Time flowed, and two months passed in a flash.
On the inner courtyard plaza of Shrek Academy, the morning light was just beginning to show.
Zhang Lexuan, dressed in sharp, practical attire, stood in the center of the plaza, waiting for the teammates who would be hunting spirit rings with her, according to the time set in the mission log.
Her gaze was calm, and her Rank 80 spirit power flowed slowly within her body. Two months had passed, and her spirit powerRank had naturally achieved a Breakthrough to Rank 80; she only needed one spirit ring to break through her constraints.
Figures arrived one after another, totaling twelve people including her.
Fortunately, most of the team were acquaintances who had previously worked alongside her on missions dealing with Evil Soul Masters. They knew each other well, and their gazes held none of the distance or hostility that others might show her, but rather a clear trust.
Seeing that the designated Team Leader Teacher had not yet arrived, Zhang Lexuan proactively organized everyone, asking them to report their names, Spirits, and their roles, quickly familiarizing themselves with each other's combat styles and determining coordination methods.
Soon, they finished their communication, but the Team Leader Teacher still hadn't appeared.
Time passed minute by minute. Just as the scheduled meeting time was about to arrive, a stream of earthen yellow light streaked across the sky with a roar, slamming down onto the plaza and stirring up a wave of Qi.
The figure revealed was none other than Xuan Zi.
At this moment, Xuan Zi still looked unkempt, his body emanating a strong smell of alcohol. His figure swayed, and his eyes held the muddiness of someone not yet recovered from a hangover.
Everyone stepped forward and respectfully said in unison:
"Elder Xuan!"
Xuan Zi squinted his eyes and scanned the group. He didn't seem to count them, waving his large hand casually and saying indistinctly, "If everyone's here, let's hit the road!"
Before his voice faded, yellow light flashed around him, and he took to the air again, swaying as he flew toward the Star Dou Great Forest.
Xuan Zi had been in an extremely foul mood lately, and the reason was Poison Undying.
Previously, Poison Undying's strength was only slightly greater than his own. Who would have thought that now, having gained some Opportunity, this fellow's strength had skyrocketed, allowing him to completely suppress Xuan Zi in a fight?
Especially after the Body Sect established residence in Shrek City, he had encountered the other party several times, and each time he was severely beaten, which made him feel deeply humiliated and depressed.
And so, calculating the time it took for his injuries to heal, he decided to personally lead the team this time, intending to go out and clear his mind.
He had been lying down for quite some time. It was better to go to the Star Dou Great Forest and find some rare wild game to satisfy his cravings.
As for leading the team, with that girl Zhang Lexuan present, there wouldn't be any major trouble. Even if there was, he would still step in.
Thinking this, Xuan Zi's figure vanished on the horizon.
Left behind, the group looked at the direction Elder Xuan had disappeared, exchanging glances. The atmosphere was momentarily awkward.
Zhang Lexuan was silent for a moment, but maintained her composure.
She looked around at everyone, her voice clear and steady: "Everyone, let us depart on our own. Follow the predetermined plan and be extremely careful."
Everyone nodded, composed themselves, and under her lead, the group of twelve transformed into streaks of light, heading toward the Star Dou Great Forest...
Meanwhile, on the other side, inside Kong Mingan's room at the Mingmeng Chamber of Commerce headquarters,
In the center of the room, a dark purple Ten Thousand Souls Banner stood quietly, fluttering without wind.
Instead of the sight of vengeful Souls wailing on the banner's surface, there were countless fine, silvery-white streams of light, slowly circulating and intertwining like a galaxy.
Each stream of light was a complex torrent of information carried by a highly condensed mental force.
Countless silvery-white threads formed from the converging streams of light extended from the banner, connecting precisely to the first spirit ring floating beside Kong Mingan, like neurological pathways.
At this moment, this spirit ring was not the usual black color, but instead displayed an illusory, silvery-glowing hue, woven from the intersection of space and spiritual energy.
Within it seemed to be tiny points of brilliant phosphorescence. Under the support of space, pure mental force and data streams flowed through it, transforming into flashes of light, emitting a cold and rational feeling.
Kong Mingan sat quietly cross-legged, his eyes tightly shut, yet faint, silvery-glowing phosphorescence spilled from the corners of his eyes, exactly the same color as the spirit ring beside him.
At this moment, Kong Mingan's demeanor lacked its usual gentle warmth. Instead, what he projected was an extreme indifference, a sense of absolute rationality, as if all emotion had been completely stripped away.
The Ice Empress stood guard nearby, not moving an inch, her golden eyes fixed unblinkingly on Kong Mingan. The extreme cold aura around her was contained but ready to be unleashed at any moment to handle any possible accident.
Time slowly passed. At a certain moment, the silvery-glowing light—which naturally spilled from the corners of Kong Mingan's eyes like a torrent of information data—gradually subsided, and the indifferent demeanor slowly disappeared along with it.
Kong Mingan slowly opened his eyes. His pair of black eyes regained clarity, flashing with a trace of unconcealable exhaustion, but even more so, the excitement of success.
The Ice Empress immediately breathed a sigh of relief. When this guy got an idea, he wouldn't listen to anyone. His Soul aura flickering on and off made her worry he was trying to commit suicide.
But at least, nothing went wrong in the end.
Her golden eyes flickered. The Ice Empress calmed her spirit power, crossed her arms over her chest, and said coldly:
"Did you succeed?"
"Yes, extremely successful." Kong Mingan curved his lips into a smile. He turned his head and looked at the Ice Empress. "Want to try it?"
The Ice Empress raised an eyebrow, leaning in slightly to look at the truly eye-catching silvery-glowing spirit ring, a hint of curiosity flashing in her eyes: "Try it?"
Kong Mingan nodded and held out his hand in invitation.
The Ice Empress naturally placed her hand in Kong Mingan's palm. The action was practiced and without resistance, clearly not the first time they had done this.
A warm sensation emerged from her palm, and then she felt the mental force from the young man in front of her spreading from his palm toward her Sea of Consciousness.
Without any defenses, the Ice Empress allowed that familiar mental force to guide her consciousness.
The next moment, she felt as if something extra had appeared in her Sea of Consciousness. Immediately following that, a voice, impossible to determine the gender of and carrying a strange texture, rang directly within her consciousness:
["lingshu protocol" is now online. Esteemed Lady Ice Empress, do you wish to sign the contract and connect to the "Ling Shu Network"]?
The Ice Empress was startled by the sudden voice, instinctively becoming wary, but she quickly calmed down.
Calm was one thing, but looking at the lines of neatly arranged, faintly glowing text options that abruptly appeared in her field of vision below, accompanying the voice, she couldn't help but feel a sense of strangeness.
She blinked her golden eyes and looked inquiringly at Kong Mingan.
"You created this?"
"How is it? Quite interesting, right?"
Kong Mingan was in a good mood. The way the Ice Empress had suddenly gasped in fright, then reacted, and finally forced herself to calm down was truly amusing; he felt like he could watch it several times on repeat.
Once the part concerning the "lingshu protocol" is written, it will be Zhang Lexuan's storyline. All the preliminary theories are currently complete; they only need time to develop.
(End of Chapter)
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