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However, Zhang Jingyang and the other six didn't launch an attack. They didn't even have the guts to attack Dai Weisi. They merely activated the Seven Asura Illusion Realm.
Zhang Jingyang's voice suddenly echoed, "Your Highness, this is our Seven Asura Illusion Realm—an illusion-type ability. Within these seven-colored beams of light, everyone will fall into the darkest and most vile corners of their hearts, utterly unable to extricate themselves!"
"A seven-person fusion skill? Interesting." Dai Weisi nodded approvingly, then asked casually, "How did you train to achieve a seven-person fusion technique?"
"It was Teacher Shinian… ahem, I mean that old thief Shinian, who helped us using his Ten-Thousand-Year Illusory Wisdom Skull," Zhang Jingyang quickly corrected himself, realizing his slip of the tongue. He continued, "Shinian possessed a Ten-Thousand-Year Illusory Wisdom Skull. Its attached ability is 'Illusory Space,' which enhances our spiritual power and enables us to synchronize our mental strength—seven minds, one heart."
"And since we all have gem-type martial souls and are control-type soul masters, once our minds are united, we can channel our soul power into a single person and unleash the Seven Asura Illusion Realm."
"To gather everyone's soul power into the strongest among them… looks like my guess was right. In the future, I too could develop a seven-person fusion technique—or perhaps go even further: eight-person, nine-person, even ten-person fusion techniques may be possible!"
Thinking this, Dai Weisi nodded and flashed a warm, gentle smile. "Not bad. This seven-person fusion technique is indeed impressive. You may live."
As soon as those words were spoken, Zhang Jingyang and the others' eyes lit up. They immediately knelt down to express their gratitude, "Thank you, Your Highness, for sparing our lives!"
"Alright, get up. From now on, the seven of you are members of the Star Luo Empire. So long as you make amends for your past deeds, not only will I overlook what happened with Shinian, I'll even petition the Emperor to grant you official ranks and titles. Do you understand?"
"We understand! We will do our utmost to assist Your Highness!"
"Good. Remember what you said today!"
After bringing Zhang Jingyang and his six companions under his command, Dai Weisi continued evaluating other soul masters. However, none of the others were worth cultivating, so he simply had them all executed—using their deaths as a warning to others.
Sure enough, when Zhang Jingyang and the others saw the corpses littering the ground—heads severed, bones exposed—they were stricken with fear.
After witnessing Dai Weisi's ruthless methods, they didn't dare harbor the slightest thought of resistance and "willingly" accepted their roles as his servants.
After recruiting these people, Dai Weisi led them back toward Moon Pavilion. He had no intention of taking them directly to the Star Luo Empire. Instead, he planned to send them to Xingyue Sect.
If he brought them back to the empire, he wouldn't even know how to place them. Sending them to Xingyue Sect was a better choice.
These individuals were quite powerful and would certainly raise the sect's overall strength, becoming part of Tang Yuehua's force within the Heaven Dou Empire.
If war ever broke out between the two empires, these people would be his vanguard in the campaign against Heaven Dou.
After another ten-plus days of travel—nearly a full month in total—Zhu Zhuyun, whose spirit power had reached the peak of level 61, finally broke through to level 62. Her overall strength now ranked just below Dai Weisi.
Seeing her breakthrough, Dai Weisi was very pleased. The stronger Zhu Zhuyun became, the stronger the Star Luo Holy Tiger would be!
That day, the group finally arrived back in Heaven Dou City and was preparing to head to the Moon Pavilion. However, as they passed by a public park, Dai Weisi suddenly noticed Jiangzhu sitting alone on a bench, looking despondent and troubled.
"Huh? Isn't that Jiangzhu?" Dai Weisi's sharp vision spotted her immediately. Frowning slightly, he muttered, "What's going on? Why is she sitting here all alone? Did something happen at Shrek Academy?"
Without hesitation, he changed direction and approached her to find out what was wrong. If anything had happened at Shrek, he needed to get news of Tang San and Xiao Wu as soon as possible.
"Hey! Isn't this my little sister Jiangzhu? What's the matter? The bench is cold; it's not good to sit here for too long," Dai Weisi said as he sat down beside her, smiling warmly.
Looking at the sunny and cheerful young man who suddenly appeared at her side, Jiangzhu's eyes lit up slightly. She forced a faint smile. "Hello, Brother Dai."
"What's wrong? That smile looks forced. Weren't you attending Shrek Academy with Rongrong? What happened? Did something go wrong at the academy? Or is someone bullying you?"
"No, nothing like that," Jiangzhu shook her head, a touch of sadness appearing on her delicate, flawless face. "I've already graduated from Shrek Academy… but now that I've graduated, I don't know what to do next."
"In the past, I could at least talk things over with Huang Yuan and Jing Ling, but they've all left. As for Tai Long, that big oaf is always hovering around Tang San—he's not someone I can go to for advice."
"Graduated?" Dai Weisi suddenly remembered—Jiangzhu had the ability to graduate long ago, but because of the Soul Master Tournament, she had chosen to stay at the academy for a while longer.
However, after losing two teammates in the tournament, Jiangzhu had no desire to remain at Shrek. She eventually requested to graduate early from Liu Erlong.
For Jiangzhu, her fond memories had always belonged to the former Blue Tyrant Academy—not the current Shrek Academy.
"Sigh… if I really can't find a path forward, I'm thinking about trying my luck at the Spirit Hall. With my strength, I should be able to become a deacon in one of the sub-halls." As she finished, a bitter smile crept onto her face.
"Heh, don't sell yourself short! Jiangzhu, you're still young—your life is just beginning!" Dai Weisi encouraged her with a smile before extending an invitation. "If you really don't have anywhere to go, how about joining Xingyue Sect?"
Jiangzhu was a rare healing-type soul master. Although not quite as skilled as Ye Lingling, she was still quite valuable. Recruiting her to Xingyue Sect would enhance the Star Luo Empire's healing capabilities.
Besides, she had already graduated and had no further ties to Shrek Academy.
"Xingyue Sect? The sect known for accepting civilian soul masters and training them up to the Soul Ancestor rank?"
"Oh? You've heard of us?"
"Of course! That sect is famous in the soul master world. Not only does it accept civilian soul masters, but those who join also receive stipends in gold soul coins to help support their families."
"I've never seen a sect so generous. If I had been born a few years later, I probably would've joined Xingyue myself."
Dai Weisi chuckled, "Well, here's a secret—that sect was founded by me!"
"What?!"
Jiangzhu stared at him in shock, her mouth agape in disbelief. "Brother Dai, you founded that sect? But I thought the sect master was a beautiful woman?"
"Oh, that's my wife. She's really good at managing the sect, so I let her handle it. So, what do you think—would you like to join Xingyue Sect and help more civilian soul masters like yourself?"
(End of Chapter)