Second Martial Soul

A man and a woman walked side by side, followed by a thin, frail youth.

The young man was fifteen or sixteen, with handsome features and a refined air, dressed in the fourth-year uniform of the Shrek Outer Court. Hanging from his waist were the dual tokens of the Tang Sect and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan—it was Bei Bei.

Beside him was fifteen-year-old Tang Ya, the Sect Master of the Tang Sect, and trailing behind them was Huo Yuhao, who had just joined the sect.

By now, Bei Bei was a well-known genius of the Outer Court, a 3-ring Soul Elder with two yellow rings and one purple, commanding considerable respect among the Outer Court instructors.

Seeing it was Bei Bei, Instructor Zhou's brows relaxed slightly. "Bei Bei, this man is highly suspicious. He is clearly far older than twelve, yet he threatened students to participate in the entrance examination. He is definitely here to cause trouble. Don't you get involved in this."

"Instructor Zhou, this is truly a misunderstanding. His name is Jiang Che, a senior from the Inner Court. We know him," Bei Bei said with a bitter smile.

"The Inner Court?" Instructor Zhou looked at Jiang Che in surprise. Not just him, but the other Shrek students were also stunned; the Inner Court was the dream destination for them all.

"This is my token." Jiang Che took his Inner Court identity token from his storage ring and tossed it to Instructor Zhou.

Instructor Zhou examined it carefully. The front was engraved with "Shrek Inner Court" with gold-leaf trim, and the back featured a phoenix relief—it was indeed the token exclusive to Inner Court students.

In truth, Jiang Che also possessed the Sea God Token given to him by Mu En, but there was no need to bring it out; he feared it might frighten the instructor out of his wits.

"Since you are an Inner Court student, then never mind." Instructor Zhou returned the token to Jiang Che, sounding rather annoyed. He couldn't fathom why someone from the Inner Court would come here pretending to be a new student.

Jiang Che put away his token and sighed. He had originally wanted to try the examination he'd never participated in before, but after such a scene, that was clearly out of the question.

"Xiao Ya, you take Yuhao to register first. I'm going to have a chat with Senior Jiang Che," Bei Bei said to Tang Ya beside him.

"Fine, take your time. It doesn't matter if you chat for a while; registering is simple enough for me to handle alone," Tang Ya said proudly, as if she were about to embark on some grand undertaking.

"Brother Che, why aren't you staying properly in the Inner Court? Why come to the Outer Court to pose as a freshman? You should look at your own age; no wonder people misunderstand," Bei Bei complained after Tang Ya had left.

"Hmm? Is little Bei Bei beating around the bush to call me an old man who isn't fit to be seen in public?" Jiang Che glanced at Bei Bei, not answering directly, but instead twisting his words.

Bei Bei thought about what he had said, then listened to how Jiang Che interpreted it—the meaning had changed entirely.

Looking at the half-smile on Jiang Che's face, Bei Bei suddenly recalled his childhood experiences. One wrong move and he would be beaten black and blue, all under the guise of "training his ability to withstand a beating."

Bei Bei shivered instantly, his head shaking like a rattle. He waved his hands frantically, his tone filled with a desperate survival instinct. "Absolutely not! How could you be an old man, Brother Che? You clearly look younger than me! I just... I just felt that with your status, coming here to squeeze into the freshman exams was a waste of your talent!"

As he spoke, he shrank his neck back, his eyes full of vigilance, terrified that Jiang Che might raise a hand and strike him.

The shadows of his childhood were far too deep.

Back then, just after Mu En had brought him to Sea God Island, he had been a bit arrogant, relying on his status as a descendant of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan and his outstanding talent. He had addressed Jiang Che casually with a "Hey."

That very afternoon, Jiang Che had dragged him to the training grounds and frozen him until he was shivering, using his Ultimate Ice martial soul, all under the pretense of "tempering his character and testing his resistance to ice attributes." It wasn't until Mu En intervened that he escaped his fate.

From that day on, Bei Bei understood deeply just how terrifying this seemingly gentle Brother Che could be when he decided to be ruthless.

