"You just open your mouths to congratulate someone on having no family. Are you two perhaps Evil Soul Masters?!"
Xu Tianxi's right arm twitched, and a Level 4 Melee Greatsword appeared in his hand. Xiao Hongchen took out a Level 5 Soul Guided Cannon and rested it on his shoulder. Xuan Ziwen didn't take out a Soul Guided Device, but a formidable Soul Power aura faintly emanated from him, exerting the strongest pressure.
"Misunderstanding, misunderstanding, it's all a misunderstanding."
Bei Bei quickly pulled Tang Ya behind him, giving a wry smile and waving his hand.
"My companion here isn't very good with words. Please don't misunderstand, honored sirs. Actually, her heart is still very—um,
twkan.com
she has no ill intentions."
Bei Bei desperately wanted to say something good about Tang Ya, but no matter how hard he racked his brain, he couldn't think of any suitable compliments. All he could say was that she had no ill intentions.
He couldn't possibly say that Tang Ya was just being herself, but had no filter, could he? That would only add fuel to the fire.
Xu Tianxi stared intently, holding the sword in one hand, his face clearly showing disbelief.
"When I've gotten rid of those Evil Soul Masters, sometimes they'd also say they weren't Evil Soul Masters. What proof does your companion have?"
"M-my Martial Soul is Blue Silver Grass. Look, it's impossible for an Evil Soul Master to have an evil Martial Soul like this."
Tang Ya knew she had spoken out of turn. She waved her small hand, and two yellow Soul Rings rose from beneath her feet. A Blue Silver Grass with a rich aura appeared in her palm.
Xu Tianxi's face remained expressionless as he shook his head and denied,
"It's not unheard of for plant-type Soul Masters to possess the talent of Devouring Life Force, devouring the life force of Soul Masters and commoners everywhere to raise their cultivation. This doesn't prove anything."
"This—"
Tang Ya's head recoiled slightly, feeling a bit lost. The other party was right; her Blue Silver Grass truly possessed the talent of Devouring Life Force.
"Then, I am the contemporary Sect Master of the Tang Sect, the continent's number one Sect from ten thousand years ago!
The Tang Sect was founded by Sea God Tang San. His old man's Martial Soul was also Blue Silver Grass. Surely this proves it!"
Tang Ya's face flushed as she revealed her identity, a strong sense of pride appearing on her beautiful cheeks.
"I only know that Sea God Tang San was a core figure among Shrek Academy's Original Seven Devils. I've never heard of any 'Tang Sect.' Who knows if you're just making things up, using the name of Sea God to gather Evil Soul Masters."
Xuan Ziwen coldly denied.
"You!"
Tang Ya was furious. A Dragon Whisker Needle flashed from between her fingers, ready to strike. The Tang Sect was her greatest pride, and she never allowed anyone to disparage it!
"Alright, alright, Xiao Ya, don't say anymore. Let me handle this."
Bei Bei held back the about-to-erupt Tang Ya, smiling wryly as he shrugged his shoulders. His body trembled, and a dazzling bolt of lightning erupted from his brow, then spread throughout his body.
Blue-purple lightning snaked across his entire body. The sleeves of his arms burst open, revealing extremely thick arms covered in blue-purple scales. His five fingers transformed into claws, and four Soul Rings revolved around his right arm. It was clearly the sign of Dragon Transformation.
Unlike his three-ring cultivation in the original story, Bei Bei was now surprisingly a Four Ring Soul Ancestor.
However, Xu Tianxi wasn't too surprised by this. Xu Sanshi had sent a message half a year ago saying he had broken through to the Soul Ancestorrealm,
and had thoroughly beaten Bei Bei, causing the latter to go into seclusion immediately.
With Mu En's abilities and treasures, helping Bei Bei accelerate his cultivation progress was effortless.
"Gentlemen, I am also a member of the Tang Sect, the contemporary Sect Master's first disciple. I apologize on behalf of my Sect Master to this young brother."
