After sitting down at the dining table, Zhou Sichen and Ye Guyi enjoyed a hearty meal together. Once they had eaten their fill, they lounged around for a while before heading off to wash up and return to their respective cultivation routines.
Since there was only one cultivation chamber, Ye Guyi went back to her room to cultivate, while Zhou Sichen entered the chamber to upgrade the Everchanging Core.
In addition to that, he also planned to upgrade the Grade-5 Soul Device he'd given Ye Guyi—the Holy Light Sword.
Since he had time tonight, he decided to enhance both of them to Grade-6 Soul Devices.
He had already retrieved the small piece of Everchanging Core from Yan Shaozhe the day before.
Now that he could smoothly craft Grade-6 Soul Devices, it was the perfect time to upgrade the core.
The higher the soul formation level of the Everchanging Core, the better it could utilize the abilities of the Heavenly Dream Remnant.
By early morning, Zhou Sichen had completed the upgrade and even had time to cultivate for another hour. He was feeling refreshed and full of energy.
Wearing training uniforms, he and Ye Guyi engaged in some friendly sparring in the courtyard, relying only on their physical strength and not their martial souls.
After the morning workout, the two planned to have breakfast in the cafeteria and then visit Elder Mu to discuss how Ye Guyi would obtain her sixth soul ring.
Just as they opened the door, they saw Ma Xiaotao approaching with breakfast in hand. She smiled when she saw Zhou Sichen. "Little Uncle, I brought you breakfast."
In just a couple of steps, she arrived at the villa with her hands full of food—clearly enough for three people.
Zhou Sichen couldn't help but feel slightly helpless. He hadn't expected someone as proud as Ma Xiaotao to actually go out of her way to buy breakfast for others.
Ye Guyi, on the other hand, looked at Ma Xiaotao's out-of-character behavior and felt a subtle sense of crisis stirring within her.
First Xianmeng, now Xiaotao... all these women are trying to steal my precious little brother—unforgivable!
Still, Ye Guyi didn't show any of that on her face. Instead, she tugged lightly on Zhou Sichen's sleeve.
Understanding her unspoken message, Zhou Sichen gave a faint smile. "Thanks. Come in and join us."
The three of them sat down in the courtyard to eat the breakfast Ma Xiaotao had brought. Zhou Sichen turned to her and said, "You don't need to go through the trouble. Focus on your cultivation—that's what really matters."
Ma Xiaotao, as if anticipating this, already had her response ready.
"Cultivation should be balanced with proper rest," she said naturally. "It's good for me to stay active. Besides, it gets lonely being on my own—I just want to spend more time with you guys."
She then turned her puppy-dog eyes toward Ye Guyi. "Don't you think so, Little Aunt?"
Ye Guyi hated questions like this. If she said no, it would make her seem like she was undermining Zhou Sichen. But if she said yes, it would make her feel uncomfortable inside.
Just then, another person entered through the villa gate, also carrying enough breakfast for three people.
It was Dugu Xianmeng.
Upon seeing the three of them already eating breakfast in the courtyard, her brow furrowed slightly. "You're all here? Is something special happening today?"
She quickly recomposed herself, putting on a warm smile as she approached the stone table and set the food down.
"Well, looks like we won't be able to finish all this," she said sweetly.
Zhou Sichen felt rather speechless at the whole scene, while Ye Guyi was clearly thrilled.
If Ma Xiaotao was trying to get close to Zhou Sichen, teaming up with Xianmeng seemed like the better option. At least they were close friends and understood each other.
As the saying goes: three women make a drama. Zhou Sichen, trying to avoid chaos, quickly invited Xianmeng to sit and urged everyone to finish eating quickly so they could move on to training.
With Zhou Sichen leading the tone, the small undercurrents between the girls had no room to develop. It was obvious to anyone watching that he was trying to prevent infighting.
After breakfast, Zhou Sichen took Ye Guyi to visit Elder Mu to discuss her sixth soul ring.
Meanwhile, Ma Xiaotao and Xianmeng went off to cultivate and tend to their own matters.
Zhou Sichen and Ye Guyi had important business to take care of, and the others weren't so tactless as to interfere. There would be plenty of opportunities later, after all.
On their way to the Sea God Pavilion, Zhou Sichen asked, "Sis, do you have any thoughts on your sixth soul ring?"
Ye Guyi pondered briefly before replying, "I can absorb a 50,000-year soul ring for my sixth. I already have enough enhancement-type soul skills, so I'd like something that focuses on either offense or defense."
