Outside, no one knew how much time had passed. Mu Changqing drew the blood Qi surrounding him back into his body, revealing his powerful physique once more.
Mu Changqing straightened up. Now he had nothing on but a pair of underwear; everywhere else was bare.
Under the influence of the Golden Dragon King bloodline, he stood 1.6 meters tall at only seven years old, towering over others his age.
"Seriously! I'm exhausted!"
Mu Changqing stretched and quickly took a set of clothes out of his storage soul tool. They were clearly much too small, but he could only wear them for the time being.
Mu Changqing pressed the button for the advanced cultivation room's door. As it slowly opened, a figure was crouching outside.
"Big Brother! You finally came out!"
Watching the door slowly rise, Na'er's previously dull eyes lit up completely. She quickly stood and threw herself into Mu Changqing's arms.
"Na'er, how long was I in seclusion?"
With a doting expression, Mu Changqing stroked Na'er's long silver hair. He was now considerably taller than her.
"Two months! Na'er waited here for you every single day these past two months!"
Na'er rubbed her fair little face against Mu Changqing's neck, her arms tightly wrapped around his slender waist.
Na'er's gesture left Mu Changqing feeling a little guilty. Since returning from obtaining his second soul ring, he had not spent any time with her.
"Na'er, you're so good to me!"
Mu Changqing pinched Na'er's chubby little cheeks, their foreheads pressed together.
"Roar-"
Just then, a dragon's roar rang out from a mouth, awing everyone at Shrek Academy.
Mu Changqing pressed his face to the window and looked toward the Golden Ancient Tree on Sea God Island. A platinum-colored dragon clung to the upper part of the tree.
Mu En had already spent a year and two months in seclusion. He had completely absorbed that Life Crystal, and today was the day he emerged.
Mu Changqing guessed that Mu En had emerged from seclusion. From now on, he would no longer need to rush over to the Soul Tool Department's advanced cultivation rooms.
After Mu En entered seclusion a year ago, the Sea God Pavilion had stopped opening its cultivation rooms to outsiders altogether. The cultivation rooms inside the Golden Ancient Tree were certainly better than the advanced cultivation rooms.
Had Mu En not been in seclusion, Mu Changqing would never have come to the Soul Tool Department to borrow an advanced cultivation room.
Tap, tap, tap.
Footsteps suddenly sounded in the quiet corridor, seemingly rather hurried.
"Na'er, Changqing, you two, come with me to the Sea God Pavilion. Elder Mu is holding a meeting!"
A hurried female voice came from a short distance down the corridor. Na'er and Mu Changqing turned to look. It was Zhang Lexuan.
Zhang Lexuan had been taking care of Na'er for the past two months, so Na'er immediately set her little legs moving and ran up to her.
"Changqing, how did you get so tall?"
Watching Mu Changqing approach, Zhang Lexuan covered her mouth with one hand and stared at him in disbelief.
Zhang Lexuan remembered that Mu Changqing had not been this tall two months ago! Had he been eating hormones?
"Probably my martial soul's influence!"
Mu Changqing tugged at his clothes and spoke helplessly. Only then did Na'er notice that he was much taller than her, and seemingly stronger too.
The three said no more and walked side by side toward Sea God Island. Classes were in session, so there were few people in Shrek Square.
Before long, the three reached the Sea God Pavilion. Its door was half open, and Zhang Lexuan knocked.
"Come in!"
A steady voice echoed through the Sea God Pavilion's first floor. The three stepped inside. The conference table on the first floor was full, and the atmosphere was quite solemn.
The Soul Tool Department's elders still sat on the left side of the conference table, though Bei Bei was sitting there too.
The Martial Soul Department's elders still sat on the right. At the head sat Mu En, the man who called the shots at Shrek.
Having completely absorbed that Life Crystal, Mu En was no longer the man who had already had half a foot in the grave a year ago. Now, he truly was Dragon God Douluo Mu En.
Although the Life Crystal had not completely healed his old injuries, it had extended his lifespan. He no longer relied on a cane to walk.
"Changqing, come sit beside your great-great-grandfather!"
Mu En suddenly spoke, giving Mu Changqing a meaningful look before glancing at the wooden chair beside him.
Holding Na'er, Zhang Lexuan sat on the Martial Soul Department's side. Mu Changqing went to the wooden chair beside Mu En and sat down firmly.
He sat perfectly upright, his hands resting flat on his thighs.
"You've made good progress this year! Keep up the good work!"
Mu En pressed one hand against Mu Changqing's chest and released soul power to examine the meridians inside him. Finding his blood Qi surging and the soul power in his dantian full and profound, he nodded in satisfaction.
Mu En turned toward Bei Bei. During his year in seclusion, his great-great-grandson had not slackened in his cultivation at all, and he nodded in satisfaction at him as well.
"All right, report on whether any problems have arisen at Shrek over the past year!"
"Xuan Zi, you first!"
Mu En knocked on the table in front of Xuan Zi. Xuan Zi, who had been dozing off, jolted awake with a blank expression.
"No... nothing much. There were a few gathering places for evil soul masters, but I wiped them all out."
"And there was nothing else after that!"
After speaking, Xuan Zi yawned.
Everyone present was already used to it.
"There haven't been any problems on the Martial Soul Department's side!"
"But the Martial Soul Department's teachers were given a thorough straightening-out!"
Yan Shaozhe propped his chin on both hands and reported on the Martial Soul Department's situation.
"There haven't been any problems on the Soul Tool Department's side either!"
"But Bei Bei has already passed the Class 2 soul engineer assessment. He is now Shrek's youngest Class 2 soul engineer."
"What?!"
Aside from those on the Soul Tool Department's side, everyone on the Martial Soul Department's side was astonished. They had not expected Bei Bei to be so talented with soul tools.
Mu Changqing had not expected Bei Bei to be so talented in the Soul Tool Department's field either. In the future, he might become a Class 10 soul engineer.
"Our Soul Tool Department has manufactured nine hypergravity field adjustment soul tools that can help soul masters train their bodies. We call them gravity soul tools for short."
"Gravity soul tools can apply different levels of gravity to train the body. We've also equipped them with automatic adjustment devices and life detection devices!"
"Besides the gravity soul tools, there are also environment simulators, which can simulate different environments for soul masters to train their spiritual power in!"
"These soul tools are now ready to be fully introduced into the academy for the students to use!"
Qian Duoduo explained with a calm expression.
"Then wouldn't that mean we could stop using traditional running to train the body?"
"Incorporating soul tools into daily life would be quite good too."
The beautiful mature woman beside Yan Shaozhe suddenly spoke. She was Cai Mei'er, vice dean of the Martial Soul Department.
"Old Qian! How many of your gravity soul tools can the Martial Soul Department's students use?"
"Three for now!"
Qian Duoduo held up three fingers and looked at Yan Shaozhe.
"Ah! Can you add another two?"
"Yes, but you'll have to give the Soul Tool Department some of the Martial Soul Department's resources!"
"Fine!"
Gritting his teeth, Yan Shaozhe agreed, painfully parting with what he treasured. If their Martial Soul Department had not had so many students, three would not have been so utterly insufficient.