The Rebirth of the Supreme King Dong'er

Even though Wang Dong'er observed carefully, she found no clues at all.

"Hm? The rules of your world are rather interesting." An aged voice suddenly sounded beside Wang Dong'er's ear.

"Senior Electrolux? You're awake?" Wang Dong'er gently patted the Clear Sky Token inside her bundle and spoke in a low voice.

"If you do not mind, just call me Old Ilex." Electrolux said with a chuckle. "Always calling me 'Senior' makes us seem rather distant."

"Alright, Old Ilex." Wang Dong'er readily changed how she addressed him. "Do you mean you can discover the principle behind how these soul beasts form spirit rings?"

"No." Electrolux first denied Wang Dong'er's guess before continuing, "For now, I am still unable to investigate the principle behind it."

"However, I did discover something rather interesting."

"I would like to hear it." Wang Dong'er withdrew her martial soul and gestured for Xiao Xiao to wait before listening carefully to Electrolux's explanation.

"Within those things you call spirit rings, the souls of soul beasts lie hidden."

"Hidden souls?" Wang Dong'er suddenly thought of the Great Master.

Yu Xiaogang, who styled himself the Great Master, claimed to have studied theory his entire life. Yet he had not even known that absorbing a Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Ring would cause Soul Shock; Xiao Wu had needed to remind him before he learned of it.

Had Tang San not possessed his own cheat, Yu Xiaogang would probably have turned him into an idiot.

However, present-day Shrek had filled in this gap based on the Great Master's work, Ten Core Competencies of Martial Soul, and it had already been covered in class.

The need to beware of Soul Shock when absorbing a Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Ring had also become another of Yu Xiaogang's theories, "saving" generation after generation of young soul masters.

So-called Soul Shock referred to the special ability produced by the lingering soul of a high-level soul beast upon its death.

Generally speaking, only soul beasts older than ten thousand years possessed such a special ability.

Therefore, soul masters would only choose to absorb Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Rings after reaching Rank 50, when their bodies and Spiritual Power had both improved to a certain extent and they possessed strong resistance to the energy impact of spirit rings and Soul Shock.

But Electrolux's words now were equivalent to expanding the concept of Soul Shock even further.

Originally, soul masters had naturally assumed that since only soul beasts over ten thousand years old possessed the ability to cause Soul Shock, soul beasts below that age clearly did not possess such an ability and thus had no "lingering souls."

Now, that assumption had been shattered.

Wang Dong'er explained Soul Shock to Electrolux. After pondering for a long while, Electrolux finally replied, "From my observations, your world's research into souls and Spiritual Power is not sufficiently thorough."

"Or rather, perhaps powerful experts did discover it in the past but chose not to reveal it. After all... it does not seem to be important information to the people of your world."

"Absorbing low-level spirit rings is nearly risk-free anyway. What use would there be in saying it?"

"But this old man has done quite a bit of research into the path of the spirit and soul. In my view, this is precisely a promising direction for research."

"Wang Dong'er, let me ask you this. When soul masters absorb spirit rings, they absorb the refined energy within and turn it into their own. Naturally, this filters out the weaker soul power and other mixed energies."

"But if a soul beast's soul could be preserved while its spirit ring remained on the soul master, could that be considered a symbiotic relationship?"

Hearing Electrolux say this, Wang Dong'er could not help but feel impressed.

She had originally planned to discuss the Method of Soul Spirits with Electrolux after he awakened. Yet an accidental bout of Soul Hunting had caused Electrolux to directly propose the concept behind the Method of Soul Spirits.

Still, Wang Dong'er refuted Electrolux's idea. "Old Ilex, according to you, this would be a symbiotic relationship. But what I want to say is that only soul beasts older than ten thousand years have gained some intelligence. Do you think these low-level soul beasts would understand the meaning of such symbiosis?"

"Moreover, even for Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Beasts, after killing their long lives and then telling them to coexist with humans, whose lives are so brief, what would they think?"

"Correct." Electrolux's tone carried approval. "You have considered things very thoroughly. That is precisely why it is worth researching. The purpose of this research is to find a way to make these soul beasts understand symbiosis, or even become willing to coexist with soul masters."

Wang Dong'er shook her head slightly. "I'm afraid the possibility is not very high."

