[The scene shifted, and you arrived in Xingluo City.]
[This time, you were the captain of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy's reserve team.]
[Since Shrek had always beaten them in past tournaments, leaving them stuck with the title of "perennial runner-up," your team's treatment wasn't bad, but it wasn't particularly prestigious, either.]
[The preliminary rounds began with a brutal knockout stage.]
[Your opponent was Ling'ao Academy, whose strongest member was only a Soul King. A weakling at that level wasn't worth your time.]
[You sat in the rest area, perfectly at ease.]
["Captain! Let me handle this! I'll bring glory to the academy!"]
[When Meng Hongchen saw that you weren't going to compete, her eyes lit up like stars. This was a perfect chance to impress you!]
[Anyone with eyes could tell that the little princess of the Hongchen Family wasn't really interested in the competition—she had her sights set on you, her captain.]
[There was no suspense. Meng Hongchen tore through the opposition, and the Sun Moon Team advanced with ease.]
[With three days until the next round, you suggested a visit to the Starlight Auction House to kill some time.]
[Of course, Meng Hongchen stuck close behind you like a little tail, grinning from ear to ear.]
[Talk about a small world.]
[At the auction house entrance, you ran into people from Shrek Academy.]
[Those guys in dark green uniforms looked at you with disdain and arrogance.
In their eyes, Soul Engineers were a bunch of nouveau riche who relied on drugs and external tools, and knew nothing of the true glory of being a Soul Master.]
["A bunch of idiots who only know how to fiddle with scrap metal," someone muttered.]
[Your teammates bristled at once and wanted to rush over and confront them.]
[You raised a hand to stop them, a cold smile tugging at your lips. "Ignore them. A lion never turns around for a barking dog. When we meet on the field, I'll show them exactly how red the flowers can be."]
[You entered a private box, and the auction began.]
[The early lots were nothing special. Then a carving knife radiating a vicious aura appeared—the Soul-Eating Carving Knife, also known as the Life-Giving Carving Knife!]
[At last, your eyes showed a flicker of interest.]
[Though it was a vicious blade, once purified, it would become Gold of Life, which could be of great use to Electrolux.]
[A kindness repaid a hundredfold. Elder Yi had helped you so much; you had to get this knife.]
["Six hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins!"]
[You immediately named an astronomical price.]
[The whole room erupted. Everyone thought you'd gone mad. Who would spend six hundred thousand on a cursed blade that could turn on its owner?]
[Meng Hongchen was so anxious she stamped her feet. "Oh, Captain! If you want a famous blade, I can ask Grandpa to get you an even better one. Why buy this piece of junk?"]
[Beside her, Xiao Hongchen clutched his chest, looking as though he couldn't believe his sister was growing up and leaving him behind. He nearly spat blood on the spot.]
[After securing the carving knife, you continued to wait.]
[But the auction ended without the treasure that was supposed to be the grand finale—the Snow Empress Embryo—ever appearing!]
[You knitted your brows, a sense of foreboding rising in your heart.]
"???"
Su Chen stared at the simulation panel, utterly bewildered.
"Where's the Snow Empress? Where's my huge Snow Empress egg?"
"Could my previous simulations have changed the chain of events, triggering a butterfly effect that kept the Snow Empress from being captured by Mingde Hall?"
If that was the case, you'd be taking a huge loss!
[After thinking it over, you realized that the Snow Empress Embryo was supposed to appear at a different auction, not this one.]
[So you returned to the hotel.]
[In any case, the Snow Empress Embryo would end up in Mingde Hall's hands eventually.]
[You handed the Soul-Eating Carving Knife to Electrolux.
Nourished by the Gold of Life, Electrolux not only awoke from his slumber but also stabilized his soul. He even used the energy left over to cleanse and strengthen your body.]
[Your bottleneck loosened!]
[Quasi-Soul King! Once you obtained your fifth Soul Ring, you'd become a true Soul King!]
[When Elder Ma, the teacher leading your team, heard the good news, he was overjoyed. "Excellent! Excellent! Excellent! I'll take you to Sunset Forest right away. We have to find you a top-notch Soul Ring!"]
