A World

Night.

Wang Zhi lay in bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.

After lunch, he had spent the entire afternoon studying his Martial Soul.

He summoned the ten Blank Masks and examined them from every angle, trying to communicate with them using Soul Power and command them with his mind.

Unfortunately, no matter what he tried, the ten Blank Masks showed no sign of changing.

They seemed like nothing more than ordinary masks, floating there and doing nothing else.

Wang Zhi couldn't accept that.

Even in the era of the Sun Moon Federation, with Soul Tool Technology advancing rapidly and Mechas and Soul Tools...

With new inventions appearing all the time, true power still belonged to Soul Masters.

That was because Soul Tool Technology still wasn't advanced enough to decide the outcome of a battle with a single strike.

If his Martial Soul really was ordinary, it meant he would never be able to join the ranks of the true elite.

But what could he do to make the masks change?

With that question on his mind, he gradually grew drowsy.

Before long, still lost in thought, Wang Zhi drifted off to sleep.

In his dream, through a haze, he seemed to glimpse a world.

A magnificent world.

There was no sky or earth, only endless darkness and shadow.

Deep within the shadows, countless laws seemed to intertwine, forming a Strange Space.

At the same time, many humanoid creatures moved about within it.

They were agile, darting through the shadows as if undergoing some kind of training.

But before Wang Zhi could get a clear look, everything before his eyes suddenly shattered.

He jolted awake and sat upright.

Sunlight streamed through the window, falling warmly across his blanket.

It was morning.

But Wang Zhi was left bewildered by everything he had seen in the dream.

That world...

What was it?

Why had he dreamed of such a place?

He looked down at his hands. Nothing had happened.

Was it just a dream?

Since Wang Zhi's talent had failed to impress the teachers at Shrek Academy, Wang Heng had to consider his son's schooling.

There was only one academy in all of Shrek City: Shrek Academy.

No other academy was allowed to establish itself in the city.

That was the rule of Shrek City—and of Shrek Academy.

As the continent's top academy, they had both the confidence and the strength to enforce it.

So, over breakfast that morning, Wang Heng brought the matter up with his wife and son.

"Xiao Zhi, your father attended Sea and Land Academy in Hailu City."

Wang Heng set down his chopsticks and looked at his son.

"Of course, Sea and Land Academy is an Intermediate Academy, and students start at nine."

"So for the first three years, you'll need to attend a Primary Academy in Hailu City."

"What do you think?"

Wang Zhi paused.

Sea and Land Academy?

He remembered that academy from the Original Work he'd read in his previous life.

It was where the Zhou Sisters studied. They could unleash the powerful Martial Soul Fusion Skill, Ice and Snow Forest.

That attack was astonishingly powerful. It had even left Tang Wulin seriously injured on the spot.

If Silver Dragon King Gu Yuena hadn't secretly helped him with her power,

Tang Wulin might have been done for.

And now his father was sending him there to study?

He thought it over quickly.

Hailu City was a coastal city under the jurisdiction of the Skysea Alliance, far from Shrek City.

But its educational resources were considered good for the entire East Sea Region—certainly better than those in the smaller cities.

Besides, entering Sea and Land Academy in three years meant he would be able to explore a much broader world.

After careful consideration, Wang Zhi gave his answer.

"Dad, I'll go."

Wang Heng nodded and was about to say something, but an urgent voice interrupted him.

"Heng, Zhier is only six!"

"How can you send him so far away to study by himself?"

Ling Lin set down her chopsticks, her eyes turning slightly red with worry. She looked at her son's young face, unable to bear the thought of letting him go.

Wang Heng had no choice. He took his wife's hand and gently explained,

"Lin'er, I don't have any other options."

"Xiao Zhi can't get into Shrek Academy, so he'll have to study somewhere else."

"But don't worry. I've already made arrangements."

"I had an old classmate at Sea and Land Academy. He's a teacher there now, and he'll look after Xiao Zhi."

"But..."

Ling Lin was still worried, and she hesitated.

Her son was only six. How could she, as his mother, feel at ease letting him go alone to a city so far away?

But then Wang Zhi spoke up.

"Mom, don't worry."

"I'll be fine on my own."

His voice was soft, but it carried a steadiness beyond his years.

Ling Lin looked at the determination in her son's eyes. At last, she sighed and stopped trying to dissuade him.

She knew what her eldest son was like. He'd been independent and level-headed from a young age. Once he made up his mind, not even nine oxen could drag him back.

Three years later.

Hailu City, Primary Academy.

Time flowed by quietly.

Three years earlier, Wang Zhi's family had come to Hailu City with his parents and completed his enrollment.

During those three years, he studied diligently at the Primary Academy and steadily cultivated his Soul Power.

Unlike other children his age, he never slacked off or grew impatient.

He completed his schoolwork on time each day, then continued meditating and cultivating when he got home in the evenings.

Over the three years, his Soul Power steadily increased until it finally reached level ten.

This was an important threshold.

Ten levels of Soul Power meant he could obtain his first Soul Spirit, condense his first Soul Ring, and officially become a One-Ring Soul Master.

That day, Wang Heng made the long journey from Shrek City to see him.

The Spirit Pagoda in Hailu City was among the finest in the East Sea Region, second only to the one in Skysea City, and could provide high-quality Soul Spirits.

Tomorrow was the day they would visit the Spirit Pagoda.

Night.

Wang Zhi lay on his dormitory bed with his eyes closed, but he didn't fall asleep right away.

Tomorrow, he would obtain a Soul Spirit.

Yet even now, he knew almost nothing about his Martial Soul.

Over the past three years, he had tried countless times to communicate with the ten Blank Masks, but had made no progress.

They were just like ordinary Tool Martial Souls: they could be summoned and put away, and that was all.

But could his Martial Soul really be ordinary?

He didn't believe it.

Drowsiness gradually overcame him.

Half-asleep, Wang Zhi once again drifted into a dream.

It was the same world.

The magnificent world formed from the Shadow Law.

But this time, he could see it more clearly.

In the endless dark space, countless black humanoid creatures darted, leaped, and trained.

They wore matching outfits.

Black bodysuits, masks covering their faces and leaving only their eyes exposed, and swords slung diagonally across their backs.

Those clothes...

That appearance...

Wang Zhi's pupils suddenly contracted.

He saw countless ninjas...

Within this world!