Chapter 32: Challenge.
Shi Yi looked toward the source of the voice. It was none other than Yu Xiaogang.
"Hey, teacher, you're here," Shi Yi said to Yu Xiaogang with a smile.
Seeing Shi Yi's slightly frivolous greeting, a flicker of helplessness crossed Yu Xiaogang's face. He looked at Shi Yi and said, "You don't seem surprised I'm here."
"Of course. How can you continue to refine your theory without me? How can you prove your theory without Xiao San? Wouldn't you have to follow us wherever we go? Fortunately, I can still attend the academy with Xiao San for the time being, otherwise you wouldn't be able to separate."
Shi Yi said with a grin. Yu Xiaogang's face darkened at this. While Shi Yi was right, didn't he, as a teacher, have any respect?
Yu Xiaogang coughed awkwardly and sighed, "Eight years have passed. I didn't expect you to surpass me already, even reaching Soul Master before Xiao San."
"Thanks to you, you introduced me to a great academy. Although the facilities are a bit inferior, the teachers are all top-notch," Shi Yi said with a smile.
Digging out a nest of Thousand-Tier Ants isn't something everyone can do. Shrek might have the worst hardware facilities on the entire continent, but it also has its own strengths: its faculty, and its small classes staffed by exceptional teachers.
"Really? That's good," Yu Xiaogang couldn't help but smile at the words.
"Besides, wouldn't it be easy to surpass you?" Shi Yi spread his hands.
Yu Xiaogang's smile vanished instantly, and he glared at Shi Yi with a sullen expression. Shi Yi patted Yu Xiaogang's shoulder and chuckled, "It was just a joke. Don't be upset. I need something from you."
Yu Xiaogang asked, somewhat puzzled, "What do you want?"
"Give me your Blue Lightning Body-Treating Bath to study. You also have some information on medicinal herbs beneficial to spirit masters, right?"
"Yes, I do, but do you have the money? These things aren't cheap," Yu Xiaogang explained to Shi Yi.
Shi Yi spread his hands and said, "No, you need to research it for me first. If you don't have it now, you'll have it later. It's easy for a soul master to make some money. At worst, they can just go to the Great Soul Arena every day."
Yu Xiaogang nodded slightly and then pulled out a prescription and a book from his soul guide.
"This is a medicinal bath used by Blue Lightning's direct disciples. It's mainly used to repair hidden injuries, relieve fatigue, and replenish energy. It's mainly used to assist in training. This book describes some medicinal herbs and natural treasures that are beneficial to soul masters. However, since these natural treasures must grow in places with abundant celestial energy, these places are often extremely dangerous," Yu Xiaogang explained.
Shi Yi was surprised to hear this. He hadn't expected Blue Lightning to have such a book. Shi Yi quickly took the book from Yu Xiaogang's hand and began to flip through it.
"Dragon King Grass, Golden Crow Flower, Dragon Bone Gold—all these things I've never heard of," Shi Yi thought to himself.
Just as he was about to close the book, the words "Strange Mushroom and Sky Chrysanthemum" appeared in large letters. Shi Yi continued flipping through the pages, but found no other mention of any other immortal items.
"What are you looking for?" Yu Xiaogang's voice echoed in Shi Yi's ears.
"This Strange Mushroom and Sky Chrysanthemum must belong to the Spirit Hall's spirit, right? Are there any other rare flowers?" Shi Yi asked Yu Xiaogang.
Yu Xiaogang shook his head slightly. "The Blue Lightning Tyrannosaurus Clan doesn't care much for these things. Aside from this medicinal bath, which was meticulously researched for the cultivation of their direct descendants, the others were collected haphazardly. Look at this book, it's mostly items beneficial to Dragon Spirit Masters.
As for the Strange Mushroom and Sky Chrysanthemum, few experts are unfamiliar with it. Even if they were, they probably wouldn't dare consume it. Besides Chrysanthemum Douluo, no one would likely know the effects of consuming it."
Shi Yi nodded slightly. With Dugu Bo's knowledge, he would definitely recognize the Strange Mushroom and Sky Chrysanthemum. But as Yu Xiaogang said, would you dare eat a weapon someone holds in their hands?
Even if you knew it was a rare treasure, a unique flower, and that Dugu Bo and Yue Guan were old rivals, even the dumbest person could have learned from their battle with Yue Guan that the Qirong Tongtian Ju was a supremely yang substance.
Snakes are yin, and consuming this supremely yang substance would result in two outcomes for Dugu Bo: using the yang substance to propel his spirit into a dragon, or death.
Shi Yi nodded slightly. It seemed that, aside from Tang San, the only two places he could target to obtain detailed information about the immortal item were the Po Yi Clan and Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan.
Shi Yi wasn't worried, though. Without Zhang the Butcher, could he still eat the hairy pig? He'd take as much as he could, and eat whatever he couldn't carry off where he was. Shi Yi didn't believe it, so he had Xiao Yi take a bite right in front of the immortal item. Would the medicinal properties be lost? If he couldn't pick it or store it, then he didn't.
