"If this spreads, you will be revered by countless people for millennia to come."
Soul Spirits.
Soul Rings.
Martial Souls are both the foundation and the limitation.
To advance, one must obtain Soul Rings. How long does it take for a soul beast to reach a hundred years? Decades, at minimum, barring exceptional talent or fortune. Yet a soul master—even one awakening at level three or four—can reach their first ring within four to five years at most.
As humanity's collective strength grows, soul beasts will inevitably become insufficient. Artificial Soul Spirits are undoubtedly a perfect solution.
"Perhaps," Yi Laike replied indifferently. He cared little for such things.
Time passed day by day.
Though Yi Laike approved the Soul Spirit method, An Zhen had no immediate plans to reveal it. How would he explain its origin? Possessing the method meant little—Shrek Academy was a sworn enemy of soul beasts.
Of course, even if soul beasts refused, Yi Laike had solutions.
Death God Necromancer.
In the art of soul manipulation, even a Divine King of the God Realm paled before Yi Laike at his peak.
Force the contract.
But such abilities could never be openly displayed.
At sunset, a handsome youth strolled along the shore of the Sea God Lake. Any high-level soul master present would have gasped—the surrounding energy of heaven and earth converged toward him at a terrifying rate. He devoured it like a bottomless abyss; even the flowers and grass in his wake showed signs of withering.
"An Zhen!"
"Hm?" The youth paused and turned. A petite, cute girl in white ankle boots dashed toward him, her forest-green ponytail swaying in a braid.
"Xiao Xiao? Is something wrong?"
Over the past months, An Zhen had little contact with her—not from lack of interest, but lack of time. Between classes, four beautiful girls, and a "big sister" vying for his attention—and they weren't even in the same class—he was stretched thin.
"This... is from my friend. I hope you'll accept it." Xiao Xiao shyly raised a hand hidden behind her back, holding a turquoise envelope.
Friend?
An Zhen's gaze swept over her flushed cheeks and evasive eyes.
"Alright." He took the envelope. Xiao Xiao fled as if escaping disaster.
"Tsk. The fifth one." A young man's teasing voice echoed in An Zhen's mind.
Aside from intimate moments with his girlfriends, An Zhen rarely blocked Yi Laike's perception of the outside world.
"You've recovered well, Teacher? Your voice sounds younger."
An Zhen gently opened the envelope—and promptly shielded Yi Laike's senses. Even prodigies deserve privacy.
"Thanks to you, boy. I'm doing well."
The letter, written in delicate script on white paper, confessed a schoolgirl's innocent crush and hope for friendship.
"Then, could you handle Elder Xuan? The slovenly old man from before?"
"Ouch!"
In the virtual world, An Zhen's head throbbed—a synchronized sensation from his real body while maintaining dual control in the "Awakening" state.
"Are you so eager to send your teacher to an early grave?!"
"I was just asking!" An Zhen protested.
"What about in four months?"
Hearing the seriousness in his tone, Yi Laike fell silent before replying, "Yes."
He was, after all, a fragment of divine consciousness.
Nourished by this pocket world, he could manage it—at a cost.
An Zhen pocketed Xiao Xiao's letter.
"But it would demand a heavy price from you, Teacher."
Taking a deep breath, he headed toward the Nine Treasures Pavilion.
"Teacher... what if we add a piece of Life Gold?"
Sorry, Little Yutong. I'll make it up to you.
"Life Gold?!"
For the first time, shock colored Yi Laike's voice—not at An Zhen's knowledge (his student was more enigmatic than his own past), but at the prospect of obtaining it.
"Even a droplet's worth—no, a fifth of a droplet—would make that slovenly fool trivial to handle."
"I think you should raise your expectations."
Yi Laike's condition had improved significantly.
His divine consciousness was no longer frail—even revitalized by the virtual world—but he remained incomplete.
To borrow a metaphor:
His organs (divine consciousness) were healthy, but his limbs (power) were crippled. He could still fight, but it would damage his core. Pure cosmic energy was potent, but not ideal.
Nine Treasures Pavilion, First Floor
"Young Master An Zhen!"
A short-haired woman approached swiftly, presenting a ring-shaped storage soul tool. "This contains the Soul-Devouring Carnage Blade you requested. But it's extremely dangerous—it destroyed several storage devices en route. Lady Ning Tian suggests you choose another carving knife. Even a top-twenty Listed Carving Knife would only require a short wait."
"Please thank Ning Tian for me. And... if a top-twenty knife is available, secure it for me."
