Task Countdown in Progress

Zhang Lexuan is at the perfect age for cultivating soul power.

How could she possibly understand the true destructive power unleashed by a Soul Tool?

Fan Yu gave a sheepish laugh. "My mistake. Who could blame me? Zhang Lexuan's combat record is just too astonishing; otherwise, I wouldn't have momentarily forgotten my own true capabilities."

Forgetting one's true capabilities is a major taboo.

He would never believe that the Soul Tools he had painstakingly researched for so many years were inferior to a Soul Master.

The future would undoubtedly belong to the era of Soul Tools.

Zhou Yi looked at the ambitious Fan Yu and nodded with satisfaction; this was the posture a Shrek Academy dean ought to have.

Even if they were inferior now, so what?

With the two of them as a couple, there was no reason for the Soul Tool Department not to flourish.

"Fan Yu, you stay here. I'll go out and see if there's anything that can help us." Zhou Yi sighed, pulled open the tent, and walked out.

"Yi, be careful." Fan Yu nodded.

"It's fine. This is only the outer perimeter of the Star Dou Great Forest. Even if I am only a Soul Emperor, dealing with those things is a piece of cake."

Zhou Yi didn't look back, stepping onto the grass and leaving with brisk, efficient movements.

Walking along the path, she kept deep in thought.

The plan she and Fan Yu had was truly difficult to carry out, and one of the most significant reasons for this was the existence of Zhang Lexuan.

That girl's eighth soul ring was a red, hundred-thousand-year soul ring, a fact that still felt incredibly inconceivable to this day.

Back then, when Xuan Lao led the team, something went wrong, and a hundred-thousand-year soul beast attacked Zhang Lexuan and the others while they were defenseless.

When Xuan Lao finally arrived, he only saw the Shrek Seven Devils lying unconscious on the ground, and Zhang Lexuan, whose clothes were completely unscathed.

No one knew how she had absorbed the ring or survived the soul shock of a hundred-thousand-year beast; they only knew that she possessed the means to deal with a Title Douluo even while at the Soul Saint stage.

"What a real pity."

Zhou Yi felt a great sense of regret for a genius like Zhang Lexuan—not because she couldn't recruit her, but because she couldn't truly integrate her into Shrek.

To truly join Shrek, one had to be free of all attachments.

Someone like Zhang Lexuan, who had a complete and happy family, was not suited to dedicate her life to Shrek.

As for Title Douluo-level soul beasts, they were rare in the outer perimeter and the mixed zones.

That level of power was hard to control, and Zhang Lexuan wasn't afraid of them anyway.

This led to Zhou Yi's current distress over what approach would be more suitable.

[Task remaining: 1:00:00]

The red voice of the task in her mind reminded Zhou Yi that time was running out.

Her old face immediately wrinkled; she had actually forgotten that the task had a time limit.

Although there was no description of the punishment for this task, Zhou Yi could still sense the immense malice contained within it.

Moonlight transformation?

What exactly would she turn into?

A reckless, impulsive thought broke her current fantasy. What was she doing? The task punishment was imminent, yet she was still wondering what the punishment was.

Zhou Yi herself was prone to extreme ideas.

For instance, exploiting loopholes in the system tasks.

This task didn't say that she, Zhou Yi, had to ensure a high favorability rating; the task of re-organizing the apprenticeship only required the master-disciple relationship to be acknowledged.

In that case, she could be extreme.

Using coercion and bribery—as long as she threw every method she had at him, she didn't believe Xuanyuan Sheng wouldn't take her as his master.

But there was a natural protective barrier blocking this path: Xuanyuan Sheng's older sister, Zhang Lexuan.

She would just have to try her luck.

Zhou Yi guessed that since they were in the wild, even if it were very safe, they would likely arrange for someone to keep watch at night.

Behind Zhou Yi, a golden, glowing figure that no one could see was curiously staring at the stealthy woman.

Is she a human? Sneaking around like that, what is she doing?

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion followed quietly behind. She had been running around playfully earlier and accidentally bumped into a tree, never expecting to discover something so amusing.

"Tell me, what is she doing? Why does the aura on her body feel so much like a soul beast?"

[I don't know. Don't you have the Eye of Fate? You can take a look, just a simple glance.]

World-Shocking Wisdom wanted to slap herself after speaking; her original intention was to train the Three-Eyed Golden Lion to develop the habit of independent thinking, but her tongue had slipped, and she had given away the solution.

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion nodded straightforwardly.

"That makes sense. The Power of Fate on her body is especially dense right now; I really can take a look with the Eye of Fate."

As expected of a monster with a brain, it turns quickly.

[You need to use your own brain, otherwise what am I supposed to do with the World-Shocking Wisdom I'm adding for you later? Just leave all that stuff empty in your head?]

But right now, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion was clearly interested in Zhou Yi, who was inexplicably entwined with the Power of Fate and the aura of a soul beast, and she didn't listen to a single word of the World-Shocking Wisdom's advice.

[Sigh, this brat.]

The eye covered by the Heavenly Eye on the Three-Eyed Golden Lion opened, and after scanning Zhou Yi, she discovered that she was exactly the same as her current state.

It seemed that since the events of the future hadn't happened yet, she could only perceive the peculiar aura on Zhou Yi.

And the place where the Three-Eyed Golden Lion and Zhou Yi were approaching was precisely the campsite of Xuanyuan Sheng and the others.

A restless Zhang Lexuan opened her eyes.

Both her spiritual power and the Soul Tool she had received as a reward for a daily task from the system simultaneously sensed that something had intruded into their camp.

It was a person, not a soul beast.

But it was intermittent, as if there was spiritual power attached to that person, sensing something.

At the same time, Xuanyuan Sheng, who was on night watch, also noticed it.

"Why does this aura feel a bit familiar? It feels like it's mixed with something else, too."

He didn't know how to describe this strange feeling.

He pulled his hand back, and Xiao Xiao slid smoothly onto the grass to sleep.

"Lexuan, let's go take a look," Xuanyuan Sheng said to Zhang Lexuan beside him.

Zhang Lexuan nodded.

The two of them walked toward the place they had sensed.

When Zhou Yi saw two shadows by the campfire, she immediately realized she had been discovered.

She had claimed to have encountered students, and coming here was definitely not a coincidence; if she were truly seen, she wouldn't be able to explain it.

Zhou Yi hurriedly retreated.

She hadn't taken a few steps back when she felt like she had bumped into a furry wall, yet there was nothing else in front of her.

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion curiously blocked Zhou Yi's path with her body.

She had truly sensed the aura of a soul beast on Zhou Yi, but now that she was this close, she couldn't tell that Zhou Yi was a soul beast.

"Could she be some kind of soul beast with special abilities?"

[Please think for yourself, would you mind using your brain more?]

"Alright, hmph, I'll think for myself then."

She just stood there, blocking the anxious Zhou Yi.

As Zhou Yi watched the countdown on her Mission System turning redder and redder, she couldn't help but look up in despair.

It's over.

Under the moonlight, Zhou Yi felt her body shrinking, and her limbs seemed to be transforming into a form she didn't recognize.

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion looked triumphantly at Zhou Yi, who had revealed her true form, and picked her up by the scruff.

Zhou Yi, having transformed into a soul beast, also fell unconscious under the pressure of the Emperor Auspicious Beast behind her.