Long Yeyue: Traitor! This is naked betrayal!

Shrek Academy, Sea God Island.

Lan Muzi ran over from the outer academy, panting. Seeing Long Yeyue waiting for him at the entrance, he bowed respectfully and spoke:

"Sister Yue, I have found out the truth."

"You found him? Where on earth did that brat run off to? I must teach him a lesson today; I'm grounding him from meals for three days!"

Lan Muzi wiped the sweat from his brow, hesitated for a moment, and continued:

"Uh, after Xiao Qian left, he went to the Spirit Pagoda. You know they've been holding free martial soul awakening ceremonies there recently."

"Hmm? And? What kind of martial soul did Qian Jue awaken?"

Lan Muzi hesitated, but ultimately chose to be honest: "According to intelligence from our moles in the Spirit Pagoda, Xiao Qian appears to have twin martial souls. One is the Coiling Dragon Staff, and the other seems to be called the Dragon Rising Pillar."

"Most importantly, he seems to have innate level twenty soul power..."

Long Yeyue froze. Innate level twenty?

According to her knowledge, the only person recorded in ancient texts to have achieved this was the Angel God, the arch-nemesis of the Sea God Tang San.

Generally, innate full soul power was the limit for humans. Legend had it that the extra ten levels the Angel God possessed upon her awakening were a gift from the deity watching over her.

So, Qian Jue had actually received the favor of a god.

A dragon-type martial soul—was it a deity of the dragon race?

Why choose that little brat instead of me!

A thick fire of jealousy burned in Long Yeyue's heart. She was a Light and Dark Holy Dragon twin martial soul user, a level ninety-nine Limit Douluo, a demigod powerhouse.

After becoming a Limit Douluo, one would more or less sense the location of the God Realm, yet without exception, all of them had failed to reach it.

But now, someone was telling her that her husband's illegitimate descendant had actually received divine favor and possessed innate level twenty soul power.

Preposterous!

Lan Muzi stood trembling to the side. Seeing the twisted expression on Long Yeyue's face, he feared that saying one more word would make him a punching bag for her frustration.

"Forget it. It is his fortune to receive such favor."

Long Yeyue suppressed the rage in her heart and said coldly: "Since he finished his awakening, why didn't he come home? I can handle the guidance for a dragon-type martial soul."

Although she was displeased, Qian Jue's talent was undeniable.

Someone with the potential to become a god must be firmly kept in the hands of Shrek.

"I'm talking to you! Are you mute?"

Seeing Lan Muzi remain silent, Long Yeyue slammed her hand onto the table, shattering it into pieces.

Lan Muzi's body jolted. After a moment of hesitation, he said: "Some say they saw Xiao Qian meet with Heavenly Phoenix Douluo, and that she took him in as a disciple and he joined the Spirit Pagoda..."

The atmosphere in the room dropped to freezing point instantly.

Long Yeyue froze, then erupted with a sharp, piercing shriek:

"Joined the Spirit Pagoda? He actually dared to join the Spirit Pagoda?"

"Does that brat not know that the people I hate most in this life are those in the Spirit Pagoda!?"

Betrayal. She had suffered betrayal once again.

Why treat her like this?!

Elder Bei was like that, Chen Xinjie was the same, and now even the child she had raised for over a year had betrayed her.

"Go, bring him to me."

Long Yeyue roared hysterically at Lan Muzi.

Long ago, she had stormed the Spirit Pagoda headquarters and slapped the then-Pagoda Master Die Ting in public. Since then, the two factions had been bitter enemies, constantly competing both openly and in the shadows.

Lan Muzi felt miserable.

He was just a lowly Soul Douluo; how was he supposed to go to the Spirit Pagoda and demand a person from Heavenly Phoenix Douluo?

But this was Long Yeyue's order. Her seniority and status as his master made her position in Shrek Academy practically unassailable.

There was no choice; he had to bite the bullet.

He hoped Heavenly Phoenix Douluo would be understanding of his predicament...

After Lan Muzi left, Long Yeyue didn't want to stay for another second. She needed to return to the academy to clarify this matter with Yun Ming.

She would absolutely not allow the child Qian Jue to join the Spirit Pagoda.

"Not grateful for my upbringing, are you? Once you get to Shrek, you'll see how I make you suffer."

East Sea City, Qiangu Qingfeng's home.

Under the night sky, after finishing their meal, Qian Jue took the initiative to break the atmosphere of murderous intent that had almost solidified in the house.

Taking revenge on Long Yeyue was not something that needed to be done in a hurry; it didn't even require his own hands. If left alone, Shrek Academy would turn into fireworks on its own in a few years.

What he needed to do now was to improve his strength as much as possible so he could return to the realm of the gods and achieve eternal life.

