Flender of Suotuo City

Heaven Dou Empire!

On the official road beyond Jialing Pass!

A carriage was traveling south from the north.

Li Jin was inside the carriage, sitting on a cushion with a piece of Ice Extreme Divine Crystal in his hands. The Snow Maiden floated beside him, releasing Soul Power of Ultimate Ice.

The temperature around them plunged to its lowest point, but the Snow Maiden's exquisite control confined the drop to the inside of the carriage. Outside, the temperature remained unchanged.

As the Soul Power of Ultimate Ice seeped into the Ice Extreme Divine Crystal, the crystal gradually began to soften.

Li Jin smiled at the sight and praised her:

"You did great, Snow Maiden!"

The Snow Maiden smiled at his praise. She looked so adorable it was enough to make someone's nose bleed.

"Yay! Big brother praised me!"

The Ice Empress, sitting nearby, watched with envy. It was hard to tell whether she envied the Snow Maiden or Li Jin.

Then Li Jin's expression sharpened, and a glint flashed in his eyes.

"First Soul Skill, Spiritual Detection!"

"First Soul Skill, Spiritual Telekinesis!"

Waves of spiritual fluctuations spread outward.

Through Spiritual Detection, Li Jin communicated with the Ice Spirits in the Ice Extreme Divine Crystal and gained their approval.

Then he used Spiritual Telekinesis to reshape the crystal. The Soul Power of Ultimate Ice had softened it, and the Ice Spirits within it had accepted Li Jin, offering no resistance to the reshaping.

The originally irregular crystal changed shape bit by bit in his hand, growing longer and more slender until it stretched to fifty centimeters. Thick in the middle and pointed at both ends, it took on a three-edged shape. Its tips bore not only barbs but also blood grooves that made the heart turn cold.

Just imagining a three-edged ice spike like that piercing one's body was enough to send a chill down the spine.

"Done!"

Li Jin spoke happily.

He gripped the middle of the three-edged ice spike. The cold sensation against his palm told him just what a deadly weapon it was!

Driven by Spiritual Telekinesis, within a certain range, it could kill any person or beast that stood in its way.

Seeing how much attention Li Jin lavished on the ice spike, the Ice Empress put on a haughty expression and swung her little feet, her eyes full of disdain for it.

"It's nothing special!"

"That ice spike you made can't even break through this empress's defenses. With this empress protecting you from now on, why are you paying it so much attention?"

Li Jin put the three-edged ice spike away and took out another piece of Ice Extreme Divine Crystal. Smiling, he said:

"Just because it can't break through your defenses now doesn't mean it won't be able to later. Ice Extreme Divine Crystal is indestructible. How powerful it can be depends entirely on my Spiritual Telekinesis."

"Once my spiritual power rises further, you won't be protecting me anymore. I'll be protecting you."

The Ice Empress clicked her tongue, but her gaze softened noticeably.

"Who needs your protection?!"

"I'm the Ice Empress, one of the Three Great Heavenly Kings of the Far North! The day will never come when a mere human like you has to protect me!"

"Li Jin, take out another piece of Ice Extreme Divine Crystal. I have Soul Power of Ultimate Ice too. I can help you soften it."

Li Jin gave the Ice Empress a long look, then took out another piece of Ice Extreme Divine Crystal and handed it to her.

"Then I'm counting on you, Bingbing."

Delighted, the Ice Empress took the Ice Extreme Divine Crystal and infused it with Soul Power of Ultimate Ice.

"Just watch me."

The Snow Maiden and the Ice Empress worked together to soften the Ice Extreme Divine Crystal for Li Jin, leaving him responsible only for shaping it.

During their journey south, Li Jin reshaped all the Ice Extreme Divine Crystal, turning it into another major trump card.

Their final destination was the Star Dou Great Forest. Li Jin wanted to obtain a Third Soul Ring there for his Koi Martial Soul.

On the way, they passed through the Lima Plain in the Balak Kingdom.

Li Jin gazed through the window at the boundless plain, and a thought struck him: Shrek Academy in Suotuo City.

He had no interest in Shrek Academy itself, of course.

But he remembered that Flender had opened a general store in Suotuo City to help cover the academy's daily expenses.

In that store was a piece of Plate Crystal Hair Gold, which contained naturally formed golden threads.

It was the material used to make Dragon Whisker Needles.

Dragon Whisker Needles were tough and springy, with an armor-piercing effect. Once they entered an enemy's body, they rapidly curled up, raising a large lump beneath the skin.

They could subject a person to unbearable agony!

Without a special technique to retrieve a Dragon Whisker Needle, the only option was to carve out the entire piece of flesh it had entered.

For Li Jin, the destructive power of the Dragon Whisker Needles certainly couldn't compare with that of his three-edged ice spike.

But when it came to tormenting people, the Dragon Whisker Needles were even better.

Since he was already here, he might as well.

He would pocket the Plate Crystal Hair Gold too.

Although he didn't know any Hidden Weapon techniques, he had Spiritual Telekinesis.

He could use the Dragon Whisker Needles more stealthily, more dangerously, and more unpredictably.

"Suotuo City is just ahead. We'll rest there for the night and set out for the Star Dou Great Forest tomorrow."

Suotuo City!

A dilapidated general store!

Flender, who had a long, narrow face and wore a pair of rigid black-framed glasses, sat in a reclining chair behind the counter. Dressed in a gray cloth robe, he frowned deeply, his face full of worry.

He raised a hand and pressed hard between his brows.

"Sigh! The academy's last two students went Soul Hunting with Old Zhao. One was killed, and the other was crippled."

"What trash. They were only hunting a Soul Beast, yet somehow one ended up dead and the other crippled. Trash like that doesn't deserve to be students of Shrek Academy."

"But without those last two students and their tuition fees, the academy has no income at all. Business at this store is poor too. It's really worrying."

"I still miss the days when Xiaogang, Erlong, and I roamed the Soul Master World together. How carefree we were! Now Shrek Academy has tied my hands and feet. I've worried myself sick trying to nurture outstanding Soul Masters for the Soul Master World, but unfortunately, hardly any of that trash amounted to anything."

Flender opened his eyes, a crafty glint flashing in them.

"Since there are no students at the academy now, I'll take the initiative and visit every village, large and small, around Suotuo City."

"They're all commoners, but a true phoenix might still rise from among them. Even if their talent is a little lacking, as long as I train them, they can collect subsidies from Spirit Hall once they become Soul Masters. That'll bring the academy at least some income, so we won't be sitting here eating our way through our savings like we are now."

Just then!

The general store's old wooden door creaked.

Flender narrowed his eyes and looked toward the entrance, facing the sunlight.

Three figures stood there.

One was a youth dressed in red. Though his face was still young, he was unbelievably handsome, with exquisitely delicate features and fair skin that gleamed like jade. He looked like an exquisite porcelain doll.

In his arms was a little girl dressed in blue. She appeared to be only about three, yet she lacked the innocence and unawareness of ordinary children and possessed a spiritual charm born of heaven and earth.

Another little girl followed beside him, her hair tied in twin tails and her hands planted on her hips. She wore a verdant green dress, and her brows and eyes showed a proud air. She carried herself with a swagger that declared, I'm the greatest under heaven.

Flender's instincts as a profiteer kicked in. Judging by their looks, bearing, and clothes, the three were plainly young masters and misses from a noble family.

These people weren't short of money!

They were fat sheep he couldn't afford to miss!

Shrek Academy was nearly out of food. If he didn't fleece them properly, he wouldn't be Four-Eyed Cat Owl Flender.