As per tradition, shortly after the Sea God's Fated Blind Date ends each year, it is time for Shrek Academy's vacation period.
Both inner court and outer court students receive one month of holiday. Outer court students must diligently cultivate during the break to prepare for the next year's advancement assessment. Inner court students, on the other hand, enjoy far more freedom with far fewer assessments.
Every student who has passed through numerous selections to enter Shrek Academy's inner court is an elite. For them, the most suitable form of assessment is supervisory missions.
To graduate from Shrek Academy, every inner court disciple must complete at least thirty supervisory missions during their time at the academy. Combined with regular studies and the high-pressure supervisory missions, it is inevitable that after a semester, their spirit will feel somewhat fatigued.
The Sea God's Fated Blind Date event held by Shrek Academy is also intended to allow inner court disciples to relax their minds and properly enjoy the following month of vacation.
Many inner court students choose to return home during the break or travel to unwind.
Sea God Island seemed to have returned to its usual tranquil and secluded state. The drill field, smooth as if cut by a blade, was empty.
Wang Yan looked at Dai Luoli with a serious expression and said:
"First, release your martial soul."
"Yes."
Only then did Dai Luoli recover from the shock of entering Sea God Island. He immediately responded respectfully without daring to be negligent.
Xu Zihuang and Wang Yan stopped at the edge of the drill field, while Dai Luoli walked alone to the center. Under the gaze of the two, he released his martial soul.
As two yellow and one purple soul rings rose from beneath his feet, Dai Luoli's muscles swelled noticeably. Fine white fur grew across his body, and his hands transformed into a pair of sharp tiger claws that gleamed with cold light.
It was the same White Tiger martial soul as Dai Yueheng and Dai Huabin.
However, Dai Luoli's White Tiger martial soul lacked the fierce and domineering aura of the Dai Yueheng brothers. Instead, it gave off a sense of agility and grace. The white fur shimmered with a blood-colored halo, and behind him, the vague outline of a blood tiger phantom could be seen.
Dai Luoli's eyes became exceptionally bright. Besides the original black pupils, there seemed to be an additional blood-colored pupil.
"It really is a variant martial soul," Wang Yan said excitedly as he walked up to Dai Luoli and carefully examined the state of his martial soul.
Xu Zihuang's gaze slightly condensed. With his tangible and substantial mental power, he could keenly sense that the mental-attribute origin of Dai Luoli's martial soul was gradually merging with the original White Tiger martial soul origin.
Although the fusion process was very slow and the current degree of fusion was still quite low, the most difficult step had already been crossed. As long as he continued cultivating step by step, the abilities of his variant Blood Tiger martial soul should gradually be developed.
Soul masters whose martial souls possess mental attributes indeed progress more slowly in cultivation. However, once the mental-attribute origin of their martial soul is truly awakened, the variation of their martial soul can be considered genuinely complete, making them significantly stronger than ordinary soul masters.
The Dai Luoli before them was exactly in this situation.
After observing for a while, Wang Yan also identified the issue with Dai Luoli's martial soul.
"In the past, your cultivation progressed slowly because only the White Tiger portion of your martial soul was being mobilized during cultivation, while the mental-attribute portion remained untouched. But now your mental-attribute martial soul origin has been awakened and has begun to fuse with your original White Tiger martial soul origin. This fusion process may be slow, but one thing is certain: the deeper the fusion, the more your potential will be unleashed."
"Then what should I do?" Dai Luoli asked urgently.
Wang Yan smiled and said:
"The only way to speed up this process is through external stimulation. If I'm not mistaken, before your martial soul changed, you must have experienced a very strong emotional fluctuation."
Dai Luoli's eyes widened, filled with admiration.
From Dai Luoli's expression, Wang Yan already knew the answer. He continued in a deep voice:
"However, I do not recommend excessively pursuing external stimulation. It is very difficult to control the degree, and it may leave behind lingering side effects."
"Teacher Wang, leave this to me. In this regard, I should be able to help Luoli," Xu Zihuang said, having approached Wang Yan at some point.
Seeing Xu Zihuang, Wang Yan was momentarily stunned. He had been so focused earlier that he had overlooked this point.
Xu Zihuang's Golden Pupils martial soul was undoubtedly the absolute pinnacle among mental attributes in the current era. No other martial soul could compare with it. Xu Zihuang could perfectly and precisely control mental power to provide exactly the right kind of stimulation for Dai Luoli.
Wang Yan patted Xu Zihuang on the shoulder, showing no suspicion, and smiled warmly:
"In that case, Tianhuang, I'll leave it to you. You young people can talk more easily among yourselves. I have other matters to attend to. If anything comes up, feel free to come find me anytime."
