The Dragon Core Was Tampered With! Mu En's Backup Plan

Mu En's actions truly left him puzzled.

Before he knew his identity, treating him well could be explained as nurturing him.

But if he knew his identity and still gave him a supreme treasure like the Dragon Core... that was harder to explain.

In matters of life and death, he could not afford to be careless.

He would rather listen to a few words of suspicion than gamble with his own life.

Gu Yuena raised her hand in a beckoning gesture, and the Dragon Core flew into her palm.

She clenched the Dragon Core and carefully examined it with her source power.

Before long, Gu Yuena abruptly opened her eyes, a trace of killing intent surfacing in her cool gaze.

"There's something wrong with this Dragon Core!"

"There really is?" Ye Ming pressed, "The Dragon Core was tampered with?"

Gu Yuena nodded, her voice carrying a trace of killing intent.

"Mu En hid it very well. If I hadn't used my source power, I truly wouldn't have detected it."

"There is an extremely tiny strand of Golden Tree energy within this Dragon Core, concealing a fragment of Mu En's soul."

"If you truly followed Mu En's instructions and swallowed this Dragon Core, it would be like planting a timed soul tool bomb inside your body!"

"And worse still, over time, even your thoughts would be altered!"

The killing intent in Gu Yuena's eyes grew stronger. "Mu En wanted to control you, perhaps even reincarnate by taking over your body!"

"That old bastard is courting death!!"

Di Ruiqiu muttered softly, "But he's already dead..."

"Then dig him up and kill him again!" Gu Yuena glared at her, frightening her into shrinking her head back with an awkward smile.

Ye Ming was the one chosen by the Dragon God. Touching him meant touching the lifeline of every soul beast!

"Just an old man, and he dared call himself the Dragon God Douluo!"

"A candle in the wind, yet he wanted to stand shoulder to shoulder with the Dragon God!"

"If I hadn't been worried about exposing our identities before, I would've had Di Tian and the others come hang that old man from the Golden Tree and whip him!"

Gu Yuena was genuinely furious.

Yet after the bitterness in Ye Ming's heart, he suddenly felt greatly relieved.

Mu En's previous actions had truly made him entertain the thought of taking him as his master.

But now that he knew the secret of the Dragon Core, he understood that everything Mu En had done before had likely been part of a scheme from the start!

That old man had been deeply calculating!

If he had not known that Mu En's soul was housed within the Golden Tree, who would have doubted what he said before his death?

Those not of our kind are bound to harbor different hearts... the ancients truly did not deceive me!

"Heh, this is good too. No need to dwell on any sentimental ties anymore."

Ye Ming felt his entire body lighten. Looking at the furious Gu Yuena, he asked,

"Don't be angry. We'll settle this score sooner or later."

"It's good that there's a problem. At least we no longer need to worry about any bonds of affection."

They had already resorted to underhanded means. When the beast tide of the Star Dou Great Forest headed toward Sun Moon in the future, there would be no need to consider Shrek blocking their path at the border.

Then they would fight!!

"The elimination rounds are in two days. When the time comes, you can vent your anger in the arena."

"Mu En tampered with it, but this Dragon Core truly is a treasure." Seeing Gu Yuena puffing up in anger, Ye Ming felt touched.

"Is there a way to block Mu En's perception and absorb the soul power within the Dragon Core?"

Mu En had nurtured this Dragon Core for more than a century, and it contained immense soul power.

Even if they divided it among themselves, it could at least push them to the Soul Douluo rank. Reaching the Title Douluo rank was not impossible either.

Gu Yuena glanced at Ye Ming, the corners of her lips lifting as she spoke haughtily. "Of course there is!"

"Mu En may be strong, but he isn't that extraordinary."

"Blocking a mere fragment of a soul is effortless."

"But..." Gu Yuena's gaze swept over Ye Ming from top to bottom, and she pursed her lips. "First, let me absorb some dragon aura."

