger Douluo Zhang Peng in the Holy Church originally:
Say more, it sounds good, I love to hear it.
Wang Shengjia's family was caught in the crossfire like this.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have come to Shrek Academy as an undercover agent.
Xuanzi took a big gulp of wine and laughed heartily:
"This is the responsibility and commitment of the Shrek Monitoring Group!"
The members of the three teams felt honored to hear this.
Dai Huabin asked doubtfully, "If graduating from the Inner Court is so difficult, what are the benefits of entering the Inner Court?"
Tang Yin frowned and said, "The academy has already allowed you into the Inner Court, why would it give you more benefits?"
"Entering the Inner Court is the highest honor; isn't gaining honor enough for you?"
Honor? Can it be eaten?
And by what right do you speak to me like that?
Dai Huabin sneered, "Tang Yin, don't act like you're an Inner Court disciple!"
"The competition restricts Hidden Weapon with mechanisms. With just your poison, you'll be in for a rough time if you actually compete."
Tang Yin said indifferently, "My poison is far beyond your imagination."
He had also prepared diligently for this competition.
Not only did he acquire many high-grade poisons through Shrek City's trade status,
but he also re-condensed his Domain of the Slaughter God, elevating his overall strength to another level.
Even without using Hidden Weapon with mechanisms, he was confident he could directly contend with Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu's Martial Soul Fusion Skill!
Tang Yin looked earnestly at Dai Huabin: "Without Shrek, you are nothing. Shrek's kindness can never be fully repaid!"
The more Xuanzi listened to Tang Yin's words, the more a feeling of mutual appreciation arose within him:
"Tang Yin is right, Dai Huabin, you should learn from him."
"The more one talks about benefits, the narrower one's mind becomes; the more one talks about contribution, the broader one's perspective becomes."
Xuanzi paused, then chuckled:
"Shrek has a benefit that no other power possesses: you can participate in the Sea God's Fate blind date event!"
"Basically, all the top Spirit Master geniuses and beauties from across the continent are there."
How utterly lewd and vulgar! Wang Dong felt physically uncomfortable. So, we genius maidens come to your academy just to be an Inner Court benefit?
Tang Yin's eyes lit up upon hearing Xuanzi's theory on the scope of benefits, and he also laughed:
"Elder Xuan's insight is profound; he sees further than these ordinary students."
"Meeting Elder Xuan is like a flowing stream meeting a towering mountain!"
Xuanzi took another big gulp of wine, laughing heartily:
"You're a clever kid. Don't worry, I'll ensure your safety on this trip!"
Tang Yin also laughed, saying, "With the ninety-eighth level Super Douluo Elder Xuan leading the team, what could possibly go wrong? We can rest easy!"
Rest easy? Perhaps not.
Ning Tian, who was following behind, had an ominous premonition. Others might not know Xuanzi's track record, but she certainly did.
No other reason than among the group of geniuses who died while hunting for souls with Zhang Lexuan back then,
was her Cousin!
Ning Tian secretly pondered that they were just the spectator team and had no monitoring mission, so they should keep a bit of distance later.
Wu Feng would definitely listen to her, as for the others, she couldn't manage that much.
Anyway, it was just an uncertain sixth sense, and speaking it out might risk angering Xuanzi.
...
Depths of the Mingdou Mountain Range.
"Boss! The corpse reserves are all hung on the trees and cave walls as requested!"
A minion ran over to report.
The black-clad, black-robed Death Messenger tossed a letter into the fire, then looked in the direction of the Star Luo Empire Western Army Group's stationed area, sneering:
"I avoid his sharp edge?"
Deep within the Mingdou Mountain Range, in a certain cave.
The Shrek group (group) was divided into three batches according to their respective teams.
The main team faced a group of Evil Soul Masters, the strongest of whom were only three Soul Kings, and they fought with the force of an autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves.
Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng led the charge, striking directly at the heart of the enemy and making rapid progress.
Behind them were Chen Zifeng and the others, and at the very rear was Gongyang Mo, whose Spirit Rings flashed in turn, casting various amplification lights upon the main team members.
In this narrow cave, facing this group of Evil Soul Masters who had no advantage in any aspect.
They were too lazy to bother with any tactics.
They all chose to unleash their most skilled long-range output Martial Soul Abilities in a barrage, bringing forth the momentum of the Shrek Seven Devils!
"Phoenix Meteor Shower!"
"White Tiger Meteor Shower!"
"Soul-Snatching Sword Array!"
"Freezing Cold Current!"
For a time, the cave shook, with severed limbs, broken bodies, and blood flying everywhere, creating a very gory scene.
The various mummified corpses and limbs that had been hanging on the cave walls also fell.
Coincidentally, a mummified corpse landed on Dai Yueheng.
"Bah! Bad luck!"
He casually unleashed a White Tiger Fierce Light Wave, shattering it into pieces, with some of the larger fragments falling right at Gongyang Mo's feet.
Gongyang Mo paid no attention, focusing on releasing his amplification Martial Soul Abilities.
Facing the main team's destructive assault, the Evil Soul Masters realized that these were no kind-hearted individuals.
The main team also didn't intend to hog all the spoils; after all, the reserve team was also here for training.
So, they deliberately let many heavily injured Evil Soul Masters escape, leaving them for the reserve team to handle.
The reserve team displayed a relatively serious attitude.
Maintaining a formation with Beibei leading the charge, He Caitou and Jiang Nannan protecting the flanks, Xu Sanshi bringing up the rear.
Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao, and Tang Yin providing output from the center.
The seven members of the reserve team watched their seniors push forward and separate, displaying their formidable strength, and their hearts filled with longing.
Wang Dong's eyes showed a hint of envy.
