Yan Shaozhe's Shock

"Sister? Lin Shuo, you have a sister?" Wang Dong'er keenly caught the keyword, her eyes widening slightly.

Lin Shuo finished the last bite of his grilled fish and said indifferently, "I do. I was found and raised by my sister."

The air around the campfire went quiet for a moment. The bamboo skewer in Wang Dong'er's hand hung suspended in mid-air. She had known Lin Shuo for over a year, and this was the first time he had voluntarily mentioned his background, yet she found herself wishing he hadn't.

Wang Dong'er's expression stiffened for an instant; the excitement and curiosity in her eyes faded rapidly, replaced by an unmistakable sense of panic and chagrin. Subconsciously, she lowered her head and gripped the skewer tightly, her knuckles turning white.

"...I'm sorry," she said, her voice much lower than usual, carrying undisguised guilt. "I didn't mean to ask."

She looked up, stealing a cautious glance at Lin Shuo. On that usually flamboyant and proud little face, a rare trace of trepidation appeared. She was afraid that her thoughtless question had touched upon a place Lin Shuo did not wish to be disturbed.

"It's fine." Lin Shuo's voice remained flat, devoid of any feeling of being offended. "I've never met them, and I've never cared about it." Regarding his own origins, Lin Shuo had long since formed a theory: he might truly have just fallen from the sky.

He spoke with complete composure. It was genuine indifference, not a facade of broad-mindedness.

Wang Dong'er stared at him for two seconds, confirming he wasn't just brushing her off, before her tense shoulders finally relaxed. Even so, she scolded herself fiercely in her heart for being so thoughtless.

Huo Yu'er watched the scene quietly from the side, her deep blue eyes filled with sympathy as she looked at Lin Shuo. She wanted to say something to comfort him, but she didn't know if she should simply change the subject.

Although Duke White Tiger didn't even know she was his daughter, her mother had loved her dearly since she was small. Yet, Brother Lin Shuo had never even met his own parents.

Lin Shuo poked at the firewood, and upon looking up and seeing the expressions on the two girls' faces, he immediately understood. He set down the branch and chuckled, "You two don't need to be like that. Sister Nana has been very good to me since I was young. Besides, my family's strength is not weak; I have been raised as an heir since childhood."

Huo Yu'er thought of that silver-haired, purple-eyed woman; such a peerless figure surely wouldn't come from an ordinary family.

Seeing Wang Dong'er finish the last piece of grilled fish, Lin Shuo handed her a tissue. "Little glutton, wipe your mouth."

Wang Dong'er's face flushed bright red instantly. Wanting to say something but unable to find the words, she hurriedly took the tissue and wiped her face in a flurry. After she finished, she crumpled the tissue into a ball in her palm. With the blush still lingering on her cheeks, she couldn't help but sneak a glance at Lin Shuo, only to find him looking at her with a half-smile. She quickly turned her head away.

"I am not a little glutton."

Lin Shuo didn't respond to her, instead taking a soul bone out of his Storage Soul Tool. The bone shimmered with a pale golden halo, and even under the glow of the campfire, one could clearly see the fine, silk-like light patterns flowing slowly within it.

"This is a 50,000-year Heavenly Dragon Horse right leg bone. The Heavenly Dragon Horse possesses the bloodline of the Bright Sacred Dragon, making it very suitable for your Radiant Goddess Butterfly. I specifically chose this for you from my family. After you go back, have Yu'er protect you while you absorb it."

Wang Dong'er stared blankly at the soul bone, her mouth slightly agape, unable to close it for a long time. She could clearly feel her Radiant Goddess Butterfly martial soul resonating strongly; this soul bone was indeed a perfect fit for her.

"Fifty thousand years... Heavenly Dragon Horse right leg bone?" Her voice was a bit strained. Her pink-blue eyes reflected the golden-glowing bone, but she didn't reach out to take it. She looked up at Lin Shuo and, for once, didn't use her usual tone, asking softly, "A ten-thousand-year soul bone is exceptionally precious in any faction. Not to mention it's from a top-tier light-attribute soul beast like the Heavenly Dragon Horse. Is it really okay for you to give it to me?"

Wang Dong'er looked up at Lin Shuo, her tone uncharacteristically serious.

Lin Shuo tossed the soul bone into her lap, and Wang Dong'er caught it in a panic. "I told you to absorb it, so absorb it. There's no one in my family suitable for this bone. If I don't give it to you, it'll just gather dust in the warehouse."

"Besides, I gave that Ice Dragon Soul Bone to Yu'er. Everyone gets a share."

Wang Dong'er looked deeply at Lin Shuo, complex emotions swirling in her pink-blue eyes. She carefully tucked the soul bone into her Storage Soul Tool.

"Fine." She didn't decline again. "I'll absorb it when I get back."

The three of them packed up their things and prepared to return to the dormitory. After walking a few steps, Wang Dong'er suddenly turned back and shouted to Lin Shuo, who was walking behind, "Lin Shuo! Thank you."

Without waiting for a response, she grabbed Huo Yu'er and jogged toward the dormitory building. Her pink-blue ponytail swayed in the moonlight, like a cat fleeing in a panic yet refusing to admit defeat.

Lin Shuo watched the two girls' backs gradually fade into the depths of the moonlight, the corners of his lips curling into a faint arc.

The next day, the three arrived at the classroom.

Wang Yan announced the content of the grade advancement assessment.

Each student was to choose a soul beast between one hundred and one thousand years old in the Beast Fighting Arena to challenge. A score of sixty was passing, and the judges would grade them based on their overall performance.

The three of them naturally passed the assessment smoothly. Wang Dong'er easily defeated her opponent using her newly acquired soul bone skill, while Lin Shuo and Huo Yu'er simply released their martial souls to scare their soul beasts away.

The second martial soul Huo Yu'er displayed during the assessment naturally caught the attention of Wang Yan and Du Weilun. As soon as Huo Yu'er stepped off the stage, they paused the assessment to question her eagerly.

After hearing the general process, Du Weilun hurried toward Yan Shaozhe's office without a moment's delay.

"Awakened a second martial soul? And it's an ultimate true dragon martial soul?" Upon hearing Du Weilun's words, Yan Shaozhe stood up from his chair in surprise.

Lin Shuo had already shaken the entire Shrek Academy, and now with the addition of Huo Yu'er, was Shrek Academy going to reach new heights under his tenure as dean? One had to know that the current Sea God Pavilion Master, his teacher Mu En, did not possess an ultimate attribute martial soul, even with his Bright Sacred Dragon. Could this Huo Yu'er's martial soul be even stronger than the Bright Sacred Dragon?

Since when did true dragon martial souls become so common?

"Yes, Dean. The teachers and students present at the assessment saw with their own eyes that Huo Yu'er scared away that thousand-year Flame Demon Lion just by releasing her martial soul. After the assessment, Wang Yan and I personally asked Huo Yu'er about her martial soul, and she said it was called the Water Dragon King. Both Wang Yan and I believe it is an ultimate martial soul."

Du Weilun replied with a respectful expression.

"Water Dragon King... Seven-Colored Dragon King..." Yan Shaozhe mused.

One had to know that these two martial souls had never appeared in the records of Shrek Academy. With such similar names, could they really be unrelated?