Withdrawal

But then again, Song Que was not entirely ordinary.

After all, he had a connection to Huo Yuhao, this world's child of destiny.

His mother was the elder sister of Huo Yuhao's mother, Huo Yun'er. Years ago, she had married into an ordinary family in a small town in the Heaven Dou Empire.

But the good times had not lasted. When Song Que was in his first year of school, both his parents had been killed in an attack by Evil Soul Masters.

Only after reading the letter his mother had left on her deathbed did he learn that he had an aunt named Huo Yun'er, who lived at the White Tiger Duke's Mansion in the Star Luo Empire.

That was also how he discovered that he and Huo Yuhao, the greatest cheat in Peerless Tang Sect, were cousins.

At least that gave him a powerful backer for the future.

But Song Que refused to settle. He had crossed into another world, and he did not want to spend his life in mediocrity and disgrace all other transmigrators.

Fortunately, although his martial soul was ordinary, he had talent. Through relentless training with his blade and body, he had grasped Blade Intent.

With Blade Intent, he was every bit as strong as the top geniuses of his age.

He did not know what the future held. Perhaps his martial soul's limited potential would leave him behind, or perhaps hard work would let him keep pace with the geniuses.

Song Que withdrew his blade martial soul and looked into the distance.

Could I go looking for the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well now?

Huo Yuhao and I have both joined the Tang Sect. Those Ferocious Beasts who took human form ought to show us at least a little consideration, right?

If I talk them around, it might actually work.

And if I take an immortal herb, could my martial soul evolve too?

Anticipation flickered in Song Que's eyes.

"Brother Song Que."

Just then, a crisp knock sounded at the door.

Song Que opened it to find Huo Yuhao standing outside with his luggage packed.

"I'm all packed, Brother Song Que. Let's go."

"You're here, Yuhao."

Song Que waved him in and invited him to sit.

"Wait a little longer. Someone else is coming with us."

Huo Yuhao paused, puzzled. "Brother Song Que, who else?"

"Are they leaving Shrek with us?"

Song Que nodded with a smile. "That's right."

"I only meant to say goodbye to her. I didn't expect her to insist on coming with us."

"I wonder if Bei Bei will come after me when he finds out. Hahaha!"

"Senior Brother Bei Bei?" Huo Yuhao froze, then caught on.

"Is Teacher Xiao Ya coming with us?"

"Not bad, Yuhao." Song Que nodded.

"You guessed it. It's her."

"I was planning to repay the favor after we left. We learned the Tang Sect's secret arts, after all, so we owe them."

"I thought that once I passed level fifty, I'd find a good opportunity to wipe out the Ironblood Sect and avenge her."

"But she's so stubborn. She insisted on coming, and I couldn't stop her."

"I had no choice but to bring her along."

"Hey, Song Que, you little brat! Who are you calling stubborn?" Tang Ya's indignant voice came from outside as she pushed the door open and strode in.

"The Tang Sect's grudge is mine to avenge."

Song Que shrugged helplessly. "Suit yourself. But I'm telling you now, we wait until I've passed level fifty."

"I hear the Iron Armor Sect's leader is a Soul Emperor. Even if he's a weak one, I'll need to become a Soul King before we can be confident."

Tang Ya nodded, her expression serious. "I understand. I'll wait for you. I've waited this long; a little longer won't matter."

"You monster, you're already level forty-seven, aren't you? Put in some effort and you'll hit fifty soon enough."

Song Que rolled his eyes. "I'm still three levels away."

"But I'm way ahead of your Bei Bei. That guy's too lazy. Who knows when he'll reach level fifty?"

"Speaking of which, what will Bei Bei do if you just leave like this?"

Tang Ya's expression dimmed. She shook her head.

"I don't know. I left him a letter. Once I've had my revenge, I'll come back to find him..."

Song Que sighed. "Well, it's up to you. You two can sort that out yourselves."

"Romance is such a pain."

Tang Ya shot him a look. "What would a single guy like you know?"

"Anyway, where are you planning to go after we leave school?"

"Why not wait until you reach level fifty?"

"I can't wait. The longer I stay here, the more fed up I get." Song Que shook his head, then smiled mysteriously.

"There's a place I've wanted to visit for ages. It might do us a lot of good."

"And it has some connection to the Tang Sect. I want to give it a try."

"If things go well, I might reach level fifty before long."

"A connection to the Tang Sect?" Tang Ya's curiosity stirred.

"What place?"

Song Que rubbed his chin and thought for a moment.

"Let's find it first. I don't even know if this will work."

"You'll see when we get there. If it doesn't work, we'll have to find another way."

"Oh, and we'll stop by my home on the way."

Huo Yuhao's eyes stirred at those words.

"It's a shame my aunt is gone too. I never even got to meet her."

Song Que fell silent for a moment and patted his shoulder. Then he asked, "Have you both submitted your withdrawal requests? If you're ready, let's go."

They both nodded.

"I gave mine to Teacher Zhou. She said I didn't know my limits, then told me to do as I pleased," Huo Yuhao said helplessly.

Song Que smiled but said nothing.

Tang Ya added, "My teacher was the same. Students with average talent like us aren't valued, so they don't care."

"And they acted as if we didn't know what was good for us. It was infuriating."

"Doesn't matter," Song Que said lightly. "Who really knows how much talent someone has?"

"Fortunes change in thirty years... uh, three months. Don't look down on someone just because he's young and poor."

"Maybe everything will be different in three months..."

Meanwhile, inside Shrek Academy's Soul Fighting Area, seven people stood in a row: Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, Jiang Nannan, He Caitou, Dai Huabin, Ning Tian, and Zhu Lu.

Everyone else had left.

Xuan Zi stood before them, addressing them with a stern expression.

Partway through, Xu Sanshi could no longer hold back. "Elder Xuan, are you saying you want us to compete in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament?"

Xuan Zi snorted. "Just because I send you, do you think you're capable of competing? The age limit for the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament is twenty."

"You're merely eligible to compete this year. Today's trials were to select the reserve team. The official team for every tournament consists of the Shrek Seven Devils."

Dai Huabin's eyes lit up. He hurriedly asked, "Elder Xuan, does that mean we're the reserve team for the Shrek Seven Devils?"