In the end, Xu Zihuang still briefly told He Caitou about the three years he had spent imprisoned overseas and how he was later rescued by his father's old subordinates.
Xu Zihuang spoke lightly, as if recounting something unrelated to himself, but He Caitou felt it deeply.
To be exiled and imprisoned overseas without freedom for three years, with even his life not guaranteed—every day must have been torment. By comparison, he himself had been much luckier.
With his father's protection, his mother had found a chance to push him into the secret passages of the imperial palace, and so he had ultimately escaped.
Though the once Crown Prince had fallen into a state worse than a beggar, wandering as a refugee, he had been fortunate enough to be rescued by Fan Yu after fleeing into the Heavenly Soul Empire.
"Zihuang, it was our family that dragged yours down." Half kneeling before Xu Zihuang, He Caitou's face was full of guilt, his head lowered, fists clenched tight.
"If not for protecting us, Third Uncle could have had a chance to break out during the chaos."
"Imperial Brother, the past is the past. And none of that can be blamed on you."
Xu Zihuang took a deep breath and placed his right hand on He Caitou's broad shoulder.
"I came to Shrek Academy to study because I wanted to quickly improve my strength and develop connections. When the time is ripe, I hope one day to take revenge on Xu Tianran's family. I didn't expect to run into you in the Soul Tool Department. Though you changed your appearance, I still recognized you at a glance. Out of caution, I waited until the right moment to reveal myself."
As he spoke, his expression remained indifferent, but in his deep purple eyes burned endless hatred and coldness.
"Imperial Brother, are you willing to help me?"
Awakening the memories of his past life was his greatest secret. Even when facing He Caitou, once so close to him, he still decided to keep that hidden.
He Caitou raised his head, his eyes red. His usually simple, honest face twisted with ferocity, hatred in his heart reaching its peak.
"Zihuang, not a day has passed that I've forgotten this blood feud. These years, under Teacher's guidance, I've studied soul tools desperately, but my strength alone is too small. You, however, are different. At just twelve years old you've already reached the Soul Ancestor realm, and you have twin Martial Souls. Once you grow, your future will hold infinite possibilities."
"Your appearance has given me hope for revenge. Before, when Teacher told me you might be chosen for the Ultimate Soldier plan, I had many doubts. But now, this problem is solved."
Xu Zihuang raised a brow in feigned surprise.
"Ultimate Soldier?"
He Caitou nodded firmly.
"This is our Soul Tool Department's most important plan, created to rival the Sun Moon Empire's soul engineers."
"An Ultimate Soldier means one who can, with their own strength, change the outcome of a localized war. Those with such ability are called Ultimate Soldiers."
"Ultimate Soldiers exist for war. They not only need overwhelming individual strength but also must master the use and creation of various soul tools, excel in concealment, infiltration, sabotage, and have the sharpness to find key nodes in a war to destroy or support them. They are not commanders, but artists of war who can change its course. A Title Douluo may be individually strong, but their impact on a war cannot compare to an Ultimate Soldier."
"If you are chosen to be cultivated as an Ultimate Soldier in the future, I am willing to serve as your support soldier, assisting you with all my strength."
After pondering a moment, Xu Zihuang said solemnly:
"Imperial Brother, if Teacher Fan Yu brings up this plan to me, I will agree."
Though soul tool technology in the original three empires lagged far behind the Sun Moon Empire, this Ultimate Soldier plan still had merit.
If he wished to take revenge and seize the throne, he would inevitably step onto battlefields. And with He Caitou's support, he would need to divide far less attention.
"Good." He Caitou extended his broad hand, its pale palm and dark back forming a stark contrast.
Xu Zihuang reached out and gripped it firmly.
"Imperial Brother, let us encourage each other and work together. One day, we will make them pay with blood."
The joy of reunion gradually overshadowed He Caitou's intense hatred, and only then did he take note of Xu Zihuang's greatly changed appearance.
"Zihuang, did you also use the royal family's secret disguise technique?"
"Imperial Brother, this is actually my real face."
