With Zhao Wuji gravely wounded and rendered powerless by the backlash, the chaotic battlefield fell completely silent.
For a moment, the many Soul Hunters and Musket Cavalry stared intently at Su Changge.
As a newly advanced Soul Grandmaster, he had actually held off a Spirit Saint!
If word of this got out, none of the Soul Masters on the entire continent would believe it. They'd surely dismiss it as a tall tale.
Tap...
Su Changge walked forward, Steel Ruyi Staff in hand. With every step, the faint sound of his footsteps rang in Zhao Wuji's ears like the tolling of a death knell.
Because he could see it clearly: the bone-deep, icy killing intent in Su Changge's eyes...
"No... you can't kill me. I'm the vice dean of Shrek Academy. Besides me, Shrek Academy has another Spirit Saint and several Spirit Emperors. If you kill me, they won't let you get away with it."
"Just let me go, and I, Zhao Wuji, swear to the heavens that our grudge ends here. I'll never pursue it again!"
Zhao Wuji clutched his severed arm, his whole body trembling uncontrollably.
"Tsk... So you're saying you won't pursue my wrongdoing?"
Su Changge clicked his tongue, then laughed in disbelief.
"Zhao Wuji, you really do have an interesting way of thinking! You won't pursue my wrongdoing?"
"Hahaha... Ahahaha, that's the coldest joke I've ever heard in my life!"
"Zhao Wuji!!! Have you got one thing mixed up? You're the one who's a prisoner now!"
A flash of murderous intent crossed his eyes. The Ruyi Staff in Su Changge's hand shot out like lightning, piercing Zhao Wuji's other arm.
"No... my left arm, my left arm! You damn little beast, you dare cripple me? You dare cripple me?!"
"I won't let you get away with this! I'll never let you get away with this!!!"
"No matter how powerful your backing is, just wait for Shrek Academy's revenge!"
"Flender will avenge me. He'll slaughter your entire clan, down to the last man..."
Boom!
Zhao Wuji's threats abruptly came to an end.
Su Changge had wanted to pry some information out of Zhao Wuji, but the defeated man's snarling had finally enraged him.
The Ruyi Staff in his hand turned into a point of cold light and pierced Zhao Wuji between the brows.
What no one noticed was that the instant Su Changge killed Zhao Wuji, his Second Trait, Devour, activated on its own. In just a few seconds, it devoured all the Soul Power, energy, soul, blood, and vitality in Zhao Wuji's body.
After several rounds of refinement, it turned everything into the purest Soul Power and energy... and poured it into Su Changge's body!
The Soul Power he'd exhausted just moments earlier while releasing his Second Soul Skill instantly overflowed.
In an instant, the bottleneck at the peak of Level 21 shattered.
"Level 22."
Su Changge clenched his fists. Feeling the surge of Soul Power in his body, his foul mood began to lift.
Then he casually stored Zhao Wuji's and the Golden Nine-Headed Lion's remains in his Storage Soul Tool.
The latter could fetch a high price. As for the former... at the very least, he could take him to Spirit City for a hefty bounty, contributing to the GDP of the Murong Earldom.
"Clear the battlefield and gather our companions' bodies. We leave in half an hour."
After giving a few brief instructions, Su Changge went straight to a quiet spot and sat down, carefully sensing the changes that came with advancing to Soul Grandmaster.
First, his Soul Skills. He'd just tested the might of his Second Soul Ring. It was a godly skill on the level of a bug. If he advanced to Titled Douluo or Super Douluo, then with his Second Soul Skill... destroying a Royal Capital would be child's play.
Next were the changes brought by his Martial Soul's evolution. After his Martial Soul advanced to Hobgoblin, Su Changge could clearly feel the boosts it granted him in every aspect.
Judging by the strength of his Hobgoblin Martial Soul, it could absolutely rival other kinds of Beast Martial Souls.
Now, he could barely be called "average"!
Last came his Second Trait!
It might be just two simple words.
But if he hadn't experienced its effects himself just now, Su Changge would never have believed what the Devour Trait could do.
Once activated, the Devour Trait could devour any energy and any vessel of rules. And through the purifying effect inherent to the trait, it could apply the refined energy, rules, and every known or unknown boon to him with zero backlash.
The refinement process did cause considerable losses, but as long as the net effect was positive, it was all acceptable.
For Su Changge, the appearance of the Devour Trait had opened up yet another new... cheat-fueled path to rapidly increasing his Soul Power.
"Ding! The host's first child has been born. Soul Power increased, aptitude increased, luck increased... Once the host's child begins cultivating, a portion of the child's cultivation gains will be fed back to the host."
Boom!
Just as half an hour had nearly passed and Su Changge was about to get up, it was as if lightning had struck him. He froze in place.
He... what had he just heard?
Murong Ruyan had given birth!
His first bloodline in this world had been born.
"All troops, heed my command! We leave at once and return to the earldom!!!"
Meanwhile, as Su Changge and his party raced back to the earldom at full speed,
Flender, the dean of Shrek Academy in the Balak Kingdom, had begun to feel uneasy.
According to his calculations, Zhao Wuji should have returned with the students the day before yesterday.
Yet even now, there was still no sign of them.
"Could something have happened?"
"Could they have run into a top expert from Spirit Hall?"
"No... that can't be it. Old Zhao's been hiding for so long. If Spirit Hall had discovered him, they would've already made a move and uprooted Shrek Academy."
Flender's mind raced as he considered every possibility!
Although he dismissed them one by one, his unease didn't ease in the slightest. Instead, as time passed, it grew worse.
"Old Zhao, you'd better not be dead. If you die, I'll lose a dear friend, sure, but more importantly, where am I supposed to find another top-tier workhorse as gullible, hardworking, and capable as you?"
Well!
If Zhao Wuji knew what Flender was really thinking, who knew if he'd be so furious he'd rise from the dead on the spot and leap out of Su Changge's Storage Soul Tool?
"I wonder what Xiaogang's up to right now?"
"If he were here, given his reputation these days, he could probably find me quite a few quality workhorses."
"Ah..."
"I wonder what that stubborn mule Xiaogang is thinking."
"We had such a good relationship back then, but instead of cozying up to Pope Bibi Dong, he insisted on proving himself. After all those years, wasn't it only the honorary elder position at Spirit Hall, given to him by Bibi Dong, that finally got him on his feet?"
"Why can't Xiaogang understand? Besides, what good are romance and all that lovey-dovey stuff? Nothing beats real, tangible benefits!"
Thinking of Yu Xiaogang, Flender's mood improved, yet also grew incomparably complicated.
The good thing was that among the Golden Iron Triangle of old, at least one of them had ended up at the bottom.
The bad thing was! Why had Yu Xiaogang, a mere Soul Grandmaster, enjoyed such good fortune while he hadn't?
If it were him, with his own sharp wits and knack for playing his cards right, he'd surely have earned Bibi Dong's favor long ago, achieved financial freedom, and become a Titled Douluo!