The Four's Levels

"Xiaotao, it's done."

Tang Wulin wiped the sweat from his forehead and lifted his hands from Ma Xiaotao's back, finally finishing this round of quelling her fire.

"Thank you, my little Wulin."

Ma Xiaotao's eyes shimmered as she looked at Tang Wulin's exhausted face. She had meant to tease him some more, but instead, she simply took out a handkerchief and gently wiped the sweat from his forehead.

When Niu Tian brought the four Soul Elders back to Shrek Academy, the academy's senior staff erupted.

Seeing how much each of their soul power levels had risen, who could fail to realize that they had visited that legendary treasure land and eaten immortal herbs?

Yan Shaozhe immediately came looking for Tang Wulin, dropped to his knees before him, and begged him to save his disciple, Ma Xiaotao.

But Tang Wulin only looked at Yan Shaozhe with a troubled expression. Only after visiting the place himself had he understood how precious its treasures were. Although he had brought several people along, one was his own older sister, one was his martial soul fusion skill partner, and one was Xiao Xiao, whom his father had approved. Every one of them had an exceptionally close connection to him.

Sure, Ma Xiaotao might be consumed by evil fire in the future, but others had also said that his talent was poor and he would never break through level thirty in his lifetime. For all anyone knew, some passing phoenix might casually strike him dead.

Niu Tian had already told Tang Wulin what to do. So, although he sympathized with her, he did not return to fetch another immortal herb. Never mind that he would certainly never have a peaceful day afterward-the crucial point was that it was his father's medicinal garden. Even this visit had been at his father's instruction.

Since his father had not "risen from the dead" to tell him otherwise, that meant he had no authority to give its contents away.

Later, Mu En arrived with a dark expression and dragged Yan Shaozhe away. The other senior staff abandoned their hopes as well.

Still, Tang Wulin could not bear to let Ma Xiaotao fall into such a plight, so he went to see her again. He discovered that his ultimate fire could help cleanse the sinister energy from the source of her evil fire. With steady treatment over time, she might even break through to the ultimate level.

From then on, Ma Xiaotao came once every two weeks to ask for his help, bringing a ten-thousand-year soul beast with her each time. This was the treatment fee Yan Shaozhe provided; after all, Tang Wulin lacked nothing else.

"If I remember correctly, the freshman assessment starts tomorrow, doesn't it?"

Ma Xiaotao put the handkerchief back into her Storage Soul Tool, rested her chin on her right hand, and looked at Tang Wulin as she spoke.

"Yes, it starts tomorrow."

Under Ma Xiaotao's gaze, Tang Wulin blushed at her manner and answered her question quietly.

"Then I'll come cheer you on tomorrow!"

Ma Xiaotao spoke with a smile, but then something seemed to occur to her, and her expression suddenly turned odd.

"Wulin, I remember you're only six, aren't you? Each new generation really does surpass the last."

She had only reached Tang Wulin's level at twelve. The gap between people was simply greater than the gap between a person and a dog.

"Not at all. It's all luck, hehe."

Tang Wulin scratched his head and smiled sheepishly. Getting this far in his cultivation really had owed more to luck than anything else.

Ma Xiaotao smiled and shook her head without saying anything more, then stood up to say goodbye to Tang Wulin.

"I look forward to seeing how you do tomorrow, little Wulin."

Still, she knew that with Tang Wulin's strength, entering the competition would be like blasting fish in a pond. Everyone he faced would probably go down in a single move, leaving little worth watching. But witnessing a prodigy emerge would make the trip worthwhile.

Only a few minutes after Ma Xiaotao left, Huo Yuhao slipped through the doorway and came over to Tang Wulin. His hands gave off a faint chill as he held Tang Wulin's hands to cool him down.

The soul power inside Tang Wulin automatically connected with Huo Yuhao's, forming a cycle. Feeling the coolness coming from Huo Yuhao's hands, Tang Wulin could not help smiling.

"Third Brother, are you all right?"

