"No, I haven't seen that 350,000-year-old Soul Beast on Flame Island."
"After returning to Shrek, I also searched every book in the library, but found no records about it."
Mu En stroked his beard in thought. In all his years, what kind of Soul Beast hadn't he seen?
"But that Soul Beast did look a little like Xiaotian's Martial Soul..."
Mu En tried hard to recall the Soul Beast's appearance, then turned toward Huo Tian, who stood quietly to one side.
Huo Tian scratched his cheek, at a loss. He was curious, too, that there were actually two Soul Beasts suited to his Martial Soul on a single island.
That was far too much of a coincidence. Could an invisible hand be manipulating the Douluo Plane? Huo Tian dared not think any deeper.
Huo Yutong stood on tiptoe to look at the map above the conference table, marveling at how big it was. Then she quietly sat cross-legged to one side and circulated the Soul Power in her body to cultivate.
"It might be a descendant of some ancient variant. It's normal not to have seen it before. As long as it suits Xiaotian's Martial Soul, isn't that enough?"
Xuan Zi yawned lazily at the side, a wine gourd in his hand and a chicken leg between his teeth.
"No time to lose. Hurry up and set off. The sooner you leave, the sooner you'll return."
After giving a few instructions, Mu En slowly headed toward the Sea God Pavilion's stairs. Only four people remained on the first floor.
"Xiaotian, I see your disciple has reached the Quasi-Soul Grandmaster level, too. We might as well take her along and help her obtain a Soul Ring."
Yan Shaozhe strode over to Huo Yutong and released his Soul Power to examine her. He discovered that light elements were constantly gathering around her, as though the entire Golden Ancient Tree were supplying her with energy.
"Your disciple can even resonate with the Golden Ancient Tree. That's a first in ten thousand years."
"If she were your disciple, I'd want to take her as my second disciple."
Yan Shaozhe felt a little regretful. His Martial Soul was the bright phoenix, which inherently contained light elements, while Huo Yutong's Martial Soul was the holy light spirit eyes. She was just right to be his disciple.
"Shoo, shoo! Don't get any ideas about my precious disciple."
Huo Tian immediately came over to Huo Yutong and grumbled a few words. She was the genius disciple he had painstakingly raised, and no one else was going to set their sights on her.
"Hmm?"
Their voices interrupted Huo Yutong's cultivation. She opened her hazy eyes and looked at the two before her in confusion.
Noticing that Yan Shaozhe kept looking her up and down, Huo Yutong scurried behind Huo Tian to hide.
Huo Yutong felt there was something wrong with this strange uncle. That look in his eyes seemed ready to swallow her alive and flay her.
"Senior brother, that look in your eyes..."
Huo Tian folded his arms and stared speechlessly at Yan Shaozhe, who gave two awkward coughs.
If Yan Shaozhe knew that Huo Yutong's cultivation had only been at rank 8 a year ago, and that her Martial Soul had been ordinary spirit eyes, would he still want to take her as a disciple?
Everyone had a side that applied double standards, let alone a hypocrite like Yan Shaozhe in the original story. There was no need to even mention the extent of his double standards.
After all, Shrek Academy in the original story had been full of double standards. Only its students could hit others; others couldn't hit its students.
When it came to double standards, if Shrek Academy called itself second on the Douluo Continent, no one would dare claim first.
"Let's go. Time is short."
Xuan Zi immediately leaped up from the conference table, lazily stretched his whole body, and strode out of the Sea God Pavilion.
Yan Shaozhe immediately followed. Once both Xuan Zi and Yan Shaozhe had left the Sea God Pavilion, Huo Tian took Huo Yutong's hand and followed close behind.
On Sea God Island, three streaks of differently colored light soared into the sky, streaking like three meteors across the outer court and away from Shrek.
Huo Tian had now returned to his Vermilion Bird form. Huo Yutong lay lazily on her back atop him, gazing at the azure sky with bright eyes.
"Xiaotian, I didn't expect your Martial Soul to have this trick, too."
Xuan Zi flew through the air, releasing his Soul Power to continue examining the Vermilion Bird before him. He actually had no trace of a human aura.
Yan Shaozhe found it inconceivable as well. Even when he used his Martial Soul Avatar, he was still human.
If Xuan Zi and Yan Shaozhe hadn't both known that the Vermilion Bird before them was Huo Tian, they really might have mistaken him for a Soul Beast.
The Vermilion Bird Soul Beast Huo Tian had transformed into had overall strength equivalent to 500,000 years of cultivation. Ever since he had fused with six Soul Bones, the human aura on him had gradually diminished.
"Maybe it's because I fused with six Soul Bones?"
The Vermilion Bird suddenly opened his mouth and spoke in a human voice, waves of evil fire radiating from his entire body.
The three flew for ten hours before finally crossing the entire Star Dou Great Forest and entering the territory of the Star Dou Empire.
"How strange. Why is a Soul Beast mingling with humans?"
At that moment, Di Tian hovered above the Star Dou Great Forest, staring in confusion at the three distant streaks of light.
When Huo Tian had just passed through, the pressure from his body had spread involuntarily, leaving many Soul Beasts trembling.
After sensing this unusual pressure of energy, Di Tian had immediately rushed over.
Di Tian lingered no longer and turned back toward the Lake of Life, secretly hoping that Soul Beasts really could coexist peacefully with humans.
After flying for a day and a night, the three finally neared the Star Luo Empire's coastal region. On the way, they had also been intercepted by people from the Star Luo Empire's Offering Hall.
In the end, once the people from the Offering Hall learned that they were only passing through, they stopped obstructing them, and the three smoothly crossed the entire Star Dou Empire.
Throughout the journey, Huo Tian had also thought so hard about Huo Yutong's second Soul Ring and second Martial Soul that his scalp tingled.
Huo Yutong's Martial Soul, the holy light spirit eyes, now had three attributes. Two had come from its evolution, while one was innate.
"Tian Meng, do you think Little Yutong's second Soul Ring should come from a pure mental-type Soul Beast, or..."
Huo Tian sent out his thoughts to contact the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm inside Huo Yutong, instantly startling the dozing Sky Dream Ice Silkworm awake.
"The way I see it, Little Yutong's Martial Soul already contains both ultimate light and ultimate holiness, but its mental attribute is weak as hell."
"So choose a mental-type Soul Beast for her second Martial Soul. I'd recommend a sky silkworm."
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm explained the ring configuration he had planned long ago to Huo Tian, who considered it silently.
"That works, too. Little Yutong, what do you think?"
"Anything's fine. I'll listen to Master."
Huo Yutong didn't want to think too much about it and rolled around on the Vermilion Bird's feathers. She trusted Huo Tian completely, because she believed whatever her master said was right.
"I've reserved an empty slot for Little Yutong's second Martial Soul, but her second Martial Soul has to be ice-attributed."
"I think Little Yutong should have the Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion as her second Martial Soul..."
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm spoke with a slightly guilty conscience. He had his own plans, too. Huo Tian did not respond.
Huo Tian felt that choosing the Snow Empress or the Ice Dragon King would be better for Huo Yutong's second Martial Soul. The divine senses of the Ice and Fire Twin Dragon Kings had remained at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well all along.
The best choice for her second Martial Soul would be the Ice Dragon King, with the Ice Empress and Snow Empress serving as Soul Spirits for it. Nothing could be more suitable.