High atop a towering tree in the distance, Xuanzi silently observed Zhou Sicheng's battle with the three evil soul masters. He was prepared to step in at a mont's notice if anything unexpected happened.
But clearly, he had overestimated the threat. Zhou Sicheng's strength spoke for itself—despite being only rank 43, with the support of his contracted soul beasts, the full extent of his power was simply overwhelming.
In less than fifteen minutes, he had annihilated three soul masters, all above Soul Sage level, with thunderous precision.
What's more, the fight hadn't even disturbed Ye Guyi as she absorbed her soul ring.
Having dealt with evil soul masters for decades, Xuanzi knew just how terrifying they were. An 88th-rank Soul Douluo, a 78th-rank and a 75th-rank Soul Sage—working together, they could contend with a regular Titled Douluo. And yet Zhou Sicheng had dispatched them with ease.
The only cost? A significant drain on his soul power.
Xuanzi nodded in deep satisfaction. This battle made one thing abundantly clear: Zhou Sicheng had absolutely no rcy for evil soul masters.
With these two children, the future of Shrek Academy might surpass even the legacy of the Three Ultimate Martial Souls. Perhaps they might even recreate the glory of the original Shrek Seven Devils.
...
Unaware of Xuanzi's thoughts, Zhou Sicheng sat cross-legged near Ye Guyi after the battle, ditating to restore his soul power.
Casually, he instructed, "Tianng, stay on alert."
In his spiritual sea, Tianng punched the air excitedly, mimicking an Iceworm-style freestyle fight routine.
This was the first ti he'd seen Zhou Sicheng kill—and with such ruthlessness and decisiveness.
No hesitation. No rcy. Just pure, overwhelming force.
Tianng's admiration surged. He hoped he could be just as formidable one day.
While keeping watch with his ntal power over a 1,000-ter radius, Tianng couldn't help but speak:
"Dang, Sicheng—you're insane! That was my first ti watching you kill soone, and it was brutal. No wonder you're the guy I respect!"
Zhou Sicheng, still ditating, responded with a hint of emotion: "If they had been normal people, maybe I wouldn't have acted so decisively. This was my first ti taking lives, after all."
"But I know exactly how vile evil soul masters are. Killing them didn't leave with guilt—on the contrary, it felt like I was purging evil from the world."
Tianng's respect only grew. "I've heard the stories, but seeing their Martial Soul True Forms in person? Ugh. Just thinking about it makes feel dirty."
Zhou Sicheng chuckled softly as he ditated, chatting lightly with Tianng.
Though those three evil soul masters weren't weak, Zhou Sicheng had chosen to eliminate them quickly to prevent them from unleashing their full strength. That urgency had drained his soul power.
If they'd had ti to fight at full force, even if Zhou Sicheng wasn't afraid of them, the battle might've interrupted Ye Guyi's ring absorption.
So he'd acted fast, draining not just his own strength, but also that of his three contracted soul beasts.
To avoid any more surprises, restoring his power was essential.
What puzzled him, though, was why those evil soul masters had co for the Light Dragon Turtle in the first place.
Was it to prevent light-attribute soul masters from ever obtaining this top-tier soul ring?
If so, then evil soul masters had grown even more dangerous—actively sabotaging soul ring prospects for their enemies. How tyrannical would they beco in the future?
Especially now that the Holy Spirit Cult was rapidly expanding, even allying with the Sun Moon Empire to grow stronger.
Zhou Sicheng's enemies weren't limited to just one god-king. His ambitions were too grand—he had too much to fight for.
Once his strength broke through to a certain threshold, he could probably resolve matters with the three forr empires. After all, he was born in the Heaven Soul Empire—part of the original Douluo Continent.
But dealing with the Holy Spirit Cult and the Sun Moon Empire? That would require absolute power.
The Holy Spirit Cult and that certain god-king... they seed all too similar in Zhou Sicheng's eyes.
Could it be that this god-king wiped out Spirit Hall and the Six-Winged Angel line on purpose—to pave the way for today?
The Douluo Continent, under angelic rule, was too peaceful. A god-king unable to make rit through conflict may have destroyed the angels just to let evil soul masters thrive, so he could later wipe them out in a blaze of glory?
The more Zhou Sicheng thought about it... the more plausible it sounded.
An hour later, most of his soul power had recovered. His three contracted soul beasts, fused into him, recovered alongside him.
Tianng hadn't sensed any further threats since the earlier ambush.
Zhou Sicheng looked up and saw the Light Dragon Turtle's black soul ring hovering over Ye Guyi's head—she was fully imrsed in absorbing it.
Activating his right arm's Dreadclaw, he began dismantling the turtle's massive body.
Beyond the shell, which would make a powerful defensive soul tool, the at itself was top-tier.
He first separated the shell, noting it remained intact save for the hole his Dreadclaw had punched through—evidence of its extraordinary defense.
Storing the shell, he continued butchering the body. Protein-rich materials everywhere.
But when he reached the right forelimb, he suddenly felt a ripple of soul power. The turtle had been frozen earlier, concealing the presence of any soul bones.
His eyes lit up.
"A soul bone!"
He cut open the forelimb, and a lustrous golden crystal floated into the air—an intact right arm soul bone.
From his hidden perch, Xuanzi's eyes went wide.
"What kind of luck is that? That thing just dropped like candy?!"
Zhou Sicheng, however, didn't share his shock. He rely glanced at Ye Guyi, still absorbing the ring, a glint of envy flashing in his gaze.
