She had even had this idea long ago. That was why she hadn't participated in the previous Soul Master Tournament: to minimize her exposure outside the academy, especially the effects of her Soul Skills.
Only then could she perfectly change her identity, infiltrate the Sun Moon Empire, find that faction, and join it.
Seeing Zhang Lexuan's determination, Mu En fell silent. He looked at the letter again and finally sighed.
"Come with me."
After saying that, Mu En rose to his feet.
Zhang Lexuan stepped forward to support him, and the two made their way down. Before long, they reached the very bottom of the Golden Ancient Tree, where a sealed chamber lay. At present, only Mu En and Xuan Zi in all of Shrek Academy could open it.
Mu En stepped forward and channeled Soul Power into the door. Only after quite some time did the heavy doors finally open, and the two entered.
As soon as they went in, a dense, dark, evil force surged toward them. Zhang Lexuan looked closely and saw many stone platforms inside the chamber, each holding a sealed Soul Bone. The evil, dark aura came from those Soul Bones.
"Elder Mu, this place is..."
Zhang Lexuan was astonished. She had truly never imagined that their Shrek Academy had hidden so many Soul Bones with evil attributes.
"These are the spoils we've gathered over the past ten thousand years by killing Evil Soul Masters. Quite a few are 100,000-year Soul Bones."
Mu En agreed with Zhang Lexuan's idea, but he wasn't going to let her take such a risk. Strengthening her was essential, and Soul Bones were the fastest way to raise her strength.
"Refine this 100,000-year Head Soul Bone first. It can help steady your mind and keep you from being corrupted by its evil attributes and falling into depravity."
Mu En took a Head Soul Bone from his Storage Soul Tool. It was the best of the Soul Bones he had collected.
Evil attributes were extremely insidious. They eroded a person's mind and will, eventually corrupting them into a true Evil Soul Master.
Lexuan's Martial Soul had only just changed into an Evil Martial Soul, and she herself hadn't been affected yet. But refining these evil Soul Bones would be dangerous. Only with this 100,000-year Head Soul Bone protecting her could she keep her mind and will steady.
"Save this Soul Bone for Bei Bei."
Zhang Lexuan refused without hesitation, but Mu En was just as resolute.
"Either refine this Soul Bone, or don't go. You can both stay here at the academy."
After a long silence, Zhang Lexuan finally accepted the Soul Bone and began refining it.
Mu En guarded her from nearby. At the same time, he selected three more 100,000-year Soul Bones from the chamber that suited Zhang Lexuan: one Torso Soul Bone and two arm Soul Bones, the ones best suited to improving her physical strength.
100,000-year Soul Bones were rare, but Shrek Academy had existed for over ten thousand years, and the Evil Soul Masters it had killed were countless. Among them had been no shortage of Soul Masters with 100,000-year Soul Rings and Soul Bones.
They would never use Soul Bones with such evil attributes, so they had sealed them all away. The accumulation of ten thousand years was beyond what ordinary people could imagine.
Once she had refined the Head Soul Bone, Zhang Lexuan refined the three 100,000-year Soul Bones with evil attributes one after another, greatly increasing her strength. Her physical abilities alone had multiplied several times over.
That wasn't all. Mu En used his own power of light to compress the Soul Bones' energy and channel as much of it as possible into Zhang Lexuan's Martial Soul.
This made the evil, dark attributes of her Evil Moon Martial Soul even stronger, but it also greatly reduced their erosion of Zhang Lexuan. Combined with the protection of the 100,000-year Head Soul Bone, she was able to withstand the evil attributes.
That still wasn't all. Refining four 100,000-year Soul Bones in succession sent Zhang Lexuan's Soul Power Level soaring, ultimately reaching level 80.
Refining Soul Bones mainly improved physical strength, and the boost to Soul Power was much smaller. But these were 100,000-year Soul Bones, after all, and Zhang Lexuan was only at the Soul Saint level. Besides, absorbing her previous Soul Ring had already raised her Soul Power Level to 72.
Taken together, the four 100,000-year Soul Bones raised her Soul Power by eight levels—an average of two levels each.
"Get used to the changes. After that, I'll take you to hunt a 100,000-year Soul Ring. The Soul Bone it produces will suit you even better."
Mu En explained the next step in their plan. The reason he had given Zhang Lexuan only four Soul Bones was that she could still hunt for two Soul Rings.
With these four 100,000-year Soul Bones supporting her, especially the Head Soul Bone, and with Lexuan's own talent, she could bear a 100,000-year Soul Ring at level 80.
A 100,000-year Soul Beast was guaranteed to produce a Soul Bone, and it would be for a body part where the Soul Master didn't already have one. That would neatly fill the two remaining gaps in Lexuan's Soul Bones.
That way, the power of her Soul Ring and Soul Bones could connect, making her Soul Skills even more powerful.
"Take this with you. If you're in mortal danger there, you can seek out Long Xiaoyao and a woman named Ye Xishui."
At last, he took out an item and handed it to Zhang Lexuan. This was the final trump card Mu En had prepared for her.
It was something like a token. If Long Xiaoyao saw it, he would surely do everything he could to protect the girl.
As for Xishui... Sigh!
Leaving aside the plans and preparations of Mu En, the Dragon God Douluo, Yang Hao devoted himself entirely to research on the Holy Spirit Cult's side. It wasn't until his third year there that he finally made a breakthrough.
He put it to use at once in a spar with Ma Xiaotao, completely reversing his fate as a punching bag.
"You're confident."
Seeing the boy's confidence, Ma Xiaotao knew the little guy had made a major improvement.