After saying that, Wang Yan turned and left.
He was now the deputy director of Shrek Academy's Martial Soul Research Department and had many responsibilities.
On the vast drill field, only Xu Zihuang and Dai Luoli remained.
Dai Luoli looked overwhelmed with favor, giving a shy smile.
"Brother Tianhuang, thank you for your trouble."
"There are no shortcuts in cultivation. I can help you accelerate the process, but most of it still depends on you, especially having sufficiently strong willpower," Xu Zihuang reminded him with a gentle smile.
"No time to waste. Let's begin right away. First, adjust your own condition."
"Yes!" Dai Luoli responded enthusiastically.
Aside from his father, the White Tiger Duke Dai Hao, Xu Zihuang was the person he admired and idolized the most. To receive personal guidance from Xu Zihuang was a scene he had once only dreamed of.
The surreal feeling still lingered and refused to fade.
Dai Luoli forcefully calmed his turbulent emotions, sat cross-legged, circulated his soul power through several cycles, and finally settled down.
But when he stood up and looked toward Xu Zihuang, what filled his vision was a pair of profound eyes like a vast starry sky. Within those eyes seemed to be two black vortexes. An indescribable, terrifying mental pressure instantly locked onto him.
The tremor that came from his very soul made Dai Luoli's expression change dramatically. He instinctively gathered soul power to resist. At the same time, Xu Zihuang's voice sounded in his ears:
"Calm your mind and concentrate."
Under Xu Zihuang's deliberate control, the mental pressure he released was not enough to instantly shatter Dai Luoli's sea of consciousness; it merely pushed him right up to the limit of what he could endure.
Xu Zihuang sat on a smooth rock, not even looking at Dai Luoli with his eyes. Yet Dai Luoli could clearly feel that the mental pressure was steadily increasing; the increments were small, but continuous. With every slight increase, the pressure on him grew heavier.
Gradually, Dai Luoli felt countless illusions appear before his eyes. His breathing became difficult. It was as though an invisible mountain was crushing down on his soul.
Finally, he could no longer hold on and was forced to release his martial soul. The mental power in his sea of consciousness merged with his martial soul, resisting the mental pressure coming from Xu Zihuang.
Under this mental oppression, the blood-colored halo around his body became noticeably stronger than before, and it showed signs of growing even more intense. The rich blood-red radiance flickered, making his entire body seem as though it had been dyed in blood. The blood tiger phantom behind him began to become more solid.
Dai Luoli gasped violently, gritting his teeth, and suddenly shouted, trying his best to increase his momentum. His tiger claws also turned into a strange, blood-red color, and his body began to tremble.
Whether it was his longing to become a powerful soul master or his admiration for Xu Zihuang, he had to hold on.
Xu Zihuang did not continue to increase the mental pressure on Dai Luoli. The current intensity was exactly the most appropriate for him. The White Tiger martial soul origin and the mental-attribute martial soul origin inside Dai Luoli's body were fusing at an astonishing speed.
Time continued to pass. The mental fluctuations on Dai Luoli's body grew stronger and stronger, intertwining and fusing with his soul power. The originally white fur gradually shifted toward blood-red.
His soul power was also steadily rising.
Half an hour passed quietly. Just as Dai Luoli's pupils began to lose focus, Xu Zihuang withdrew the mental pressure.
Like a drowning man finally reaching the surface, Dai Luoli was drenched in sweat. His limbs collapsed to the ground as he gasped for air. It took nearly a quarter of an hour before he slightly recovered.
Steady footsteps approached. He subconsciously raised his head.
He saw Xu Zihuang handing him a jade bottle containing a black medicinal pill.
"Take this pill, then begin cultivating."
Dai Luoli no longer had the strength to speak. Bloodshot lines filled the area around his blood-red pupils. Out of complete trust in Xu Zihuang, he didn't hesitate; he bit open the stopper, swallowed the dragon-eye-sized black pill, then sat cross-legged and entered cultivation.
A layer of black light rippled across his body.
What Xu Zihuang had given Dai Luoli was the very last Mysterious Turtle God Pill he had left. After the stimulation from the earlier mental pressure, combined with the assistance of this Mysterious Turtle God Pill, the potential of Dai Luoli's variant Blood Tiger martial soul had basically been fully unlocked.
The fact that his soul power broke through five levels in one go, rising from level 35 directly to level 40, was the best proof.
Xu Zihuang leaned back against the rock at the edge of the drill field once more, gazing deeply at Dai Luoli.
"I hope you can bring me the return I expect."
…
At the same time, in the female student dormitory area on the west side of Sea God Island, Ning Tian went to find Tang Ya.
On the balcony of a two-story wooden pavilion, the two sat facing each other.