Di Ruiqiu's eyes lit up. "I want the Golden Dragon Horn."

The night passed without incident.

The next day, everyone from Shrek entered the meeting room assigned by the Star Luo Empire to hold a pre-match briefing.

Xuan Zi sat at the head of the table, his face solemn.

Since Mu En's departure, Xuan Zi still needed alcohol and meat to suppress the flaws of his martial soul, but compared to before, he seemed much more normal.

On one side of the conference table sat Dai Yueheng and the other official members of the Shrek Seven Monsters, while on the other sat the reserve team led by Bei Bei.

Since arriving in Star Luo City, everyone had buried the sorrow of Mu En's passing deep in their hearts over the past few days.

At this moment, they all watched Xuan Zi with blazing eyes, awaiting his arrangements.

"Students, ever since ten thousand years ago, Shrek Academy has essentially claimed the Soul Duel Tournament championship every time."

Xuan Zi swept his gaze across the students. "I have only one demand: victory is permitted, defeat is not!"

"During the tournament, Ye Ming will take the lead in arranging our lineup, with Dai Yueheng providing support."

"Tomorrow is the elimination round. As the previous tournament's champions, our academy must be the first to compete."

"Mm... Little Dai, add anything else."

"I'm going into the city to gather some intelligence."

Before anyone could react, Xuan Zi vanished in a flash.

"Elder Xuan is still Elder Xuan... he can't stay serious for even a moment..." Dai Yueheng looked at the chair that was still spinning, the corner of his mouth twitching.

He gave a dry cough and looked at Ye Ming. "Brother Ye, I'll explain the tournament rules to the junior brothers and sisters. How about you arrange the lineup?"

Ye Ming naturally had no objection. He had not paid any attention to the tournament rules at all.

When he had read the original work, he had found them muddled and chaotic as well.

Since Dai Yueheng was going to explain them, that worked out perfectly.

"There are a total of one hundred and thirty-three soul master and soul engineer academies participating this time."

Dai Yueheng stood and said, "The tournament consists of the preliminary elimination round, the group round-robin stage, and the finals."

"The first round will be a team battle, seven against seven. The draw has already been completed, and the first-round matches begin tomorrow."

"After the first round, the teams will be divided into groups, with roughly nine teams in each group..."

Dai Yueheng merely explained the rules. He did not presume to act as captain and cheer the team on.

After he finished, he looked toward Ye Ming. "Tomorrow is the first elimination match, Shrek Academy's first appearance. We need to show the academy's prestige."

"What do you think? How should we arrange the lineup?"

After offering that reminder, Dai Yueheng obediently sat back down.

With Elder Xuan and Mu Lao vouching for Ye Ming, Dai Yueheng would not believe Zhongli Wu's nonsense.

More importantly, Ye Ming had beaten him into submission.

Ye Ming stood, raising an eyebrow. "Since we're showing the academy's prestige, tomorrow's match will be handled entirely by the first team's official members!"

"Ah?" Dai Yueheng was dumbfounded. He reminded him quietly, "Brother Ye, most other academies only have Soul Elders. There aren't even many Soul Ancestors among them."

Their first team had three Soul Emperors, one Soul Sage, and three freaks like Ye Ming who could not be judged by their soul rings.

Had their opponents committed some monstrous crime?

Did they need to send out their entire team?

Ye Ming declared righteously, "Over the past year, the Holy Spirit Cult has become increasingly rampant! The other powers across the continent have also been pointing fingers at our academy!"

"This tournament is bound to have spies from the Holy Spirit Cult among the participants."

"My purpose in doing this is to let the Holy Spirit Cult, and everyone across the continent, know that Shrek Academy cannot be brought down!"

With that lofty declaration, every member's expression turned solemn, and they all shot to their feet.

In truth, Ye Ming did not care about the academy's honor at all.

He was in a very bad mood right now. He needed to vent some of his anger on those prodigies!