"I have never heard of a martial soul like yours, so you will have to figure out how to develop it yourself, but I can certainly offer some guidance on the Coiling Dragon Staff," Qiangu Qingfeng said.

Although he had not inherited the Coiling Dragon Staff martial soul, he was still a member of the Qiangu family, and he had even defeated his younger brother—the one hailed as the greatest genius of the Qiangu family in a century—in a head-on clash.

When it came to understanding the Coiling Dragon Staff, there were likely few soul masters on the entire continent, even those without the staff as their own martial soul, who could compare to him.

Qiangu Qingfeng led Qian Jue to the grassy area outside the house and told him to manifest his martial soul.

With a thought, a Coiling Dragon Staff appeared in Qian Jue's hand, radiating a nine-colored divine light with a faint, lingering aura of a dragon.

Qian Jue had previously felt that the rainbow-colored staff was too flashy and had hoped it could be slightly altered; it seemed his martial soul had read his thoughts and made the change.

Qiangu Qingfeng stared at the staff in Qian Jue's hand, which looked vastly different from the one in his memories, and frowned slightly.

"Your Coiling Dragon Staff has undergone some form of mutation. It appears to be a positive one, as its quality has been enhanced; it feels even superior to my brother's staff."

"However, while tool-type martial souls vary in form and quality, they all ultimately boil down to four realms: Momentum, Intent, Soul, and Divinity."

With that said, Qiangu Qingfeng's aura suddenly turned sharp and majestic, and a massive Painted Halberd appeared in his palm.

A top-tier tool-type martial soul: the Purgatory Halberd!

"I shall use the halberd in place of a staff to demonstrate for you. How much you can comprehend depends entirely on you."

The next moment, the heavy Purgatory Halberd began to dance in Qiangu Qingfeng's hands. His aura was overwhelming, carrying the force to tear through space, and his fluid, seamless movements were a sight to behold, drawing the observer into the rhythm of the dance.

"The first realm: Momentum."

"Striking with the wind, sweeping with might; the moves are sharp and the aura is intimidating. This is merely the threshold of the path of tool-type martial souls."

After speaking, Qiangu Qingfeng swung the Purgatory Halberd again, but this time it erupted with a terrifying battle intent, as if it were dragging one into purgatory for interrogation.

Qian Jue stood by watching, and his back was involuntarily drenched in cold sweat.

"The second realm: Intent."

"Infuse your spiritual power into the vessel that carries your path. When the intent moves, the tool follows. You can integrate killing intent, battle intent, or obsession. It is not bound by specific moves; this applies to blades, spears, staves, or clubs alike."

It was not over yet. Qiangu Qingfeng swung the Purgatory Halberd once more, but this time there was no shocking aura; he looked like a complete novice using a tool, simple and natural.

But this was merely a facade. With his vision and knowledge, he could clearly feel the immense terror contained within the Purgatory Halberd beneath its plain exterior. The surrounding world seemed to be contained within the radius of that single swing, as if it encompassed the entire universe.

"The third realm: Soul."

"Man and tool become one; the soul merges with the vessel. The tool is no longer an external object, but a controllable second body. It can draw upon the power of heaven and earth, and every move carries the aura of natural laws."

"Once you achieve this realm, you are a grandmaster of the path. Many spend their entire lives unable to enter the Soul Realm."

After the three demonstrations, Qiangu Qingfeng withdrew the Purgatory Halberd, choosing not to delve deeper.

"Greed leads to poor digestion. I will teach you the final realm, Divinity, once you have stepped into the Soul Realm. The Coiling Dragon Staff of your lineage possesses an ancestral staff technique..."

Before he could finish, Qiangu Qingfeng felt a sudden gust of wind rise before him.

He saw Qian Jue gripping the Coiling Dragon Staff, his footsteps light and steady as he began his stance, every step measured with precision.

The staff thrust forward, its tip trembling slightly.

This was not brute force.

The essence of the staff technique lay in subtle strength, in the coordination of the waist and stance, and in the mastery of every inch of the staff.

Splitting, sweeping, lifting, poking, collapsing, blocking, parrying, and thrusting—the eight basic staff techniques unfolded in Qian Jue's hands, moving from slow to fast, from simple to complex.

A silent 'Momentum' began to slowly unfurl from Qian Jue's movements. Unlike the unyielding, heaven-defying spirit of the Qiangu family's Coiling Dragon Staff, this was a different kind of momentum—a sovereign's presence that looked down upon the world.

Qiangu Qingfeng stood to the side, watching Qian Jue, who was completely immersed in his staff work, his heart filled with utter shock.

On his first day of practicing the staff, he had comprehended the staff's momentum on his own!

At that moment, Qiangu Qingfeng felt a desperate urge to shout:

"My grandson, Qian Jue, has the potential to become a god!"