That girl Zhang Lexuan was at the perfect age to cultivate her Soul Power.
How could she possibly know the power unleashed by a true Soul Tool?
Fan Yu chuckled awkwardly. "My mistake. Zhang Lexuan's battle record was so astonishing that I forgot for a moment what I'm really good at."
Forgetting what you were truly good at was a major taboo.
He would never believe that the Soul Tools he had spent so many years researching were inferior to Soul Masters.
The future would belong to Soul Tools.
Zhou Yi nodded with satisfaction as she watched Fan Yu's spirits rise. This was the kind of bearing a Shrek dean ought to have.
So what if they weren't as strong right now?
With the two of them, how could the Soul Tool Department fail to flourish?
"Fan Yu, stay here. I'll go 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 outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest. Even as just a Soul Emperor, I can deal with those things easily."
Without looking back, Zhou Yi strode away across the grass.
As she walked, she kept turning things over in her mind.
Her and Fan Yu's plan would be difficult to carry out, and one major reason was Zhang Lexuan.
That girl's Eighth Soul Ring had been a red Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring. Even now, it was almost impossible to believe.
Back then, Xuan Zi had led a team out, and something had gone wrong. A hundred-thousand-year Soul Beast had attacked Zhang Lexuan and the others, who had been powerless to fight back.
By the time Xuan Zi arrived, all he saw was the unconscious Shrek Seven Devils lying across the ground, and Zhang Lexuan, whose sleeves were completely unruffled.
No one knew how she had absorbed the Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring or survived the soul impact. They only knew that, as a Soul Saint, she already had a way to contend with Titled Douluo.
"What a pity."
Zhou Yi felt genuinely sorry for a talent like Zhang Lexuan—not because she couldn't persuade her to join them, but because Zhang Lexuan had truly become part of Shrek.
To truly join Shrek, one had to have no ties holding them back.
Someone like Zhang Lexuan, with a loving family, wasn't exactly suited to devote herself wholeheartedly to Shrek.
As for Titled Douluo-level Soul Beasts, they were extremely rare in the outskirts and mixed zone.
They were hard to control at that level, and Zhang Lexuan wasn't afraid of them anyway.
That left Zhou Yi fretting over what would be more suitable.
[Time remaining for mission: 1:00:00]
The red notification for the mission sounded in Zhou Yi's mind, reminding her that time was running out.
Her face immediately creased. She had actually forgotten that the mission had a time limit.
Although the mission penalty came with no explanation, Zhou Yi could still sense the immense malice behind it.
A moonlight transformation?
What would she turn into?
A loud, crashing sound shattered her train of thought. What was she doing? The mission penalty was imminent, and she was still wondering what it would be.
Zhou Yi was the sort of person who could take things to extremes.
For example, she could look for loopholes in the system's mission.
The mission hadn't said that she, Zhou Yi, had to maintain a good relationship with her target. This time, the revised apprenticeship mission only required that he accept her as his master.
In that case, she could go to extremes.
She could use threats and inducements. If she tried every means at her disposal, she refused to believe Xuanyuan Sheng wouldn't accept her as his master.
But there was a natural shield standing in her way: Xuanyuan Sheng's older sister, Zhang Lexuan.
All she could do was take a chance.
Zhou Yi guessed that even if they were safe out in the wilderness, they would still have someone keep watch at night.
Behind Zhou Yi, a golden figure that no one could see watched her tiptoe along with keen curiosity.
Was she human? Why was she sneaking around? What was she doing?
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion quietly followed behind. She had just been running around wildly and accidentally crashed into a tree. She hadn't expected to stumble upon something interesting.
"What do you think she's doing? Why does her aura feel so much like a Soul Beast's?"
[I don't know. Don't you have the Eye of Fate? Take a look. Just a quick glance.]
As soon as World-Shocking Wisdom finished speaking, she wanted to smack herself. She had meant to encourage the Three-Eyed Golden Lion to think for herself, but she'd blurted out the solution again.
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion nodded earnestly.
"Good point. The Power of Fate around her is especially dense right now. I really can use the Eye of Fate to take a look."
She really was a strange creature with brains. She caught on fast.
[You have to think for yourself. Otherwise, what's the point of the wisdom I've added to you? Are you just going to leave it sitting in your head?]
But the Three-Eyed Golden Lion was clearly interested in Zhou Yi, who was somehow wrapped in the Power of Fate and a Soul Beast's aura. She didn't pay the slightest attention to World-Shocking Wisdom's advice.
[Honestly, what a handful.]
The eye covered by the Heavenly Eye opened. The Three-Eyed Golden Lion scanned Zhou Yi, but she appeared exactly as she did now.
It seemed the future hadn't happened yet, so all she could sense was the strange aura surrounding Zhou Yi.
And the place where the Three-Eyed Golden Lion and Zhou Yi were drawing closer was Xuanyuan Sheng and the others' campsite.
Zhang Lexuan, troubled and restless, opened her eyes.
Her mental power and the Soul Tool she'd received as a reward for completing the System's daily missions both sensed something entering their camp.
It was a person, not a Soul Beast.
But something seemed to be attached to that person, intermittently using mental power to sense things.
At the same time, Xuanyuan Sheng, who was on night watch, noticed it too.
"Why does this aura feel familiar? It seems mixed with something else, too."
He didn't know how to describe the strange feeling.
He pulled his hand back, and Xiao Xiao slid smoothly down to sleep on the grass.
"Sister Lexuan, let's go take a look," Xuanyuan Sheng said to Zhang Lexuan beside him.
Zhang Lexuan nodded.
The two of them headed toward the place they had sensed.
When Zhou Yi saw two silhouettes beside the campfire, she immediately realized she'd been discovered.
She could hardly claim she'd come across her students by chance; if they saw her, she'd have no way to explain herself.
Zhou Yi hurriedly backed away.
After just a few steps, she realized she seemed to have bumped into a furry wall, though there was nothing in front of her.
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion curiously blocked Zhou Yi's way.
She had truly sensed a Soul Beast's aura from Zhou Yi, but now that she was this close, she couldn't tell that Zhou Yi was a Soul Beast.
"Could she be a Soul Beast with some kind of special ability?"
[Try thinking for yourself. Could you use your brain a little more?]
"Fine, fine. I'll think for myself."
She kept Zhou Yi there as Zhou Yi grew more and more anxious.
Looking at the increasingly red countdown on the Mission System, Zhou Yi couldn't help but look up in despair.
It was over.
In the moonlight, Zhou Yi felt her body shrinking, and her limbs seemed to be turning into shapes she didn't recognize.
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion proudly watched Zhou Yi reveal her true form, then picked her up in her mouth.
Zhou Yi, now transformed into a Soul Beast, passed out under the pressure of the Emperor Auspicious Beast behind her.
Before you continue