Thunderclaw Zeus!
Forged from the soul bone of a Ten-thousand-year Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, this external weapon-type soul bone not only possessed the unique growth characteristic of external bones—evolving alongside its host—but also carried additional abilities: devouring lightning, shifting its form, and even feeding back power to its wielder.
This was a soul bone with the potential to grow into nothing less than a divine artifact.
"Hah, this great lord already decided—I'm not going to that so-called Shrek Academy!"
The voice belonged to the unruly and headstrong Kamui·KAMUI, whose temperament, despite being a clone, differed completely from Nan Fusheng's own.
"I'm not planning to join Shrek either. Kamui and I have already decided to head to the Sun-Moon Royal Soul Master Academy."
This time, it was Lufa speaking. His body, fused with the bloodline of the Golden Behemoth, had evolved once again under the guidance of the "Error" pathway—becoming a Platinum Behemoth. His hair and pupils had shifted to a gleaming platinum hue.
"The Sun-Moon Academy has produced many graduates who later entered the Federation's various departments—even into the highest echelons. That gives me a natural advantage if I want to secure a place among the Federation's leadership one day."
"Do as you wish. You should know by now—I've never wanted to overly interfere with your choices."
Nan Fusheng's tone was calm. He had always been tolerant toward his four avatars. After all, they were parts of himself.
But with Lufa and the others, his attitude was even more indulgent. They weren't just fragments of him; they had been created using his own blood. In a sense, they weren't just clones—they were his children.
Just like that one clone who went off to sing, dance, and rap… Nan Fusheng never bothered to interfere there either.
"My choice is Shrek Academy."
A lazy, melodic voice rang out—it was the stunningly beautiful Fors Wall, Nan Fusheng's final clone creation.
Unlike the others, she had no foreign bloodlines mixed in. She was crafted purely from Nan Fusheng's own blood, which gave her a trace of his mythical being's divinity.
Her martial soul: The Book of Records.
An immensely powerful spirit, capable of recording others' martial souls and even soul skills—provided she observed them in advance.
But there were restrictions.
The Book itself was literally a book, and each page could hold one entry. The number of pages depended on the spirit rings she absorbed:
Ten-year ring = +1 page
Hundred-year ring = +2 pages
Thousand-year ring = +3 pages
Ten-thousand-year ring = +4 pages, and so on.
Now, with three thousand-year rings, Fors possessed nine pages. Meaning she could record nine powers.
But here was the catch:
If she recorded Nan Fusheng's Time Worm's first soul skill, she couldn't use it unless she also recorded his martial soul itself. Copying a soul master's full combat power cost her two pages.
Still, that was terrifying enough. With nine pages, Fors could copy the full arsenal of a Soul Douluo! Even if her output was capped at Soul Ancestor level due to her realm, it was already heaven-defying.
(PS: Martial Soul True Bodies couldn't be copied unless she reached Soul Sage.)
Yet Fors didn't stop there—she found a loophole.
When she recorded just the martial soul itself, without its skills, she still inherited its innate abilities.
For example, recording the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon granted her control over lightning and immense physical strength.
Even soul beasts weren't safe—she could record their powers too.
This inspired a new path for her:
Instead of wasting pages on other soul masters' skills, she would collect martial souls themselves.
The Extreme Lightning of the Thunderclaw Dragon, the Extreme Ice of the Ice Jade Scorpion… fire, water, earth, wind, light, darkness, space—nine elemental extremes! And she intended to go further—aiming for abilities like the Silver Dragon King's Seven Element Fusion.
Compared to clumsily copying skills, this path was elegant, powerful, and uniquely hers.
She, Fors Wall, was determined to become the most elegant of all mages.
"Fine. As long as you're all happy—just be ready." Nan Fusheng nodded.
Among the three clones:
Kamui·KAMUI was arrogant, with spirit power at Rank 39.
Lufa was cool and detached, sometimes violent due to his Behemoth bloodline—at Rank 38.
Fors Wall, the "lazy salted fish," had already reached Rank 42, a true Soul Ancestor.
At Tianhai Academy
Inside the dean's office, Yue Buqun gazed at his three greatest students with deep emotion.
"You three are the most extraordinary geniuses Tianhai Academy has ever nurtured. I believe that with your talents, you'll shine in both the Central and Western regions.
But remember—there are always greater skies, and higher mountains. Do not grow arrogant, or complacent…"
Across from him, Kamui, Lufa, and Fors exchanged looks of impatience. Old man, cut the lecture short, will you? We don't have time for this.
Thankfully, Yue Buqun realized he was overdoing it. With a sigh, he said warmly:
"Go, then. No matter what happens, remember—Tianhai Academy will always be your home."
"Thank you, Dean!" the three said in unison.
But before they left, Yue couldn't resist adding:
"Kamui, Lufa—are you really sure? With Tianhai Alliance's connections, securing two slots for Shrek's outer court wouldn't be difficult at all."
Every three years, Shrek recruits nationwide. The Tianhai Alliance usually held over a hundred quotas, and Tianhai Academy could secure at least five. For exceptional talents, they could even wrangle extra slots.
Fors Wall already held his letter of recommendation, and Yue was certain Shrek wouldn't dare turn her down—not with her genius and beauty.
But Kamui and Lufa… they insisted on going to Mingdu in the West, to enter the Sun-Moon Royal Soul Master Academy.
In Yue's view, only Shrek Academy—Continental Number One—was worthy of unleashing their gifts.
Kamui smirked wickedly.
"Old man, think about it. If we go to Shrek, then every time we achieve something great, people will just say—'Of course, they're from Shrek.'
But if we join another academy, and then openly defeat Shrek's students… what will they say then?"
He leaned closer, grin widening.
"Wouldn't it be—'Isn't that the great Kamui·KAMUI, the one who shattered Shrek's thousand-year undefeated legend?!'
Now, tell me that doesn't sound way more fun?"
Before Yue Buqun could even respond, the three had already walked out.
"…Breaking Shrek's undefeated millennium-long record—do they think it's that easy?" Yue muttered, shaking his head.
Still, a flicker of anticipation crept into his eyes.
"If you truly manage it… Then I'd love to witness that moment."
Then his brow furrowed.
…Wait—did he just call me old man?!