Come Give Life a "Yeah!"

It seemed that Little White sensed Xuan Zi's gaze, as it grew restless in Yang Jian's arms. After nudging outward twice, it poked its little head out, a tuft of hair standing straight up as it looked in Xuan Zi's direction.

Yang Jian sensed it immediately and looked over as well.

It was an aged figure, clad in gray robes stained with grease, looking exceptionally slovenly. The hair on his head had clearly not been groomed in ages, appearing as messy as a bird's nest, with a large wine gourd tucked into his waistband and a massive bag of chicken drumsticks resting beside his seat.

"That is Elder Xuan, one of the Sea God Pavilion elders, an transcendent existence in the academy second only to the Sea God Pavilion Master. But... why would he be here at this time?"

A look of confusion appeared on Ma Xiaotao's face.

Elder Xuan rarely appeared in the Inner Court; he spent most of his time in the Outer Court, lying at the entrance of the male dormitory like an old gatekeeper, spending his days either lounging in a rattan chair eating all sorts of food or drinking wine.

Ma Xiaotao didn't need to introduce him; just by his iconic attire, Yang Jian knew his identity.

The 98th-rank Super Douluo, the Taotie Douluo Xuan Zi, who would eventually succeed Mu En as the Sea God Pavilion Master!

He was also an external Vice Sect Master of the Holy Spirit Cult.

It was hard to imagine that under the leadership of a 98th-rank Super Douluo, the Shrek Seven Devils could suffer one death and six injuries, nearly being wiped out entirely.

One had to know, the enemy wasn't a Limit Douluo or a fierce beast that Xuan Zi couldn't match, but merely an Evil Soul Master with the cultivation of only a Soul King!

It was absurd.

Yang Jian truly didn't know how to complain about this.

He didn't know if Xuan Zi was genuinely unreliable, or if this segment was deliberately added to give the protagonist Huo Yuhao more screen time in the upcoming All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament.

It was likely a bit of both, but Yang Jian still felt the former was the bigger factor.

And he was to succeed as the Sea God Pavilion Master... could Xuan Zi even handle it?

He simply didn't have the capability, did he?

"Second Brother? Huh? It really is you! I was just thinking, with your looks, how could someone look exactly like you? I didn't expect it to actually be you."

The sudden voice made Yang Jian retract his gaze. As he gently stroked Little White's tuft of hair, he saw a delicate-looking person who appeared to be a woman.

"Brother Gongyang, long time no see."

Yang Jian followed the voice and saw an old acquaintance, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

"Gongyang Mo?"

Ma Xiaotao looked at Gongyang Mo, who had jogged over, then at Yang Jian, curious as to why these two seemingly unrelated people knew each other, and also curious why they addressed each other differently.

"Huh? Ma Xiaotao? Why are you here?"

Only after running to Yang Jian's side did Gongyang Mo belatedly notice the woman standing next to him was Ma Xiaotao, a look of shock appearing on his face:

"You... you two..."

"Brother Gongyang, I didn't expect you to come to the Soul Fighting Zone to join in the fun."

Yang Jian didn't want this guy to keep dwelling on that question, so he directly changed the subject.

Gongyang Mo's martial soul was the extremely rare Rainbow Dragon. Although it was a powerful dragon-type martial soul, it was of the support system, very similar to the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda, and likewise could only be cultivated to the 79th rank, unable to advance further.

Precisely because of this, Gongyang Mo's support abilities were as powerful as the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda.

The reason he knew Gongyang Mo was actually quite simple—like him and Ye Qingyuan, Gongyang Mo also hailed from the Offering Hall of the Star Luo Empire. His father was a 79th-rank Soul Saint with the Rainbow Dragon martial soul, so he had known Gongyang Mo even longer than he had known Dai Yueheng.

"Cough, Dai Yueheng and Ling Luochen are having a soul fight today, so I just happened to come over to watch," Gongyang Mo explained, then a look of confusion rose on his face: "Why did you come to Shrek Academy? Didn't you say you didn't want to come to Shrek Academy back then?"

"If you're at Shrek Academy, then what about little Qingyuan? Didn't she come with you?"

Having not seen each other for a long time, Gongyang Mo asked one question after another, leaving Yang Jian to answer helplessly: "I really didn't want to come to Shrek Academy at the time, but Qingyuan said she wanted to see the grandeur of Shrek Academy. Elder Ye was worried about her coming alone, so I followed Qingyuan here."

"As for Qingyuan... she is currently in the Outer Court. The reason I'm here is because I'm helping Senior Sister Xiaotao with something."

Helping Ma Xiaotao with something?

Gongyang Mo was slightly stunned, then immediately realized what it was.

As fellow members of the Shrek Seven Devils reserve team who participated in the previous soul master tournament, Gongyang Mo naturally knew about the Evil Fire problem that had always plagued Ma Xiaotao. Thinking of Yang Jian's martial soul, Gongyang Mo suddenly understood everything.

"Wait a second, why did Dai Yueheng get into a fight with Ling Luochen?"

There was actually some friction between Ma Xiaotao, Dai Yueheng, and Ling Luochen; the former was because there had always been a competitive relationship between the two, and the latter was because Ling Luochen had once refused to help her suppress the Evil Fire. However, Ma Xiaotao didn't take these minor frictions to heart; she was just curious why the two of them were fighting.

"Hmm... because you haven't participated in any soul fights lately."

Gongyang Mo sighed and explained: "Dai Yueheng had always wanted to have a soul fight with you, but for a while now, you haven't participated in any, so the restless Dai Yueheng ended up fighting Ling Luochen instead."

"This is already the fourth time they've fought recently; Dai Yueheng won the first three times."

"That does fit that girl Ling Luochen's temperament."

Ma Xiaotao muttered to herself.

Ling Luochen had always been the type who refused to admit defeat, whether facing her, Dai Yueheng, or anyone else. But among the reserves who participated in the previous soul master tournament, Ling Luochen had also made the most progress.

At the time, Ling Luochen's cultivation was sixth among the seven, but now she had caught up to third place, second only to her and Dai Yueheng.

This meant that her strategy of fighting repeatedly despite constant defeat might... actually be useful?

"However, I have a question I'm very curious about."

Ma Xiaotao glanced at Gongyang Mo, then at Yang Jian, a look of curiosity surfacing on her face: "Why do you call Yang Jian Second Brother? Isn't your age much greater than his?"

Ma Xiaotao remembered that the young girl who followed by Yang Jian's side also addressed Yang Jian as Second Brother.

At first, she had only assumed that Yang Jian was the second child in his family, but now that she thought about it... that didn't seem to be the case?

As soon as the words left her lips, Gongyang Mo couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"Second Brother, I should be able to answer this question, right? I'm going to say it."

As he spoke, Gongyang Mo said with a straight face: "When Grandma Xian'er first picked him up, he was in his swaddling clothes and made a peace sign. Grandma Xian'er had always found it strange why a child abandoned in the wilderness wouldn't cry or fuss, but instead made a peace sign."

"Second Brother explained it himself, saying it was full of vitality for life, claiming he had come to give life a peace sign."

"Later, Qingyuan was the first to call him Second Brother, so we just started calling him that too."