When the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm heard Huo Yuhao ask for his opinion, his mind raced.
Mu Sheng had just pulled Qian Renxue aside for a private whisper, and now he insisted that she take Huo Yuhao in. Wasn't it obvious this was Mu Sheng's arrangement?
Although Qian Renxue's "that's wonderful" still rubbed him the wrong way, he couldn't deny Mu Sheng this favor.
"Agree to it," the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm said decisively. "This should be Mu Sheng's arrangement. You can't go wrong trusting him."
With a definite answer, Huo Yuhao nodded to Qian Renxue. "Sister Xue, I agree. I'm willing to join the Heavenly Saint Sect."
A genuine smile finally appeared on Qian Renxue's face. First, she raised an eyebrow at Mu Sheng,
her meaning plain as day: See? I did it.
Only then did she turn to Huo Yuhao. "Good! From today onward, you're a disciple of my Heavenly Saint Sect!"
As Mu Sheng watched, he was a little speechless at the name "Heavenly Saint Sect."
Heavenly Saint Sect did sound impressive, but it was obvious Qian Renxue had come up with it based on her Angel Martial Soul and his Shendu Martial Soul. Was this woman planning to make him her backer behind the scenes?
But none of that mattered. What mattered was that Huo Yuhao had joined Qian Renxue's sect, and there hadn't been the slightest stir from Tang San.
By rights, after Huo Yuhao had been snatched away, Tian Meng had sacrificed himself, Electrolux had been taken in, and Qian Renxue had founded a sect and taken on a disciple, there was no way Tang San, as a God Realm Enforcer, wouldn't have reacted at all.
Yet the Divine Realm was dead quiet. It hadn't so much as let out a fart.
Mu Sheng strongly suspected that the connection between the Divine Realm and the Douluo Continent had most likely been disrupted by the "variable" that was Qian Renxue.
Still, to be safe, he decided to take Qian Renxue back to Shrek and test things again using Wang Dong.
If Tang San couldn't even spare any attention for Wang Dong, that would all but confirm that the Divine Realm couldn't reach them for the time being.
Mu Sheng pulled himself from his thoughts and said to the others, "I'm going with Tang Ya to obtain Soul Rings. Do you want to come along?"
Qian Renxue answered at once, "I'm coming."
She had plenty of reasons. For one, she was already a Peak Soul King and needed a Soul Ring to break through to Soul Emperor;
for another, she had to follow Mu Sheng and make him keep his promise to help her get a Wisdom Soul Ring. If she let him run off, who would she ask for one?
Seeing that the sect master he had just acknowledged was going along, Huo Yuhao felt that he, a newly admitted disciple, had no real reason to stay behind either. He had no choice but to follow obediently.
The group headed deeper into the Star Dou Great Forest.
Mu Sheng walked in front with Tang Ya holding his arm, the two of them behaving as though they were strolling through their own back garden,
looking this way and that, occasionally stopping to comment on which trees looked pleasing to the eye.
Qian Renxue followed behind, and the more she watched, the more something seemed off. Weren't these two far too relaxed and casual about the Star Dou Great Forest?
This was the Star Dou Great Forest, where Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts roamed!
Qian Renxue couldn't help asking, "Tang Ya, are you getting a Soul Ring too? What's your current cultivation level?"
Tang Ya glanced back at her and answered casually, "I'm currently at the peak of Soul Elder. I came this time to break through to Soul Ancestor."
Huo Yuhao, listening nearby, was stunned. The peak of Soul Elder?
Sister Tang Ya, who looked only a year or two older than him, was actually at the peak of Soul Elder?
He couldn't help giving Tang Ya a couple more looks, secretly clicking his tongue in amazement.
People in the Douluo I world and the Douluo II animation world were startled as well.
"The peak of Soul Elder? This Tang Ya isn't that old, is she? How can she be so talented?"
"It's one thing for Mu Sheng to be a freak, but even his girlfriend is this formidable?"
In the Sea God Pavilion, Tang Ya was sitting beside Bei Bei and watching the sky screen. When she heard the "Tang Ya" on the screen say she was at the peak of Soul Elder, she froze.
She herself had only just broken through to Soul Elder!
The Tang Ya on the sky screen was a whole cultivation realm above her!
She immediately grew depressed.
Bei Bei glanced at her and pointed at the sky screen. "Xiao Ya, this Tang Ya cultivates so quickly? Could her Martial Soul be different from yours?"
When Tang Ya heard that, she thought, That's right!
She isn't even another me, so why am I depressed?
She perked right back up and said with perfect confidence, "She isn't me, so of course her Martial Soul is different from mine!"
Bei Bei's mouth twitched, but he said nothing more.
In the sky screen's image, Qian Renxue heard that Tang Ya was at the peak of Soul Elder and quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
Good, good. At least she isn't a freakish monster on Mu Sheng's level. The peak of Soul Elder shows decent talent, but at least it's still within the range a normal person can understand.
So she pressed on, "Then how many years old a Soul Ring are you planning to obtain?"
Without looking back, Tang Ya said, "Brother Mu said I can withstand a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring, so I'm planning to get a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast this time."
Qian Renxue stopped short and nearly tripped over a tree root.
A Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring? For her fourth ring?
An ordinary Soul Master does well to withstand a Thousand-Year Soul Ring for their fourth, and you're going straight for a ten-thousand-year one?
She couldn't help asking, "What's your Martial Soul?"
Tang Ya puffed out her chest, looking immensely proud. "My Martial Soul is Blue Silver Grass."
Qian Renxue froze for two seconds. "...Blue Silver Grass? Isn't that a Trash Martial Soul?"
Tang Ya was displeased at once. She turned and glared at Qian Renxue, thinking how ignorant she was.
"Ordinary Blue Silver Grass is indeed a Trash Martial Soul, but mine isn't ordinary Blue Silver Grass. Mine is mutated Blue Silver Grass, just like Sea God Tang San's. Mine is Dark Blue Silver Grass."
In the Douluo II animation world, Tang Ya, sitting in the Sea God Pavilion, heard the words "Dark Blue Silver Grass" and stared wide-eyed at the sky screen, her thoughts churning like rivers and seas.
Her Martial Soul was exactly the same as that Tang Ya's on the sky screen!
Dark Blue Silver Grass!
Didn't that mean the Tang Ya on the sky screen really was another her?
If she evolved her Martial Soul into Dark Blue Silver Grass too, could she also advance by leaps and bounds like the one on the sky screen?
Tang Ya clenched her fists, and her eyes lit up at once.
In the sky screen's image, Qian Renxue looked puzzled. "Blue Silver Grass can evolve? What is Dark Blue Silver Grass? From the name, it sounds a bit like a Wicked Martial Soul."
Tang Ya nodded, her tone perfectly open. "That's right. Mine is a Wicked Martial Soul."
Qian Renxue was even more puzzled. "Aren't people with Evil Martial Souls branded Evil Soul Masters and then hunted down?"
Tang Ya smiled, a touch of emotion in her voice. "That's all thanks to Brother Mu Sheng."
Tang Ya looked at Mu Sheng, her eyes full of trust and admiration,
"When my Martial Soul evolved into Dark Blue Silver Grass, I thought I was finished. I was sure Shrek would abandon me.
"But to my surprise, Brother Mu Sheng protected me. He also said it wasn't our fault that we had awakened Wicked Martial Souls, and that as long as we hadn't committed cruel or immoral acts, we had the right to live.
"After that, under Brother Mu Sheng's lead, Shrek Academy also began gradually accepting Wicked Soul Masters who hadn't committed cruel or immoral acts."
"Brother Mu Sheng is simply my god!"