"What, are you scared?!"
Xuan Zi snorted.
"Scared? If I were scared, two months ago in front of Shrek City I would've hidden in my pokéball instead of fighting for my life while being hunted by three peak Soul Douluo evil soul masters. I wouldn't have escaped from the Star Dou Forest three months ago after being chased by countless evil soul masters and even a Titled Douluo."
Su Wen chuckled.
But what he said left everyone stunned.
They knew bits and pieces about the Star Dou incident months ago—sudden lockdown, Su Wen going missing under Elder Xuan's lead—even the entire Inspection Team called up; a once-in-a-century emergency.
And the truth… was evil soul masters?!!
And… a Titled Douluo?!!
Those two terms together—how are we supposed to compute that?
Escaping from a Titled Douluo, then personally killing Zhongli Ren and crippling Zhongli Di—if this record came from a certain inner-court senior at Soul Douluo level, they'd already be shouting "badass," since evil soul masters are stronger than normal ones; at best a genius could break even.
But it was Su Wen?!!
Yao Haoxuan's throat bobbed; he glanced at Chen Zifeng.
He'd always seen losing to Su Wen as a disgrace, but now… it seems more like an honor?
And with Su Wen's record, even if you added all of them together, they'd struggle to match it.
Facing the Zhongli brothers, killing one and crippling one.
Those were peak Soul Douluo!
The missions they'd completed before were mostly against Soul Elders and Soul Ancestors—weak, untrained evil soul masters who looked impressive but were actually trash. Soul Kings were rare. If they ran into the famed Zhongli trio, they could start writing their last words… (In the original, Cai Mei'er led a team with two Soul Douluo and a group of elites, yet the three brothers suppressed them—pretty fierce.)
Before, they kept quiet because of Su Wen's status—the Sea God Pavilion heir.
Now they kept quiet because of his shocking record—whether they liked it or not. Speaking up would just embarrass themselves…
At Shrek, the bigger fist speaks louder.
Although he wasn't as strong yet, the talent he'd shown put him on equal footing with Elder Xuan.
"…"
Ning Tian gently clasped Su Wen's hand back, head lowered, lips curved.
She didn't care about the Inspection Team.
What mattered was that Su Wen cared about her. That was enough.
"Xiao Wen, Elder Xuan probably didn't mean it like that…" Dai Yueheng tried to smooth things over. Ma Xiaotao, the captain, was clearly taking Su Wen's side; as vice-captain, he had to mediate. His tone was quite meek…
"I get it." Su Wen nodded.
He looked at Xuan Zi, arms folded, snorting, and said clearly, "If I inherit Shrek Academy in the future, I'll make changes. Using students' lives to fill Shrek's so-called honor and monuments—I don't want it! If you want to fight, elders go first. Lead the team if you want. Otherwise, stop pretending to be saints. 'Guardians of justice'? Disgusting!"
"You…" Xuan Zi was fuming, but he could only fume, since Su Wen was right.
In the Star Dou Forest incident, the Sea God Pavilion first learned of the evil soul master sect lurking in the Sun-Moon Empire—the Holy Spirit Cult. What surfaced then was just the tip of the iceberg; their strength rivaled Shrek Academy!
From interrogations, they learned the Holy Spirit Cult had a Supreme Elder, co-leaders, twelve worships, and eight elders—and chillingly, each was above Titled Douluo.
It was a resounding slap in the Pavilion's face.
They'd hunted evil soul masters for years; the more they hunted, the more the other side flourished.
"Continental guardians" sounded more like mockery…
"Of course, I'm not expecting the elders to move those rusted bodies and lower themselves to purge evil soul masters. As for the Holy Spirit Cult, I alone am enough." Su Wen said flatly.
Xuan Zi snorted.
He'd finally found a flaw.
"Do you know how strong that Supreme Elder is? The sect master alone is said to be a step from Limit Douluo—on par with me. And you alone would purge the Holy Spirit Cult? Ridiculous!" He puffed out his chest a bit proudly.
"Whether I can or not—time will tell."
Su Wen smiled and stopped.
Silence fell.
Two big shots going head-to-head. Fun to watch, sure, but how were they supposed to proceed? The tournament was coming up…
"Ahem, Xiaotao," Dai Yueheng pleaded.
Big sis, you're the captain!
If this keeps on, are we still competing or not?!
"Fine. First—are you all willing to join the Inspection Team?" Though she didn't like it, Ma Xiaotao took Xuan Zi's spot and asked the others.
"Willing!" Bei Bei, Jiang Nannan, and the others nodded quickly.
"Good. Since you're in, we have a mission now: wipe out the bandits in the Mingdou Mountains. Their leader is an evil soul master at Soul King level. They're vicious—pillaging and killing everywhere. But Mingdou is sensitive—a natural treasure formed by the collision and compression of the two continents, rich in minerals. On one side are Duke White Tiger's troops; on the other, the Sun-Moon Empire's troops. It's hard to coordinate both sides. We'll have to handle it." Ma Xiaotao explained.
