There are not many opportunities left to bully Xuan Zi.

[The scene shifts, and you arrive in Xingluo City.]

[This time, your identity is the captain of the reserve team for the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy.]

[Because the academy has always been overshadowed by Shrek Academy in past competitions, bearing the label of "perennial runner-up," your treatment is decent, but hardly prestigious.]

[The preliminary rounds begin, and the first stage is a brutal knockout format.]

[Your opponents are Ling'ao Academy, whose strongest member is merely a Soul King. Such small fry aren't even worth your effort.]

[You sit in the rest area, calm and composed.]

["Captain! Let me go! I want to win glory for the academy!"]

[Seeing you remain seated, Meng Hongchen's eyes light up like stars. This is a golden opportunity for her to show off in front of you!]

[Anyone with eyes can see that this little princess of the Hongchen Family has motives beyond the competition; she is interested in you, the captain.]

[Without any suspense, Meng Hongchen dominates the match, and the Sun Moon Team advances easily.]

[With three days until the next round, having nothing better to do, you suggest visiting the Starlight Auction House.]

[Meng Hongchen naturally follows you like a little tail, grinning and sticking to your side.]

[Enemies often cross paths on narrow roads.]

[At the entrance of the auction house, you run into people from Shrek Academy.]

[The group in dark green uniforms looks at you with eyes full of disdain and arrogance. In their eyes, soul engineers are just nouveau riche who rely on drugs and external objects, having no understanding of what true soul master honor is.]

["A bunch of guys who only know how to tinker with scrap metal," someone sneers under their breath.]

[Your teammates bristle instantly, wanting to rush forward to argue.]

[You raise a hand to stop them, a cold smirk curling your lips: "No need to pay them any mind. A lion never turns around when a dog barks. Once we reach the arena, I will show them exactly why the flowers are so red."]

[Entering the private box, the auction begins.]

[The earlier items are unremarkable, until that carving knife exuding a fierce, malevolent aura appears—the Soul-Eating Carving Knife (Life-Giving Carving Knife)!]

[Your eyes finally show a flicker of interest.]

[Although this thing is a cursed blade, once purified, it becomes the Gold of Life, which is of great use to Electrolux.]

[A drop of water received in need should be repaid with a gushing spring. Electrolux has helped you so much; you must secure this knife.]

["Six hundred thousand gold soul coins!"]

[You state a sky-high price immediately.]

[The entire hall is in an uproar! Everyone thinks you've gone mad—spending six hundred thousand on a cursed blade that backfires on its owner?]

[Meng Hongchen is so anxious she stomps her feet: "Oh, Captain! If you want a famous blade, I'll go back and beg my grandfather to get you a better one. Why buy this piece of junk!"]

[Beside her, Xiao Hongchen clutches his chest with an expression of "a daughter grown up is hard to keep," nearly vomiting blood on the spot.]

[After securing the carving knife, you continue to wait.]

[However, until the end of the auction, the item that should have been the grand finale—the Snow Empress Embryo—never appears!]

[Your brows knit together, and a sense of foreboding rises in your heart.]

"???"

Su Chen looks at the simulation panel, completely bewildered.

"Where is the Snow Empress? Where did my massive Snow Empress egg go?"

"Could it be that my previous simulation changed causality, causing a butterfly effect that prevented the Snow Empress from being captured by Mingde Hall?"

If that's the case, this is a huge loss!

[You think it over; it seems it wasn't this auction, but a different one.]

[Therefore, you return to the hotel.]

[In any case, the Snow Empress Embryo will eventually end up in the hands of Mingde Hall.]

[You hand the Soul-Eating Carving Knife over to Electrolux. Under the nourishment of the Gold of Life, Electrolux not only awakens from his slumber, but his soul becomes more stable, and he even uses the remaining energy to cleanse your marrow and refine your bones.]

[Your bottleneck loosens!]

[Quasi-Soul King! As soon as you obtain your fifth soul ring, you will be a true Soul King!]

[Your team leader, Elder Ma, hears the good news and is overjoyed: "Good! Good! Good! I will take you to the Sunset Forest right now; we must find you a top-tier soul ring!"]

[The next morning, you quietly leave Xingluo City and head toward the Sunset Forest at full speed.]

