You're Talking Crap [Seeking Follow-ups Meow]

The next day.

Bang!

Xiao Yan was jolted awake by a deafening crash.

He barely managed to keep from tumbling off the inn bed, only to see that the wall of his room... no, it was no longer a wall.

The partition between the two rooms had vanished without a trace, replaced by a gaping, horrifying hole.

"Ha! Xiao Yan! Celebrate! This Young Master is now level 17! I'm even a level ahead of you!"

"You horse!"

Xiao Yulü crawled out from the wreckage, a Giant Ruler slung over his shoulder, his grin pure and bright.

Xiao Yan had to summon every ounce of his willpower to suppress the raging flames within his body; at the moment the wall shattered, his reflex had been to trigger Martial Soul Possession and hurl fireballs into the hole.

The brat actually thought he'd hit the jackpot.

Brushing the dust off his clothes, Xiao Yan was about to speak when he suddenly froze, asking in confusion:

"You said... you're level 17?"

"That's right! This Young Master is level 17 now, even you aren't my match anymore!"

He let out a hearty laugh and released his soul power. Xiao Yan rubbed his forehead, never expecting the pill's effect to be so potent; it hadn't just helped Xiao Yulü break through his bottleneck, but had propelled him all the way to level 17.

He himself was only level 15.

However, if the medicine worked for Xiao Yulü, could he perhaps use it himself...

Slap. Xiao Yan gave himself a smack.

Have some dignity! How much use could a substandard pill refined from common herbs really be?

The effects weren't as good as a premium pill, it required taking more, and if he accumulated too much pill toxicity and died, who would he go to for justice?

When refining the Purple Sun Pill, Xiao Yan had produced quite a few substandard ones while experimenting with the formula. Logically, these pills should have the same effect as the genuine Purple Sun Pill, both promoting the circulation of soul power and aiding a soul master's cultivation.

It was just that the effect might not be as strong. If he sold these pills and used the money to buy better medicinal ingredients, then used those to refine more pills...

Wouldn't he be grinding his alchemy proficiency while simultaneously grinding for money?

He was in desperate need of a sect-wide alchemy master to teach him!

"Cough, cough. Was the pill useful? How was the effect?"

After pondering for a moment, Xiao Yan suddenly asked.

Hearing this, the corners of Xiao Yulü's mouth curled even higher:

"It was incredibly useful. One pill allowed my soul power to circulate faster, and at the same time, the fire elemental energy contained within could be absorbed by me, accelerating my cultivation speed."

"Hmm... so the faint traces of Dao contained within the herbs were absorbed... that makes sense. I understand now."

Xiao Yan suddenly took out another white porcelain bottle, poured out a pill, and shoved it into Xiao Yulü's mouth:

"How about this one? How is the effect of this pill? Roughly how much of a gap is there compared to the other?"

"Mm... this one, is it also a Purple Sun Pill? But... the efficacy is worse, only about one-fifth of yesterday's."

Hearing this, Xiao Yan nodded.

"Alright, many thanks."

After the two tidied up for a moment, they went downstairs to find the innkeeper and paid for the repairs to the damaged wall.

Of course, it was the young master Xiao who footed the bill.

With that done, it was time for the two of them to enroll.

Xiao Family Village was a small place. Although the Xiao Clan sent people every year to awaken Martial Souls, there was nothing like a primary soul master school there because the awakening rate for soul power was too low.

Therefore, all of Xiao Yan's common knowledge regarding Martial Souls came almost entirely from his past-life memories and the materials he had exchanged for with contribution points while in the Xiao Clan. Joining Shrek Academy would not only allow him to touch a broader world but also fill in the gaps in his knowledge.

Following the instructions on the recommendation letter, Xiao Yan and Xiao Yulü completed their registration quickly.

At the same time, because they were enrolling quite late, the two were assigned to Freshman Class 9.

Before the first freshman assessment, everyone was in mixed-discipline classes. Only after the first assessment would the academy divide them into four classes based on their cultivation paths.

It is worth mentioning that Xiao Yan's thousand-year soul ring was not exposed, as soul rings only appeared during Martial Soul Possession, and since he had enrolled using an invitation letter, there had been no step to test his soul power.

After completing the enrollment procedures, the two were naturally assigned to the same dormitory, though the environment was somewhat too crude.

There were only two beds, one table, and not even a bathroom.

"666, brother, I thought I'd transmigrated back."

"Huh?"

Xiao Yulü looked at Xiao Yan's furrowed brows, not quite understanding what his good brother meant.

"When we have more freedom later, let's buy a house in Shrek City. I'll come stay with you then."

Xiao Yan patted Xiao Yulü on the shoulder, leaving the latter feeling as though the road ahead was long and arduous.

Although the living conditions were a bit poor, Xiao Yan quickly cleaned the room and made the beds.

The eldest young master of the Xiao Clan was not very good at such things, so he had asked Xiao Yan for help. Having managed his own affairs since childhood and lived two lifetimes, Xiao Yan quickly finished all the preparations for their accommodation.

With nothing better to do, Xiao Yan decided to stroll around the school with Xiao Yulü to familiarize themselves with the map.

Logically speaking, they should have been led by a senior student, but having read many novels in his past life, Xiao Yan already had a general idea of the layout. After walking a lap, he roughly knew where everything was.

After their stroll, the two returned to the dormitory, only to find a crowd gathered at the entrance.

"Hm?"

Naturally fond of joining the excitement, Xiao Yan squeezed his way in, only to discover that in the center of the circle, a blue-haired youth was beating up a powder-blue-haired... girl.

The reason he hesitated for a moment was that Xiao Yan had recognized the identities of the two people grappling on the ground.

Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong'er.

The latter was currently still disguised as a boy, so it had taken Xiao Yan some effort to identify her.

So it's this moment...

Xiao Yan frowned, hesitating whether he should step in to help.

If he helped, the girl was the daughter of the Tang God King, whose own father was watching from the heavens twenty-four hours a day.

If he didn't help, Huo Yuhao was at least half a friend, and what kind of friend would he be if he didn't help when a friend was in trouble?

While Xiao Yan was still weighing the pros and cons, he saw that Xiao Yulü had already stepped forward to break up the fight.

"Hey, hey, hey! What are you doing, bullying Brother Yuhao like that!"

"...?"

Wang Dong was stunned. She widened her eyes and stared at Xiao Yulü; Huo Yuhao was the one pinning her down and beating her, so how could he possibly claim she was the one bullying Huo Yuhao!

She had no idea how this kid could be so fierce; despite having no great strength, his fighting style was simply reckless.

He would risk his life over a few spoken words—who could reason with someone like that?

"Hey, are you blind? Where did I bully him? It's clearly him pinning me down and beating me, isn't it!"

"Bullshit!"

Xiao Yulü reached out and unleashed the Great Desolation Imprisoning Heaven Finger, then summoned his martial soul and charged in with the momentum of Thousand Jun.

Seeing that Xiao Yulü wouldn't listen to a word of explanation, Wang Dong stopped wasting her breath, activated her own martial soul, and unfurled her Magnificent Butterfly Wings.

Just as the situation was about to escalate, a massive, overwhelming force suddenly crashed down upon the two of them!