Xuan Qing, Whose Little Mouth Was Smothered in Honey

It was about a quarter of an hour before the Shen hour in the afternoon when the group of eight arrived at Shrek Soul Master Academy.

It could be said that, with the exception of Ning Rongrong and Xuan Qing who were mentally prepared, everyone else was completely stunned.

At the entrance of that dilapidated village hung a wooden sign, with the five characters for Shrek Soul Master Academy scrawled crookedly upon it.

The ground was riddled with potholes, looking utterly wretched.

Gu Rong's mouth twitched as he pointed at the broken-down village and asked.

"Rongrong, tell Bone Grandpa the truth: is this abandoned, broken village really Shrek Soul Master Academy?"

"Yes."

Ning Rongrong lowered her head, her voice so soft it was nearly inaudible.

Gu Rong's expression turned completely dark. He looked at Ning Fengzhi, his voice chilling: "Fengzhi."

He was truly incensed.

His little princess, whom he pampered as the apple of his eye, was coming to such a dump to suffer? What kind of joke was this!

Xue Qinghe was also dumbfounded.

She had imagined that the conditions at Shrek Soul Master Academy would be poor, but she hadn't expected them to be this bad. Could this even be called an academy? It was worse than the slums of Heaven Dou City.

Although Dugu Bo and Zi Ji had heard from Xuan Qing that this was an academy built by ruffians, they were still shocked to see it with their own eyes.

It was just too decrepit!

Xuan Qing, however, remained calm; he had known it would be like this.

He scanned his surroundings and saw several figures walking out of the village.

It was Flender, Yu Xiaogang, Zhao Wuji, and the other members of the Shrek Seven Devils. Tang San was there too, the swelling on his head having subsided slightly, though it was still quite prominent.

Qin Ming was also following alongside them. When he saw Dugu Yan, he was stunned: "Yanzi? Why are you here?"

Dugu Yan was quite surprised.

"Teacher Qin Ming? Why are you here?"

Xuan Qing interjected from the side.

"Because your Teacher Qin Ming is one of the fourteen survivors."

"Survivors?"

Everyone looked at Xuan Qing, not understanding.

Xuan Qing explained.

"According to the information I have, the academy has been established for twenty years, recruiting just over two students per year. The graduation requirement is reaching level forty before the age of twenty."

"Only fourteen people have truly graduated. The rest either failed to reach level forty by twenty or died while hunting soul beasts."

Gu Rong gasped.

"Fourteen people? Only fourteen graduated in twenty years? This mortality rate..."

Ning Fengzhi suppressed his anger, walked up to Flender, and said in a deep voice.

"Dean Flender, thank you for taking care of Rongrong during this time. Today, I have come to take her back."

Flender's expression changed instantly.

Ning Rongrong was a Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda soul master with extremely strong support capabilities and was the second core of the team. If she left, the strength of the Shrek Seven Devils would inevitably suffer a massive blow.

Yu Xiaogang immediately grew anxious, rushing forward excitedly.

"Sect Master Ning, Rongrong cannot leave! She is a member of the Shrek Seven Devils and an important part of our team!"

"In the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament a few years from now, Rongrong is a key player."

What Yu Xiaogang didn't say was that without Ning Rongrong, how could Tang San make a name for himself on the continent? How could he prove that he wasn't a failure?

Gu Rong let out a cold snort.

"Since when was the little princess of my Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect sold to your academy? Coming and going as she pleases—does that require your permission?"

Yu Xiaogang was choked for words, but he remained unwilling to give up.

Tang San stepped forward and said in a deep voice.

"Sect Master Ning, Senior Bone Douluo. Rongrong is a member of the Shrek Seven Devils. We are a whole; leaving at this time is an act of irresponsibility toward the team."

Gu Rong's eyes turned cold.

"Boy, is there any place for you to interject here?"

He released a sliver of his pressure as a Title Douluo, causing Tang San's face to turn pale as he retreated several steps.

Yu Xiaogang hurriedly blocked Tang San, shouting urgently.

"Your Excellency, please show mercy! Xiao San is the son of Clear Sky Douluo and possesses the once-in-a-century Twin Martial Souls! He is the hope of the soul master world in resisting Martial Soul Hall!"

"Twin Martial Souls!"

These four words managed to strike at the very weakness of Ning Fengzhi's desire to oppose Martial Soul Hall.

The group looked at Xuan Qing in unison, their eyes asking: You knew about this?

Xuan Qing spread his hands.

"Isn't this common knowledge? How could ordinary Blue Silver Grass possess Innate Full Soul Power? Even if it weren't Innate Full Soul Power, how could ordinary Blue Silver Grass allow him to reach this level at his age?"