Wasn't this why she endured
Shrek was still the holy land of Spirit Masters, the place on the entire continent most capable of cultivating Spirit Master geniuses.
When the Sun Moon and Douluo continents collided, Shrek Academy's status was not only unaffected.
It was also greatly enhanced and solidified because it led the Douluo Spirit Masters in resisting the Sun-Moon Empire.
In such a holy land for Spirit Masters, the geniuses who could join the main team and represent Shrek Academy in battle.
All possessed the talent to almost certainly become Titled Douluo.
This was the true value of the Shrek Seven Devils!
Tang Yin retracted his gaze, suppressing the envy in his heart.
At this moment, his Soul Power was only at rank thirty-five. To keep up with the pace of the seven Spirit Master geniuses ahead, he indeed needed a bit more time to grow.
He could only clean up the battlefield and finish off enemies with the rest of the reserve team.
"Are the seniors getting too far ahead?"
The pressure of cleaning up the battlefield wasn't great. He Caitou, who was sweeping with a Level 4 Soul Tool Ray, scratched his head and said:
"In this narrow terrain, if we used high-explosive Soul Guidance Devices like Fixed-Form Soul Guidance Cannon Shell, it would definitely be terrifying."
Bragging about Soul Guidance Devices again?
Tang Yin frowned deeply upon hearing this.
If Soul Guidance Devices were really that powerful, would you still need Elder Xuan to bestow upon you a spot in the reserve team?
He said, throwing Hidden Weapon:
"Can your so-called Fixed-Form Soul Guidance Cannon Shell even compare to my Tang Sect's Torrential Pear Blossom Needle?"
"So, Soul Guidance Devices are just a minor path."
"How can they be the same?" He Caitou pouted, took out several triggered Level 4 shields from his storage ring, and put them on.
With his great revenge still unfulfilled, no amount of caution was too much for him.
Tang Yin scoffed, "These are toys for cowards."
Although the Spirit Master System members in the team didn't echo him, their gazes towards He Caitou were similar to Tang Yin's.
Didn't they see that the seniors who were charging ahead didn't even equip these so-called spirit tool shields?
Spirit Ability output and combat techniques, these were the proper ways for a Spirit Master to fight!
Seeing He Caitou remain silent, Tang Yin, who felt his pace was being slowed by the reserve team, looked at the spectator team behind them.
Dai Huabin was constantly watching Dai Yueheng's movements, while Zhu Lu looked disgusted, avoiding the scattered corpses on the ground.
Wu Feng and Ning Tian followed behind Wang Shengjia.
The sisters Lan Susu and Lan Luoluo stood beside Zhou Yi, observing the battle from afar.
Tang Yin stepped on a corpse and said with dissatisfaction:
"You standing outside the cave, do you really think you're here to watch the battle?"
"Why are you all huddled around the two teachers, so timid?"
"The Academy has gone to great lengths to give you a chance to train; why are you so cowardly?"
Seeing Dai Huabin's expression show some movement, Tang Yin pointed at the corpse under his foot and provoked him:
"Dai Huabin, where did that arrogant Martial Soul you had in the finals go?"
"Your elder brother is killing Evil Soul Masters ahead; are you even afraid of corpses? Hiding so far away!"
"Lan Susu, Lan Luoluo, your strength is already weak. If you don't even seize this training opportunity, how will you keep up with us in the future?"
"Ning Tian, you are the Young Sect Master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect; your courage is a bit too small."
"Hurry and keep up with me!"
It's clearly the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect! Ning Tian expressionlessly pulled back the indignant Wu Feng.
The two obediently stayed behind Wang Shengjia.
Wang Shengjia didn't mind; if they didn't want to go, then they didn't go. He was even happy about it.
Elder Xuan was undoubtedly a high-ranking official of Shrek Academy.
He was watching right behind him!
If these two students rushed forward and got injured.
If he were to be suspected, he might not be able to withstand the Academy's no-holds-barred investigation!
So, he simply protected the two young girls, keeping them a bit further away from all sorts of corpses.
He calmly watched what other trouble these 'divine' people wanted to stir up.
Zhou Yi didn't think like him; she encouraged the Lan sisters:
"Tang Yin is right. Although you are only the spectator team, no one is stopping you from trying your hand against these villains."
Zhou Yi watched the Lan sisters, who, encouraged by her, stepped forward and used their Martial Soul Abilities to attack a few minor enemies.
She felt a slight sense of relief, but her gaze towards Dai Huabin was not so kind:
"Dai Huabin, it's not surprising that you lost to Tang Yin, but your courage is not even as great as two young girls. You're disgracing the Duke of the White Tiger."
Dai Huabin was also provoked into a laugh. He kicked away a corpse by the roadside and quickly charged into the cave:
"What the hell am I afraid of!"
Elder Xuan, standing at the very back, took a big gulp of wine. Looking at the unmoving Ning Tian and Wu Feng, he kindly advised:
"Go and see some bloodshed; this is a rare opportunity for you two."
"With me here, what are you two afraid of?"
Aren't we afraid of you?
A faint blush rose on Ning Tian's face as she subtly covered her abdomen:
"Elder Xuan, I, I'm feeling a bit unwell, and Wu Feng is here to accompany me."
Didn't we come together? The next time is still far off. Although Wu Feng had a reckless personality, their lifelong tacit understanding made her interject:
"Yes, Elder Xuan."
"Is that so?" Elder Xuan shook his head regretfully.
Tang Yin controlled his Eight Spider Lances to tear a Spirit Master bandit in half, then turned and threw a bottle of wine to Elder Xuan, laughing:
"If Elder Xuan is bored, why not try my Tang Sect's special fine brew!"
Elder Xuan was momentarily stunned. He took the wine, tasted a sip, and his eyes lit up as he sighed with a smile:
"What a potent wine!"