"Qin Xiao, I never imagined you had hidden your talents so deeply."
"Twin Martial Souls, Ultimate Ice, your gift is truly remarkable."
"Come on, tell us, is there anything else you're keeping from us?"
Xiao Hongchen's mind was a whirlwind of emotions.
Facing Xiao Hongchen's inquiry, Qin Xiao couldn't be bothered to respond.
There was just too much he was hiding.
Godhood, a third Martial Spirit, and so on...
But those were his fundamentals, things no one was allowed to know.
Jing Hongchen snorted, "You lad, don't dig too deep. Some things are better off unknown."
"If you want to know more, just focus on your cultivation."
Chastised by Jing Hongchen, Xiao Hongchen could only awkwardly stick out his tongue.
"Grandpa, rest assured, from today onwards I will cultivate diligently, striving to fuse with the Hundred Thousand Year Spirit Beast Embryo as soon as possible."
"It's not about saying it, it's about doing it. Show me!"
Jing Hongchen still didn't give Xiao Hongchen much face.
Meanwhile, Meng Hongchen clapped her hands together in front of her, gazing at Qin Xiao like a little fan girl.
No wonder he could be close friends with someone as proud as Xuan Ziwen. Qin Xiao always managed to reveal something new just when people thought they had him all figured out.
"Alright, come over here, everyone."
Jing Hongchen pointed to the soul bone on the table, "Qin Xiao, Meng, who's going to fuse with the soul bone first?"
Meng Hongchen immediately stood aside, "Since Uncle's second Martial Soul is the Icy Jade Emperor Scorpion, and its compatibility with this bone is extremely high, then let him fuse with it."
Previously, she was also curious as to why Jing Hongchen had called Qin Xiao over, and asked the two of them to fuse separately.
Now she understood.
Qin Xiao had Twin Martial Souls.
"What do you mean?" Jing Hongchen asked, looking at Qin Xiao.
"I think Meng's suggestion is good. However, I will remember today's event, and if there's a soul bone that suits Meng in the future, I will definitely find it for her. Besides, it's not that I want to monopolize this soul bone, but apart from me, I fear no one else can fuse with it."
"Oh? Is there something special about this soul bone?"
"Actually, the auction house played everyone. What they didn't disclose is that to fuse with this soul bone, one must possess the Ultimate Ice Martial Soul. Fortunately, you didn't have Meng try to fuse with it earlier, otherwise, it could have resulted in an unpredictable catastrophe."
"Hiss!"
"There's so much to it?"
Everyone was retrospectively frightened.
Then, relief showed in Jing Hongchen's heart, thankful that he had taken Qin Xiao into account.
Xiao Hongchen asked in confusion, "How do you know about such an important matter?"
In fact, what he wanted to say was, if his grandfather hadn't noticed it, how could Qin Xiao?
But then he realized that saying so would suggest Qin Xiao was better than his grandfather.
That could very well end in a social beatdown.
"I just found out recently."
Qin Xiao summoned his Icy Jade Emperor Scorpion Martial Soul as he spoke, "There is a vague thought within the soul bone that communicated and resonated with my Martial Soul, and so I found out about its stringent conditions for absorption."
"Hmph, it seems this Star Luo Emperor is no good either. Such a restrictive soul bone, and he dared to put it up for auction?"
Jing Hongchen was somewhat angry.
This is just blatantly scamming people!
Upon hearing this, Qin Xiao smiled faintly, "You're not even looking at what state the Xingluo Empire is in now.
Because of Shrek Academy, the Soul Master competition isn't selling tickets at all, the last round of the top 16, the number of spectators, was less than a third. I guess the next match will sell even fewer tickets...
Moreover, before the start of the Soul Master competition, the Xingluo Empire was pouring in heaps of money. I reckon they haven't made their money back yet.
It's an unknown whether the returns from the Soul Master competition will match the investment once it's over.
So, the Star Luo Emperor took the opportunity of the Soul Master competition to hold an auction, bringing out all his reserve items, tricking anyone he can. Opportunities like this come once in a lifetime."
"There is some merit to that idea..." Jing Hongchen suddenly broke into a smile, "I must say, this Soul Master competition has really been an eye-opener for me.
The reputations of Shrek Academy and the Xingluo Empire have plunged disastrously.
Kid, you can take this soul bone then. Normally, to absorb this soul bone, at the very least a Soul King level of cultivation would be required for it to be safe.
