"Who dares to cause trouble on Shrek Academy's territory!" Xian Lin'er had just been fiercely arguing with Yan Shaozhe over the allocation of medicinal herbs, already in a foul mood.
Now, seeing the herbs wilting under the impact of an unknown spiritual shock, her anger flared even more intensely.
She immediately activated her martial soul, merging her spiritual power and soul power. Terrifying cyan flames erupted from her body, completely neutralizing the weakened remnants of the spiritual shockwave that had spread from afar.
Xian Lin'er's martial soul was the Cyan Flame Dragon, a top-tier martial soul with exceptional attack power. The cyan flames were produced by the intense friction of highly compressed wind, known as Cyan Flame, which had immense destructive power, specifically the ability to disintegrate.
After dealing with the unknown spiritual shock, Xian Lin'er immediately took out a level-8 flight soul tool from her storage soul tool and flew toward the source of the spiritual power, determined to find and deal with the culprit who dared to cause trouble on Shrek Academy's territory.
As for why a Titled Douluo powerhouse like her didn't use a level-9 flight soul tool, it was because the soul tool technology of Shrek Academy and the three Douluo Empires lagged far behind that of the Sun Moon Empire.
Currently, the highest technological level could only produce level-8 soul tools, with the method to create level-9 soul tools exclusively held by the Sun Moon Empire.
Seeing Xian Lin'er redirect her anger elsewhere, Yan Shaozhe let out a sigh of relief.
Yan Shaozhe always felt guilty toward Xian Lin'er, his ex-girlfriend, as he had been the one to cheat on her. Thus, despite his higher cultivation, he could never act domineering in front of her.
However, personal feelings were one thing, and official business was another. As the dean of the Martial Soul Department, he wouldn't yield an inch when it came to resource allocation.
The Martial Soul Department was large and influential, with numerous core and inner court disciples, so the herb allocation had to be split 80-20, with the Martial Soul Department taking 80% and the Soul Tool Department 20%.
Seeing Xian Lin'er head off to find the culprit, Yan Shaozhe quickly followed.
"Lin'er, it's dangerous to go alone. I'll come with you."
Hearing Yan Shaozhe's words from behind, Xian Lin'er let out a cold snort and flew even faster.
However, as a level-95 Super Douluo, Yan Shaozhe's soul power surpassed Xian Lin'er's, so he quickly caught up. (In the original work, Yan Shaozhe debuted at level 95 and later reached level 97, while Xian Lin'er's cultivation was consistently one level below his.)
Seeing Yan Shaozhe catch up, Xian Lin'er retorted coldly, "Why are you following me? I can handle this alone."
Flying side by side with Xian Lin'er, Yan Shaozhe didn't argue and smiled, saying, "Lin'er, the unknown enemy daring to cause trouble at Shrek Academy is likely strong. It's safer for us to act together."
Xian Lin'er huffed but ultimately didn't refuse.
Thus, Yan Shaozhe and Xian Lin'er traced the direction of the spreading spiritual power. But as they flew further, their expressions grew increasingly serious.
Because they had been far away earlier, the spiritual power reaching Shrek Academy's herb base had already weakened significantly, so neither Yan Shaozhe nor Xian Lin'er had realized how strong the troublemaker was.
But as they flew closer to Wang Chen, the spiritual pressure they felt grew increasingly intense.
Such powerful spiritual pressure could only come from a powerhouse, at the very least a Super Douluo.
Yan Shaozhe furrowed his brows, grabbing Xian Lin'er's arm and saying seriously, "Lin'er, this person's spiritual power is extremely strong, likely a Super Douluo.
You head back to Shrek Academy and report to Elder Xuan. Have him come here. I'll go probe this person's strength. If they're from a hostile force, I'll hold them off until Elder Xuan arrives."
Sensing the powerful spiritual power, Xian Lin'er looked at Yan Shaozhe with some concern. "Isn't it too dangerous for you to go alone?"
Standing with his hands behind his back in midair, Yan Shaozhe said confidently, "Across the continent, there are some powerhouses I can't defeat, but those who can kill me can be counted on one hand.
Lin'er, don't worry. Unless this person is a level-99 Limit Douluo like Teacher, I have no problem staying alive."
Recalling Yan Shaozhe's Bright Phoenix martial soul's special abilities and how he had escaped near-certain death in the past, Xian Lin'er nodded and turned back to fly toward Shrek Academy.
