Slander—He's Slandering Me!

A few days later, Shrek Academy, Sea God Pavilion.

"Triple Attribute Martial Soul? Elder Xuan, are you sure Du Busi wasn't joking?" Yan Shaozhe blurted out in shock before he had even heard half of it.

Mu En, seated at the head, frowned. "Shaozhe, wait until Elder Xuan is finished."

Yan Shaozhe perked up at once, then sat upright and said solemnly, "Elder Xuan, please continue."

How rude. Xuan Zi shot him a glance and continued his account.

"So those two gods really existed." After Xuan Zi finished, Elder Song frowned slightly and murmured.

"I don't know, but I did see statues of two gods in the Body Sect. They stood in Central Plaza, nearly twenty meters tall, with very distinct features," Xuan Zi said. "At the very least, this proves that the Body Sect truly worships these two gods."

"If that's the case, then it is probably true. The people of the Body Sect have always been arrogant. Why would they casually erect statues to worship someone?" Elder Zhuang sighed.

"Who would have thought the Body Sect had encountered such an opportunity?"

"No wonder the Body Sect suddenly became so proactive. So they received the benefits of divine blessings." Yan Shaozhe sounded a little sour.

"No matter what, when that child comes to Shrek Academy for exchange studies, we'd better keep a close eye on him." Rarely, Xuan Zi spoke up for an outsider.

"If anything happens, Du Busi will probably go mad and come knocking at our door."

"Hmph, that fellow clearly treats us like babysitters." Yan Shaozhe's face darkened.

"Yan Shaozhe, you're the least qualified person here to say that!" Xuan Zi turned and glared, immediately shifting the blame.

"If it weren't for Xiaotao's Evil Fire becoming harder and harder to suppress, do you think I'd have swallowed this humiliation and agreed to teach that Old Fellow Du Busi's disciple?"

"Elder Xuan has indeed made an enormous sacrifice this time!" Yan Shaozhe instantly changed his expression and said with a solemn face.

"Hmph!" Xuan Zi snorted before finally turning back in satisfaction.

"Also, that Old Fellow Du Busi asked me to pass along a few words to you." Keeping his eyes forward, Xuan Zi added fuel to the fire and said in all seriousness, "He said you were unreliable from childhood, always stealing and causing trouble, with a belly full of bad ideas."

"When you grew up, you became fickle and flirted everywhere. You often refused to take responsibility after getting what you wanted, without the slightest sense of responsibility. Now that you're old, you're petty and obsessed with saving face."

"You could easily lead children astray."

"He also said that Shrek Academy's current atmosphere has become so restless because you ruined it after becoming dean of the Martial Soul Department."

"So helping your disciple suppress her Evil Fire is fine, but you yourself must stay away from his disciple in the future."

"If you lead his disciple astray, or even let his precious disciple suffer any grievance, he'll personally bring people here and make you pay!"

That felt good!

Xuan Zi secretly drew a breath, glancing from the corner of his eye. Yan Shaozhe's face had already turned black as the bottom of a pot.

He swept his gaze around at his colleagues, his whole body trembling violently as he shouted in fury, "Slander! That Old Fellow Du Busi is slandering me!"

"Heh, isn't it the truth?" Xian Lin'er sneered, driving in the knife.

Yan Shaozhe, brutally stabbed in the back, froze where he stood. His face reddened, and then he looked at Xian Lin'er with deep resentment.

She lifted her chin and met his gaze directly.

Yan Shaozhe's anger deflated in an instant, and his back hunched at once. Looking utterly wronged, he turned to his wife, Cai Mei'er, seeking comfort.

"Hmph!" She snorted and turned her head away on the spot.

"Enough!" Mu En interjected, preventing the situation from worsening further. His gaze swept across the room, and only after seeing everyone quiet down did he look at Xuan Zi. "Xuan Zi, since Du Busi asked you to repay the favor this way, that child will be under your care from now on."

"Yes, Elder Mu!" Like a general who had won a battle, Xuan Zi straightened his back and replied with a solemn expression.

"By the way, Elder Xuan, what are the child's two Martial Souls?" Seeing that no one else spoke, Qian Duoduo suddenly asked.

"I don't know!" Xuan Zi replied bluntly. "That Old Fellow never mentioned it."

He had left in too much of a hurry and had not had time to ask.

"You at least know his name, right?" Xian Lin'er quickly followed up.

