The referee's announcement rang out through the Amplification Soul Tool, spreading across the entire Soul Fighting Arena. The stands erupted with noise and cheers.
Some cheered Xu Sanshi's desperate counterattack, while others beat their chests and stamped their feet over Bei Bei's inexplicable mistake.
Amid the tumult, Xiao Yan withdrew his gaze and turned toward the exit from the stands.
He hadn't had much interest in this farcical duel to begin with. Crushing that overreaching strand of spiritual power had simply been a matter of sweeping away the chaotic energy that had broken the rules.
As for Huo Yuhao, who had fainted in the corner of the stands from the backlash of his own spiritual power, someone else would see to him. It had nothing to do with Xiao Yan.
"Class monitor!"
Li Dazhuang squeezed through the crowd. Sweat covered his forehead, and his excitement was tinged with anxiety.
"The match is over. I need to hurry back to the dorm." Li Dazhuang wiped the sweat from his brow.
"That song you and Xiao Xiao played was incredible. I can feel the energy of heaven and earth around me pouring into my pores. My talent's already poor, so I've got to use every bit of this afternoon to meditate while I've got this boost!"
Looking at the stocky, close-cropped boy, his eyes full of determination, Xiao Yan gave a slight nod.
"Go ahead. Keep your energy steady as you cultivate, and don't let yourself get impatient."
"Got it! See you tomorrow, class monitor!" Li Dazhuang replied repeatedly, then turned and strode off, hurrying toward the freshman dorms.
After saying goodbye to Li Dazhuang, Xiao Yan left Shrek Academy with Xiao Xiao.
The midday sun shone over the broad streets, and the snack street outside the academy was reaching one of its busiest times of day.
Stalls of every kind lined both sides of the road. The smoky aroma of grilled food, the sweetness of pastries, and the rich, meaty scent of braised snacks mingled together, tempting the appetites of passersby.
After several days, this street had become the siblings' regular lunch spot.
Xiao Xiao clutched two skewers of meat, grilled until golden and glistening with oil, her cheeks stuffed full.
She skipped from stall to stall, her big eyes darting about as she searched for her next target.
There were simply too many kinds of snacks here. Even after eating here every day for the past few days, they had tried less than half of them.
The two of them ate as they went, stopping now and then, until Xiao Xiao polished off the last piece of osmanthus cake. Only then did she contentedly take out a handkerchief and wipe her mouth.
With their stomachs full, it was the perfect time to head back to the dorm for a nap. But, for once, Xiao Xiao didn't complain about feeling sleepy.
She hurried over to Xiao Yan and tipped her head back, her emerald eyes shining with eager anticipation.
"Brother, we don't have class this afternoon. Let's find somewhere to practice our music and cultivate!"
Xiao Yan stopped and looked down at her, a little surprised.
Then he lifted the corner of his mouth and teased her without mercy. "Oh? Who was it that kept saying cultivation was too tiring at home these past few days, and that she'd spend her first month at the academy having fun?"
For the siblings, "practicing music" meant cultivating on a deeper level.
The Fuxi Zither was the principal instrument, and the Nine Phoenix Flute its complement.
When played together, they could not only stir a resonance with heaven and earth, but also create a massive vortex of energy.
Within that vortex, the rise and fall of the music guided the energy of heaven and earth through their meridians, washing them clean and bringing about a qualitative leap in their cultivation speed.
That was the main reason Xiao Xiao had reached level thirty-five and become a Soul Elder at such a young age.
After years of resonating with the Fuxi Zither, her Nine Phoenix Flute Martial Soul had been honed to an extraordinary purity, allowing her to absorb Soul Power far more efficiently than ordinary people.
As for Xiao Yan, his cultivation progress was actually not particularly fast.
The Art of the Fuxi Emperor required the cultivation of essence, energy, and spirit alike, and its demands on the quality of energy were almost absurdly strict.
Ordinary Soul Masters sought to absorb as much Soul Power as possible. He, on the other hand, had to refine every thread of energy that entered his body again and again, compressing it and transforming it into an endless stream of Taiji Innate Qi.
What was more, to bear the Eastern Emperor Bell's seemingly bottomless energy consumption in the future, he had to make his foundation so solid that not a single crack remained.
Without this near-maniacal compression and refinement, with his peerless talent—already tempered by the legacy of Fuxi—and the aid of the zither and flute played in concert, he would have been at least a high-level Spirit King by now, with a very good chance of breaking through to Spirit Emperor.
At Xiao Yan's teasing, Xiao Xiao's fair cheeks flushed slightly.
Of course, she wouldn't admit she'd been spurred on by what she'd seen.
That morning, in Class Nine, when the golden-haired girl named Ning Tian had revealed her level thirty-one Soul Power, Xiao Xiao's heart had given a hard thump.