In the original work, Di Tian, the Silver Dragon King's right-hand man and the leader of Star Dou Forest, had indeed "understood" the meaning of soul spirits and formed a contract with Huo Yuhao.

But after ten thousand years had passed, what had become of Star Dou Forest?

Most of the soul beasts Di Tian had found who were willing to coexist as soul spirits had only chosen to take the gamble because their lifespans were nearing their end.

In the end, so long as soul masters still needed spirit rings and spirit bones to advance, there would be an inherently irreconcilable conflict between soul masters and soul beasts.

"Still, what you said is indeed right, Old Ilex. This is a direction worth researching."

"We have talked for quite a while. Return quickly. When we are somewhere secluded, this old man will discuss it with you further." Leaving behind those words, Electrolux fell silent once more.

Wang Dong'er casually inspected the Wind Baboon's corpse before heading back to the group.

"What is it, Dong'er? What just happened?" Xiao Xiao immediately came over and asked with concern.

"Nothing. I simply thought of a few things. Let's continue looking for soul beasts."

Rock Crushing Turtle, Cauldron's Shockwave

"Look! It's a Rock Crushing Turtle!"

Xiao Xiao pointed at the giant turtle beside a rock in the swamp.

The giant turtle's body was yellowish-green. Its shell was thick and heavy, covered in moss, yellow mud, and the like, while nine spiral patterns could vaguely be seen hidden beneath them.

After searching for an entire day, they had encountered quite a few soul beasts along the way. However, either the species had been unsuitable or their cultivation had been too low; none had been fit to serve as Xiao Xiao's second spirit ring. Now, with Huo Yuhao's Mental Detection, they had finally found such a swamp.

The Rock Crushing Turtle not only possessed the earth attribute, but also carried a heavy, steadfast aura much like Xiao Xiao's Three Lives Soul Suppressing Cauldron.

Ordinary soul beasts could neither bite through the Rock Crushing Turtle's heavy shell nor avoid being affected by its innate ability. They would easily become bogged down in the swamp, allowing the Rock Crushing Turtle to escape with ease.

Just as a Mandala Snake's cultivation could be judged by its length before it reached a thousand years, a Rock Crushing Turtle's cultivation before a thousand years could be judged by the spiral patterns on its shell. Every hundred years, another spiral pattern would grow on the Rock Crushing Turtle's shell.

The Rock Crushing Turtle before Wang Dong'er and the others had nine spiral patterns, meaning it was exactly a nine-hundred-year soul beast.

Huo Yuhao recalled what he had learned at Shrek Academy and could not help but say, "I remember the lesson saying that, according to Great Master Yu Xiaogang's theory, the maximum Soul Ring Age a Soul Master can absorb for their second ring is seven hundred and sixty-four years."

"Forget that bullshit theory." Wang Dong'er waved a hand casually. Seeing Cai Kun still lingering in the distance behind them, she said to Xiao Xiao, "Xiao Xiao, your martial soul is already incredibly powerful. Now that the Mysterious Water Pill and soul bone have enhanced your physical condition, an ordinary person's limit is no problem for you at all. Try this nine-hundred-year Rock Crushing Turtle."

As for taking a thousand-year Soul Ring as the second ring like Wang Dong'er had, aside from Huo Yuhao, that cheater, almost no one else could replicate it.

Wang Dong'er had been taken to the Clear Sky Sect from a young age and fed all kinds of Whale Rubber supplements. Her talent had long since been cultivated to the highest level. Still, to prevent any accidents during Tang Wutong's soul descent ritual, the Sky Azure Bull Python and Titan Giant Ape had curbed Wang Dong'er's cultivation after she absorbed her second Soul Ring.

If the soul descent ritual had not been interrupted and instead benefited Wang Dong'er, then on the day she enrolled at Shrek Academy, she would not have possessed twenty-third-rank Soul Power, but only twenty-first-rank Soul Power.

"Can... can I really do it?" Xiao Xiao muttered to herself.

"Relax. Believe in yourself." Wang Dong'er gently took Xiao Xiao's little hand, her warm body heat passing over and making Xiao Xiao's body suddenly relax.

"Mm, I'll definitely do my best!" Xiao Xiao nodded and summoned the Three Lives Soul Suppressing Cauldron.