"That Old Fellow didn't say that either!" Xuan Zi grew a little flustered from the questioning and continued on his own, "What are you all so anxious for?"

"Won't we find out when he gets here?"

You probably forgot to ask, didn't you? Yan Shaozhe very much wanted to say it, but considering Xuan Zi's expression and the likelihood of getting beaten, he held his tongue.

"Alright, meeting adjourned." Mu En waved a hand, feeling rather weary.

A month quickly passed.

Minghui finally raised his Soul Power from Rank 32 to Rank 33. His cultivation had fully stabilized, and his physical condition had reached its peak.

Thus, after breakfast the next morning, he reported his situation to his teacher, Du Busi.

"Since you've adjusted yourself properly, I'll take you to attempt the Second Awakening of your Martial Soul now." Du Busi looked at him fondly.

"Follow me." With that, he turned and headed toward the Sect's Back Mountain.

Minghui hurriedly followed.

Before long, the two arrived before a mountain wall at the base of a stone peak. A thin layer of water trickled over its surface, mingling with moss. Numerous eroded cracks covered both sides, thick with lush weeds that obscured the view within.

Du Busi walked directly to the left and waved a streak of light into one of the stone cracks.

"Creak, creak." The water-covered stone wall immediately began to shake, trembling as a section sank inward.

The sunken section was three meters high and two meters wide, resembling a stone door.

"Let's go." Du Busi called back, stepped forward, and lightly pushed the right side. The stone door immediately shifted inward, opening a gap.

Without a word, Minghui quickly followed his teacher inside.

Within was a passage sloping downward. Blue crystals were embedded along both walls, emitting a faint glow that illuminated the tunnel perfectly.

"This was excavated by the Sect three thousand years ago. It leads directly to the Cave inside the main peak and is also called the Myriad Beast Cave," Du Busi explained as he walked.

"Of course, that is merely a name. There aren't actually that many now—only a few hundred."

"The Sect raises Soul Beasts in there?" Minghui could not help asking.

"Not Soul Beasts." Du Busi shook his head. "Beast Souls—moreover, incomplete Beast Souls."

"Beast Souls?" Minghui was puzzled.

"That's right, Beast Souls." Du Busi nodded.

"Hui'er, you know that once Soul Beasts surpass ten thousand years of cultivation, they generally gain intelligence. That is why the Soul Rings they produce retain resentment, causing Spiritual Impact to the soul masters who absorb them."

"In fact, not only do Soul Rings retain such remnants; the corpses of Soul Beasts do as well for a short time."

"And those remnants are the residual souls of Soul Beasts."

"Teacher, could the Sect's awakening Secret Art be about absorbing the residual souls of Soul Beasts?" Minghui asked instinctively.

"Clever, but you are only half right." Du Busi smiled. "This was discovered by one of our Sect's predecessors. His Body Martial Soul was his own soul, so he studied the way of souls quite deeply and could see the souls of other living beings after death."

"I won't hide it from you. That predecessor once attempted to cultivate by Devouring Beast Souls."

"But he quickly gave up, because he discovered that this would contaminate his own soul and affect his mind with the ferocity of Soul Beasts. This was not only because complete Beast Souls contained the memories of a Soul Beast's entire life, but also because beasts were beasts—their souls differed greatly from those of humans."

"He could have tried refining or purifying them, but after Devouring one Beast Soul, that predecessor felt it was too harmful to the natural order. Moreover, this method of cultivating through Devouring was ultimately a shortcut, one that could easily foster dependence. Without experience or personal accumulation, one would never amount to much. He did not wish to walk that wicked path, nor did he wish to set a bad example for later generations."

"Rather than dabble in such crooked methods, he hoped to grow by uncovering his own potential, like the Sect's predecessors. The strength gained that way truly belongs to oneself, feels reassuring to use, is easier to wield, and carries no hidden dangers."

"However." He abruptly changed course. "That predecessor did not entirely abandon his discovery."

"That predecessor's Martial Soul underwent a second evolution after he Devoured a Beast Soul?" Minghui voiced his guess.

"Correct." Du Busi nodded. "But because of that, he also gained the ten-thousand-year Soul Beast's memories. According to him, during that period, he felt as if he was about to suffer a mental breakdown—and it disgusted him terribly."

"Because that ten-thousand-year Soul Beast was female."

"..." Minghui opened his mouth. He roughly understood why that predecessor had found it so disgusting.

Ten thousand years of memories—its experiences must have been quite extensive.

Damn. That was the only word he could use to describe it.