Two Years Later, Heading to the Star Dou Great Forest

"Ah, Xiao Wen's back!!"

Shrek Academy's Outer Court.

Downstairs from the girls' Dormitory.

Expressionless, Su Wen endured the impact of a human cannonball. Ma Xiaotao rushed over with delight written all over her face, pulled Su Wen into her arms, and ravaged him to her heart's content, her hands roaming up and down. "Let Sister Tao see if you're hurt."

"With Dean Yan there, how could I possibly be hurt?"

Su Wen said helplessly.

The girls passing by all cast curious looks their way.

Though it was nearly evening, quite a few male students were loitering downstairs, perhaps planning to sneak out late at night to do some heh-heh kind of business, or perhaps waiting for their girlfriends to come down for a kiss before drifting away in bliss.

At night, though, there was no one in the little grove.

Those who could enter Shrek Academy were rarely commoners, and would not do something so beneath their status. Secondly, if they really could not wait, they would ask their roommates in advance to stay out all night. For example, in the Original Work, Bei Bei was perfectly familiar with running to Tang Ya's girls' dorm room—climbing through the window and sneaking in. Oh, and interestingly enough, Tang Ya's roommate was Jiang Nannan...

That was beside the point.

Ma Xiaotao had just entered her fourth year this year, and she was a prominent figure throughout the entire Outer Court. Her appearance was stunning, her figure fiery, her temper just as fiery, and she also possessed formidable strength as a rank forty-four battle Soul Master. It was said that just two days ago in the Soul Duel Arena, she had nearly beaten one of her suitors crippled.

On normal days, she always looked like a big sister boss, proud and beautiful.

But her current appearance truly opened everyone's eyes.

"Is that Sister Tao's little brother?"

"It's not vacation right now. Family members can't enter the academy, right?"

"Xiaotao has this side to her? But that little brother really is pretty handsome, hehe..."

"..."

Listening to the whispered gossip, Su Wen frowned.

Being in this kind of pile of women was genuinely a little uncomfortable.

Especially with pair after pair of long, slender legs swaying back and forth. Girls in the Douluo World were generally on the taller side, with one meter seventy-five counting as average. Su Wen, who was only one meter fifty right now, genuinely felt a little stifled...

"Eh, is this your little brother?"

A cool female voice rang out.

Su Wen instinctively looked over.

He saw a young girl in a pale-blue long dress walking over. Her legs were especially long, slender, and straight, and her pretty face was cold, yet mixed with a hint of surprise. Her skin was particularly fair; as she came closer, Su Wen could even see faint bluish veins under her cold jade-like skin.

"Luochen?"

A flicker of joy flashed through Ma Xiaotao's beautiful eyes.

"Let me introduce you. My roommate and best friend, Ling Luochen. Rank thirty-seven Soul Elder, Ice Element Martial Soul."

"Senior Sister Ling." Su Wen nodded in greeting.

"Your biological little brother?" Ling Luochen's pale-blue eyes sized Su Wen up, her expression seeming to carry an innate indifference.

"Not exactly, but he lives in the Sea God Pavilion." Ma Xiaotao blinked.

"The Sea God Pavilion?!!" Ling Luochen was stunned.

Those three words meant the most core area of Shrek.

If he could live there, his status went without saying.

"Hello."

Ling Luochen's expression gained a bit more seriousness as she extended her fair hand.

"Senior Sister."

Su Wen's expression was calm.

But the instant their palms touched, Ling Luochen abruptly shuddered. Her pupils suddenly contracted, and when she looked at Su Wen again, ripples stirred in her gaze.

"Ultimate Ice?!!"

She turned her hand over and gripped Su Wen's arm.

She sensed that aura, which had appeared for an instant, only to vanish in the next.

Even her tone became somewhat unsteady.

"What Ultimate Ice?"

Ma Xiaotao widened her beautiful eyes and froze for a moment.

Then she suddenly remembered that Su Wen had mentioned earlier that he was going to the Land of Extreme North to capture his second Soul Beast.