But since you possess the Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion as your Martial Soul, it will be much easier for you to absorb, and you can greatly shorten this restriction. I'm looking forward to your performance in the upcoming matches. Make sure to give your enemies a surprise on the battlefield."
"Don't worry."
Qin Xiao nodded with a smile, said thank you, then took the soul bone and returned to his room.
...
The next day.
Noon.
The match schedule for the 16 to 8 round of the Soul Master competition, which would take place tomorrow, was released.
It's worth mentioning that.
At the start of the Soul Master competition, Xu Jiawei announced that all the matches would be determined by a random draw of the opposing teams.
Without a doubt, when he made this decision at the beginning, it was to cater to Xuan Ziwen.
Looking at the newspaper in his hands, Qin Xiao found the content of his concern.
The Imperial Sun Moon Soul Academy versus the Sky Soul Royal Soul Guiding Academy.
The Xingluo Imperial Academy against the Fighting Spirit Royal Soul Guiding Academy.
The Shrek Academy team versus the Sky Soul Royal Academy.
"..."
"Heh, Xu Jiawei is a ruthless man, tossing the largest problem, Shrek, to the Heavenly Soul Empire. They've got a real headache now."
"I'm also quite curious, will the Sky Soul Royal Academy choose to face the challenge, or will they opt to avoid fighting, just like the other teams did during the preliminaries when faced with Shrek Academy?"
...
"This is absolutely unfair!"
"Why do we have to fight Shrek Academy?"
"Damn it, this must be some kind of backroom maneuver by the Xingluo Empire."
The members of the Sky Soul Royal Academy, upon seeing the schedule, were virtually on the verge of collapse.
They absolutely did not believe there wasn't some trickery at play.
"Xu Jiawei sure knows how to play the game, tossing the hot potato to us."
"He wants to use us to eliminate Shrek!"
The leading teacher of the Sky Soul Royal Academy had a grim expression.
"Teacher, what should we do then? Do we still go up on the stage?"
"Of course, we do!"
The leading teacher said sternly, "If we avoid the battle, it would damage the reputation of our academy and the dignity of the Empire. We have to fight and go all out to win."
"But..."
Many students hesitated.
It was not that they feared Shrek Academy's team.
Rather, they feared the powerhouses behind Shrek Academy's team. What happened to Yun Luo Academy was a lesson they hadn't forgotten.
The leading teacher shook his head, "Your worries are superfluous."
"Yun Luo Academy, looking across the entire Xingluo Empire, is merely a second-rate academy, while we are a premier institution, and let's not forget we represent the Heavenly Soul Empire, with hundreds of millions of citizens supporting us."
"Anyone who targets us is essentially declaring war on the Heavenly Soul Empire. I don't believe that the powerhouses from Shrek Academy would, for the sake of a victory in the Soul Master competition, disregard the friendship and peace with the Heavenly Soul Empire!"
After listening to their leading teacher.
The many students nodded their heads in agreement.
But still, someone timidly asked, "Teacher, what if someone truly acts recklessly?"
The leading teacher fell silent.
There couldn't possibly be someone that heartless and mad at Shrek Academy, could there?
(The previous text changed the battle against Shrek to the Sky Soul Royal Team. Yesterday, I had a fever of 39 degrees and forgot that Dou Spirit is inland, Ju Zi was a direct incursion from Heavenly Soul.)
On the other side.
In the hotel where the Shrek squad was staying.
Wang Yan looked at everyone and said, "Classmates, this time our opponent is the Sky Soul Royal Academy, one of the top four academies for many years. They are different from other academies, having the royal household backing them up."
Wang Dong tentatively asked, "So, does this mean that Elder Xuan won't interfere with this match?"
As Wang Dong asked this, all eyes turned to Wang Yan, filled with anticipation.
"Unless something unexpected happens, that should be the case."
Wang Yan nodded firmly.
His thoughts were similar to those of the team leader from the Sky Soul Academy.
Even Xuan Zi wouldn't be heartless enough to attack his allies directly, right?
It's one thing to have some problems in the competition, but it's another to have to withdraw due to an 'accident' without even entering the field. That would be unacceptable.
Always leave room for change, so you can meet on good terms in the future.
"That's great, we can finally lose a match fair and square."
Xu Sanshi excitedly slapped the table.
