Noble Carriage Sword and Fire Elephant Power

Su Yunlang immediately took out another testing stone.

This was the one he normally used, capable of measuring soul power up to the Soul Ancestor level.

This time, he finally measured Xiao Tuo's current level: Level 20.

"Tw... twenty! Just like the Thousand Family Angel Martial Soul from the legends of ten thousand years ago—Innate Level 20!" Su Yunlang was beside himself with excitement. He had actually discovered such a peerless genius.

If he reported this, he would strike it rich.

Unlike Su Yunlang's excitement, Xiao Tuo remained silent. He should not have been Innate Level 20, but merely possessed ordinary Innate Full Soul Power. As for why he was at Level 20—

It was probably because his breathing exercises over the past few years had increased his inner power considerably.

That was the strange part. His Martial Soul had only just awakened. Without a Soul Ring to advance him, he should theoretically have been stuck at Level 10. Any excess power should have remained temporarily hidden, undetectable even by a testing stone.

Yet he had genuinely reached Level 20. Why? With his current strength, he was not capable of breaking the rules of Douluo Continent. Unless he had a Soul Ring—and he did seem to sense a new power within himself.

"Uncle, thank you for awakening my Martial Soul. I'll be taking my leave now." Xiao Tuo was eager to confirm his suspicions and immediately prepared to depart.

"Wait, little brother, please stay." Su Yunlang hurriedly stopped Xiao Tuo. This child was his future; how could he possibly let him leave so easily?

Awakening sites nowadays were no longer unified forces like Spirit Hall had been back then.

Different awakening sites might be backed by different forces. This one, for example, was supported by the City Lord's Mansion, and that City Lord's Mansion might in turn be backed by an even greater force—a nation, a sect, or something else.

Xiao Tuo had no idea which side Su Yunlang was affiliated with.

This city belonged to the Heaven Dou Empire, so the royal family was the most likely possibility. That would be fine. But if it was Shrek, he did not want to go. And if it was secretly connected to Evil Soul Masters, that would be even worse.

"Little friend, don't worry. Uncle isn't a bad person. Uncle wants to recommend you to this city's lord. Let me tell you, the city lord is a graduate of Shrek Academy's inner court. You've at least heard of Shrek, right? It's the number one academy on the continent! Its inner court graduates are all geniuses renowned throughout the land. If the city lord learns that there is a genius like you, he will certainly be delighted to recommend you to Shrek. Your future will be limitless!" Su Yunlang declared passionately.

Fine, it really was Shrek. At least it was not an Evil Soul Master organization. That was a small mercy.

Although Xiao Tuo did not want to go to Shrek either, they would not force him, would they?

Before long, the city lord arrived. He was a middle-aged man in his thirties who had already reached the Soul Saint realm before turning forty.

He might have been nothing compared to top-tier monsters like the Shrek Seven Devils, but among other forces, he could truly be considered a peerless genius.

However, Xiao Tuo discovered that he had underestimated how shameless this city lord could be. He had clearly said that he had somewhere he wanted to go, yet the city lord used his young age, lack of parents, and lack of legal autonomy as excuses to forcibly keep him here in the name of caring for him.

Then, he immediately sent a letter to Shrek Academy.

Innate Level 20 was a talent great enough to alarm the upper ranks of Sea God Pavilion.

"Little Xiao Tuo, stay here for the next few days. If there's anything you want to eat or drink, just tell the servants." A maid led Xiao Tuo into a luxurious guest room within the City Lord's Mansion.

Though he had been forcibly detained, he was not mistreated in any way. The room prepared for him was no worse than a five-star hotel room.

In truth, the city lord had not kept Xiao Tuo here because he wished to harm him. Any force that encountered such a genius would not want to let him go.

Besides, Xiao Tuo was indeed only six years old and had no parents. The city lord believed that Xiao Tuo had refused only because he did not understand the significance of the name Shrek. Once he went to Shrek, he would surely come to like it there.

In the future, he would take pride in Shrek, just like the city lord did.

Xiao Tuo really wanted to point out that he was dreaming. There were two forces on this continent that he had no desire to join. One was the Sun Moon Empire. They would later associate with Evil Soul Masters, and that alone meant Xiao Tuo was destined to become their enemy. The other was Shrek. It was not that he particularly hated Shrek Academy; the current Shrek Academy still had its merits. At the very least, the Shrek Supervision Corps did a decent job cracking down on Evil Soul Masters.

He simply felt that if he went there, he probably would not get along with many of its people.

"Nothing I can do about it. I'm insignificant right now; I'll find a way to leave later." Xiao Tuo had a calm temperament and did not anger easily.

What concerned him more now was something else.

It was his two Martial Souls. The Fire Element Martial Soul had actually been within his expectations. It should have been related to the Dao Arts he had cultivated in his previous life.

Among the Ghost Valley Dao Arts, his main cultivation had been the Divine Fire Dao Arts passed down by Yuwen Tuo. It had filled his soul with incomparably powerful Fire Elephant Power. This Martial Soul was likely the manifestation of that Fire Elephant Power after it adapted to this world's laws.

The problem was his other Martial Soul.

Xiao Tuo opened his palm, and an ancient golden longsword appeared in his hand. One side of its blade was engraved with the sun, moon, and stars; the other with mountains, rivers, plants, and trees. One side of its hilt bore the arts of farming and animal husbandry; the other bore strategies for unifying the four seas.

At the same time, a yellow ring of light circled the blade of the Noble Carriage Sword.

"The Noble Carriage Sword!" Xiao Tuo murmured, his heart filled with doubt.

Strange. Why had the Noble Carriage Sword come to this world with him? He clearly remembered that before his second transmigration, the Noble Carriage Sword had still been in his master's hand. And this world simply could not withstand the power of the Noble Carriage Sword in its complete form. Also, why did this Noble Carriage Sword already have a Soul Ring? Where had this Soul Ring come from?

It was precisely because of this Soul Ring that Xiao Tuo had been able to continue cultivating after attaining Innate Full Soul Power, creating the illusion that he possessed Innate Level 20.

In reality, his Innate Soul Power was only Level 10, the full level.

Even if the Noble Carriage Sword Martial Soul was stronger than this world's God-level Martial Souls, it made no difference. Though the Six-Winged Angel, a God-level Martial Soul, possessed Innate Level 20, it had another name: a God-given Martial Soul.

This was a Martial Soul bestowed by a god. The latter ten levels of its Innate Level 20 were, in truth, a bonus gifted by that god.

No matter how powerful the Noble Carriage Sword was, it had no god supporting it in this world. Naturally, no one would give Xiao Tuo those extra ten levels of Innate Soul Power.

Xiao Tuo looked at the Noble Carriage Sword in his hand. Was this... truly the Noble Carriage Sword? Though its appearance was identical, he could not help feeling that this sword was somewhat different from the one he had wielded before.

The Noble Carriage Sword of unknown origin and the inexplicably appearing First Soul Ring left Xiao Tuo's heart full of questions.