Murong Ci arrived in Heaven Dou City, the capital of the Heaven Dou Empire, a month later.
His All-Encompassing Martial Soul had an exceptionally strong affinity for the surrounding elements, allowing him to absorb all kinds of elemental energy from the world around him to strengthen himself.
During that time, his Soul Power had steadily climbed to level twenty-seven, surpassing Ning Rongrong. He had even slowly developed a protective aura of both ice and fire, which could repel some ice and fire attacks and be switched on and off at will.
This Martial Soul was incredible!
And after listening to the system for a month, he learned that this was only the All-Encompassing Martial Soul's initial state. It could undergo a second evolution later—and perhaps even evolve multiple times?
After each evolution, his basic attacks and Soul Skills would evolve and grow stronger, too.
The bad news, though, was that future system rewards would no longer include Soul Power upgrades.
Murong Ci could understand. After all, this was just a way to level up quickly and lay a solid foundation in the early stages.
The system also told him something astonishingly delightful: if he ever encountered an enemy he couldn't overcome, it would "take over" and fight for him!
It would draw on his latent potential, and had a one-month cooldown.
This... Murong Ci had no idea how powerful this "takeover" would be.
But...
[I won't take over often. I'm lazy. Unless you want to try it out the first time, or you're about to die, I'll help you.]
Fine, he'd accept that. Still, it was powerful!
For now, though, his main priority was completing the task of joining Blazing Fire Academy.
Murong Ci considered the situation. It was currently enrollment season for academies across the continent. Ning Rongrong had probably already joined Shrek Academy and reunited with Tang San and Xiao Wu.
Besides, the Five Elements Academies were more famous than Shrek Academy at this point.
So this was the perfect time to go to Blazing Fire Academy.
Unlike Shrek Academy, the Five Elements Academies sent people out to recruit. They posted notices throughout their territories, and groups of three or five disciples would personally seek out promising students.
Murong Ci casually tore down an enrollment poster and noticed that the Five Elements Academies would hold an exchange tournament six months after enrollment.
That would be when he made his grand debut and became famous across the land.
"Young man, are you here to sign up?" a rough voice rang out, as fierce as a blazing fire.
Murong Ci looked up. The man had broad shoulders, thick eyebrows, and big eyes. He looked like he'd make a good human shield... backup.
"My name's Huo Wushuang. I'm one of the disciples recruiting for Blazing Fire Academy. Are you interested in joining?"
"Of course. I don't have a place to stay right now, so joining an academy would be a good thing."
Huo Wushuang frowned at that. Murong Ci hadn't released even the slightest trace of Soul Power.
And the way he'd put it only made him suspicious. Did he even have Soul Power?
But Huo Wushuang wasn't petty. His doubts lasted only a moment. He believed no ordinary person would be foolish enough to apply to a Soul Master Academy.
Huo Wushuang thumped his chest. "You're welcome here! Come with me, young man. You'll take the entrance assessment. Oh, and what's your name? What level is your Soul Power?"
"Murong Ci. Level twenty-seven."
Murong Ci answered. The Soul Master Tournament was still two years away. At the time of the tournament, Huo Wu would be level forty-three, and Huo Wushuang level forty-two.
They were seventeen at the time, so right now they could be at most around level thirty-two.
Sure enough, Huo Wushuang visibly froze when he heard that. Then he turned around and asked, unable to hide his disbelief, "How old are you?"
"Twelve."
Murong Ci remained calm on the outside, but inside, he was over the moon.
Showing off felt so good.
Huo Wushuang was just as delighted. Bringing such a talent into Blazing Fire Academy would be a great achievement for him, too.
With that thought, he hurried back to the registration area and brought Murong Ci to the chief examiner.
The chief examiner overseeing registration was Yan Yan, a level fifty-eight Power Attack System Battle Soul King.
"Wushuang, the young man you've brought looks pretty young," Yan Yan said gently, putting on a kind and amiable air.
"Reporting to Teacher Yan, this young man is Murong Ci. He's twelve years old, and his Soul Power is... level twenty-seven!"
Yan Yan's pupils contracted sharply. He leapt to his feet.
"Level twenty-seven?! What's your Martial Soul? Release it and let me see!"
Murong Ci closed his eyes and slowly circulated his Soul Power. He opened his right hand, and a ball of grey light gradually coalesced in his palm.
"This isn't a fire-type Martial Soul..." Yan Yan and Huo Wushuang said, their voices tinged with disappointment. The hard-and-fast requirement for joining Blazing Fire Academy was that a student's Martial Soul had to be fire-type.
Murong Ci willed it, and the grey light turned red, unleashing a scorching, domineering fire attribute.
Yan Yan and Huo Wushuang's eyes lit up at once.
"What an interesting Martial Soul," Yan Yan remarked. This flame was far purer than theirs.
And this was when the boy was only level twenty-seven.
"Your talent is excellent, but you still need to know how to fight. How about this: skip the rest of the tests and have a spar with one of our academy's prodigies. If you do well, you'll be accepted on the spot as a core disciple!"
