I'm Sticking with You for Life

Sunlight filtered through the Golden Ancient Tree's branches, bathing Lin Feng and Ma Xiaotao in warmth.

"So you got off that easily..."

"That really was... a dream, wasn't it?"

"I don't know, and I don't care." Ma Xiaotao suddenly turned onto her side, her gaze settling on Lin Feng's profile. Her tone was haughty. "Anyway, I'm sticking with you for life."

"Mm." Lin Feng turned to meet her gaze, his expression gentle and earnest. "A real man takes responsibility for what he's done, all the way to the end."

"That's more like it." Ma Xiaotao's lips curled up, and she turned back with satisfaction to look at the tree. "Speaking of which, that Whale Rubber was a real steal. If we use it sparingly, there'll be enough left for ten more times."

"Ten times?!" Lin Feng's breath caught, then he gave a wry smile. "Good thing it's so nourishing. Otherwise, my little body couldn't take that kind of strain... Next time, we'd better find some thousand-year-old Whale Rubber."

"For the two days of every weekend from now on, you have to stay at my place." Ma Xiaotao ignored his remark about the Whale Rubber and made her announcement, her tone leaving no room for argument.

"Sure. Whatever you say." Lin Feng readily agreed.

As for the rest of the time...

Whether he went back to the Tang Sect shop to help Tang Ya run the business or stayed in the Class Nine dormitory to trade wits with that little Wang Dong was up to him.

"Everyone's here. Come in."

Yan Shaozhe's voice came from deep within the Sea God Pavilion, calm yet clear.

Lin Feng and Ma Xiaotao exchanged a glance, then rose and walked shoulder to shoulder up the steps leading to the main pavilion.

The grand meeting hall of the Sea God Pavilion was softly lit, its atmosphere solemn.

A broad oval table stood in the center, with ten figures already seated around it.

Their auras were either deep and still as an abyss or keen as a blade. All were the dean or vice-dean of the Martial Soul Department or the Soul Tool Department, or venerable elders of high standing in the Enshrinement Hall.

Lin Feng's gaze swept over them before finally settling on the seat at the far end of the table.

It wasn't an ordinary chair, but an old-fashioned reclining chair.

The light there seemed especially dim, yet Lin Feng immediately recognized the aged figure leaning back in it. It was Mu En.

He had actually awakened from his slumber and come in person.

Only after Lin Feng and Ma Xiaotao took the seats reserved for them did Mu En gesture for Yan Shaozhe to begin and preside over the meeting.

"Teacher, venerable elders." Yan Shaozhe stood beside the seat at the head of the table, his steady voice ringing clearly through the silent hall. "I called this meeting today to discuss something that may affect Shrek's fortunes for the next hundred years, even the next thousand."

"Get to the point. Spit it out!" Xian Lin'er impatiently slapped the table, interrupting Yan Shaozhe's somewhat long-winded opening. "Stop beating around the bush and making it sound more dire than it is!"

"Lin'er!" The stern-faced elderly woman beside her scolded her quietly. "Mind where you are!"

This was practically a classic scene at Sea God Pavilion meetings. Everyone else present had long since grown used to it.

Yan Shaozhe showed no anger, merely shaking his head with a hint of helplessness. The tangled history of his personal relationship with Xian Lin'er was long-standing and common knowledge.

"Never mind, I'll be direct." Yan Shaozhe let the interruption pass, his expression turning solemn. "Here's what happened. With the help of my other direct disciple, Lin Feng, Xiaotao not only completely purified her Evil Fire Origin and evolved her Martial Soul into a pure Fire Phoenix, but also advanced straight to Soul Saint."

"A Fire Phoenix with Ultimate Fire?!"

"A Soul Saint at twenty?"

Yan Shaozhe gave a slight nod. Before they could absorb the news, he dropped an even bigger bombshell. "That's right. A Fire Phoenix with Ultimate Fire."

"Ultimate Fire? A Soul Saint at twenty?!" Xuan Zi had been happily gnawing on a glistening chicken drumstick, but his movements suddenly stopped. His cloudy eyes flashed bright.

"Exactly, Elder Xuan." Yan Shaozhe met his gaze, then dropped a bombshell that rocked the entire hall. "But that's not all. Xiaotao's Seventh Soul Ring didn't come from hunting a Soul Beast. It condensed from her own origin fire. Mu En and I confirmed its age..."

He paused slightly to make sure every word reached their ears:

"It's at the Hundred Thousand Year level."

"What?!"

"How is that possible?!"

Several venerable elders cried out almost at once. Even Xian Lin'er, who had been sulking just moments before, jerked her head up, disbelief written all over her face.

Yan Shaozhe said no more, merely turning aside to give Ma Xiaotao a slight nod.

Ma Xiaotao stepped forward, and in an instant, blazing wings of fire unfurled behind her.

Purple, purple, purple, black, black, black...

When the final ring rose slowly—a deep crimson, as though it held the endless laws of flame—the entire Sea God Pavilion meeting hall fell utterly silent.

Every gaze locked onto the Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring.

Only after the ring slowly disappeared did Yan Shaozhe speak in a grave voice, beginning to recount in detail the harrowing yet miraculous events of the previous day.

"With careful cultivation, given time, Shrek will surely produce another Limit Douluo. She may even have a chance to... reach the legendary realm of the gods."

Yan Shaozhe's word "gods" struck like a thunderclap.

Every venerable elder was shaken. Even with their vast experience, they couldn't hide their astonishment at his words.

Given Ma Xiaotao's current foundation and potential, striving for that elusive seat among the gods was no empty boast.

"The gods? Excellent! Excellent!" In the silence, Xuan Zi was the first to break it, his cloudy eyes shining brightly.

"Shaozhe, you should introduce our young friend Lin Feng to everyone." Mu En had been silent for a long time, but now spoke slowly. Though his voice was soft, the entire hall instantly fell quiet.

"Of course, Teacher." Yan Shaozhe answered respectfully, then began introducing Lin Feng. "Lin Feng is my second direct disciple. His age is..."

With Yan Shaozhe's permission, Lin Feng rose and demonstrated the Soul Ring Configuration of his Fire Lotus Martial Soul.

When three black Ten Thousand Year Soul Rings appeared, everyone drew in a sharp breath. Yan Shaozhe had given them too many surprises.

"Twin Martial Souls? And a Body Martial Soul, just like those two old monsters, Du Bisou and Du Busi?! Shaozhe, your place is truly full of talent."

"A twelve-year-old Soul Elder at level thirty-seven. He really does have the bearing of a Limit Douluo."

"Venerable elders, please allow me to move on to the key part of the meeting." Yan Shaozhe's voice rang out again. He looked around at everyone present, then finally turned his gaze back to Lin Feng.

"Lin Feng's Fire Lotus Martial Soul can absorb and transform most flames in the world. If he can receive a long-term infusion of Xiaotao's Ultimate Fire, he'll grow extremely quickly. Combined with the advantage his Body Martial Soul gives him in absorbing Soul Rings of greater age, there's a very good chance..."

He paused slightly, lending greater weight to what came next. "He'll walk the legendary path to godhood."

The atmosphere in the entire hall tightened.

Meeting the venerable elders' suddenly sharpened gazes, Yan Shaozhe voiced a proposal that could shake the entire academy.

"Therefore, I formally propose that we gather the finest resources of Shrek Academy and launch the Ultimate Soldier Project."

Every venerable elder's expression shed all traces of ease or curiosity, leaving only pure solemnity and gravity.