Tang Sect's Secret Arts, Return Immediately!

Tang Ya hurried over to the thousand-year Mandala Snake.

Under the protagonist's control, the crimson-gold arrow of light slowly dissipated, leaving only a transparent bloody hole with completely charred edges where the tree trunk met the snake's body.

The Mandala Snake's originally indestructible scales had become brittle and fallen away under the scorching heat.

This thousand-year soul beast, which had once lorded over everything, had now completely lost its ability to resist. It could only lie limply amid the dead leaves, letting out hoarse, weak gasps.

Tang Ya gripped the short sword in her hand, her gaze focused and resolute.

Fixing her eyes on the Mandala Snake's head, her arm muscles tensed instantly as she drove the blade down with all her strength.

"Pshk!"

The sharp short sword pierced flesh and sank straight through the Mandala Snake's brain.

Dark red blood gushed from the blood groove, splashing across the rotting leaves nearby and releasing a foul, fishy stench.

The Mandala Snake's massive body convulsed violently a few times, its tail mindlessly snapping several nearby bushes before it finally went rigid, dead beyond doubt.

Specks of purple light began gathering above the snake's corpse. Before long, a thousand-year soul ring glowing with deep violet light slowly formed and floated in midair.

Overjoyed, Tang Ya immediately sat cross-legged beside the corpse, drawing the purple soul ring down toward the top of her head. She closed her eyes and entered a focused state of absorption.

The remaining three stood around her, consciously spreading out into a triangular formation to protect Tang Ya in the middle.

Bei Bei kept his eyes fixed on Yun Yi, his gaze full of resentment, looking exactly like a laborer who had had his credit stolen and was still expected to suffer in silence.

Yun Yi's skin crawled under that stare, and he could not help shuddering.

He rubbed the goosebumps on his arms and turned to meet Bei Bei's eyes.

"I'm saying, Bei Bei, don't look at me like that." Yun Yi spread his hands, his tone casual.

"I acted first purely for your own good. Think about it: that was a thousand-year Mandala Snake. It was ridiculously fast, and its venom was vicious. If you rushed in to fight it head-on and accidentally got bitten or wrapped up by it, there was no way you could have settled the fight quickly."

Yun Yi walked over to Bei Bei, patted him on the shoulder, and continued his unhurried analysis.

"Besides, if you struck a pose and charged in before the girl you like, only to fail to take it down after all that time and need me to save the situation in the end, wouldn't that be even more embarrassing? I killed it with one arrow—quick, safe, and it preserved your dignity. You should be thanking me."

After hearing that, Bei Bei considered it carefully and found no fault in his reasoning.

The thousand-year Mandala Snake's scales really were tough. If he tried to tear through them with his Thunderclap Dragon Claw, it would certainly take considerable effort.

If he really made a fool of himself in front of Xiao Ya, that would be truly humiliating.

Once he understood that, the small grudge in Bei Bei's heart completely disappeared.

He sighed, withdrew his martial soul, and stopped arguing with Yun Yi.

Since Tang Ya still needed some time to finish absorbing the soul ring, Bei Bei turned toward Huo Yuhao, who had been standing quietly to the side.

"Yuhao, while Xiao Ya absorbs the soul ring, I'll guide you in cultivating our Tang Sect secret art, the Mysterious Heaven Skill." Bei Bei pointed at a relatively clean patch of ground nearby.

"Sit down first."

Huo Yuhao's eyes lit up, and he quickly sat down as Bei Bei instructed.

Tang Ya had already enthusiastically praised the power of the Tang Sect's cultivation methods to him along the way. He had been looking forward to this for a long time.

Bei Bei sat cross-legged behind Huo Yuhao, pressing both palms steadily against the center of Huo Yuhao's back.

"Relax your body and close your eyes. Carefully feel the path of the Soul Power I inject into your body, and memorize the course of these meridians." Bei Bei instructed in a low voice.

As soon as he finished speaking, pure, robust Mysterious Heaven Skill Soul Power flowed continuously from Bei Bei's palms into Huo Yuhao's body.

This power was gentle and enduring, slowly forging a path through Huo Yuhao's previously blocked meridians.

Huo Yuhao immediately calmed his mind and focused completely on memorizing the route.

The two quickly entered a meditative cultivation state, wisps of white steam even rising above their heads.

Yun Yi leaned against a large tree some distance away, arms crossed as he watched the two cultivate in utter boredom.

He had long since understood the Tang Sect's secret arts inside and out.

Although he did not know the specific circulation routes or incantations, he knew perfectly well what results those techniques could ultimately achieve.