Zhou Sichen nodded in agreement. It seemed he didn't need to analyze anything—she already knew exactly what kind of soul beast she needed.
For any Soul Master, it's best to choose enhancement-type skills in the early stages.
That way, even in the later stages, those skills remain useful and provide greater power than simple attack-type skills.
Ordinary Soul Masters often find their early attack skills become obsolete at high levels, whereas enhancement skills maintain their value.
At present, Ye Guyi's soul skills included three enhancement abilities. Only her second and fifth soul skills were purely offensive.
Moreover, the second soul skill scaled with her strength, becoming more powerful as she grew.
In other words, her five existing soul skills were already a well-balanced set, with the only weakness being a slight lack of defense.
Before long, they arrived at the Sea God Pavilion. Elder Mu was napping in a lounge chair when they approached.
Noticing the pair approaching, Elder Mu smiled warmly. "Guyi, I hear from Xuanzi that you've already reached Rank 60. Have you thought about your sixth ring yet?"
He didn't probe too much, as Zhou Sichen had already explained the effects of the Lovesick Heartbroken Red Physique.
Although Elder Mu had been surprised by the details, he hadn't felt the need to investigate further—it wasn't necessary.
Ye Guyi repeated what she had just told Zhou Sichen, and Elder Mu nodded in satisfaction.
What surprised him even more, however, was that Ye Guyi could actually absorb a 50,000-year soul ring.
He glanced at her, then at Zhou Sichen, who nodded slightly to confirm.
Elder Mu marveled at the Lovesick Heartbroken Red Physique's extraordinary effects.
To rise five soul power ranks overnight, without any signs of instability—if anything, with a stronger foundation—was already remarkable.
But now, her physical constitution and spiritual strength had also undergone a complete transformation. She was capable of absorbing a soul ring far beyond her level.
While absorbing higher-level soul rings wasn't unheard of in this era, absorbing a ring more than 10,000 years above one's level usually required secret techniques—like those of the Body Sect.
Poison Immortal, for example, used a secret technique to absorb a 100,000-year soul ring as his seventh.
Or you needed a rare opportunity—just like Elder Mu himself had experienced in the past.
Ye Guyi's case clearly fell into the latter category. Along with surprise, Elder Mu felt nothing but joy.
At this rate, she might even be able to absorb a 100,000-year soul ring for her seventh, if not the eighth.
Shrek Academy still possessed some powerful soul bones, and with Ye Guyi's talent, she was worth the investment.
For reference, Zhang Lexuan, the Inner Court's senior sister, had been granted the resources to absorb a 100,000-year soul ring at Rank 80—thanks to Elder Mu's decision.
"It seems you have a good grasp of your own abilities. That's excellent." Elder Mu smiled. "A few months ago, a 50,000-year Brightlight Dragon Turtle appeared in the eastern part of the Lihuo Plains. It might provide you with a powerful defensive soul skill. What do you think?"
Ye Guyi's eyes lit up. "That soul beast is perfect for me. Thank you, Teacher."
Elder Mu glanced at Zhou Sichen. "In that case, why don't you go with her? I believe your abilities are more than enough to handle it."
"This will also be a good trial for you, Sichen. You need real combat experience."
"Yes, Teacher," both Zhou Sichen and Ye Guyi answered in unison.
Elder Mu waved his hand. "Then go. Killing the 50,000-year Brightlight Dragon Turtle will count as a trial mission."
They bowed and exited the Sea God Pavilion together.
After they left, Elder Mu gently waved again, and Elder Xuan silently appeared.
"This outing will serve as a trial for both Sichen and Guyi," Elder Mu said quietly. "Follow from a distance. Unless their lives are in danger, don't intervene."
Elder Xuan gave a respectful nod. "Understood."
With little room for personal advancement left, his current wish was to help the younger generation grow. Guarding Shrek's two monstrous talents filled him with pride.
Besides, this gave him an excuse to get out of the Academy and stretch his legs.
Elder Mu gave him a solemn look. "These two are the future of Shrek. Do not let anything happen to them. Some mistakes… only need to happen once."
Those words sent a jolt through Elder Xuan's heart. Memories of bitter past regrets surfaced.
He understood. Elder Mu was warning him.
He bowed deeply. "I understand. Thank you for the reminder."
"Let the past go," Elder Mu said gently, placing a hand on Elder Xuan's shoulder. "Don't let it become a demon in your heart."
Elder Mu's warm, sunlight-like words cleansed Elder Xuan's spirit, easing his inner sorrow just a little.
With another deep bow, Elder Xuan silently took his leave.
****
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