The carriage wheels rumbled over the packed-earth road, kicking up a cloud of dust that hung in the late-morning air. They were finally outside the oppressive, humid canopy of the Star Dou Great Forest, heading straight for the massive, sprawling city-state that was Shrek Academy.
Inside the carriage, Jiang Qingtong—or rather, the Jiang Shengyu half of her consciousness—fiddled with the curtain. Up on the driver's seat, whistling a tuneless, off-key song, was the man Kong Deming had sent to protect her: a Titled Douluo known only as Elder Hong.
She was hardly defenseless. Tucked away on her person, she had seven Class-9 soul tools, each one a treasure that could bankrupt a small kingdom. Enough firepower to make even a Super Douluo think twice. But "thinking twice" wasn't "impossible." Kong Deming wasn't taking any chances, not with her. Her 'Imprint' soul skill was just too valuable, too unprecedented. "No amount of security is too much," he'd said, and Jiang Shengyu couldn't really argue.
Six years. It felt like a lifetime since they'd woken up in Mingde Hall. In that time, both "siblings" had attached their second soul rings. Just like the first, they were both purple, thousand-year rings. And just like the first, they hadn't come from hunting any soul beast. They just... appeared. Condensed directly from their martial souls when they'd hit the right rank.
On paper, it didn't look like a huge improvement over any other top-tier genius. But only Jiang Shengyu knew the real secret. The soul power they cultivated wasn't just... there. It was still accumulating, constantly feeding back into their soul rings, slowly but surely increasing their age. Their thousand-year rings wouldn't stay thousand-year rings forever. That was their real trump card.
"Girl, Shrek Academy is just up ahead. See it?"
Elder Hong's gravelly voice cut through her thoughts. He pointed with his whip. The city was a magnificent sprawl on the horizon, its walls gleaming. "You change your mind, you just say the word. I'll turn this rig around right now and we'll be back at Mingde Hall before dinner."
Over the past few years, Jiang Shengyu's mental power had become incredibly strong. Controlling two bodies was now as easy and natural as an ordinary person controlling their two hands. To outsiders, it just looked like Jiang Qingtong had slowly grown out of her shell, becoming more cheerful and talkative as she got older.
Jiang Qingtong (controlled by Jiang Shengyu) lifted the curtain and leaned out, letting the wind whip her hair. "No need, Elder Hong. You don't have to try and talk me out of it. I made up my mind. Now that I'm here, there's no turning back."
"Hmph. What's so great about Shrek, anyway?" Elder Hong grumbled, though there was no real heat in it. "Our Mingde Hall is every bit as good as their 'holy land'!"
In his private opinion, this whole trip was a terrible idea. Sending this girl—this treasure—to Shrek Academy was like tossing a lamb into a wolf den. What if those old geezers at Shrek figured out what she could do and... 'abducted' her? He shuddered.
"C'mon, Elder Hong. You can't deny it," Jiang Qingtong said, hopping up from the carriage interior to sit on the driver's seat next to him. She gave his broad shoulder a friendly squeeze. "Shrek is the holy land for martial soul cultivation on the whole continent. If I want to find the best, most high-quality martial souls, this is the only place to be!"
Elder Hong grunted, but he seemed pleased by the gesture. "Heh. Speaking of which, you two really are the lucky stars of our Sun Moon Empire. That 'Soul Hall' your brother set up? It's actually working. It's unearthing a lot of talented kids we would have missed."
When Jiang Shengyu had first proposed the idea—an organization to handle martial soul awakenings for everyone, just like the old Spirit Hall, but loyal to them—Mingde Hall and the Royal Soul Engineer Academy had been all for it. The emperor had been a little twitchy, worried it would "arouse suspicion" from the three nations, but he'd eventually agreed. "Just don't be too flashy about it," he'd warned.
Flashy or not, the Soul Hall had exploded in popularity. In just a few years, they had branch halls popping up inside the territories of the original three Douluo Continent nations.
