Time flew by—three more years had passed.
In the central region of the Tianhui Canyon, on a hidden patch of grass...
A refined-looking middle-aged man and an exceptionally beautiful girl of about eleven or twelve vigilantly scanned the surroundings. Behind them, a handsome boy of similar age sat cross-legged, concentrating. Before him lay the corpse of a white horse with a single horn. A purple soul ring rose from the body and floated toward the boy.
These three were Zhu Changhe, Zhu Ziyang, and Jiang Nannan, who had just turned eleven a month ago!
At this moment, Zhu Ziyang was absorbing his third soul ring.
That's right—he had already become a Soul Elder (Soul Master with three rings). At only eleven years old, he was undoubtedly a once-in-a-generation prodigy—even on a continental scale. Let alone in a remote place like Anyang City!
When City Lord Hong Zhen learned of this, he nearly went mad with excitement. His attitude toward Zhu Ziyang became even more affectionate than a father's—if he had a son, that is.
The soul beast Zhu Ziyang was absorbing was a 4,500-year-old Holy Light Unicorn. This soul beast had an extremely pure light attribute, known for its powerful purification abilities. It was a carefully considered choice.
There were two main reasons:
The Holy Light Unicorn's light attribute was highly potent—perfect to strengthen the Glimmer Scythe.
Zhu Ziyang needed a powerful light-based offensive soul skill, and the unicorn's strength guaranteed it would provide exactly that.
Over these three years, Zhu Ziyang had improved not just in soul power but in every aspect. The fact that he chose a 4,500-year soul ring already put him far above the average for third soul rings. Thanks to the Great Luminous Art and his physical training, his body could now withstand soul rings up to 6,000 years old. If there had been a stronger Holy Light Unicorn available in the canyon, he wouldn't have settled for this one.
Having absorbed soul rings twice before, Zhu Ziyang completed this one quickly. After about half an hour—and under the watchful eyes of Zhu Changhe and Jiang Nannan—the purple soul ring fully merged with his body.
Zhu Ziyang opened his eyes and sprang to his feet. A magnificent silver-white battle scythe with golden engravings appeared in his hand—it was his first martial soul, the Glimmer Scythe.
Compared to its original form, the Glimmer Scythe had undergone dramatic changes. The once-incomplete golden patterns on the shaft were now nearly finished—thanks to his increased soul power and light affinity. His light-element affinity had surpassed 70, and the Glimmer Scythe was now just one transformation away from becoming a top-tier martial soul.
Behind him, one yellow and two purple soul rings floated, a sight so rare it would astonish anyone.
"How was it? Did you get the soul skill you wanted?" Zhu Changhe asked eagerly.
Watching his son rise to surpass him brought both pride and a tinge of sorrow. Though he had reached level 37 after switching to the Zhu Clan Meditation Technique created by Zhu Ziyang, he knew it would be less than three years before his son overtook him completely.
"Mhm," Zhu Ziyang nodded, putting away his martial soul. His smile was confident.
"It's called Lightbreaker Slash. It gathers immense light energy to purify and destroy evil and darkness—a powerful attack-type soul skill."
As he spoke, his third soul ring lit up, and the Glimmer Scythe in his hand began to glow with pure white light. With a sweeping motion, he brought it down on a nearby boulder, five meters tall and three wide.
Boom! The stone shattered instantly, glowing fragments scattering in the air like starlight.
"Awesome!" Jiang Nannan clapped with joy.
"With this, Brother Ziyang's combat power has jumped significantly!"
She, too, had just turned eleven. Thanks to Zhu Ziyang's guidance, her originally ordinary Soft-Boned Rabbit martial soul had progressed dramatically—she had already reached level 25. That level made her one of the top young talents in the entire continent.
"With this, your chances of getting into Shrek Academy have gone way up!" said Zhu Changhe, his face full of pride.
Shrek Academy was the dream of generations of soul masters in Anyang City. In fact, on the original Douluo Continent, all soul masters revered Shrek. Graduating from it meant earning the highest respect in any city, anywhere.
"We will get in," Zhu Ziyang said calmly and confidently.
Zhu Changhe didn't know the exact admission requirements for Shrek Academy—but Zhu Ziyang did.
To apply for Shrek's Outer Court, one must:
Have a letter of recommendation from the city lord of one of the three major empires' main cities.
Be no older than 12.
Have at least level 15 soul power.
For Zhu Ziyang and Jiang Nannan, only the first condition posed a challenge. Anyang was a secondary city, and Hong Zhen didn't qualify to issue recommendations. Fortunately, Anyang's superior city was Dragon City, and its lord sent two recommendation letters each year to his subordinate cities. One for Zhu Ziyang, and one for Jiang Nannan.
Zhu Ziyang and Zhu Changhe checked the unicorn's body but found no soul bone. Disappointed, they removed its horn, the most valuable part.
The three returned to Anyang City the next day.
By now, neither Zhu Ziyang nor Jiang Nannan attended Anyang Academy. Since reaching level 20, they had long surpassed graduation standards.
They were simply waiting for next month—to depart for Shrek Academy's entrance exams.
Beihe Village, Forest Behind the Mountain
Three days later, Zhu Ziyang trained with his martial soul in his private territory.
He had already accomplished his original goals.
By age nine, he had achieved a level of martial soul control where he could use it without even showing his soul rings.
Now, he could release his martial soul without emitting any soul power fluctuations—a level of mastery so refined it rivaled Soul Saints using Martial Soul Avatars. The only thing he lacked was the massive boost those avatars provided.
Zhu Ziyang was confident: even without using his soul rings, few could rival him when he relied solely on his martial soul.
Having reached such mastery, he had now begun studying self-created soul skills.
After all, creating your own soul skills was a hallmark of true geniuses.