Bei Bei, with his arms transformed into dragon limbs, paused slightly, cupped his fist towards Huo Yuhao, and thought to himself that Xiao Ya's mouth was truly unreliable. He'd have to talk to her properly later.
"A Dragon Transformed Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Soul Master? Looks like he's genuinely not an Evil Soul Master. Stand down."
Xu Tianxi tapped Xiao Hongchen's shoulder with the back of his saber, signaling him to put away his cannon.
"Why? That doesn't prove his companion isn't an Evil Soul Master, does it?" Xiao Hongchen asked, puzzled.
Xu Tianxi: "They seem to be of similar age, but one is a Four Ring Soul Ancestor, and the other is a Two Ring Soul Elder. If she really were an Evil Soul Master, her cultivation wouldn't be so far behind. Evil Soul Masters aren't that weak."
"That's true. I've never seen such a weak Evil Soul Master." Xiao Hongchen agreed wholeheartedly and retracted his Soul Guided Cannon.
Xu Tianxi ended the discussion with a single sentence. He asked Huo Yuhao for a roasted fish, took a bite of the golden, crispy fish meat,
and continued:
"Furthermore, he comes from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Family and is very likely a student of Shrek Academy. He has a powerful background, so even if she were, she simply couldn't be."
Xiao Hongchen: "...Makes sense."
Bei Bei: "..."
Tang Ya: "..."
Although what you two said makes a lot of sense, why do we feel like you're insulting us?
Their conversation was completely uninhibited. The Tang Sect master and student pair's mouths twitched uncontrollably. Xuan Ziwen nodded in agreement, gradually relaxing his guard and sitting back down to eat fish.
New roasted fish was quickly prepared. The group took turns getting some. Bei Bei proactively broke the somewhat stiff atmosphere and chatted with Xu Tianxi, who seemed the easiest to talk to among the three.
"My friend, may I ask your name, and how do you know I'm a student of Shrek Academy? Are you also coming to Shrek to enroll?"
Xu Tianxi thought for a moment and replied,
"My surname is Kong, and my humble name is not worth mentioning. I happened to pass through Shrek City earlier and overheard the name of the Twin Stars of Shrek Outer Courtyard. One of them is called Thunderbolt Bei Bei. Your Martial Soul and cultivation are too obvious."
"I see," Bei Bei murmured, nodding slightly. His and Xu Sanshi's reputations were indeed well-known.
"As for enrolling at Shrek, I'm afraid I don't have that fortune. My family has already arranged an academy for me. You Shrek need a letter of recommendation from the city lord to enroll, and we, coming from a small sect, don't have those connections."
Though Xu Tianxi claimed Xuanming Sect was a small sect, inwardly he thought, If I went to your Shrek, Yan Shaozhe would have killed me a long time ago.
"That's truly a shame. I see you, Brother Kong, have an extraordinary demeanor; you must be a genius in your own right."
Bei Bei glanced warily at Xu Tianxi's two companions, then gave a sincere thumbs-up, praising him.
He was discerning, not like Tang Ya, who was naive and innocent. He immediately recognized that Xu Tianxi's and Xiao Hongchen's Soul Guided Devices were of exceptional quality.
His intuition as a top-tier genius also told him that Xu Tianxi was particularly remarkable. Xu Tianxi had mentioned killing many Evil Soul Masters, and his tone, filled with hatred for evil, didn't seem feigned. His cultivation must be above Three Rings. It was truly a pity that such a genius hadn't entered Shrek.
Having grown up by Mu En's side, Bei Bei knew deeply that Shrek's Inner Courtyard needed consumables—no, geniuses—like Brother Kong, who hated evil as much as they did!
He wondered which top academy in the Three Kingdoms Brother Kong was currently attending. Perhaps they would even clash in the Grand Competition a little over a year from now.
"Brother Bei, you flatter me. Your Shrek Twin Stars are legendary. If there's an opportunity in the next Grand Competition, I hope for your guidance."
Xu Tianxi solemnly cupped his fist, and Bei Bei smiled in response.