"Alright, continue your training. I still need to go see Xiao San," Yu Xiaogang said to Shi Yi.
Shi Yi nodded, put the item into his spirit guide, and continued running along his daily exercise route.
Soon after breakfast, the bell rang on time, summoning all the students to the academy's playground.
Today was particularly lively. Not only were the two deans, Flanders and Zhao Wuji, present, but Yu Xiaogang and several other teachers from the academy had also come to the playground.
The Shrek people stood in a row, and Shi Yi stood next to Yu Xiaogang.
Everyone looked at Shi Yi in surprise. Seeing that the teachers didn't say anything, the Shrek people didn't say anything either.
"Okay, everyone is here. Now I have a few things to announce." Flanders walked up to the seven students, his eyes sweeping across them seriously.
"First, let me introduce the academy's teachers to the four new students." As he spoke, Flanders pointed to the old man whose spirit was a long staff, whom Tang San had met before.
Hearing Flanders' words, Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun couldn't help but show their delight on their faces. They accurately caught the word "four students". In their eyes, it was obvious that Shi Yi, who had got in through the backdoor, had been kicked out of the academy by the dean.
"This is Teacher Li Yusong, wielding the Dragon Pattern Staff as his martial spirit, and a Level 63 Soul Emperor."
"This is Teacher Lu Qibin, wielding the Starry Chess as his martial spirit, and a Level 66 Soul Emperor."
"This is Teacher Shao Xin, wielding the Sugar Bean as his martial spirit, and a Level 71 Soul Saint as well. He's a food-type soul master. Teacher Shao is definitely one of the top five food-type soul masters I know."
Flanders walked over to Yu Xiaogang, put his arm around Yu Xiaogang's shoulders, and said, "I'd like to introduce him to everyone in detail. He's the one who, through his own research, derived the competitiveness of the top ten martial spirits. He's known as the strongest in martial spirit theory and the most intelligent soul master. He's also Tang San and Shi Yi's teacher, Mr. Yu Xiaogang. Of course, he's also my old brother, and we've known each other for decades. Perhaps you're not familiar with his name, but I think you've all heard of his title. From now on, just call him Master."
Shi Yi couldn't help but chuckle at Flanders' introduction, and Yu Xiaogang beside him blushed.
"Okay, go and introduce Xiao Yi." Yu Xiaogang slowly pushed Flanders away and coughed lightly.
Flanders approached Shi Yi, his lips curled slightly. A sinister glint flickered in his hawk-like eyes beneath his square glasses. "As for this guy, you should already know him. Shi Yi, Master's disciple, is now Shrek Academy's specially appointed theoretical instructor."
Upon hearing this, the Shrek crowd instantly fixed their gazes on Shi Yi.
"Dean!" Dai Mubai barely managed to finish his words when Flanders raised his hand.
"I know some of you will be unconvinced, or perhaps perhaps unwilling to be taught by a peer. Now, I'll give you a chance. Defeat him and prove to him that you don't need his guidance," Flanders chuckled.
Dai Mubai's wicked eyes gleamed with excitement as he stepped forward, raised his hand, and declared, "I'll do it!"
Flanders nodded slightly, then set his sights on Shi Yi.
A flicker of helplessness crossed Shi Yi's face, and he nodded slightly.
Flanders then raised his hand, inviting the teachers to step back to allow sufficient fighting space. The rest of the Shrek group followed suit.
Several teachers who had never met Shi Yi were watching the scene with great interest. They had recently heard of Shi Yi's deeds from Zhao Wuji, and seeing these energetic children, they couldn't help but smile.
Shi Yi slowly approached, not taking Dai Mubai seriously. At level 27, he was confident he could chop off Dai Mubai's hand, let alone now.
Dai Mubai looked at Shi Yi coldly, as if he had finally seized this opportunity. He seemed eager and introduced himself to Shi Yi: "Dai Mubai, Martial Soul White Tiger, Level 37 Strong Attack War Soul Master."
"Shi Yi, Martial Soul Thousand-pound Ant, Level 31 Strong Attack War Soul Master," Shi Yi said lazily.
Everyone at Shrek watched Shi Yi's face tremble with horror. Even Dai Mubai's expression faltered. Since Shi Yi had already broken through to Soul Master, it naturally meant that his soul ring was the one he had hunted that day while leaving alone with Zhao Wuji.
If Dai Mubai could think of this, then so could everyone else.
"Four levels in one day? How is that possible?" Ning Rongrong exclaimed softly.
"Senior Brother has indeed broken through. My feeling that day was right," Tang San thought to himself.
"Four levels in one day, so what? He's still six levels lower than me," Dai Mubai thought to himself.
"White Tiger Possession!"
An intense, pale light suddenly erupted from Dai Mubai. His arms stretched out to his sides, his chest rising. His bones crackled, and his muscles suddenly expanded, pushing his clothes up. Every muscle became visible beneath his clothes, and even the air around him seemed to become turbulent.
