At Bei Bei's words, a glimmer of hope once again ignited in Tang Ya's heart.
But Bei Bei knew that the grand promise he had painted for Tang Ya was nothing more than a castle in the sky. Unless she had a great deal of talent for Soul Tools, it would be almost impossible to achieve.
That was the trap Bei Bei had laid for Tang Ya. Once she started researching it herself, she would discover just how difficult it was to independently combine two different technologies.
When she realized she couldn't do it on her own, she would have only one choice: to share the technology.
Then the Soul Tool Department could help her rebuild the Tang Sect. The Soul Tool Department's students might even become the Tang Sect's future disciples.
That was Bei Bei's plan: to make Tang Ya depend on him, and on Shrek Academy.
Of course, another reason was to prevent Huo Yuhao from joining the Tang Sect.
Otherwise, with Huo Yuhao's talent for Soul Tools, he could accomplish all of this by himself.
Once Tang Ya had recovered some of her Soul Power, Bei Bei took her back to the Inner Court.
After everything that had happened that day, Tang Ya needed a good rest and time to process it all.
Lying on her bed, Tang Ya gazed helplessly ahead and murmured, "Dad, Mom, what should Xiao Ya do...?"
The next morning.
Bei Bei received word that Mu En had returned from the Star Dou Great Forest and had captured a Sky Dragon Horse Soul Beast of around twenty thousand years for him.
At the news, Bei Bei hurried toward the Golden Ancient Tree.
When he arrived beneath the Golden Ancient Tree, Yan Shaozhe was waiting there for him.
"Come in. Everything's ready." Yan Shaozhe led Bei Bei inside the Sea God Pavilion.
They came to a wall. Yan Shaozhe raised a hand and pointed. A golden light flared, and a dense golden glow enveloped them both.
The space around them gradually shifted, and the two found themselves in a spacious hall, with several passageways set into the surrounding walls.
Mu En stood in the center of the room, with Elder Zhuang beside him.
Next to them stood a pure-white steed. Its head resembled a dragon's, its body was covered in white dragon scales, and broad Dragon Wings spread from its sides. A brilliant, dense aura of light radiated from its entire body.
This Sky Dragon Horse was strong and robust, with a rich bloodline and pure light energy. It was unconscious now.
"Beneath the Sea God Pavilion, this place connects to one hundred and eight rooms. Shrek Academy has spent ten thousand years continually renovating them into Mimicry Cultivation Environments."
"They allow any Soul Master to find an environment suited to them and can help Soul Masters enter a state of Deep Meditation."
Mu En explained to Bei Bei, "Only students who have entered the Inner Court get one chance to come here. Evolving your Martial Soul here will make the process twice as effective for half the effort."
"If you're ready, then let's begin!" Yan Shaozhe said. "With me, my teacher, and Elder Zhuang here, you won't be in any danger, even if it fails."
Bei Bei took a deep breath and adjusted his aura to its perfect state before slowly approaching the Sky Dragon Horse.
White-gold dragon scales covered his arms, and his sharp dragon claws pierced into the Sky Dragon Horse's head.
The Sky Dragon Horse's body jerked violently. A black Soul Ring slowly took shape.
"Bei Bei, take the first passageway on your right. Go about ten meters in, and you'll reach a door. The Mimicry Cultivation Environment inside is especially suitable for you. You won't have to worry about being disturbed." Mu En pointed ahead.
"Mm." Bei Bei nodded and walked forward.
The black Soul Ring was drawn along by a force and followed beside Bei Bei.
When he reached the room Mu En had mentioned and pushed open the door, an incomparably dense aura of light washed over him. The light energy was so concentrated that it seemed almost liquid.
The room was only ten square meters, and wisps of golden mist drifted through it. Roots of the Golden Ancient Tree encased the entire room, releasing the light energy within.
Bei Bei sat cross-legged on the cushion in the center of the room. The dense light energy poured into his body, turning him entirely golden, while several golden halos circled him.
The surrounding power of light flowed over him like warm water, constantly nourishing his body.
In almost an instant, Bei Bei entered Deep Meditation and began refining the twenty-thousand-year Soul Ring.
At the same time, Bei Bei completely detonated the Dragon Core inside him, and its powerful source energy swiftly filled his entire body.
The Light Sacred Dragon Martial Soul appeared around him, its body considerably larger than before.
It circled Bei Bei continuously as its source energy grew stronger. Strange radiance gradually shone from it, and it began to transform.
As Bei Bei sank into Deep Meditation, he gradually lost his awareness of the space and time around him.
He only felt that he had arrived in a boundless space of white and gold, filled with gentle yet vast power of light.
Bei Bei felt himself turn into a young dragon, soaring freely through this world of light.
Time slipped by in the light and stillness. The young dragon gradually grew, becoming a thousand-meter behemoth that radiated a majestic and sacred aura.
A wisp of pure life energy, like a clear spring, instantly washed over his mind.
Bei Bei suddenly remembered that he was human, not a dragon. His body jolted.
The boundless white space around him gradually dispersed like thick fog.
What appeared before his eyes was an endless golden sea. Emerald light filled the sky, and a gigantic vertical eye hung at its very center.
"This is... my Spiritual Sea!" Bei Bei finally understood. He had been affected by the Dragon Core earlier. Thankfully, he had awakened in time; otherwise, he would inevitably have been transformed into a beast.
Bei Bei began to examine his body. The Dragon Core inside him had disappeared, and he had fully refined his fourth Soul Ring. His body was now enclosed in a golden cocoon two meters tall.
His Martial Soul was the same. All that remained was a mass of pure light energy, like an egg, undergoing transformation.
Endless light energy continued to pour into his body, which absorbed it like a whale swallowing water. A faint, illusory golden vortex formed around him.
Bei Bei couldn't help feeling relieved. Thankfully, there was plenty of energy here, and the Dragon Core would keep supplying power for his Martial Soul Evolution.
Otherwise, if his Martial Soul ran out of energy halfway through its evolution and failed like Yu Xiaogang's, turning him into a pig, he would become a laughingstock.
Seeing that everything was proceeding smoothly, Bei Bei finally relaxed. He sat cross-legged in midair above his Spiritual Sea and began to contemplate the powers of light, holiness, and life.
Outside, Mu En still stood in that room, seemingly without having moved at all.