The violent and domineering intent within the Man-Faced Demon Spider's soul ring seemed to be purified by the blue-golden light, and the soul ring's energy became pure and stable, steadily merging into Tang Ya's body.
The Blue Silver Emperor, which had been as translucent as blue crystal and wrapped around Tang Ya, seemed to bloom like a night-blooming cereus before quickly reverting to its original blue-black vine form. However, with the integration of the Man-Faced Demon Spider soul ring's energy, the Blue Silver Grass's attributes continued to improve, now tinged with a hint of the blue-green hue of the thousand-year Man-Faced Demon Spider's web.
The earlier phenomenon did not indicate that Tang Ya's Blue Silver Grass martial soul had successfully evolved into the Blue Silver Emperor, a top-tier plant-type weapon martial soul. Rather, in a moment of desperation, the pure Blue Silver Emperor bloodline within her body had been awakened.
These were not things Tang Ya could control; it could only be said that it was largely a matter of fortunate coincidence.
Ning Tian, uncertain and surprised, asked Beibei, "Senior Brother Bei, could Senior Sister Xiao Ya be a descendant of that ancestor of the Tang Sect?"
As a descendant of Ning Rongrong, the Nine Treasure Douluo, one of the original Shrek Seven Monsters who ascended to godhood alongside the first Tang Sect Master, Ning Tian was privy to detailed records of those ancient secrets within the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
The martial soul of the first Tang Sect Master was not merely Blue Silver Grass, but the Blue Silver Emperor.
Beibei gave a bitter smile and shook his head.
"Ten thousand years ago, after the first Tang Sect Master, Ancestor Tang San, ascended to godhood, he did not leave any descendants in the Tang Sect. To honour him, later generations of the Tang Sect stubbornly chose sect leaders with the Blue Silver Grass martial soul as a mark of pride. However, it has been proven that Blue Silver Grass itself is not a particularly powerful martial soul. I originally thought the Blue Silver Emperor martial soul was merely a legend, as no soul master with the Blue Silver Emperor martial soul had appeared in ten thousand years. But now, it seems it truly exists. However, let alone me, I'm afraid even Xiao Ya herself didn't know about her situation."
Ning Tian nodded slightly, tactfully refraining from further questions, and turned her gaze to Xu Zihuang.
From his earlier reaction, it was clear that Yu Tianhuang had noticed the anomaly in Tang Ya's body before either she or Beibei.
Xu Zihuang's eyes shone with brilliant golden patterns as he observed Tang Ya, who was meditating cross-legged, absorbing the power of the Man-Faced Demon Spider soul ring. With the meticulous observation abilities of his Golden Pupil martial soul and his powerful mental strength, he had indeed sensed the awakened Blue Silver Emperor bloodline within Tang Ya early on.
However, evolving Tang Ya's Blue Silver Grass martial soul into the Blue Silver Emperor was not as simple as it seemed. It was fraught with too many uncertainties. Moreover, the forced awakening of her Blue Silver Emperor bloodline this time had placed a tremendous burden on her body.
At this moment, Beibei also noticed this. Seeing Tang Ya's slightly pale lips and complexion, the nerves he had just begun to relax tightened once again.
It wasn't until two hours later that Tang Ya finally succeeded in fusing with the Man-Faced Demon Spider soul ring, but she immediately lost consciousness.
.
........
Sun Moon Imperial Soul Mentor Academy, Mingde Hall.
Dressed in a gold-threaded black robe, the Master of Mingde Hall, Jing Hongchen, sat quietly in a spacious hall dominated by a metallic aesthetic. The pale golden decor was not exactly luxurious but carried an air of commanding authority.
His short, stout figure looked somewhat comical in the long robe. His round belly protruded, and with his hands clasped behind his back, he wore a pleased expression as he gazed at the young man and woman standing not far before him.
The young man and woman appeared to be sixteen or seventeen years old. The young man was strikingly handsome, while the young woman was equally captivating.
They were none other than Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen, the siblings who had been successively defeated by Xu Zihuang's own hands at the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Duelling Tournament.
A year and a half had passed, and Xiao Hongchen seemed to have completely emerged from the shadow of his crushing defeat to Xu Zihuang. His entire demeanour had become more restrained, and his heterochromatic eyes—one deep blue, the other dark green—no longer carried their former arrogance and brashness.
Compared to Xiao Hongchen, Meng Hongchen's delicate features appeared much softer. Her wavy, wine-red hair cascaded down her back, contrasting vividly with her pure ice-blue eyes. Though a few months younger than Tang Ya, her figure was remarkably developed, almost rivalling that of Ma Xiaotao.
The difference lay in their entirely distinct temperaments.
"Grandfather, you specifically summoned Brother and me today. There must be something important you wish to inform us about," Meng Hongchen asked softly, sensing something.
Jing Hongchen's small eyes flickered, a glint of sharpness in them.
"Shrek Academy has proactively proposed an exchange program, and I have agreed. They will send ten soul engineering students to study at our Sun Moon Imperial Soul Mentor Academy. In return, you and Xiao will lead a team to Shrek Academy to study their martial soul department. Shrek Academy will open its Inner Court to you, and correspondingly, our Sun Moon Imperial Soul Mentor Academy will open Mingde Hall to them."
"And one more thing: among the ten students Shrek Academy is sending, Yu Tianhuang is one of them."
Meng Hongchen, who had remained calm until now, lit up at Jing Hongchen's final words.
"Yu Tianhuang is coming to our Sun Moon Imperial Soul Mentor Academy to study? Is he a soul mentor as well?"
Xiao Hongchen's gaze, however, grew heavy.
