Zhang Lexuan stood up and looked at Xue Yuheng with unwavering determination.
"Your Highness Prince Gan, with Sister Wu Ming as my witness, I'm willing to give it a try."
She was the captain, the standard-bearer of this generation of Shrek.
She couldn't stop here.
Wu Ming had originally been only a Soul King, and hadn't stood out among this year's Shrek Seven Monsters. But after her Martial Soul Evolution, she had surged all the way to the high ranks of Soul Emperor.
She was about to surpass Zhang Lexuan.
Zhang Lexuan was the first to volunteer, which was a little beyond Xue Yuheng's expectations. He took out a set of information he had prepared earlier from his storage ring and handed it to her.
"Think nothing of it, Senior Sister. This has all the rare treasures you'll need to evolve your Moon Martial Soul.
Once you've gathered the materials, you can come to me anytime, and we'll hold the Martial Soul Ascension Ceremony."
Zhang Lexuan took the booklet and glanced down at it.
Though all the materials listed were extremely rare, none of them were priceless items that couldn't be found on the market.
The wealth Zhang Lexuan had accumulated over the years was more than enough to get them all.
The other four women also stepped forward in turn and received their own lists of materials. They still planned to wait and see how things went for their eldest senior sister before deciding.
A Martial Soul affected a Soul Master's entire life, so it was best to be cautious.
That afternoon, Zhang Lexuan went alone to Heaven Dou City's largest royal auction house.
With the backing of Shrek Academy's name and plenty of Gold Soul Coins on hand, she gathered every material on the list in just two hours.
The next morning,
Zhang Lexuan arrived with a storage ring full of rare treasures and knocked on Wu Ming's door.
Baise had taken Wu Ming out to explore the night market, so Xue Yuheng was the only one in the room, playing video games.
"Did you get everything?" Xue Yuheng took the storage ring and scanned it with his spiritual power. Then he nodded.
"Sorry to trouble you, Your Highness." Zhang Lexuan's voice carried a hint of nervousness.
"You don't have to be so formal. I'll be going to Shrek in the future, too. Just call me Junior Brother."
Xue Yuheng said no more and led her into the quiet room in the suite.
He arranged all the rare treasures on the floor according to their positions. In his sea of consciousness, the Wordless Heavenly Book slowly opened to Zhang Lexuan's page, where the Deduction had already been completed.
Vast Power of Creation streamed slowly from his body, enveloping all the materials laid out on the floor.
The rare treasures melted at a visible speed, turning into streams of pure Light Origin and life force that flowed into Zhang Lexuan.
"Junior Brother... Big Sister feels so awful..."
Zhang Lexuan let out a muffled groan. It felt as if ants were crawling beneath her skin. She immediately sat cross-legged and activated her Moon Martial Soul.
One hour... two hours... until four hours had passed.
A vast, cold moon slowly rose behind Zhang Lexuan, its silver radiance filling the entire quiet room.
Just then, the Power of Creation flowed into the Martial Soul Origin. The cold moon instantly erupted with unprecedented brilliance.
One by one, stars appeared in the silvery radiance, slowly circling the moon.
Moonlight and starlight intertwined. The once-cold glow became dazzling, a light so pure it seemed capable of driving away all the darkness in the world.
The authority of the Ultimate Light awakened completely in that moment.
Zhang Lexuan could clearly feel her Martial Soul undergoing a complete transformation.
Her Moon Martial Soul, which had reached its limits, seemed to break free of all its shackles and rapidly ascend to a higher level.
Quasi-God-Level Martial Soul, Star Moon!
Her Soul Power also surged wildly. The bottleneck at Level 68 broke in an instant, and she advanced to Level 70!
In the corridor outside the quiet room, the other six members of Shrek waited anxiously. Even Wu Ming looked nervous.
Elder Song stood in the shadows, sensing the terrifying pressure of a Quasi-God-Level Martial Soul emanating from the quiet room, along with the aura of a pure Light Law. Her eyes flashed with undisguised brilliance.
She had been stuck at the threshold of Level 97 for thirty whole years.
If... if her own Martial Soul could undergo the same evolution...
This boy... couldn't be allowed to get away.
At last, the door to the quiet room opened.
Zhang Lexuan walked out slowly.
Her figure was fuller, and her dress seemed stretched taut enough to burst. Her bearing had changed completely, as if a maternal glow had settled over her, making her look more mature.
"Eldest Senior Sister!"
"How did it go? Did it work?"
The four remaining female students immediately gathered around her, peppering her with questions.
Chu Qingtian hurried over, too, craning his neck with curiosity.
Zhang Lexuan nodded slightly, her voice full of excitement.
"It worked. There weren't any abnormal effects. My Martial Soul evolved, and my Soul Power broke through to Level 70 as well."
The moment she said that, the women stared at her in shock.
Her Martial Soul had evolved, and she'd broken through her bottleneck at the same time?
How could this be some flawed, ancient method? It was a divine art that defied fate!
Mu Yue, Su Tong, Hua Yao, and Baise exchanged glances. All their hesitation vanished, leaving only burning desire in their eyes.