"This time, you're going down!"
Yang Hao showed the pride of a strong man.
"We'll see how you manage to beat me."
Ma Xiaotao sneered and promptly activated her Martial Soul. Five Soul Rings slowly revolved around her.
That's right, she had become a Soul King, and she was close to level 60.
Yang Hao wasted no time and unleashed the fruit of his research.
"Vajra Dharma Body!"
Soul Power erupted. A gigantic, iron-gray One-Eyed Vajra climbed out of the ground and stood upright, reaching a full ten meters tall. Yang Hao stood on the Dharma Body's palm, looking down at the girl.
This was the result of his research. Thanks to the powerful boost to his comprehension from his Golden Finger, he had been able to uncover its secrets, transform his One-Eyed Vajra Martial Soul into a physical form, and separate it from himself so it could manifest independently.
At the same time, he could empower it with the Cold Iron Indestructible Body technique he had created, boosting its defenses.
"Did you really succeed?"
Feng Ling was astonished. She knew about the child's External Soul Bone and the Martial Soul bound to it. Three years earlier, he had asked her to find Soul Masters whose Beast Martial Souls could leave their bodies, and she had understood his idea.
She hadn't expected him to actually pull it off. This imposing presence was already no weaker than a Soul Saint's Martial Soul Avatar.
"It's just a bigger body. I have a finishing move of my own, too. Today, I'll use you to test it."
Ma Xiaotao sneered and controlled her five Soul Rings to fuse.
This was the Ring Fusion Secret Technique. It was still rather unstable, but it was enough to unleash an all-out strike.
The five Soul Rings slowly fused, and the gathered power twisted the air.
"Phoenix Annihilation Strike!"
Not daring to delay, she controlled the power of her five Soul Rings to fuse and erupt. A crimson phoenix surged forth, bringing with it terrifying heat.
"Take this!"
Yang Hao took a ten-meter-long battle axe from his Storage Soul Tool and had the Vajra Manifestation swing it down. The blow carried tremendous weight.
He naturally wasn't foolish enough to take that strike head-on with the Vajra Dharma Body. And since the Vajra Dharma Body was humanoid, it could grasp weapons and fight with them.
The enormous battle axe was made of Black-Veined Iron. It was incredibly hard and razor-sharp, and its internal Soul Tool core was a level-nine one.
"Whoosh!"
The battle axe split the charging fire phoenix in two with its overwhelming force and unmatched sharpness. But the two halves still crashed into the Dharma Body, triggering a violent explosion. Phoenix Flame set the Dharma Body ablaze.
"Little brother, my strike isn't so easy to block."
Ma Xiaotao, whose Soul Power was nearly exhausted, smiled smugly. But the next moment, she was astonished.
A figure suddenly shot out of the sea of flames at breakneck speed. It was Yang Hao, flung forward by the Vajra Dharma Body. He kicked off hard to accelerate even faster.
Ma Xiaotao hurriedly beat her wings to dodge, but Yang Hao had been ready. He shot out strands of Soul Power, wrapped them around her, and yanked her over before pulling her into a tight embrace and slamming into the ground with the force of his charge.
Though startled, Ma Xiaotao didn't panic. She promptly unleashed her Phoenix Flame and raised her knee to strike his weak point. But all that came of it was a sore leg, as if her bones had broken.
There was no helping it. Yang Hao was using the Cold Iron Indestructible Body technique, protecting his entire body—truly every last inch of it.
But that spot was still far too vulnerable, with a dense cluster of nerves. The sensation was truly unpleasant.
The pain made Yang Hao's vicious streak rise. He promptly opened his mouth toward the mountain before him and unleashed his innate Soul Skill as a mammal—Heavenly Dog Devours the Mountain.
Ma Xiaotao was in so much pain she was about to burst into tears.
She hammered him with her fists, but against Yang Hao's Cold Iron Indestructible Body, that little force didn't even count as a tickle.
"All right, all right, break it up. Xiaotao lost this round."
Feng Ling couldn't watch any longer and gestured for the two to separate.
Only then did Yang Hao let go and leap back, keeping his distance to avoid the girl's revenge.
Ma Xiaotao hurriedly turned her back to him and pulled open the neckline of her low-cut top. Seeing the bite mark and the blood slowly seeping out, she was so furious her teeth nearly shattered from clenching them.
"I'll kill you!"
She was so enraged she was beside herself. Her fair, pretty face turned red, partly from embarrassment and partly from anger.
That bastard had actually bitten her—and bitten her so hard.
"You're not in any state to beat Xiao Hao right now, and you did lose. Don't be a sore loser."
Feng Ling pressed a hand to the girl's shoulder and tried to reason with her.
If she went at him now, she'd only get suppressed again. That little guy didn't know the meaning of showing mercy to women.
"Fine, I was careless this time. I won't lose again."
After calming down a little, Ma Xiaotao remained unconvinced.
She had simply been careless this time, too confident in that Ring Fusion strike. If she'd been more cautious, there was no way that bastard would have gotten close enough to grab her.
Yang Hao ignored the girl's anger and refusal to accept defeat. He pulled out his notebook and scribbled away again, writing the 1,098th version of the Shrek Destruction Plan to vent his resentment.
That woman had just hit him with a brutal blow, and he could still feel the pain.
Yang Hao had always believed in repaying grudges and settling scores—never keeping them bottled up.
"Damn it!"
Seeing the bastard scribbling away again to update the Shrek Destruction Plan, Ma Xiaotao's chest heaved violently, and her fists clenched.
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