Spirit City, Pope's Hall.
"Your Holiness, Elder Chrysanthemum has sent a letter." A guard stepped into the hall, offering up a sealed document.
Bibi Dong lifted her hand lightly, the file flying into her palm. She lowered her head slightly as she opened it, her voice calm: "You may leave."
"Yes, Your Holiness." The guard bowed and withdrew.
"Tang San, born in Holy Spirit Village of Nuoding City, later studied at Shrek Academy in Suotuo City… suspected son of Tang Hao, possesses twin martial souls." Bibi Dong's eyes flashed sharply.
"Disciple of Yu Xiaogang…"
Her slender hand clenched, and she fell into silence again.
"Xiaogang, is this the child you've chosen to prove yourself with?" She folded the letter, whispering softly to herself.
After a pause, she stored it away inside a soul tool, revealing the small manual beneath. She flipped it open.
"A Physical Training Manual?"
Her eyes narrowed, scanning carefully. The deeper she read, the brighter her gaze grew—until she reached the final remark: 'Pain tempers willpower, willpower shapes the spirit. By constantly breaking past the limits of one's will, spiritual power will continue to rise.'
Her expression froze.
"These training regimens and equipment designs are indeed ingenious. But to say this method alone allows absorbing a 10,000 year soul ring at the fourth ring… that would hardly be so simple. Talent, diligence, cultivation resources—none can be lacking." She thought to herself.
Then her eyes narrowed further. "This method… Yang Yunhai must have already implemented it within Heaven Dou Royal Academy. No wonder the Heaven Dou royal family has stationed large forces there. But why has Yang Yunhai not reported this sooner?"
"And that woman…"
"She also chose silence!"
"Was it her deliberate exposure, or Yang Yunhai's personal decision?"
Her brow furrowed as she stowed the booklet back into her soul tool. She tapped the armrest with her finger, closed her eyes, and sank into thought.
---
Evening, Shrek Academy dormitory.
"Teacher, I really can't hold it anymore." Ma Hongjun's flushed face pleaded before Flender.
Since their match with Canghui Academy, with no strong opponents afterward, Liu Erlong had been driving him through intense training every single day.
Three days. He had endured three full days. His body and spirit both felt ravaged.
Flender eyed his pitiful expression, then finally sighed and waved him off. "Fine, fine. Be careful not to get caught by the Academy. And no staying overnight. Finish your business and get back immediately!"
"Teacher, you're my real father!" Ma Hongjun whooped and sprinted out the door.
Some time later, outside a garishly pink-decorated building in Heaven Dou City, Ma Hongjun strolled out, looking refreshed.
At a corner ahead, a thin man glared at him with venom. "Tian Ya, Ekau, help me catch that fat bastard!"
"Bu Le, you've got a grudge with him?" Tian Ya asked.
"A blood feud!" Bu Le gnashed his teeth. "Last time it was him who burned me half to death!"
"…"
'That little? You call that 'blood feud'?!' His two companions fell silent, then exchanged glances, eyes glinting.
"What are we waiting for?"
"Get him!" They stalked forward together.
When Ma Hongjun passed through a deserted street, Bu Le suddenly unleashed his martial soul, thrusting his palm forward. "Third soul skill, Cruel Flower Hand!"
"???" Ma Hongjun felt the soul power flare behind him. He spun, his face paling.
Without hesitation, he bolted. While running, he shouted: "Third soul skill, Phoenix Soaring Wings!"
Bang!
Too slow. The claw raked his back, sending him flying forward.
Crash, crash, crash!
He slammed into a row of garbage bins, trash scattering everywhere.
A fat figure rolled out covered in scraps.
"Bu Le, you're too impatient!" Tian Ya caught up. "If we'd attacked together, this pig wouldn't have escaped."
"Ugh, it stinks!" Ekau wrinkled his nose at the mess.
"Still chasing?" he muttered.
"Forget it, count him lucky today." Bu Le ground his teeth, then waved. "Come on, I'll treat you both tonight."
"Now you're talking." The three laughed and walked away arm in arm.
---
Two quarters later, Shrek dormitory.
"Fatty, what happened to you?" Dai Mubai frowned as Ma Hongjun stumbled in, blood still at his brow.
