Morning arrived.
After finishing an entire night of cultivation, Su Yunlin and Tang Wutong prepared to head to the cafeteria for breakfast.
"Su Yunlin!"
Suddenly, an unpleasant voice called out.
Su Yunlin and Tang Wutong turned around. The speaker was Xiao Hongchen, whose face still bore a few bandaged wounds.
"Xiao Hongchen? What do you want?" Su Yunlin looked at him calmly.
"I want to challenge you! Using only our Martial Souls!"
Su Yunlin let out a cold laugh.
"Hah, only Martial Souls? You? Don't make me laugh. Maybe your talent is considered top-tier in the Sun Moon Empire, but at Shrek Academy, you're only slightly above average.
"Your cultivation may be high, and seventy percent of Shrek's inner court disciples at your age might not match you, but when it comes to actual combat, you're far inferior to them. Your Spirit Power is too unstable."
Xiao Hongchen did possess talent, but his control over his Martial Soul was honestly lacking.
His Spirit Abilities mainly served to support soul tools. Once his soul tools were removed, even as a Spirit Emperor, he would still get thoroughly beaten by Spirit Kings from the inner court.
The injuries on Xiao Hongchen's face were proof of that.
The Spirit Arena at Shrek Academy prohibited the use of soul tools. Otherwise, what would be the point of spirit battles?
Anyone wanting to fight using soul tools had to go to a higher-level arena.
Unfortunately, that place was still under repairs after being destroyed by two Spirit Sages wearing second-grade battle armor.
Xiao Hongchen had arrogantly believed that even without soul tools, he would still surpass Shrek Academy's students.
Reality had taught him a harsh lesson.
Without soul tools, his combat skills had been crushed from every direction.
The injuries on his face had come from yesterday's spirit battle.
"Damn it! Are you fighting or not?! Is humiliating me that enjoyable?" Xiao Hongchen shouted angrily.
"Humiliating you? This counts as humiliation?" Su Yunlin clicked his tongue.
"Kid, your mentality really isn't very good. But if you insist on becoming a punching bag, I don't mind. Playing around for a bit is fine too. Just make sure you've prepared some healing medicine beforehand. I don't really know how to hold back."
Su Yunlin didn't care much about Xiao Hongchen's provocation.
His way of thinking was standard Sun Moon Empire logic: believing soul tools would bring about a revolution.
And to be fair, the Sun Moon Empire's soul tools were powerful.
But if the Three Douluo Nations ever caught up in soul tool technology, then the ultimate deciding factor would still be powerful Spirit Masters.
Su Yunlin knew exactly who the Sun Moon Empire's strongest soul engineer was—
Silvermoon Douluo Kong Deming.
The soul engineer closest to Rank 10, with Rank 94 Spirit Power.
In the original timeline, he could practically be considered Elder Xuan's strict rival.
But things were different now.
Shrek's strongest experts were all focused on developing battle armor.
Once four-word battle armor appeared, even Rank 10 soul tools wouldn't be enough.
Unless the Sun Moon Empire somehow managed to create Eternal Heaven ahead of schedule.
After breakfast, Su Yunlin and Tang Wutong headed toward the Spirit Arena.
Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen had also arrived.
The moment Meng Hongchen saw Tang Wutong, her expression instantly changed.
"Y-y-you! G-g-girl?!"
"Yep! This young lady is a girl!"
Meng Hongchen felt as though her love life had completely collapsed.
The prince charming in her heart had turned out to be a woman.
Her head tilted to one side and she fainted on the spot.
Xiao Hongchen hurriedly caught his younger sister.
"Brother... I got dumped... Wuwuwu~"
Xiao Hongchen was speechless.
When exactly will my silly little sister start acting normal?
Su Yunlin and Tang Wutong exchanged glances.
This lovestruck girl's reaction was way too dramatic.
...
"Both participants, enter the arena!"
The referee called out loudly.
Since both Su Yunlin and Xiao Hongchen possessed extremely high cultivation levels, the teacher acting as referee this time was a Soul Douluo.
Su Yunlin walked onto the battle platform with both hands in his pockets, while Xiao Hongchen stepped onto the stage as well.
"State your names!"
"Su Yunlin, Rank 65 Assault System Spirit Emperor."
"Xiao Hongchen, Rank 61 Assault System Spirit Emperor."
The moment Xiao Hongchen heard Su Yunlin's rank, his expression changed in shock.
Ever since his defeat at the Spirit Master Tournament, Xiao Hongchen had been cultivating bitterly. He had even consumed numerous secret medicines before finally reaching Spirit Emperor rank just before the exchange event.