As Dragon God Douluo Mu En's disciple, Yan Shaozhe had inherited his true teachings. With the Phoenix True Fire of his martial soul's origin and his powerful self-created combat techniques, he was no weakling even among Super Douluo.
Coupled with his heaven-defying survival ability, Nirvana, he boldly and confidently flew toward the cave where Wang Chen was located.
…
Meanwhile, inside the cave.
Wang Chen sat cross-legged, his spiritual sea undergoing earth-shattering changes.
As a million-year spiritual attribute soul beast, the Tianmeng Iceworm's soul ring naturally brought a tremendous boost to Wang Chen's spiritual power.
As the Tianmeng Iceworm's vast spiritual power infused, Wang Chen's spiritual sea was no longer as illusory as before but became solid and tangible.
It rapidly expanded, growing several times larger in moments. The spiritual power within formed a boundless ocean, with waves surging like a stormy sea.
After fully absorbing the Tianmeng Iceworm's soul ring, Wang Chen stood up, opening his deep black eyes.
The spiritual power that had surged outward in all directions due to fusing the million-year soul ring was now fully retracted.
Feeling the spiritual power in his spiritual sea, Wang Chen couldn't help but feel excited.
This was tangible and material-level spiritual power, a realm that even many Super Douluo might not achieve.
And now, he had reached it at the Soul Sage realm.
But that wasn't the most critical part. The most important were the million-year seventh soul ring and the second martial soul.
With a thought, seven soul rings rose from beneath Wang Chen's feet, enough to drive anyone mad.
Black! Black! Black! Black! Black! Black! Gold!
A seven-ring Soul Sage! And the lowest soul ring was a black 10,000-year ring, with the seventh being an unprecedented million-year golden soul ring.
Such a terrifying soul ring configuration would make anyone's eyes pop out.
Especially the final golden soul ring, noble and magnificent.
In its presence, the black 10,000-year soul rings had no presence, only serving as green leaves to complement the flower that was the golden ring.
Wang Chen's consciousness entered his spiritual sea, where the Tianmeng Iceworm was now fast asleep above it, exhausted.
Because Wang Chen's attributes didn't match the Tianmeng Iceworm's, the fusion had been particularly difficult, causing the Tianmeng Iceworm to expend immense energy and fall into a deep slumber.
However, Wang Chen's spiritual sea, enriched with vibrant life force due to the Gold of Living Beings, was an excellent place for the Tianmeng Iceworm to rest and recover.
As for when the Tianmeng Iceworm would wake, that depended on when it could recover.
With its soul origin in Wang Chen's hands and its power fully absorbed by him, the Tianmeng Iceworm posed no threat to Wang Chen. Since Wang Chen had promised to take it along when he became a god, he wouldn't go back on his word.
Though their acquaintance hadn't been pleasant, the Tianmeng Iceworm had put in great effort to help Wang Chen fuse the million-year soul ring, greatly boosting his strength.
Thus, when Wang Chen became a god in the future, he would repay the Tianmeng Iceworm, helping it reshape its body and achieve immortality, settling this karmic debt.
Speaking to the Tianmeng Iceworm above his spiritual sea, Wang Chen said, "Rest well. I, Wang Chen, won't go back on my promise. By the time you wake up, I might already be a god."
The sleeping Tianmeng Iceworm naturally couldn't hear what Wang Chen said, still snoring away.
Seeing no response, Wang Chen didn't say more. With a wave of his hand, he used a bit of spiritual power to create a palace and placed the Tianmeng Iceworm inside. When it woke up, Wang Chen would naturally sense it.
Then, Wang Chen's consciousness returned to his body. At that moment, his brows furrowed as the soul tools he had placed outside the cave were triggered.
Spiritual power surged from his forehead, and his tangible and material-realm spiritual power rapidly spread out to investigate.
Outside the cave, a white-robed elder with robust soul power was countering the trigger-type soul tools Wang Chen had set up for warning and protection.
A faint golden glow emanated from the elder, with golden bright flames burning fiercely. The air within a few hundred meters rippled like water, as if being scorched by intense fire.
The terrifying bright flames were so powerful that they melted all the soul tools Wang Chen had set up.
Inside the cave, Wang Chen raised an eyebrow upon detecting that the white-robed elder had melted his soul tools.