She hadn't said anything, but as someone who had always stayed by Xiao Yan's side, she was fiercely competitive to her core.
She absolutely refused to be outdone by an outsider, and even more so to become a burden to her brother.
"Come on, brother! Let's go!"
Xiao Xiao reached out with both hands and clung tightly to the hem of Xiao Yan's white uniform, unleashing her special technique: pleading cutely.
She tugged at his sleeve and urged him again and again in a soft, sweet voice.
Looking at the little girl's shameless antics, Xiao Yan shook his head helplessly.
He could read people's hearts, so he naturally saw the determination hidden beneath Xiao Xiao's adorable exterior.
That sense of urgency—the resolve to turn embarrassment into motivation—was an indispensable catalyst on the path of cultivation.
"Let go. You're wrinkling my clothes." Xiao Yan pulled his sleeve free, tapped her bun, and started walking. "Come on. Let's find somewhere quiet."
The two went back into the academy, avoiding the busy teaching and dormitory areas as they made their way deeper into Shrek Academy.
Before long, a wide expanse of shimmering water came into view.
The lake was clear and blue, reflecting the sky and white clouds. A faint mist hung over its surface. This was Sea God Lake, one of Shrek Academy's famous sights.
Xiao Yan led Xiao Xiao along the edge of Sea God Lake, finally stopping in a secluded grove beside the shore.
The trees grew thick, their interwoven branches shielding the sunlight and leaving only a few mottled beams on the moss-covered flagstones.
All around them, there was only the rustle of wind through leaves and the distant sound of water lapping at the shore—a perfect place to cultivate.
Xiao Yan sat cross-legged on a flat slab of bluestone.
He spread his hands, and divine radiance of moon-white and purple-gold intertwined. The ancient, timeworn Fuxi Zither floated in the air before him.
Xiao Xiao sat down opposite him as well. A flash of green light, and the Nine Phoenix Flute rested against her lips.
They exchanged no words. The moment their eyes met, they had already settled on the piece they would play.
Unlike the gentle, unhurried Lingshu: Yuan-Gathering Melody they had played in the classroom that morning, Xiao Yan's playing this time was bold and forceful.
He hooked the strings with the index and middle fingers of his right hand, then suddenly flicked them upward.
"Zheng—!"
The high, stirring note exploded through the air like a sword leaving its sheath, piercing the sky.
The piece was called Breaking the Formation: Sea Absorbing Melody.
Xiao Xiao's flute joined right after.
Her flute had once sounded ethereal, but now its notes were swift and high, echoing through the trees in time with the zither.
As soon as the melody unfurled, the grove underwent a violent change.
The energy of heaven and earth within a radius of several hundred meters answered the powerful summons and began rushing toward them.
Visible currents of energy formed a small vortex above the grove, and the leaves shook violently in its pull.
As soon as the wild, surging energy entered the range of the music's sound waves, it passed through as if through a precision filter.
The impurities and turbulence in the energy were forcibly shattered and refined by the sound waves. Then it flowed like a gentle stream, following the rhythm of their breathing and the circulation of their meridians, pouring ceaselessly into their bodies.
Xiao Yan kept his eyes shut, his fingers flying across the strings and leaving a blur behind.
He guided the immense energy as it washed over his bones and meridians, compressing it into the Taiji Sea of Qi in his dantian and steadily advancing his Soul Power.
The two were immersed in this deeper state of cultivation.
Just then, a sudden change occurred over the broad, tranquil surface of Sea God Lake.
A blinding red light suddenly shot skyward from the direction of Lake Heart Island, then raced over the water at an incredible speed.
It was a woman dressed in red.
Her entire body was wreathed in scarlet flames, which soared into the sky.
The moment the lake water beneath her touched that terrifying heat, it sizzled sharply. Vast stretches of water evaporated directly into white steam.
From afar, she looked like a meteor skimming low over the water, trailing a long plume of white steam behind her.
Her mind was in chaos, and the Evil Fire in her body was wantonly burning away her reason.
Her eyes were bloodshot. Relying only on instinct, she had been dashing aimlessly across the lake, trying to suppress the heat within her with the chill of the water.
Suddenly, her figure faltered over the lake.
Through her blurred, confused vision, she keenly sensed a disturbance coming from a direction along the shore.
There, an immense and exceptionally pure concentration of the energy of heaven and earth was gathering.
To someone tormented by Evil Fire and on the verge of losing control, that gathering of pure energy was like a spring suddenly appearing in the desert, radiating a fatal allure.
The woman in red gave a pained, stifled groan. Then she changed direction and became a raging streak of fire, hurtling straight toward the secluded grove.