Xiao Xiao Breaks Through to Level 20 Early! Dai Huabin Plans a New Path for Her Martial Souls

That morning, Xiao Xiao wore her white first-year uniform, which fit her especially well.

She darted into the Class Nine classroom like a cheerful little bird, her small face flushed red with excitement.

"Class monitor! Class monitor! I broke through! Level 20! I finally made it to Level 20!" Xiao Xiao's voice rang out from the back of the classroom.

Dai Huabin, who had been leafing through the Soul Beast Illustrated Handbook, closed the book and carefully examined the Soul Power fluctuations around Xiao Xiao. Satisfied, he clapped his hands.

She had reached this point more than a month earlier than Xiao Xiao had obtained her Second Soul Ring in the original story.

The pills and Whale Rubber Ning Tian had given her had indeed made a huge difference.

Wang Dong'er and Cui Yajie immediately gathered around, too.

"That's wonderful, Xiao Xiao!" Wang Dong'er took Xiao Xiao's hand.

Over the past month, Wang Dong'er's Soul Power had reached the peak of Level 21. She was just one step away from Level 22.

Nourished by all those resources, Cui Yajie's Nine-Tailed Fox Martial Soul had grown more substantial, too, and she had firmly reached the threshold of Level 25.

"Since you've reached Level 20, there's no point in waiting." Dai Huabin stood up and grabbed Zhu Lu beside him. "Come on, let's get Teacher Mu Jin to approve our leave forms. We're setting out today."

In her office, Mu Jin listened to the five of them explain why they had come, then flipped through the lesson plans on her desk.

"The five of you want to go to the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest?" Mu Jin looked at this practically luxurious lineup of freshmen and couldn't help giving them a word of caution.

Dai Huabin braced both hands on her desk.

"The Hundred-Year Soul Beasts on the outskirts pose no real threat to me, a Soul Elder.

"We can also use this Soul Ring hunt to let the three of them practice their teamwork for the Freshman Assessment."

Mu Jin considered it for a moment.

With a Level 33 Power Attack System Soul Elder leading the group, along with a Level 26 agility attack specialist, they could hold their own even against an ordinary thousand-year Soul Beast.

Besides, Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu had that terrifying Martial Soul Fusion Skill.

"All right. I'll approve your forms."

Mu Jin took the leave forms from her drawer, quickly wrote down their names, and handed them to Dai Huabin.

"But I'll make this clear: you are absolutely not to enter the mixed zone. The Star Dou Great Forest can change in an instant. If you encounter danger you can't handle, send up a distress signal right away."

"Understood."

Dai Huabin put away the forms and led the four girls out of the administration building.

At the entrance to Shrek Academy,

the five had all changed into close-fitting clothes that were easy to move in.

Zhu Lu wore a black leather outfit that showed off her toned, agility-specialist figure to perfection.

Wang Dong'er wore a neat, light-blue combat uniform. She folded her arms, looking eager to get started.

Dai Huabin glanced back at the gates of Shrek Academy, then turned to face the four people behind him.

"We have one goal on this trip: to help Xiao Xiao get the Hundred-Year Soul Ring best suited to her Three-Life Soul-Suppressing Cauldron."

Dai Huabin spoke calmly, but his confidence in having everything under control shone through.

"Dong'er, Yajie, you three will lead the fighting this time. Lulu and I will just keep watch and cover you."

"Hmph, don't underestimate me. I can handle it all by myself!"

Wang Dong'er huffed.

Dai Huabin ignored her bravado and waved his hand. The five of them left Shrek City and headed south along the broad trade road.

Wang Dong'er walked at the very front, holding a weed she had plucked from the roadside.

She skipped along, occasionally using the weed to poke at a little bug on the side of the road.

Cui Yajie walked in the middle with her arm linked through Xiao Xiao's. The two leaned close together, whispering about some secret girls' talk.

Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu brought up the rear, keeping an unhurried pace.

"Xiao Xiao, what direction are you planning to take your Three-Life Soul-Suppressing Cauldron?"

Dai Huabin suddenly spoke, breaking the quiet of the journey.

The three girls ahead all stopped in unison.

Xiao Xiao turned around and fingered the Storage Ring Ning Tian had given her, her tone hesitant.

