After Shrek Academy's match against Thousand Spirits Academy ended, the rest of the academies in the rest area all breathed a collective sigh of relief. Compared to the previously terrifying image of five red soul rings, two white rings might still be hard to believe — but at least it made things clear. That boy named Huo Yuhao was definitely not a Soul King, and certainly didn't have five hundred-thousand-year soul rings. Judging by the fact that there was even a Soul Grandmaster among the Shrek team, it was highly likely that Huo Yuhao was one as well.
As long as he wasn't a Soul King with five red soul rings, they could accept it. After all, that idea was simply too terrifying. None of them wanted to face such a monstrous opponent in this tournament — or in the next one.
In the Sun Moon Academy rest area, the teacher-in-charge, Elder Ma, had a thoughtful expression as he turned to the students behind him.
"Rulong, Xiao Hongchen, Meng Hongchen — what do you three think?"
"Heh!" Xiao Hongchen snorted. "I really thought Shrek Academy had produced some kind of unparalleled genius. Turns out it was just a trickster clown playing games! If your main team doesn't have confidence against Shrek, Brother Ma, then why not just let us from the reserve team go up? Right, Meng?"
"Exactly!" Meng Hongchen laughed. "Shrek Academy actually sent a reserve team? Do they really think they can beat us with just four Soul Ancestors, one Soul Elder, and two Soul Grandmasters? That's hilarious!"
"Hmph!" Ma Rulong frowned as he listened to the Hongchen siblings' mockery.
"Have you forgotten about Ma Xiaotao and that Jiang Nannan? You don't know Ma Xiaotao, but I can tell you she was part of Shrek's reserve team five years ago — she was already a Soul Ancestor at age fourteen. After five years, she's surely a Soul Emperor by now.
And Jiang Nannan — you've heard of her. She's only fifteen. Are you so sure she's not part of the reserve team? Xiao Hongchen, you also became a Soul King at fifteen, but you and I both know how that happened. Are you confident you could remain undefeated five years from now when you face Jiang Nannan?
Oh, and there's also someone called Zhu Ziyang on Shrek's team — he's fifteen too, and hasn't gone on stage yet. Why are you so certain he's not a reserve member?
Boasting this early… isn't it a bit premature?"
Ma Rulong's sharp rebuke left Xiao and Meng Hongchen looking visibly uncomfortable. Still, they were proud — not stupid. His words reminded them that they may have indeed underestimated their opponents.
For once, Xiao Hongchen didn't talk back. Instead, he nodded with a serious expression.
"You're right, Brother Ma. But no matter how many cards Shrek is hiding, I will break through them all — with my Soul Tools!"
Elsewhere, the seven members of the Shrek reserve team had returned to their rest area, all wearing satisfied smiles. Huo Yuhao let out a huge sigh of relief.
"Finally! I don't have to act all cold and mysterious anymore! You have no idea how scary it was, standing on stage with so many eyes staring at me — I thought I was going to die!"
"You did great, Yuhao. You deserve some credit for this one!" Tang Ya affectionately hugged him, smiling as she said, "Ziyang, Nannan, you should've seen the look on Thousand Spirits Academy's faces. I bet they never expected the person they paid the most attention to would turn out to be just a Soul Grandmaster. Hahaha!"
"Heh…" Zhu Ziyang and Jiang Nannan smiled wryly.
"We didn't see it, but we definitely heard the crowd yelling and cursing!" Jiang Nannan said.
"Yeah… I didn't think the audience would react so strongly either. Oh well, let them yell," Wang Yan sighed, then smiled again. "You all did very well — I'm very pleased!"
"The opponent's formation gave us an opening," Beibei said. "They used a single-core lineup, and with Xu Sanshi on our side, we could execute a clean decapitation strike."
"Heh, of course!" Xu Sanshi puffed up proudly. "My Black Tortoise Swap isn't just for show. If the enemy is within range, I can swap anyone — even a Soul Sage!"
"Look how smug you are!" Tang Ya rolled her eyes. "Be careful that ego of yours doesn't explode and take you with it!"
"No way that'd happen!" Xu Sanshi grinned.
"Alright, let's head back to the hotel," Wang Yan said. "Nothing worth watching in the remaining matches. The real battle is in two days — against Righteous Heaven Academy. Go back and rest well."