Then she tossed a set of gear to the outer-court students:
A ring, a dark-green cloak, a mask, and inner armor.
Su Wen shook his head.
All window dressing.
The ring was a storage soul tool—level seven; you could buy those on the first floor of Treasure Gathering Pavilion. The green cloak and mask were pants-around-ankles stuff. We're soul masters—your martial soul is your ID. Like Dai Yueheng—once he activates White Tiger Possession, the other side would have to be blind not to recognize him.
As for the inner armor… useful, but not much.
He felt it—some kind of soul beast scales; maybe it could withstand a Soul Sage's full strike. But for that cost and craftsmanship, better to carry two invincibility shields—simple and convenient.
"Next, we set off."
Ma Xiaotao said coolly.
"We need to head south to Mingdou, finish purging the evil soul masters as soon as possible, then head north to the Star Luo Empire's capital for the tournament. We have three days total to complete it. Time's tight—hustle."
Since she spoke up, Xuan Zi faded into the background.
"Wang Dong, Ning Tian, Jiang Nannan, Bei Bei—you four are too weak in physique. An inner-court student or Su Wen and co. will carry you. We'll go full speed!"
Ning Tian looked to Su Wen at once.
He didn't hesitate and carried her.
The girl smiled sweetly, happy.
How could it be the same with anyone else?
Ma Xiaotao, a bit sour, came over and waved a tiny fist, whispering in his ear: "Help me vent at the hotel…"
Su Wen: "…"
They moved out quickly.
Xi Xi carried Jiang Nannan; Chen Zifeng carried Bei Bei; Ma Xiaotao scooped up Wang Dong'er. Fifteen people moved fast; Wang Yan followed silently.
His talent was weak, but he was still a Soul King; his physique was qualitatively different from Soul Ancestors.
He kept glancing at Su Wen.
As an outer-court teacher, this was his first contact with this level of monster. Daring to go head-to-head with Elder Xuan was one thing; that shocking record was another. It stunned him.
A thorny one?
But if Xuan Zi acknowledged that record, it meant Su Wen had hidden many cards in the previous matches. Wang Yan's eyes flickered—he was truly interested in Su Wen's martial soul…
…
A day passed in a flash.
Despite their best efforts, they were nowhere near the destination.
Everyone looked to Ma Xiaotao, Su Wen, and Dai Yueheng.
With only two days left to complete the mission, at this rate they'd delay the tournament. Missing the tournament for an evil-soul-master purge would be awkward.
Xuan Zi gnawed on chicken nearby, reminding them of his presence.
At this point, only he could get them there on time.
But as he glanced at Su Wen, smirking—
Su Wen stepped out: "Don't resist. Enter another space. I'll get us there on time."
"Huh?"
Dai Yueheng looked blank.
Everyone else was stunned—another space?
"It's where my familiars live."
Su Wen explained briefly, then stored them in the pokéball.
He took out an eighth-level flying soul tool and attached a few prepped "bottles" to it. With modern soul tool tech, ordinary people could theoretically use them, but the cost was high—even with bottled soul power, most people's bodies couldn't withstand the crushing force, turning them into paste in an instant.
Same for soul masters.
With a weak body, using high-thrust flying soul tools could easily cause damage—flesh injuries at best, total bodily ruin at worst.
Su Wen was the exception.
With Xiao Jin's boosts, his body had reached Soul Sage-level toughness. An eighth-level soul tool was tough, but manageable.
In the original, Xuan Zi used an eighth-level because ninth-level flying soul tools were strategic secrets locked by the Sun-Moon Empire—not because he couldn't handle them physically…
"Eh?!!"
"Elder Xuan, see you at Mingdou." Su Wen smiled.
He turned into a streak of light and shot into the sky.
Leaving a baffled Xuan Zi behind.
…
A day later.
In the air.
Su Wen looked down at the endlessly green mountain range and the military tents hidden within. He smiled—we're here.
He landed casually on some grass.
He spotted several figures from Duke White Tiger's personal guard heading their way…
Buzz~
With a spatial ripple,
Shrek's team reappeared.
Yao Haoxuan was still intoxicated: "Xiao Wen, your soul beasts live like gods—no wonder they're so loyal… Hey, do you still take soul beasts? No—do you take people?"
"Get lost!" Chen Zifeng kicked his butt. "He only takes top-grade beasts—what would he want you for?"
"Such rich life force… in just one day, even my cultivation loosened." Xi Xi sighed.
Su Wen's speed of cultivation might be tied to that pokéball, but regardless, they knew—this was part of Su Wen's strength.
They guessed he was monstrously talented, but not to the point of equipping familiars with a pocket world filled with life energy. It was… envy-inducing!
"Yueheng, looks like your father's men," Su Wen smiled at Dai Yueheng, who was also sighing.
