The morning mist lay heavy over Shrek Academy, blanketing the stone-paved courtyard in silver shrouds. Shadows stretched long beneath the faint, amber glow of the lanterns still burning on the training pillars.
Li Wei stood alone in the stillness, the silence broken only by the rhythmic tap of his boots against the damp stone and the gentle rustling of his coat as he moved. Each motion was precise, honed, like a blade being sharpened in silence.
His left hand drew a slow arc through the air, the Diendriver gripped in reverse, while his right palm pressed forward in a stabilizing form. He shifted his stance. Turned. Stepped. Pivoted. Every movement flowed into the next with surgical elegance. He was not simply practicing forms—he was embedding intent into every gesture.
Without a word, a second presence stepped into the courtyard.
Zhu Zhuqing.
Her footfalls were as soft as the mist, her breath even as she approached. She wore a black training outfit that fit her like a second skin, the Hell Civet aura faintly pulsing in the cold air. She watched his routine without interrupting, eyes tracking the invisible rhythm he carved through the fog.
Then she raised her hand.
"One round," she said, voice low but firm.
Li Wei halted mid-step and turned. Their eyes met. No words were needed. He gave a small nod.
They faced off in the center of the courtyard, ten paces apart.
Zhu Zhuqing moved first—fast and low, her figure nearly vanishing into the mist. Li Wei foot slid half a step to the left, avoiding the first strike with a narrow sway. His counter was a whip-quick jab with the side of the Diendriver, blocked by her gauntlet.
The exchange turned into a flurry. A crescent kick from Zhu Zhuqing grazed Li Wei ribs. He dropped low, sweeping her leg, but she twisted mid-air and flipped, landing silently behind him. He spun, parried her double strike with crossed arms, then launched a short-range pulse of spiritual pressure that forced her back three paces.
They broke apart. Both were breathing evenly, sweat not yet formed. The mist between them had thinned, scattered by their movement.
She smiled faintly.
"You've gotten faster," he said.
"You've gotten quieter," she replied.
They bowed, the spar ending without a clear victor. But both knew—this was not a fight for dominance, but a measure of growth.
__________________
Later that morning, the western training field roared to life as Team Two entered their combat simulation.
The mimicry array had transformed the open area into a rugged, mist-choked canyon, jagged rocks lining both flanks. Li Wei stood on a rocky outcrop above, arms folded, watching the four girls move into position.
"Begin."
Zhu Zhuqing vanished into the shadows, her figure splitting into two illusionary images. Meng Yiran dashed up the right flank, her Serpent Cane whistling through the air in a controlled spiral. Xiao Wu darted through the narrow central pass, teleporting between boulders and releasing dummies from hidden triggers.
"Now!" Li Wei called.
From behind a rock formation, Ning Rongrong raised her Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda. "Agility boost, Zhuqing! Strength boost, Yiran!" she called, her voice ringing with focus.
Golden light wrapped around her teammates just as they launched a synchronized assault on the target dummies embedded into the stone walls. With swift efficiency, the team cleared the field within seconds.
They regrouped as the terrain faded back to normal.
"Well-coordinated," Li Wei said. "But Yiran, watch your follow-through. Your third strike left a half-second gap."
Meng Yiran grimaced. "Understood."
"Xiao Wu, you're anticipating movement too early. React, don't guess."
She pouted but nodded. "Yes, yes, mister ghost coach."
Li Wei turned to Ning Rongrong. "Barrier deployment is faster. Good work."
She beamed under the praise, her eyes flicking toward him before looking away quickly.
Zhu Zhuqing said nothing, but her gaze lingered on him. As always.
_________________
By late afternoon, a meeting had been called in the central hall. Flender, Zhao Wuji, Yu Xiaogang, and the senior students gathered around the circular table. Two sides faced each other—Team One and Team Two.
Flender spoke first. "As of this semester, we'll divide our practical training into two lines. Team One will spearhead early engagements, focusing on tactical initiative and pressure. Team Two will operate as the primary core under extended conditions."
Dai Mubai frowned. "So…we're the vanguard? Disposable frontline?"
Flender shook his head. "Not disposable. But we need to test formation integrity. You four have the experience."
Yu Xiaogang interjected, tone rigid. "Why not rotate? Why assign Team Two a core role without trials?"
Li Wei answered calmly. "Because they've already begun coordination drills under live-fire simulations."
Tang San leaned forward. "Behind our backs?"
"No," Li Wei replied. "Alongside your absence."
The meaning wasn't lost on Tang San, who narrowed his eyes but said nothing.
Dai Mubai scoffed. "So we get to blaze the trail while the 'hidden core' polishes their boots behind the lines."
"No one's polishing anything," Meng Yiran said coldly. "Try keeping up."
"One more thing is that you guys from team one are too weak." Li Wei give a look toward all team one member. "We of team two already have the strongest at Soul King and weakest Soul Elder, but you from team one strongest Soul Elder and weakest Soul Grandmaster."
