Breaking Through to Soul Ancestor

Nezha pushed open the door to Dorm Room 107. Zhou Hu was out, probably off at the cafeteria for another meal.

He closed the door behind him and sat down on the bed, his expression gradually turning cold.

He let out a cold chuckle. Yan Shaozhe.

The more he thought about what had happened by the lake, the more something felt off. The dean of the Martial Soul Department had casually handed over a Ten Thousand Year Soul Bone without asking for anything in return. That alone was strange enough.

Stranger still was the location. Why choose the shore of Sea God Lake? During class hours, in a secluded spot with no one around, Ma Xiaotao's evil fire just happened to run out of control, she just happened to fly over Sea God Lake, she just happened to be drawn to the aura of ultimate fire on him, and she just happened to throw herself at him and hold him tight.

How could there be so many coincidences?

Yan Shaozhe had barely left before Ma Xiaotao arrived. The timing fit together without a single gap, as though they had rehearsed it.

Yan Shaozhe knew he possessed ultimate fire and could suppress or purify evil fire, so he had been certain neither of them would come to harm.

First, a Ten Thousand Year Soul Bone to put him in his debt. Then, a beauty trap to entangle him with one of the Inner Court's top Flame Maniacs. A soul bone, a favor, and a beauty-a three-pronged approach to keep him at Shrek Academy.

Well played, Yan Shaozhe.

Nezha had to admit that this dean hid his cards deep. From beginning to end, there had been no hint of coercion in his scheme. Everything had flowed with the current, everything had been a "coincidence," everything an "opportunity."

But before transmigrating, he had spent years clawing his way through the workplace. He had seen more than enough bosses dangling grand promises and laying traps. To his eyes, these tactics could hardly have been more obvious.

Still-Nezha's lips suddenly curled upward as he recalled Ma Xiaotao clinging to him, rubbing and writhing against him. Her fiery red hair had spilled over his shoulder, her scorching breath had washed over the hollow of his neck, and those two soft mounds had pressed against him until he could barely breathe.

He chuckled, an indescribable hint of smugness gleaming in his fiery red eyes.

Ma Xiaotao would probably never forget today's purification for the rest of her life.

And he had made an even more important discovery.

He closed his eyes and sank his awareness into his dantian. When Ma Xiaotao's evil fire had poured into him earlier, the Great Firmament Celestial Art had risen to meet it on its own, enveloping, devouring, and dissolving it into threads of warmth that merged with his soul power.

Now he could clearly feel that his soul power had grown a little stronger than before. It was not much, but it had undeniably increased.

Absorbing evil fire could increase his soul power.

Ma Xiaotao was practically a cultivation cheat tailor-made for him.

The more evil fire accumulated inside Ma Xiaotao, the more soul power he could absorb after purifying it. The more her evil fire spiraled out of control, the stronger he became.

Yan Shaozhe wanted to use Ma Xiaotao to keep me at Shrek Academy? Then let's see whether I end up staying at Shrek Academy, or whether I spirit Ma Xiaotao away to the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect.

Nezha opened his eyes and lay back on the bed, his hands tucked behind his head. Staring at the ceiling, he could not suppress the smile on his lips.

"Thanks, Dean Yan."

Meanwhile, deep within the Inner Court.

Yan Shaozhe sat in his office, a cup of tea that had gone completely cold before him.

He leaned against the back of his chair, lightly tapping the armrest with his fingers, a faint smile on his lips. The boy named Nezha possessed exceptional talent and a proud temperament. He would be difficult to win over through conventional means.

But what if Ma Xiaotao became involved with him? How could a twelve-year-old boy remain unmoved when one of the Inner Court's greatest beauties threw herself into his arms, with a soul bone paving the way?

Moreover, Nezha's ultimate fire could purify Ma Xiaotao's evil fire. That in itself formed a natural bond. As long as Ma Xiaotao could not do without Nezha, Nezha would not be able to leave Shrek Academy. When the time came, Yan Shaozhe would not even need to ask. The boy would choose to stay on his own.

Yan Shaozhe lifted the cold tea and took a sip. The tea was cold, but his spirits were warm. He smiled faintly, seemingly proud of the plan he had devised.

