Thick black-purple vines howled and wove across the arena. In mere seconds, they bound all the circling people midair. The vines carried paralysis and sharp barbs; the seven from White Plume first wailed, then went limp, hanging blank-eyed.
"…"
The arena fell silent.
All eyes turned to the masked student.
Then—cheers.
They craved clashes between the strong, the birth of "heroes." Many also craved blood. Whoever the protagonist was, they would applaud.
City wall.
Xu Jiawei stroked his chin, eyes brightening.
Dai Hao asked in surprise, "Your Majesty, this Clear Sky Sect—is it…"
"Yes." Xu Jiawei nodded. "A few days ago, I received a letter from the Clear Sky Sect's sect master, asking to join this tournament and not to make it difficult. Their 'Clear Sky Academy' is a shell—strict review would fail them."
"They've hidden for millennia—only appearing in that war four thousand years ago. Since then, they vanished. Why reveal themselves now to compete? Truly odd," Dai Hao mused.
"I don't know," Xu Jiawei said, shaking his head.
"So long as they obey the rules, let them be…" He narrowed his eyes. "In recent years, frictions with the Sun Moon Empire have grown. After four thousand years, they're eager for revenge. One more ally is one more chance. Even hidden, we can gauge their strength from this match."
"Your Majesty strategizes brilliantly," Dai Hao sighed.
Star Luo borders Sun Moon. If they launch a continental war, Star Luo is first to suffer. Finding reliable allies is urgent.
Hence his concessions to Shrek.
And a favor to Clear Sky Sect.
"It's just playing diplomatic games among powers—for survival," Xu Jiawei sighed.
Is Star Luo weak?
Not at all. Among the three nations, they were solidly first (the Body Sect hadn't emerged to support Heavenly Soul), with over a dozen Title Douluo, territory of tens of millions of square kilometers, population in the hundreds of millions, and a hundred thousand soul masters.
His imperial authority rested on such figures.
But even Star Luo had been rocked four thousand years ago.
Sun Moon was even stronger.
Their soul tool tech was revolutionary—making weak soul masters jump tiers, comparable to Star Luo elites.
That war nearly flattened Star Luo from the start, pushing north. Tang Sect's hidden weapons were routed; Sun Moon surged. If not for Shrek's master rallying the world and repelling them, the Xu family might not rule today.
That history was terrifying.
One must stay vigilant.
…
"Clear Sky Academy—why not use the Clear Sky Hammer?"
Watching Clear Sky descend with that condescending aura, Ma Xiaotao was annoyed, raising a brow.
"Perhaps they didn't need to," Wang Yan narrowed his eyes.
"For opponents at this level, he alone can crush them. That suggests at least peak Soul King. And his martial soul resembles Tang San's martial soul from ten thousand years ago—the Blue Silver Emperor."
He adjusted his glasses, face solemn. "The vines were black-purple, but at the root there was a faint silver sheen. True Blue Silver Emperor—records are scarce, but it's vastly different from common Blue Silver Grass."
"And… I suspect he has twin martial souls."
"Twin martial souls?!!"
Everyone was shocked.
Peak Soul King plus twin spirits—he was a trump card this tournament.
"Since Dong'er says this academy is Clear Sky in a shell, they wouldn't put a non-Clear Sky disciple as their face. And Blue Silver Grass is among the weakest spirits. Beating White Plume that easily with ordinary Blue Silver would be hard. So I infer he has twin spirits—and both are top-tier," Wang Yan concluded, looking like a schemer petting your belly.
"Teacher Wang Yan's right," Bei Bei said softly.
"Xiao Ya's spirit is Blue Silver Grass. All Tang Sect direct descendants have Blue Silver Grass. It's too weak—that's why Tang Sect fell from glory."
He almost had to repeat a year and couldn't enter the inner court.
Decent talent outside—but among monsters, it lagged far behind.
"What does Clear Sky want?" Ling Luochen frowned.
"They've hidden for years—revealing themselves now. Is the soul master world moving?"
"If something big was happening, would we not know?" Ma Xiaotao retorted. "Elder Xuan wouldn't know?"
Xuan Zi, gnawing a drumstick, looked up: ???
"Heh. One more formidable opponent is fine," Su Wen smiled.
But his smile held meaning.
Once he got his fifth beast, he could sweep the field. Tang San's divine sense descending surprised him, but was understandable. Destruction watched Tang San closely, but as a God King, Tang San couldn't be under constant surveillance—Destruction couldn't squat at his doorstep.
With his true body watched, this sliver of divine sense was likely cut off from the main body—and from the God Realm—smuggled down by God King Tang San. In other words, a pre-apotheosis, full-kit Tang San.
…
Shrek returned to the hotel.
Ma Xiaotao had recovered enough to walk and bathe herself.
Ling Luochen sat on the sofa, long legs crossed, reading a magazine.
Wang Yan studied data on upcoming strong opponents.
A peaceful scene.
But Su Wen glanced at the uneasy Wang Dong'er and sighed, pulling her into a room.
"You fell out with Clear Sky?" Su Wen asked softly.
"…"
"I don't know." Wang Dong'er's eyes brimmed as she threw herself into his arms, quietly sobbing.
Once, everything she relied on came from Clear Sky. She was the Sect's young mistress, doted on by First and Second Dad. After summer break, everything changed.
