Prototype D-Wheel No. 1

Shrek Academy's first year of the outer court passed in the blink of an eye.

In terms of Soul Power Level, You Jie had officially overtaken the others on the bend. With a Soul Power Level of forty-four, he had sent Bei Bei, who was only at level forty-three, flying, leaving him to choke on his exhaust.

"Since breaking through to Soul Ancestor, you've improved by less than three levels... Looks like you've been slacking off again, Brother Bei Bei.

"What, you think getting beaten by me last time and exchanging your first kiss with Xu Sanshi wasn't enough? Are you planning to exchange something else with him in the future, like a Martial Soul Fusion Skill?"

At the gates of Shrek Academy, You Jie had changed into travel clothes. He watched Bei Bei, who had just been getting cozy with Tang Ya, then walked over with a twitching mouth, slung an arm around Bei Bei's shoulders, and spoke in a low voice.

Bei Bei's expression immediately turned awkward. He wasn't sure how to respond.

After breaking through to Soul Ancestor, Bei Bei had apparently felt that he'd gotten ahead of Xu Sanshi for good, and started thinking he was hot stuff again. He'd also been spending more time getting lovey-dovey with Tang Ya.

As a result, You Jie had not only overtaken him on the bend, but Xu Sanshi was now catching up to him again.

As for his first kiss, that had been knocked away by Scrap Iron Fist.

When You Jie fought Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi in a two-on-one match, he never used any other monsters. He just kept having Junk Warrior use Scrap Iron Fist.

One time, either Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi had coordinated perfectly, or Junk Warrior had gotten the hang of the move. Bei Bei was punched flying and, by a stroke of bad luck, landed beside Xu Sanshi, who had been sent flying earlier. The two of them then reenacted that famous Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke scene.

As a result, Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi were practically suffering from "crotch-split PTSD." Whenever they saw a certain purple figure with red eyes, a white scarf, and legs spread wide, they trembled from head to toe.

Unfortunately, Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi weren't committed enough. They'd managed to do something as difficult as exchanging their first kisses, but still hadn't earned the Glory Right Scar.

"Hey, don't just make things up and sully my good name... Besides, I'm not as talented as you. I can't make achievements in Soul Tools without letting it get in the way of my cultivation.

"But are you really not going to join the Tang Sect? If you joined too, then..."

Bei Bei reminded him helplessly in a low voice.

If Tang Ya found out that his first kiss had gone to Xu Sanshi, she'd probably tease him about it for the rest of his life.

As for Bei Bei's cultivation, well, that was a choice he'd made himself.

The Tang Sect these days didn't have Prisoner Huo to fill in the gaps in their Soul Tool knowledge. Even He Caitou hadn't joined the Tang Sect yet, so Bei Bei had no choice but to spend some of his energy studying in the Soul Tool Department.

But he simply didn't have much talent for it, and the time he put in was awkwardly both a lot and a little. It was a lot when it came to hindering his cultivation, but too little to learn about Soul Tools. Bei Bei's achievements with Soul Tools were even worse than Huo Yuhao's, and his cultivation had suffered too.

"The Tang Sect? I'll pass. You know I have no reason to join.

"Rather than give you some useless hope—like, 'If every Tang Sect disciple can beat me in a fair, open, and impartial contest, I'll join the Tang Sect'—it's better to make things clear from the start.

"Oh, and that suggestion came from Mystic Ancestor."

As soon as he heard Bei Bei trying to pull him into the Tang Sect again, You Jie immediately refused.

Even Huo Yuhao could see that You Jie would just be worked like a pack mule if he joined the Tang Sect now. Even Huo Yuhao, who'd once been biased in favor of the Tang Sect, hadn't considered joining it anymore, let alone You Jie.

Although Mu En had once planned to use this matter to encourage Bei Bei to cultivate harder, You Jie still turned him down without hesitation.

"Fine... But I guess that makes sense. Sanshi and I can't beat you together, let alone Xiaoya.

"Anyway, where are you headed? You haven't reached level fifty yet, have you?"

Bei Bei sighed. Mu En's proposal might have sounded pretty good, but it would probably just make Tang Ya even more withdrawn, and leave Bei Bei needing to spend more time comforting her.

Even if Tang Ya's Tang Sect Hidden Weapons were taken into account, her fighting ability was still limited against You Jie. Her Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul was simply too weak, and her current Tang Sect Secret Arts couldn't make up the difference.

Rather than give Tang Ya some distant, illusory hope, it was better to cut ties with her cleanly.

But for Bei Bei, this...

"First I'm going to Sister Lexuan's hometown to visit her family's graves with her. Then I'll go to the Far North with Mystic Ancestor. I heard there are some unusual things there."

You Jie didn't hide where he was going.

It wasn't that he planned to intercept Prisoner Huo. Some rumors had surfaced not long ago, saying that a building resembling a temple had suddenly appeared in the deepest part of the Far North. You Jie was quite interested.

If it had something to do with the Ice Barrier, that would be even better.

Unlike ordinary duelists, You Jie wasn't worried about running out of space in his "Extra Deck." If he could add a few of the Ice Barrier Extra Deck cards to his Soul Skills, that would give him even more ways to fight.

As for why he wasn't hunting Ice-type Soul Beasts and hoping for a lucky break...

You Jie had a feeling that, apart from preparing a few more Hand Traps, he'd probably need to make room in his Soul Skills for some heavyweight cards.

So You Jie asked Mu En to take him to the Far North, bringing Zhang Lexuan along on her way home to visit her family's graves.

Although the Far North's conditions were extremely harsh, You Jie had already prepared plenty of specialized Soul Tools through the Soul Tool Department. With healthy Mu En accompanying them—and with the Snow Empress most likely already sealed inside the God Sealing Platform like a Pokémon, while the Ice Empress was set to become Huo Yuhao's Martial Soul—You Jie and Zhang Lexuan were about as safe as they could be.

"Sister Lexuan... visiting graves..."

Perhaps recalling some experiences he'd deliberately tried to forget because of Tang Ya's arrival, Bei Bei's expression grew a little sorrowful.

Seeing this, You Jie patted Bei Bei hard on the back, then took a vehicle Soul Tool out of his Storage Soul Tool. He'd just picked it up from the Soul Tool Department.

It looked like a motorcycle with an elongated frame, though its seat was noticeably longer, clearly designed to accommodate two riders.

"Sure enough, after improving the materials, this first D-Wheel prototype is looking pretty good. Keep working at it, and you'll be able to perfectly recreate the D-Wheel I have in mind."

You Jie ignored his mushy brother and sister-in-law, immediately climbed onto the prototype D-Wheel, started its Soul Tool engine, and sped off.

"Wow, that looks so cool! Bei Bei, could you ask him to make one for me too?"

"Uh... I don't think that'd be a good idea. And that thing probably isn't cheap..."