Battle

"Senior Brother, please keep this matter confidential. If anyone asks about the abnormal soul power, just say it is the result of cultivation. I do not want news of such a rare wonder spreading through the academy."

"I understand, Junior Brother. What happened today will rot in my stomach. I will not leak even a shred of information."

Long Yue's expression turned solemn. He now understood the importance of this matter as well. The value of such a heaven-and-earth spiritual plant was beyond measure.

There were likely only a handful of spiritual plants on the entire continent capable of correcting flaws in a martial soul. If the Green Skulls, the resistance organization of the Star Luo Continent, learned of it—

Monster Academy could forget about having any peace.

The Green Skulls had shady ties with the Holy Spirit Cult. If this drew the attention of the Holy Spirit Cult, which roamed the Douluo Continent, and they joined forces, things would become truly serious.

Their pleasantries did not last long. Long Yue still needed to continue digesting the medicinal power within him and completely stabilize the soul power he had gained upon reaching rank fifty, laying a firm foundation for obtaining his fifth soul ring in the future.

After exchanging a few words, Long Yue hurriedly took his leave.

"Brother En Zuo, your senior brother's martial soul is truly ferocious. If he faced him head-on, Little San probably would not last more than a few moves before being torn apart."

Tang San stared intently at Long Yue, whose aura had surged yet again since their first meeting.

That violent aura was even comparable to Zhao Wuji's.

Zhao Wuji?

En Zuo narrowed his eyes slightly. His martial soul was merely an ordinary Vigorous Vajra Bear; its potential was far inferior to Long Yue's Mountain Dragon King martial soul.

One had to know that in the original story, Long Yue, upon reaching six rings and becoming a Soul Emperor, could compete in raw strength with an eight-ringed assault-type Soul Douluo without falling behind.

But Tang Wulin was even more monstrous.

With only four rings, he could already accomplish such a feat.

En Zuo spoke earnestly, "In this era, there are especially many soul masters who surpass all imagination. Little San, you need to awaken the bloodline within your body and evolve Blue Silver Grass into the Blue Silver Emperor, the ultimate plant-type martial soul. Otherwise, you will ultimately fall short in the tournament."

"When you reach the Soul Ancestor realm, I will personally take you to the place you need to go and awaken the Blue Silver Emperor ahead of time."

"As for the concealed weapons you carry, they are not considered anything honorable here. It would be better to use them less during matches."

Blue Silver Grass was too fragile. How could it possibly keep pace with En Zuo? Tang San faintly felt an impulse rise within him—to add soul rings to his Clear Sky Hammer. On the path of soul master cultivation, Blue Silver Grass had earned him no small amount of mockery.

Even at Monster Academy.

Whenever students his age heard that his martial soul was Blue Silver Grass, the first expression on their faces was disbelief.

They could not believe that En Zuo would allow someone with a Blue Silver Grass martial soul to join his team.

Tang San considered it, but in the end, he abandoned the tempting idea. Such a method of draining his future potential was far too unwise.

He clasped his fists and bowed. "Little San understands."

En Zuo nodded and said nothing more.

The following dull days consisted of constant team coordination and diligent, day-after-day cultivation of soul power.

One thing worth mentioning was this.

With the help of the immortal herbs, Huo Yuhao's soul power advanced at an unexpectedly rapid pace. In the first month alone, his soul power broke through from rank eleven to rank twenty.

En Zuo also kept his promise.

He led Huo Yuhao to obtain a soul ring.

As wisdom soul rings that were counterparts across time and space, the two Sky Dream Ice Silkworms began a complete fusion the instant they merged.

The two became one.

They became an entirely new Sky Dream Ice Silkworm.

After the Necromancer Holy Law God became his second martial soul, a second gray soul ring emerged when he drew upon Elex's divine consciousness. The phantom of Elex behind him, serving as his martial soul, was also gradually becoming solid.

His third martial soul, the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion, was acquired under Sky Dream's persuasion. The process had been dangerous but ultimately uneventful, and he gained enormous benefits.

En Zuo felt no envy at all. Aside from Huo Yuhao himself, this kind of opportunity was nearly impossible for anyone else to replicate.

Monster Academy's spirit battle arena.

En Zuo and Huo Yuhao stood facing each other from afar.

Numerous Monster Academy students watched the arena curiously. After all, En Zuo had never truly displayed his martial soul in a battle at Monster Academy.

As the fellow disciples as famous as Long Yue, everyone was exceedingly curious about the soul master team En Zuo had formed.

"Brother Long, who do you favor?"

Dai Yueyan, only sixteen years old and dressed in a long azure robe, held a book he had just been flipping through. With a hearty smile, he curiously asked the mountain-like figure beside him.

Rumor had it that the two fellow disciples under En Ci got along well, and their talents were both monstrously exceptional. Long Yue had broken through to Soul King at sixteen, while En Zuo had entered the Soul Ancestor realm at eleven.

Both were pillars of the Star Luo Empire's future. Choosing either one would be enough to secure half the empire.

A faint smile appeared on Long Yue's rugged face. "In my view, there is no suspense in this battle. Naturally, my junior brother will win. He entered the Soul Ancestor realm a month ago, and now that his cultivation has stabilized, Huo Yuhao can no longer defeat him at will."

Huo Yuhao had only barely reached two rings. In Long Yue's eyes, he was naturally no match for En Zuo.

"Huo Yuhao..." Dai Yueyan's eyes flickered as he curiously observed Huo Yuhao's sinister-looking face on the arena.

If anyone at Monster Academy was more famous than the fellow disciples En Zuo and Long Yue, it was Huo Yuhao.

His martial soul, talent, and even appearance bore an extremely high resemblance to Dai Yuhao of the Star Luo Empire from ten thousand years ago.

Had it not been confirmed that he had long since ascended to the Divine Realm, and had En Ci not intervened behind the scenes, the Star Luo Imperial House would likely have already included Huo Yuhao in its royal bloodline records and adopted him as the current emperor's foster son.

On the spirit battle arena.

"Big Brother En Zuo, be careful."

Two blood-red rings instantly rose from beneath Huo Yuhao's feet. Each ring even shimmered with four faint golden patterns.

As they rose, his eyes turned a vivid, dripping red.

A terrifying aura, as though it had come from the ancient wilderness, erupted forth. Everyone seemed to see a faint red bloodlight suddenly spreading outward from his body.

Every teacher and student present reacted intensely. They only felt as though an unbeatable, terrifying beast had appeared before them. Extreme fear made them instinctively release their martial souls and defend themselves with all their strength.

Even En Zuo, who had prepared in advance, could not help but marvel at the terrifying nature of this opportunity. Although Huo Yuhao would later tell others that this was merely the effect of a simulation soul skill—

Only the three members of the team knew.

Huo Yuhao's two soul rings were genuine four-hundred-thousand-year soul rings, obtained from the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion.

Even the four ten-thousand-year soul rings En Zuo displayed at this moment were dimmed before those vivid, blood-red hundred-thousand-year soul rings.

En Ci, who had arrived early to observe En Zuo's first actual combat battle at the academy, rose to his feet and said in disbelief, "No, that is impossible. He is only twelve. How could he possess hundred-thousand-year soul rings? Why does their aura feel so real? Could this be some soul skill capable of passing off falsehood as truth?"