"I'd originally thought of going with a control-type build."

She bit her lip, then added, "But if the class monitor has a better suggestion, I'm willing to listen."

Wang Dong'er dropped the weed in her hand and came over.

"Control is pretty good, isn't it? You can stay in the back and throw the black cauldron at people. If you get in danger, you can use it as a shield. It's perfectly safe."

Dai Huabin raised a hand and flicked Wang Dong'er on the forehead.

"What do you know? That's a waste of a natural gift."

Wang Dong'er covered her forehead and shook her fist, cheeks puffed out in anger.

Dai Huabin turned to Xiao Xiao, his expression serious.

"Your Martial Soul is a cauldron. A cauldron represents weight and suppression by nature."

"Instead of messing around with all sorts of fancy control abilities, you should push its weight and defense to the extreme."

"Imagine combining all three cauldrons into one, giving it a truly terrifying weight."

Dai Huabin held up three fingers and gestured.

"The sheer impact of Three Cauldrons Unite, combined with its built-in Absolute Defense, would be enough to crush most opponents at your level."

"This simple, brutal path could achieve the same effect as your First Soul Skill, Cauldron Shock—and hit even harder."

"That way, you can save precious Soul Skill slots and use them to stack even more extreme weight and defensive attributes."

Cui Yajie clapped her hands hard as soon as he finished.

"Exactly! When you run into an enemy, just pick up an iron mountain and smash it down. Why bother with control?"

"With enough strength, you can overcome any skill—just flatten them and be done with it!"

Xiao Xiao nodded thoughtfully.

"Class monitor, I'll do as you say."

Her voice was quiet, but full of trust.

Among the five of them, Dai Huabin's word had long been final.

Dai Huabin continued questioning her.

"What about your Second Martial Soul? What are you planning for the Nine-Phoenix Flute?"

This time, Xiao Xiao answered without hesitation.

"I want to focus entirely on support."

Dai Huabin sighed and rubbed his temples.

"Xiao Xiao, you have Twin Martial Souls."

"Other people dream of having a top-tier gift like yours, and you want to take the most ordinary path possible?"

"Your First Martial Soul will be up front, taking hits, while you stay in the back and play the flute to support everyone?"

"Can you really manage both?"

Wang Dong'er burst out laughing beside them.

"I can picture it too clearly. Xiao Xiao's getting beaten up under a huge black cauldron while puckering her lips to play the flute. Won't she suffocate herself?"

Xiao Xiao's face went red with embarrassment, and she reached out to tickle Wang Dong'er.

"Dong'er! Don't make things up!"

The two girls tumbled around together on the trade road.

Dai Huabin waved a hand to stop their horseplay.

"Don't rush to add any Soul Rings to your Second Martial Soul."

"In the future, I'll find a way to help you look for spirit-type Soul Beasts."

"Since it's an instrument, you can attack through sound waves."

Dai Huabin explained his idea in detail.

"Spirit attacks combined with sound waves can slip through any opening and are almost impossible to guard against."

"Most importantly, this way, you'll be able to use both Martial Souls perfectly at the same time."

"Use the Three-Life Soul-Suppressing Cauldron to crush the enemy like a mountain from the front, then use the Nine-Phoenix Flute to destroy their mind with sound waves from the rear."

"Of course, there's another important point: once your Spiritual Power improves, it'll be much easier to control the three cauldrons."

The three girls fell silent when he finished.

Wang Dong'er opened her mouth, then finally managed to get out, "You do know a thing or two."

Zhu Lu quietly followed just behind Dai Huabin's shoulder.

This advanced and incisive Martial Soul Theory made her admiration for him grow even deeper.

"Class monitor!"

Xiao Xiao clenched her fists, her small face faintly flushed with excitement.

"I'll remember that. Thank you, class monitor!"

Dai Huabin nodded in satisfaction.

When he had read the original story, he'd never understood why Xiao Xiao's Nine-Phoenix Flute Martial Soul had Soul Skills that did things like slow enemies down.

A support Martial Soul that couldn't support its teammates was frankly baffling.

In Dai Huabin's view, sound-wave attacks were the right direction.

Fortunately, he had now changed Xiao Xiao's terrible Martial Soul development path from the original story.