[At dawn the next day, you quietly left Xingluo City and hurried toward Sunset Forest at full speed.]
[However, you didn't notice the pair of murky, greedy eyes watching you from a shadowy corner.]
[The eyes belonged to a disheveled old man. Holding a giant chicken leg, he followed you with a lecherous grin, taking a bite as he went.]
["Be careful. A rat is following us."]
[Electrolux's aged voice sounded in your mind.]
[Your heart tightened as you immediately guessed who was behind you.]
[The deputy head of the Shrek Inspection Team, Taotie Douluo—Xuan Zi!]
[With your keen senses, a playful smile suddenly tugged at your lips.]
["An old acquaintance is here."]
[Using Spiritual Sharing, you told Elder Ma, who was beside you, that Xuan Zi was tailing you.]
["What?! Taotie Douluo Xuan Zi? A level 98 Super Douluo?!"]
[At your words, Elder Ma's face went deathly pale.]
[If someone that powerful had their sights on them, did Shrek Academy intend to silence them? In this wilderness, it was the perfect Land of Buried Bones!]
["Don't panic, Elder Ma. Just watch what I do."]
[You patted Elder Ma on the shoulder, signaling him to stay calm.]
[Come on, you could beat up Xuan Zi as easily as swatting a weakling right now.
Since the old geezer had come looking for a beating, you'd be doing him a disservice if you didn't teach him a lesson. You couldn't let his long journey just to hand you a kill go unrewarded!]
[In the Spiritual Sea, Electrolux spoke up as well.]
["Child, do you need me to step in? Though I'm only a wisp of a remnant soul now, Gold of Life is nourishing me. I can still drive off a little Taotie without trouble."]
["No need, Elder Yi. You can rest. I can handle something this minor myself."]
[You shook your head, a trace of amusement flashing in your eyes.]
[Several days later, deep in Sunset Forest.]
[You carefully picked out a six-ten-thousand-year-old spirit-type Soul Beast—the Silver Giant Tree.]
[With Elder Ma's full assistance, the Soul Beast was soon on its last legs.]
[You stepped forward and finished it off with one slash.]
[A black Soul Ring slowly rose, gleaming enticingly.]
[You didn't rush to absorb it. Instead, you discreetly glanced toward the forest in the distance.]
[There, a pair of greedy, venomous eyes stared fixedly at you.]
[It was Xuan Zi!]
["A sixty-thousand-year Soul Ring? Has this kid lost his mind?!"]
[Xuan Zi, hiding in the shadows, stared in astonishment.]
[As far as he knew, this kid was at most a Soul King. How dare he try to absorb a sixty-thousand-year Soul Ring above his level? Was he tired of living?]
["Wait... Could this kid have already reached Soul Emperor? That's an absurd rate of cultivation!"]
[Jealousy gnawed at Xuan Zi's heart like a poisonous snake.]
[On his way to Xingluo City, he'd run into a level-fifty Evil Soul Master.
The other guy had actually pretended to be a candy seller, then ambushed him!]
[As a result, one official team member had died and six had been gravely injured. Xuan Zi had already been furious, with no one to take it out on.]
[Then he'd seen you, a level-fifty Soul King, and become even angrier.]
[Just like that damned Evil Soul Master, you were a level-fifty Soul King!]
[You were both just as deserving of death!]
[Suddenly, a vicious idea came to him.]
["Heh heh heh... Since you're asking for it, don't blame me for giving you a little push."]
[Xuan Zi grinned lecherously as he gnawed on his chicken leg.]
["When you're at the crucial point of absorbing the Soul Ring, I'll release just a little pressure to disrupt your mental energy..."]
["At best, you'll suffer a cultivation deviation. At worst, your body will explode! Even if you survive, you'll be crippled!"]
["I won't have to shoulder the disgrace of killing a genius, and I'll still destroy a genius of the Sun Moon Empire. Perfect! I really am a genius!"]
["Evil people of the Sun Moon Empire! You killed a Soul Beast, and now you want to absorb its Soul Ring too? You can't have everything your way! You've earned your death!"]
[Xuan Zi was giddy with excitement, already imagining you with shattered meridians, spitting blood.]
Before you continue