When Xuan Zi saw Mu Xuanheng unconscious and gravely injured, he flew into a rage and left no survivors.
Xuan Zi took Mu Xuanheng back to the Sea God Pavilion for treatment.
With Elder Zhuang, a healing-type Soul Master, there to help, Mu Xuanheng recovered quickly.
"Old Xuan Zi! What were you thinking? A Soul Saint, several Soul Kings, a Soul Ancestor, a Soul Elder, all Evil Soul Masters, plus a thousand-year-old One-Horned Dragon and a Dark Evil God Tiger. Who puts someone through a life-or-death trial like that?" Mu Xuanheng was so furious he could barely think straight.
He'd been a one-ring Soul Master at the time.
Mu En and Elder Zhuang immediately gave Xuan Zi a severe dressing-down.
An Evil Soul Master Soul Saint could cause immeasurable harm.
"Xuan Zi, I know your Martial Soul needs to feed. But you have to think about Xuanheng. If you don't learn your lesson from this, what's next? Will you take a whole group of inner court disciples out and only learn your lesson after they all die?"
"Elder Mu, I..." Xuan Zi knew this had been his fault. Mu Xuanheng had survived that lineup through sheer luck.
"You're not leaving the Sea God Pavilion for a while. Go into seclusion," Mu En ordered. He didn't expect Xuan Zi to reach the limit, but he did expect to see him improve.
Once again, two old men were gathered around him, but this time it was Elder Zhuang instead of Xuan Zi.
"An under-eight Soul Grandmaster with a thousand-year Second Soul Ring. You've certainly turned misfortune into a blessing."
Elder Zhuang praised Mu Xuanheng. His strength far surpassed even that of the new students.
Mu En didn't ask about the effects of his Soul Skills. Instead, he asked about everything that had happened along the way.
A one-ring Soul Master killing a three-ring Soul Master, standing up to a four-ring Soul Master, risking his life to kill the evil tiger, and making a desperate escape. The two old men were left with their hearts in their mouths..
"Xuan Zi should've been put in closed-door seclusion." What a good kid. He'd nearly died because of Xuan Zi's bad habits.
Mu Xuanheng took out a small tower. "This is the Evil Soul Masters' Soul Tool. Oh, and it seems like they have an organization, too."
He knew that rotten organization was the Holy Spirit Cult. As a boy raised under the red flag, he couldn't bring himself to do the things Evil Soul Masters did.
Besides, he despised organizations like that and firmly believed they should be wiped out completely.
Mu En took the small tower. Such an evil Soul Tool really wasn't suitable for Mu Xuanheng to keep.
"Was that Dark Evil God Tiger your Second Soul Ring?" Mu En had spotted the problem. After the evil tiger was killed during the incident, Mu Xuanheng had used his second Soul Skill to strengthen himself.
Elder Zhuang examined his body again and only relaxed when he found nothing wrong.
"First ring, Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear. Second ring, Dark Evil God Tiger. Both are powerful top-tier Soul Beasts." The two men couldn't help marveling at how monstrous his talent was.
"Genius" didn't begin to describe it. He was a peerless prodigy, one who appeared only once in ten thousand years.
"What's your second Soul Skill?"
Mu Xuanheng said, "Phantom Dragon Demon Body." Since Elder Zhuang was there, he used an alias. Mu En showed no reaction, indicating that he understood why Mu Xuanheng had done it.
"Basically, it doubles all my attributes and lets me fly. Dragon aura appears around me, and it offers some damage reduction."
The two men listened to his description, their expressions growing more and more colorful.
The Soul Skill didn't have any particularly special effects, but its numbers were absurdly high.
There wasn't much point in demonstrating a buffing skill like this.
The two old men told him to get some rest.
So he took it easy for half a month.
He spent his days with nothing to do but wander around Shrek.
Every now and then, some inner court students would come tease him. They all had a great time.
Bei Bei had already been back at school for a while, leaving him one playmate short.
All he could do was cultivate.
Once he reached level 20, his Soul Power started growing more slowly.
He wasn't in a hurry. After all, he really was still very young.
The dull days went on. Training and cultivation were all investments in the future.
