Chapter 72: An Outdated Relic
Deep within the Great Star Dou Forest, sunlight filtered through the dense canopy overhead, casting dappled patterns of light and shadow across the leaf-strewn ground. The four-person party moved cautiously through the towering ancient trees, the air thick with the scent of damp earth and the faint fragrance of wildflowers.
"Let's not waste any time. We need to find you a suitable third soul ring as quickly as possible," Furina said to Tang Ya, her gaze sweeping the surrounding jungle with sharp, keen awareness.
Tang Ya nodded gently, her Bluesilver Grass martial soul already flickering faintly in her palm. "Mm. I can feel my soul power stirring restlessly."
"Let's move!"
Just as they advanced, a thousand-year Mandala Snake suddenly burst from the underbrush, its crimson tongue hissing menacingly, a dangerous light glinting in its vertical pupils. This was the very serpent that, in the original story, would have become Tang Ya's third soul ring.
But before it could launch its attack, a flash of violet light blazed in Huo Yuhao's eyes. His third soul skill, Demon Eye, had already been unleashed. The Mandala Snake froze in place, its slitted pupils reflecting the most terrifying vision its heart could conjure—a ten-thousand-year Serpent King, far surpassing it in size, lunging toward it with gaping, blood-red jaws. With a shriek of pure terror, the Mandala Snake fled in panic, vanishing into the depths of the forest in the blink of an eye.
"What a pity. That was a perfectly good thousand-year Mandala Snake," Tang Ya said, a note of regret in her voice.
Huo Yuhao only smiled. "No need for regret. I believe we'll find a soul beast even better suited to you."
Pressing deeper into the forest, they at last discovered a peculiar plant-type soul beast in a sun-drenched clearing. It was a thousand-year Demonic Willow, but unlike ordinary Demonic Willows, its leaves gleamed with a crystalline, jade-like translucence, glittering beneath the sunlight with the luster of precious gemstones.
"This is... a mutated Emerald Demonic Willow!" Bei Bei gasped in delighted surprise, then quickly elaborated. "Its willow branches have an attack radius of up to twenty meters. The hooked barbs on them carry a toxin no weaker than that of a Mandala Snake. Most importantly—its regenerative ability is extraordinarily strong. Even severed branches have a one-in-three chance of taking root and growing anew. This characteristic of wearing down its enemies through an endless, relentless assault is perfectly suited to Xiao Ya's Bluesilver Grass martial soul."
Tang Ya's eyes blazed with excitement. She clenched her fists fiercely. "That's the one! My third soul ring—it has to be this!"
Bei Bei nodded solemnly. "Leave it to me."
In truth, there was a fire simmering in his heart. When they'd encountered the Mandala Snake earlier, he'd been eager to properly demonstrate the strength of a Shrek Academy elite student. Yet Huo Yuhao had resolved the battle in a single move, not even giving him a chance to lift a finger. If he'd had to face that Mandala Snake alone, it would have been no small struggle. It made him sigh with rueful emotion—truly, comparing yourself to others was an exercise in self-inflicted misery.
But now, he finally had a chance to show his mettle. After all, Demonic Willows—even those of ten-thousand-year cultivation—couldn't move. They were rooted to one spot. This was a perfect opportunity.
"Let me provide support," Huo Yuhao said, a keen light flashing through his eyes.
His first soul ring blazed to life. Spiritual Detection and Spiritual Sharing activated simultaneously. In an instant, Bei Bei felt the world around him snap into unprecedented, crystalline clarity. Every minute movement of the Demonic Willow, every trajectory of its swaying branches, formed a three-dimensional map in his mind. Even more miraculous—he could perceive the flow of soul power circulating within the Demonic Willow's body, allowing him to predict its next attack before it even struck.
"This..." Bei Bei turned a shocked look toward Huo Yuhao. "Is this really the effect a ten-year soul ring can produce?!"
He could feel, with perfect clarity, that the supportive effects of this single soul skill surpassed the combined effects of the first four soul skills of the vast majority of auxiliary-type martial souls. And Huo Yuhao's Spirit Eyes martial soul was clearly a control-type—yet it possessed such extraordinarily potent auxiliary capabilities. This was utterly subverting everything he understood about the soul master system.
Just as Bei Bei was still reeling from the shock of Huo Yuhao's abilities, Furina had already moved into action. The Cake martial soul in her hands wafted an irresistibly enticing fragrance, and her second and third soul rings ignited in succession.
"Fruit Cake—this will grant you temporary immunity to all negative status effects, while simultaneously boosting all your attributes across the board." Furina handed a vibrantly colorful cake to Bei Bei. "And Blueberry Cake—increases movement speed by sixty percent."
"Immunity to negative effects plus attribute amplification, and a sixty percent speed boost?!" Bei Bei nearly choked on his own saliva. "And you call that 'not much'?! Even the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda's auxiliary effects barely measure up to this!"
Tang Ya couldn't help exclaiming as well, "Your two's support abilities are absolutely absurd. You're going to put every other auxiliary-type soul master out of work!"
Furina planted her hands on her hips with pride, her silver hair gleaming brilliantly under the sunlight. "Naturally. Do you know what I call the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda?"
"What?" The two asked in unison, curiosity thoroughly piqued.
"Nothing more than an outdated relic," Furina declared, her words dropping like a thunderclap. "A martial soul that fails to keep pace with the times will eventually be eliminated. With the Sun Moon Empire's growing involvement and the influx of soul tool technology, the martial soul system across the entire continent is undergoing a profound transformation. In this age of martial soul fusion, the stronger the parents' martial souls, the stronger the martial souls their descendants will awaken—and entirely new martial soul variants may even emerge."
She paused, then continued, "The era of the so-called Upper Three Sects from ten thousand years ago is over. If anyone still clings to those outdated, rigid notions—Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, Clear Sky Hammer, Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda—sooner or later, they will be overtaken and surpassed by those who come after."
Tang Ya listened, utterly stunned. "Furina, your way of thinking is truly... unique!"
Bei Bei, for his part, wore a helpless expression. As an inheritor of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon martial soul, he should have been furious at such words. But as fate would have it, his own martial soul was the mutated Bright Sacred Dragon, with potential far surpassing that of an ordinary Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon. This forced him to admit—Furina's words did, in fact, carry a ring of truth.
"Alright. All the buffs have been fully stacked on you," Furina clapped her hands together. "Bei Bei—it's time for you to take the stage!"
Tang Ya cheered him on from the side. "You can do it, Bei Bei!"
She understood all too well that in this situation, her Bluesilver Grass was truly at a disadvantage. Facing a fellow plant-type that was far more aggressive and offensively potent, her entanglement skills would struggle to make any meaningful impact.
Bei Bei drew a deep breath, feeling the surging, explosive power coursing through his body. Under the enhancement of Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Sharing, he could clearly perceive every weak point of the Demonic Willow. Furina's cakes had pushed his condition to its absolute peak.
"Here I go!"
Lightning crackled and flared around Bei Bei as the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon martial soul instantly possessed him. With a sixty percent speed boost, his figure shot forward like a bolt of lightning, effortlessly evading the sweeping willow branches that lashed toward him.
His draconic claws, wreathed in blazing golden lightning, descended with the irresistible force of a thunderstorm, slashing with lethal precision toward the Demonic Willow's main trunk.
In this moment, he would not only secure Tang Ya's ideal soul ring—he would prove the strength of a true Shrek Academy elite.