"Little Yutong, your Soul Power has reached the Quasi-Soul Grandmaster level too. Once you obtain your second soul ring, you'll fully become a Soul Grandmaster."
Huo Tian raised a hand and pinched Huo Yutong's fair cheek. Huo Yutong suddenly puffed out her cheeks, looking utterly adorable.
Huo Tian had never expected Huo Yutong's cultivation to rise two levels while he was in seclusion for just two days. It truly left him marveling.
After all, the Golden Ancient Tree had released its own origin energy for Huo Yutong to cultivate with over those two days. It would have been strange if she hadn't advanced two levels.
"Teacher."
Holding Huo Yutong in his arms, Huo Tian stepped out of the secluded chamber and spotted Mu En sitting in his wheelchair, holding a yellowed ancient book.
Huo Tian quietly approached the wheelchair. Mu En put the ancient book back into his Soul Tool Ring, raised his head, and looked at Huo Tian with his deep eyes.
"Not bad, Xiaotian. You've grown quite a bit stronger again."
Mu En raised a hand and pressed it against the meridians in Huo Tian's right hand, releasing Soul Power to examine the condition inside his body. He discovered that the reserves of Soul Power in Huo Tian's dantian were frighteningly vast.
Mu En frowned. The Soul Power inside Huo Tian, a mere Quasi-Soul Douluo, was actually more abundant than that of a Titled Douluo with a Soul Core. It was truly unheard of.
Huo Yutong sprang up out of Huo Tian's arms. She felt Soul Power radiating around Huo Tian as the aura of Evil Fire erupted from within his body.
Unable to bear the heat, Huo Yutong jumped down.
"Teacher, let me show you something."
Huo Tian strode away from the two of them. With a thought, the Vermilion Bird Bone Armor on his body automatically fused together, and waves of scorching flames rose and burned.
Mu En immediately released Soul Power to shield Huo Yutong, who stared at the Vermilion Bird Bone Armor on Huo Tian in shock.
Crimson armor encased Huo Tian's entire body. Every movement produced the clanking of armor, echoing through the silent space.
Huo Tian's entire bearing had changed drastically. Even without releasing his Martial Soul, the pressure emanating from him was more than an ordinary person could withstand.
"This... this is..."
Mu En pressed his trembling hands against the bone armor. It was his first time seeing such a thing, and he could not conceal the excitement on his face. He could sense very clearly that Huo Tian's current strength could fully rival that of a rank-95 Super Douluo.
"This is Soul Bone Armor. After I fused with six Soul Bones, they resonated with one another and eventually gave rise to this suit of bone armor."
"My individual strength can now rival a rank-95 Super Douluo."
Huo Tian's laughter carried through his helmet. Mu En was too shocked to speak and merely stroked the suit of armor in silence.
"This is the first time in my life I've seen bone armor emerge after someone fused with Soul Bones. If every Soul Master had bone armor, their overall strength would rise tremendously."
Mu En lowered the hands he had pressed against the armor and began to ponder. Huo Tian ceased willing it, and the Vermilion Bird Bone Armor on his body dissipated into the air.
Huo Tian told Mu En his three conjectures about how the bone armor had come into being. Mu En listened silently and committed all of Huo Tian's conjectures firmly to memory.
Mu En thought that if Huo Tian's conjectures were correct, perhaps Shrek Academy could conduct experiments along the lines Huo Tian had proposed. It would be wonderful if they actually succeeded.
Then Shrek Academy's overall strength would rise across the board. Perhaps future Titled Douluos would be able to fight Super Douluos after fusing with bone armor.
Not everyone was a monster like Huo Tian. The fact that Huo Tian could take on a Super Douluo alone after fusing with the Vermilion Bird Bone Armor did not mean everyone else could do the same.
Even before fusing with the bone armor, Huo Tian had been capable of holding his own against a Titled Douluo for dozens of exchanges. Now, an ordinary Titled Douluo facing Huo Tian would simply be seeking death.
Mu En felt that a Titled Douluo being able to contend with a Super Douluo while wearing bone armor would already be remarkable. After all, beyond the Titled Douluo threshold, every single rank meant a difference in Soul Power reserves.
"Xiaotian, wheel me to the first floor of the Sea God Pavilion!"
Mu En immediately raised his head to look at Huo Tian. This was no small matter. A Sea God Pavilion assembly had to be convened at once, and he could also have Huo Tian take up the post of vice dean of the Martial Soul Department.
Huo Tian immediately pushed Mu En's wheelchair toward the first floor of the Sea God Pavilion, with Huo Yutong following closely behind on her short little legs.
Mu En used his Soul Power to transmit his voice over a vast area, covering all of Shrek Academy. Upon receiving the message, Shrek Academy's Sea God Pavilion Elders hurried over without pause.
Huo Tian, Mu En, and Huo Yutong had arrived on the first floor of the Sea God Pavilion. A familiar figure was lying on the conference table there.
Xuan Zi was fast asleep on the conference table, a chicken carcass in his right hand and a wine flask in his left. All the wine in the flask had spilled onto the table.
Mu En covered his aged face, speechless at the sight. A transparent fist materialized in front of him and struck toward Xuan Zi's body.
"Ow!"
A lump swelled on Xuan Zi's head. With a shriek, he sprang up from the conference table and looked around to see who had disturbed his sleep.
"M-Mu En..."
Xuan Zi immediately jumped down to the floor and took out a handkerchief to wipe the wine off the conference table. His face was truly filled with terror. If he angered Mu En, another savage beating would be unavoidable.
"Honestly! I told you to drink less, but you just won't listen..."
A cane appeared out of thin air in Mu En's hand. Leaning on it, he carefully rose from his wheelchair, and Huo Tian immediately stepped forward to support him.
Mu En struck his cane heavily against the floor, and the sound made Xuan Zi's heart tighten.
Over the past few years, Mu En had grown increasingly disappointed in Xuan Zi, particularly over the matter of causing Shrek Academy students' deaths.
Mu En did not dare truly lose his temper with Xuan Zi either, because Shrek Academy still relied on him to uphold part of its standing. If only Mu En were not injured...
Xuan Zi rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. He tossed the chicken carcass into the trash and immediately hid his wine flask.
Xuan Zi also knew that Mu En forbade him from drinking for his own good, but if he did not get himself drunk, he could not sleep well.
Ever since that incident, Xuan Zi had lived with guilt every day, yet he still stubbornly refused to change and kept drinking.
Xuan Zi truly lived up to being the Holy Spirit Cult's grand elder, known as Chicken Leg Douluo.
Mu En sat upright at the head of the conference table, set down his cane, and looked sternly at Xuan Zi, who had already seated himself quietly in the second chair at the table.
As time passed, the Sea God Pavilion Elders arrived one after another. Yan Shaozhe was the last to arrive, and he was panting when he came in.
The atmosphere throughout the first floor of the Sea God Pavilion became thoroughly solemn. Huo Tian brought over a chair and sat upright behind Mu En, while Huo Yutong eagerly climbed into his arms.
The conference table was now divided into two factions, the Martial Soul Department and the Soul Tool Department, seated upright on its left and right sides respectively.
"Ahem..."
"I've convened this Sea God Pavilion assembly because I have something important to announce."
Mu En braced both hands on the conference table, firmly propped up his chin, and looked solemnly at the seated elders.