Xu Zihuang shook his head with a smile. Afterward, the two conversed for nearly half an hour, Xu Zihuang even revealing his ability with Extreme Lightning.
Extreme attributes would inevitably be exposed sooner or later—there was no need to hide it from He Caitou.
But the two tacitly avoided the heavy topic of the Sun Moon imperial palace coup, instead focusing on catching up.
Half an hour later, two brilliant tails of flame streaked across the sky again. Side by side, Xu Zihuang and He Caitou flew with their soul tools, restored to their familiar guises.
The graceful, refined youth and the seemingly honest, hulking figure.
In the southeastern corner of the Heavenly Soul Empire lay Soto City, once part of the Balak Kingdom ten thousand years ago, famed as the kingdom's granary. With the changing of times, Balak Kingdom and Soto City no longer existed, yet the area still produced grain in abundance, supplying the continent.
Eighty percent of it was sent to nearby Shrek City.
Flying swiftly over the land, Xu Zihuang and He Caitou saw farmlands stretching endlessly on both sides of the official road.
After another quarter hour of flight, they left the broad Limah Plains behind, the terrain becoming visibly uneven.
Low hills no higher than five hundred meters rose from the ground, and the farmland shrank accordingly.
Both Xu Zihuang and He Caitou looked ahead. About five kilometers away, a small village came into view.
With the extraordinary sight of his Golden Eyes, Xu Zihuang clearly saw the village's modest scale—around a hundred households. A wooden palisade surrounded it, seemingly to ward off beasts, with two wooden watchtowers about ten meters tall at the entrance.
Near the watchtowers, many people were gathered, and on the ground lay numerous soul beast corpses of different kinds.
"Senior Brother He, let's land here first."
Controlling his flying soul tool, Xu Zihuang slowly descended, speaking to He Caitou beside him.
To avoid exposing themselves later at Shrek Academy, they had agreed: unless in urgent or critical circumstances, they would act as usual.
He Caitou chuckled and followed him down. Having hidden himself for six or seven years at Shrek, he was long practiced at playing his role.
Approaching the village, even He Caitou sensed something unusual. Many people crowded the entrance, making the originally remote village seem lively.
Dozens of carriages stood around. Merchants haggled with small, bloodstained teams of soul masters over the corpses of soul beasts.
Xu Zihuang felt faint traces of soul power from these people. Most were only at a little over level ten—not a single one above level twenty.
With such strength, they could only hunt ten-year soul beasts in forests where beasts occasionally wandered close.
Yet even the lowest ten-year beasts could bring considerable profit.
For instance, not far ahead lay the corpse of a three-meter-long Brute Bull. Its fine beef alone could sell for at least fifty gold soul coins, given its thousand or more catties of meat.
What puzzled Xu Zihuang, however, was the sheer variety of beasts emerging from the nearby forest—almost like an artificially maintained Soul Beast Forest.
He Caitou, too, was confused.
"Strange. Didn't Teacher say beasts only wandered here occasionally?"
"Senior Brother He, let's rest in the village first," Xu Zihuang suggested, striding inside to recover his soul power.
After traveling with flying soul tools, his power was at eighty percent at best. He Caitou's, of poorer quality, was even lower.
Though Xu Zihuang doubted the nearby forest held anything threatening to them, caution was always wise. Testing fixed soul cannons wouldn't take much time anyway.
Today, neither wore Shrek Academy uniforms, as only inner court disciples could represent the Academy. Outer court disciples were forbidden to wear uniforms outside, lest they abuse the name for personal gain or tarnish the Academy's reputation.
It was also for their safety. Shrek Academy was hated by evil soul masters. Killing a few weak outer court disciples would amuse them.
Xu Zihuang wore close-fitting black, He Caitou's outfit even simpler.
Entering the village from the crowded entrance, they drew stares—Xu Zihuang for his striking looks, He Caitou for his massive frame and dark skin.
Simple paths crisscrossed the village, connecting houses or shops. Instead of peacefulness, the place bustled noisily.
