Third Sister-in-law, Komodo Dragon, and Xu Sanshi

(Ma Xiaotao beautiful image)

Ma Xiaotao woke up in a daze.

She felt a sense of ease she had never experienced before.

The scorching evil fire within her body had completely dissipated, as if extinguished by a heavy downpour, leaving not even a single ember behind.

So cool.

Not only did she no longer feel hot, but she actually felt a chill seeping from her very bones, an indescribably comfortable sensation.

A gentle breeze blew past, brushing against her skin and bringing with it a hint of coolness.

She looked down.

Her face turned bright red in an instant.

"Damn Lin Ye, he just left me alone after he was done!"

Shame and annoyance washed over her, and she cursed under her breath before hurriedly taking out a clean set of clothes from the ruby storage ring on her finger, changing into them in a flurry.

She peeled off the ruined silk stockings, balled them up, and shoved them into the ring, the blush on her face refusing to fade.

Lin Ye is too powerful. I, a dignified Soul Emperor, was actually... knocked out by him.

She stole a glance at Lin Ye, who was meditating nearby, and her heart skipped another beat.

At the same time, she felt her own tangible improvements:

All three of her soul bones had transformed into ones with over a hundred thousand years of age!

And the enhancement of her soul bones had boosted her soul power by another two levels!

Ma Xiaotao took a deep breath to calm her surging emotions. Looking at Lin Ye's exceptionally handsome profile under the moonlight, she had already made some decisions in her heart.

On the other side, Xu Sanshi snuck out of Shrek City under the cover of night.

He muttered to himself as he walked, his expression a mix of excitement and sleaziness.

"The tractor's exhaust pipe actually managed to grant me one A-San Value... I never expected that thing to count as a backdoor!"

He rubbed his hands together, his eyes gleaming in the moonlight.

I'll go out and find some weak soul beasts!

Although the system's "Thousand Years of Death" punishment had made him lose all face in public, it had also made him realize that this system was real!

It wasn't a hallucination, nor was it a prank; it was a system that could provide him with genuine, tangible benefits!

He carefully browsed through the exchange list in the system shop, his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets.

One hundred A-San Values could be exchanged for a Soul Ascension Pill!

That was a Soul Ascension Pill!

A treasure that was priceless and impossible to find!

How could this be?

Who would even bother cultivating anymore?

Just walking through backdoors to earn A-San Values every day would be enough!

He calculated happily as he walked.

He hadn't expected the tractor's exhaust pipe to actually work, but the second time didn't count; the system clearly didn't allow him to farm the same target repeatedly.

So, he had come up with a plan.

There were so many types of soul beasts out there!

Soul beasts should count too, right?

Although, a person really shouldn't do such things, he had grown up in the Mystic Underworld Sect and had seen plenty of bizarre things!

Furthermore, on his fifteenth birthday, according to the rules of the Mystic Underworld Sect, he was supposed to undergo a special martial soul secondary awakening ceremony.

The Mystic Underworld Sect had strictly selected Jiang Nannan to serve as the auxiliary medium for his awakening ceremony.

But that day, in order to protect herself, Jiang Nannan had accidentally fed him a potent hallucinogenic drug.

This had caused a massive disaster during his awakening ceremony.

By the time the effects of the drug wore off, he discovered that there was no auxiliary medium in the room at all—only a thousand-year-old turtle!

This caused Xu Sanshi's martial soul to evolve incompletely, ultimately resulting in only half of a Black Tortoise Shield.

Xu Sanshi snorted coldly, "The suffering of those years was all preparation for the system I have today!"

Now that he had that experience, earning A-San Values would be a breeze!

Xu Sanshi quickened his pace and headed toward the forest outside the city.

A moment later.

"Don't run! I'm not going to kill you for a soul ring—"

Xu Sanshi was sprinting wildly through the jungle.

A fanatical light that made soul beasts shudder flickered in his eyes as he locked his gaze onto the grayish-brown figure ahead.

