The next morning, daylight shone brightly.
Wang Dong woke groggily, rubbed her eyes, and looked around the room in confusion. Huh? Where did Yu Chen go?
She did not think much of it and rolled over to get up. She had slept especially soundly last night; the bedding was full of Yu Chen's scent, and she had unconsciously drifted into a deep sleep while hugging the blanket.
Just as she lowered her head to straighten the pillow, she suddenly froze. There was a huge wet stain on it—it was her drool from when she had been asleep.
Oh no, oh no! Wang Dong panicked and instinctively wanted to secretly suck it back in. Then she realized how absurd that was and hurriedly wiped at it in a frenzy, desperately praying that Yu Chen would not catch her. Otherwise, her obedient and perfect image would be shattered beyond repair.
Her cheeks burned hot, and she wished she could find a crack in the ground to crawl into. Luckily, Yu Chen was not around, so this embarrassment had not been caught red-handed.
As she frantically tidied the pillow, the door suddenly creaked open.
Yu Chen walked in carrying breakfast.
Wang Dong instantly stiffened, her hand still hovering beside the pillow as panic overwhelmed her.
Pretending to remain calm, Wang Dong quickly flipped the pillow over to hide the drool stain.
Yu Chen raised a brow, teasing her. "Wang Dong, why are you fussing with the pillow so early in the morning? Practicing performance art?"
Wang Dong hurriedly waved her hands in denial. "N-No, nothing! I just got up and was stretching!"
Yu Chen eyed her suspiciously, looking her up and down. "Really? Something seems off. You did not pull anything on my pillow, did you?"
"Of course not!" Wang Dong hurriedly waved her hands, quickly changing the subject. "Is that breakfast for me?"
Yu Chen lifted the food container in his hand and smiled faintly. "Who else would it be for? You were sleeping so deeply that I could not bear to wake you, so I picked some up for you. Hurry up and thank me."
Wang Dong quickly took the breakfast, pretending that the awkward incident from earlier had never happened.
"No need to be polite. If you want to thank me, call me Dad."
Wang Dong rolled her eyes fiercely and muttered under her breath, "Knew you would take advantage of me."
"Once you finish eating, you can go back."
Wang Dong immediately pulled a long face. "You are kicking me out already?"
"Why else would I keep you here? Hurry back. You staying here will interfere with my cultivation."
Wang Dong lowered her head and nodded reluctantly.
After quickly finishing breakfast, Wang Dong packed up her bedding.
She secretly glanced at the pillow with the drool stain, and her eyes darted about. Then she stuffed Yu Chen's pillow into her bag and placed the pillow she had brought back on the bed.
Now no one will ever notice. I am so smart.
Once she had finished packing, Wang Dong quickly left the renovated Room 111 and returned to Room 108.
Watching Wang Dong's figure disappear completely through the door, Yu Chen let out a breath and muttered, "She finally left."
Yu Chen was exhausted. He had stayed awake for nearly an entire day, so now he needed to sleep soundly for a full day and night.
It just so happened that the academy was off for the weekend today, so no one would disturb him.
Just as he was about to lie down, he suddenly paused. This pillow did not feel right, and it clearly was not his.
Too lazy to think further, his drowsiness overwhelmed his doubts, and he fell asleep at once.
Before long, steady, even breathing slowly filled the room. Yu Chen had already fallen into a deep sleep.
In a daze, his consciousness left his body and fell into an endless expanse of darkness.
As Yu Chen looked around in confusion, an old diary suddenly appeared in his hands out of thin air. He casually opened the first page, and a line of glaring words came into view:
By the time you see these words, I will already be dead.
Cough, cough, cough. Wrong channel.
Brother, you have struck it rich. Once you break through to five Soul Rings, an incredible opportunity and resources will be waiting for you.
Yu Chen jolted awake and sat upright, his heart full of confusion. What had that strange dream been about?
He turned to look outside. It was already completely dark, so it was time to go find something to eat.
Yu Chen strolled along the stone-paved paths of Shrek Academy. The voices around him and the evening breeze seemed to slow, while the scenery along the street appeared to stretch endlessly beneath some invisible force.
