After Su Ling left.
Xuan Zi appeared and landed beside Mu En.
"Look at them. They're a perfect match." Xuan Zi chuckled and took out a chicken leg, biting into it with relish.
Mu En shook his head helplessly. "We're both getting on in years. Why are you still the same as before? Let the children work things out among themselves. What's the point of interfering so much?"
"Hey, Uncle-Master, you're one to talk. Aren't you doing the same thing? You knew Lexuan was about to wake up, yet you left Su to look after her alone. What could you possibly have in mind? It's so hard to guess..."
When it came to Su Ling, Xuan Zi wasn't intimidated by his uncle-master at all. He even joked with him.
At that, Mu En wasn't annoyed. Looking at Xuan Zi, who was acting like an old child, he smiled faintly. "You care so much about passing that child's legacy on. Why not think about passing down your own Godly Taotie Bull Martial Soul through your bloodline?"
"I..." Seeing that his thoughts had been seen through, Xuan Zi's old face reddened. He hurriedly took a bite of his chicken leg to hide his embarrassment, mumbling indistinctly.
"I'm already this old. Finding a partner is easier said than done. Besides, how could my Godly Taotie Bull compare with Su?"
As he spoke, a hint of fervor showed in his eyes.
"Su's Qilin Martial Soul has the innate ability to suppress evil, and it also possesses Ultimate Thunder and Ultimate Destruction. If it were passed down through Shrek, then within twenty years, Evil Soul Masters across the world would meet their end!"
Xuan Zi suddenly grew excited. He took a fierce bite of the last of his chicken leg. He seemed to have an inexplicable obsession with suppressing Evil Soul Masters.
Seeing him like this, Mu En had nothing more to say.
On the way here, Xuan Zi had told him about Su Ling's battle against the Evil Soul Masters.
He knew very well that the divine beast Qilin Martial Soul, combined with two Ultimate Attributes, surpassed the Angel Martial Soul—the only known nemesis of Evil Soul Masters—in both its lower and upper limits.
What was more, Su Ling had a complete Qilin bloodline, unlike Xuan Zi, whose bloodline had flaws. His descendants would most likely inherit the same type of Qilin Martial Soul. Even if it mutated, the mutation wouldn't be inferior.
By then, perhaps other elemental Qilin Martial Souls, such as the Light Qilin and Fire Qilin, would appear.
"By the way, what happened to those three Level 9 Soul Tools you seized?" Mu En asked suddenly.
"I've got them with me. Unfortunately, the shield-like one is damaged. Only this Thunder Sword and this Concealment Cover still work."
As he spoke, Xuan Zi took out the three Soul Tools he had taken from Ming Lei Douluo.
Mu En glanced over them.
"Mm, they're definitely all Level 9 Soul Tools. That Concealment Cover is no ordinary thing. No wonder it escaped your spiritual sense..."
"If that boy hadn't fought to the death with that Soul Bone, the consequences..."
Listening to Mu En, Xuan Zi clenched his fists, his eyes reddening as fear surged through him. He couldn't bear to imagine that outcome.
"Though disaster was averted, you must remember this lesson. Be more vigilant from now on. That child is Shrek's future. Nothing must happen to him." Mu En's expression darkened, his tone stern.
"I understand, Uncle-Master..."
Xuan Zi immediately bowed his head and admitted his mistake.
"Enough. Take these three Soul Tools to the Soul Guidance Department. I'm going to rest."
"Yes."
Xuan Zi left the Sea God Pavilion and delivered the three Soul Tools to Qian Duoduo, the dean of the Soul Guidance Department.
He took one last look at Su Ling, who had returned to the dormitory, then left Shrek City and flew swiftly in one direction.
That direction led to the Sun Moon Empire.
106 Freshman Dormitory.
Su Ling opened the door and walked in.
"You're back?!"
Wang Dong, who had just returned from class and was sitting on her bed, saw Su Ling. Delight flashed across her face, and she immediately got up and approached him, looking him over curiously.
"Why did you take so long? Didn't Xuan Zi take you Soul Hunting? And why are your clothes all torn up?"
"Wait! Why do you smell like a girl?!"
Wang Dong had a keen nose and immediately caught the faint fragrance Zhang Lexuan had left on Su Ling.
Seeing her act like a detective interrogating a suspect, Su Ling walked right past her and said coolly, "Little Dong, who said you could talk to me like that? Go bring in my clothes. I'm going to shower."
"...You!"
At that, Su Ling paused on his way to the bathroom and slowly turned his head, one brow lifting.
"What, you don't like it?" As he spoke, he released a trace of his Level 35 Soul Power toward Wang Dong.
"I... I'll go! Why are you being so mean?" Wang Dong immediately backed down, puffing out her cheeks as she angrily headed for the balcony.
At the same time, she was stunned. When they'd sparred yesterday, Su Ling had still been Level 29. How had he suddenly jumped to Level 35 today?
Monster...
Wang Dong grumbled inwardly, gathered Su Ling's uniform and change of clothes, and walked into the bathroom.
"Just put them there."
Su Ling, who had already stripped down to his underwear, pointed to a spot, then turned on the shower and began washing his hair.
Wang Dong sneaked a couple of glances at his abdomen. Her fair throat bobbed as she swallowed. Then she put down the clothes and hurried away, considerately closing the bathroom door behind her.
Ten minutes later.
The bathroom door opened. Su Ling came out, rubbing his damp hair with a towel.
Wang Dong, sitting on her bed and pretending to cultivate, cracked her eyes open at once. Her face immediately flushed.
Su Ling wore a white shirt, but he hadn't fastened the buttons. His well-defined chest and abdominal muscles showed faintly beneath it, while his damp hair fell over his shoulders, tousled but not messy.
"How can he be so good-looking..."
Wang Dong stared, entranced. But the next moment, Su Ling's merciless voice rang out, shattering her pleasant daydream.
"What are you staring at, Little Dong? If you want muscles, go train. Since you're not cultivating, go wash my clothes. Oh, forget the jacket. Just throw it away."
"Seriously? You want me to wash your underwear too?!"
Wang Dong snapped out of it, her beautiful eyes wide.
"Why not? We're both Soul Masters. It's not like they'll get dirty. All I'm asking is that you give them a couple of scrubs. You're not happy about it?" Su Ling said with an amused smile, then added, "Or are you going to break your promise? Tsk, tsk."
"Fine, fine, I'll wash them!"
Wang Dong put on her shoes and ran to the bathroom, her ear tips red. She even remembered to close the door behind her.
Click. The bathroom door locked.
Seeing that, Su Ling chuckled softly.
He got himself ready, dried his hair, then sat cross-legged on the bed and brought up the system panel to check the first- and second-stage rewards from Zhang Lexuan.
One was a mysterious Soul Beast pet; the other was a set of same-origin Soul Rings and Soul Bones with a guaranteed minimum age of a hundred thousand years.
Neither was suitable to claim right now.
"System, just start the upgrade."
[Beep. Host's command received. System upgrade commencing. It will be complete in 23 hours and 59 minutes.]
[Beep. System upgrading...]
"It's only a day. It won't affect anything. Haaah, after working hard for a whole day and night, I should rest for a while."
Su Ling stretched, lay down, and closed his eyes.
Half an hour later.
Wang Dong came out of the bathroom carrying the clean clothes. Unfortunately, Su Ling had his eyes closed and couldn't see how red her face had become.
"What a jerk! He actually made me wash his underwear. Just you wait. Once I grow stronger and surpass you, I'll get my revenge and wipe away this humiliation!"
She glanced at Su Ling, dozing on the bed, muttered a curse, then hurried to the balcony to hang up the clothes.