The one living in this wooden pavilion was Tang Ya and Jiang Nannan. However, Jiang Nannan had already left Shrek Academy the previous day.
Hearing Tang Ya mention this, Ning Tian opened her lips in surprise.
"Sister Xiaoya, are you saying Sister Jiang left the academy?"
"Uh… what I mean is, Nannan went home temporarily. The vacation starts in a few days, and there haven't been any classes recently, so she asked for leave early."
Realizing her earlier words had been ambiguous, Tang Ya quickly added with a laugh.
"Also, that guy Xu Sanshi asked for leave to go home too. Looks like he still can't let go of Nannan."
"I feel like Senior Brother Xu might not necessarily be doing it for Sister Jiang," Ning Tian said meaningfully.
Girls tend to be more sentimental. In their view, it isn't so easy to give up on a relationship.
Ning Tian had previously shared Tang Ya's opinion, but after hearing Xu Zihuang's explanation, she changed her mind.
"Tianhuang told me about Sister Jiang and Senior Brother Xu."
Tang Ya's smile faded.
"What did Tianhuang say?"
"Tianhuang said that Senior Brother Xu's choice during the Sea God's Fated Blind Date wasn't impulsive. It was the result of long and careful consideration, a quantitative change finally leading to a qualitative one. Before that, Senior Brother Xu had already been silently giving for a very long time, but he never received even the slightest response from Sister Jiang. That kind of unequal treatment eventually caused Senior Brother Xu to gradually lose hope."
"I don't know what Xu Sanshi did to Nannan back then to make her have such a huge prejudice against him."
Tang Ya sighed lightly. Thinking from another perspective, if she were Xu Sanshi and Beibei were Jiang Nannan, just imagining it already felt suffocating.
Noticing the slightly heavy atmosphere, Ning Tian skillfully changed the subject at the right moment.
"By the way, Sister Xiaoya, how come I don't see Senior Brother Beibei? Isn't he with you?"
Thinking of something, Tang Ya's pretty face flushed slightly.
"I've been staying on Sea God Island the whole time. Beibei is over at the Tang Sect. He also knows that Xu Sanshi and Nannan left, so he's probably gone to see Xu Sanshi off."
Ning Tian looked at Tang Ya in surprise. Tang Ya suddenly realized what she had said, her almond eyes widening, filled with fiery gossip energy.
"Ning Tian, you and Tianhuang…?"
"Mm." Ning Tian shyly lowered her head but did not deny it.
Tang Ya patted her cheeks with both hands, speechless for a long moment. Finally, she took a sip of hot tea to calm down, then held Ning Tian's wrist and softly said something.
Ning Tian was stunned for a moment, then blushed deeply and leaned close to Tang Ya's ear, moving her lips in response.
…
As the sun set and the moon rose, night fell.
The sky was dotted with countless stars. On the wide drill field, visibility was excellent. Looking up, the starry sky felt almost within reach.
Several bright soul guide street lamps illuminated the area.
Triggered by a shift in aura, Xu Zihuang, who had been resting with closed eyes, slowly opened them. In his line of sight, the blood-red soul power light covering Dai Luoli suddenly converged. Dai Luoli also opened his eyes.
Dai Luoli only felt warmth spreading throughout his body, an indescribable comfort. His soul power surged like the Yangtze River. An unprecedented sense of power welled up from within. Even more strangely, even without using his eyes, he could sense the environment within dozens of meters around him.
Although his mental power had only just reached the level where it could be released externally, compared to his previous self, this was already a tremendous leap.
"Release your martial soul. See your own condition," Xu Zihuang's voice sounded.
Only then did Dai Luoli notice Xu Zihuang sitting not far in front of him.
"Brother Tianhuang?!"
Xu Zihuang smiled warmly:
"Release your martial soul, and you'll understand everything."
Feeling something, Dai Luoli slowly raised his right hand. His martial soul possessed him. Dense blood-red fur emerged across his body, light flowing over it. Rich soul power fluctuations are intertwined with intense mental fluctuations.
His gaze became dazed.
Is this… my martial soul? But why is it so different from before? When did my mental power become this strong? And my soul power… has actually reached the level 40 bottleneck?
These thoughts flashed through his mind.
With his mental power restored and his consciousness clear, he quickly recalled what had happened earlier, Xu Zihuang using mental pressure to stimulate his potential and giving him that black pill.
He didn't need to think to know how precious that black pill was.
Looking at Xu Zihuang, who had stayed by his side the entire day, his heart was deeply moved. His nose stung. From childhood to now, the only one who had ever truly cared about him was his mother.
His father was merely a vague concept to him. In the sixteen years since his birth, Dai Hao had returned to the White Tiger Duke's Mansion only a handful of times. His two older brothers, Dai Yueheng and Dai Huabin, had rarely looked at him directly.