Oscar and Ma Hongjun exchanged glances but stayed quiet. The tension in the room was palpable, thick as iron dust.
Flender clapped his hands. "Enough. These aren't tournament rosters. This is training. Treat it like one."
But none left the room with settled hearts.
__________________
Night fell gently over Shrek Academy.
Inside his private quarters, lit only by a soft spirit lamp, Li Wei opened a black case and placed four jade boxes on the low table. Each was small, no larger than a palm, sealed with thin talismans.
He picked up a brush and wrote in calligraphy on each lid:
[Zhu Zhuqing – Moonshadow Lotus]
[Ning Rongrong – Beautiful Silk Tulip]
[Xiao Wu – Yearning Heartbroken Red]
[Meng Yiran – Thousand Snake Ginseng]
He didn't need toward each of them as he already said to them to come to his room as he need to give something that can increase their strength. Each girl came by on her own.
Zhu Zhuqing arrived first.
"This is the Moonshadow Lotus." He lifted a silver-blue flower that shimmered like moonlight, its petals dancing with a soft pulse. "It was born in places where moonlight touches still water. When consumed, it will greatly enhance your body control, reaction speed, and flexibility—especially in short, intense bursts. For someone like you, whose style relies on speed and precision, it will sharpen everything."
Ning Rongrong entered next, eyes wide as she opened the lid and gasped at the soft green glow within. "You… picked this for me?"
"This is the Beautiful Silk Tulip." The flower was impossibly elegant—vibrant gold and pink threads curling from its center like woven sunlight. "It's a king among grasses." He did not said that this herb will evolve her martial spirit into Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda. He did not want her to be shock.
"I'll… treasure it." She smiled, small and sincere.
Xiao Wu was next. She hopped in as usual, arms behind her back, and peeked over his shoulder at the remaining boxes. "Let me guess. Mine the pretty red one."
"The Yearning Heartbroken Red."
Xiao Wu's teasing stopped. Her body stiffened. The aura of the flower pressed down on her like a wave.
"It's one of the kings of all immortal herbs," Li Wei said. "Even among rare flowers, this one rules. Its restorative effects are unparalleled. It can rebuild broken bodies. Resurrect the dead. It carries within it a kind of unmatched emotional resonance—said to bloom only in the presence of deep, unwavering love."
The air grew quiet.
No one said anything.
Li Wei break the silence. "Try to put a drop of your blood on it. This one will try to find its own master."
Hearing that Xiao Wu then put a drop of blood on it. First she think about Tang San the brothers that has been with her for a long time but the image then change to someone else. The image of Li Wei.
She remember the first times that they met, the time when he found out about her secret and she found out about his secret. The time where they fight together. The time where he was hurt and disappear somewhere when am old man take him. The time when his coming back. The time when stand in front of the pressure of Soul Douluo.
Then at this time, she realizes that rather than being together with Tang San, she want to be with Li Wei more. She also realized that she is in love with Li Wei. And she fall over him quite hard.
The branch that cover the herb then disappear and the Yearning Heartbroken Red then give an aura stronger than before and that aura then dissipate.
"Do I need to consume it?" Xiao Wu ask as she felt that it will be a pity as she want it to be by her side.
Hearing this Li Wei then answer. "You do not need to consume it. For you, Xiao Wu, the biggest role was that this herb will protect your Spirit Beast aura that even a Limit Title Douluo will not be able to sense it.
Xiao Wu felt quite shock when she heard it. This will make she able to stand beside Li Wei longer and might be until adulthood.
When her thought reach there, her face turn red. Then she closed it quickly, her face suddenly unreadable.
"Thanks," she said, eyes averting his. "You always do more than we know."
Lastly, Meng Yiran arrived. She saluted. "I… didn't expect this."
Li Wei chuckled and pulled out a herb with pale violet stalks and slender, snakelike roots that coiled around each other. "The Thousand Snake Ginseng. A rare evolution herb for poison-affinity Spirit Masters. It will heighten your poison resistance, strengthen your internal detoxification, and deepen your soul compatibility with serpentine spirits."
She took it in silence, but her eyes sparkled with challenge. "Now Tang San won't be the only one with poison skills worth fearing."
"You earned it," he said, handing the last box over.
She bowed her head, clutched the box in both hands, and left without another word.
_______________
Far above, on the roof of the main hall, Li Wei sat with one leg pulled to his chest, gazing at the moon through the drifting clouds.
He could feel the shift. The subtle divergence in paths. Jealousy. Silence. Affection. Rivalry. Bonds deepening and cracking all at once.
But that was fine.
They didn't need to understand everything now. He didn't ask to be liked. Only to guide them, quietly, until the time came for them to shine on their own.
He took out a spirit pen and notebook, noting today's training data, then paused.
A thought crossed his mind, soft as wind:
The blade makes no sound until it cuts. Let them be the roar. I'll remain the silence beneath it.
The lantern flickered behind him as night deepened, and Li Wei closed his eyes, alone with the stars.