Confirming the Timeline, Three Years of Cultivation and Soul Fighting

Beside a crude, low hut enclosed by a fence in the village stood a tall, lean young man with straight shoulders and a face covered in a thick beard.

Just as in the original story, his dense beard obscured most of his face. He had alluring eyes that would look tender even when gazing at a dog, while his overall appearance was decidedly rugged.

He was Oscar, the future cornerstone of Shrek and one of the continent's greatest food-type genius soul masters.

Oscar had already awakened a food-type martial soul with innate full soul power. No one knew that this ordinary, bearded young man would one day stand at the pinnacle of the continent's support-type soul masters, becoming an indispensable core fighting force among the Shrek Seven Devils.

Meanwhile, in another secluded, quiet corner, scorching fire energy frequently seeped from a somewhat cluttered hut, faintly accompanied by a boy's suppressed panting and an air of restless agitation.

He was Ma Hongjun, the bearer of an innately top-tier beast martial soul, the Evil Fire Phoenix.

Despite his youth, Ma Hongjun had already awakened the uniquely gifted, top-tier beast martial soul, the Evil Fire Phoenix. His talent towered above that of his peers, but it came with an inborn backlash of evil fire that was almost impossible to escape.

The restless, violent evil fire within him burned his body and disturbed his mind at every moment, leaving him irritable and unable to find peace. He suffered its torment year after year.

To suppress the evil fire raging within him and ease the scorching pain afflicting both his body and mind, he could only release his physical pressure through a particular method day after day, subduing the restless flames. Trapped in this painful cycle for years, he had consequently developed a somewhat sleazy, lustful disposition.

During this visit, Lin Chen merely watched from afar, quietly assessing the two of them. He neither approached to disturb them nor introduced himself, struck up a conversation, or tried to befriend them.

He knew that intervening in the plot too early and forcing connections with its central characters would only disrupt his current steady rhythm, introduce needless unknown variables, and throw his carefully paced cultivation plans into disarray.

What he needed to do was remain unseen outside the plot, observe quietly, steadily build his strength, and wait for the best moment to enter the game.

As long as the plot remained on course and its central characters were securely in place, there was no need for unnecessary intervention.

Day after day, month after month, time flowed slowly through steady cultivation, painstaking refinement, and discreet observation. Without haste or impatience, three full years passed in the blink of an eye.

Three years were enough for an innocent, inexperienced boy to shed his old skin and be reborn, undergoing a complete transformation from the inside out, washing away his childishness and tempering his edge.

By now, Lin Chen had completely shed the boyish immaturity of his twelve-year-old self.

His frame had fully stretched and grown, becoming tall, slender, and well-proportioned, upright without being bulky. He naturally possessed an air of unworldly grace and gentle refinement. His height had reached around one meter seventy, and his bearing was handsome and erect. He stood with composed dignity, every movement carrying a steady poise.

Years of gentle nourishment from his water- and wood-attribute soul power, along with the subtle nurturing of his body and mind by the Nine-Tails Bloodline.

These had made his face increasingly handsome and finely sculpted, with elegant brows and eyes, clean, defined contours, and skin as lustrous as jade. His features were delicate without appearing feminine, while a hint of cool, detached reserve lingered between his brows. His presence was pure and ethereal, set apart from the mundane, forming a stark contrast with the academy's restless, flamboyant boys.

Unlike boys his age, who were immature, showy, impulsive, and eager to prove themselves, three years of day-and-night tempering and intense combat training had made his demeanor increasingly steady and restrained, as gentle and lustrous as jade.

At rest, he was refined and composed, calm and at ease. In motion, he kept his edge sheathed, revealing not a trace of its sharpness. Beneath his handsome exterior lay unfathomably deep reserves and power held in check.

Throughout three years of arduous cultivation, Lin Chen had neither slacked off for a single day nor recklessly rushed ahead. He had always adhered to a training rhythm that balanced exertion with rest.

With Suotuo Intermediate Academy's top-tier resources, the attentive guidance of a Soul Saint instructor, systematic combat training, and a rich cultivation atmosphere supporting him, his cultivation rose steadily. He advanced on a solid footing all the way, without bottlenecks, stalls, or hollow gains, thoroughly consolidating every level he attained.

Starting from the peak of level twenty-three, he steadily broke through, accumulating strength layer by layer and reinforcing his foundation step by step. After three years of refinement, he finally settled firmly at the peak of a level twenty-eight Soul Grandmaster!

His soul power had risen steadily by five full levels. Each level had been polished through a thousand meditation sessions and tempered through a hundred battles, strengthening every layer of his foundation without the slightest weakness or instability. His reserves were several times deeper than those of an ordinary level twenty-eight soul master.

His water- and wood-attribute soul power became increasingly pure and concentrated, its circulation ever smoother and more effortless. His physical resilience, the strength of his meridians, the responsiveness of his martial soul, and the depth of his mind and spirit all improved, layer upon layer. His foundation was exceptionally solid, with almost no one at his level able to match it.

During these three years, aside from the academy's regular daily training, Lin Chen periodically visited the Great Soul Arena in Suotuo City to take part in official arena matches. He used battle to nurture his fighting prowess, deliberately refining his practical combat abilities, broadening his experience, and tempering his composure under pressure.

During these three years, aside from the academy's regular daily training, Lin Chen periodically visited the Great Soul Arena in Suotuo City, using battle to nurture his fighting prowess.

His Liuli martial soul was an exceedingly rare, detached martial soul with a physical form. Ordinarily, Liuli crouched quietly beside his feet, comparable in size to an adult German Shepherd, with a lithe, athletic body and clean, flowing lines. Liuli's entire body was translucent, lustrous white, shimmering with the gentle sheen of colored glass, restrained yet brimming with strength. There was no need for possession or close combat; Liuli could independently assume a solid form and receive soul skills.

Throughout each match, Lin Chen stood still, precisely directing Liuli through his mental intent. He himself only evaded his opponent's attacks and never participated directly in combat, focusing entirely on refining the precision of his mental control, his anticipation of the battle's course, and his ability to direct it in the moment.

The Soto Great Soul Arena was vast in scale and fair in its rules, making it the most professionally run public soul fighting venue in all of southern Heaven Dou.

Its circular stands could accommodate tens of thousands of spectators. The fighting platforms were cast from a mixture of special hard stone and soul-power metal, resistant to wear and explosions and capable of withstanding intense clashes between soul masters' skills.

The strong and weak mingled here, with soul masters drawn from every direction by its reputation: the ferocity of power attackers, the unpredictability of agility attackers, the solidity of defenders, the strangeness of control specialists, and the enhancements of support specialists.

Every major fighting style competed on the same stage, making it an ideal place to refine mental control, battlefield coordination, and cooperation with a martial soul.

Over his three years of visiting the Great Soul Arena, Lin Chen had never deliberately farmed points or picked weak opponents. Every opponent was randomly assigned by the system.

He always deliberately reined in his aura, concealing his ability to fight at close quarters. During matches, he only sent the Liuli martial soul crouching beside his feet into battle. This martial soul, the size of an adult German Shepherd, maintained a steady posture, keeping its gathered strength contained. The support soul skills from both hundred-year soul rings were applied entirely to Liuli, improving Liuli's defense and soul power endurance.

Lin Chen remained firmly at the rear of the platform throughout each match. Apart from dodging attacks that reached the back, he only used subtle mental commands to direct when Liuli attacked opponents with soul skills and the angles at which Liuli evaded their attacks.

Sometimes, when facing weaker opponents, he also allowed Liuli to fight freely, cultivating Liuli's judgment and combat abilities for situations in which Lin Chen could not issue commands in time.