Second Martial Soul

A young man and woman walked side by side, with a frail-looking boy trailing behind them.

The young man was fifteen or sixteen, handsome and refined. He wore a fourth-year uniform from Shrek Outer Court, and two tokens hung at his waist: one from the Tang Sect and one from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. He was none other than Bei Bei.

Beside him was fifteen-year-old Tang Ya, the Tang Sect's leader. Behind them followed Huo Yuhao, who had just joined the Tang Sect.

By then, Bei Bei was a well-known genius in the Outer Court, a three-ring Soul Elder with two yellow rings and one purple. Even the Outer Court's teachers treated him with considerable respect.

Seeing that it was Bei Bei, Teacher Zhou's frown eased slightly. "Bei Bei, there's something seriously wrong with this man. He's far older than twelve, and he even threatened a student into taking the entrance examination. He's clearly here to cause trouble. Don't get involved."

"Teacher Zhou, this really is a misunderstanding. His name is Jiang Che. He's a senior from the Inner Court, and we know each other." Bei Bei gave a bitter smile.

"The Inner Court?" Teacher Zhou looked at Jiang Che in surprise. He wasn't the only one; the other Shrek students were stunned, too. The Inner Court was the place of their dreams.

"Here's my token." Jiang Che took an Inner Court identity token from his storage ring and tossed it to Teacher Zhou.

Teacher Zhou inspected it carefully. The words "Shrek Inner Court" were engraved on the front, which was edged in gold. A phoenix relief adorned the back. It was unmistakably a token reserved for Inner Court students.

Actually, Jiang Che also had the Sea God Token Mu En had given him, but there was no need to take it out. He was afraid it would scare Teacher Zhou half to death.

"Since you're an Inner Court student, let's forget it." Teacher Zhou returned the token to Jiang Che with an annoyed expression. He couldn't understand why someone from the Inner Court would pretend to be a new student here.

Jiang Che put away the token and sighed. He'd wanted to try the entrance examination, which he'd never taken before, but after all this commotion, that was clearly out of the question.

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

"Sure. Take your time. You can talk as long as you like. Registering is so simple, I can handle it by myself." Tang Ya said this proudly, as if she were about to undertake some grand mission.

"Che, why aren't you staying in the Inner Court like you're supposed to? Why come to the Outer Court and pretend to be a new student? You should've thought about how old you are. No wonder they misunderstood." After Tang Ya left, Bei Bei complained.

"Hmm? Little Bei Bei, are you taking a roundabout way of calling me an old geezer who shouldn't show his face in public?" Jiang Che glanced at Bei Bei. Rather than answer him, he twisted his words completely.

Bei Bei thought about what he'd said, then listened to how Jiang Che had put it. That wasn't what he'd meant at all!

When Bei Bei saw the almost-smile on Jiang Che's face, memories of his childhood came rushing back. One wrong move, and Jiang Che would beat him senseless, all under the grand excuse of "training his ability to take a hit."

Bei Bei's whole body shuddered. His head shook like a rattle, and both hands waved frantically. His voice was full of panicked desperation. "Absolutely not! Che, how could you be an old geezer? You look even younger than me! I just... I just think that someone of your standing shouldn't have to squeeze in with new students for an entrance exam. It's beneath you!"

As he spoke, he shrank his neck and watched Jiang Che warily, afraid Jiang Che might raise a hand and smack him.

The shadow of his childhood was simply too deep.

Back then, Mu En had just brought him to Sea God Island. Proud of his Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan heritage and his exceptional talent, he'd been a little conceited. He'd casually called out, "Hey," to Jiang Che, without showing him any respect.

That very afternoon, Jiang Che had dragged him to the training grounds and frozen him with his Ultimate Ice Martial Soul until he was shivering. Jiang Che had even called it "tempering his disposition and testing his resistance to ice." In the end, only Mu En's intervention had saved him.

From that day on, Bei Bei had learned all too well just how frightening gentle-looking Che could be when he got serious.