After considering it carefully, he realized that these divine arts that had shone so brilliantly in the original story were basically useless junk for his current physical condition.

Take the Tang Sect's core technique, the Mysterious Heaven Skill, for example.

The greatest advantage of this internal cultivation method was that it could make a soul master's Soul Power more robust and enduring, endlessly self-renewing, with a recovery speed far faster than ordinary techniques.

But for Yun Yi, that advantage was nothing but a joke.

The Soul Power in his body had been forged and fused day and night by the four ultimate attributes: ultimate light, ultimate fire, ultimate ice, and ultimate water.

Any one of those four source powers, taken alone, surpassed the internal energy cultivated through the Mysterious Heaven Skill in both density and purity.

The quality of his Soul Power had already reached the absolute pinnacle of this world. Even if the Mysterious Heaven Skill were cultivated to mastery, it could not purify his Soul Power by even the slightest bit.

Then there was the Purple Demon Eyes, said to cultivate spiritual power and see through all illusions.

Every morning, one had to face the rising sun in the east and absorb that trace of purple qi. Its highest realm was supposedly called "Vastness."

It certainly sounded impressive, but Yun Yi did not think much of it at all.

His primary martial soul, the Sun-Shooting Divine Bow, came with an incredibly domineering exclusive passive skill—the Truth-Breaking Golden Eyes.

As long as he opened his eyes, the source powers of ultimate light and ultimate fire would automatically circulate within them. His gaze could ignore all mist and illusions, directly locking onto a target's flaws and weaknesses.

This god-level eye technique, born from the source of his martial soul, was countless times more powerful than the Purple Demon Eyes, which required one to rise early every day and cultivate painstakingly.

As for tempering spiritual power, Yun Yi found it even less worth mentioning.

Who lived in his Sea of Spirit now?

The Holy Necromancer, Electrolux!

And above its vault floated the inherited divine seals of three chief gods!

Just the god-level pressure naturally emitted by those three divine seals each day, along with the day-after-day nourishment of multiple ultimate attributes, had expanded his Sea of Spirit to an unimaginable extent.

His spiritual power had long since liquefied into a golden ocean.

The Purple Demon Eyes' tiny boost to spiritual power would not even make a ripple if thrown into his Sea of Spirit. It could not even be called icing on the cake.

Having seen through their true nature, Yun Yi completely lost interest in the Tang Sect's secret arts.

He stood there idly, occasionally looking up at the sunlight filtering through gaps in the leaves as he silently calculated the time.

As the sun rose higher, the dampness in the Star Dou Forest gradually evaporated, and the light within the woods slowly brightened.

Time passed second by second.

Nearly a quarter of an hour later, Tang Ya, who had been sitting in meditation with her eyes closed, finally stirred.

After violently contracting and expanding several times, the purple thousand-year soul ring finally settled steadily around her body. Together with her other two bright yellow soul rings, it shone with dazzling radiance.

Tang Ya abruptly opened her eyes, brilliance flashing within them.

She leaped to her feet excitedly and flung both hands outward.

Dozens of thick vines immediately burst wildly from the soil beneath her feet.

The vines were a crystalline azure blue, their surfaces covered in fine, distinct patterns.

Their thickness and flexibility were far greater than before.

The vines lashed wildly through the air, carrying sharp howls of wind.

"I succeeded! I'm finally a Soul Elder!" Tang Ya spun around happily on the spot. Her cheerful laughter pierced through the dense forest, startling several birds from the trees and sending them flapping away.

Hearing Tang Ya's joyful cry, Bei Bei and Huo Yuhao ended the Mysterious Heaven Skill guidance at the right moment.

Bei Bei withdrew his hands and let out a long breath of stale air.

He stood up, strode over to Tang Ya, carefully looked her over from head to toe, and smiled as he repeatedly congratulated her.

Huo Yuhao stood up as well, lowering his head to stretch his somewhat stiff legs.

After that brief cultivation session, he could clearly feel a warm current within his body. His originally frail body instantly felt much more replenished.

The way he looked at Bei Bei immediately gained a deep sense of gratitude and respect.

The group gathered together and exchanged their gains from earlier.

Tang Ya was especially impatient to gesture excitedly as she shared the effects of her newly acquired third soul skill in detail.

After a brief rest, the four of them cleared away the obvious traces they had left behind.

Yun Yi looked up at the blazing midday sun and urged everyone to set off.

The old man Electrolux, whom he had wanted most, was already in his Sea of Spirit. This journey had ended perfectly.

The four formed up, with Bei Bei leading the way. After confirming their direction, they set off on the road back to Shrek Academy.