After easing the tension there, Bei Bei turned to speak with Huo Yuhao, tidying up the mess his sect leader had caused and alleviating the young man's psychological trauma.
It must be said that among Yuhao's generation of Shrek Seven Devils, Bei Bei's character was relatively good. Tang Ya genuinely cared for Yuhao too, but her personality was overly eccentric.
After eating their fill, Huo Yuhao suggested leaving. Xu Tianxi and Xiao Hongchen naturally offered to accompany him, offering to help him hunt a Soul Ring along the way as compensation.
Once the four had left, Tang Ya patted her chest, which had developed some size, with a sigh of relief. She said with lingering fear,
"You scared me! Those three guys were really radiating killing intent. They seemed ready to fight at the slightest disagreement, so awful."
Bei Bei spread his hands, a helpless smile on his face.
"Why did you say such things the moment you met them? Anyone would misunderstand. It's a good thing that young man, Huo Yuhao, didn't hit you."
"Xiao Ya, Teacher, you're the sect leader of our Tang Sect. You need to consider the situation before speaking in the future."
Xiao Ya had many good qualities, but her mouth was truly too unrestrained. Sometimes Bei Bei felt that if Tang Ya's ancestors were all like her, the decline of the Tang Sect truly wouldn't be without reason.
She was just too good at attracting animosity.
"I didn't mean to! I just say whatever I think. Anyway, you definitely know what I mean."
Tang Ya stuck out her tongue sheepishly and turned her head away. After a moment, she recovered and retorted indignantly,
"Oh, right, why did you stop me just now when I was about to give that guy two needles? That guy insulted our Tang Sect!"
Bei Bei's bitter smile deepened, and he couldn't help but rub Tang Ya's brow.
"Xiao Ya, Teacher, even though none of them released their Soul Rings, I guess that leading Teacher is at least a Soul Sage. Even if we multiplied our strength by ten, we wouldn't be their match. Your Hidden Weapons won't work."
With Tang Ya's cultivation, the Dragon Whisker Needle could at most threaten some Soul Elders. Against powerful Soul Sages and above, if it missed, it was fine, but if it hit, the opponent would surely explode in rage.
"But—"
"Alright, alright, let's not talk about those three. You kept staring at that young man, Huo Yuhao, just now. Did you have an idea? Do you want to recruit him into our Tang Sect? Or were you just eyeing his roasted fish?"
Seeing that Tang Ya wouldn't give up, Bei Bei quickly reached out a finger and pressed it against her lips, changing the subject.
He and Xiao Ya were enjoying their time alone; there were no academy powerhouses guarding them. If a conflict truly broke out, he wasn't confident he could handle those three.
Tang Ya was silenced, feeling utterly unwilling, but her naturally carefree nature quickly allowed Bei Bei to divert her attention. The resentment in her eyes was replaced by a longing for delicious food, and she said, blushing,
"Yes, his fish was really delicious—"
Tang Ya sighed in resignation. Bei Bei went with the flow, stating that the Tang Sect, in its current state, could probably only recruit disciples like Huo Yuhao, who appeared to be helpless and without a family background.
Compared to Tang Ya, Bei Bei was much more clear-headed. He knew the current Tang Sect's true capabilities; it was impossible to attract top-tier geniuses. It would be good enough to have any Soul Masters join.
The entire sect consisted of only two people, and he, Bei Bei, was the only one who could get things done. All their assets were on them, including the Tang Sect's Six Great Skills, which had been passed down for tens of thousands of years.
Plus, there was one fixed admission slot to Shrek Academy each year. Other than that, there was nothing, not even an address.
It was completely a shell company.
A three-no sect that wasn't even qualified to pay taxes.
A yearly admission slot was too good to waste. If they could get Huo Yuhao into Shrek and achieve something, it would be a huge gain.
Thinking this, the master-disciple/couple accelerated their pace, chasing after Xu Tianxi and the other three.
They had finally met someone destined to be involved (a patsy); they absolutely couldn't let him get away!