“I refuse to believe this!” Xie Xie cried. His third soul ring lit up, a clone splitting from his body. Now he controlled four hands at once to snatch the broom.

  Not a single crack marred the man’s smile. He gently swayed in place, moving the broom out of Xie Xie’s grasps by a hair’s width each time.

  For a while, their figures overlapped as Xie Xie continued his assault, and the man easily evaded. There was still plenty of time left in their bet.

  Xie Xie drew out all of his strength, pushing his speed and control to the max. Yet even with both clones moving fast enough to blur, even after he tried every trick in the book, the broom always eluded him, swerving beyond his fingers at the last moment.

  Xie Xie clicked his tongue. At this point it was clear as night and day that it wouldn’t be easy to win against the seemingly harmless man. But he couldn’t admit defeat yet. He refused to. As long as there was time left, he still had a chance.

  “Time’s up!”


  In a blur, the broom struck both Xie Xie and his clone on the head. The clone and original fused back together, and Xie Xie groaned in pain as he gasped for breath.

  “Who sent you flying earlier?” the man asked, brushing aside their bet for the moment.

  Xie Xie’s expression froze. Not a word left his lips. Unlike the man, he was still fixated on the bet. He could have sworn that the broom had been in his hands several times, but in the blink of an eye, it disappeared.

  “Well, regardless of who threw you, it’s obvious that your skill doesn’t match up to theirs. Passable speed, but compared to your peers your skill certainly leaves much to be desired. You won’t be able to keep up like that. The issue isn’t with your stance, but the moment you strike. You react too slowly, so your target has plenty of time to attack, counter, you name it.” He shook his head. “This also means your lethal power isn’t enough. For an agility-type, lethality is even more important than speed. Do you understand?” the man said, all smiles.

  Xie Xie studied him, eyes narrowing. “Agility-types are all about fast attacks! Why would how lethal I am be more important?”


  “Because attacking is the core of everything! Speed allows you to catch up to your target, but what’s the point if you can’t take them out? With all those mechas and battle armor out there, who doesn’t have a strong defense nowadays? Your attack power isn’t enough. All you have is speed. Raise your dagger for me.”


  In his shock, Xie Xie had forgotten to withdraw his martial soul. Without properly understanding or registering the order, Xie Xie’s body obeyed and held up his Light Dragon Dagger. A breath later, and the man’s figure twisted out of sight.

  Xie Xie missed it completely. All he felt was a prickling pain in his shoulder and a light push on his dagger. When he whipped his gaze to the direction of his pain, hungry and curious to see what had just transpired, his eyes went wide. A strand of hair pierced through his dagger like the world’s most flexible needle, caught and impaled into the flesh of his shoulder. W-what happened? That’s just hair!

  Confused or otherwise, there was no denying reality. The erect hair loosened and went limp. Pouring a bit of soul power into his dagger, Xie Xie easily destroyed the hair. But his shoulder still stung. He couldn’t fathom what had just happened.

  “Lethality, speed, and power are all related. Once your speed reaches a certain level and you can concentrate all your power into a single point, lethality will naturally follow. Boy, you still have a long ways to go.”


  Convinced and won over, the beat of excitement drumming in his heart, Xie Xie said, “C-can you teach me?”


  The man shrugged. “Pay up for the bet first. I’ll teach you for a bit after.”


  “Okay!” Xie Xie immediately took out his contribution points card and paid the man one hundred points.

  “Since you just got back, we’ll start tomorrow morning. I’ll be waiting for you here.”


  “Got it. I’m Xie Xie by the way. How should I address you?”


  The man smiled. “I’m Liang Xiaoyu. You can just call me Big Brother Liang. Some people also call me the Rising Sun of the West Mountain. It’s because my family lives on the west side of a mountain, and back then, we had a super handsome guy in our family. He moved to the city later on and became a superstar. All of the people in my village say I look like him, so they started calling me that.”


  Xie Xie fought hard to keep a straight face. “Big Brother Liang, honestly speaking, there’s a bit of a gap between you and being handsome.”


  “Huh? Isn’t it just a small difference though?”


  Xie Xie glanced at Liang Xiaoyu’s balding head. “Also, you should stop using hair to stab people. I doubt it’s any good for you.”


  After a moment of silence, Liang Xiaoyu shouted, “Serves you right to get thrashed!”


  ☀

  Tang Wulin, famished as he was, decided to curb his hunger at the noodle shop Xu Luzhi had recommended. According to his teammate, the noodles were absolutely divine, especially the ones lathered with a thick meat sauce.

