Shrek Academy, Outer Courtyard.
Du Weilun, his expression odd, knocked on Yan Shaozhe's office door. "Dean, I have some news to tell you."
"Weilun? Come in then." The door opened automatically, and Yan Shaozhe, not lifting his head from the documents on his desk, replied, his brow furrowed in concentration.
"Yes."
Du Weilun entered, taking out a letter. "Dean, a spy in Xuanming City sent word. Not long ago, the Third Young Master of the Xuanming Sect, Xu Tianxi, and an Old Servant ran away from home. However, this didn't cause much of a stir within the Xuanming Sect."
"Xu Tianxi? Is that the Third Young Master of the Xuanming Sect, Xu Sanshi's half-brother, the one I asked you to keep an eye on two years ago? He ran away from home?"
Yan Shaozhe's gaze finally shifted from the documents to Du Weilun. After a brief thought, he quickly recalled who Xu Tianxi was.
An arrogant and ignorant young brat.
Du Weilun nodded. "That's him. According to the spy's report, Xu Tianxi has been living a reclusive life in the Xuanming Sect for the past two years, almost only appearing in the Library Pavilion. He never socialized with his peers or got close to elders. His personality is very withdrawn.
He was only accompanied by an Old Servant left by his mother and a study companion provided by the Xuanming Sect. Besides them, he had no other close relatives. The one who left with him this time was that Old Servant."
"Because he had no presence in the Xuanming Sect, and Soul Masters cultivating for ten days to half a month is common, the Xuanming Sect only discovered his absence half a month after he left. But he wasn't going to hunt for a Soul Ring; they searched his room and found a runaway letter."
A look of surprise appeared in Yan Shaozhe's eyes. "He was well-fed and well-treated in the Xuanming Sect. Why would he suddenly run away?"
Du Weilun said, "Perhaps he couldn't stand the ostracism within the sect. He never participated in social interactions within the Xuanming Sect, so those clan members naturally treated him coldly. Moreover, Xue Lingxun also agreed to our request to strictly discipline him. According to the spy's report, he has been unpopular in the sect for the past two years."
Yan Shaozhe pondered this, then his eyes cleared. "That must be the only reason. What about his father? And Old Monster Xu, is there any news?"
To force this kid to run away in two years, Xue Lingxun's efficiency is quite high. I can relax my vigilance towards Xu Sanshi in the future.
"The Xuanming clan head, Xu Fu, entered seclusion two years ago and hasn't emerged since. Old Monster Xu's whereabouts are beyond our ability to ascertain, but he has also long declared that he would enter seclusion to cultivate. In fact, before you told us this old monster was alive, we didn't even know such a person existed in the Xuanming Sect."
By the end of Du Weilun's words, his tone was somewhat helpless. He couldn't possibly send someone to investigate the whereabouts of a Level 98 Super Douluo, could he? It was simply unrealistic.
"That's true. I was being a bit difficult with you. If you can't find him, then don't. Old Monster Xu has many descendants and is old himself. He probably doesn't have much energy to spare for that kid."
Yan Shaozhe nodded, his furrowed brow relaxing. He couldn't help but chuckle softly. "Heh heh, I've been worrying about Xiao Tao's situation, and you've brought some good news. That's quite nice."
"Xiao Tao's situation? Are you referring to the Evil Fire in her Martial Soul?"
Du Weilun's eyes shifted. Ma Xiaotao, at just sixteen, had already reached the Soul King realm. She was visibly the leading figure of the next generation of Shrek Seven Devils. There was only one problem: the Evil Fire inherent in her Martial Soul.
"Yes, everything about Xiao Tao is good, except for this Evil Fire. Right now, her cultivation isn't high, and Ling Luochen and Xu Sanshi can still help suppress it. But if she cultivates to the Soul Emperor or even Soul Sage realm, this Evil Fire will become a big problem."
Speaking of his most valued personal disciple, Yan Shaozhe scratched his hair, looking distressed and quite troubled.
Ling Luochen and Ma Xiaotao were similar in age, but the former's cultivation talent was far inferior to the latter's. She was still only a Soul Ancestor, and the gap between them would only widen in the future. Xu Sanshi had good cultivation talent, but he was much younger, and his Profound Tortoise Martial Soul was of the Ice Attribute, not as effective as Ling Luochen's Ice Element Martial Soul.
More importantly, Ma Xiaotao wasn't very good at handling interpersonal relationships and didn't get along with Ling Luochen. Ling Luochen wasn't very willing to help her suppress the Evil Fire. As for Xu Sanshi... he couldn't avoid it or resist it either.
"Xiao Tao's Phoenix Evil Fire is close to the Ultimate Fire in quality. To resolve her hidden danger, only an Ultimate Martial Soul Soul Master will do. Ultimate Ice and Ultimate Water are theoretically both viable. Alternatively, we could search for the legendary Immortal Herb that Ancestor Tang San found for Ancestor Xiao Tao back then. But both of these are almost impossible. What a headache, what a headache..."
Yan Shaozhe rubbed his temples helplessly, secretly vowing that if an Ultimate Ice or Ultimate Water Soul Master appeared in this era, he would definitely capture... no, bring that person back to Shrek for proper training to help Xiao Tao deal with her Evil Fire. Perhaps it could even lead to a good marriage.
If they could pass down the Ultimate Martial Soul, Shrek would have eternal prosperity.
Du Weilun chuckled apologetically, "You don't need to worry too much. If it really comes to that, we can also look for strong Ice Attribute Martial Soul users from outside and ask them to help at the academy. With our academy's strength, what kind of Soul Master can't we find? If a Titled Douluo steps in, suppressing it for decades would be no problem."