"A 50,000-year Light Dragon Turtle right arm soul bone... this could grant her an incredibly powerful soul bone ability."
"Maybe... even the bloodline ability—Saint Dragon Manifestation."
He stored the soul bone in his spatial soul tool. If it really was Saint Dragon Manifestation, Ye Guyi's strength would skyrocket.
And absorbing both the ring and soul bone simultaneously would amplify the benefits far beyond staggered absorption.
Zhou Sicheng didn't even consider keeping it for himself. Though this was a top-tier soul bone from a powerful beast, he felt no greed.
His Contract To Martial Soul didn't yield soul bones from absorbed beasts—but his main Martial Soul still had potential.
In the future, he would only seek the most powerful soul beasts. Unless a beast had an overwhelming bloodline but lacked years, his future soul rings would likely all be 100,000 years or more.
Top-tier soul bones wouldn't be hard to co by. Giving this one to Ye Guyi was the best choice.
Though he could benefit from one now—to strengthen his physique and raise his soul ring thresholds—he wasn't desperate.
After all, once the term ended, he'd be heading to the Extre North.
There, barring surprises, he was likely to obtain a 400,000-year soul bone.
That alone would be worth more than a handful of lesser soul bones. No point hoarding—better to refine than to collect.
Once he finished carving up the turtle, Zhou Sicheng lit a fire and roasted a choice cut.
He ate and drank to his fill, and Ye Guyi was still absorbing the ring.
After all, absorbing a 50,000-year soul ring across levels wasn't a small feat—it would naturally take longer.
Three more hours passed. Night fell completely.
At last, Ye Guyi's sixth soul ring stabilized. Her soul power had leapt to rank 63.
Her Martial Soul retracted. Two yellow, two purple, and two black rings vanished into her body. She opened her eyes, a radiant golden light flashing within.
The first thing she saw was Zhou Sicheng, watching over her not far away.
She sprang to her feet and dove into his arms, face full of excitent.
"Sicheng, I did it! And I got an incredibly powerful defensive soul skill!"
Zhou Sicheng smiled, wrapped one arm around her, and pulled a golden soul bone from his soul tool.
"Take a look at this."
Ye Guyi looked at the soul bone, imdiately feeling a deep sense of connection.
"This is from the Light Dragon Turtle! We're unbelievably lucky!"
She knew what Zhou Sicheng was offering. But her heart was filled with thoughts of him.
"This soul bone is 50,000 years old. You should absorb it."
Zhou Sicheng grinned. "Don't you rember what I told you? I won't be lacking in soul bones."
He didn't ntion his twin Martial Souls—sothing not even his parents or grandfather knew. Only Ye Guyi knew, and with Xuanzi secretly watching, he wouldn't say more.
She imdiately understood, her gaze softening.
He placed the soul bone in her hands. "Absorbing both the ring and bone together will maximize their synergy."
Her heart swelled with emotion. Who else in the world treated her like this?
She accepted the bone and gently kissed him.
Their lips parted after a mont.
"Go on," Zhou Sicheng said gently. "Absorb it."
With sparkling eyes, Ye Guyi nodded and sat cross-legged, holding the soul bone.
As she guided it toward her right arm, the absorption process was smooth. The soul bone felt like it had returned to its rightful owner.
In just half an hour, the 50,000-year soul bone had fused completely.
Her soul power rose another level—just a step away from rank 65.
When she opened her eyes again, her voice trembled with excitent.
"Saint Dragon Manifestation! The soul bone ability is really Saint Dragon Manifestation!"
This ability had proven its power earlier when the Light Dragon Turtle used it to block a full-power assault from the 25,000-year Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear.
Though Ye Guyi couldn't fully unleash its potential with only six rings, even partial use made her nearly invincible among peers.
And that wasn't even counting her new sixth ring ability.
Zhou Sicheng was thrilled. "Congratulations on acquiring such a powerful soul skill."
"Heehee." Ye Guyi giggled. "But my sixth soul skill is just as strong as Saint Dragon Manifestation."
Zhou Sicheng leaned closer and whispered, "Wanna tell ?"
With a playful wink, she leaned in and whispered back:
"It's called Angel's Shield. It's a high-level defensive soul skill—just like my fifth, it's a weapon-type ability."
Zhou Sicheng raised a brow. Weapon-type soul skills were already powerful—now she had two?
"What does it do exactly?" he asked.
With pride in her voice, she explained, "Once activated, Angel's Shield becos a top-tier defensive weapon. It triples my defense, making nearly untouchable to soul masters of the sa rank."
"And most importantly—every ti I activate it, I get one instance of absolute defense. Even a Titled Douluo's attack can be blocked once."
Zhou Sicheng's eyes widened. "That's from a 50,000-year ring?!"
She was only rank 64—and she could already block a Titled Douluo's attack once per use?
That was basically Invincible Golden Body tier!
And the shield itself had insane passive defense. Even if she just stood there, most soul masters wouldn't be able to break it.
"You realize that's... insanely OP, right?" he asked, stunned.
Ye Guyi smiled sweetly. "It only blocks one hit per activation. After that, I have to recast it. So it's not that broken."
Zhou Sicheng stared at her in disbelief.
Oh no. She was flexing on him.
Just one absolute defense? And you can refresh it?
So as long as she had the soul power... she could use it again and again?
****
If you want to support or read advanced Chapters (21 ), consider checking out my pat.
patr*on/Salsita2k
Reviews
All reviews (0)