Changes in Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi

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

"When did that freak Song Que get so strong?"

"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 is like."

"Back at Shrek, the gap between us and him was nowhere near 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's not the same as being unable to beat you."

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

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

He turned toward the four people still on the arena stage, including Ye Wuqing.

"You four still want to fight?"

The four exchanged glances, then shook their heads helplessly.

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

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

Song Que nodded.

"You're all pretty good. Ye Wuqing, come down. The other three of you will have a match against Bei Bei's group in a bit."

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

"Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, Tang Ya—get ready. You three are sparring with them."

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

"Obviously," Song Que said. "If we're going to combine into one team, the least we can do is get familiar with each other's abilities."

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

"You two are up after that. Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, you'll face them together."

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

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

Wang Dong immediately puffed out her chest. "Of course! I'm already a Soul Elder. With Yuhao and me working together, we won't be afraid even of a Soul Ancestor!"

Huo Yuhao nodded earnestly. "I'm fine with it. If we're entering the continental tournament, sooner or later we'll face Soul Ancestors and Soul Kings. If I can't even accept this challenge, I might as well sit on the bench."

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

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

As the empire's capital, the sprawling city was packed with people and buzzing with excitement.

The once-every-five-years Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Fighting Tournament officially opened that day.

A full 133 teams had entered. The first round was a brutal knockout, with every match fought as a standard seven-on-seven Team Battle.

The draw would begin the following day. With so many teams, the first knockout 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 carefully explaining the tournament rules and key points to everyone.

"For the first knockout round, barring any surprises, your original seven will start," Song Que said.

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

"But if we run into a top team like Shrek Academy or the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, we'll decide on a different lineup."

Ye Wuqing nodded and continued explaining the format.

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

"They'll be divided into eight groups: five groups of eight and three groups of nine. Each 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 will advance. Those sixteen teams will enter the final knockout stage."

Song Que listened to Ye Wuqing's explanation and gave a slight nod.

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

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

"Shrek Academy..."

Song Que murmured, a strange glint flashing in his eyes.

Too bad. If things play out the same way, even if we meet them in the round-robin stage, all we can do is force them into second place. We can't knock them out early.

Now that would be fun.

He suddenly turned toward 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 thought for a moment before answering. "I feel great. I was only a little tired that day. It was 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 me..."

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

Bei Bei shot back at once. "I've got strength to spare. Got it?"

"You sound awfully experienced. You must drink plenty yourself."

"Before, you looked impotent for three to five days afterward."

As the two bickered, Song Que fell into thought.

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

And Bei Bei seems to have improved a little more than San Shi.

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

Song Que had a vague suspicion.

Even he had yet to fully understand everything the Hōgyoku could do.

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

It could sense the deepest desires of nearby living beings, uncover flaws buried deep in their bloodlines and Martial Souls—flaws that should never have existed but had been sealed by inborn shackles—and gradually smooth them away, correct them, and make those changes permanent.

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

And now Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi, who had spent so much time near Song Que, were slowly being changed by its power too.

Forget it. I'll let things take their course. Aizen's been asleep this whole time, and I didn't get a chance to ask his avatar enough questions last time. I'll have to keep watching for a while.

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

If that's really what's happening, this could be interesting. It wouldn't be too much to ask them to call me their adoptive father, would it?

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

Tang Ya noticed his strange smile and immediately grew wary. She quietly edged closer to Bei Bei, half-wrapped an arm around him, and watched Song Que with a guarded expression.