Yan Shaozhe's Shock

He knocked lightly three times,

"Come in."

A gentle voice, tinged with a scholarly air.

Zhang Lexuan pushed the door open, and Lu Ran was immediately drawn to the furnishings inside,

It was a spacious, airy office with excellent natural light. Afternoon sunshine poured in through the enormous floor-to-ceiling windows, filling every corner,

Books covered the entire left wall, arranged neatly from floor to ceiling, with the faint scent of ink in the air,

His gaze swept past the enormous floor-to-ceiling windows,

Beside the elegant redwood desk on the right, a white-haired elder in plain white robes held a celadon teacup in one hand and gazed at the horizon outside. There lay the rolling Star Dou Great Forest, standing for countless millennia,

The white-robed elder's expression was calm and serene, his brows bearing the composure that came with the passing years,

The faint scents of tea and ink mingled in the afternoon sunlight, and somehow made one feel peaceful without even realizing it, soothing every restless thought,

Looking again at that placid face, it seemed that no matter how shocking the news, nothing in the world could surprise him,

When he saw the two enter, the elder smiled warmly and set down his teacup, sending faint ripples across the tea,

"Hello, child. My name is Yan Shaozhe, and I'm the dean of Shrek Academy."

Before the two had even reached the door, Yan Shaozhe had sensed their presence. He knew Zhang Lexuan was helping a child awaken his Martial Soul, and if she had brought him here in person, it could only mean he had exceptional talent,

Something that needed to be reported to him,

"Child, would you be willing to join Shrek?"

Lu Ran was a little surprised. Yan Shaozhe had agreed to let him join without asking anything at all,

Was he in such a hurry?

But on second thought, Yan Shaozhe had probably already learned about him from the other students who had returned,

There was no need to ask any more,

As for whether to join Shrek, Lu Ran had considered it from the moment he crossed over:

Everyone knew that the Sun Moon Empire valued Soul Tools over Martial Souls, while Shrek valued Martial Souls over Soul Tools. It wasn't that one was valued and the other looked down on; the two sides simply excelled in different areas,

But for someone with no backing, the Sun Moon Empire was far more dangerous than Shrek,

Evil Soul Masters were everywhere in the Sun Moon Empire, and the whole place was riddled with the Holy Spirit Cult from top to bottom. For all he knew, he might arrive and get killed by a passing Evil Soul Master just for stepping off with his left foot first,

Stepping off with his right foot would work too,

But was there only one passing Evil Soul Master?

Now that he had Innate Full Soul Power, he would be treated like a prized guest in the Sun Moon Empire as well. He didn't need to fear Evil Soul Masters, but unless he had the surname Xu, he would always be an outsider, and no one would ever truly nurture him,

Shrek was different. After all, it called itself righteous. No matter how bizarre its actions were, at least it cared about appearances. If he joined now, they might well treat him as one of their own,

The two sides were worlds apart,

Lu Ran didn't hesitate:

"I'm willing."

Yan Shaozhe smiled with satisfaction, as if everything had gone according to his expectations,

"Good. Can you tell me what your Martial Soul is?"

"My Martial Soul is a space that can expand. Each Soul Ring can form a contract with one Soul Beast, and I can control the Soul Beasts and use their corresponding elemental powers.."

Now that he was joining, he had to prove he was worth investing in. Otherwise, why should he receive extra resources?

Why should anyone value him?

The more Yan Shaozhe listened, the brighter his eyes grew. A Martial Soul this unusual was rare across the continent,

"Child, what level is your Innate Soul Power?"

He asked eagerly. Beast Taming Soul Masters were highly unusual, practically all-purpose, and immensely important to Shrek—far more valuable than ordinary talented Soul Masters.

"Full."

"...Hm?"

Yan Shaozhe looked at Lu Ran's calm face,

And froze,

He reached out and placed a hand on Lu Ran's shoulder, sensing the Soul Power within him,

"—Hnk!"

A short, abrupt sound came from Yan Shaozhe's nose, and the corners of his mouth kept rising,

"Ahem.."