He might not need it, but Huo Yutong could. As for Ning Tian? He had a gift in mind—but it needed time.
"Understood."
An Zhen hurried back to his dorm. The high-grade storage device prevented the blade's escape.
"Teacher!"
The moment the item emerged, an aura of extreme Yin coldness began to spread—only for a tall figure to materialize behind An Zhen. Yi Laike's divine consciousness seized the ancient-patterned carving knife. Instantly, the blade—once a venomous serpent—wailed with agonized shrieks.
With a supreme expert shielding him, An Zhen felt nothing. Simultaneously, Yi Laike's immense divine consciousness sealed the dorm's aura.
"Watch closely. Learn well."
Amid the wails, a cyan demonic specter clawed from the blade, its ghastly visage hovering mid-air as if to devour An Zhen whole.
The ash-haired man lifted his gaze. Within his deathly grey eyes, a peerless sacred light erupted—brighter than any An Zhen had seen from a Radiant Holy Dragon.
A spotless, jade-white light appeared and struck the specter. Like dawn shredding night, the demon ignited. Wisps of black vapor tore free from its form and vanished.
Moments later.
A crystalline cyan carving knife rested in An Zhen's palm, radiating boundless life force.
"Boundless" was an understatement.
"You must be certain," Yi Laike said, his form now translucent as he regarded his student. "You know its name and brought it here. You understand its power."
An Zhen nodded slowly. "Life force is the most fundamental energy of existence."
"Even that million-year worm's vitality equates to but a droplet of Life Gold."
"One piece of Life Gold embodies a world's life essence."
Yi Laike's lips quirked. "And you'd give it to your teacher?"
"Of course." An Zhen didn't hesitate.
The youth leaned in with sycophantic eagerness. "With my world nourishing your origin, won't you soar, Teacher?"
"Good!"
Yi Laike studied An Zhen deeply, then dissolved into a grey sphere. It enveloped the cyan crystal knife and vanished into the virtual world at An Zhen's summons.
To think this wisp of divine consciousness would find such a disciple...
"This teacher will sleep for four months. When I awaken, I'll take you across the continent!"
Secured!
An Zhen mused over how much Yi Laike might recover. He began plotting holiday exploits across the Douluo Continent.
All according to plan.
Just one class left...
"Xiao Xiao."
The next day, An Zhen found the petite girl. "Would you like to train in the Dreamworld?"
"Ah?" Xiao Xiao stared, wide-eyed. Then, flustered, she waved her hands. "An Zhen, I didn't write to you just to enter the Dreamworld!"
That An Zhen possessed a dream space allowing simultaneous study and cultivation was common knowledge in the outer academy. Nearly every student coveted access—flowers, gifts, confessions, love letters flooded him initially. Even senior girls attempted seduction, seeing it as a "win."
Until Yan Shaozhe intervened.
The typically gentle dean issued a rare stern warning, terrifying students into backing off. Most guessed An Zhen had been taken as a disciple by an academy powerhouse—likely the dean himself.
"But aren't we friends?" An Zhen blinked with guileless sincerity.
"Mm..."
The girl's crimson cheeks spoke louder than words. Her white boots scuffed the ground; slender fingers twisted her skirt hem. "Thank you."
"I'll leave a mark on you. That way, I can pull you in at night too."
"Yes!" Xiao Xiao nodded eagerly, her green braid bouncing.
"An Zhen~"
A chilly voice cut through the air.
He turned to meet a pair of dreamy pink-blue eyes.
Wang Dong'er's death glare loc ked onto him. She knew he had designs on Xiao Xiao.
Flirt! How dare you charm girls right under my nose!
"What's wrong with being friends?" An Zhen turned an innocent gaze toward the slightly confused Huo Yutong.
"It's... a good thing," Huo Yutong said earnestly. Xiao Xiao was her friend. If An Zhen let her use the Dreamworld, she was happy for her.
"..."
Wang Dong'er deflated like a punctured balloon, slumping onto a desk.
Yutong! That girl is here to steal your man!
She couldn't stop it.
Xiao Xiao was her friend too.
She had no grounds to object.
As An Zhen left—
"Wang Dong!" Xiao Xiao beamed at her. "Thank you for the advice! I finally found the courage!"
"?"
Wang Dong'er froze.
Then she remembered: She'd told Xiao Xiao that An Zhen liked petite, cute girls.
Wuwuwu... I should've said he liked older women—no, that he liked MEN!
(End of Chapter)