As for Su Yunlin, he remained as casual as ever, leisurely stretching his joints.
Xiao Hongchen, however, looked solemn as he immediately released his Martial Soul.
Two yellow, two purple, and two black.
The optimal Spirit Emperor configuration.
"Su Yunlin, take this! Sixth Spirit Ability—"
Boom!
Before Xiao Hongchen could even release his attack, his entire body shot backward like a cannonball and smashed into the wall of the spectator stands, embedding himself so deeply that he looked practically glued there.
"Who waits around for you to finish charging your move? There were way too many openings. You still need more practice."
Su Yunlin withdrew his fist.
After absorbing the hundred-thousand-year Spirit Ring, his body had undergone an enormous enhancement. He could feel improvements in every aspect of himself.
"Su Yunlin wins!"
The referee announced the result.
With both hands still in his pockets, Su Yunlin casually walked off the battle platform.
Tang Wutong was already waiting for him in the passageway.
The moment Su Yunlin saw her, he bent slightly and tilted his face toward her.
Tang Wutong immediately understood.
Standing on her tiptoes, she kissed him lightly on the cheek.
"Hehe."
Su Yunlin felt completely satisfied.
Not only had he gotten to beat someone up, but afterward he also got a reward kiss from his girlfriend.
Life was good.
Up in the spectator stands stood several familiar figures.
It was Bei Bei and the others.
Bei Bei smiled faintly.
"Little Junior Brother really keeps getting stronger and stronger. We finally managed to reach Spirit King rank, while he's already become a Spirit Emperor. By the next Spirit Master Tournament in three years, he'll probably be a Spirit Sage."
Xu Sanshi shoved his hands into his pockets.
"With him around, we don't have to work quite as desperately. Right, Nan Nan?"
Jiang Nannan ignored him as usual.
Though this time, she didn't walk away either.
Tang Ya looked toward the arena.
"Su Yunlin is way too strong. Xiao Hongchen isn't weak at all. At least I'm not confident I could beat him. What about you, Bei Bei?"
Bei Bei rubbed his chin.
"Hard to say. Without soul tools, Xiao Hongchen's combat instincts definitely aren't on my level. But he's still a Spirit Emperor, and the Three-Legged Golden Toad Martial Soul isn't weak either. If I wanted to beat him, I'd still have to go all out."
Xu Sanshi curled his lips.
"There you go again, sweet-talking Tang Ya. Xiao Hongchen's Spirit Abilities are all meant to work with soul tools. Without them, he doesn't really have much advantage in direct combat. Nan Nan already kicked him so hard he couldn't tell north from south. Damn it, I'm so jealous. Why does he get rewards?"
Jiang Nannan's mouth twitched.
Then she slowly turned toward Xu Sanshi with a dangerous expression.
"You want to try it too?"
As she spoke, she raised her leg and gestured toward a certain vulnerable location below his waist.
Xu Sanshi instantly felt a chill run through his lower body and hurriedly covered himself protectively.
Bei Bei simply smiled.
"We should work harder too. Little Junior Brother already said that by the next Spirit Master Tournament, all of us need to reach Spirit Emperor rank. Only then can we equip second-grade battle armor.
"You all know how terrifying the enhancements from battle armor are. The next tournament will be held in the Sun Moon Empire. This tournament probably won't be simple, so we need to strengthen ourselves properly."
The rest of the Seven Shrek Monsters nodded.
Now that they had entered the inner court and begun carrying out Supervisor missions, they had naturally started forming their own views on the changing state of the continent.
After leaving the Spirit Arena, Su Yunlin and Tang Wutong happened to run into Yan Shaozhe.
"Little Junior Brother, Little Junior Sister, there's a mission specifically for the two of you. Evil Soul Masters have appeared in Coconut Forest City. According to the information we have, there are three of them, with the strongest being a Spirit Emperor. You two are responsible for dealing with them."
Yan Shaozhe explained the details of the mission.
"A Supervisor mission? This is actually my first time taking one. You're really willing to let me leave?" Su Yunlin asked in surprise.
Yan Shaozhe nodded.
"After all, towering trees cannot grow inside a greenhouse. I'll be accompanying you on this mission. I'll serve as your examiner and also ensure your safety."
Su Yunlin nodded.
Yan Shaozhe had become much more reliable.
Ever since emerging from his closed-door cultivation, he had become noticeably steadier. He had completely let go of his attachment to authority, and his entire temperament had undergone a complete transformation.
...
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