Sea God Pavilion Meeting I

"Uh..." Dugu Lu stared blankly at Xu Jie, who was sitting on the ground absorbing his Soul Ring, unable to say a word. As the most gifted member of the Dugu Family in ten thousand years, he possessed Innate Full Soul Power, and upon awakening, his Martial Soul had been the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor rather than an ordinary Jade Phosphorous Serpent.

The confidence he had built up earlier had now been utterly shattered.

The Soul Ring pulsed.

Xu Jie opened his eyes. There was no joy at having absorbed the Soul Ring—only confusion, disappointment, and astonishment. After absorbing a Thousand-Year Soul Ring, his aura had not changed in the slightest. There was not even the faintest fluctuation indicating an increase in Soul Power.

Standing beside him, Zhou Yi naturally sensed the problem with Xu Jie. She frowned but said nothing more, merely saying, "Get ready!"

Then, with one in each hand, she lifted the two of them and flew directly out of the Star Dou Great Forest toward Shrek Academy.

The air struck the Soul Power barrier like blades.

Zhou Yi's expression grew increasingly grim. She suspected that, like Yu Xiaogang, one of Shrek Academy's founders ten thousand years ago, Xu Jie might have developed a Martial Soul defect.

Over the past ten thousand years, Shrek Academy had seen quite a few Soul Masters with Martial Soul defects. Some possessed powerful Martial Souls, but after breaking through Rank 30, their cultivation speed became exceedingly slow. They often spent their entire lives barely reaching Rank 40. Others, like Xu Jie, reached a certain rank and could never break through again.

Aside from Yu Xiaogang, who had obtained an immortal herb and managed to break through, all the others had fallen to the same fate of Martial Soul defects.

At dusk, outside the eastern gate of Shrek City—

Whoosh!

Like a meteor streaking through the night sky, an old woman descended from the air with two boys.

As Zhou Yi landed, the excessive depletion of her Soul Power made her stagger involuntarily, and she nearly fell to the ground.

"Teacher Zhou!" Xu Jie and Dugu Lu hurried forward to support Zhou Yi.

"I'm fine." Zhou Yi shook her head, her usual stern expression returning as she led the two into Shrek City and toward Shrek Academy.

Flying was forbidden above Shrek City.

Xu Jie and Dugu Lu followed silently behind Zhou Yi.

Although Dugu Lu still looked somewhat disappointed, he had already recovered inwardly. As the Dugu Family's only genius in ten thousand years whose Martial Soul had awakened as the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor, how could he be so easily discouraged?

He believed that as long as he could perfect the final flaw in the Poison Scripture passed down by his ancestors, he would absolutely become one of the strongest on the continent.

Xu Jie still wore a disappointed expression, but inwardly, he was not panicked in the slightest. He had long since run through countless simulations of what would happen next.

Upon reaching the entrance to Shrek Academy, Zhou Yi instructed Dugu Lu, "Dugu Lu, go back on your own first. Don't talk carelessly about what happened today."

"Understood, Teacher Zhou." Dugu Lu nodded heavily. Zhou Yi had already repeated it many times along the way.

Seeing Dugu Lu nod, Zhou Yi hurried off with Xu Jie toward Sea God Pavilion.

Half an hour later.

A faint mist drifted over the hazy Sea God Lake. Though thin, it blocked all the light coming from Sea God Island in the middle of the lake.

The thousand-year-old vegetation on Sea God Island bore many traces of time. Ancient buildings stood in orderly rows across the small hill at the island's center. A three-story wooden pavilion sat at the heart of the island like the moon surrounded by stars. Its body was brown, with a luster like grease.

Inside the large meeting room, an oval table stood in the center. Beside it was a half-grown boy with black hair and black eyes, a faint sun mark between his brows. His face was filled with "panic."

This was Xu Jie, whom Zhou Yi had brought into Sea God Pavilion.

A reclining chair stood beside Xu Jie. The old man seated in it looked at Xu Jie's panicked expression and said gently, "Don't be nervous. It's just a simple test."

Perhaps the old man's voice had a soothing effect on the soul. The panic on Xu Jie's face gradually faded, and his expression calmed.

"Are you ready?" the old man's gentle voice sounded again.

"Mm!" Xu Jie nodded heavily.

Seeing Xu Jie nod, the old man gently raised his right hand. Specks of golden fluorescence gathered at his fingertips, turning into a golden thread that connected to the pale yellow sun mark between Xu Jie's brows.

A group of elderly men and women stood around the long table, staring intently at the golden thread, each of them more or less tense.

A monster with an Ultimate Martial Soul, and one whose second Soul Ring was already a Thousand-Year Soul Ring—so long as he did not die prematurely, he would surely become a pillar of the academy in the future. And this monster was an orphan.

After confirming that Xu Jie truly had no connection to the Sun Moon Empire's imperial family, the academy immediately placed him on its list of key talents for future cultivation. This Soul Ring hunt had only taken place under Sea God Pavilion's instructions. It could be said that Dugu Lu had completely benefited from Xu Jie's good fortune.

Half an hour later, the old man withdrew his finger, and the golden thread dissolved into fluorescence and vanished.

"Ah..." The old man reclined in his chair and let out a soft sigh.

"Elder Mu, what's wrong?" An old man holding a chicken leg in his left hand and a wine gourd in his right hurriedly asked when Mu En remained silent in his reclining chair.

Although everyone else at the table was curious as well, none of them showed as much interest as Xuan Zi. After all, if even Mu En had no solution, then there truly was no solution.

"Ah..." Mu En sighed softly again. "Martial Soul Devours Soul Power."

Everyone at the table showed a trace of hope upon hearing this. Compared to other Martial Soul defects, Martial Soul Devours Soul Power was actually the easiest to resolve. As long as enough Soul Power was supplied for the Martial Soul to devour, the Soul Master could continue cultivating without much impact.

It was unlike a Martial Soul with an innate defect. Such Martial Souls could only be remedied with graded Heavenly Material, Earthly Treasure compatible with their attributes. But graded Heavenly Material, Earthly Treasure were already difficult to find, let alone ones with compatible attributes.

"Shaozhe, send this child out first!" The gentle voice sounded again, now carrying a hint of disappointment and helplessness.

"Yes, Teacher." Yan Shaozhe stood up and led the somewhat bewildered Xu Jie out of the Sea God Pavilion meeting hall, handing him over to Zhou Yi, who was waiting outside.

After sending Xu Jie out, Yan Shaozhe said nothing more and turned back inside.

"Xu Jie, what happened in there?" Zhou Yi looked gravely at Xu Jie, whose face was filled with disappointment, worry, and panic.

"Teacher Zhou, Elder Mu said it was 'Martial Soul Devours Soul Power.'" Xu Jie spoke with confusion in his eyes, repeating what he had heard earlier.

Zhou Yi frowned and stepped before Xu Jie, pressing her slender finger directly against the mark between his brows.

"Relax your mind."

Hearing this, Xu Jie immediately relaxed. A stream of pure white Soul Power, completely different from Mu En's, slowly flowed from Zhou Yi's body into Xu Jie's.