Double Pupil Martial Soul, Journey to the Body Sect

Shrek Academy, Academic Affairs Office.

The afternoon sun streamed through the enormous floor-to-ceiling windows.

It should have felt warm and pleasant, but at that moment, the air in the office seemed frozen, heavy with a suffocating gloom.

Du Weilun, the director of academic affairs, sat behind his desk with his fingers interlaced beneath his chin, his expression complicated as he looked at the boy across from him.

The boy appeared to be only eleven or twelve.

He was somewhat thin, and his faded, repeatedly washed school uniform hung loosely on him, as though a gust of wind could knock him over.

Most striking were his eyes—layer upon layer of thick white bandages covered them completely, blocking his vision.

He also gripped a black cane tightly in one hand.

The boy was named Liu Yuan. He was the orphaned son of two Shrek Academy teachers who had died in the line of duty during an Inspection Team mission.

"Liu Yuan..."

After a long silence, Du Weilun finally spoke.

His voice was low, carrying a trace of undisguised regret. "Following a decision made at the academy's senior meeting... you will have to leave Shrek starting tomorrow. Pack your things tonight and leave early tomorrow morning."

A young female teacher standing beside Du Weilun showed a flash of pity in her eyes.

She opened her mouth as though she wanted to say something, but after glancing at Du Weilun's stern profile, she ultimately lowered her head with a faint, helpless sigh.

Liu Yuan displayed neither shock nor anger.

He merely stood there quietly, his bandaged face turned toward Du Weilun, as if listening to a verdict he had known was coming.

"Is it because of my Soul Power Level?" Liu Yuan asked calmly.

Du Weilun sighed, rose to his feet, and walked around the desk to stand before Liu Yuan. His tone softened somewhat. "Liu Yuan, you should know Shrek's motto. We only cultivate monsters; we do not take in ordinary people."

"You are already twelve this year. By the academy's standards, someone your age must have at least Soul Power Level fifteen and possess one soul ring. But you..."

Du Weilun paused, his gaze falling on Liu Yuan's bandaged eyes, full of regret. "Your Innate Soul Power was as high as level nine. You should have been one of heaven's favored. Unfortunately, that accident six years ago..."

Six years ago, a disaster had changed Liu Yuan's fate.

At the time, Liu Yuan had just awakened his Martial Soul, the Spirit Eye. His innate level-nine Soul Power had drawn considerable attention.

Yet during a subsequent deep meditation session, his Martial Soul underwent an extremely rare "mutation."

The result of that mutation had been catastrophic.

He went blind.

As a Spirit Eye Soul Master, losing his sight was itself an enormous irony.

Even worse, his blinded eyes seemed to have turned into a bottomless pit. Over the past six years, they had greedily devoured every trace of Soul Power Liu Yuan painstakingly cultivated.

For six whole years, Liu Yuan's Soul Power had remained at level nine without advancing a single step.

Not only that, but because his Soul Power had been drained for so long, his body had become exceptionally frail, leaving him looking constantly sickly.

"The academy has observed you for six years." Du Weilun's voice was somewhat dry.

"We had always hoped that your Martial Soul mutation would turn around, that it was a process of accumulating strength before a breakthrough."

"But now, it seems... this mutation is malignant. Your Martial Soul can basically be considered crippled."

So that was how it was...

Liu Yuan nodded slightly, a self-mocking curve appearing at the corner of his lips.

"I understand, Director Du." Liu Yuan loosened his grip on the cane, his tone indifferent. "Thank you to the academy for taking care of me these past six years. I will leave."

Du Weilun found Liu Yuan's overly calm response even harder to bear.

He had expected the child to cry, make a scene, beg, or even invoke his parents, who had both died while carrying out a mission for the Shrek Inspection Team, to win sympathy.

But he did not.

"Liu Yuan, you..." Du Weilun began, then stopped.

"If there is nothing else, I will return first." Liu Yuan gave a slight bow in a standard student salute, then skillfully used his cane to feel his way forward and turned toward the door.

Tap, tap, tap...

The sound of the cane striking the floor echoed through the empty office, growing more distant until the slender figure vanished entirely at the end of the corridor.

Not long after Liu Yuan left, the office door, which had been tightly shut, was pushed open again.

A strong smell of alcohol mixed with the greasy aroma of roast chicken instantly flooded the room.

An old man wearing a worn gray robe and sporting a messy head of hair walked in.

He held a huge purplish-red wine gourd in one hand and a greasy chicken leg in the other, eating and drinking without the slightest concern for appearances.

It was Xuan Zi, an Elder Su of Shrek Academy's Sea God Pavilion, known as the Taotie Douluo.

"That kid left?" Xuan Zi asked indistinctly after taking a huge bite of chicken.

Du Weilun hurriedly bowed respectfully. "Elder Xuan. Yes, Liu Yuan has agreed to leave."

"Mm, good." Xuan Zi took a swig of wine and casually wiped the grease from his mouth.

"This matter has dragged on long enough. It is time to settle it."