Huo Yuhao shared Mental Detection Sharing with the two of them. The dazzling Light Goddess Butterfly reappeared, and Wang Dong'er directly unleashed her second soul skill, Butterfly God's Light.

Against a big turtle shell like the Rock Crushing Turtle's, the Winged Scythe Blade was not particularly useful, but the explosions from Butterfly God's Light were quite effective.

Golden patterns of light began to gleam across the butterfly wings, gathering into balls of light that scattered toward the Rock Crushing Turtle.

Before the Rock Crushing Turtle could discover Wang Dong'er and the others, those balls of light had already reached its side and exploded instantly.

Boom! Boom! Boom—

The successive explosions blasted yellow mud all over the swamp where the Rock Crushing Turtle stood. Fortunately, Wang Dong'er was airborne and bombarding it from a distance, so none of it splashed onto her.

At the same time, Xiao Xiao sent out the Three Lives Soul Suppressing Cauldron. It split into three and streaked rapidly toward the Rock Crushing Turtle.

"Nine Cauldrons Sealing Origin Array!" Xiao Xiao cried out. The three great cauldrons trembled, splitting into three once more and becoming nine Soul Suppressing Cauldrons that descended around the Rock Crushing Turtle, as though an invisible net had trapped it.

"Wuu—" The Rock Crushing Turtle let out a miserable howl. The surrounding mud and water had originally been flung everywhere by its thrashing, but the instant Xiao Xiao deployed the Nine Cauldrons Sealing Origin Array, its four webbed feet became completely immobile.

Had it been a Ten-Thousand-Year Rock Crushing Turtle, Xiao Xiao would only have suffered backlash from deploying the Nine Cauldrons Sealing Origin Array. But this nine-hundred-year Rock Crushing Turtle clearly had no ability to resist.

"First soul skill, Cauldron's Shockwave!" Xiao Xiao's first Soul Ring shone with yellow light. The air within the Nine Cauldrons Sealing Origin Array instantly warped, as if it had been shattered by an invisible force.

Under the simultaneous shockwaves of the nine cauldrons, the Rock Crushing Turtle's shell shattered, revealing its twisted, ugly body.

A turtle's shell was connected to its skeleton. It could even be said that the shell was formed from the turtle's spine and ribs.

As a soul beast, the Rock Crushing Turtle had greater vitality. That attack did not kill it outright, but it had lost its most important protection.

Wang Dong'er swiftly flew behind Xiao Xiao, wrapped her arms around her, and casually pulled a sharp blade from her Storage Soul Tool before handing it to Xiao Xiao.

"I'll take you down in a moment. Seize the chance to cut off its neck. Don't let it make a last-ditch escape."

S-She was being held!

A blush rose to Xiao Xiao's face. She coughed twice and forcibly calmed herself, fixing her gaze on the Rock Crushing Turtle and tightly gripping the blade Wang Dong'er had given her.

This also seemed to be a soul tool. When Soul Power was infused into it, it even emitted a crimson blade aura.

The Light Goddess Butterfly's wings swept through the air as it dove toward the Rock Crushing Turtle. Xiao Xiao clenched the crimson blade in her hand. A flash of red light passed, and the Rock Crushing Turtle was instantly decapitated.

Fresh red blood flowed through the mud swamp. Above the Rock Crushing Turtle's corpse, a bright yellow ring of light slowly rose.

Wang Dong'er pulled out a square table from her Storage Soul Tool again and tossed it directly beside the Rock Crushing Turtle's corpse before gently setting Xiao Xiao down.

"All right, absorb the Soul Ring quickly. The commotion just now was a little too big. Once you finish absorbing it, we need to leave right away."

"Okay." Xiao Xiao nodded and hurriedly sat cross-legged atop the square table. Drawing the Rock Crushing Turtle's Soul Ring with her Soul Power, she merged the Three Lives Soul Suppressing Cauldron back into one and brought it above her head.

Drawn by Xiao Xiao, the bright yellow ring of light gradually moved toward the Three Lives Soul Suppressing Cauldron...

Absorbing a second Soul Ring was not particularly difficult. However, Xiao Xiao was absorbing a Soul Ring beyond an ordinary person's limit. Even with the soul bone and Mysterious Water Pill enhancing her physical condition, it could not be accomplished in one stroke.

