The Snow Empress's embryo was hidden inside Jiang Shengyu's storage-type soul tool. But this soul tool had been specially redesigned by Jing Hongchen and Kong Deming to the point that even an Ultimate Douluo's perception could be blocked!
Forget Xuan Zi and Poison Undying—even Mu En himself would not sense the Snow Empress's aura unless he acted directly.
Because of this, Jiang Shengyu wasn't at all worried about them detecting any trace of a beast's presence from him.
Poison Undying fixed his gaze on Jiang Shengyu and asked:
"Then how did you obtain that hundred-thousand-year soul ring? And moreover—you have a connection with Di Tian! My subordinates' seals… those were laid by him, weren't they?"
Only then did Jiang Shengyu understand what this was really about. So that guy had exposed him! If he'd known earlier, he would have knocked those subordinates unconscious before bringing Di Tian out.
Seeing Jiang Shengyu's expression, Poison Undying pressed:
"What are you thinking, brat? Regretting that you didn't finish off my subordinates when you had the chance?"
"That thought did cross my mind," Jiang Shengyu admitted openly without hesitation.
"You—!"
Poison Undying choked on his words, his anger flaring. Xuan Zi quickly tried to calm him down.
"Enough, old venom! Getting worked up with a child—don't you find that beneath your dignity?"
"Hmph! Not as disgraceful as you Shrek lot!" Poison Undying snorted, but he didn't push the issue further.
Xuan Zi turned back to Jiang Shengyu.
"Shengyu, while we trust you, this matter involves Di Tian. We cannot afford to be careless. So, I hope you can explain to us: why do you possess a hundred-thousand-year soul ring, and what exactly is your relationship with Di Tian?"
"I met Di Tian in the Evil Demon Forest. At that time, my teacher had just taken me there to hunt for a soul ring." Jiang Shengyu lied with practiced ease, spinning his tale effortlessly.
"Nonsense! The Sun Moon Empire has a ninth-level soul engineer capable of fighting a hundred-thousand-year soul beast and Di Tian head-on? What a joke!" Poison Undying scoffed, clearly unconvinced.
Seeing his disbelief, Jiang Shengyu chuckled.
"It seems senior harbors quite the prejudice against soul engineers. What a pity. The truth is, soul engineering has long since developed beyond imagination."
"And just how far beyond imagination?" Poison Undying shot back.
Jiang Shengyu replied with a question of his own:
"Didn't you already learn it firsthand, senior? My senior brother Jing Hongchen—with his ninety-fourth level cultivation, armed with his soul tools, could fight you to a standstill. As for my teacher… he is an even greater soul engineer than my senior brother."
Hearing this, Poison Undying's expression sank into seriousness.
Though reluctant, Xuan Zi nodded in agreement with Jiang Shengyu's words.
"Indeed. With ninth-level soul tools in hand, Jing Hongchen could match even a level ninety-eight Super Douluo. If his teacher were stronger still, then to say he could contend with Di Tian… it is not impossible."
Though he hated admitting it, Kong Deming's existence was undeniable.
And since no one had ever truly witnessed Di Tian's full strength, the natural assumption was that his power was comparable to that of an Ultimate Douluo. If Kong Deming could contend with an Ultimate Douluo, then resisting Di Tian seemed feasible.
"Even so," Poison Undying frowned, "why would Di Tian appear in the Evil Demon Forest?"
Jiang Shengyu spread his hands and shook his head.
"That I don't know. Maybe he was looking for the Evil Monarch? Didn't the Evil Monarch once battle Di Tian? I'd guess Di Tian went to settle accounts with him."
"As for my hundred-thousand-year soul ring—honestly, I just picked it up! My teacher and I found a heavily wounded, dying hundred-thousand-year soul beast. I suspect it had been beaten by Di Tian. Following the principle of not wasting anything, I decided to try absorbing its ring. To my surprise, it worked!"
Following the principle of not wasting anything…
Everyone present twitched at the corner of their mouths. They didn't even know how to respond.
He was talking about a hundred-thousand-year soul ring as if it were a roadside scrap!
Elder Song frowned and asked another question:
"Then how did you persuade Di Tian to help you?"
Jiang Shengyu answered casually:
"By threatening him."
Threatening him…
"Utter nonsense!" Poison Undying exploded. "You? Threaten Di Tian? Even with your teacher combined, you couldn't! Speak honestly—what really happened?"
"Senior, no need to get so worked up. Otherwise you'll just make a fool of yourself." Jiang Shengyu glanced at him before explaining:
"My teacher captured a Three-Eyed Golden Lion. Di Tian told us it was their Star Dou Forest's auspicious beast. So my teacher used it to threaten him—forcing him to guard me once during my breakthrough."
"The Emperor Auspicious Beast? Di Tian went to the Evil Demon Forest to fight the Evil-Eyed Tyrant Ruler—why would he bring the Emperor Auspicious Beast along?" Elder Song frowned deeply. The logic seemed strange.
But Jiang Shengyu had never been to the Star Dou Forest. Even within Shrek Academy, knowledge of the Emperor Auspicious Beast was limited to the elders. For someone from the distant Sun Moon Empire like Jiang Shengyu, it was impossible to know such a secret by chance.
So when he mentioned the existence of the Auspicious Beast, Shrek's side had no choice but to believe him. The real question became: why had Di Tian taken the Auspicious Beast to the Evil Demon Forest in the first place?
"Perhaps," Xuan Zi speculated after a long pause, "Di Tian intended to force the Evil-Eyed Tyrant Ruler into submission to the Star Dou Forest. He might have brought the Auspicious Beast as leverage. But the Evil-Eyed Tyrant Ruler refused to yield, leading to a battle. That would explain how Shengyu and his teacher picked up the spoils."
Elder Song frowned in thought.
"Why would Di Tian suddenly want to conquer the Evil Demon Forest? Could it be… because of that incident?"
"I'm not sure," Xuan Zi said, shaking his head. "But the Academy should prepare for the possibility, lest any unforeseen event occur."
And thus, the matter of the hundred-thousand-year soul ring and Di Tian was set aside. Though Jiang Shengyu knew his explanation was full of holes, Shrek and Poison Undying filled in the gaps themselves, patching up the inconsistencies with their own assumptions.
After offering a few words of reassurance to Jiang Shengyu, Xuan Zi asked another question:
"Shengyu, are you a twin martial soul wielder?"
Jiang Shengyu understood. Once he had used both the Vacuous Devouring Flame and the Pure Lotus Demon Flame, it had been impossible to hide it. The coexistence of Ultimate Ice and Ultimate Fire could not possibly be explained by a single martial soul.
No one in Shrek could ever guess the true nature of his Moon in the Water martial soul.
Since they believed him to have twin martial souls, he might as well accept it. Jiang Shengyu smiled, nodded, and answered:
"Yes. I am a twin martial soul wielder."
As expected!
Xuan Zi and the elders all exchanged looks of realization, their faces mixed with regret.
How could someone with such astonishing talent have been born in the Sun Moon Empire? For him to be there was nothing short of a tragedy!
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