Shrek Academy, Outer Court.
With an odd expression, Du Weilun knocked on the office door of Yan Shaozhe.
"Headmaster, I've got some news you should hear."
"Is that you, Weilun? Come in."
The door opened automatically. Yan Shaozhe didn't even lift his head, eyes fixed on the document in his hands, brow furrowed.
"Yes, sir."
Du Weilun entered, pulling out a sealed intelligence slip.
"Headmaster, our informants in Xuanming City just sent word. Not long ago, the third young master of the Xuanming Clan, Xu Tianxi, left home along with an old servant. Oddly enough, this incident didn't cause much of a stir within the clan."
"Xu Tianxi? The same brat I had you keep an eye on two years ago—the half-brother of Xu Sanshi?"
Yan Shaozhe finally looked up, quickly recalling who Xu Tianxi was.
A wild, arrogant little runt who didn't know his place.
Du Weilun nodded. "That's him. The report says that for the past two years, Xu Tianxi has kept to himself in the clan, only frequenting the library, never socializing with his peers or elders. He's extremely withdrawn.
His only companions were an old servant left behind by his mother and a young page the clan assigned him. No one else seemed close to him. The one who left with him was that old servant."
"Because he had so little presence in the clan, and soul masters often go into seclusion for days or weeks, the Xuanming Clan only noticed he was missing about half a month later. After confirming he wasn't out hunting spirit rings, they searched his room and found a letter saying he had left home."
Yan Shaozhe raised a brow in surprise.
"He lived well enough in the clan. Why would he suddenly run away?"
Du Weilun replied, "Most likely because of the cold treatment he received. He had no friends in the clan, and it's likely many of the other disciples looked down on him. Plus, Lady Xue Lingxun agreed to our request to 'supervise' him closely. Word from the informants says he's been unwelcome in the clan all this time."
Yan Shaozhe thought for a moment and nodded.
"Seems reasonable. What about his father? And that old freak Xu?"
"Patriarch Xu Fu went into closed-door cultivation two years ago and hasn't come out since. As for the old freak Xu, his whereabouts are beyond us. He did declare publicly that he would enter seclusion, and frankly, we wouldn't have even known he was still alive if you hadn't told us."
Du Weilun's tone turned helpless at the end. What could he do—track a 98th-rank Super Douluo?
"That's true. I was asking too much. Forget it then. That old man has plenty of descendants. He's probably not going to care about one kid."
Yan Shaozhe finally relaxed and let out a chuckle.
"Heh, I was just worrying about Xiao Tao, and now you've brought me a bit of good news."
"Xiao Tao? You mean her Evil Fire Phoenix?"
Du Weilun's eyes lit up.
Ma Xiaotao had reached the Soul King realm at just sixteen years old. She was the most promising leader among the next generation of Shrek Seven Devils—but she had one major issue: her innate Evil Fire Phoenix.
"Exactly. Xiaotao's got everything going for her… except that blasted evil fire. For now, her cultivation isn't too high, and Ling Luochen and Xu Sanshi can help suppress it. But once she hits the Soul Emperor or even Soul Sage level, that evil fire is going to become a real problem."
Yan Shaozhe scratched his head in frustration.
Ling Luochen was about the same age as Ma Xiaotao, but nowhere near her level in terms of talent. She was still a Soul Ancestor, and the gap would only widen over time.
Xu Sanshi had great talent but was several years older, and his Xuanming Turtle Spirit was water-type, not as effective as Ling Luochen's ice element.
Worse still, Ma Xiaotao disliked socializing. She didn't get along well with Ling Luochen, who wasn't particularly willing to help suppress the fire.
As for Xu Sanshi… well, he had no choice but to help.
"Xiaotao's Evil Phoenix Fire is almost on par with an Ultimate Fire attribute. To solve her problem, we'd need either an Ultimate Ice or Ultimate Water Spirit Master—or one of those legendary immortal herbs Tang San gave her ancestor back in the day. But neither is likely to happen. What a headache…"
Yan Shaozhe rubbed his temples, internally swearing:
If anyone with an Ultimate Ice or Water spirit showed up, he would absolutely bring them back to Shrek, nurture them, and have them help Xiaotao suppress her flames.
Maybe even arrange a good marriage to pass down the Ultimate Element talent…
Shrek would flourish for generations!
Du Weilun tried to console him.
"You don't need to worry too much, Headmaster. If it really comes to that, we can look for Ice-type Spirit Masters outside the academy. With our resources, we can easily recruit someone powerful. If we find a Title Douluo, they could help suppress her fire for decades."