"Don't mention it, I almost died." Ma Hongjun groaned. "Ran into Bu Le on the way."
"That pervert again?!" Xiao Wu shot up. "Let's go teach him a lesson!"
"Better not. That guy's a Soul King now, and he's got two teammates with him." Ma Hongjun muttered resentfully.
'Otherwise I wouldn't have just run for my life.'
"Scared of what? With our team, why fear them?" Xiao Wu tilted her chin.
"Then wait, let me wash up and change first." Ma Hongjun nodded eagerly and darted off.
"I'll go call Brother San." Xiao Wu hurried away.
Soon after, Tang San, Xiao Wu, Dai Mubai, Yu Tianheng, Tai Long, Oscar, and Ma Hongjun headed out together.
On the way, Xiao Wu vividly retold her encounter with Bu Le back in Suotuo City, adding spice with every word.
Yu Tianheng's brow furrowed. "This Bu Le stalks lone girls… he deserves a harsh lesson."
Tang San's eyes flashed cold. 'Such scum are a blight. Better to remove them—waste not, want not.'
He turned to Dai Mubai. "Remember what I said back in Suotuo City?"
"If weeds aren't pulled out by the root, they grow back with the spring breeze. These three never change. If Fatty hadn't run fast tonight, something terrible would've happened."
The others stiffened.
Yu Tianheng was startled—he hadn't expected Tang San to be so ruthless.
"I agree with Brother San. If we let them go, they'll only harm more girls later!" Xiao Wu snapped.
Tang San ignored further words, turning instead to Oscar. "Make flying sausages. We'll finish this quickly."
"Got it." Oscar nodded.
---
Soon, in a dark alley near a residential block—
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Seven shadows swept overhead, each gripping a reinforced Zhuge Crossbow.
"Release!" Tang San's low command rang out.
Thwip-thwip-thwip!
A storm of bolts rained down, blotting the night sky.
"???" The three below looked up just in time.
Pfft-pfft-pfft!
Their heads and necks were pierced through, riddled like beehives.
Seven figures dropped to the ground. Except Tang San, the others paled and turned their faces away.
Bu Le's trio had always been ugly. Now, with blood gushing from their ruined skulls, the sight was nauseating.
"I'll handle it." Tang San stepped forward calmly.
From his waist, he drew out the Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges soul tool, waved, and stowed the corpses away. "Back at the Academy, I'll dispose of them with poison."
Relief washed over Ma Hongjun. "Brother San, I'll leave it to you."
"Pick up the arrows," Tang San instructed, pulling out a large jug of water and rinsing the bloodstains.
The others silently gathered bolts from the ground.
Within moments, the alley was cleaned, and the seven returned to Shrek quietly.
Each went back to their own rooms without a word.
Tang San shut his door, entered the bathroom, and laid the three corpses out.
The Eight Spider Lances burst from his back, piercing into the still-warm bodies. Without hesitation, he unleashed the devouring ability.
Immediately, streams of soul power flowed into him, mixed with pure vitality.
"As expected of a Soul King—what tremendous energy." Tang San was shocked, quickly sitting cross-legged to circulate the Mysterious Heaven Technique and refine it.
The roots of the Eight Spider Lances gradually darkened red.
An hour later, Tang San opened his eyes, joy lighting his face.
"I actually broke through straight to soul rank 40—more than one full level gained!"
He clenched his fists, astonished. "Even my body feels stronger… is devouring with the Eight Spider Lances a full-body enhancement?"
He glanced back. The lances' tips now gleamed with faint blood-red.
"They evolved?" He looked at the three shriveled corpses.
"And my martial souls?"
Summoning Blue Silver Grass, he saw its hue deepened slightly. Calling forth the Clear Sky Hammer, faint blood streaks now veined its cracks.
"So even martial souls can evolve?" he muttered, eyes flashing with excitement. But then he shook his head.
"This must never be exposed! And my sudden breakthrough—also hidden. Luckily, the changes are subtle enough that no one should notice."
He retracted his souls, poured a vial of corrosive poison over the corpses. Acrid smoke curled upward, veiling his cold, thoughtful face.
'Yang Yunhai… perhaps my Blue Silver Grass isn't so hopeless after all. It can evolve. And the Clear Sky Hammer too.'
(End of Chapter)
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