Changes in Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi

Xu Sanshi nudged Bei Bei beside him and muttered under his breath.

"When did that monster Song Que get so fierce?"

"And that Flash Step of his—didn't he say it would take ages to learn? How's he using it so smoothly after just a few days?"

Bei Bei shook his head with a wry smile. "I don't know either. Maybe that's what a real genius looks like."

"Back when we were at Shrek, the gap between us wasn't nearly this ridiculous."

"Exactly," Xu Sanshi said. "In our first year, Song Que couldn't even beat me."

Bei Bei rolled his eyes. "Have some shame. He couldn't cut through your turtle shell. That doesn't mean he couldn't beat you."

Xu Sanshi chuckled, utterly unconcerned. "Either way, he couldn't win. I'm not wrong."

Song Que glanced at him, at a loss for words. "Enough. You're up next."

He turned toward Ye Wuqing and the other three still on the stage.

"You four want to keep fighting?"

The four exchanged looks, then shook their heads helplessly.

Ye Wuqing looked at Song Que with mixed feelings. "We concede."

"You're far stronger than we are. There's no point continuing."

Song Que nodded.

"You're fairly strong yourselves. Ye Wuqing, step down. The other three can fight Bei Bei's group in a moment."

Tang Xiaolei, Yu Mengdi, and Shangguan Can paused in surprise, then nodded.

"Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, Tang Ya—get ready to face them."

"Huh? We still have to fight?" Xu Sanshi looked reluctant.

"Obviously," Song Que said. "If we're going to merge into one team, we need to know what each other can do."

Then he looked at Blood Wolf and Yan'er below the stage.

"You two are in the match after that. Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong—you'll face them together."

Blood Wolf and Yan'er hesitated. "We can do it... but they look so young. Are you sure?"

Song Que turned to Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong with a smile. "You two confident?"

Wang Dong immediately straightened up. "Of course! I'm a Soul Elder now. With Yuhao beside me, I wouldn't be afraid even of a Soul Ancestor!"

Huo Yuhao nodded earnestly. "I'm ready. If we're entering the Continental Tournament, sooner or later we'll face Soul Ancestors and Soul Kings. If we can't take on a challenge like this, we might as well sit on the bench."

Song Que nodded in approval. "Good. Let's begin."

Several days later, in Star Luo City, Star Luo Empire.

The imperial capital was packed with people and buzzing with excitement.

The Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament, held once every five years, officially began that day.

A full 133 teams had entered. The first round was a brutal elimination round, with every match fought as a standard seven-on-seven team battle.

The draw would take place the next day. With so many teams, the first elimination round alone would take three days to complete.

In a room at the Star Emperor Hotel, Ye Wuqing, the liaison for Just Sky Academy's team, was explaining the tournament rules and key points to the entire squad.

Song Que spoke up. "Barring any surprises, your original seven will start in the first elimination round."

"If the opponents are weak, we'll send Yuhao and Wang Dong in to get some experience."

"But if we draw a top team like Shrek or Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, we'll adjust the lineup."

Ye Wuqing nodded and continued explaining the format.

"After the first elimination round, sixty-seven teams will advance to the round-robin group stage."

"Those sixty-seven teams will be divided into eight groups: five groups of eight and three groups of nine. Each group will play a single round-robin, so every team will face every other team in its group once."

"Before each match, a random draw will determine the format: individual elimination, two-two-three team battles, or seven-on-seven team battles."

"Once the round-robin stage ends, the top two teams from each group advance. That leaves sixteen teams for the final elimination stage."

Song Que listened to Ye Wuqing's explanation and nodded slightly.

He vaguely remembered that, on the original timeline, Just Sky Academy would meet Shrek Academy in the round-robin stage.

They would still advance as their group's runner-up, but their run would end in the round of sixteen.

"Shrek Academy..."

Song Que murmured under his breath, a strange glint in his eyes.

What a shame. If events play out the same way, even if we meet them in the round-robin stage, all we can do is push them into second place. We can't knock them out early.

Now that would be fun.

He suddenly turned to Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi.

"By the way, how are you two feeling after forcing your bloodlines to awaken a few days ago?"

Bei Bei looked thoughtful. "I feel great. I was only tired on the day it happened. It went much better than last time at the Body Sect."

Xu Sanshi gave him an odd look. "Bei Bei, have you been secretly drinking goji berry tea every day?"

"You used to be even more wiped out than I was..."

"Though I recovered after about a day this time too."

Bei Bei shot back at once. "That's because I've got what it takes. Get it?"

"You sound awfully familiar with the goji berry routine. You must drink plenty."

"Before, you'd spend three to five days looking like you couldn't get it up."

As the two traded barbs, Song Que fell into thought.

Those two really have improved a lot. Just two months ago, they were the same as ever.

And Bei Bei seems to have improved a little more than Sanshi.

Is it because of me? Or the Hōgyoku...?

Song Que had a faint suspicion.

In truth, even he had yet to fully understand everything the Hōgyoku could do.

By the rules of the world of Death Gods, the Hōgyoku had never been merely a treasure that boosted combat strength.

It could sense the deepest desires of living beings around it and reach into their bloodlines and martial souls. There, it found flaws buried beneath innate shackles—flaws that should never have existed—and gradually smoothed them away, corrected them, and made the changes permanent.

Orihime Inoue and Yasutora Sado had both had their potential subtly rewritten by the Hōgyoku, awakening early and evolving their powers.

Now Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi, who had spent so long beside Song Que, were slowly being changed by its power too.

Forget it. I'll let things take their course. Aizen's been asleep all this time, and I didn't get a chance to ask his double about it last time. I'll have to keep watching to see what's really happening.

Besides, this Hōgyoku doesn't seem quite like the one I remember.

If that's true, things could get interesting. Asking them to call me their godfather wouldn't be too much, would it?

At the thought, the corners of Song Que's mouth crept upward. He gave Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi a sly look.

Tang Ya spotted the strange smile on Song Que's face and instantly grew wary. She edged over to Bei Bei, wrapped an arm around him, and watched Song Que guardedly.