  He recalled the conflict between Yuanen Yehui and Xie Xie earlier. As soon as he had awakened from breaking the fourth seal, his feet brought him to the site of all the commotion. When he had stopped Yuanen Yehui’s flying punch, he felt the power coursing within him. His blood essence had surged through his body like a dense river. Although it had cost him four unbelievably expensive spirit items to break the fourth seal, he could tell by his astronomical increase in strength that they were well worth the price.

  But on this exact moment, Tang Wulin hungered. It clawed at him. The energy of the Golden Dragon King, rather than grant him relief from this, only stoked his hunger. He could tell that his meridian channels had grown wider following the breaking of the fourth seal. All the more reason for more nutrients to fill the new space.

  Tang Wulin’s soul power had grown denser as well. As it condensed, the space it occupied in his dantian had shrunk, allowing him additional space to do as he willed. In light of this, he concluded that he needed to redouble his efforts. At his current cultivation speed, he feared he might not gain his fourth ring by the time he turned fifteen. Improving the speed of his cultivation was a must, for he couldn’t become a sixth-rank blacksmith until he had the foundation of a Soul Ancestor. All he could do was work even harder.

  After devouring ten bowls, Tang Wulin stretched his body, his mind wandering back to Xie Xie and Yuanen Yehui. He couldn’t help but crack a smile. Those two really do have an affinity with each other. Well, whatever. I’ll just let them sort things out themselves.

  Although Xie Xie’s luck was horrible, he still had many avenues he could use to settle the problem. Tang Wulin was confident the two would turn out just fine given enough time and space.

  Tang Wulin took out his communicator and called Wu Zhangkong.

  “Are you back?” Wu Zhangkong answered the call in his usual cold voice. Tang Wulin felt himself relax.

  “Yes, I’ve returned to campus. Teacher Wu, when should I visit you in the inner court?” Tang Wulin asked. His vacation was already halfway done, but he still had much to do.

  “You can come right now. Just head to the inner court and I’ll be there to receive you.”


  “Okay.”


  After quickly paying his bill, Tang Wulin did just that. Eager he was to test his limits now that his his blood essence had strengthened and he had gained a second blood essence soul ring. Hopefully the ring granted him a ranged ability.

  Standing by the gates to the inner court, Tang Wulin heard only the occasional gentle breeze and his own thoughts. The gates were open, revealing a crooked path leading inward. Not a single person stood guard. It appeared easy for anyone to just waltz right in, but Tang Wulin knew that it was anything but so. Shrek Academy was a holy site for soul masters and a den of dragons for enemies.

  I wonder if Big Sis Mo Lan is awake yet? The Holy Spirit Douluo really is amazing at healing! When will I be as strong as her? His thoughts lay with the Holy Spirit Douluo’s powerful soul rings. The sight of six black and three red rings had sent tremors down to the depths of his heart. He was still an insignificant boy when compared to her, a person who stood at the peak.

  He felt his heart calm, his mind relax with every step farther down the crooked path. A gentle breeze weaved through the trees, a clean scent refreshing his mind. His clothes soon began to stick to his skin. He was nearing Sea God’s Lake. He walked past several sculptures, the legendary Shrek Seven Monsters of ages past, and rounded the curve onto the lakeside.

  The lake glittered under the sun, the waters clear to the bottom. A few aquatic plants sprouted from the wet dirt, breathing life into the lake.

  Just as Tang Wulin was about to make a call to Wu Zhangkong, his eyes caught the figure of a boat embarking from Sea God’s Island. The boat slowly floated toward the shore, an impassive Wu Zhangkong at its bow. He was dressed in his usual white robes with his hands folded behind him. A light breeze picked up the ends of his robe and hair. A mystical ascetic.

  Damn! Teacher Wu is handsome! Those white robes look so cool! Tang Wulin stared, entranced. I need to get a set of white robes in the future too! I’ll get some as soon as I graduate!

  The boat slid up to the shore right in front of Tang Wulin. “Get on,” Wu Zhangkong said.

  Once both of his feet were on the boat, Wu Zhangkong urged it to float back to the island with a wave of soul power.

  “I heard about what happened on the train. You met an evil soul master?” Wu Zhangkong asked.

  “Yes.”


  “They’re sinister people. You can’t compare them to ordinary soul masters at all. If you meet one in the future, be on full alert. So that you’re aware, you’ve been marked by their organization. Don’t leave campus for any light reason, and if you do, tell me first.”


  Tang Wulin nodded. “Teacher Wu, mark my words. One day I’ll be strong enough that I won’t fear the evil soul masters ever again!” A fire lit in his heart at the mention of them. He wouldn’t forgive those bastards who treated life as lightly as grass!