"Damn, you're human too?" Xu Sanshi slapped at the fire on his backside. "Quick, quick, put it out!"
Ji Siyuan waved a hand and extinguished the flames.
He and Wang Dong'er had teamed up against Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi in a two-on-two Soul Fight.
Poor Wang Dong'er had played the role of a bystander in the match.
Xu Sanshi couldn't help complaining. "Just look at Wang Dong'er. That's the kind of fighting strength a Soul Grandmaster should have. Now look at you. What Soul Grandmaster chases a Soul Ancestor around and roasts him?"
Bei Bei couldn't help laughing, but Xu Sanshi caught him. "Laughing, are you? You got chased around and roasted too! You were the one who suggested we challenge Siyuan, and look how it turned out. You're no better."
"Hey, don't say that. I did better than you. My Thunder Dragon Head pierced through his Blazing Fire Lotus." Bei Bei recounted his performance from the match.
"Bullshit. Siyuan can release three Blazing Fire Lotuses at once, and you only pierced through one." Xu Sanshi immediately retorted. "Besides, I'm a defensive Battle Soul Master. It's normal that I couldn't break through."
There were no winners or losers in a training match. Whenever they noticed a problem, they would stop.
Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi also kept up their usual bickering.
Tang Ya watched from the side, feeling rather unhappy. Wang Dong'er hadn't performed as well as a Soul Ancestor, but she was still far stronger than Tang Ya, a Soul Elder.
They were all geniuses, and Tang Ya felt out of place among them.
The match hadn't done much to help them review their performance, but it had helped them understand one another better.
"Speaking of which, where's Yuhao? We haven't seen him since we got back."
Ji Siyuan replied with the excuse he'd prepared in advance. "She took leave. After all, she's also studying Soul Tools. She's still Qian Duoduo's student, so it's time for her to try for a Soul Engineer rank."
"So soon?" Tang Ya exclaimed in shock. They all knew that Soul Tools were the way of the future. Tang Ya had tried studying them too, but she had no talent for becoming a Soul Engineer.
The news that Huo Yuhao was about to become a Level 1 Soul Engineer stunned her. Ji Siyuan wasn't sure what to say. Keeping a secret was truly painful.
Luckily, they didn't know much about the subject, so they didn't press him.
After dinner, it was time to teach Wang Dong'er.
Bei Bei and Tang Ya would also teach Wang Dong'er the Tang Sect Secret Arts. After all, Tang Ya was the sect master and the one who would be teaching her.
"Old Xu, want to learn too? Just join the Tang Sect," Bei Bei tempted him from the side.
Xu Sanshi wasn't swayed. "I'm the young master of the Mysterious Underworld Sect. I already belong to a sect, okay?"
Xu Sanshi suddenly thought of something. "Right, Nannan's a Soul Ancestor too. Why don't we bring my Nannan over to train with us? Then maybe we can compete together in next year's Soul Fight Tournament."
Shrek's team for the Soul Fight Tournament traditionally consisted of official team members and a reserve team. Those with connections knew this, so competition among the upper-year students was fierce.
They just didn't know when the selection would take place or what form it would take.
But this year, there was a small complication. Ji Siyuan was so powerful that many upper-year students now saw him as a rival for a place on the team.
"What's the Soul Fight Tournament?" Wang Dong'er had no idea, so she waited for Bei Bei to explain it to her.
Having seen the script, Ji Siyuan didn't need to listen to Bei Bei's explanation.
Tang San said, "The Soul Fight Tournament. It really brings back memories."
"Uncle, you competed too? What place did you get?"
Tang San recalled the past. "I competed, and I even won the championship."
Ji Siyuan suddenly wanted to know more. "Was it hard?"
"It was very hard. Back then, my main opponents were the Spirit Hall team. Even though it was a matter of age, the other team was still powerful."
"Wait, Uncle, weren't you from Spirit Hall?"
