I'm Back

"Damn, are you even human?" Xu Sanshi patted the fire on his backside. "Quick, quick, put it out."

Ji Siyuan waved a hand, extinguishing the flames.

He and Wang Dong'er had teamed up for a two-on-two Soul Fight against Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi.

Poor Wang Dong'er had essentially played the role of a roadside spectator during this bout.

Xu Sanshi couldn't help but complain, "Look at Wang Dong'er—that's the kind of combat power a Soul Grand Master should have. Now look at you. What kind of Soul Grand Master chases a Soul Ancestor around while roasting him?"

Bei Bei couldn't help but chuckle, only to be caught by Xu Sanshi. "Laughing? You're still laughing? Weren't you the one being chased and roasted too? You were the one who suggested we spar with Siyuan, and look how it turned out—you're useless too."

"Hey, don't talk nonsense. My performance was better than yours. My Thunder Dragon Head pierced through your Blazing Fire Lotus," Bei Bei recounted his recent feat.

"Bullshit, Siyuan can release three of those Blazing Fire Lotus at once, and you only managed to pierce one," Xu Sanshi immediately retorted. "Besides, I'm a defense-type Soul Master; it's normal that I couldn't pierce it."

Training-style Soul Fights don't determine a winner; they stop whenever a problem is identified.

Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi remained locked in their usual bickering.

Tang Ya watched from the side, feeling quite uneasy. Wang Dong'er's performance was inferior to a Soul Ancestor's, but it was still significantly stronger than her own as a Soul Elder.

These people were all geniuses, and she felt somewhat out of place among them.

The post-fight review wasn't particularly useful; it mostly just served to increase their mutual understanding.

"Speaking of which, where is Huo Yuhao? We haven't seen him since we got back."

Ji Siyuan replied according to the script he had prepared earlier: "He asked for leave. After all, he's minoring in Soul Tools. He's currently a student of Qian Duoduo and needs to focus on advancing his Soul Master rank."

"So soon?" Tang Ya exclaimed. They all knew that Soul Tools were the trend of the future, and Tang Ya had even tried her hand at them, but she completely lacked the talent to become a Soul Master.

The news that Huo Yuhao was about to become a First-Rank Soul Master shocked her. Ji Siyuan didn't quite know what to say; keeping secrets was truly a painful task.

Fortunately, they didn't understand the intricacies and didn't press further.

After dinner, it was time to instruct Wang Dong'er.

Bei Bei and Tang Ya would also teach Wang Dong'er the secret techniques of the Tang Sect; after all, Tang Ya was the Sect Master and the one responsible for teaching.

"Old Xu, do you want to learn? Just join our Tang Sect," Bei Bei tempted Xu Sanshi from the side.

Xu Sanshi remained unmoved. "I'm the Young Master of the Mysterious Underworld Sect; I already have a sect, thank you very much."

Xu Sanshi suddenly thought of something. "Right, Nannan is also a Soul Ancestor. Why don't we bring my Nannan over to train as well? That way, maybe we can participate in next year's Soul Fight Tournament together."

Shrek's participation in the Soul Fight Tournament involved the classic setup of official team members plus a reserve team. Anyone with backing knew this, so the competition among the upperclassmen was extremely fierce.

It was just unclear when the selections would be held or what form they would take.

But this year, there was a small anomaly: Ji Siyuan's individual strength was so high that many upperclassmen viewed him as a direct rival.

"What is the Soul Fight Tournament?" Wang Dong'er had no information at all and waited for Bei Bei to enlighten her.

Ji Siyuan, having read the script, didn't need to listen to Bei Bei's explanation.

Tang San: "The Soul Fight Tournament... how nostalgic."

"Uncle, did you participate too? What place did you get?"

Tang San recalled the past: "I participated, and I even won the championship."

Ji Siyuan suddenly felt curious: "Was it difficult?"

"It was very difficult. Back then, my main opponents were the team from Martial Soul Hall. Even though it was due to age restrictions, the combat power on the other side was not low at all."

"Huh? Uncle, weren't you from Martial Soul Hall?"

