Undercurrents Converge, Stealth Kills Enter the Game

The morning sun pierced through the clouds, casting a shallow glow over the Shrek Academy training grounds. What should have been a vibrant morning drill was, invisibly, shrouded in an impenetrable haze.

Lin Chen blended in among the training students, his posture upright yet unassuming. He deliberately suppressed his thick, level 53 Soul King soul power to the extreme, radiating only the faint fluctuations of a level 30-something Soul Elder, appearing no different from his peers. Within his dantian, the unabsorbed medicinal power of the immortal herb remained quietly dormant, like a sleeping primordial force; with a single thought, he could unleash heaven-shaking power, yet he remained unmoved, unwilling to reveal even a shred of his true strength.

While he appeared to be following the group in basic martial soul combat drills, his spiritual sense had already spread out silently. Half his focus was locked onto the movements around the academy, while the other half monitored the state of the three women beside him, ensuring not a single abnormal fluctuation escaped his perception. After sending the message to Martial Soul Hall last night, he had calculated the timing—Tang San's mission to silence them and the deployment of Martial Soul Hall's scouts would both converge on Shrek today.

Xiao Wu, Zhu Zhuqing, and Ning Rongrong strictly followed Lin Chen's instructions, keeping their edges hidden throughout, revealing no flaws that would betray the enhancement of the immortal herbs.

Xiao Wu sparred with Dai Mubai, her agile figure twisting and turning. From time to time, she feigned a stumble, her cheeks flushed with light sweat, appearing physically exhausted, yet her eyes remained crystal clear as she kept watch on the academy's perimeter. The robust physique granted by the Lovesick Heartbreak Red allowed her to feign fatigue without feeling any true exhaustion. Zhu Zhuqing engaged in close-quarters combat with Ma Hongjun, her Hell Spirit Cat footwork executed perfectly—neither deliberately winning nor falling behind. Her cold expression seemed calm, but her soul power was secretly coiled; her perception was the sharpest, and she had already sensed the wisps of hostility drifting from afar. Ning Rongrong steadily held her seven-storied Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, the auxiliary light covering the field evenly. She carefully controlled the intensity of her buffs to match her usual performance, yet she quietly maintained a thread of soul power connected to Lin Chen, ready to trigger the origin power of the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda at any critical moment.

The three women shared a tacit understanding; while they cooperated with the daily training on the surface, they were already prepared for any contingency. They trusted Lin Chen's layout implicitly and simply waited for his command.

In contrast, Dai Mubai, Oscar, and Ma Hongjun remained panting and drenched in sweat from the high-intensity training, completely unaware of the undercurrents surging around them. Oscar slumped to the ground, took a gulp of water, and looked at the composed Lin Chen, unable to help but sigh: "Lin Chen, you're too steady. Even with this high-intensity training, you don't even catch your breath."

"I'm just good at regulating my breath," Lin Chen replied with a faint smile. His tone was flat as he retracted part of his spiritual sense, maintaining his disguise without a single flaw, appearing truly like an ordinary student of mediocre strength.

Not far away, Flender and Zhao Wuji stood side-by-side on the high platform, their gazes sweeping over the training grounds. Their words were still filled with high expectations for Tang San: "Calculating the time, Tang San should have finished his training and be returning to the academy soon. With Tang Hao personally teaching him, his strength must far exceed what it was before. Once our Shrek Seven Devils are reunited, we won't have to fear any opponents in the Soul Master Tournament."

Zhao Wuji nodded heavily, his face full of agreement: "The kid was already gifted. This experience will surely allow him to break through his bottleneck. Once he returns, Shrek's foundation will be even stronger."

Listening to their words, a trace of imperceptible coldness flashed in the depths of Lin Chen's eyes.

These two mentors, who longed for their disciple's return, would never imagine until their dying breath that the Tang San in whom they placed such high hopes had already extinguished his last shred of sentiment. His heart was filled only with the vicious intent to kill and silence them. At this very moment, he was approaching Shrek quietly, carrying monstrous killing intent. They would never know that the very ground of the academy beneath their feet had already welcomed another force lurking in the shadows, all because of a secret letter from Lin Chen.

Just then, Lin Chen's spiritual sense suddenly captured two distinct, hidden auras.

One was sinister and violent, carrying undisguised killing intent like a venomous snake in the dark. It was slowly approaching from the depths of the dense forest on the west side of Shrek Academy, deliberately suppressing its soul power fluctuations in an attempt to infiltrate silently—this was Tang San, here to silence them. He believed his concealment was flawless, unaware that the hostility radiating from his body had already exposed his tracks.

The other was cold and obscure, with steady, internalized energy. There were three figures quietly lurking on the treetops at the academy's perimeter. They emitted no killing intent, merely observing in silence, their style of operation identical to that of Martial Soul Hall scouts. Clearly, Lin Chen's dart-delivered secret letter from last night had been delivered precisely; the people from Martial Soul Hall had arrived at the agreed time, waiting only for the right moment to strike.

Two undercurrents, one malicious and one hidden, converged on Shrek, and all of this was entirely within Lin Chen's control.

He remained calm, maintaining his indifferent facade. He didn't even give the three women any explicit signals, merely a slight look to let them know to keep up the pretense and not act rashly.

At this moment, he no longer needed to act personally.

By drawing Martial Soul Hall into the game, he was essentially using a borrowed knife to kill. Tang San wanted to silence them, so he would simply let Martial Soul Hall clash with Tang San. This would resolve Tang San's murderous intent, allow him to sit back and watch Martial Soul Hall and Tang San suffer mutual losses, and prevent his own secret involvement from being exposed. It would also protect the three women and keep his own unabsorbed immortal herb power and level 53 Soul King strength hidden—truly killing many birds with one stone.

At the edge of the dense forest, Tang San hid behind a tree trunk, his soul power wrapped tightly around his body to suppress his aura to the minimum. His eyes were incredibly sinister, staring fixedly at the Shrek Academy not far away, intense killing intent churning in his gaze.

He watched Lin Chen in the training grounds, chatting happily with the three women and enjoying everyone's trust, and the jealousy and murderous intent in his heart nearly burst through his chest. If not for Lin Chen's sudden appearance, stealing the favor of Xiao Wu, Zhu Zhuqing, and Ning Rongrong, and if not for Lin Chen's subtle probing into the secrets of his Twin Martial Souls and the Clear Sky Hammer, he would never have risked sneaking back to silence them.

In his eyes, Lin Chen had to die. The three women who knew his secrets could not be left alive, and even mentors like Flender and Zhao Wuji, who knew his past, would have to be buried with them. Only by cutting the weeds and digging up the roots could he eliminate future trouble.

He clenched his fists tightly, his knuckles turning white, waiting quietly for the best moment to infiltrate. He planned to launch a surprise attack while everyone was exhausted from training and their defenses were lax, completing his mission to silence them.

He was filled with his perfect plan, yet he did not notice that on a treetop not far away, three cold gazes had already locked onto his figure. He would never imagine that all of this was being controlled by that seemingly ordinary youth in the training grounds nearby.

Lin Chen rubbed his fingertips lightly, a trace of calm, strategic confidence flashing in his eyes.

Tang San, you racked your brains trying to silence everyone, yet you don't realize you have already become a pawn in this game.

In today's match, I would like to see how you, the self-proclaimed hunter, will escape this web of traps.

The wind swept across the training grounds, rolling up a few fallen leaves. The invisible smoke of war was already quietly permeating the skies above Shrek.