The power of the common people, it turned out, was a force of nature. The folks at the bottom, who couldn't afford a fancy awakening ceremony, who were oppressed by nobles? When people from the Soul Hall showed up, awakened their martial soul for free? And then... paid them a living subsidy if they became a soul master, even with a measly ten-year ring? You couldn't buy that kind of loyalty. They'd die for the Soul Hall.
That's why it grew so fast. Of course, it attracted the attention of the three nations' governments. They were investigating, sure, but what could they do? Their enemy wasn't the Soul Hall. Their enemy was their own people.
It was a brilliant, open-faced conspiracy, and it was all Jiang Shengyu's idea. The higher-ups at Mingde Hall couldn't praise him enough.
"Well, it wouldn't have been so easy if Master Kong hadn't backed him up," Jiang Qingtong said with a smile. "Anyway, I heard from Senior Brother Xuan Ziwen that you're joining the Soul Hall when you get back?"
Elder Hong nodded. "Yep. The project is a success, so the Hall Master is assigning a few of us Titled Douluo to beef it up. Good timing, really. After I drop you off at Shrek, I'll head over to my new post."
He paused, then added, "Weird kid, though, your brother. I heard from some of the staff... he's got all these strange rules. 'Do everything yourselves, no outsourcing,' and... 'no "hehehe" laughter.' What in the world is that about?"
Jiang Qingtong (Shengyu) definitely knew why. It was an inside joke with himself, a fourth-wall break to prevent his organization from becoming the clichéd, moustache-twirling villains. He gave a light cough to hide his smile. "Well, you know. Our Soul Hall is a righteous faction, after all."
Right as they were speaking, the sky in front of them, over the edge of the Star Dou Great Forest, changed. Dark clouds suddenly boiled up out of nowhere, and a brilliant streak of light—something unnatural—flew down from the clouds. It plunged towards a spot in the forest and vanished.
Both of them saw it. Elder Hong yanked the reins, his face suddenly grim. "Girl, be careful! I just felt... a massive surge of mental force!"
"Elder Hong, quick! Let's go check it out!" Jiang Qingtong was suddenly on her feet, pointing in that direction. Her mind was racing. Wait a minute. Star Dou Great Forest. Sudden weird phenomenon. Powerful mental force... no. It can't be. Can it? She urged him on, "We have to go!"
Elder Hong frowned, looking at how excited she was. "Are you crazy, kid? Let's not. That mental pulse was stronger than mine. We're talking Super Douluo level, maybe even stronger! If we get tangled up in a fight like that, it'll be a disaster!"
"Don't worry, Elder Hong!" she said with a bright, reckless smile. "If it gets dicey, we'll just run away!"
"You mean I'll run away while you sell me out?" he shot back, but he was already turning the carriage, snapping the reins. "Tch. Fine. Hold on tight, you little troublemaker."
When they got to the spot, there was no sign of a Super Douluo. All they saw was a thin, scrawny young man lying unconscious on the ground. Next to him was the fresh corpse of a ten-year Wind Baboon and a single, weak-looking white soul ring.
"Huh?" Elder Hong frowned, scanning the trees. "Impossible. How could a little runt like that unleash such an immense mental wave? But... if it was someone else, where are they?"
While Elder Hong was still puzzled, Jiang Qingtong had already leaped from the moving carriage, her eyes wide with excitement as she stared at the unconscious boy.
She knew who this was.
A dead Wind Baboon. A white soul ring. A massive, inexplicable mental phenomenon. The sudden weather change. It all added up.
It's him! It's Huo Yuhao!
"Girl, get back here! Be careful!" Elder Hong yelled, jumping down after her. He quickly followed, staying right by her side, his eyes darting around the forest, ready for anything.
Jiang Qingtong ignored him. She released her martial soul, "Flower in the Mirror." The crystal lotus bloomed behind her, and her two purple soul rings pulsed. Her second ring glowed brightly as she activated her 'Imprint' skill, targeting Huo Yuhao's body and, by extension, his martial soul.
Seeing her actions, Elder Hong was stunned. "Girl! The Hall Master specifically warned you not to imprint martial souls casually!"
"Don't worry, Elder Hong, imprinting his martial soul will definitely be beneficial and harmless," Jiang Qingtong told Elder Hong.