After filling his stomach and returning to the dormitory, Yu Chen took a shower and went straight to bed.
Early the next morning, he went to class as usual.
After washing up, Yu Chen headed straight for Class Nine's classroom.
As usual, he went directly to his usual seat in the last row.
Before long, their homeroom teacher, Mu Jin, entered the classroom and announced, "This class will be practical combat."
The students below instantly erupted into excited whispers. "Great! It is finally practical combat class!"
"That is right. We will be competing in a king-of-the-hill format. The strongest person in our class will take the stage and defend it. Yu Chen, you will do it."
The moment she finished speaking, the entire class burst into an uproar, filled with disbelief.
"No way, he is defending the arena? What is there left to compete over? We might as well declare him the winner now!"
"Who does not know that a few days ago, even the two stars of the outer court were defending together, and he still crushed them one-handed?"
"He is a four-ring Soul Ancestor with black Soul Rings. How are we supposed to fight him? Most of us only have one or two rings!"
Someone below immediately raised a hand and asked, "Teacher, Yu Chen is so strong. Will there not be any restrictions?"
Mu Jin nodded. "There are rules. He may use Martial Soul Possession, but he is not allowed to use any soul skills throughout the match."
Everyone instantly relaxed upon hearing that and began calculating in secret.
"If he can only rely on his body and Martial Soul, without soul skills, then this will be easy. Is he not just defending the arena? We can take turns and wear him down!"
The nature of this practical combat session immediately changed. Every student in the class had made up their mind to take turns going onstage and gang up on Yu Chen.
"Since no one has any objections, everyone head to the Soul Fighting Arena!"
At Mu Jin's command, every student in Class Nine immediately stood and poured out of the classroom. Laughing and chatting, they hurried in a vast crowd toward the academy's Soul Fighting Arena. Every one of them wore an eager expression, ready to join forces against Yu Chen, who would be fighting with only his body and Martial Soul.
Before long, the group arrived at the broad Soul Fighting Arena.
They gathered below the platform in small groups, whispering among themselves as their eyes remained fixed on the central stone stage. Everyone knew that today would be a king-of-the-hill match. As the strongest person in the class, Yu Chen would naturally be the first to take the stage.
Yu Chen did not hesitate in the slightest. He stepped up the stairs and slowly walked onto the Soul Fighting Arena, casually stopping in the center with his arms folded before him as he calmly waited for the others in the class to challenge him one after another. Quite a few students below watched the seemingly slender yet imposing boy onstage and secretly calculated how they could send several people up together later to slowly drain his stamina.
Mu Jin stood at the edge of the platform and swept her gaze over everyone below. Then she called out, "Who is willing to be the first to take the stage and challenge him?"
A tall, burly boy stepped out from the crowd and shouted, "Let me, Huang Tao, go first!"
Huang Tao, who had stepped forward, was a two-ring Soul Grandmaster. His Martial Soul was the Lone Wolf, and his body looked especially sturdy and muscular.
The moment he finished speaking, Huang Tao immediately activated his Martial Soul.
A pitch-black wolf phantom suddenly appeared behind him, savage and domineering. Two yellow Soul Rings slowly rose beneath his feet, bobbing up and down. He stamped hard against the ground, transforming into a swift black shadow as he charged straight toward the center of the arena. His first and second soul skills activated in an instant, stacking together as he lunged at Yu Chen with howling wind.
"Take this! Taste my Lone Wolf Flash!"
Huang Tao let out a low roar, his figure suddenly blurring as his soul skill boosted his speed and sent him straight at Yu Chen's face.
The scene flashed by. No one saw how Yu Chen moved, but in the next second, Huang Tao screamed as he was sent flying through the air and crashed heavily beneath the arena.
---------------------------First, a note about the protagonist's two forms: he could cultivate as a Soul Beast or as a human, and their levels increased independently. His paths to godhood were also independent—the Soul Beast form was the Dragon God, while the human form could separately inherit a divine position.
Before you continue