Xu Sanshi Enters the Fray

Seeing Mu Xuanheng unconscious and severely injured, Xuan Zi was consumed by rage and left not a single survivor.

Xuan Zi brought Mu Xuanheng back to the Sea God Pavilion for treatment.

With Elder Zhuang, a healing-type master, present, Mu Xuanheng recovered very quickly.

"Old man Xuan Zi! What were you doing? A Soul Saint, several Soul Kings, a Soul Ancestor, and a Soul Elder—all Evil Soul Masters—plus a thousand-year-old One-Horned Dragon and a Dark Evil God Tiger. Whose idea of a life-or-death trial involves this?" Mu Xuanheng was furious to the point of lightheadedness.

He had only been a one-ring Soul Master at the time.

Mu En and Elder Zhuang immediately began to sternly reprimand Xuan Zi from the sidelines.

The damage a single Evil Soul Master Soul Saint could cause was incomparable.

"Xuan Zi, I know your martial soul needs to eat. But you must consider Xuanheng. If you don't learn your lesson this time, will you wait until you take a group of inner court disciples out and let them all die before you finally learn?"

"Elder Mu, I..." Xuan Zi knew it was his own fault; that Mu Xuanheng had survived such a lineup was purely due to his hardiness.

"You are not to leave the Sea God Pavilion for a while. Go into seclusion." Mu En issued the order; he didn't demand that he reach the limit, but he needed to see growth.

The two old men were once again surrounding him, but this time, Elder Zhuang had replaced Xuan Zi.

"A Soul Grand Master not yet eight years old, and with a thousand-year second ring at that—you can consider this a blessing in disguise."

Elder Zhuang praised Mu Xuanheng, noting that this strength was far superior to any new student.

Mu En did not ask about the effects of his soul skills, but instead asked about his experiences along the way.

One ring killing three, holding his own against four, gambling his life to slay the evil tiger, and a desperate escape—the two old men listened with their hearts in their throats.

"I really should have forced Xuan Zi into closed-door seclusion." Such a good child, nearly dying because of Xuan Zi's flaws.

Mu Xuanheng took out a small pagoda: "This is the Soul Tool of the Evil Soul Master. By the way, it seems they have an organization."

He knew this wretched organization was the Holy Spirit Cult. As a youth raised under the red flag, he could not accept doing the things that Evil Soul Masters did.

Moreover, he felt extreme revulsion toward such an organization and firmly believed it should be completely destroyed.

Mu En accepted the pagoda; such an evil Soul Tool was indeed not suitable for Mu Xuanheng to keep.

"Was your second soul ring from that Dark Evil God Tiger?" Mu En spotted the blind spot; after the evil tiger was killed in the incident, Mu Xuanheng had used his second soul skill to strengthen himself.

Elder Zhuang checked his body again and only relaxed after confirming there were no issues.

"The first ring was a Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear, and the second was a Dark Evil God Tiger. Both are powerful, top-tier soul beasts." The two could not stop sighing; he was too monstrous.

This couldn't even be described as talent; he was a peerless monster rarely seen in ten thousand years.

"Your second soul skill?"

Mu Xuanheng: "Phantom Dragon Demon Body." Because Elder Zhuang was present, he used a pseudonym. Mu En's expression did not change, indicating he understood Mu Xuanheng's choice.

"The general effect is a doubling of all attributes, and the ability to fly. Dragon Qi manifests around the body, providing a certain degree of damage reduction."

The two listened to the introduction, their expressions quite spectacular.

Although the soul skill had no special effects, it won out because the numerical values were far too overpowered.

There was no need to demonstrate such a strengthening skill.

The two old men told him to get some good rest.

Consequently, he also relaxed for over half a month.

Every day, he would just wander around Shrek when he had nothing to do.

Occasionally, some inner court students would come to tease him. He had a lot of fun.

Bei Bei had already started school for a while, so he had one less playmate.

All he could do was cultivate.

After reaching level 20, the improvement of his soul power slowed down.

He wasn't in a hurry, after all, he was still truly very young.

The dull days continued; training and cultivation were all paving the way for the future.

One day, Bei Bei sought him out.

