Yan Shaozhe rushed all the way to the office with Wang Yan.
Ji Siyuan sat cross-legged in meditation, with nine lotus seeds floating around him as spiritual energy naturally gathered.
Huo Yuhao benefited from it too.
His cultivation speed was ten percent faster than when he cultivated alone.
And that was only the effect on Huo Yuhao, not on Ji Siyuan.
"They're both quite diligent."
There was no need to figure out which one possessed the Ultimate Fire Martial Soul.
That Fire Lotus was simply too conspicuous.
Yan Shaozhe could barely suppress the smile tugging at his lips.
An Ultimate Martial Soul—an absolute Ultimate Martial Soul.
This flame burned even hotter than Ma Xiaotao's. Even with the Evil Fire boosting it, hers still fell far short of the quality of Ji Siyuan's flames.
If it had only been a little stronger, he wouldn't have dared to be sure.
But this wasn't just a little stronger. It was far stronger.
Ji Siyuan opened his eyes and saw Wang Yan standing beside a middle-aged man.
Wang Yan stepped aside to let Yan Shaozhe speak. "This is our dean, Yan Shaozhe."
Yan Shaozhe motioned for Wang Yan to step back. "Teacher Wang, thank you for helping the Academy discover such a genius ahead of time. I believe you'll make an excellent teacher in the Inner Court as well."
This was Wang Yan's reward.
Wang Yan bowed in gratitude, then moved aside, because the real business was about to begin.
Yan Shaozhe smiled faintly and walked up to Ji Siyuan. "Student, I'm Yan Shaozhe, dean of Shrek Academy's Martial Soul Department. May I ask your name?"
"Ji Siyuan."
"Student Ji Siyuan, when you were meditating just now, I sensed your flames. I can tell you with absolute certainty that this is the legendary Ultimate Martial Soul.
"You may not know what an Ultimate Martial Soul represents, but I can assure you that you're a genius among ten thousand. You'll become a Titled Douluo in the future, and may even become an invincible powerhouse."
Tang San said, "He's got a keen eye. Too bad his assessment of you is still far too low. Your goal can't just be to become an invincible Titled Douluo."
Yan Shaozhe couldn't hear Tang San. He stared fixedly at Ji Siyuan. "Although your Soul Power is still low, as the dean of the Martial Soul Department, I'm absolutely capable of raising your Innate Soul Power and helping you become a powerful Soul Master as soon as possible."
Huo Yuhao timidly raised his hand. "Dean Yan, may I say something?"
At the sound of her soft voice, Yan Shaozhe remembered that there was another person here. "And you are?"
"I'm his roommate, Huo Yuhao."
"What did you want to say?" At that moment, Yan Shaozhe didn't know that this girl was also a super-genius. She simply hadn't shown it yet.
"Student Ji Siyuan only awakened his Martial Soul a few days ago. If you don't believe me, you can ask Senior Brother Bei Bei and Teacher Tang Ya. They should be fourth-year students now."
"He only awakened his Martial Soul a few days ago? Isn't your Soul Power at level fifteen?" Yan Shaozhe looked at Ji Siyuan in disbelief. His senses couldn't be wrong.
It was definitely level fifteen Soul Power. There was no way it could be faked.
Ji Siyuan had no intention of hiding it either. "That's right. I have level fifteen Soul Power, but what does that have to do with only awakening my Martial Soul a few days ago?"
"Even a Thousand-Year Soul Ring for your First Soul Ring couldn't raise your Soul Power by five levels, could it? Unless you also absorbed a Soul Bone?" Wang Yan offered a possible explanation, but Yan Shaozhe heard an entirely different question in it.
So Wang Yan had already assumed that he possessed Innate Full Soul Power.
What did he mean, his First Soul Ring was a Thousand-Year Soul Ring? Wasn't the ideal Soul Ring ratio around four hundred years for the first ring? Even five hundred years would be astonishing. What did he mean by a thousand years?
Ji Siyuan summoned his Martial Soul, and a purple Soul Ring floated around him. "No, the Flame Demon Lion didn't drop a Soul Bone."
Yan Shaozhe could hear his own throat working. His heart was beating twice as fast as usual.
If all of this was true, then Ji Siyuan's Innate Soul Power definitely wasn't as simple as level ten. It was beyond level ten.