The one being pursued was a male Komodo Giant Lizard Beast, nearly three meters long and roughly thirty years old.

As a predator among soul beasts of the same age, it appeared incredibly helpless at this moment.

The Komodo Giant Lizard Beast scrambled its four claws at high speed, its thick tail swinging frantically behind it like an out-of-control whip; wherever it passed, the bushes were whipped into a crackling frenzy, sending shattered leaves flying.

"Hiss--!!!"

While fleeing, the Komodo Giant Lizard Beast flicked its forked yellow tongue in a frenzy, attempting to use the sternest warning to drive away the pervert behind it.

Xu Sanshi did not slow down; instead, he performed a sliding tackle, flanking it from the side.

Panting heavily, he shouted, "Why are you running! This Young Master sees that your bone structure is extraordinary, so stop right there!"

The lizard clearly could not understand human speech, but it felt that the aura radiating from the human soul master behind it was a hundred times more terrifying than a venomous snake.

It slammed on the brakes, its four sharp claws plowing four deep furrows into the ground.

Then, it whipped its head around, opened its blood-red maw to reveal a mouth full of barbed teeth, and let out a low growl, attempting to intimidate its enemy into retreating.

Xu Sanshi was not intimidated; instead, his eyes lit up.

"Don't struggle. This Young Master won't kill you. Come with me, and you'll definitely live the high life!"

With that, he actually charged forward again, braving the lizard's death stare.

The lizard completely broke down.

It opened its maw, prepared to fight to the death, with transparent venom already seeping from its fangs.

Xu Sanshi did not hesitate, immediately summoning his Tortoise Shell Shield; the heavy black shield emitted a cold, eerie luster under the moonlight.

"First Soul Skill, Xuanming Shock!"

A powerful black shockwave erupted from the surface of the shield, and the Komodo Giant Lizard Beast was sent tumbling to the ground.

Xu Sanshi lunged forward in a flash!

[A-San Value +1]

Not long after, the Komodo Giant Lizard Beast tucked its tail between its legs, staring at Xu Sanshi with an expression as if it had seen a ghost.

Then, it bolted into the depths of the bushes without looking back, disappearing without a trace.

Xu Sanshi laughed toward the sky.

"Hahahaha--A-San Value acquired!"

He glanced at the lonely "2" on his system panel, then flicked his gaze toward the Soul Ascension Pill in the shop that required one hundred points to redeem, and his smile gradually faded.

"The road is still long..." He sighed, wanting to stand up and continue searching for targets.

Only to find that he couldn't even stand up.

The next day.

Lin Ye went to the Academic Affairs Office early in the morning to submit his soul-hunting application.

According to the rules of Shrek Academy, if students went out to hunt soul beasts to obtain soul rings and requested an academy teacher to accompany them, they had to pay an additional, substantial fee.

Lin Ye could afford that much money.

But he had no intention of hiring an academy teacher.

The teachers sent by the academy were at most at the Soul King level, with cultivation around level fifty; they were fine for wandering the outer perimeter of the Star Dou Great Forest, But if any unexpected situation arose, it was questionable whether they could protect him.

He had Ma Xiaotao now, after all.

Lin Ye directly consumed fifty points to issue an S-rank mission to Ma Xiaotao: accompany Lin Ye to successfully obtain his second soul ring.

With an S-rank mission and generous rewards, Ma Xiaotao had no reason to refuse.

As soon as the morning class ended, Wang Dong'er packed her things and walked side-by-side with Lin Ye toward the exit.

Her movements were much faster than usual, clearly having something to say.

"Why did you cultivate so late last night before coming back?"

Wang Dong'er tilted her head to look at Lin Ye, her large, powder-blue eyes filled with scrutiny. "Let me accompany you on this soul hunt."

Lin Ye shook his head, not stopping his pace. "Soul hunting is too dangerous; I can handle it myself."

"By yourself?" Wang Dong'er's voice rose a notch, causing a few students in front to turn and look at her.

"Are you sure you don't need a teacher to accompany you? I can help you pay the fee!"