The Souls of Predecessors, the Ancient Tree's Attention

And then tragedy struck Yan Shaozhe.

The explosion of the Soul Tool, along with everything else in the room, plunged the place into chaos and tore open the wounds he had only just managed to heal.

"Damn you, Cai Mei'er. You went this far just to get back at me."

Badly injured and lying amid the wreckage, Yan Shaozhe spoke hoarsely, struggling to keep the fury out of his voice.

Did Yan Shaozhe truly believe Cai Mei'er was behind it all?

He had only said it to vent his anger and frustration, and to give himself someone to hate.

As for the real culprit, he had long had his suspicions.

Heavenly Fiend Douluo Huang Jinxu.

Only Huang Jinxu had the power to bring someone one misfortune after another. Only he would do something like this.

Yan Shaozhe had thought little of it before.

But after his Martial Soul was crippled and bad luck kept hounding him, his thoughts had begun to run wild whenever he was alone.

Things he had once overlooked gradually fell into place.

Why had Huang Jinxu, powerful enough to become an Elder of the Sea God Pavilion long ago, kept refusing its invitation?

And why had Mu En never tried to force the matter?

His daughter was right there in the academy, yet he had never acknowledged her or even made contact.

There were far too many suspicious things about Huang Jinxu. Taken together, they convinced Yan Shaozhe that the rumors about him at the academy were no exaggeration. His Martial Soul really did bring misfortune to those around him.

So why had Huang Jinxu recently taken on an apprentice, acknowledged his daughter, and even replaced Yan Shaozhe as Dean of the Martial Soul Department? There was only one possibility: he had gained control over his Martial Soul's power to bring misfortune.

Yan Shaozhe himself was the best proof.

If he knew all this, why did he still blame Cai Mei'er? The reason was simple. Huang Jinxu was now too powerful for him to resist.

He did not even dare make Huang Jinxu the target of his hatred.

Pinned beneath the wreckage in his room, the badly injured Yan Shaozhe could not break free.

Cai Mei'er had left. And some time ago, Mu En's Sea God's Light had cleansed Yan Shaozhe's disciple of the harm caused by Evil Fire. She was now cultivating like mad.

In other words, no one was likely to discover him anytime soon.

At the thought, panic seized Yan Shaozhe.

He kept shouting toward the door and reaching out with his Spiritual Power, trying to draw someone over to help.

But Yan Shaozhe soon realized there was another problem.

To keep outsiders from hearing or sensing what went on between them as husband and wife, he and Cai Mei'er had once had Array Inscriptions installed around the room to block sound and Spiritual Power.

Worse, because he disliked Soul Tools, he had ordered the Soul Tool Inscription Array carved on the outside of the room.

"This..."

When Yan Shaozhe realized that, panic swallowed him whole.

A horrifying image flashed through his mind.

It was the sight of himself, a former Super Douluo, starving to death.

"No... How could this happen?"

"Is anyone there? Help me!"

At that moment, Yan Shaozhe cast aside every other concern. All he wanted was for someone to find him.

Unfortunately, no one passed by for the time being, and no one discovered him.

While Yan Shaozhe called out in despair, Niu Tian and Tai Tan had already taken Wang Dong away from Shrek Academy.

Everyone was still reeling from the battle between Huang Jinxu and Tai Tan.

Huang Jinxu himself had used the power of the Golden Ancient Tree and the Gold of Life to recover most of his strength.

"Senior, lend me a wisp of the divine power you refined."

Once his injuries had healed, Huang Jinxu began gathering the gains from this encounter.

On the surface, the battle had yielded nothing.

But through the Starry Firmament Soul Skill, he had drawn out Tai Tan's divine power ahead of time.

Now he could coax a wisp of divine power from the Golden Ancient Tree as well.

Once his Life-Bound Soul Tool was ready, he could compare the two and study them.

Even if he could not determine exactly what divine power was made of, he could examine the differences between Tai Tan's power and the Golden Ancient Tree's, then decide which path to take next.

"Not long ago, when Sea God's Descent occurred, my Spiritual Power was suppressed once again. I will be asleep for a long time."

"Of these two Golden Tree Branches, one has been carefully tempered with my divine power. It holds abundant life force and can save your life at a critical moment."

"The other contains the divine power you need."

The Golden Ancient Tree's aged voice sounded in Huang Jinxu's mind. At the same time, two Golden Tree Branches appeared before him.

From the voice alone, Huang Jinxu could hear its weakness and exhaustion.

Clearly, the Golden Ancient Tree was not in good condition.

"Rest for now, senior. Perhaps by the time you wake again, I'll be able to rid you of those parasites."

Huang Jinxu put away the two Golden Tree Branches, his heart growing heavy.

It might have been an investment made for its own benefit, but there was no denying how much the Golden Ancient Tree had helped him.

If he could, he would help it break free of its bonds.

"Little one, you want to study divine power so you can become a god in the Douluo Plane, don't you?"

"Before I sleep, I'll give you one more gift. This is a parasite I spent years extracting from my body. If you can understand it and erase the imprint on its soul, you can use the soul power of these parasites to condense god-level Spiritual Power."

The Golden Ancient Tree drew out something else.

It was the soul of one of Shrek Academy's former Deans.

Or rather, an energy form with no memories.

"Senior, how did you know I wanted to study divine power?"

Huang Jinxu looked at the object floating before him. His expression remained unchanged, but a sharp edge entered his thoughts.

He had been collecting divine power, yet he had never mentioned wanting to study it.

After all, most people would think anyone who spoke of studying divine power had something wrong with his head.

The Soul Masters of this world pursued cultivation. Few thought to unravel power's workings and bring it under their control.

"I began watching you when your Martial Soul Second Awakening occurred."

"But back then, I didn't know what you intended, so I didn't dare take the gamble."

"When you helped that black dragon of the Star Dou Great Forest ask about me, I knew you weren't like the others at Shrek Academy. That was when I decided to invest in you."

The Golden Ancient Tree hid nothing, going on to explain the details.