With that, Shrek Academy left Star Luo Plaza.
——
That night, in Zhu Ziyang's room.
He sat cross-legged on the bed with a calm expression, eyes closed in meditation. His soul power, boosted by his soul core, swirled rapidly, accumulating bit by bit and steadily reinforcing his cultivation.
Within his spiritual sea, the Snow Empress and Ice Empress soul spirit eggs were entering their final incubation phase. In just half a month, they were expected to fully hatch.
Nearby, Electrolux was silently repairing his soul. As a remnant soul, he needed a complete soul to resurrect. Right now, if a full soul was considered 100%, he was only at 30% — and that was after years of nurturing.
Still, Electrolux wasn't anxious. His divine soul realm remained intact; all he lacked was life force to fill it. Once Zhu Ziyang became a god, the life force would be limitless. A soul was just a union of spirit and life — and both were within reach.
Next to the soul eggs was a silver-white crystal — the Silver Dragon Wolf's soul crystal. After four years of silence, a crack had finally appeared on its surface.
At the moment the soul crystal stirred, both Zhu Ziyang and Electrolux sensed it. Master and disciple simultaneously appeared inside the grand hall on Zhu Ziyang's mental island, gazing at the flickering crack on the crystal.
"Teacher, the Silver Dragon Wolf is about to awaken," Zhu Ziyang said, a trace of emotion in his voice.
In truth, without the Silver Dragon Wolf's sacrifice, he would never have reached this level of strength. Maybe his Stillness Fate Ending Scythe would've evolved through the Great Light Mantra eventually — but it would've taken ten or twenty years. His second martial soul wouldn't have directly become the Heavenly Frost Holy Dragon with ultimate ice either.
In a way, it was the Silver Dragon Wolf who made him what he was today — and he felt genuine gratitude for that.
"Indeed. I ought to thank that little dragon too. If not for her, the odds of us ever meeting would've been almost zero," Electrolux said with a sigh.
While they spoke, the cracks spread rapidly across the crystal. Then, under their astonished gazes, it shattered with a loud crack.
From within emerged a miniature silver-scaled dragon. Her appearance resembled Zhu Ziyang's second martial soul almost perfectly — the only difference was that while Zhu Ziyang's dragon had ice-white scales, hers were bright silver.
The Silver Dragon Wolf — no, now she should be called the Heavenly Frost Silver Dragon — opened her vertical silver pupils. Her eyes showed confusion and curiosity, like a newborn dragon seeing the world for the first time. She began to devour the broken fragments of the soul crystal around her.
Zhu Ziyang and Electrolux didn't interrupt. They quietly observed.
With every piece she swallowed, her form shifted slightly. Zhu Ziyang felt it too — his Heavenly Frost Holy Dragon's first soul ring began to tremble and change. Anticipation stirred in his heart.
Before long, the silver dragon had devoured the entire crystal and grown into the form of an adult true dragon. Her eyes had turned from silver to pure white — the color of ice. She looked directly at Zhu Ziyang, joy and excitement in her voice.
"Zhu Ziyang! I knew I didn't choose the wrong person!"
"You… still remember me?" Zhu Ziyang asked, surprised that she retained her memory after her transformation.
"Of course I do! I've been asleep all this time, but I could still sense the changes in your spiritual sea," the silver dragon said happily. She turned to Electrolux. "You must be Electrolux — the Scourge of the Undead, the Holy Undead Necromancer. It's an honor to meet you!"
"Haha! This little dragon is quite perceptive!" Electrolux laughed, accepting her greeting.
"Since you know about my spiritual sea, then you must also know about soul spirits?" Zhu Ziyang asked.
"Yup!" The silver dragon nodded enthusiastically. "I was so surprised! I never thought you'd even win over the Snow Empress, the ruler of the Extreme North! That vow you made back then really was nothing for you, huh?"
"So then, would you like to become my soul spirit?" Zhu Ziyang asked directly, ignoring her amazement.
"Why wouldn't I?" she replied without hesitation. "Besides, I was the first soul beast to invest in you, and now I've ended up as your third soul spirit. Boohoo… I really feel like I got the short end of the stick!"
(End of Chapter)
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