Dugu Bo frowned as he spoke.

"I recall that the condition for the birth of Twin Martial Souls is that the quality of both parents' martial souls must be very close, so his..."

His meaning was obvious; the quality gap between Blue Silver Grass and Clear Sky Hammer was simply too vast.

"Didn't I just say it? His is no ordinary Blue Silver Grass. Among certain Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast tribes, there is a saying that those who reach ten thousand years are kings, and those who reach one hundred thousand years are emperors. You all know this, right?"

Everyone nodded; they had indeed heard of this saying.

"Tang San's mother was the emperor of the Blue Silver Grass clan who had taken human form, and she was also the origin of that great battle between Tang Hao and Qian Xunji back then."

This statement was like a bomb, leaving everyone dizzy. Blue Silver Emperor? A Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast in human form? And she even had a child?

A murderous glint flashed in Dugu Bo's eyes.

"Since a feud has already been established, should we slaughter him? To prevent future trouble."

Xuan Qing shook his head.

"Why slaughter someone who has been raised to be a failure? It's a waste of time."

"Raised to be a failure?"

The group was confused.

Zi Ji spoke up to explain.

"The most commendable trait of Blue Silver Grass is its immense vitality, but this brat is following a poison-attribute path, which is equivalent to adding a water-attribute soul ring to a fire martial soul."

Xuan Qing nodded in affirmation, then added.

"In other words, if the Blue Silver Grass cannot undergo awakening, he will hit a wall at five rings at most. He can cultivate so quickly because of the foundation his mother left him. Once that foundation is exhausted, if he doesn't switch to cultivating that hammer, it would be a miracle if he even reaches five rings."

Tang San roared hoarsely.

"You're lying! My Blue Silver Grass is just the most ordinary Blue Silver Grass, my teacher said..."

Xuan Qing couldn't be bothered to listen to his nonsense.

"Shut up! Don't you even understand the principle that one mountain cannot hold two tigers? If that hammer is a hundred points, then your Blue Silver Grass cannot be lower than ninety-eight, otherwise, how could they coexist?"

"If we're talking about power, the ultimate mystery of the Blue Silver Emperor is immortality."

"Your own father's soul ring came from your mother's sacrifice; don't you know this?"

Tang San was struck as if by lightning, standing frozen in place.

He recalled the sorrow his father occasionally revealed, he recalled the blurred shadow of his mother... Could it be true?

Yu Xiaogang panicked and roared.

"Stop spouting nonsense! Little San has Twin Martial Souls and will surely become a Title Douluo in the future! You are just jealous!"

Xuan Qing laughed, a very sarcastic laugh.

"Oh? And then what? I am two years younger than him, my soul power is five levels higher, and those seven didn't last two minutes in my hands. How do you have the nerve to say he has Twin Martial Souls?"

"Even if he grows into a Title Douluo, wouldn't he just be a fraud? I could kill him with a single flick of my tail. Why would I be jealous of such trash?"

Ning Fengzhi coughed.

"Little friend Xuan Qing, please don't cause collateral damage!"

Ning Rongrong was included among those seven people.

Xuan Qing curled his lips.

"Fine, I'll give Sect Master Ning some face, but I must say something to you last."

He pointed at Zhu Zhuqing.

Zhu Zhuqing was slightly stunned and pointed at herself.

"Me?"

Xuan Qing nodded: "I admire that you ran away to escape your family; you have guts and courage. But now you've come to find this lecherous tiger..."

"Then what difference does it make from not running away? You're still hanging around with him, aren't you? Where did that courage you had when you fled your family go? Eaten by dogs?"

Zhu Zhuqing's face turned pale, and she bit her lip tightly.

Xuan Qing continued.

"After carrying stones for three months, besides suffering, what improvement have you made? Rising from level twenty-seven to twenty-eight? Wouldn't you have improved just by cultivating on your own?"

Gu Rong frowned.

"Wait, carrying stones for three months? What does that mean?"

Xuan Qing explained.

"Yu Xiaogang's training method, of course. Just running while carrying stones. Did you think he would allow Zhao Wuji to use gravity soul skills to assist? Wouldn't that be a slap in the face to his 'Grandmaster' title?"

He even patted his own face, his movements dripping with mockery.

Xuan Qing summarized.

"For the past four months, they spent three months carrying rocks and one month fighting spirits. That is the entirety of the teaching curriculum."

"I just don't understand, does this even need to be taught? You could go to a mine and actually earn some money doing that."

His tongue was truly venomous.

He specialized in slapping faces and exposing shortcomings, yet everything he said was the truth, leaving others unable to refute him.

Yu Xiaogang trembled all over with rage, his finger pointing at Xuan Qing.