Seeing Xuan Zi's careless manner, Du Weilun's heart tightened. After hesitating for a moment, he could not help but speak. "Elder Xuan, is there truly no room for compromise? Liu Yuan is still... in a special situation."

Du Weilun took a deep breath, his voice carrying a hint of pleading. "His parents were both outstanding teachers in Shrek's Inner Court back then."

"Six years ago, if they had not gone to eliminate that Evil Soul Master stronghold while carrying out an Inspection Team mission, they would not both have fallen, leaving not even their bodies behind..."

"So... even if he is unsuitable to be a Soul Master, could we let him do some simple work at the academy? Or... at the very least, let him stay here, and we could support him?"

Upon hearing that, Xuan Zi's chewing stopped briefly.

A sharp glint flashed through his clouded old eyes before being replaced by indifference.

"Weilun, remember this." Xuan Zi's voice suddenly became low and grave. "Shrek does not support idlers."

"But..."

"There are no buts!" Xuan Zi interrupted Du Weilun, his tone hardening.

"They joined the Shrek Inspection Team willingly. Sacrificing themselves for the continent's peace and justice was the glory of Shrek members. The academy has never forgotten their contributions."

Xuan Zi casually tossed the chicken bone in his hand into the trash bin and said coldly, "Over these past six years, the academy has provided Liu Yuan with food and clothing, given him the best medical resources, and even used precious treasures in an attempt to heal his eyes. We have done everything we could!"

"The academy gave him countless opportunities. Even if his Martial Soul mutation had shown the slightest sign of improvement, this old man would have defied all objections to keep him."

"But what are the facts? The fact is that six years have passed, and he is still a blind level-nine soul master! He simply cannot become a Soul Master!"

"Shrek's resources are limited. They must be used on those monsters with genuine potential."

"Letting him remain here would not only waste resources, it would also be cruel to him. Let him return to the world of ordinary people. That would be best for him."

After saying this, Xuan Zi seemed to feel thirsty. He raised the wine gourd and took another heavy drink, then waved his hand. "Enough. This matter requires no further discussion. Handle it according to the rules."

Du Weilun looked at Xuan Zi's unquestionable back and could only sigh deeply before lowering his head. "Yes, Elder Xuan."

Meanwhile, at the outer academy dormitory building.

Liu Yuan did not hear the conversation that took place later in the office.

He returned to his private dormitory.

The room was not large, but it was neat.

Although Liu Yuan could not see, six years had been more than enough for him to become intimately familiar with this small space.

Expressionless, he walked to the bed, pulled a small box from beneath it, and began packing his belongings.

Several changes of clothes, some daily necessities, and a stored-value card containing Gold Soul Coins left behind by his parents.

"Fortunately, my parents left behind a substantial pension." Liu Yuan felt the cold card with his fingers, and his heart settled slightly.

"If I spend carefully, even as an ordinary person, I will not starve for the rest of my life."

He stuffed everything into an ancient-looking ring in one sweep—the Storage Soul Tool was also the only relic left by his parents.

After finishing, Liu Yuan sat on the bare bedframe and gently touched the bandages over his eyes.

He felt neither resentment nor attachment toward Shrek.

As a transmigrator, he knew all too well how the original story worked.

The so-called "glory of Shrek" was nothing more than self-satisfaction built upon overwhelming strength.

Toward those with value, they protected and favored their own;

Toward those without value, like himself now, "doing everything they could" was the final answer.

"Fine. Leaving is better. It saves me from becoming cannon fodder for those people later."

Liu Yuan muttered quietly to himself.

Six years of living as a blind man had worn down his edges and made him extremely pragmatic.

His current wish was humble. He did not dare dream of dominating the continent. He only wanted to survive in this dangerous world.

Night fell.

Liu Yuan lay directly on the bed.

He would be leaving early tomorrow morning, so he needed to rest well.

Yet this night was destined to be far from peaceful.

In the middle of the night, Liu Yuan suddenly woke from his sleep.

"Mm..."

A familiar burning sensation rose from his eyes, as if two balls of fire were blazing within his sockets.

This feeling was not unfamiliar to him.

Six years ago, when his Martial Soul had begun to mutate, he had felt the same thing.

But over the past six years, aside from occasional mild warmth, it had never been this intense.

This time, the heat kept rising!

Pain!

Piercing, bone-deep pain!

It was as though someone were branding his eyeballs with red-hot iron, or as though countless steel needles were piercing his retinas at once.

Liu Yuan clenched his teeth tightly, both hands gripping the bedsheets as his body trembled violently from the pain. Cold sweat instantly soaked through his clothes.

"What is happening... Has this damned mutation not ended yet?"

He roared frantically in his heart as waves of pain crashed over him one after another, seemingly without end.

Time passed amid the torment until the first light of dawn appeared the following day.

The pain finally reached its peak!

"Ah—!!"

Unable to endure any longer, Liu Yuan released a suppressed, agonized roar from deep in his throat.

At that instant, a sudden change occurred!

Rip—!