At that Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Duelling Tournament, he had been utterly defeated by Yu Tianhuang. After regaining his composure and hearing his sister recount how Yu Tianhuang had deliberately spared his life, he found it hard to accept at first. His confidence and pride had been shattered in an instant, leading to a period of intense self-doubt.
As a once-in-a-millennium genius of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Mentor Academy, with unparalleled talent in both cultivation and soul tool crafting from a young age, his pride was unimaginable.
It was only after a period of reflection and precipitation that he gradually came to terms with it. Clearing the fog from his mind, he regained his confidence.
That battle with Yu Tianhuang had awakened him to many truths.
His top-tier beast martial soul, the Three-Legged Golden Toad, born from a mutation, possessed limitless potential and should not be limited to long-range attack-type soul mentoring.
He did not have Yu Tianhuang's twin martial souls, and even his Three-Legged Golden Toad martial soul was inferior in quality to either of Yu Tianhuang's. After much thought, he realised his only advantage lay in combining his martial soul's abilities with various types of soul tools.
To put this into practice, Xiao Hongchen had refrained from using his Three-Legged Golden Toad martial soul's special ability to absorb energy from rare metals to aid his cultivation over the past year and a half.
As a result, his soul power was now only at level 55, lagging behind his sister, Meng Hongchen. His cultivation speed was far slower than before.
But this soul power was entirely accumulated through his own cultivation, bit by bit. For the first time, he felt the solidity of such a foundation. Calming his mind, he gained a deeper understanding of his martial soul's abilities. By integrating his martial soul's capabilities with various types of soul tools, he developed a completely new combat style, leading to a leap in his overall strength.
He firmly believed that when he broke through to the Titled Douluo rank and became a ninth-level soul mentor, he would not be weaker than Yu Tianhuang at the same Titled Douluo realm.
His greatest gain, however, was the tempering of his mindset.
Hearing Yu Tianhuang's name again, he no longer lost his composure as he once had.
Xiao Hongchen said calmly, "Yu Tianhuang may have studied soul tool crafting, but his soul mentor level is unlikely to be high. His presence in this exchange is likely more as a guarantee. It seems Shrek Academy's higher-ups merely want him to broaden his horizons—to see what our Sun Moon Imperial Soul Mentor Academy, the most advanced soul mentor academy on the continent, is like, and to observe the soul tools we use."
"When it comes to martial soul research, we indeed fall short of Shrek Academy. But in soul tool technology, we are more than a thousand years ahead of them. Shrek Academy sending Yu Tianhuang with the team is precisely a sign of their wariness of our soul technology."
Jing Hongchen nodded inwardly. That crushing defeat had not necessarily been a bad thing for his grandson.
"Xiao, it's rare for you to see things so clearly. Over the past year and a half, you've grown tremendously," Jing Hongchen said, a trace of warmth in his small eyes. Then, with a flash of brilliant golden light, a dark golden, peculiar left arm bone appeared in his palm.
This was an exceptionally high-quality left arm soul bone, exuding dense soul power fluctuations. It was both heavy and sharp, like a fusion of spear and shield.
A dark golden halo shimmered across its surface like flowing water, radiant and dazzling.
Both Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen were stunned at the sight of the soul bone.
"Grandfather, this soul bone…" Meng Hongchen exclaimed in shock. "Could it be from a Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear?!"
With its formidable offensive and defensive capabilities and terrifying innate soul skills, a Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear with ten thousand years of cultivation could rival an ordinary hundred-thousand-year soul beast.
The Terrorclaw Soul Mentor Corps, one of the Sun Moon Empire's guardian forces, borrowed the fearsome reputation of the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear.
The soul bone Jing Hongchen presented, judging by its soul power fluctuations, was at least of the ten-thousand-year level. This meant a soul master had hunted a Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear with ten thousand years of cultivation and successfully obtained this soul bone.
The probability of either event occurring was minuscule, let alone both together. How could Meng Hongchen not be astonished?
Jing Hongchen, with a cold smile, used his soul power to guide the soul bone to Xiao Hongchen.
"This soul bone was taken from a Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear with twenty thousand years of cultivation. Acquiring it cost me no small price."
The soul bone had been obtained by a soul master sect with a long history, one of the three original empires of the Douluo Continent. However, the sect's inherited martial soul was not compatible with the soul bone's attributes. After deliberation, the sect's leaders decided to release the information and seek a trade.
Trading with other soul master families on the original Douluo Continent would have been fine.
But the one who wanted this soul bone was Jing Hongchen, the Master of Mingde Hall. Everyone knew Mingde Hall possessed the continent's most astonishing wealth, and given their subtly opposing stances, the sect naturally raised the price.
In the face of absolute profit, stances could sometimes be set aside.
A soul bone of this calibre could no longer be measured purely in gold; it was almost always traded through bartering. To acquire it, Jing Hongchen had parted with several powerful soul tools.
"Xiao, since you've chosen this path, you must walk it unwaveringly. The Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear shares the same attributes as our Hongchen family's inherited martial soul. Although the soul skill sealed within this bone is not the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear's most powerful Dark Gold Terrorclaw, everything has two sides—advantages come with disadvantages. Soul rings prioritise age, while soul bones prioritise quality. Since this soul bone's sealed skill isn't the domineering Dark Gold Terrorclaw, you'll face virtually no risk of backlash during fusion. With this soul bone's quality, it will likely boost your soul power by one level upon fusion, and the accompanying soul skill will undoubtedly suit you," Jing Hongchen said solemnly.
Xiao Hongchen, visibly moved, took the soul bone, his gaze now filled with unwavering determination.
This trip to Shrek Academy was the perfect opportunity to further develop the potential of his Three-Legged Golden Toad martial soul.
With three and a half years until the next Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Duelling Tournament, he had ample time to enhance his strength.
The taste of failure was something he only needed to experience once.
Next time, he would not lose again.