Tang San retorted indignantly, "What are you talking about? You forgot—oh, right, you don't know. Your Aunt Xiao Wu was a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast in human form; she couldn't possibly attend Martial Soul Hall's high-level schools. They have Title Douluo there who could see through her true identity. We went to the Heaven Dou Royal Academy instead. It took us about three days of hardship? Your Aunt Xiao Wu and I became official members of the Heaven Dou Team, and then we fought our way to victory in the Soul Fight. If you participate, you better bring me back a championship."

After hearing Tang San's account, Ji Siyuan thought about the issues that would arise with the starting lineup this time: "Uncle, don't worry. As long as I correct the mistakes, this championship is in the bag!"

There was no reason why a team with two Soul Emperors and a bunch of Soul Kings couldn't win the championship.

Once Bei Bei finished explaining to Wang Dong'er, she immediately made up her mind: "I want to participate too!"

"Then you'd better work hard," Ji Siyuan teased Wang Dong'er.

Ji Siyuan knew what the format would be, and there was no way Shrek wouldn't let him participate.

Xu Sanshi volunteered to go find Jiang Nannan, but they stopped him, letting Wang Dong'er go instead.

In the end, it turned into him and Jiang Nannan, Tang Ya against Bei Bei, and Xu Sanshi with Wang Dong'er.

As night fell, everyone had their own things to do.

Bei Bei and Tang Ya left together, specifically saying before they departed: "Work hard. Once you reach the three-ring Soul Elder level, you'll have a much better chance."

Xu Sanshi chased after Jiang Nannan in another direction.

This left him and Wang Dong'er alone.

Wang Dong'er suddenly asked: "Ji Siyuan, Huo Yuhao didn't really go to Dean Qian's place, did he?"

"He has his own preparations."

"I know. Keep the card; when he gets back, we'll go to the Treasure Appraisal Fair together." The rewards they had obtained were still in his possession.

Wang Dong'er suddenly struck, using the Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon technique.

Ji Siyuan reacted immediately: "You scared me."

"That was the whole point." Wang Dong'er walked along with him, practicing Tang Sect techniques as they went.

Upon arriving at the dormitory building, he was intercepted by Mu En.

"You go on ahead."

"Why can't I listen!" Wang Dong'er demanded, hands on her hips, expressing her dissatisfaction.

After some persuasion, Wang Dong'er finally relented: "I'll go back and wait for you."

???

Mu En raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised: "You are both still young; don't go too far."

"No, that's not the issue here."

Mu En: "Now that student Wang Dong'er has left, may I ask a few questions?"

"Go ahead, old man." Ji Siyuan was puzzled; he wondered what Mu En could possibly want to ask him. Many things, such as his cultivation level, were already plain for Mu En to see.

"Did student Huo Yuhao tell you where she was going?"

As soon as Mu En spoke, Ji Siyuan understood the crux of the matter.

"Did Zhang Lexuan tell you?" His breathing grew heavy involuntarily; even though he knew Mu En had no ulterior motives, he still felt a sense of unease.

"Do not blame Lexuan; it was I who asked her. Huo Yuhao greets me every day, but she hasn't appeared for the past few days, so I went looking for her." Mu En provided a seemingly reasonable explanation.

Ji Siyuan took a deep breath to steady his emotions: "Tell me the truth, did you follow her?"

"Yes, she headed toward the Extreme North. I originally intended to protect her, but she suddenly vanished from my tracking." Mu En looked at Ji Siyuan with a strange expression, as he had discovered that Huo Yuhao was actually Huo Yutong, and he was unsure if Ji Siyuan was aware of this.

"She didn't tell me exactly what she was going to do, but you can try to take her as your disciple when she returns. She said that once she comes back, she will be a true genius." Ji Siyuan forced a smile; despite his worry, he had no choice but to trust Mu En.

"I would rather take you as my disciple."

"Then you had better save your breath."

Mu En nodded, acknowledging Ji Siyuan's sentiment: "Then I shall wait for her return."

At this very moment, Huo Yuhao had already arrived at the gates of Shrek City: "I'm back."