Second by second, time passed. At noon, when the sunlight was at its fiercest, Xiao Xiao finally finished absorbing the Soul Ring.

Though her second Soul Ring was nine hundred years old, compared to Tang San absorbing a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Ring as his fourth ring, it was far easier. At the very least, she did not suffer spiritual-level damage such as Soul Shock.

"I succeeded, Dong'er!" Xiao Xiao excitedly hugged Wang Dong'er and took a deep breath. "If it weren't for you, I probably wouldn't have even dared to imagine something like this..."

"My second soul skill is called Cauldron's Swing. It can knock a target away while stunning them, so it counts as a control skill, though it can only affect one target."

"However, my first and second soul skills can be fused together and unleashed in a special way. I call it Cauldron's Shockwave."

Three-Eyed Golden Lion, Stand Users Attract One Another

Due to the nature of her martial soul, the soul skills Xiao Xiao obtained all possessed a certain degree of control.

For some reason, Zhou Yi in the original story had directly classified Xiao Xiao's martial soul as a Support System martial soul.

But judging from Wang Dong'er's current experience, aside from making people run, Zhou Yi had never considered tailoring a cultivation path based on her students' martial souls...

Perhaps freshmen who had not gone through the freshman assessment simply were not worth her attention.

Wang Dong'er spread her butterfly wings once more and flew into the air while carrying Xiao Xiao. She had no intention of retrieving the square table, leaving it where it was.

Just then, as though struck by sudden inspiration, Wang Dong'er looked in a certain direction.

"Hmm?" Seeing Wang Dong'er looking in one direction, Huo Yuhao, whose Mental Detection had not sensed even the slightest threat, could not help but gather his Mental Detection and probe in the direction Wang Dong'er was watching.

Yet even after extending it some distance in that direction, until his Spiritual Power was nearly depleted, Huo Yuhao found nothing strange.

"Dong'er, what are you looking at?" Xiao Xiao glanced around as well, but she did not find anything unusual.

In truth, Wang Dong'er did not know what she was looking at either. But perhaps because she was Blessed by Luck, she felt that something in that direction was drawing her in.

"Xiao Xiao, you and Huo Yuhao follow Teacher Cai Kun first. I'm going to check over there."

"Ah?" Xiao Xiao froze. "But, Dong'er, you're only at two rings too. That direction should lead deeper into the Star Dou Forest."

"Don't worry, I have ways to protect myself," Wang Dong'er said. "Trust me."

"No! Last time, Dong'er, you were the one who protected me and helped me escape. This time, I absolutely can't let you put yourself in danger again!" Xiao Xiao's attitude was resolute. "If there really is danger, I can use my soul skills to hold it off for a while. At the very least, I can give you a better chance to escape."

Wang Dong'er felt somewhat helpless.

It seemed the Ma Xiaotao incident had indeed left a huge psychological shadow on Xiao Xiao.

But even if Xiao Xiao had called for help too late, she actually had a way to deal with Ma Xiaotao herself. At most, she would have had to pay a rather heavy price afterward.

It felt like Xiao Xiao had changed a little...

For some reason, Wang Dong'er suddenly thought of the words "gravity-type."

No... surely not.

In the end, Wang Dong'er still did not agree to bring Xiao Xiao along. After all, this kind of sensation was so mysterious and elusive that she could not explain it well.

Watching Wang Dong'er's figure gradually fly away, Xiao Xiao's gaze followed her closely. Only after Wang Dong'er had vanished completely did she lower her head.

"Uh... what do we do now?" Sensing the incredibly oppressive atmosphere around Xiao Xiao, Huo Yuhao asked cautiously.

"Dong'er told us to wait here first. If she still hasn't returned after two hours, we'll go back to the carriage."

After saying that, Xiao Xiao paused for a moment before continuing, "Huo Yuhao, when the time comes, you and Teacher Cai Kun should return to Shrek Academy and ask for help. Dong'er is from the Clear Sky Sect. Shrek Academy wouldn't dare ignore this."

"What about you?" Huo Yuhao asked instinctively.

"Me? Of course I'm going to find Dong'er," Xiao Xiao said as though it were only natural.

Meanwhile, having already flown beyond the swamp region, Wang Dong'er maintained a low altitude as she followed that strange sensation deeper into the forest.