Mysterious Voice, the Secret of the Noble Carriage Sword

Since that day, Ma Xiaotao would come to Xiao Tuo's place from time to time, using his Supreme Pure Fire to cultivate.

No matter how much Cultivation Power Xiao Tuo developed during this time, she would absorb most of it, leaving him with only around Level 10 in the end.

Perhaps those ten levels belonged to his Innate Soul Power and differed from what he cultivated later, which was why Ma Xiaotao could not absorb them.

Ma Xiaotao also forbade Xiao Tuo from absorbing soul rings. She feared that once he absorbed the power of a soul beast's soul ring, his Supreme Pure Fire would become tainted and would no longer be able to treat her evil fire.

Xiao Tuo had considered resisting with death, or simply stopping his cultivation.

But neither would work. Those old geezers at Shrek Academy were all shrewd. They could tell that Xiao Tuo would never seek death; his eyes were filled with anticipation for the future.

How could someone like that so easily give up his life?

They were right as well. Xiao Tuo could not die. He had yet to avenge himself, so he absolutely could not die.

Nor could he stop cultivating. Otherwise, if there were no acquired soul power for Ma Xiaotao to absorb, he feared that even his ten levels of Innate Soul Power would be affected.

As long as his Innate Full Soul Power remained, and as long as his cultivation method remained, Xiao Tuo would not give up hope or abandon himself. No matter how many times Ma Xiaotao crippled him, he would work hard again. One day, he would gain his freedom.

He would make the Evil Soul Masters repay the life they owed him, and Shrek repay the cultivation they owed him, bit by bit.

He woke from his memories.

Six years had passed since that day. Yuwen Tuo possessed Innate Full Soul Power and the highest-grade cultivation method, "Divine Fire Doppelganger," yet he had only risen seven levels in six years. He was now Level 17.

He was probably the slowest-cultivating Innate Full Soul Power in history.

"Transmigrated twice, abandoned by my parents, family slaughtered, Cultivation Power crippled... Why do I feel like I've stacked every buff possible? Shouldn't a 'ding' sound be heard right about now?" Yuwen Tuo mocked himself.

According to all the novels he had read in his previous life before the last, wouldn't a protagonist who had stacked so many buffs get some kind of system to defy fate and change his destiny?

Of course, he was only thinking about it. How could there possibly be enough systems to distribute one to every transmigrator?

"Ding!"

At that moment, a sound truly rang out beside his ear.

Xiao Tuo abruptly opened his eyes. No way—did he really have a system?

What he saw now was not the ceiling of his room, but his Sea of Consciousness. As a transmigrator, his Sea of Consciousness was exceptionally vast.

There had originally been nothing here, but now, he could vaguely make out two figures.

Yuwen Tuo could not see their faces, but he could see the swords in their hands.

The sword in one person's hand possessed spiritual energy stronger than anything he had ever seen, no less than the Sacred Dao Noble Carriage Sword.

The other person's sword lacked such powerful spiritual energy and had an extremely ancient design, yet it contained endless Killing Intent. It was clearly a sword of slaughter.

"Hey, don't mess with Xiao Tuo."

"Who's messing with him? Didn't he want to hear a ding? So I dinged for him. And he wants a system too? He's dreaming a little too beautifully, isn't he?"

As the two conversed, Xiao Tuo stepped forward and asked, "Who... are you?"

"We are no one. We appear here only to tell you two things. First, Xiao Tuo, do not give up. Observe your soul power carefully. Hasn't it been continuously growing? These six years have been a disaster for you, but they have also been an opportunity." The figure holding the sword filled with spiritual energy spoke.

"A disaster... and an opportunity?" Yuwen Tuo looked at his hands and sensed the soul power within his body. Indeed, his Cultivation Power was not as deep as it had been when he first awakened six years ago, yet he always felt that something had changed.

The one holding the sword of slaughter continued, "The second thing is about your sword and your soul ring. Your sword is not truly the Noble Carriage Sword. Do not blindly believe that it is the Noble Carriage Sword. If you cannot realize this sword's true nature, you will never truly cultivate it to completion. As for your soul ring, it is the main reason you were able to arrive in this world with your soul intact. Remember to properly develop this power."

"Go!" After saying that, the two figures waved their hands, and Xiao Tuo opened his eyes once more.

This time, what he saw was the ceiling of his room.

He held his head and climbed out of bed. "Was that just now a dream... or a hallucination?"

"What did you dream about? Tell me." A young girl entered carrying a basin of water.

"Ling-xuejie!" At the sight of the girl, Xiao Tuo revealed a rare smile.

Within Shrek City, she was the only person he did not hate. Though her personality was cold and aloof, she was genuinely kind. Xiao Tuo could sense that she truly pitied him.

Xiao Tuo was not someone who failed to appreciate kindness, nor would he insist that he did not need anyone's pity.

He only believed in practical things. Perhaps Ling Luochen might be of help when he left Shrek in the future. She might even be useful to him.

"Get up and wash yourself. Today is the day new students enroll. You're twelve now, and the dean has permitted you to study in the outer court alongside the new students." Ling Luochen said. "Although you cannot leave Shrek, it would still be good to make more friends. Shrek has wronged you, so you must take even better care of yourself."

"Ling-xuejie was the one who pleaded for me, wasn't she?" Yuwen Tuo smiled. "Thank you!"

"This is all I can do to help. Over these years, Xiao Tao's evil fire has been cured by ninety percent. Now, when she fights others, she can basically control it. I believe her evil fire will soon be completely cured. Then, she will no longer need to absorb your Supreme Pure Fire. I've seen that although your soul power has grown slowly over these years, it has still been growing. Do not give up. Don't forget, you possess the potential of Innate Level 20. As long as you are no longer affected by others, your future will remain limitless." Ling Luochen gently encouraged him.

Yuwen Tuo remained silent. His soul power had never aroused anyone's suspicion over the years because everyone believed he was Innate Level 20. Thus, even though his first martial soul had no soul ring and his soul power could still continuously grow, no one found it strange.

Listening to Ling Luochen, Yuwen Tuo murmured, "Don't give up, soul power continuously growing, Innate Level 20!"

Those keywords seemed strangely familiar.

Right, weren't they the words spoken to him in his dream—or rather, illusion—by the person holding the sword filled with spiritual energy?

Yuwen Tuo's eyes lit up. "Haha, so that's it! So that's it!"

"Thank you, Ling-xuejie!"

Unable to restrain himself, Yuwen Tuo hugged Ling Luochen. The knot in his heart suddenly unraveled.

Ling Luochen smiled. "Although I don't know why you suddenly became so happy, this is good too. Your new school uniform is on the table. Remember to change into it early and go register at the academy gates."

"I understand!"

Ling Luochen left the room. She was an inner court disciple and normally had many cultivation classes, so she did not have much time to come care for Yuwen Tuo.

After Ling Luochen left, Yuwen Tuo did not rush out. Instead, he shut the door.

He summoned his second martial soul, the Noble Carriage Sword, and slowly guided his Mental Power into that soul ring.

Before long, the corners of his lips lifted. "So this is what it means that this sword is not the Noble Carriage Sword... Hehe, very good. I now have a way to cultivate this martial soul, as well as a way to leave Shrek."

"Evil Soul Masters, Shrek, one day, I will make you repay everything you owe me tenfold."