Time flew by, and three months passed in the blink of an eye.
During those three months, Mu Changqing led an extremely regular life. Every day, at the first light of dawn, he went alone to the Martial Soul Department dean's office, where Yan Shaozhe personally taught him the department's theoretical knowledge.
When the sun climbed high, he went with Na'er to see Xuan Zi. Xuan Zi trained Mu Changqing while Na'er watched from the sidelines.
At dusk, he played with Na'er and Da Huang, and at night, he meditated to cultivate his Soul Power.
When Da Huang first suddenly appeared in the inner court, the students were all wary of the bear. A ten-thousand-year Soul Beast had appeared in the inner court-who wouldn't be afraid?
Gradually, as Da Huang wandered around Sea God Island, acting rather silly and showing no ill will toward anyone, the students accepted the bear's presence. Every day, apart from eating, Da Huang simply lay in the courtyard sleeping.
Na'er usually clung to Mu Changqing, and when he wasn't around, she clung to Da Huang. Whenever she saw the relationship between the inner court students and Da Huang, an inexplicable yearning for such scenes arose in her heart.
Na'er's true form was the Silver Dragon King. She wanted both the resurgence of Soul Beasts and coexistence between humans and Soul Beasts.
Those three months were arduous and monotonous, but Mu Changqing pressed on through wind and rain, never slacking off for a single day.
By the shores of Sea God Lake, there were four figures and a bear.
Mu Changqing lay prone on the ground in tattered clothes. Na'er lay in Da Huang's arms beneath a large tree, while Xuan Zi crouched beside Mu Changqing.
Not far from Xuan Zi stood a tall, slender old man with a steady, reserved bearing.
He was Elder Zhuang, an elder of Shrek Academy's Sea God Pavilion. His title was Life Douluo, his Martial Soul was the Tree of Life, and he was one of the continent's foremost healing-type Super Douluos.
Every time Xuan Zi trained him, Mu Changqing ended up covered in wounds. Elder Zhuang was there to heal Mu Changqing so he could better endure the beatings.
At first, Na'er had been very worried about Mu Changqing. As time passed, she grew accustomed to it, but watching him get beaten still worried her.
"First Soul Skill, Sprouting Vitality!"
Elder Zhuang stepped up to Mu Changqing and summoned his Martial Soul, the Tree of Life. A rich breath of life burst forth.
Elder Zhuang gathered the power of life in his palm, turning it into emerald specks of light that sank into Mu Changqing's body. His superficial wounds immediately stopped bleeding, and the pain eased.
Feeling that his wounds no longer hurt, Mu Changqing raised his dragon claws and shakily stood up.
"Hang in there. Just one more exercise, and today's special training will be over."
Xuan Zi patted Mu Changqing's shoulder, where a large hole had already been torn in his clothes, then returned to his original position.
Mu Changqing quickly summoned his Martial Soul and Soul Skill. Golden dragon scales covered his entire body, and a Tyrannosaurus manifestation towered behind him.
Over those three months, Xuan Zi's main training exercises had been gravitational compression, sparring, and ramming attacks. These three tested Mu Changqing's suppressive power, offense, and defense, respectively.
Because Mu Changqing was the heir to the Sea God Pavilion, Xuan Zi never held back. Mu Changqing's control over his strength had also improved significantly, and his Soul Power was now rank sixteen.
Xuan Zi took a step back, then explosively pushed off with his foot, shooting forward like an arrow as he summoned his Martial Soul, the Taotie Divine Bull.
A bull bearing boundless might charged toward Mu Changqing, who held both dragon claws protectively before him.
Xuan Zi struck Mu Changqing with his elbow, sending him flying backward into Sea God Lake. This time, he wasn't too far from shore. The first time, Mu Zhangqing had been sent flying all the way to the middle of Sea God Lake.
After an hour of inhuman ramming attacks, Mu Changqing lay weakly by the shore. Na'er carefully approached him and stroked his face, as though doing so could ease his pain.
"These three months of special training are over for now. I've seen all the progress you've made!"