Realizing he had lost his composure, he quickly schooled his expression and coughed twice,

But inside, he was already over the moon:

A six-year-old child with Innate Full Soul Power who could control Soul Beasts was already unbelievable enough. More importantly, Lu Ran had been rescued by Zhang Lexuan!

What delighted Yan Shaozhe most was Lu Ran's clean background,

As the continent's number-one academy, Shrek Academy had many students, but nearly all the truly talented ones had powerful backing. It was hard to find someone who was both exceptionally gifted and neutral, someone the academy could devote itself to nurturing,

And now, Lu Ran was a perfect fit—and even more talented,

He was sure to enter the Sea God Pavilion one day and help hold up the sky over Shrek!

Yan Shaozhe's thoughts raced, as if a beautiful future lay right before his eyes,

He smiled at Lu Ran, unable to keep the grin from spreading across his face:

"Ahem, you must be tired. First, let your dean and Sister Lexuan take you to choose a room and welcome you properly. Take a good bath and change into clean clothes. We can deal with the rest later."

Now that Lu Ran had joined, there was no chance he would get away. The first thing was to build a closer relationship; everything else could wait, because nothing came close to being as important as Lu Ran.

"Um..."

Lu Ran hesitated,

"If there's anything else you need, Dean Yan will definitely take care of it for you!"

Yan Shaozhe immediately thumped his chest in assurance,

Lu Ran waved a hand. "No, I still need a Soul Ring. I'd like to trouble you to find a suitable Soul Beast for me."

Yan Shaozhe relaxed, nearly startled out of his wits:

"No problem. Dean Yan will find the one that suits you best."

Lu Ran continued, "As I said, my Martial Soul is special, so I want my first Soul Beast to have an earth attribute. It should be able to generate rocks and soil inside my Martial Soul, so there'll be somewhere to stand. Otherwise, the Soul Beasts won't have anywhere to set foot."

Even among commoners, there were differences. Some commoners went their entire lives without seeing more than a few Soul Beasts. Lu Ran, on the other hand, had grown up in a small village near the Star Dou Great Forest, making a living gathering herbs. It was only natural he knew something about Soul Beasts; otherwise, he'd have to pretend he knew nothing and start learning from scratch,

And pretending not to know what you knew was pure torture.

Yan Shaozhe knew Lu Ran's circumstances, so he didn't suspect anything. He thought it over seriously, then nodded. "All right. I'll send someone right away. But even if we find one, you won't be able to absorb it for a while. You need to recover your health before you can absorb a high-year Soul Ring."

Now, ten thousand years later, research and theory had advanced considerably. It was common knowledge that the age of a Soul Ring a Soul Master could absorb in the early stages depended on their constitution: the stronger the body, the higher the age of the Soul Ring they could absorb. On top of that, the discovery that Whale Rubber could improve one's constitution, along with the development of all kinds of elixirs, meant the first few Soul Rings of core disciples in major powers had long since surpassed the theories of ten thousand years ago,

As a Core Disciple of Shrek, Lu Ran naturally couldn't fall behind. His early Soul Rings had to approach the limit his body could absorb.

"About that.."

Lu Ran waved a hand. "There's no need. Soul Beasts I contract can continue cultivating as usual, without any restrictions. As long as they have potential, a few hundred years more or less won't really matter.."

"?!"

Yan Shaozhe's expression changed drastically. Like Zhang Lexuan, he stared at Lu Ran in shock,

"Wha...t?"

Lu Ran repeated himself. "The age of a Soul Beast I contract can continue to increase, without any restrictions. So we only need to look at its potential."

"!!"

Yan Shaozhe looked at Lu Ran as if he were a monster, his mouth slightly agape. He couldn't utter a word. After a long while, his throat dry, he slowly turned to Zhang Lexuan, eyes wide as if asking:

Why didn't you tell me sooner?

But from Zhang Lexuan's expression, he could tell she had only just found out too.

His body vanished in an instant, as if he had been erased from the office, without stirring the slightest ripple. Yet his voice continued to echo:

"I'm going to see Elder Mu!"