[However, you do not notice that in a dark corner, a pair of murky yet greedy eyes are fixed upon you.]

[It is a disheveled old man, holding a large chicken leg, munching on it while lecherously following behind you.]

["Be careful, there is a rat following us."]

[In your mind, the aged voice of Electrolux rings out.]

[Your heart skipped a beat as you instantly guessed the identity of the person who had arrived.]

[The Vice Captain of the Shrek Inspection Team, the Taotie Douluo—Xuan Zi!]

[With your keen perception, a playful arc suddenly curled at the corners of your mouth.]

["An old acquaintance has arrived."]

[Through spiritual sharing, you relayed the message that Xuan Zi was tailing you to Elder Ma by your side.]

["What?! The Taotie Douluo Xuan Zi? A level 98 Super Douluo?!"]

[Upon hearing this, Elder Ma's face turned deathly pale in an instant.]

[Being targeted by a powerhouse of this caliber—could it be that Shrek Academy intended to silence you? In this desolate wilderness, it was practically the perfect place to be buried!]

["Don't panic, Elder Ma. Just watch how I handle this."]

[You patted Elder Ma on the shoulder, signaling him to stay calm.]

[Just kidding. Right now, bullying Xuan Zi would be as easy as crushing a vegetable. Since this old thing had delivered himself to your doorstep looking for a beating, you would be doing a disservice to his gesture of traveling thousands of miles to hand-deliver his head if you didn't loosen his skin for him!]

[Within your spiritual sea, Electrolux spoke up.]

["Child, do you need me to intervene? Although I am currently only a remnant soul, with the nourishment of the Gold of Life, driving away a mere Taotie is not a problem."]

["No need, Elder Electrolux. You rest; I can handle this small situation myself."]

[You shook your head, a glimmer of mockery flashing in your eyes.]

[A few days later, deep within the Sunset Forest.]

[You had carefully selected a spiritual-type soul beast with a cultivation of sixty thousand years—the Silver Giant Tree.]

[With Elder Ma's full cooperation, this soul beast was soon on the verge of death.]

[You stepped forward and finished it off with a single blade.]

[A black soul ring rose slowly, radiating an alluring luster.]

[You did not rush to absorb it, but instead glanced nonchalantly toward the dense forest in the distance.]

[There, a pair of greedy and venomous eyes were staring fixedly at this side.]

[It was none other than Xuan Zi!]

["A sixty-thousand-year soul ring? Is this kid crazy?!"]

[Hiding in the shadows, Xuan Zi watched in stunned silence.]

[As far as he knew, this kid's cultivation was at most a Soul King, right? To dare to absorb a sixty-thousand-year soul ring beyond his limits? Was he tired of living?]

["No... could it be that this kid has already broken through to become a Soul Emperor? This cultivation speed is simply monstrous!"]

[Jealousy gnawed at Xuan Zi's heart like a venomous snake.]

[He had been on his way to Xingluo City when he encountered a level 50 evil soul master. The opponent had actually played dumb and even set an ambush!]

[This resulted in one official team member dead and six severely injured. Xuan Zi, already furious, had nowhere to vent his anger.]

[Until he saw you, a level 50 Soul King, Xuan Zi became even angrier.]

[Just like that damned evil soul master, you were both level 50 Soul Kings!]

[You were both equally deserving of death!]

[Suddenly, a sinister thought surfaced in his mind.]

["Hehehe... since you are seeking your own death, don't blame this old man for giving you a push."]

[Xuan Zi gnawed on a chicken leg while revealing a lecherous grin.]

["At the critical moment when you are absorbing the soul ring, I only need to release a little bit of pressure to interfere with your spiritual power..."]

["At that point, at best you will suffer a backlash, and at worst you will explode and die! Even if you don't die, you will become a cripple!"]

["I won't have to bear the infamy of killing a genius, and I can destroy a genius of the Sun Moon Empire. How wonderful! I truly am a genius!"]

["You evil Sun Moon Empire person, you killed a soul beast and still want to absorb the soul ring? You want to have all the good things for yourself! You have already invited your own death!"]

[Xuan Zi was overjoyed in his heart, as if he could already see you with your meridians shattered and vomiting blood in a miserable state.]