"Are you sure there are no aftereffects? Does the Martial Soul Evolution hurt?" Hua Yao asked softly, her voice full of apprehension.
She was terrified of pain, which was also why she'd never had a boyfriend.
Zhang Lexuan shook her head and looked at Xue Yuheng with gratitude. "Aside from a little tingling at the beginning, the whole process was completely comfortable."
Chu Qingtian couldn't hold back any longer. He pushed through the crowd and stopped in front of Xue Yuheng, trying to sound composed.
"What about me? Can my Electric Mad Leopard Martial Soul evolve, too?"
Xue Yuheng glanced up at him, his tone calm.
"No. My family's ancient method only works on women. It has no effect on men."
"You're lying!" Chu Qingtian flew into a rage and pointed at Xue Yuheng. "How could there be an ancient method that only works on women?
"You're just doing it on purpose! If you don't want to help me, fine, but don't make up such a lame excuse!"
As he spoke, he turned to Elder Song, his voice tinged with grievance.
"Elder Song, look at him! He clearly has such a wonderful opportunity, but he's keeping it to himself.
"This is blatant discrimination against male Soul Masters!"
Elder Song ignored Chu Qingtian's complaints and looked at Xue Yuheng gravely.
"Your Highness Prince Gan, is that true? Does this ancient method really have no effect on men at all?"
"Absolutely true." Xue Yuheng nodded. "It's a limitation of the method. There's nothing I can do to change it. In the Douling Royal Family's experiments, this method has never once worked on a male Soul Master."
Elder Song's brow furrowed slightly.
If it only worked on women, then the value of this ancient method was indeed much lower.
There were far more male Soul Masters than female Soul Masters at Shrek Academy.
That made sense. If the method worked on male Soul Masters, Douling would have ruled the continent long ago.
She was regretting it when a sudden thought flashed through her mind.
Wait.
Wasn't she a woman, too?
Her gaze turned flirtatious, and a blazing fire lit in her eyes.
Song Wanying's gaze toward Xue Yuheng changed completely.
"Elder Song?" Chu Qingtian called out when she didn't respond for a long while.
Elder Song came to her senses and gave him a cool glance.
"If the method has that limitation, then so be it. We can't force it."
Chu Qingtian froze on the spot, his face full of disbelief.
Elder Song actually wasn't taking his side?
Was this really the same Pavilion Elder Song he remembered, the one who always fiercely stood up for her own?
Before Chu Qingtian could say anything else, the four women—Mu Yue, Su Tong, Hua Yao, and Baise—had already crowded around Xue Yuheng again.
"Your Highness Prince Gan, can you help me next? I've had my materials ready for ages!"
"Why should you go first? I'm busty, so I'm first!"
"Your Highness, I'm the youngest. Could you help me first?"
The four women chattered over one another, giving Xue Yuheng a headache.
Xue Yuheng raised a hand and pressed it down, signaling for everyone to quiet down.
"Stop arguing. We'll do this one at a time. The next round of eliminations won't begin for three days, so there's plenty of time. Get ready in order, and I'll help two people evolve each day. It won't interfere with your training."
Only then did everyone quiet down, nodding in agreement.
Elder Song spoke up. "Lexuan has just broken through to Level 70, so this is the best time to hunt for her Seventh Soul Ring. I'll take her to Star Dou Forest. We'll do our best to return within a week. With a Soul Saint on our team, we'll have a trump card that guarantees victory in this competition."
Zhang Lexuan immediately replied, "Yes, Elder Song."
Elder Song gave Xue Yuheng a long look, her tone serious.
"Your Highness Prince Gan, I have a few things to take care of. Once I've brought Lexuan back, I'll speak with you privately."
"Of course." Xue Yuheng nodded slightly.
With that, Elder Song took Zhang Lexuan and left the hotel.
Watching everyone fuss over Xue Yuheng while he stood all alone, Chu Qingtian felt so jealous he could practically drown in it.
He gritted his teeth, gave a cold snort, and stormed out, slamming the door behind him.
Lunch was served in a luxurious private room on the hotel's top floor.
Xue Yuheng sat at the head of the table, with Mu Yue, Su Tong, Hua Yao, Baise, and Wu Ming gathered around him.
The five women kept piling food into Xue Yuheng's bowl, one chopstickful after another.
One moment they asked what he liked to eat; the next, they asked what he needed to watch out for during the evolution. Their sweet voices never stopped.
Xue Yuheng happily shoveled food into his mouth, unable to stop himself from grumbling inwardly.
In all his years since transmigrating to this world, this was the first time he'd been so "neglectful of his proper duties."
It had taken just one lunch for him to start showing the makings of a foolish ruler.
After lunch, everyone sat on the sofas to rest.
Mu Yue had drunk two glasses of fruit wine at lunch. Her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes a little hazy.
She got up to pour herself a glass of water, but suddenly stumbled and cried out, pitching straight toward Xue Yuheng.
Xue Yuheng instinctively reached out and caught her.
Mu Yue leaned against him, her warm breath brushing his neck. Her voice was soft and sweet, tinged with alcohol.
"Junior Brother... Big Sister feels so awful..."
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