Yan Yan spoke, though he had already decided Murong Ci would be accepted no matter how he performed. Combat skills could be cultivated later, but talent couldn't.
"Wushuang, go get Wu'er. Have her spar with Brother Murong."
Huo Wushuang agreed and hurried off.
Before long, Huo Wushuang returned with a tall, red-haired young woman dressed in red. Her chest strained against her clothes.
This was Huo Wu.
Murong Ci's eyes went wide. She was full in all the right places, with curves in all the right places!
And since it was hot during recruitment season, and they were all fire-type, everyone wore very little fabric.
Huo Wu wore only a tight, cropped short-sleeved top and shorts. The shorts revealed a generous stretch of snowy-white thigh, making her figure look even more tantalizing.
"Come on. Let's head to the Soul Fighting Zone for a spar and see how strong you really are."
A fiery figure with a fiery personality!
If he could just make a woman like her his...
[Easy there. Your heart's practically about to leap out of your chest.]
The system's voice drifted out, sounding faintly exasperated.
Murong Ci gave a light cough to cover it up, then followed Huo Wu toward the Soul Fighting Zone.
No wonder this was Blazing Fire Academy.
It was freaking hot here, the complete opposite of the Extreme North.
"Huo Wu, level thirty-three control-type Battle Soul Elder, Martial Soul: Fire Shadow. Please instruct me!"
Huo Wu spoke crisply, without beating around the bush.
Murong Ci put aside his lewd thoughts and answered seriously.
"Murong Ci, level twenty-seven Power Attack System Soul Grandmaster, Martial Soul: All-Encompassing. Please instruct me!"
All-Encompassing?
Huo Wu furrowed her brows slightly. She had clearly never heard of this kind of Martial Soul.
[Use ice to counter her, or you can circulate your Soul Power and force it up to the level of Ultimate Fire to suppress her.]
[She's not strong right now. In theory, you can defeat her in one blow.]
"I want to have some fun with her."
[Bondage play?]
"..."
At Yan Yan's signal, the match officially began.
The Soul Rings on both of them flickered.
One side had yellow, yellow, and purple; the other had yellow and purple.
"A-a Thousand-Year Soul Ring!"
Everyone in the stands was stunned. If being level twenty-seven at twelve made him a genius, then having a thousand-year second ring made him a monster.
At seventeen, Huo Wu was level thirty-two and already Blazing Fire Academy's number-one genius.
But Murong Ci...
Huo Wu put aside her lingering doubts. She believed she could beat him. After all, the gap between a Soul Elder and a Soul Grandmaster was enormous.
"First Soul Skill, Flame Surround! Third Soul Skill, Resisting Fire Ring!"
Huo Wu cried out. Her first and third Soul Rings released their power, forming a fiery shield around her.
Murong Ci immediately called on half his Soul Power and silently recited:
"Crimson Flame Burning Body, Fire Spirit Returning to Heart—fire, come!"
"First Soul Skill, Blazing Flame Burning Heaven!"
Flames surged around Huo Wu, drawing in the essence of her fire. Instead, it became part of Murong Ci's blaze.
Huo Wu was horrified. Why wouldn't her flames burn properly in front of Murong Ci?
It was like a novice facing a master who had reached perfection—utterly powerless.
Even her Martial Soul couldn't muster the slightest resistance, as though it had developed a sense of awe.
"You are not fire, and you see me as a frog at the bottom of a well gazing up at the moon. If you are fire and see me, then you are like a mayfly gazing up at the boundless sky!"
As soon as Murong Ci finished speaking, he drew in the mass of Ultimate Fire.
Showing off like that felt so damn good! Murong Ci rejoiced inwardly.
[You're laying it on way too thick. How's she supposed to save face?]
The system's voice rang out helplessly, tinged with faint reproach.
"She's the kind of girl who loves a challenge in the original story. This will only spur her competitive streak and bring her closer to me."
[...]
Huo Wu sank to the ground, her face full of unwillingness. It was obvious he'd awakened her fighting spirit; a flame blazed in her eyes.
"You're strong. I lost."
Huo Wu left as soon as she'd said it.
Yan Yan and Huo Wushuang were already stunned. A Soul Grandmaster had suppressed a Soul Elder?
And that fire just now had inspired a trace of awe in them, too.
They had to get this man into Blazing Fire Academy!
Yan Yan burst into laughter, immediately confirmed Murong Ci's status as a core disciple of Blazing Fire Academy, and quickly arranged a room for him.
[ Ding—congratulations, host. Task completed. Soul Power increased by one level. Affinity for ice and fire elements increased by 18%; maximum limit increased by 10%. ]
[ Ding—next-stage task issued: reach level thirty Soul Power within three months and hunt a wood-type Soul Beast. ]
[ Ding—detected target Huo Wu's favorability toward host: 35/100. Current stage: curiosity. ]
Murong Ci stumbled.
"You can detect that, too?!"