His golden hair instantly turned black and white, with white dominating the majority, with a few strands of black standing out. Four faint lines appeared on his forehead, three horizontal and one vertical, forming the Chinese character "王".
His hands had undergone the greatest change, growing twice as large as before. White hair covered his entire palms. With the flick of his fingers, dagger-like claws repeatedly emerged and retracted from his palms. Each claw resembled a blade, gleaming with a chilling, cold light.
Dai Mubai assumed a fighting stance, his upper body slowly leaning forward. His four pupils turned a deep, dark blue. Beneath him, three shimmering rings of light rose in succession, silently ascending. Two yellow, one purple. As their spirit rings circulated, surging soul power surged, overwhelming him like a wave of pressure.
Shi Yi smiled, his body appearing remarkably relaxed. He summoned Little Ant, and three spirit rings also rose in succession, silently ascending.
Dai Mubai looked at Little Ant beside Shi Yi, but his gaze remained fixed on Shi Yi himself. He knew that the only way to defeat Shi Yi was to attack his true form.
"Xiao Yi, go and hit him, but don't be so cruel," Shi Yi chuckled, gently touching Xiao Yi's exoskeleton.
Xiao Yi nodded humanely and quickly advanced. Xiao Yi's size had now grown considerably, almost indistinguishable from a millennium-level spirit beast. With each stride, the deep digging of its forelimbs into the ground made the Shrek people swallow.
"That kick will pierce Boss Dai," Ma Hongjun whispered to Oscar nearby.
In a split second, Xiao Yi's femur, tibia, and pedicles combined with a sudden burst of force, and with a resounding explosion, he leaped up.
Leaping is a method of transforming force into speed. Xiao Yi's six legs have a unique structure that allows for a burst of immense elasticity.
In the next second, Xiao Yi, carrying its powerful forelimbs and saber teeth, descended towards Dai Mubai on the ground.
Dai Mubai's reaction was also swift. The moment Xiao Yi landed, he dodged Xiao Yi's attack with a single tiger leap.
Dai Mubai then moved. Possessed by his spirit, he seemed a completely different person. As his white hair fluttered, his body, brimming with explosive force, reached Shi Yi.
Sharp claws attached to his ten fingers simultaneously sprang forth, clawing at Shi Yi's body.
Shi Yi smiled as Dai Mubai made no move. Before Dai Mubai could even reach Shi Yi, he felt a powerful gust of wind from behind.
At this distance, the little ant didn't even need to exert much force to leap.
Dai Mubai did not stop his movements and turn around to defend himself. Instead, the moment he grabbed Shi Yi, his body instantly glowed with white light, and the first and third soul rings lit up. The first soul ring suddenly shone brightly, forming a circle of white light shield, trying to defeat Shi Yi before Xiao Yi shattered the light shield.
"First soul skill, White Tiger Body Barrier!"
"Third soul skill, White Tiger Vajra Transformation!"
His body, which had already become strong because of the possession of the martial soul White Tiger, swelled again, his own muscles bulged exaggeratedly, and his upper body clothes were completely burst, revealing the terrifying muscle outline.
The most bizarre thing was that black horizontal stripes appeared on his skin. If it were not for the lack of hair, it would be no different from tiger skin.
"Thinking you can withstand Little Ant's attack? Are you kidding? You're not worthy enough! First Soul Skill: Thousand-pound Strength."
Shi Yi's voice remained languid. Dai Mubai didn't even have time to react. Just as Dai Mubai's claws were about to make contact with Shi Yi, he heard something shatter. An overwhelming force suddenly surged, and the White Tiger barrier couldn't even stop Little Ant.
"How is that possible?"
Dai Mubai landed on his buttocks like a swiftly falling goose. The next second, he felt a sharp pain in his stomach, a sweetness in his throat, and a trace of bright red flowed from the corner of his mouth.
The Shrek teachers were also astonished by this scene. With Dai Mubai's first and third soul skills combined, he was unbeatable, not to mention invincible against all Soul Masters. They had never seen anyone so easily break Dai Mubai's defenses.
However, the teachers understood that Shi Yi had held back. If Little Ant had thrust forward with its forelimbs, its sharp blades would have pierced Dai Mubai's heart in an instant.
"This pure strength is still powerful. Those who are not control-type or agile-attack types can't get the upper hand against this kid. If a strong-attack type goes head-to-head with this kid, wouldn't it be like a birthday star hanging himself?" Zhao Wuji said with a chuckle,
"Old Shao, go give that kid a few candy beans, don't let him get hurt." Flanders said to Shao Xin.
Shao Xin nodded, slowly walked to Dai Mubai, helped him up, and then stuffed a few candy beans into Dai Mubai's mouth.
"Thank you... Teacher Shao..." Dai Mubai said with difficulty.
"You kid are quite strong." Shao Xin smiled.
At this moment, Yu Xiaogang was quite relieved to see this scene. Not long ago, he had seen himself like this in his dreams.
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(End of this chapter)