Tang San said in exasperation, "What are you talking about? You've forgotten? Oh, right, you don't know. Your Aunt Xiao Wu was a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast who had taken human form, so she couldn't attend one of Spirit Hall's advanced academies. There were Titled Douluo there who could see through her true identity. So we went to Heaven Dou Royal Academy. It took about three days? Your Aunt Xiao Wu and I became official members of the Heaven Dou Team, then competed and won our way through the tournament. If you compete, you'd better bring home the championship for me."
After listening to Tang San's story, Ji Siyuan thought of the problems with the official team this time. "Uncle, don't worry. As long as I correct the mistake, the championship is in the bag!"
With two Soul Emperors and a bunch of Soul Kings, there was no reason they couldn't win.
After Bei Bei finished explaining the tournament to Wang Dong'er, she immediately made up her mind. "I want to compete too!"
"Then you'd better work hard," Ji Siyuan teased Wang Dong'er.
Ji Siyuan knew what the selection would involve, and Shrek wouldn't leave him out.
Xu Sanshi volunteered to go find Jiang Nannan, but they stopped him and had Wang Dong'er go instead.
In the end, it became Ji Siyuan and Jiang Nannan, Tang Ya against Bei Bei, and Xu Sanshi against Wang Dong'er.
Night fell, and everyone went off to do their own thing.
Bei Bei and Tang Ya left together. Before they went, they made a point of saying, "Keep working hard. Once you reach the three-ring Soul Elder rank, you'll have a much better chance."
Xu Sanshi chased after Jiang Nannan and headed off elsewhere.
That left Ji Siyuan and Wang Dong'er.
Wang Dong'er suddenly asked, "Ji Siyuan, Huo Yuhao didn't go to Dean Qian's office, did she?"
"She has her own preparations."
"I know. You're holding the cards. Once she's back, we can go to the Treasure Appraisal Fair together." The rewards they'd received were still with him.
Wang Dong'er suddenly struck, using Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon.
Ji Siyuan reacted at once. "You nearly scared me to death."
"That was the point." As they walked along, Wang Dong'er began practicing the Tang Sect Secret Arts with him.
When they reached the dormitory building, Mu En stopped him.
"You go on ahead."
"Why can't I listen?" Wang Dong'er complained with her hands on her hips.
After a while, Wang Dong'er finally relented. "I'll go back and wait for you."
???
Mu En raised an eyebrow, looking a little surprised. "You're still young. Don't get carried away."
"No, that's not it."
Mu En said, "Now that Wang Dong'er has left, can I ask you a few questions?"
"Go ahead, old man." Ji Siyuan was puzzled about what Mu En could ask him. Mu En could tell many things for himself, like his cultivation level.
"Did Huo Yuhao tell you where she was going?"
As soon as Mu En spoke, Ji Siyuan knew what this was about.
"Did Zhang Lexuan tell you?" His breathing grew heavier despite himself. Even knowing Mu En meant no harm, he was still worried.
"Don't blame Lexuan. I went to ask her. Huo Yuhao used to greet me every day, but she hasn't shown up for the past few days. So I went looking for her." Mu En offered an explanation that sounded reasonable.
Ji Siyuan took a deep breath to steady himself. "Tell me the truth. Were you following her?"
"Yes. She was heading toward the Extreme North, but then she suddenly disappeared from my tracking. I had intended to protect her." Mu En looked at Ji Siyuan strangely, because he'd realized that Huo Yuhao was Huo Yutong, but wasn't sure whether Ji Siyuan knew.
"She didn't tell me exactly what she was going to do, but when you come back, you can try taking her as your disciple. She said she'd return a true genius." Ji Siyuan forced a smile. He was worried, but could only choose to trust Mu En.
"I'd rather take you as my disciple."
"Then you'd better save your breath."
Mu En nodded, agreeing with Ji Siyuan's response. "Then I'll wait for her to return."
At that very moment, Huo Yuhao had arrived beneath the walls of Shrek City. "I'm back."