What Du Weilun didn't expect was that his unintentional words immediately drew Yan Shaozhe's sharp, knife-like glare.
"Weilun, what nonsense are you spouting? Do you know that our Shrek is the number one academy in the world?"
Du Weilun immediately broke out in a cold sweat, lowering his head and stammering, "Dean, I know, I just..."
BANG!
Yan Shaozhe suddenly slammed his hand on the desk and stood up, raising a hand to stop Du Weilun from speaking further. He said sternly:
"I know you didn't mean to say that, but Weilun, you must always remember, our Shrek is the number one academy in the world, a Holy Land for Soul Masters. Matters like being unable to resolve a student's hidden danger must never be spread outside, understand?!"
Du Weilun almost bowed his head to the desk, meekly assenting, "Weilun understands."
"Good that you understand. Let me tell you, our academy's foundation is far beyond your imagination. The Sea God Pavilion has a Ten Thousand Year Profound Ice Bed; suppressing Xiao Tao's Evil Fire has never been a problem! The only problem is that it's difficult to eradicate completely. As for inviting outsiders, don't ever mention it again! You may leave."
"Yes."
Du Weilun retreated cautiously. Yan Shaozhe's gaze fell back to the list of talented Ice Attribute Martial Soul users throughout history in his hand. He exhaled a turbid breath.
"What a pity. The Ice Phoenix Soul Master genius Feng Changxiao from Star Luo Royal Academy disappeared for decades. If only we could have recruited him into the academy back then, I wouldn't have such a headache today..."
"He's around sixty years old now. If he were at my Shrek, he might have had a chance to break through to Super Douluo. Helping Xiao Tao would be easy. What a pity, what a pity..."
Two and a half years later.
Xu Tianxi, standing over 1.7 meters tall with broad shoulders and back, was dressed in a strong suit and wearing a mask. He followed Xiao Changfeng to the dock and boarded a ship to sea.
The one steering the ship was still Yue Lao, accompanied by two Soul Douluo. Both were absolutely loyal individuals managed by Xiao Changfeng himself and were unaware of Xu Tianxi's true identity.
On the deck, Xiao Changfeng and Xu Tianxi stood against the wind, laughing and chatting. The sea breeze brushed their faces, feeling exceptionally refreshing.
"Tianxi, your cultivation speed is truly fast, much faster than mine was back then." Xiao Changfeng glanced sideways at Xu Tianxi, a relieved smile on his face.
Three months ago, Xu Tianxi broke through to level thirty, his foundation solid and profound. He was supposed to hunt for a Soul Ring early, but who would have thought that Xu Tianxi would use the Divine Beast Celestial Phenomenon combat skill to spar with him a few times before entering Deep Meditation, which stimulated him quite a bit.
Fortunately, he wasn't bad either. Through diligent isolated cultivation over three months, he unexpectedly also entered Deep Meditation once, and although it only lasted for a month, it was equivalent to several years of hard cultivation and insights.
The more this happened, the more envious he became. He even felt that his cultivation speed over the past two years had significantly accelerated due to Xu Tianxi's stimulation. This junior martial nephew had given him too many surprises.
Xu Tianxi waved his hand dismissively, smiling at Xiao Changfeng. "My current speed is nothing to brag about. I've got bigger problems waiting for me down the line."
"Haha, no matter how big the problems are, they're for later. You come back for Deep Meditation every couple of years—that's a huge opportunity that other Soul Masters can only dream of."
Xiao Changfeng gave a relaxed smile, then lowered his gaze to the nearby sea, asking with concern,
"Have you decided to hunt a Deep Sea Demon Whale for your Third Soul Ring? I remember those creatures have a spiritual attribute, but it's not particularly strong."
"I have. There are no stronger species in these coastal waters. Since I'm hunting for a Soul Ring, why wouldn't I choose the strongest?"
Xu Tianxi spread his arms, embracing the sea breeze, and responded with a look of rapture.
Aside from the oddity that is the Tianmeng Ice Silkworm, among the Soul Beasts on the Douluo Continent, the Deep Sea Demon Whale King has the longest lifespan, approaching a million years. Its ability to survive nine Heavenly Tribulations is clear proof of the Deep Sea Demon Whale clan's incredibly powerful innate talent.
"Alright then, we've already prepared bait to attract the Deep Sea Demon Whales. Once we enter the Demon Whale Sea Area, we can make our move."
Xiao Changfeng took out several small bottles containing Soul Beast essence blood, clearly confident in his plan.
Xu Tianxi glanced at them, somewhat surprised. "Senior Martial Uncle, you know how strong my body is right now. Are you preparing so much Evil Demon Orca and Demon Soul Great White Shark essence blood? You won't attract a Ten Thousand Year Demon Whale, will you? I can't absorb that."
Although he had consumed many supplements, his physical development was still far from adulthood. Absorbing a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring would be asking for trouble, let alone a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring from a Deep Sea Demon Whale.
"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. Your physical constitution is exceptionally high. The absolute minimum I'd look for is a Demon Whale over five thousand years old; anything less wouldn't do justice to your talent. There's also a hierarchy among Deep Sea Demon Whales, and since you're a Spiritual Soul Master, naturally, we need to find one with the strongest Spiritual Power possible."
Xiao Changfeng smiled as he put the small bottles away, then took out a message tube from his怀中. "This is a message our people received a few days ago after encountering a Ninety Thousand Year Heavenly Tyrant Bixi at sea. That Baxia specifically asked for it to be given to you."
"For me? That Turtle Brother can actually write?"