As for the fact that Nezha had already seen through it all and was even plotting how to poach someone from him in return...

In the days that followed, the first-year students gradually settled into a steady rhythm at the academy.

As the champion of the freshman tournament, Nezha was elected class monitor of Freshman Class One without contest. No one in the class objected.

The sight of his spear piercing the Hell White Tiger during the Freshman Assessment remained vivid in their minds. Who would dare step forward and claim to be better suited to the position?

Nezha had fused with the ten-thousand-year Crimson Flame Demon Tiger right arm bone Yan Shaozhe had given him after returning to his dorm.

His soul power had jumped straight from rank thirty-seven to rank thirty-nine, leaving him just one step away from breaking through to Soul Ancestor.

Why had he only gained two ranks? Nezha knew perfectly well: the soul power of ultimate fire was simply too dense. An ordinary fire-attribute Soul Master might have reached rank forty outright after fusing with this soul bone. Even so, it had saved him at least a year of arduous cultivation. It was worth it.

In class, everyone behaved themselves except for Dai Huabin, that bristling troublemaker, who occasionally voiced his defiance and received a lesson from Nezha every few days under the pretext of "sparring."

As for Huo Yuhao, the chosen one of the original story, he would politely address Nezha as "Class Monitor" whenever they met. Nezha was quite pleased with that.

Although Huo Yuhao possessed the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's Million-Year Soul Ring and harbored a fragment of Electrolux's soul, he always maintained his humble, gentle demeanor, at least on the surface.

Nezha did not expose him. Each kept to his own waters without disturbing the other, and they got along quite well.

Wang Dong behaved herself too. Although her eyes still occasionally betrayed a reluctance to concede defeat when she looked at Nezha, she had never openly provoked him again.

The other students in the class led full lives. Their days were packed with soul power cultivation, martial soul lessons, and practical combat classes, with occasional sparring exchanges between classes.

Under Mu Jin and Wang Yan's guidance, Class One's overall strength rose steadily, and they took first place in several interclass sparring sessions.

One thing worth mentioning was that although Huo Yuhao had failed to become a core disciple of the Martial Soul Department, his spiritual-type Spirit Eyes martial soul had caught the Soul Tool Department's attention. They had swooped in to claim him, making him one of their core disciples. He had set foot on the same path as in the original story, just a little earlier.

When Nezha heard about it, he merely raised his eyebrows and said nothing more. Huo Yuhao's destiny was resilient indeed. Whatever road he took, he would find his way through.

As for Ma Xiaotao-the Inner Court's renowned Flame Maniac came to Nezha every few days to have her evil fire purified.

At first, she maintained the airs of a senior student, arriving each time with a stern face and a businesslike manner, as though she were merely there for a routine treatment. But as her visits grew more frequent, she could no longer sustain that cold expression. The way she looked at Nezha grew increasingly unusual, shifting from distant politeness to gentle warmth, until finally she looked as though she wanted to swallow him whole.

Nezha understood perfectly well but never pointed it out. During each purification, he stood still and behaved himself, letting Ma Xiaotao cling to him and rub against him before asking in all seriousness, "Senior, are you feeling better?"

Every time, Ma Xiaotao would jump away from him with a flushed face, bite her lip, and glare at him before running off without looking back. Yet she always came again.

And with just one week left before the holidays, Nezha finally broke through the last bottleneck with the help of his "cultivation cheat."

Rank forty.

A twelve-year-old Soul Ancestor.

When word reached the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, Ning Zhiyuan was overjoyed. Twelve-year-old Soul Ancestors could be counted on one hand throughout the history of the entire Douluo Continent. The sect's rise was just around the corner.

He immediately sent Nezha a letter saying that Wu Yun would personally come to Shrek Academy, and once the holidays began, they would head straight to the Star Dou Great Forest to obtain a soul ring.

When Nezha received the news, he was sitting in the classroom listening to Mu Jin's lecture on the theory of soul power circulation. He glanced down at the thin letter in his hand, and his lips curved slightly.

Elder Wu was coming to Shrek Academy.