They seemed like different people. When she complained that soul tools made her nauseous, what should've been a happy welcome dinner turned stern. They warned her never to touch soul tools again. She resisted; a big fight, and parted badly.
More events since then made them feel more and more unfamiliar.
Only after returning to the Academy—when Su Wen and that human-formed silver dragon sensed Tang San's divine sense in her—did she realize, horrified: a stranger lived in her spiritual sea, watching her every moment. She was like a puppet bound in strings, manipulated by a giant above…
So what role did the Clear Sky Sect play?
With Clear Sky's sudden appearance, she felt like a startled fawn, shrinking away.
Had her inner divine sense vanished—and Clear Sky was here to abduct her?
Then wipe her memory and make a new doll?
The more she thought, the more terrified she became.
The more Shrek discussed it, the more panicked she felt.
Only now, in Su Wen's arms, could she release it.
"Don't worry. The God Realm has rules—no casual descents… Even if Tang San is furious, he can't directly act against you," Su Wen said with a smile, stroking her pink-blue hair like petting a cat—great handfeel.
Seeing her still doubtful, he explained, "Think—if he could descend at will, wouldn't we be dragged to the God Realm already? The Realm's rules shackle him. As for Clear Sky—with Elder Xuan here, this place is safe."
Da Ming and Er Ming were troublesome; Xuan Zi wasn't their match. But he had a cheat…
If he could obtain the Life Gold and restore Elder Yi, maybe Elder Yi could use it to heal Shrek's scariest thigh—Elder Mu. If so… the Clear Sky Sect would be nothing.
"Mm."
Wang Dong'er lay in his arms, fingers rubbing his arm. Her emotions came fast and went fast. Soon she was staring at his profile, giggling.
"Hungry?" Su Wen smiled at her.
"Mm." She nodded vigorously.
"Then let's eat."
…
The hotel restaurant was on the third floor.
Luxurious. For competitors, room and board were free—an unwritten rule. With all the exposure, comping meals was nothing.
"I want this! Spicy rabbit head!" Wang Dong'er pointed excitedly at the menu.
"…"
Su Wen's face twitched.
A hellish joke.
"Can you handle spicy?"
"Clear Sky is in the southwest of the Heaven Dou Empire—we're famous for spice." Wang Dong'er preened.
"Oh…" Su Wen nodded.
"I'll have Jade Dragon Marrow."
"What a coincidence."
A crisp, lark-like voice sounded—a Star Luo Royal Academy uniform: Xu Jiujiu. Alone, she smiled at Su Wen and Wang Dong'er. "May I sit here?"
"No one's here," Su Wen nodded.
"Thanks." Xu Jiujiu had no princess airs. She fetched a bowl of Jade Dragon Marrow herself.
"In the northern Star Dou Great Forest lives a kind of jade stone dragon—skin like emerald. Nobles used to love them as status-symbol ornaments. Later a chef discovered the marrow's springy chew; it became a Star Luo specialty."
Xu Jiujiu narrated.
Then she smiled like a flower, extending a hand.
"Captain of Star Luo Royal Team—Xu Jiujiu."
"Reserve captain of Shrek—Su Wen."
He politely shook her hand. A princess's hand was soft and cool, bonelessly delicate—but Su Wen held hands with such-level beauties daily, so he felt nothing.
He was, however, curious about the food.
"Has eating them not endangered the jade stone dragons?"
"Their reproduction is fast. In fact, most soul beasts reproduce quickly—otherwise with the human hunting rate, they'd be extinct. It's just that the jade stone dragon's attack is poor, its soul ring less valuable than its meat, so laughably, its numbers in Star Luo are among the highest," Xu Jiujiu explained with a light smile.
"…" Su Wen nodded, saying nothing.
Tasty indeed.
Wang Dong'er huffed beside him, fanning her mouth with a hand as she gobbled—clear sign of deliciousness.
"The head chef is Star Luo's imperial chef. If you come often, I can treat you~" Xu Jiujiu said with a smile.
"I will." Su Wen smiled faintly and nodded.
…
"Lengye, why are you shaking?"
Thousand Spirits Advanced Soul Academy.
A red-haired girl looked at her trembling teammate, baffled.
"Mm?"
Captain Shen Ce glanced over toward the distance, expression calm. "It's that guy from Shrek—and Xu Jiujiu from Star Luo. But Lengye, this is too much. He won't attack you off the field."
"It's not that, it's not…"
Everyone chuckled, except An Lengye, whose eyes were filled with terror.
She wanted to run, but feared drawing his attention.
Yes.
He was one of those terrifying beasts they'd met in the Extreme North when she and her grandfather went there!
Too similar!
Since the day he first took the stage, she felt electrocuted—stunned. Others focused on his strength; she focused on his face…
That day, he'd handed her roasted snow pig. She couldn't forget the flavor—or his face.
They were the same person!
The more she thought about having sat with a true apex beast in human society, the more terrified she became. When did a true beast mix among humans?!! And now he was chatting with Star Luo's princess…
No—that must be a soul beast transformed! It's said after reaching a hundred thousand years, they get one chance to take human form!
The age fits.
Right now, perhaps only she knew his identity.
The more she thought, the more terrified An Lengye became.
If he discovered her, would he…