One day, Bei Bei came to find him.
"Hm? You want me to teach someone a lesson? Who?"
"Xu Sanshi. He's a turtle who loves hiding in his shell."
???
Mu Xuanheng hadn't expected the two of them to meet so early. No wonder they got along so well.
What else was there to say? Let's do this!
It was just one turtle. How hard could it be?
Xu Sanshi looked at Mu Xuanheng, whom Bei Bei had brought along. "Bei Bei, this is the person you found? Is he even ten yet?"
"Xu Sanshi, don't let the fact that Xuanheng is only eight fool you. Don't underestimate him."
Xu Sanshi's mouth twitched. "Hey, hey, hey. I'm not picking on a kid. Find someone else."
Mu Xuanheng couldn't let that slide. "Picking on a kid? Just don't surrender later."
"Hah! You want me to surrender? Let's fight on the Soul Fighting Platform. If I lose to you, I'll give you a Mystic Water Pill!"
Mu Xuanheng immediately lost interest. What did he need a Mystic Water Pill for? He'd already had one, and it had been specially made for him.
Bei Bei didn't need one either. He'd already had one, of course.
"I don't want it."
"You haven't even won yet, and you're already saying you don't want it? What a shameless guy."
Mu Xuanheng said, "If I win, will you agree to one request?"
"What request?"
"I haven't decided yet."
They struck a private agreement, then the two of them stepped onto the Soul Fighting Platform.
The referee looked at Mu Xuanheng's age. "Are you sure you want to fight?" He knew Mu Xuanheng existed, but he really didn't think the boy could beat Xu Sanshi, a second-year student.
Mu Xuanheng said, "It's fine, Teacher. Let's start."
The referee announced, "The match begins."
Xu Sanshi was the first to activate his Martial Soul: the Xuanming Turtle.
"Defense-type Battle Soul Master, Xu Sanshi. Little guy, don't cry later."
Two yellow Soul Rings lit up. "My Soul Power is level 29. I'll become a Soul Elder before my third year."
At that point, Xu Sanshi and Bei Bei weren't very famous yet. The audience had only come to watch out of curiosity. They couldn't possibly have imagined what was about to happen.
"You're thirteen, right? I'll say the same thing back to you. Don't cry later."
Before Xu Sanshi could respond, Mu Xuanheng activated his Martial Soul, Chaofeng. "Power Attack System Battle Soul Master, Mu Xuanheng. Please, go easy on me."
A yellow and a purple Soul Ring blazed before the crowd.
Even the curious onlookers got to their feet in disbelief. The boy on the stage hadn't even enrolled at Shrek yet, but his Soul Power was already higher than that of some new students. And that Soul Ring combination—
"His second Soul Ring is a thousand years old? How is that possible?"
"Nothing's impossible. You'd better watch out."
Chaofeng Dragon Claw lunged forward with tremendous speed. Xu Sanshi felt his Martial Soul being suppressed, then raised his shield to block. The blow nearly sent him flying off the platform.
Silence fell. Xu Sanshi had only just made a name for himself at Shrek, and no one could believe what they'd just seen.
"I guess I shouldn't have held back." Mu Xuanheng looked up at Xu Sanshi. "Sorry. I underestimated you."
Xu Sanshi stared at him in shock. He'd seen a similar Soul Skill before: Bei Bei's Thunder Dragon Claw. But that hadn't affected him. Mu Xuanheng had struck him only once, and he'd already felt the pain.
And from the sound of it, Mu Xuanheng had still been holding back.
"Watch out, Xu Sanshi."
Xu Sanshi raised his shield, intending to use Xuanming Shock to fend off Mu Xuanheng at close range. But this time, Mu Xuanheng launched a ranged claw attack.
The dragon claw mark seized Xu Sanshi. Mu Xuanheng rarely used this crowd-control effect because his opponents were usually Soul Masters much stronger than he was. But against Xu Sanshi, it was especially effective.
Mu Xuanheng kicked him away.
There was no thunderous applause, only a deafening silence.
The referee announced, "Mu Xuanheng wins."
He crouched beside the arena. "Want to fight again?"
Xu Sanshi said, "No. I give up."
Before you continue