Outside Sea God Pavilion

It seemed that Xia Ming had sensed Yan Shaozhe's arrival, for the pale golden halo around him quietly receded.

He slowly opened his eyes. There was no displeasure at being disturbed in his clear gaze, only crystalline calm.

He then rose to his feet and dusted off clothes that had no dust on them.

"Child," Yan Shaozhe said, his voice even gentler than before, carrying a trace of barely perceptible respect. "Come with me."

"My teacher, the current Master of Sea God Pavilion at Shrek Academy, Dragon God Douluo, wishes to see you."

Xia Ming nodded, his face still wearing the well-behaved expression appropriate for his age.

Yet deep in his eyes, a sharp, expectant gleam flashed and vanished.

He had chosen to come to Shrek Academy not only because it possessed the continent's finest resources and platform.

Dragon God Douluo Mu En, who was still alive and lucidly presiding over Sea God Pavilion, was undoubtedly another crucial consideration.

According to the information Xia Ming had known in his previous life, Mu En was one of the few among Shrek's upper ranks who had always remained rational and possessed a long-term view of the bigger picture.

With him serving as the Master of Sea God Pavilion, at least the academy's overall direction would not lead to excessively absurd decisions.

The internal atmosphere would remain relatively stable, and the cultivation of geniuses could be properly implemented rather than reduced to sacrifices for certain people to pad their records.

Conversely, if that Taotie Douluo, Xuan Zi, were in power now...

Xia Ming felt he would truly have to carefully consider whether staying at Shrek might put his Life in danger.

Xuan Zi had been mockingly dubbed the "Supreme Elder of the Holy Spirit Cult" on Blue Star in Xia Ming's previous life.

Though the title was harsh, it had not come from nowhere.

His series of "glorious achievements" was enough to make any genius who valued their life go numb with fear.

As the team's leading teacher and a Super Douluo, when the group encountered a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast and faced a life-or-death crisis, he had actually not even been present!

That directly resulted in the deaths of eight and injuries to four among the twelve top Inner Court geniuses traveling with him, leaving the entire group nearly wiped out.

Such a grave error would have been investigated to the end in any serious organization.

Yet at Shrek, it seemingly had not shaken his fundamental position in the slightest.

Not to mention that several years later, when facing an Evil Soul Master whose cultivation was merely at the Soul King level and who relied on bizarre corpse-explosion methods.

Xuan Zi led Shrek's elites, including the main team members.

Yet they were blasted into utter disarray on the enemy's home ground, suffering heavy casualties and nearly allowing the opponent to escape successfully.

One had to know that Xuan Zi had already been a Rank 98 Super Douluo at the time!

With such an absolute gap in strength, such a result had actually occurred.

Xia Ming reckoned that even if he reached the Soul King level in the future.

There was absolutely no way he could cause such a huge commotion right under the nose of a Rank 98 Super Douluo and still get away.

Mu En was indeed advanced in years, and according to the original trajectory, his time was running out.

But for Xia Ming, that was not an unacceptable situation.

He had his own calculations.

By the time Mu En reached the end of his life and Xuan Zi took over, given his cultivation speed.

Even by the most conservative estimate, he would have long since broken through Rank 50 and become a Soul King, perhaps even approaching or reaching the Soul Emperor level.

At that point, with the Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff martial soul's heaven-defying ability to fight above his rank, his true combat strength would definitely rival or even surpass that of an ordinary Title Douluo.

A Soul Master with the combat strength of a Title Douluo.

No matter where on the continent he went, he would be an honored guest eagerly courted by every faction, possessing immense autonomy and influence.

Even if he chose to remain at Shrek, with his terrifying talent already proven by then and his genuine combat strength.

The academy would have to grant him extremely high status and respect. No matter how muddleheaded Xuan Zi was, he could not casually make a move against him.

And the strength of a Title Douluo also meant stronger self-preservation.

So long as he acted cautiously and did not voluntarily jump into obvious traps.

For example, certain "high-risk" missions personally led by Xuan Zi, he should not end up being killed by one.

Xia Ming knew very well that Xuan Zi's greatest problem was not that he was evil, but that he was stupid.

Such stupidity was certainly dangerous, but at least it would not develop into a deliberate, carefully plotted murder targeting him personally.

As long as he kept his distance and remained vigilant, the risks were controllable.

With that thought, the last trace of doubt in Xia Ming's heart dissipated.

He raised his head and looked at Yan Shaozhe with clear, resolute eyes.

"Yes, Dean Yan. I'm ready."

Yan Shaozhe nodded approvingly. Without another word, he turned and led the way.

Xia Ming followed behind him.

Sea God Island's terrain was indeed like a miniature mountain range. Yan Shaozhe led Xia Ming up the gentle stone steps.

Before long, the two reached the mountaintop.

Yet the sight before them made Xia Ming pause slightly.

The mountaintop had been leveled into a broad open space, with a building standing at its center.

It was not the grand and imposing structure he had expected, but merely a rather ancient-looking, even somewhat plain, three-story building.

If not for the three gilded characters written in vigorous strokes directly above the first-floor entrance.

Xia Ming would have nearly suspected that he had come to the wrong place.

"This is... Sea God Pavilion?"

Xia Ming blinked, a trace of incredulous surprise in his voice.

Even with the knowledge from his previous life, when he personally saw this sacred ground that represented the highest authority and heritage of Shrek Academy, even the continent's Soul Master world.

He was still caught off guard by how unadorned and natural it appeared.

It was far removed from the solemn grandeur he had imagined, resembling more the secluded residence of an extraordinary hermit.

"Yes, this is Sea God Pavilion." Yan Shaozhe's voice sounded from beside him, carrying reverence deeply rooted in his heart.

The moment his words fell, as though to confirm them.

A gentle, kindly voice, as if it could soothe all agitation, came directly from within the pavilion and rang clearly in their ears.

"Come in."

The instant the voice sounded, a sudden change occurred!

The unremarkable three-story building lit up without warning. Brilliant golden light bloomed, turning the entire building gold.

The golden radiance was not still. It rippled like flowing water, forming a soft field of light that gently enveloped Xia Ming before the building.

"Mm..."

Xia Ming could not help letting out a comfortable murmur.

The moment the golden light wrapped around him, an indescribably warm energy seeped into his body through his pores and flowed through his limbs and bones.

This energy was pure and gentle, carrying a rich aura of light and Life.

Wherever it passed, it was like sweet rain nourishing parched earth.

Every trace of exhaustion and mental tension brought on by awakening his martial soul today, traveling a long distance, and emotional turmoil.

Vanished completely beneath the bath of golden light in an instant.

Not only that, he could clearly feel it.

The Soul Power in his dantian, which had only just awakened and was still thin.

Under the nourishment and guidance of this pure external energy, began to circulate, condense, and grow rapidly on its own!

The total amount of Soul Power had clearly surged by a considerable amount. It had also become denser and purer, flowing with incomparably smooth ease, as though it were an extension of his own limbs.

If he had not yet obtained his first soul ring and therefore could not display his rank.

Xia Ming could almost certainly say that his Soul Power had risen by at least one or two ranks!