Yan Shaozhe listened to Mu En's reprimand with a bitter heart. He had only been doing it for the academy, though he knew that his cultivation had indeed stalled for reasons related to what Mu En had said.
In a certain sense, a Martial Soul could indeed affect a Soul Master. Take the owners of truly evil Martial Souls, for example. Sometimes, it wasn't a matter of their nature; they were genuinely influenced by the Martial Soul itself and ultimately fell into depravity.
The reverse was true as well: Soul Masters could influence their Martial Souls. If someone with a light-attribute Martial Soul was always scheming and never acted with honesty and integrity, it would eventually affect their cultivation.
The most classic example was Pig Master from ten thousand years ago. His Martial Soul had actually been a juvenile Bright Sacred Dragon, but he himself was such a good-for-nothing that he severely held back its potential.
"Elder Mu, that child has only a few relatives left at home. The one closest to him is a Soul King, his great-uncle, named Xiao Zhan. The other relatives aren't close to Xiao Yi himself."
Seeing Mu En's unchanging expression, Yan Shaozhe cautiously continued.
"Elder Mu, should we do something? Perhaps we could move his family to Shrek City. That way, we could protect them and tie Xiao Yi, this genius, to Shrek—"
"No need!" Mu En cut him off, casting Yan Shaozhe a look of exasperation.
"Post a long-term protection mission in the Inner Academy. Don't do anything unnecessary. We only need to provide whatever protection we can, and let everything else take its course."
Mu En knew that bringing the child's family to Shrek City might backfire. They only needed to assign a powerful person to protect his family at a crucial moment. Then, the other party would naturally come to acknowledge Shrek from the bottom of his heart.
"As for that little Ma Xiaotao, get your attitude in order. Take Xiaotao to see the child yourself. If he refuses, don't force him."
Mu En glanced at Yan Shaozhe behind him again and emphasized the point.
"Understood, Teacher." Yan Shaozhe looked a little awkward. He really had wanted Ma Xiaotao to go by herself. With her fiery temper, one wrong word could easily cause trouble.
After speaking, Yan Shaozhe bowed and vanished in a flash. Who knew what he had gone off to do?
Mu En lay back in his rocking chair. The afterglow of the setting sun fell over the old man, making the figure of this Limit Douluo, who had lived a life of honesty and integrity, seem lonely and adding a touch of the sorrowful air of someone nearing the end.
"Alas..." A long sigh rang out. Mu En gazed up at the sky, helpless. One day, his time would come to an end, and Shrek would then face darkness. But...
He looked toward the freshman dormitory and couldn't help the faint smile tugging at his lips. The sun of a new generation would rise in time.
All he needed to do was give off the last of his light.
In Dormitory 108, Xiao Yi and Tang Wutong had finished dinner too.
Tang Wutong was rather excited now, with a little grease still at the corners of her mouth. She didn't look like a little princess of the Divine Realm at all.
She was gesticulating as she recounted how she had absorbed her second thousand-year Soul Ring, and how powerful the Clear Sky Sect was.
Xiao Yi listened with a smile, occasionally responding with a word or two. He was giving Tang Wutong all the validation she could want.
Tang Wutong was excited too. Before this, whether in the Divine Realm or the Clear Sky Sect, she could do whatever she wanted without a care, thanks to the indulgence of her elders.
But she had never had what you might call a friend. With her experience and pride, she had never even thought about it.
Xiao Yi had appeared in her life, and he was good-looking, talented, and kind. He had protected her when she was in danger and was willing to listen to her. Tang Wutong had come to accept him.
It was as if the floodgates on her long-quiet chatter had finally opened. Even though she had been doted on, she had never had anyone her own age whom she could call a friend. Sharing was only natural, and now that Tang Wutong had an outlet for all she had kept bottled up, she told him everything—except for the things Tang San had warned her about and matters concerning the Divine Realm.
Xiao Yi played the part of an attentive listener and an enthusiastic audience. Though this young lady was a little domineering and looked down on others, at heart she was just a naive, sheltered sweetheart. Someone who had grown up in a place like the Divine Realm had only ever met people who either deferred to her father or genuinely loved and indulged her.
She had never seen the world's cruelty or the complexity of human nature. The labels "sheltered" and "naive sweetheart" naturally came to Xiao Yi's mind.
Xiao Yi wasn't someone who liked listening to a child ramble. He had been guiding the conversation all along, getting her to talk about her childhood, how she had obtained her Soul Rings, and then about his own experiences hunting Soul Beasts.
Naturally, the topic turned to their elders.
When it came to obtaining Soul Rings, protectors and guardians were impossible to leave out. At the same level, Soul Beasts were generally stronger than Soul Masters, except when the quality of a Martial Soul was exceptionally high—and that was hardly the norm.
This was where Tang Wutong could shine. She had a God King for a father and countless divine elders who doted on her.
Even down in the lower realm, she had two super-powerful protectors: Big Uncle and Second Uncle.
"Let me tell you, my Big Uncle—the current Sect Master of the Clear Sky Sect—is a level-99 Limit Douluo. You should visit the Clear Sky Sect sometime, and I'll introduce you to him." Tang Wutong lifted her chin and spoke proudly.
"Sure, it's a deal." As for actually visiting the Clear Sky Sect—please. Xiao Yi would have to be out of his mind to do that. He couldn't say for certain about other places, but the Clear Sky Sect definitely had contingencies Tang San had left behind.
"So, Wulin, your Big Uncle is actually a Limit Douluo. Does he know anything about becoming a god? I've always looked up to the great Sea God Tang San from ten thousand years ago. I heard that only by reaching the limits of the mortal world can someone hope to glimpse the possibility of godhood. Is that true?" Xiao Yi looked utterly reverent, as if he were a devout believer in the Sea God searching for the traces his idol had left behind.
You know, I admire Third Young Master.
"Of course! My Big Uncle has sensed it too." As soon as Tang Wutong heard Xiao Yi praise Tang San, she got even more fired up, waiting expectantly for him to continue.
"Then can you tell me what he sensed? Was it Sea God's Light bestowed by Lord Sea God, or the legendary Divine Realm?"
"Haha, you've asked the right person. He sensed neither. He only heard from Big Uncle that the Divine Realm seemed to have disappeared for the time being." Tang Wutong blurted it out without thinking. But there wasn't a trace of worry on her face about losing contact with the Divine Realm—whether she was just carefree or something else, who could say?
Xiao Yi thought, Just as I expected. His expression remained unchanged, and he kept smiling at the cross-dressed Tang Wutong as she chattered away in front of him.
But his gaze gradually took on a different color.
That laughter seemed to play on repeat in Xiao Yi's mind.
Kekekekekekeke, Princess Tang, Princess Tang... The Divine Realm has lost contact, huh? Then I can...
Kekeke...
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