"Forming a team to hunt beasts—need one defense-type master."
"Forming a team to hunt beasts—need one control-type master."
Shouts rang out everywhere. Most houses sold weapons or supplies.
This was no ordinary village but more like the bustling, chaotic markets near artificial Soul Beast Forests.
Xu Zihuang realized things here were not as simple as Fan Yu thought.
Going deeper, he and He Caitou stopped at an open-air teahouse. The proprietor, a kindly old man of over sixty, white-haired and wrinkled, greeted them warmly.
"Honored guests, what would you like to drink?"
"Just a pot of cold tea," Xu Zihuang replied with a smile, and they sat on wooden chairs.
Unfazed by He Caitou's hulking frame, the old man nodded kindly.
"Please wait a moment."
Soon, he brought a pot of sweet cold tea on a tray.
It wasn't fine tea, but neither Xu Zihuang nor He Caitou minded. He Caitou downed several bowls in a row, making the old man's smile soften.
Xu Zihuang then asked his doubt aloud:
"Elder, I heard the villagers here often suffer from beasts straying from the forest. But it seems the original villagers are few now?"
The old man glanced at him, then sighed.
"Ten kilometers south, the forest borders the Star Dou Great Forest. With soul beasts improving there in recent years, beasts often strayed over. Years ago, villagers asked the army in nearby cities to clear them, but nobles suppressed it. Only when the beasts formed groups did the news spread.
"Though they only occasionally approach the village, no one wished to live in fear. Many moved away. That suited the nobles, who turned this into a market like those near Soul Beast Forests."
Xu Zihuang understood. It was essentially a free, natural Soul Beast Forest—profitable for nobles.
After finishing their tea and recovering their power, he placed a silver coin on the table. Under awed gazes, they left southward toward the forest.
Most soul masters in the village were poor-born, of mediocre talent—no wonder many were still only level ten in their twenties. For them, storage soul tools worth thousands of gold were unattainable.
Even fools knew Xu Zihuang and He Caitou were extraordinary.
The forest lay only ten kilometers away, a narrow stretch about seventy kilometers long north to south.
As they entered, He Caitou handed Xu Zihuang a fixed soul cannon barrel.
"Junior Brother Yu."
Xu Zihuang took it, noting its smaller size compared to the one he had tested before.
Seeing his question, He Caitou explained with a grin:
"Teacher wants you to test reduced-power fixed soul cannons. This barrel is enough."
He then drew out several slim, finger-thick fixed cannons.
Each bore precise core arrays. Fan Yu had prepared twelve, each of different attributes—water, fire, earth, wind, light, darkness, poison, lightning, frost, metal, explosion, paralysis.
All were reduced in power. The goal was to let ordinary people use powerful soul tools. Unfortunately, though the energy cost was low, they still couldn't be fired without soul power.
Chatting, they went deeper into the forest.
Soon, they encountered a pack of six wolf-type beasts, each 1.6 meters tall, with iron-gray bodies.
Nether Wolves—common in forests.
Without needing He Caitou's reminder, Xu Zihuang smoothly loaded a shuttle-shaped cannon marked with icy-blue patterns.
At the same time, he released his Golden Eyes.
A dazzling icy-blue light burst from the barrel, striking the six ten-year Nether Wolves with perfect precision. In an instant, they froze into solid ice sculptures.
He Caitou hurried forward, recording data.
Meanwhile, on Sea God Island at Shrek Academy, Elder Xuan and Yan Shaozhe watched Ma Xiaotao's flushed, struggling face.
"Elder Xuan, it seems Yu Tianhuang's first soul skill can at most suppress Xiao Tao's evil fire for seven days at a time," Yan Shaozhe sighed.
Elder Xuan pulled out another greasy drumstick, glaring at him.
"Not satisfied with seven days? This way, as long as the boy stays by her side, she can cultivate without interference."
Yan Shaozhe could only smile bitterly.
"Then this girl Xiao Tao is truly bound to Yu Tianhuang."
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