The Fist of Justice, the Serious Fist

"Dean Yan asked me to find you. Get ready. We're going Soul Hunting for you this time."

"Didn't we just get back? Why are we going out again?"

Jiang Hao was puzzled. They had only arrived at Shrek Academy that morning, and there had been that whole farce in the afternoon. Had Yan Shaozhe really resolved it that quickly? And now he was dragging Jiang Hao out to hunt Soul Beasts? Did that make sense? Had someone spotted a flaw in his disguise?

"The reason is Xuan Zi. He's still in the Star Dou Great Forest."

"Dean Yan said it wasn't safe to leave him in there alone, so he wants to bring him back."

"And while we're there, we'll hunt Soul Rings for you and Xiaotao. We can't waste a whole trip on people like that."

Zhang Lexuan offered a tactful explanation. She didn't want Jiang Hao to know what had happened in Shrek City.

"All right, then. Give me a moment."

"I'll pack a few changes of clothes."

Why would the Main Body need to pack clothes? Doesn't he have some in his Soul Tool?

Something feels off. We might have to make a run for it this time.

Jiang Hao answered, then hurried upstairs and swept all the spare combat uniforms from his wardrobe into his Space Ring. He considered packing everything else too, but stopped. If they really have found something, clearing out all my belongings before I leave would only confirm their suspicions. As long as they can't prove it, they're slandering me. He left his valuables alone. There were plenty of Gold Soul Coins in his rings, enough to live on for a while. With that settled, he hurried back downstairs.

As Zhang Lexuan watched him descend, her brows drew together. So alike. Far too alike. His build and height matched, and even his voice was a little similar. Only his Martial Soul was wrong. As she pondered, a bun appeared in her hand. A Food Type Soul Master with such extraordinary talent that her creations could last three days without dissipating—someone like that was born for the battlefield.

"Let's go!"

Ready to leave, Jiang Hao stepped up beside Zhang Lexuan, but he didn't dare look at the bun in her hand. He knew that thing far too well. Seeing her still lost in thought, he waved a hand in front of her face.

"Come on, senior sister. Let's meet up with Dean Yan and the others."

As Jiang Hao strode out of the room, Zhang Lexuan suddenly asked, "Why do you call me senior sister?"

Jiang Hao froze on the spot. No one at Shrek Academy called Zhang Lexuan that now, and she wasn't publicly recognized as the academy's senior sister, either. Come on, brain, think!

"Because you're my senior, and you're very—"

Jiang Hao fell silent. Zhang Lexuan lowered her head, her cheeks flushing bright red.

"You lecher~"

"I meant your age! Your age!"

Two long legs locked around his neck on the floor while his right arm was wrenched back—a classic grappling chokehold. Jiang Hao slapped the floor with his left hand to signal surrender, protesting all the while.

"Believe me, I really meant your age."

Afterward, he followed Zhang Lexuan with a burning face, as wilted as an eggplant struck by frost.

"So young, and already learning all the wrong things. All lewd talk and a wax spearhead."

"This Soul Hunting trip should go quickly. Dean Yan and Dean Xian Ling'er are both coming. We need to hunt a Hundred-Year Soul Ring and a Thousand-Year Soul Ring as fast as possible, then find Xuan Zi in the Star Dou Great Forest."

"Be ready for a long journey."

Zhang Lexuan straightened her clothes and glanced back at the listless Jiang Hao, kindly offering him the warning.

When they returned to Sea God Island, Yan Shaozhe wasted no time. He scooped up Ma Xiaotao and Jiang Hao, one in each hand, and took off. Xian Ling'er followed close behind, with Zhang Lexuan using a Flying Soul Tool to keep pace. They shot into the sky, bound for the Star Dou Great Forest.

After a full day of flight, Zhang Lexuan led the two elders to the site of her battle with the Wolf King. The wreckage made Xian Ling'er frown. Why is the place such a mess? And why are there so many footprints? Did someone fight over the Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone? The Shrek Elders who knew what had happened had always assumed Zhang Lexuan had absorbed it. Even Yan Shaozhe thought so.

While the two women talked, Yan Shaozhe watched Jiang Hao's reactions closely.

Nothing unusual. He probably had nothing to do with it.

Jiang Hao was off to one side, intently tinkering with his Defensive Soul Tool. Yan Shaozhe breathed a sigh of relief. He had finally found a young man he liked; if the boy turned out to be a rebel, he would be furious.

Two days had passed, and the ground was cluttered with Soul Beast tracks and the damage left by fights over the Wolf King's carcass. Even so, Xian Ling'er soon picked out a trail of clues.

"Ten people, twenty, thirty... There are nearly four hundred pairs of usable footprints left here."

"That many? Could they be Evil Soul Masters?" Ma Xiaotao blurted out. She had been unconscious throughout the incident. She knew nothing about it—not even that these people had been there.