She did not care about Su Wen's strength at all, only whether he had eaten well, drunk well, and returned safely.

"The second Soul Beast I captured in the Land of Extreme North was an Ice Jade Scorpion. It came with the Ultimate Ice attribute," Su Wen explained.

"Ultimate Ice?"

With every word Ling Luochen spoke, a blazing heat radiated from her frost-cold eyes.

Watching her best friend stare fixedly at Su Wen, looking as if she was about to start drooling, Ma Xiaotao suddenly had an ominous feeling. Maybe she shouldn't have introduced them? This best friend of hers wanted to rob the cradle!

"Ahem, ahem. Lights out soon. Let's head back and rest early."

Ma Xiaotao wrapped an arm around Ling Luochen and pushed her toward the dormitory building.

Ling Luochen looked back every few steps.

Su Wen shrugged. He had gotten to know a senior sister who had deep ties with the protagonist group in the original work, so it counted as expanding his connections...

Two years passed in the blink of an eye.

During this time, Su Wen basically stayed holed up in the Sea God Pavilion.

Day after day, he cultivated, went to Aunt Lu's place to mooch meals, asked for some high-level Soul Beast flesh and blood for the Ice Sovereign and Hurricane, and, while he was at it, helped Sister Tao cool down a little—physically.

At the same time, he turned ten years old.

His strength had also soared to rank thirty, just one step away from entering the realm of Soul Elder.

Inside a private, high-grade training room.

"Hiss~"

Ice and fire mingled, white mist rising and swallowing the entire training room.

Several seconds later.

Su Wen wiped the sweat from his forehead, braced both hands on his legs, bent over, and exhaled a long breath of stale air.

And within the thick mist, directly in front of Su Wen, the outline of a figure slowly appeared.

"What, done already?"

Ma Xiaotao appeared before Su Wen in her "complete" form. A pair of dazzlingly fair, long legs entered his view first, followed by a slender, supple waist and a bountiful figure. Compared with two years ago, the change was nothing short of enormous.

Over these two years, Su Wen had also grown to one meter seventy, but facing Ma Xiaotao, he still felt no small amount of pressure.

The beauty smiled like a blooming flower.

Seeing Su Wen panting for breath, while her own face was flushed, she covered her mouth and chuckled softly.

"Sister Tao, you're already at the peak of Soul King. I'm just a Soul Grandmaster. There's a thirty-rank gap between us."

Su Wen rolled his eyes and casually picked up his clothes, draping them over his shoulder.

He didn't fear the cold, especially since Ma Xiaotao particularly loved burning people's clothes, so he had simply gone bare-chested. As he grew older, this body had become increasingly sturdy, faintly showing the feel of a wasp waist and a tiger's back—Yone's build.

They walked out of the high-grade training room.

This place was in Shrek's Inner Courtyard.

There weren't many students, but most of them knew Su Wen. They greeted him one after another, and then the two headed toward the Sea God Pavilion.

The two chatted idly.

"The academy happens to have a team recently, personally led by Dean Yan, heading to the Star Dou Great Forest to hunt Soul Beasts. I signed up. Xiao Wen, do you want to sign up too?" Ma Xiaotao asked.

"..." Su Wen nodded.

Nonsense. This team was most likely prepared for Ma Xiaotao and him.

Even if Ma Xiaotao hadn't brought it up, Yan Shaozhe would most likely have come to ask him personally.

Su Wen's importance to Shrek went without saying. For such an absolutely core disciple, the academy also attached great importance to his cultivation. They knew his cultivation realm clearly, and now that he had reached a bottleneck, they naturally wouldn't let him waste time for nothing.

"The third Pet Beast should also be put on the agenda."

Once he obtained his third Soul Beast, all his Soul Beasts would automatically advance to Second Form. According to Su Wen's guess, this stage was vitally important. As they evolved, their bloodlines, skills, and even attributes would probably undergo tremendous changes.

It was far more than just their form and appearance...

"Yay!"

Ma Xiaotao wrapped an arm around Su Wen's neck, her face full of excitement.