Whenever Bei Bei did something to anger Jiang Che, he got beaten. Sometimes, when Jiang Che was in a bad mood, he'd even deliberately set Bei Bei up to make a mistake.

Seeing how timid Bei Bei looked, Jiang Che's smile deepened. He reached out and patted Bei Bei on the shoulder. The chill at his fingertips made Bei Bei stiffen all over, and he nearly jumped on the spot.

"Relax. I was just messing with you." Jiang Che withdrew his hand, his tone returning to its usual calm. "I just came out of seclusion, and today happens to be recruitment day. I was bored, so I came to take a look."

He turned toward the direction Tang Ya had taken Huo Yuhao, his gaze settling on the boy's thin figure. Then he said mildly, "The boy you brought along—is his name Yuhao, you said?"

"His name's Huo Yuhao. Xiao Ya and I met him in the Star Dou Great Forest. He was all alone with nowhere to go, so we let him join the Tang Sect." Seeing that there was no danger of getting beaten, Bei Bei breathed a sigh of relief.

"Oh? So you're saying that a twelve-year-old with only ten levels of Soul Power dared to venture into the Star Dou Great Forest alone?" Jiang Che asked with feigned curiosity.

"Yeah. But, Che, don't let the fact that he's only level eleven fool you. His Soul Skill is really powerful. You'd never imagine it came from a ten-year-old Wind Baboon."

At that, Jiang Che nearly burst out laughing. He wanted to tell Bei Bei, That baboon nearly soloed a god.

But he kept that thought to himself and forced back his laughter. "He's got courage, and his Soul Skill is good too. Looks like he's a promising talent. You and Tang Ya should make sure to nurture him."

"Of course. Yuhao's the only other Tang Sect member besides Xiao Ya and me. Who else would we nurture?" Bei Bei was speechless. There were only three people in the entire Tang Sect.

"All right. Come to me if you run into any trouble. I'll be going." Jiang Che smiled and gave Bei Bei's shoulder a heavy pat, making him suck in a breath from the pain.

It hurt like hell, but Bei Bei still managed a smile. "Take care, Che."

Only after Jiang Che had gone far away did Bei Bei grimace and rub his shoulder, sucking in breaths through clenched teeth. His eyes had even turned red from the pain.

The pat had looked light, but when it landed, it felt like an Soul Emperor's hammer had smashed into him. The ache seemed to seep between his bones. Grimacing, he bounced on the spot twice and muttered under his breath, "I knew it! I knew that guy was up to no good! He says he's just messing with me, but he never knows how to hold back!"

Jiang Che had no idea Bei Bei was badmouthing him behind his back. Of course, even if he'd known, he wouldn't have taken it to heart as long as he was in a good mood.

Jiang Che headed to a secluded part of the Star Dou Great Forest. He wasn't sure whether the system's reward of a Second Martial Soul would cause a huge commotion, so he'd chosen this spot to be safe.

"System, claim my Second Martial Soul!" Jiang Che silently commanded.

[ Ding! Congratulations, Host. You have obtained the weapon-type Martial Soul: Holy Sword of Light. ]

Jiang Che summoned the Holy Sword of Light. Its blade had been forged from Sun Essence Gold, and golden radiance flowed across its entire length. Fine runes of light were engraved along the spine. The crossguard was shaped like a six-pointed star, and sacred silver threads wound around the hilt. It felt warm to the touch, and a dove's egg-sized core of light hung from its pommel. Within the core, a wisp of pure holy light pulsed.

In its normal state, the blade kept its light subdued, like an ancient golden sword. When Soul Power flowed into it, the core of light shone, and all the runes on the blade activated. Radiant but gentle holy light burst forth, and its ringing sounded clear as a sacred hymn. Wherever its light reached, it could drive away evil and cleanse the aura of death.

"Holy crap, I hit the jackpot! This thing even has Ultimate Light. Wouldn't it deal a critical hit against Evil Soul Masters?" Jiang Che said excitedly. The Holy Spirit Cult would be quite powerful in the future, but with this Holy Sword of Light, Jiang Che even dared to fight opponents above his level.