Their weights varied, some light and some heavy, but every set of prints belonged to a child. How could that be? Xian Ling'er could scarcely believe her own measurements. All children? How is that possible?

At Xian Ling'er's words, Zhang Lexuan let out a long breath. As long as they aren't Evil Soul Masters, there's still a chance to help them. From what I saw, they were all exceptionally talented. To operate in the Star Dou Great Forest at their age, they had to be at least three-ring Soul Masters. That meant their Innate Soul Power was at least level seven. With a little training, they could become Six-Ring Soul Emperors, perhaps even Soul Douluos. Xian Ling'er's conclusion gave her one more reason to find those children. She couldn't let their talents go to waste in the wilderness. She might as well look for them on this trip. It wasn't good for a group of children to live like wild people in the Star Dou Great Forest. She glanced at Ma Xiaotao and Jiang Hao. She couldn't bear to imagine how she would feel if her precious disciple and Old Qian's beloved boy were stranded here, fighting Soul Beasts for territory year after year.

"But they all seemed to be One-Ring Soul Masters," Zhang Lexuan interrupted.

"Hmm..."

Xian Ling'er sighed. Perhaps they were children orphaned by war who had banded together after losing their parents' protection. If the academy hadn't already set its rules, she would have taken every one of them into the Soul Tool Department. Even if they only ever became level-one Soul Engineers, they could at least earn enough to eat.

Jiang Hao was unexpectedly moved. He had met He Caitou only because Xian Ling'er had brought him into the Soul Tool Department and placed him under Fan Yu. Now his aunt by convenience wanted to bring in hundreds more children the same way. She really did treat Shrek's rules like scrap paper.

"If we meet them, we'll help however we can," Yan Shaozhe said, continuing to survey the area.

"But there's no sign of Xuan Zi around here. It looks like he hasn't been this way."

"Let's hunt Soul Rings for Xiaotao and Jiang Hao first."

Xian Ling'er nodded and extended a hand. A winged Soul Tool flew out. Its rounded, beadlike body unfurled as four pairs of dragonfly wings trembled, and it began scanning the surroundings.

"You actually made it! Auntie, you're incredible."

Jiang Hao grew excited as the golden snitches circled overhead and flew off in four directions. He had only mentioned the idea to Xian Ling'er in passing, yet she had actually built them. Their tiny bodies could dart through dense woods and complicated terrain. Small, fast, and capable of observing in every direction, they could take in their entire surroundings. For close-range reconnaissance, the technology was top-tier.

"Your ideas were good. Strip the Soul Tool Air Pump down to its shell and power supply, then shrink the whole thing to hide it. Use a structure modeled on living creatures' movement to reduce the Soul Tool's noise and avoid drawing attention. Ordinary Soul Engineers couldn't come up with that using those thick skulls of theirs."

"Our boy really is clever." Jiang Hao blushed a little at Xian Ling'er's praise.

"I didn't know you had a talent for Soul Tools, too. How about making me one someday?"

Ma Xiaotao tapped Jiang Hao's shoulder with her pink fist. Her Evil Fire seemed to have been suppressed, and her youthful, lively energy had returned.

"Go on, get out of here. A Soul Tool like that is level four at minimum. Even if I could make one, I'd sell it, not give it to you."

"Hahaha! Xiao Hao, you should spend less time with Old Qian. Stay around him too long and you'll become a money grubber yourself. If you learned even half my charm, you might have a girlfriend by now."

Yan Shaozhe laughed. Seeing his beloved disciple trade looks with the boy he favored made him happy. His family's pig had finally learned to root around in someone else's cabbage patch. It was oddly satisfying, though he felt a little wistful too.

"Hmph. Yes, Dean Yan was quite the dashing romantic back then. As for what happened between us—"

Xian Ling'er stopped there. Yan Shaozhe felt something catch in his throat as he remembered their past and wisely shut his mouth. By evening, the campfire had warmed everyone through. Zhang Lexuan had cut the wood with her Moon Blade, Ma Xiaotao had lit the fire, and Jiang Hao had prepared the meat. He had sliced the ribs of an unidentified bovine Soul Beast into pieces as thick as coins and as broad as palms. Clamped between two tongs, each piece was grilled on both sides over a large round iron plate until browned outside and cooked through, then placed on a serving platter.

"Delicious! This is so good. I've never had meat this tasty."

"And where did you get this seasoning?"

"It smells amazing!"

Quick as lightning, Ma Xiaotao snatched a fresh slice of beef, dipped it in the seasoning on the iron plate, and stuffed it into her mouth. Fire-attribute Soul Masters really weren't afraid of heat. She chewed twice and swallowed.