The thick bandages tightly wrapped around his eyes seemed unable to withstand some terrifying internal pressure. Without warning, they exploded into countless scraps of white cloth that scattered everywhere!

Immediately afterward, an indescribably strange power surged wildly outward through his eyes like floodwaters bursting through a broken dam!

Liu Yuan abruptly opened his eyes!

The world became clear.

Long-lost light rushed into his mind in an instant.

Yet before he could even rejoice wildly at regaining his sight, the power erupting from his eyes dragged his gaze forward and locked it firmly onto the iron bars over the dormitory window.

Within Liu Yuan's vision, the world seemed to have changed.

Structures of matter that had once been hard and solid now appeared as fragile and malleable as dough beneath his gaze.

"That is..."

Liu Yuan's eyes widened. He felt his eye sockets burn as an incomparably domineering spiritual force slammed into the window bars along with his gaze.

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle—!

An ear-piercing sound of metal Distortion rang out.

Under his horrified gaze, the straight, hard refined-iron bars began to bend and deform bit by bit.

It was as if an invisible giant hand were kneading them at will. Within only a few seconds, the hard iron bars were twisted into intricate spiral shapes, with some sections snapping outright from excessive twisting!

"Huff... huff..."

As the bars twisted and deformed, the agony that had tortured him all night finally receded like the tide.

Liu Yuan gasped for breath, his entire body collapsing limply onto the bed from exhaustion.

"It does not hurt anymore..."

He instinctively touched his eye sockets. They were wet, covered in cold sweat.

Wait!

Liu Yuan suddenly reacted. He lifted his head and looked around.

The battered table and chairs, the white walls, the window bars twisted into spirals, and the rising morning sun outside...

"I... can see?"

Liu Yuan stretched out a trembling hand and waved it before his eyes.

He truly could see!

Not only that, but he could feel the Soul Power that had lain stagnant within him like dead water for six years now surging madly like boiling magma.

Level nine... level ten...

The bottleneck shattered in an instant as though it were made of paper!

His Soul Power was still soaring!

Level eleven, level fifteen, level eighteen...

At last, the violent Soul Power fluctuations gradually calmed only after reaching the threshold of level twenty.

"Level twenty?!"

Liu Yuan was so shocked that he nearly jumped off the bed.

In a single night, his Soul Power had increased by a full eleven levels?

The Soul Power devoured over the past six years had not disappeared after all. It had all been accumulated for this moment of eruption?

"My eyes..."

Liu Yuan immediately rushed to the full-length mirror in the room.

When he saw himself in the mirror, his pupils suddenly contracted.

The youth in the mirror still had a delicate, pale face, but his eyes had undergone an earth-shaking change.

They were no longer ordinary black pupils.

Within each of his eye sockets, two pupils were actually layered atop one another!

The overlapping pupils were eerie yet sacred, as if they contained the terrifying power to see through every illusion in the world.

Simply staring into the mirror, Liu Yuan could feel a heart-pounding aura emanating from those Double Pupils.

"Is this... Double Pupil?!"

Liu Yuan's heart began to pound violently.

Having read countless fantasy novels in his previous life, how could he not know the legend of such eyes?

The Double Pupil was itself the path to invincibility—why borrow another's bones!

These were eyes said to belong only to saints and gods, representing supreme talent and combat power!

"So that's it... so that's it!"

Liu Yuan trembled with excitement, barely able to suppress the urge to burst into laughter.

Those six years of blindness, those six years of stagnation, had not been some malignant mutation at all. They had been nurturing this peerless pair of Double Pupils!

Shrek Academy thought he was crippled, and Xuan Zi thought he was dead weight.

Little did they know that not only was he not crippled, he had evolved into someone even more extraordinarily gifted!

"Twenty levels of Soul Power, the Double Pupil has opened... Perhaps I've also awakened some kind of innate soul skill, like when I distorted the railing just now."

Liu Yuan took a deep breath and forcibly calmed himself.

Now was not the time to celebrate.

He glanced out the window. It was already broad daylight.

This was Shrek Academy. The burst of Soul Power and the sound of the railing's Distortion a moment ago had not been too loud, but they certainly could not escape the notice of high-level soul masters with keen senses.

"I have to leave immediately."

Liu Yuan made his decision without hesitation.

Since he had already been expelled, he had no desire to have anything more to do with Shrek.

If they discovered that he had not only regained his sight but also awakened such a terrifying Martial Soul, those old geezers might try to forcibly detain him again in the name of "the academy's glory."

He had long seen through the true nature of this academy and absolutely refused to be their tool again.

Besides, his Martial Soul was the Spirit Eye. There was no reason for him to remain at Shrek.

He was not Huo Yuhao. He would go somewhere better suited for him—the Body Sect!

Thus, Liu Yuan swiftly slung his already-packed luggage over his back and gave the dormitory he had lived in for six years one last look.

"Goodbye, Shrek..."

Liu Yuan pushed open the door and darted out of the dormitory building, sprinting toward the academy gates.

Only two minutes after he left the dormitory building.

Two figures arrived outside Liu Yuan's dormitory door.