Join my Patreon to be 30 chapters ahead of the webnovel releases:
patreon.com/ZeroMoney
I would appreciate your help if you could join my Patreon and support me because it would keep me motivated.
******
After all, the white Pokéball was no match for the full fury of a hundred-thousand-year soul beast. It could only restrain the creature for a minute at most before shattering. Su Wen had never expected to imprison it indefinitely—only to buy time. Whether the sphere would mend itself afterward was the least of his worries in a life-or-death moment.
The Pokéball quaked violently, as if containing something truly dreadful. Fissures began to spider-web across its surface.
"Hiss…"
Clutching his head, Su Wen collapsed to the ground, curling into a ball. Pain twisted his face purple. It was the first time he'd felt an agony as if his brain were being torn apart, like someone had plunged a knife into his skull and was viciously carving it up. He gasped, on the verge of blacking out, too weak even to scream.
"Su Wen, are you all right? Don't scare me…"
Ma Xiaotao sprinted over and swept him into her arms, her beautiful face etched with panic, her inner evil flame flickering dangerously close to losing control.
Zhang Lexuan, supported by another female disciple, watched with equal anxiety. Only she knew the truth of Su Wen's Martial Soul—and though she didn't know every detail, she understood enough. For a Level 12 novice soul master to hold a hundred-thousand-year beast at bay, no matter the method, the cost had to be enormous.
About a minute later—
CRACK!
A sharp cracking sound cut through the air. The white sphere Su Wen was still clutching shattered into pieces. A crimson light burst forth—the enraged Blood-Eroding Demon Tiger, roaring as it lunged at them once more.
But in the next instant, its devastating aura faltered. Like a punctured balloon, its energy collapsed.
"Phew…"
Zhang Lexuan exhaled in relief, her eyes glowing with cold determination.
"Kill it!"
"I hope I'm not too late… I hope…"
Xuanzi's face was the very picture of dread. Though he muttered that hope to himself, he knew it had been at least ten minutes since the fan's warning. At this rate, if he was lucky, he might arrive just in time to find the freshly-produced excrement of the Shrek disciples already devoured by that hundred-thousand-year beast. Even if some had survived, the casualties would be catastrophic.
Rustle—
As he leaped over another ancient tree, his figure finally froze.
Before him lay the massive carcass of the Demon Tiger, riddled with deep, mortal wounds across its neck and abdomen. This was no mere kill—it looked more like a vicious execution out of spite.
Nearby, the Shrek Academy disciples had set up a makeshift camp. Wounded students lay swathed in bandages, while others stood guard. But there was no sign of Zhang Lexuan or Su Wen.
Xuanzi's heart clenched. Could it be…
He hurried into the camp. He knew everyone saw him. All eyes turned his way—not with relief at seeing their savior, but with a quiet disappointment that pressed down on his chest, making it hard to breathe.
"Lexuan?"
At last, inside a tent, he saw her—and Su Wen, pale and unconscious in Ma Xiaotao's arms.
"Elder Xuan. You're here," Zhang Lexuan said with a soft sigh.
"…"
Xuanzi took a steadying breath. "How is he?"
"He bought us a critical minute… at the cost of shattering his Martial Soul. He held the Demon Tiger at bay long enough for its berserk state to end. But whether he can re-form his Martial Soul… we don't know." Zhang Lexuan shook her head.
Xuanzi's mouth fell open in horror. A six-year-old, fresh into the soul master ranks, had turned the tide of a battle against a Title Douluo–level foe.
"Hiss~!"
A snowy white baboon slipped into the tent and growled at Xuanzi—as if berating him for his negligence.
"Sigh… When we return, I will ask Elder Mu to relieve me of my position as Vice Pavilion Master of the Sea God Pavilion. This mission's failure is entirely my fault. I've betrayed everyone's trust…" Xuanzi closed his eyes.
"That is your burden to bear. You needn't explain it to me," Zhang Lexuan said softly.
Xuanzi looked haunted with remorse. He knew that while she wouldn't say it aloud, a thorn had been planted in her heart.
Ma Xiaotao bit her lip, longing to scold him, but Zhang Lexuan's glance silenced her. Not even their mentor, Yan Shaozhe, could force Elder Xuan to resign—he was too indispensable to the academy. Yet, here in the perilous core of the Star Dou Forest, he had abandoned his post to find food, treating the mission like a picnic…
"Xiaotao, are you all right?" Xuanzi asked hesitantly.
"Hmph!" Ma Xiaotao snorted and ignored him.
Su Wen felt himself falling into a pool again—plunging into an endless abyss.
Suddenly, a flash of light. A hand reached out through the darkness. Su Wen grabbed it and fought with all his might to pull himself up.
Gasp—
The world shattered.
Su Wen bolted upright, gasping for breath. He found himself in a serene bedroom, simply yet warmly furnished with solid wood. Gentle sunlight streamed through the window, bathing the room in a golden glow and the faint scent of fresh pine.
He shifted his gaze to the side.
A fair, slender hand was entwined with his own—long, pale fingers tipped with red nail polish, impossibly delicate.
The hand's owner… was Ma Xiaotao, sound asleep in a chair beside his bed.
He was lying on a soft wooden bed. Upon sitting up, he felt a moment's dizziness, but his body felt fine.
Wait—my Martial Soul!
Su Wen's eyes widened as he immediately checked his condition.
His meridians flowed normally—no dramatic, cliché blockages. In his spiritual sea, the Pokéball still hovered in stasis.
Had it repaired itself?
Su Wen was puzzled, but then a wave of relief washed over him. In this world, strength was everything. Without it, one couldn't survive a single step. If he had truly been crippled, all hope would have been lost.
The Pokéball was empty—Hurricane was gone. But Su Wen wasn't worried. Though he'd fainted, he had been vaguely aware of the fight's end. The weakened Demon Tiger, deprived of its berserk rage, had been torn apart by the Inner Court disciples. Hurricane had almost certainly returned with the team. He trusted Zhang Lexuan would have arranged for its care.
Su Wen then checked his own soul power.
"Huh? Level 14?!!"
He gasped in astonishment.
His rank had not fallen—it had risen.
(End of Chapter)