"You've got real skill, kid. This tastes much better than anything the academy's nutritionists make."

Zhang Lexuan offered her praise too. Shrek Academy's nutritionists devised top-tier menus with every nutrient carefully balanced, but the flavor always fell a little short. Taste and nutrition were the hardest things to balance in cooking; few ingredients or chefs could handle both perfectly. Delicious food meant sacrificing some nutrients, while preserving more nutrients made the flavor a gamble.

As they talked, Yan Shaozhe suddenly set down his chopsticks. Xian Ling'er put down her teacup at the same instant. They exchanged a smile, then lightly sprang up onto the tree trunks.

"Looks like a few lost little fellows have wandered into camp."

"Xiaotao, deal with them. Lexuan, limit your Soul Power to level forty and use only your first four Soul Rings. The three of you can handle the intruders."

"Don't worry. We'll protect you."

"Hey, what about me? What am I supposed to do?"

Jiang Hao looked up at them. Xian Ling'er smiled.

"Don't worry. Those creatures can't get through the twenty-odd layers of Defensive Soul Tools you're wearing."

"A Body Martial Soul has to be trained in a fight. Your fists, feet, and head are your best weapons. I believe in you."

Xian Ling'er gave Jiang Hao a thumbs-up. The instant she finished speaking, a gust of wind hurtled straight at him.

"Watch out! First Soul Skill: Phoenix Fire Line!"

The firelight brought the shape in the shadows into view. A wolf—a snow wolf with gray-white fur! The Phoenix Fire Line struck it, setting its whole body ablaze and knocking it into a nearby thicket. The bushes caught fire too, with faint wisps of black smoke curling through the flames.

Yan Shaozhe sent out a pulse of Soul Power to extinguish the fire. Just then, several wolf howls rang out nearby.

"Be careful. It might be a pack."

"The remnants of that Wolf King's pack!"

As she spoke, Zhang Lexuan activated Martial Soul Possession. A moon rose overhead, bathing the entire camp in light. One wolf, two, three, four—five in all, each with roughly a hundred years of cultivation.

"Xiaotao, take two. Leave the rest to me."

Zhang Lexuan activated her first two Soul Skills to strengthen herself, then her third Soul Skill lit up. Moonlight gathered and solidified into a gleaming sword suspended before her. She swept it through a flourish, and her presence sharpened at once.

She's turned into a Pokémon. Started the battle by stacking Swords Dance.

Voices chattered over one another in Jiang Hao's mind. Before coming to Shrek, he had sent out half his Clones and kept the weaker ones in his mind. Watch that sharp sword energy and learn from it. It might come in handy someday, he told them. Then he looked toward Ma Xiaotao. I can't just stand here and let the two of them protect me. I'm a man, after all. When it's time to be tough, I should step in front of the women, not keep hiding behind them.

He activated Martial Soul Possession, and every muscle in his body tightened with strength. Ma Xiaotao hovered in the air, breathing fire at the hungry wolves on either side of her. Zhang Lexuan could handle three, given her physical strength. But as a four-ring Soul Master, Ma Xiaotao would quickly burn through her Soul Power if those two wolves kept her chasing them. Help her finish those two first, then go help Zhang Lexuan. Jiang Hao made up his mind, clenched his fists, and lunged at the Moon Wolf with its back to him.

Serious Punch!

That punch carried the strength of ten Clones—enough to wreck any Hundred-Year Soul Beast. His ambush succeeded, and Jiang Hao landed astride the Moon Wolf's neck. He hammered it with punch after punch, each blow striking with a dull clang, as if he were hitting steel rebar. Bloody lines spread across his fists; the shock had burst the capillaries in his arms. It hardly hurt, though, so he brought down another punch, then another, each heavier as he piled on more of his Clones' strength. At last, the wolf beneath him stopped struggling.

Jiang Hao stared at the blood vessels and muscles shifting beneath the skin of his right hand. How am I healing this fast? And why does it barely hurt? He checked his condition in surprise. To avoid giving himself away, he hadn't used any of his Clones' healing Soul Skills. Yet the Main Body's own recovery was startling. Then an explanation occurred to him: his Body Martial Soul was one hundred percent complete. The human body was already good at repairing itself, and with this much energy available, its healing wouldn't just improve a little—it would far surpass what it had been before. Fast, efficient Soul Power had replaced the energy ordinary nutrients supplied, multiplying his recovery rate. In the short time he spent thinking, the bruises on his arm began to fade. Soon, his smooth, fair arm and fist looked as good as new.

In that case, take this punch! Jiang Hao held nothing back. His iron fists cut through the air with a tiger's force as he charged the Moon Wolf Ma Xiaotao was chasing.

"You perverted wolf! Harassing a respectable young lady in the dead of night? In the name of justice, I'll judge you—Fist of Justice!"