Spirit City.
In front of a grand mausoleum, a boy crouched on the ground, his fingers tracing the carved words on a tombstone.
"The former pope of Spirit Hall... Tsk, this doesn't look like Douluo Hall."
Ji Ye stood up. At twelve, he was already nearly six feet tall, and his gray clothes were stained with mud from his escape.
"Flender's probably still at the casino, getting grabbed by the collar and shaken down for money."
Six years.
Ever since he awakened his Martial Souls at six, Flender had stuck to him like a dog-skin plaster.
Twin Martial Souls, Innate Level 20 Soul Power.
His First Martial Soul, "Void," manifested space, ignored defenses, and made him invincible in close combat.
His Second Martial Soul, "Time," controlled concepts, stopped time, and reversed cause and effect.
Each one surpassed the limits of what a Martial Soul was supposed to be.
The first time Flender came knocking, he'd smiled and said something about "Shrek only accepting monsters." His meaning was crystal clear.
A monster like you belongs to me.
Ji Ye had refused on the spot.
Fortunately, Flender had suppressed the news that Ji Ye possessed Innate Level 20 Soul Power, and hadn't let that deacon report it to Spirit Hall.
As a transmigrator, did he not know exactly what those people at Shrek were like?
Dai Mubai used his status as a prince to prey on girls outside the academy, Ma Hongjun let his Evil Fire run wild and wouldn't even spare the village chickens, and Oscar's soul sausages were disgusting.
As for Flender and Yu Xiaogang, one was a greedy, money-grubbing swindler, and the other a plagiarist whose theories were all stolen and whose combat skills were trash.
That was where he was supposed to learn?
It was like sending a top student to an asylum.
So Ji Ye ran away that very night.
The first time, he made it five miles out of the village before Flender dropped from the sky, smiled, and carried him back.
The second time, he hid in the mountains for two days. Flender waited outside his cave for a whole day and night. In the end, Ji Ye got so hungry he had to come out, and Flender carried him back again.
The third time, he used his Martial Soul.
His First Martial Soul, "Void," condensed spatial power into a translucent longsword. Wherever its blade passed, the air split open into the void.
The first time Flender was injured was when the sword grazed his shoulder. The old bastard's eyes only shone brighter afterward.
He went mad with the urge to take Ji Ye as his disciple.
Ji Ye had considered killing Flender.
But a Soul Sage was still a Soul Sage. Wounding him and killing him were two different things.
With time stopped for two seconds, Ji Ye could manage at most three thrusts. After that, Flender would react, activate his Cat-Eagle Martial Soul, and Ji Ye wouldn't be able to escape, whether on land or in the sky.
So he could only wait for an opportunity.
Half a month ago, he finally got one.
He lured Flender to the biggest casino in Suotuo City and used "Time" to control the dice. He won twenty-three rounds in a row.
Flender's eyes nearly fell into the pile of Gold Soul Coins. His whole body was so excited that his hands trembled.
Ji Ye made up an excuse to use the bathroom and slipped out of the casino.
When he reached the entrance, he turned back and shouted,
"Table six! That middle-aged guy with the glasses and eagle eyes is cheating!"
At that, the gamblers at table six exploded.
They'd been fed up with the guy who'd won dozens of rounds in a row. Seven or eight of them immediately flipped the table and charged at him.
"Damn you, cheating bastard! I'll beat the crap out of you!"
"No wonder that old geezer keeps winning! He's been cheating the whole time!"
"Get him, boys! Just look at him—he's obviously a bad sort!"
"Fuck you! Give me my money back!"
"..."
Flender was completely dumbfounded as the crowd beat him black and blue. He couldn't even use Soul Power to fight back.
Soul Masters were forbidden from attacking ordinary people. It was an ironclad rule.
As for what happened afterward, Ji Ye had no idea.
At least he'd escaped the madman's sight.
Ji Ye let out a long breath.
Bliss!
He hadn't expected to stumble upon the mausoleum of Qian Xunji, the former pope of Spirit Hall.
The original novel had never mentioned it.
Compared with the people at Shrek, the worshippers and elders of Spirit Hall—apart from that madwoman Bibi Dong—were all devoted to cultivation, weren't they?
Golden Crocodile Douluo and Qian Daoliu had spent their lives pursuing the pinnacle of Soul Power. They never bothered with all those convoluted schemes.
Bibi Dong was the exception.
That woman had more tricks up her sleeve than a hornet's nest had holes.
So, driven by curiosity, Ji Ye activated his Second Martial Soul, "Time," slipped past the guards, and went straight inside.
The mausoleum was simpler than Ji Ye had imagined.
There were no twisting passageways or traps, just a large, circular hall.
The ceiling was painted with angels. More than a dozen Angel Statues stood around the room, carved from white marble. Their wings were spread, swords in hand, gazes lowered toward the coffin in the center.
The coffin was golden, solid gold, carved all over with angelic patterns and Spirit Hall's emblem.
"Rich."
The words had barely crossed Ji Ye's mind when footsteps sounded at the entrance.
He slipped behind the nearest Angel Statue. His gray clothes pressed against the cold stone as he held his breath.
The footsteps were light, and soon they reached the tomb.
Ji Ye cautiously peered out from behind the statue.
A blonde woman stood before the coffin.
She wore a white dress with gold trim, and her hair was pure gold.
Her skin was very fair, fairer than that of any woman Ji Ye had ever seen.
Her aquamarine eyes were fixed on the coffin, and her eyelashes were long.
Ji Ye froze for a second.
In the twelve years since he'd transmigrated, he'd seen plenty of women.
Widow Li at the village entrance, Auntie Wang, who sold flatbreads beside Shrek, and the dancers in Suotuo City.
None of them came close to this woman. (There really was no comparison.)
"Father, your daughter is here to see you."
The blonde woman spoke, her voice a little hoarse.
Ji Ye's mind buzzed.
Father?
Qian Xunji's daughter?
Qian Renxue?
Wasn't she supposed to be undercover in the Heaven Dou Empire? What was she doing here?
Ji Ye stared at her face again.
She was beautiful, of course, but what mattered more was the coldness in her expression, a detachment that seemed to come from deep within her bones.
No wonder she'd managed to pass herself off as a man for so many years.
Qian Renxue's hand brushed the edge of the golden coffin. She fell silent for a few seconds.
"I'll avenge Father's death sooner or later."
"That woman is still sitting on the throne of the pope, but she won't be there much longer."
Ji Ye knew that "that woman" could only mean Bibi Dong.
Good grief, her relationship with her mother really was just as bad as the original novel had said—more like enemies than family.
Qian Renxue said a few more things, her voice growing quieter until it was almost impossible to hear.
Ji Ye was straining to listen when his foot came down on a loose floor tile.
A faint click.
Qian Renxue fell silent.
Ji Ye's heart stopped, too.
"Crap."
Qian Renxue turned around, her aquamarine eyes sweeping over every Angel Statue.
"Who's there?"
"Come out!"
Ji Ye was still hesitating when Qian Renxue's gaze settled on the statue where he was hiding.
Their eyes met.
The room fell silent.
Ji Ye stepped out from behind the statue and brushed the dust from his sleeve.
"If I said I was just passing by, would you believe me?"
Qian Renxue stared at him.
He wore rough gray clothes and an iron-gray mask that covered his face, leaving only his eyes and mouth exposed.
He wasn't short, but his build made it obvious he was a boy.
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