"These are the things you wanted. These five bottles of medicinal liquid were made from that Dragon Saliva Grass from three months ago."
Xuan Zi took a box of things out of his storage Soul Tool and set it in front of Mu Changqing's face, along with five bottles of fiery-red medicinal liquid.
Elder Zhuang used his Soul Skill once again to heal Mu Changqing. Once the treatment was finished, he left the lakeshore ahead of them with Xuan Zi.
Mu Changqing put the things on the ground into his storage Soul Tool. Too exhausted to move, he had Da Huang lift him up and carry him back to his apartment, with Na'er sitting on Da Huang's other shoulder.
Mu Changqing rested for a while, then began moving after eating dinner with Na'er. They were moving to the area where Yan Shaozhe lived. Both Yan Shaozhe and Xuan Zi counted as Mu Changqing's teachers.
Over those three months, Mu Changqing had rarely seen Xuan Zi drinking. He didn't know what had happened to him, but when he wasn't drinking, he was quite dependable. Hopefully, he would stay that way!
Mu Changqing didn't have many belongings, and he stored everything useful in his storage Soul Tool. The same went for Na'er, whose storage Soul Tool looked very similar to his.
Mu Changqing's storage ring was gold with a dragon engraved on it, while Na'er's was silver with a dragon engraved on it. Sister Lexuan had sent them both.
Mu Changqing suspected they were a matching couple's set, but he was still very grateful to Sister Lexuan. Na'er liked hers very much, and she liked Sister Lexuan very much too.
Mu Changqing hadn't seen Bei Bei for over two months. He wondered how his little brother was doing in the Soul Tool Department. When he had time, he would go give him a beating.
Holding Na'er's hand, Mu Changqing headed east across Sea God Island, with Da Huang following close behind.
Before long, the two of them and the bear arrived at the area where Yan Shaozhe lived. Mu Changqing looked around.
"Over here, little brother Changqing!"
Not far away, a fiery-red figure waved toward Mu Changqing, seemingly having waited for them for a long time.
Holding Na'er's little hand, Mu Changqing strode up to the courtyard, and the girl came into view.
The girl had waist-length red hair and was incredibly beautiful. She wore a red dress that accentuated her fiery nature and wildness.
"Sister Xiaotao?"
Mu Changqing had never met Ma Xiaotao. He was only guessing based on the novel's descriptions from his previous life. Dressed in red from head to toe-who else could it be but Ma Xiaotao?
"Oh! You know me?"
"I've heard Dean Yan mention you!"
Ma Xiaotao pressed her lips together and folded her arms, studying Mu Changqing with a curious gaze.
She was always hearing Yan Shaozhe say how impressive her junior brother was, so often that her ears had gone numb. Seeing him today, he lived up to his reputation.
"All right, come inside with me! Also, your little sister is really cute!"
Mu Changqing and Na'er stepped into Ma Xiaotao's apartment, while Da Huang lay down in the courtyard to doze.
"There are two rooms left on the second floor. You and your little sister can each take one!"
Ma Xiaotao stretched and yawned as she pointed at the other two bedrooms.
"No! I want to sleep with my brother!"
Na'er suddenly pouted and fiercely glared at Ma Xiaotao. Ma Xiaotao found her adorable, and so did Mu Changqing.
"Aww, Na'er really is adorable!"
Covering her face, Ma Xiaotao jogged over to Na'er, crouched down, and pinched her fair, chubby little cheeks.
Ma Xiaotao returned to her own bedroom, while Mu Changqing led Na'er by the hand into another. Na'er fell asleep from exhaustion, and Mu Changqing sat cross-legged, circulating his Soul Power.
Blood-red gas emanated from Mu Changqing's body. He felt signs that the second seal on the Golden Dragon King bloodline within him was about to break.
Tomorrow, I'll find somewhere quiet to break the seal!
Mu Changqing clutched his head. His eyes turned into golden dragon eyes, and veins bulged on his head. He stared fixedly at Na'er, with a desire to devour her.
"Brother!"
Na'er called out in her sleep, and Mu Changqing regained his senses.