His soul tools were level-7 and level-8, capable of killing a Soul Douluo instantly. Even a Titled Douluo would need some effort to destroy them.
For this white-robed elder to destroy them so effortlessly, his strength was clearly at the Super Douluo level.
And with those distinctive bright flames, Wang Chen immediately guessed the elder's identity.
Shrek Academy, Mu En's disciple, Bright Phoenix Yan Shaozhe, also a descendant of Ye Xishui and Long Xiaoyao.
Seeing this, Wang Chen thought to himself, "Shrek Academy has come knocking. It seems the commotion from fusing the million-year soul ring was too great."
As a powerhouse from the Sun Moon Empire, Wang Chen was undoubtedly in a hostile relationship with Shrek Academy. A conflict was almost certain upon meeting.
In fact, if it weren't for the Tianmeng Iceworm's impending death requiring immediate fusion, with Wang Chen's cautious nature, he would have returned to the Sun Moon Empire to perform the fusion.
However, while Wang Chen was cautious, he was never one to shy away from trouble. Especially now, with his strength vastly improved.
After absorbing the Tianmeng Iceworm's million-year soul ring, his soul power was no longer stuck at level 70 and could continue to rise.
When he condensed his soul core, he had absorbed a large amount of heaven and earth energy, raising his soul power by nearly three levels. Now, Wang Chen's soul power had reached level 73. Since the Tianmeng Iceworm's soul power had been drained by the Star Dou Forest's ferocious beasts, leaving only its spiritual power, it didn't boost Wang Chen's soul power, only his spiritual power.
Now, Wang Chen's spiritual power had reached the early stage of the tangible and material realm. A few levels of soul power didn't significantly enhance his strength, but the tangible and material-realm spiritual power greatly amplified his combat ability.
Though his soul power and physique still lagged behind a Super Douluo's, his tangible and material-realm spiritual power narrowed that gap.
Wang Chen was confident that, even without using his million-year Martial Soul True Body, a mere Yan Shaozhe was no match for him.
If he used his million-year Martial Soul True Body, even Taotie Douluo Elder Xuan would have to face him to see who could kill whom.
In the current Shrek Academy, aside from Dragon God Douluo Mu En, a level-99 Limit Douluo, Wang Chen didn't take anyone else seriously.
Holding the God-Suppressing Spear, Wang Chen unleashed his vast, sea-like tangible and material-realm spiritual power, directly blowing off the cave's roof, revealing the beautiful sky above.
This was the power of tangible and material-level spiritual power. At this level, spiritual power was no longer vague and ethereal but could truly interact with the physical world.
As the cave was opened, golden sunlight poured in, casting a golden glow on Wang Chen. His soul tool armor and silver-white spear made him look majestic and imposing.
The commotion drew Yan Shaozhe's attention, and he immediately looked at Wang Chen.
Seeing the soul tool armor, bracelet, spear, and flight soul tool on Wang Chen, Yan Shaozhe's eyes narrowed.
As the dean of Shrek Academy, though he didn't study soul tools, he had keen discernment.
He could tell at a glance that every soul tool on Wang Chen far surpassed the level-8 soul tools he and Xian Lin'er used—they were undoubtedly level-9.
And with the Douluo Empires' lagging soul tool technology, this person was 100% a powerhouse from the Sun Moon Empire.
Yan Shaozhe thought to himself, "A level-9 soul mentor coming to Shrek Academy's territory without any notice or report must have ulterior motives."
He immediately decided to detain this person. Even if he couldn't, keeping one or two level-9 soul tools for research would be worthwhile.
With a smile that didn't reach his eyes, Yan Shaozhe said, "I am Yan Shaozhe, dean of Shrek Academy. Which level-9 soul mentor from the Sun Moon Empire are you?
You came to Shrek Academy without any notice and damaged dozens of our medicinal herbs. You must compensate."
Hearing Yan Shaozhe's exorbitant demand for dozens of herbs, Wang Chen replied, "And if I don't compensate?"
Yan Shaozhe smiled, "No compensation? Then you'll stay here. I believe the Sun Moon Empire's emperor would be happy to pay a ransom!"
Looking at Yan Shaozhe, Wang Chen sighed, "It seems Shrek Academy will be short one dean today."
As soon as he spoke, Wang Chen thrust his spear forward—Spatial Confinement!!
Yan Shaozhe froze, like an insect trapped in amber, unable to move…