"Hmm? Help you teach someone a lesson? Who is it?"

"Xu Sanshi, a turtle who loves to hide inside his turtle shell."

???

Mu Xuanheng hadn't expected these two to meet so early. It was no wonder the two had such a good relationship.

What else was there to say? Let's do it!

It was just beating a turtle; what could be so difficult about that?

Xu Sanshi looked at the Mu Xuanheng that Bei Bei had brought over: "Bei Bei, this is the person you brought? Is he even ten years old yet?"

"Xu Sanshi, don't look at the fact that Xuanheng is only eight. But you shouldn't underestimate him."

The corner of Xu Sanshi's mouth twitched: "Hey, hey, hey, I don't bully children, pick someone else."

Mu Xuanheng couldn't tolerate this: "Bullying children? Just wait, don't go begging for mercy later."

"Ha, you want me to admit defeat? Come onto the Soul Fighting Platform. If I can lose to you, I'll give you a Mystic Water Pill!"

Mu Xuanheng lost interest the moment he heard that. What use did he have for a Mystic Water Pill? He had already eaten them, and special ones at that.

Bei Bei didn't need one either; he had obviously eaten one before as well.

"I don't want it."

"You haven't even won yet, and you're already saying you don't want it? You're quite shameless."

Mu Xuanheng: "If I win, do you dare to agree to one request of mine?"

"What request?"

"I haven't thought of it yet."

The private agreement was established, and the two stepped onto the Soul Fighting Platform.

The referee teacher looked at Mu Xuanheng's age: "Are you sure you want to soul fight?" Although he knew of Mu Xuanheng's existence, he really didn't think he could beat the second-year Xu Sanshi.

Mu Xuanheng: "It's fine, teacher. Let's begin."

The referee teacher announced: "The match begins."

Xu Sanshi was the first to activate his martial soul, his Xuanming Turtle.

"Defense-type battle soul master, Xu Sanshi. Little kid, don't go crying later, okay?"

Two yellow soul rings lit up: "My soul power is level 29. I'll be a Soul Elder before third grade."

At this time, Xu Sanshi and Bei Bei didn't have much fame yet, and the spectators in the arena were just curious onlookers who had come to watch. They could never have imagined how things would unfold today.

"Thirteen years old, right? I'll return those same words to you—don't you go crying later."

Without waiting for Xu Sanshi to retort, he activated his Chaofeng martial soul: "Assault-type battle soul master, Mu Xuanheng. Please advise."

One yellow and one purple soul ring dazzled the entire arena.

The curious spectators stood up in disbelief. The child on the stage hadn't even entered Shrek yet, but his soul power was already higher than some of the new students. And then there was that soul ring configuration.

"The second soul ring is a thousand-year one? How is that possible?"

"Nothing is impossible. You'd better be careful."

The Chaofeng Dragon Claw lunged forward with lightning speed. Xu Sanshi felt a sense of suppression from the martial soul and raised his shield to resist, but he was nearly knocked out of bounds by a single claw.

Silence descended. Xu Sanshi had just started to make a name for himself at Shrek, and no one could believe what was happening before their eyes.

"I shouldn't have held back, it seems." Mu Xuanheng looked up at Xu Sanshi: "Sorry, I underestimated you."

Xu Sanshi's eyes were filled with shock. He had seen similar soul skills before, specifically Bei Bei's Thunder Dragon Claw, but that hadn't affected him much. Yet, Mu Xuanheng had made him feel pain with just one claw.

And judging by his words, he had even gone easy on him.

"Watch out, Xu Sanshi."

Xu Sanshi raised his shield, intending to use Xuanming Shock to defend against the close-combat Mu Xuanheng. But this time, Mu Xuanheng unleashed a long-range claw.

The dragon claw mark grabbed Xu Sanshi. He rarely used this control effect because he usually faced soul masters far stronger than himself, but it was a super-effective move against Xu Sanshi.

Mu Xuanheng kicked him out of the ring.

There was no thunderous applause, only a deafening silence.

The referee teacher announced: "Mu Xuanheng wins."

He crouched down by the side of the arena: "Do you want to fight again?"

Xu Sanshi: "No more fighting. I yield."