Whenever Bei Bei did anything to annoy Jiang Che, he would be beaten; sometimes, if Jiang Che was in a bad mood, he would even deliberately scheme to make Bei Bei make a mistake.

Seeing Bei Bei's cowardly appearance, the curve of Jiang Che's mouth deepened. He reached out and patted Bei Bei's shoulder; the chill from his fingertips made Bei Bei stiffen, nearly jumping on the spot.

"Alright, I'm just scaring you." Jiang Che withdrew his hand, his tone returning to indifference. "I just came out of seclusion, and since today happens to be the recruitment day, I was bored and came to take a look."

He turned his head to look in the direction Tang Ya had taken Huo Yuhao, his gaze landing on the youth's thin back. He spoke faintly, "That boy you brought, you said his name is Yuhao, right?"

"His name is Huo Yuhao. Xiao Ya and I met him in the Star Dou Great Forest. We saw he was alone with nowhere to go, so we let him join the Tang Sect." Bei Bei breathed a sigh of relief, seeing he wasn't in danger of being beaten.

"Oh, so you're saying a twelve-year-old with only level 10 soul power dared to venture into the Star Dou Great Forest alone?" Jiang Che asked, feigning curiosity.

"That's right. But Brother Che, don't let his level 11 fool you; his soul skill is quite formidable. You would never imagine it was provided by a 10-year Wind Baboon."

Hearing this, Jiang Che nearly burst out laughing. He wanted to tell Bei Bei: That baboon almost single-handedly killed a god.

But he only thought it. Suppressing his laughter, Jiang Che said, "He has guts, and his soul skill is decent. It seems he's a good seed. You and Tang Ya should cultivate him well."

"That goes without saying. Yuhao is the only Tang Sect member besides Xiao Ya and me. If we don't cultivate him, who else is there?" Bei Bei was speechless; the entire Tang Sect consisted of only the three of them.

"Fine, if you run into any difficulties, come find me. I'm leaving." Jiang Che smiled and reached out to pat Bei Bei's shoulder heavily, causing Bei Bei to gasp in pain.

Though it hurt, Bei Bei insisted on smiling as he said, "Take care, Brother Che."

Once Jiang Che was far away, Bei Bei bared his teeth, rubbing his shoulder and sucking in cold air, his eyes reddening from the pain.

That pat had looked light, but it felt like being struck by a Soul Emperor's hammer; his very bones felt numb and sore. He hopped on the spot, unable to stop himself from muttering, "I knew it! I knew this guy was up to no good! He said he was just scaring me, but he didn't hold back at all!"

Jiang Che had no idea Bei Bei was bad-mouthing him behind his back. Of course, even if he did know, as long as he was in a good mood, he wouldn't take it to heart.

Jiang Che headed to a remote area of the Star Dou Great Forest. He wasn't sure if the second martial soul rewarded by the system would cause a massive disturbance, so he chose this spot as a precaution.

"System, claim the second martial soul!" Jiang Che whispered in his heart.

[Ding, congratulations to the host for obtaining the tool martial soul: Holy Sword of Light.]

Jiang Che summoned the Holy Sword of Light. The blade was forged from Sun Essence Gold, flowing with a gilded luster. Fine runes of light were inscribed along the spine, the guard was shaped like a hexagram, and the hilt was wrapped in silver threads of holy light. It felt warm to the touch, and a core of light the size of a pigeon's egg dangled from the pommel, a wisp of pure holy light source pulsing within it.

In its normal state, the blade retracted its light, appearing like an ancient golden longsword. When soul power was infused, the core of light would ignite, activating all the runes on the blade and blooming with a brilliant yet non-blinding holy light. The sword's hum was as clear as a hymn, and wherever the light touched, it could dispel evil and purify death energy.

"Damn, I hit the jackpot. This thing even has Ultimate Light. Wouldn't it be a critical hit against evil soul masters?" Jiang Che said excitedly. The Holy Spirit Cult would be a formidable force later on, but with this Holy Sword of Light, Jiang Che dared to fight even above his own rank.