In history, the only one to surpass level ten had been the Six-Winged Angel, and that was with a god's blessing.
Martial Souls like that had long since disappeared from this era.
Yet one had appeared now. This wasn't a top-tier Martial Soul—it was a God-Level Martial Soul!
"Student, the dean believes you." Yan Shaozhe could barely contain his excitement. "Student Huo Yuhao, Teacher Wang Yan, could you let me speak with Student Ji Siyuan alone?"
Huo Yuhao nervously glanced at Ji Siyuan. Only after he nodded did she leave.
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm said, "Hmph, you humans are blind! You can't tell that you have Twin Martial Souls, or how powerful your First Soul Ring is."
Unfortunately, it was blind too, and couldn't see that Ji Siyuan had Twin Martial Souls.
"When you reach level twenty, I'll make that human treat you the same way! Hmph."
"Brother Sky Dream, can I have an Ultimate Martial Soul too?"
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm said, "Absolutely. And yours definitely won't be any worse than that kid's."
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, who slept after eating and ate after sleeping, neither understood the difference nor knew its host needed help.
"Then I'll be able to stand beside Siyuan someday." The young man—or rather, the young girl—was already imagining the future.
Wang Yan still remembered why Ji Siyuan and Huo Yuhao had come here in the first place. "Dean Yan, may I take Huo Yuhao to Dean Qian Duoduo? She may have a talent for Soul Tools."
"Of course. Just tell him I recommended her."
A kid with level eleven Soul Power could be sent to the Soul Tool Department without a second thought.
Wang Yan was delighted and left with Huo Yuhao.
Yan Shaozhe sealed off the entire office. "Student Ji Siyuan, Teacher Wang told me your Martial Soul is the Geocentric Red Lotus. Can you tell me which of your parents you inherited it from?"
That much was clear. "My mother. She's the Geocentric Red Lotus."
A wave of sorrow spread through him. The feeling was genuine. Even though he'd never heard of a powerful Soul Master with a Red Lotus Martial Soul, Yan Shaozhe was willing to believe him.
He'd simply misunderstood Ji Siyuan. Ji Siyuan hadn't said that his mother's Martial Soul was the Geocentric Red Lotus.
"When I told you earlier that you have an Ultimate Martial Soul, I don't think you understood what I meant. Shrek will do everything in its power to help you grow, including ensuring that you become a Titled Douluo before the age of forty, as well as providing all your future Soul Rings and Soul Bones.
"And I personally can guarantee you a suitable Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring and Soul Bone! That's only our most basic offer. I'll convene a meeting to arrange even better terms for you. This meeting will absolutely secure you better treatment!"
He was referring, of course, to the Sea God Pavilion Meeting. Talent this terrifying hadn't appeared in ten thousand years. The terms he could offer alone definitely wouldn't be enough to support Ji Siyuan's growth.
Ji Siyuan asked, "There are benefits but no obligations?"
Yan Shaozhe replied, "There are no obligations at all!"
"Dean Yan, I may be young, but I'm not stupid. You're offering me such generous terms and telling me there are no obligations?"
Yan Shaozhe said, "Of course, we'd prefer you to stay at the Academy rather than serve one of the four great empires."
The bait was out. Naturally, an investment came with expectations of a return.
Inside the Sea of Consciousness, Ji Siyuan asked Tang San for his opinion. "Uncle, should I accept?"
Tang San said, "This is an excellent way to make use of your talent. I just don't particularly like this Academy."
There was no helping it; the first impression had already been made. Leaving aside me and Gangzi, whom Tang San hated with a passion, Zhou Yi's outrageous opening move had made it hard to feel any goodwill toward the Academy.
Ji Siyuan knew he couldn't refuse outright. While he was on someone else's turf, he needed to handle it another way.
"Dean Yan, I won't hide it from you. I have my own goals and things I must do. I can't stay at Shrek, but I can help the Academy improve and bring about change."
Yan Shaozhe hadn't expected him to refuse outright. So many people wanted to stay at Shrek, yet he had turned it down?
Sincerity didn't necessarily earn you more, but Yan Shaozhe had no answer.
"As for your future, I may not be qualified to make the decision myself. I'll bring it up for discussion at that meeting. Can you tell me what you need to do?"
"I'm afraid not. What I need to do lies beyond the Academy's capabilities!"