It has to be said, that's a rather bizarre idea.
In a Soul Master tournament, who doesn't want to win?
Yet this idea was widely accepted by Beibei, Jiang Nannan, and the others.
They truly wanted to end this match.
Every time the Shrek squad appeared, they had to endure a barrage of rotten eggs and vegetable leaves thrown by the crowd, which was unbearable.
Every entry was a torment to their psyche.
However.
Just then, a voice leisurely rose from outside the door.
"Lose?"
"With me here, how could you lose?"
As the voice fell, an intoxicated Xuan Zi walked in.
Seeing Xuan Zi, everyone's expression changed.
After Xuan Zi belched, he asked, "What's with the silence all of a sudden? When I wasn't here, you all talked and laughed. Am I that frightening?"
Suddenly, the atmosphere in the room seemed to freeze.
Seeing that no one spoke, Xuan Zi turned to Wang Yan and took the initiative to ask, "Who are we from Shrek facing tomorrow?"
Wang Yan hesitated, then replied truthfully, "The Sky Soul Royal Team."
At these words, Xuan Zi's face showed surprise, "Are you sure you're not mistaken?"
Wang Yan nodded, "Absolutely sure."
He could see that Xuan Zi also felt the situation was tricky.
"This Xu Jiawei, not helping me is one thing. But to use the Sky Soul Royal Academy to set me up at the last step, damn it." Xuan Zi instantly understood the crux of the issue and burst into anger, "I'm going to find that kid."
Seeing his reaction, Wang Yan quickly tried to stop him, "Elder Xuan, this is no joke. Since it's been announced, there's no possibility of changing it. An emperor cannot be seen breaking his promises, can he?"
But after saying that, Wang Yan felt it wasn't reassuring enough and added, "How can an emperor afford to break his word over and over again?"
From this, it was clear that Xu Jiawei's credibility was almost zero in his mind.
With such persuasion, Xuan Zi calmed down somewhat and didn't insist on finding Xu Jiawei any further.
Just when everyone thought Xuan Zi had given up, he spoke again, "If I can't go find Xu Jiawei, then I'll go find someone from the Sky Soul Royal team. I believe they'll make the right choice."
Everyone: "..."
This old guy really was determined.
Wang Yan mustered his courage and spoke loudly, "Elder Xuan!"
"What?"
"You can't do that."
"Why not?"
"The Sky Soul Royal Team is different from other academies; they represent the Heavenly Soul Empire. They'll accept a fair defeat on the field of competition but absolutely won't tolerate any underhand tactics."
"And what would happen then?"
"It would cause dissatisfaction from the officials of the Heavenly Soul Empire."
"Do I care?" Xuan Zi raised an eyebrow.
Wang Yan said seriously, "It's not about whether you care or not. Elder Xuan, the Heavenly Soul, Douluo, and Xingluo Empires have signed an alliance treaty with us. We have a responsibility and obligation to uphold the treaty and should not provoke conflicts."
"Alliance treaty? Hah, that's nothing but a joke."
"We possess the most top-tier experts on Soul Land, wealth enough to rival nations, the largest and most exceptional Soul Masters. What right do the Heavenly Soul, Douluo, and Xingluo Empires have to ally with us? The so-called alliance treaty is nothing but a scrap of paper, a fig leaf for the emperors of those three countries."
Xuan Zi said this and, taking a gulp from his wine gourd, looked at the stunned everyone and sneered, "In fact, you might as well regard Shrek as an Empire whose territory covers most of the Soul Land. Shrek City is the imperial city, and the Heavenly Soul, Douluo, and Xingluo are but subordinate countries. To me, their emperors are merely vassal kings."
This...
Wasn't that a bit too bold to say?
Beibei, Xu Sanshi, and the others looked at each other.
For someone like Dai Huabin, the son of a Duke, it didn't sit well at all.
After all, the Heavenly Soul, Douluo, and Xingluo send a vast amount of resources and talent to Shrek every year.
For instance, regarding talent.
The empires are left with almost only those Shrek doesn't want.
Wang Yan asked with a grave expression, "Elder Xuan, do you think it's right to say these things in front of these kids?"
Xuan Zi dismissed it with a wave of his hand, "These kids aren't that young anymore. Before long, they'll come into contact with the top echelons of Soul Land, and they'll know the truth eventually. It's just a bit earlier now."
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