They'd coordinated by letter before; upon arrival, Duke White Tiger promised to provide bandit intel.
"Oh…" Dai Yueheng blinked.
Then froze… Wait, we really arrived?!!!
Looking to the horizon,
Several figures streaked down, cautiously surrounding them.
"Identify yourselves!"
The leader barked, lighting seven rings—he was a Soul Sage.
"It's me, Dai Yueheng. Uncle Du, long time no see…" Dai Yueheng hurried up to explain.
"…Young master! It's you!" the man exclaimed.
Up close, he was white-haired and slightly aged.
A white tiger maw was embroidered on his chest, denoting identity; behind him was a flying soul tool…
Su Wen pondered.
He'd always wondered how Duke White Tiger held the border—with a hundred thousand troops? In Douluo, a hundred thousand ordinary people are basically useless. In the original, when the Radiant Duke revolted in the Sun-Moon Empire, he commanded normal soldiers whose only attack was arrows… Their only function was draining the soul power reserves of Ju Zi's defensive soul tools.
Duke White Tiger's core was these personal guards loaded with soul tools (flying, defensive, offensive), which felt like poor imitation of Sun-Moon tech, a pale shadow.
More like one of the Sun-Moon Empire's numbered legions—below their top four beast soul engineer regiments…
Anyway, none of that mattered to him.
When the Sun-Moon Empire launched a continental war in the future, he didn't care if the Star Luo side fell—what mattered was whether the world split three ways again, or unified. That was important.
He looked aside.
Ma Xiaotao's hot eyes were on him; her red lips formed clear words: "Don't forget to vent~"
Su Wen: "…"
Ning Tian came up and wiped sweat from his neck.
Her eyes held a hint of heartache.
"Why show off like that?"
Wang Dong muttered that they should have done a martial soul fusion.
Mu Qiu'er looked around curiously. This was the edge of the old continent, now collided with the Sun-Moon to form the Mingdou Mountains. Teacher Mu Jin had lectured about it—she was interested.
"Does every soul beast have its own little world?" a cool voice entered his ear.
Su Wen looked at Gu Yuena in surprise and nodded slightly.
"And it adapts to each soul beast's traits—tuning the most suitable growth environment, evolving as their strength rises."
"…"
Gu Yuena fell silent.
But her clenched fists revealed her inner turmoil.
…
After greeting the Duke's household,
Dai Hao was especially cordial to Su Wen.
It surprised Su Wen; in the original, his impression of Dai Hao was a bit unfeeling—a steel hardman. Now… Duke White Tiger simply disdained playing politics with ordinary folks.
After the meal came the classic segment.
"Brother Su Wen, these are all the evil soul masters' intel…" Dai Hao's face was flushed with drink. He called Su Wen "Brother Su Wen" over and over, making Dai Yueheng cover his face. If his dad drank a bit more and they became sworn brothers—what would he call Su Wen later? Little dad?!!
"The leader is an evil soul master at Soul King level. His ability is a bit strange—seems like controlling corpses, but specifics are unclear. He's very cautious. Every time I move, he immediately burrows away." Though tipsy, Dai Hao's logic was clear. "You're Shrek elites, but be careful."
"Marshal Dai, you underestimate us." Ma Xiaotao pouted. "Against a bunch of evil soul masters with a Soul King at best? That's chopping melons and veggies."
Su Wen smiled.
He remembered in the original Dai Hao merely tossed them intel and left without offering a meal… Now it was clear he knew much more—after several clashes, how could the intel be so thin?
But he probably wasn't hostile to Shrek; his son Dai Yueheng was in the team. If not for luck, he'd have almost been blown up…
Likely he just didn't feel like saying more—didn't want to bother.
"…"
"You all drank?"
Su Wen watched quietly.
Yao Haoxuan was red in the face, hiccuping. Chen Zifeng, Gongyang Mo, even Bei Bei had drunk some—let alone Ma Xiaotao, whose cheeks were flushed with wine, hugging Su Wen's head and gnawing.
Only Wang Yan hadn't touched a drop, staring at the others with a worried face.
"…The Duke invited us—how could we refuse?" Yao Haoxuan grinned. "Relax, it's just a few evil soul masters. We'll end it early and go to the tournament."
"…"
Su Wen was silent for a while.
Shrek's rot had long reached the inner court.
He wasn't being harsh.
The issue was: these were the inner-court elites! The Inspection Team who should curb internal corruption and purge evil soul masters externally!
This wine was aged.
Dai Hao brought it out to entertain them—clearly not ordinary stuff.
Maybe in his eyes, with Elder Xuan leading, nothing could go wrong… So Su Wen didn't blame Dai Hao at all. The problem lay with these so-called elites!
The old ones, the young ones too.
He finally understood why, in the original, an evil soul master could take MVP.
With arrogance like this—
Being alive till now was pure luck…
"Let's go."
In the night,
Su Wen took a deep breath.
He said calmly…