Finally Reached

"Would that be suitable? Oh, I see." Xiao Nai nodded. "Even taking that into consideration, there are still resources worth acquiring."

"Yeah, but the main priority now is getting into Shrek Academy. We can't waste the admission recommendation the system gave us."

"Are you in a hurry?"

"Yes. There are only two days left before Shrek's enrollment period ends this year." Zheng Li furrowed his brow. Would he make it in time? Shrek Academy and the Star Dou Great Forest were neighbors, but they were still some distance apart.

"Host, you'll make it if you travel at full speed. In the original story, Huo Yuhao, Bei Bei, and Tang Ya came out of the southern part of the Star Dou Great Forest, which meant they had to take the long way back to Shrek. Since Huo Yuhao and the others weren't moving very fast, it took them much longer. Wang Xian'er, however, brought you to a good location. You only need to head northwest."

"You sure know a lot about this... But I doubt traveling at full speed will be easy!" The system's knack for setting him up had sunk deep into Zheng Li's heart.

"Use Soul Power to travel. Recover without cultivating. Eat, but don't sleep."

Zheng Li: "...Putting aside using Soul Power to travel, I'll have to keep going through the night, except when I'm eating or recovering Soul Power. You really are a rip-off, system!"

"Host, you shouldn't put it that way. As the saying goes, when Heaven is about to place a great responsibility on someone, it first makes them suffer in mind and—"

"Stop!" Zheng Li was speechless. "Just shut up! We're only traveling, and you're giving me classical Chinese... Will I have time to absorb a Soul Ring?"

"Yes."

"That's a relief."

Would Shrek Academy even accept him with only ten levels of Soul Power? The key issue was that he was only ten years old.

"Reminder: anything produced by the system is guaranteed to be top quality. Although the Soul Ring this system provided is a Century Spirit Ring, no matter which Martial Soul absorbs it, the Soul Skill gained will inevitably be the most suitable one."

"So you're saying I should think carefully about which Martial Soul to attach it to?" Zheng Li smiled faintly. "What's there to think about? Naturally, I'll attach it to Xiao Nai."

As for the Soul Ring's age... Even setting aside the Soul Ring Age Increase provided by the system, there were ways to increase a Soul Ring's age in the Douluo World.

He already had a vague idea.

"What are you attaching to me? A Soul Ring?" Xiao Nai asked in a calm voice.

"Speaking of Soul Rings, I'm your Martial Soul now, Xiao Li, right?"

Zheng Li nodded.

"Then did you cause the changes to my body?" Xiao Nai asked, running her fingers through her long white hair.

"Well..." Zheng Li felt awkward, but he still explained the reason.

Xiao Nai showed little reaction after hearing him. She simply stared at Zheng Li and said, "I remember you once said I looked like a girl from an anime, and you bought some clothes for me to wear. After I put them on, you said, 'If only you really were a girl from an anime...' Now your wish has come true."

"Haha..." Zheng Li smiled sheepishly. He hadn't expected things to turn out this way either.

He wasn't a shut-in, but he did like cute anime girls.

Xiao Nai had already been cute back then, but cuter was even better, wasn't it? That was why he'd made that remark.

Well, it was lucky Xiao Nai didn't mind.

"Think again about the Soul Ring," Xiao Nai said after a brief silence. Before Zheng Li could ask why, she explained, "As a Martial Soul, I can feel that it's above me."

Zheng Li nodded. "I know. I can sense it if I pay close attention. But I still want to attach it to you."

"Okay." After answering, Xiao Nai suddenly stepped forward and lowered her head to kiss Zheng Li on the forehead.

She pulled away at once and said calmly, "A reward."

Zheng Li touched the spot she'd kissed, delighted. "You're still just the same."

What did he mean? For example, if he, Xiao Nai, and his younger sister went shopping together, and Xiao Nai and his sister went to the bathroom while he bought a grilled sausage, they'd want some when they came back—and would insist on having the one he'd bought. If he let Xiao Nai have the first bite, she'd reward him.

No matter how many people were around, she'd give him a hug. If she couldn't do it then, she'd make it up to him later. Of course, Xiao Nai had only started doing that after they became a couple.

As their relationship grew closer, she might kiss him when they were alone.

At first, he'd been surprised and a little embarrassed. After all, it was the first time either of them had been in love. But he'd gradually gotten used to it.

"Don't you like it?" Xiao Nai asked.

Zheng Li shook his head. "No. I love it."

"Mm."

Zheng Li smiled warmly at Xiao Nai. Not wanting to waste any more time, he said, "I'll start now. Xiao Nai, pay close attention too. This should benefit you as well."

He was the one absorbing the Soul Ring. Xiao Nai only needed to wait for him to succeed, but he had his reasons for saying that.

"System, take out the Soul Ring."

"Host, retrieve it yourself. Silently say 'System Space,' then select the item you want to take out."

"..." Zheng Li's mouth twitched. He sat cross-legged, took the Soul Ring out of the system, and let it float in front of him.

Just as he was about to guide it into himself and absorb it, Zheng Li suddenly spoke through his thoughts. "By the way, system, if Xiao Nai kisses me or anything like that again, remember to mute yourself."

System: "..."

Host, stick your head over here and let this system give you a good smack! I told you, you have the highest authority over everything except distributing the World Gift Pack and choosing which world to travel to!

Damn it!

At Last

"Set gender... customize face... body type... height... clothes... personality... select voice..."