Huo Yuhao's eyes were still full of concern.

"Don't worry, I'm fine. It's just a little tiring."

Tang Wulin reassured Huo Yuhao once again. Ever since Ma Xiaotao had begun coming here to cleanse her evil fire, Huo Yuhao always asked him this afterward, and Tang Wulin patiently answered every time without growing annoyed.

After all, if it really harmed him, Tang Wulin would not keep helping her. He still had to find his mom and dad. If there was truly no other option, he could ask his father for help.

"The freshman assessment is tomorrow. How do you feel, Second Brother?"

Tang Wulin smiled as he asked Huo Yuhao. Of their group, Huo Yuhao had changed the most. From a level-eleven Soul Master who had entered through the back door, he had become a level-thirty-nine Soul Elder, and he now possessed an Ice Jade Scorpion martial soul with ultimate ice. He could truly be said to have shed his old bones and been reborn.

"It all feels like a dream."

Holding Tang Wulin's hand, Huo Yuhao lay on his bed and gazed at the ceiling as he spoke with deep emotion.

The changes brought about by a hundred-thousand-year soul beast's complete sacrifice were astonishing. Not only had his innate talent become innate full soul power, but after absorbing two Soul Rings and a Soul Bone, his soul power had instantly reached level thirty-two.

Afterward, Brother Tian Meng had asked him to go to the Far North to find the Ice Empress, but how could he possibly take such a risk? Once Brother Tian Meng agreed with a dark expression, the group recovered from their shock and headed to the Far North.

Sure enough, just as the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm had expected, the Ice Empress went straight to Tang Wulin. With a jewel like Tang Wulin before her, who else could catch her eye?

In the end, the Ice Empress sacrificed herself to Tang Wulin's Clear Sky Hammer, and he absorbed the Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion right arm bone.

Huo Yuhao settled for the next best option, choosing a hundred-thousand-year Ice Jade Scorpion from the Ice Empress's clan who believed she could no longer break through. She became his second martial soul, and his soul power instantly reached level thirty-seven.

After returning, he cultivated alongside Tang Wulin for more than two months and smoothly broke through to level thirty-nine. Level forty was probably not far away, at which point he would have to find another spiritual-type soul beast. This gave Huo Yuhao a rather happy worry.

The only downside was that Brother Tian Meng was always shouting "My Bingbing!" in the Sea of Consciousness. At first, the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass thought he was calling it, leading to quite a few laughable incidents.

"Thank you, Wulin."

For once, Huo Yuhao did not call Tang Wulin Third Brother, simply speaking those words softly.

"It's all right. Actually, I feel the same way."

Tang Wulin lay down as well. The two of them squeezed onto a single bed, their soft skin pressed together and giving off a faint warmth.

He was not even six and a half yet, but he had traveled through time and space to ten thousand years in the past, experienced so much, and met so many people.

Everything that had happened was just the sort of adventure he had always looked forward to having as a Soul Master when he was little. His only real regret was that he could not go home and share each day's events with his mom and dad.

Since Uncle Da Ming had told him to focus on strengthening his foundations as much as possible-after all, he still had the Golden Dragon King's seal within him and possessed ultimate attributes-the Ice Empress's power had been sealed away again, only speeding up his daily cultivation little by little.

In truth, Tang Wulin had not felt the supposed burden of ultimate attributes. Fortune nestled within misfortune: the Golden Dragon King's power threatened his life, but the stronger body he gained by accepting it allowed him to bear those ultimate attributes.

At any rate, Tang Wulin felt that he cultivated quite quickly.

Without eating anything special, he had risen from level thirty-five upon his return to level thirty-seven in two and a half months.

As for Xiao Xiao and Wang Dong, one was now level thirty-seven, and the other was level thirty-two.

His sister's wish to have the highest cultivation had still fallen through. Huo Yuhao, once the weakest, had come from behind and now had the highest cultivation of the four.

All that remained was to look forward to tomorrow's freshman assessment.