But the next second, Du Weilun found Yan Shaozhe glaring at him like a blade.
"Weilun, do you even know what you're saying?" Yan Shaozhe's tone turned sharp.
"Do you realize that Shrek is the number one academy in the world?"
Du Weilun broke into a cold sweat.
"Yes, Headmaster… I just meant—"
Bang!
Yan Shaozhe slapped his desk and stood.
"Enough! I know you didn't mean any harm, but listen carefully—we are Shrek Academy, the sacred ground of Spirit Masters!
We cannot let word get out that we can't even handle a student's problem. Understood?"
Du Weilun lowered his head until it nearly touched the desk.
"Yes, Headmaster. I understand."
"Good."
Yan Shaozhe let out a breath and sat back down.
"Let me tell you something: our academy's foundations go far deeper than you think.
There's a Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Jade Bed in Sea God's Pavilion.
Suppressing Xiaotao's evil fire has never been an issue—removal is the problem. Never bring up involving outsiders again. You're dismissed."
"Yes, sir."
Du Weilun left, thoroughly shaken.
Yan Shaozhe stared at a list in his hand—one that recorded all the outstanding Ice-type Spirit Masters in history—and sighed.
"What a shame… Feng Changxiao, that Ice Phoenix genius from the Star Luo Royal Academy, vanished decades ago. If we'd recruited him back then, I wouldn't be stuck worrying about this now…"
"He should be in his sixties now. If he had joined Shrek, he might've had a shot at becoming a Super Douluo. Helping Xiaotao would've been effortless… what a shame…"
Two and a half years later.
Xu Tianxi, now over 1.7 meters tall, broad-shouldered and clad in fitted combat gear, stood on the dock with a mask on his face.
Next to him, Xiao Changfeng, as always, stood by. The ship's pilot was still Elder Yue, and two Soul Douluos accompanied them—Xiao Changfeng's most trusted subordinates, both unaware of Xu Tianxi's true identity.
Standing on the deck, Xu Tianxi and Xiao Changfeng faced the sea breeze together, casual and relaxed.
"Tianxi, your cultivation speed is truly astonishing—better than I was at your age," Xiao Changfeng smiled.
Three months ago, Xu Tianxi had broken through to the 30th rank with a rock-solid foundation.
They were supposed to hunt for his third spirit ring immediately, but one spar using his "Divine Beast Phenomenon" battle technique had thrown him into another deep meditation.
It shocked Xiao Changfeng into retreating for three months himself, during which he, too, finally achieved a long-sought deep meditation—something he hadn't experienced in years.
Xu Tianxi simply waved it off.
"My pace is nothing yet. Bigger challenges lie ahead."
"Haha! The troubles of the future can wait. Most Spirit Masters can only dream of entering deep meditation once every few years. You manage it every other year—it's already a heaven-sent fortune."
Xiao Changfeng glanced down at the sea.
"So, have you decided on the Deep Sea Demonic Whale for your third spirit ring? Their spiritual attributes aren't very refined."
"I have." Xu Tianxi opened his arms and breathed in the sea air. "Among all nearby species, they're the strongest. If I'm hunting for a spirit ring, why not pick the best?"
Aside from the oddity of the Skydream Iceworm, the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King was the most ancient and powerful spirit beast on the continent—nearly a million years old.
It had survived nine heavenly tribulations, proof of the Demonic Whale race's supreme talent.
"Very well. We've prepared lures for them. Once we enter their waters, we'll make our move."
Xiao Changfeng took out small bottles filled with spirit beast blood.
Xu Tianxi looked them over, raising a brow.
"Master-Uncle, you do know my current physical limits. Won't so much Evil Demon Orca and Devil Soul Great White Shark blood attract a ten-thousand-year whale? I can't handle that."
He had consumed many strengthening materials, but he was still not fully mature.
Absorbing a ten-thousand-year spirit ring—especially from a Demonic Whale—would be suicide.
"Don't worry. I know what I'm doing.
Your body is abnormally strong—anything less than five thousand years would be a waste.
Besides, as a spiritual-type Spirit Master, we'll be choosing a whale with potent mental strength."
Then Xiao Changfeng pulled out a sealed scroll tube and handed it to him.
"This letter came from one of our people who encountered a 90,000-year-old Tongtian Baxia at sea. That Baxia insisted this message be given to you."
"Me?" Xu Tianxi raised a brow. "Wait… Brother Turtle can write?"
PS: Read Advance Chapters at https://www.patreon.com/c/ReadJin