Zheng Li stared at the settings screen that only he could see, falling silent.

"Hey, system... This settings screen of yours has quite a few options!"

After he'd said that, the system seemed to get angry and flung the settings screen at him before he could even absorb the Soul Ring.

The screen had a lot of options. Besides the ones he'd mentioned, there were also things like allowing other people to use the System Space.

The option to uninstall the system was there too.

But there weren't many important options.

After all, the system was mainly about the World Gift Pack and traveling to other worlds.

After a quick look, Zheng Li closed the screen and shut his eyes. Time was tight. He'd better absorb the Soul Ring and get into Shrek Academy before looking through it properly.

He guided it with Soul Power, and the yellow Soul Ring immediately settled around him.

He felt a gentle power flow into his body, slowly strengthening his physique.

The bottleneck dissolved quickly as well.

Strangely, as Zheng Li absorbed the Soul Ring, the golden ring that had been motionless behind Xiao Nai began to rotate slowly clockwise! Its golden glow grew brighter and warmer.

Xiao Nai, sitting beside Zheng Li, had clearly gained something too.

"Hm?"

"Did I absorb a Soul Ring?"

A few minutes later, Zheng Li opened his eyes, looking bewildered. Was absorbing a Soul Ring really that fast?

It was different from what he remembered.

"Host, there's no need to be surprised. The Soul Ring provided by this system won't conflict with your Martial Soul, and it contains no resentment from a dead Spirit Beast. It will even actively cooperate and merge with you, so of course it's fast."

"Not bad." Zheng Li gave a thumbs-up.

At that moment, the golden ring behind Xiao Nai stopped spinning and became still again.

"How are you feeling, Xiao Nai?" Zheng Li stepped forward and asked with concern.

"How do I feel..." Xiao Nai tilted her head. "Pretty good."

"C-cute..." Xiao Nai's head tilt left Zheng Li stunned.

Xiao Nai wasn't surprised. She knew what Zheng Li was like.

She stood up and walked toward the cave entrance.

Once Zheng Li came to, he followed her.

"Xiao Li, let's get going," Xiao Nai said after they left the cave and she looked around at the scenery.

"Okay." Zheng Li didn't say much. "What about you?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Xiao Nai turned into a ball of light and shot into the space between his eyebrows.

Xiao Nai appeared within Zheng Li's Sea of Consciousness. A layer of golden light covered her body, making her look as though she were made of light itself.

"I'm here. You go on ahead." She could have accompanied Zheng Li outside, but that would have increased his Soul Power consumption.

"Mm."

How should he put it? Having his fiancée live in his Sea of Consciousness felt strange.

In high spirits, Zheng Li found the direction of Shrek Academy to the northwest and began traveling with Soul Power.

The boosts to Zheng Li's physique and spirit from Xiao Nai and Heart of Spirit were undoubtedly tremendous.

The Soul Ring provided by the system was a Century Spirit Ring, and it had a limit: nine hundred and ninety-nine years.

Although that was the theoretical maximum, Zheng Li's First Soul Ring was actually around six hundred years old!

Some might think of the Physique Amplification x1 and Spirit Amplification x1 in the system's inventory.

Zheng Li had thought of them too, but after reading their descriptions, he'd decisively decided to save them for later.

Physique Amplification: Increases the host's physique by one-third based on its current level.

Spirit Amplification: Increases the host's spiritual power by one-third based on its current level.

(Note: Can only be used in the Douluo World.)

The meaning was obvious. For example, if Zheng Li used the Physique Amplification potion now, it would increase his current physique by only one-third.

Using it now wouldn't do much.

Wouldn't it be better to save it for the future—even until he reached the level of a Limit Douluo?

The choice was clear.

That night.

After stopping once to recover his Soul Power, Zheng Li also ate some dry rations. They were the ones Wang Xian'er had left behind.

"Xiao Nai, can you eat?"

"I'm not sure. I don't feel hungry."

"Host, she can! Have you forgotten that Grandmaster's Luo Sanpao ate carrots? Besides, eating can reduce your Soul Power consumption!"

Zheng Li: "You're a trillion-watt light bulb, system. Don't butt in!"

System: "..."

Host, I advise you to be nice!

"Xiao Nai, want to come out and eat something?"

"Mm."

As soon as she spoke, Xiao Nai left the Sea of Consciousness.

In the darkness, the light around Xiao Nai was exceptionally eye-catching, like a lantern. It warmed Zheng Li's heart too.

In the blink of an eye, dusk arrived the next day.

Shrek City, a bustling city in the southeastern part of the Heaven Dou Empire, stood on the Lima Plain.

Shrek Academy occupied the eastern part of Shrek City, and its school gate was the city's eastern gate, reserved exclusively for the academy.

Although dusk had fallen, the area outside Shrek Academy's gate was still bustling, with all kinds of vendors gathered there.

Near the academy gate was an open space. A simple table and two chairs stood there, with a crystal ball and a book resembling a ledger on the table.

Two people sat in the chairs: a burly, middle-aged man and a petite but pretty woman.

It seemed to be time to wrap things up. The middle-aged man stood and stretched. "Finally, that's over!"

"Dean Yan really is something, making me handle admissions. Sitting around for all these days has been exhausting. I'd rather have fought a life-or-death battle!"

"Teacher Jin, it's not over yet. There are still five minutes," the woman reminded him, glancing at the middle-aged man.