From Xu Zihuang, he saw the image of both a father and an older brother.
"Brother Tianhuang, I…"
Overwhelmed by emotion, Dai Luoli didn't know what to say for a moment.
Xu Zihuang stepped forward and patted Dai Luoli's shoulder intimately, laughing lightly.
"Come on, I'll take you to your residence. Remember, after you go back, continue cultivating and completely refine the medicinal effect of that Mysterious Turtle God Pill. Your martial soul ability has similarities with mine. If you're willing, for the next period of time, come to the drill field every day. I'll teach you a combat technique that suits you."
"Of course I'm willing, Brother Tianhuang!" Dai Luoli responded eagerly. After a brief silence, he asked the question he cared about most:
"Brother Tianhuang… why are you being so good to me?"
"Maybe because I feel we're quite fated," Xu Zihuang gave Dai Luoli a meaningful glance before turning to leave.
"Come on."
Dai Luoli silently followed behind Xu Zihuang. After a short moment of stunned realization, his expression became extremely resolute.
He knew that Xu Zihuang was doing this without asking for anything in return — but one day, he would repay this kindness.
Xu Zihuang escorted Dai Luoli to the accommodation area on the south side of Sea God Island. This area was reserved for receiving outside guests. Since Dai Luoli had entered the inner court through Dai Hao's connections, he was not a true inner court disciple and could only stay here.
Xu Zihuang himself walked alone to the lakeside on the south side of Sea God Island.
Under the moonlight, Ning Tian was already waiting by the lake. Her light blue long dress fluttered gently in the wind, revealing a section of fair, delicate calf beneath the hem — carrying an ethereal, elegant beauty.
Xu Zihuang lifted Ning Tian by supporting her hips with both hands, embracing her face-to-face.
Ning Tian smiled brightly and wrapped her arms around Xu Zihuang's neck.
"You're putting so much effort into Luoli's matter… is it because he idolizes you so much?"
"There's that aspect, yes," Xu Zihuang nodded frankly.
His willingness to invest time and effort in Dai Luoli was indeed related to this factor. Only a Dai Luoli like this would be truly useful to him in the future.
Mist rose around them, and their figures gradually disappeared into the distance.
In the following days, Xu Zihuang spent a few leisurely days. In the mornings, he taught Dai Luoli that combat technique at the drill field; the rest of the time, he spent accompanying Ning Tian.
Thanks to the innate talent of his martial soul, Dai Luoli finally managed to achieve a preliminary fusion of mental power and soul power after three days and was able to execute that combat technique.
Today, the drill field still contained only Xu Zihuang and Dai Luoli.
Mist drifted in the air. Dai Luoli stepped forward with his left foot. A blood-colored afterimage quietly appeared behind him, then merged with his body. That blood-colored afterimage was the form of his Blood Tiger martial soul.
His right fist struck out lightly. Blood-colored light condensed and dyed a large area of space.
What Dai Luoli was using was the method of fusing mental power and soul power, the most basic level of the Sovereign's Descent combat technique.
In truth, many powerful soul masters were capable of simply fusing mental power and soul power.
But the Blood Tiger possessed this innate talent, so Xu Zihuang had taught it to him effortlessly, taking advantage of the favorable circumstances.
"Not bad. It incorporates the characteristics of your own martial soul and lays a solid foundation. How far you can go in the future depends on you," Xu Zihuang stepped forward and praised.
Receiving praise from Xu Zihuang, Dai Luoli turned around somewhat shyly.
"Brother Tianhuang, does this combat technique have a name?"
Xu Zihuang gave a faint smile.
"I only taught you the correct method of using mental power and soul power. This combat technique, combined with the characteristics of your Blood Tiger martial soul, can be considered a technique that belongs solely to you. You can name it yourself."
Dai Luoli frowned in thought, then his eyes lit up.
"Si Dong Quan. Since I comprehended this technique while thinking in winter, let's call it Si Dong Quan."
Xu Zihuang, who had always been calm, had a wonderful expression on his face, as if he had thought of something, and felt a chill in his heart.
"Si Dong Quan?"
"What's wrong? Brother Tianhuang, is the name bad?" Noticing Xu Zihuang's strange reaction, Dai Luoli became a little nervous.
Xu Zihuang felt extremely speechless, but his expression quickly returned to normal.
"It's nothing. I just thought of something else. You decide for yourself."
Even though he said that, the nauseating feeling from his past-life memories still lingered and refused to leave.
"Si Dong Quan, thoughts surging like a spring! Nian Dong Jian, longing that never fades! Hao Dong Zhang, forever and ever!"
Let the music begin.
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