...
Meanwhile, outside Soto City, Shrek Academy.
If Xuanhao's situation was a chaotic daily scene of "springtime beauty that cannot be contained," then Shrek Academy during this period could only be described as "when it rains, it pours" and "a gloomy and desolate atmosphere."
In the dean's office, Flander sat behind the worn-out desk, rubbing his temples in pain, as if he had aged ten years in an instant.
"well..."
Flanders let out a long sigh, bitterly picked up the now-cold, low-quality tea on the table, and took a sip.
Back when this year's admissions season first started, he was so excited that he couldn't sleep for three whole nights!
In a single day, Shrek Academy welcomed four monstrous geniuses!
The twelve-year-old Great Soul Masters Tang San, Xiao Wu, and Zhu Zhuqing, as well as Ning Rongrong, the owner of the top-tier support-type martial soul, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda!
Adding to the original Dai Mubai, Ma Hongjun, and Oscar, Flander had even begun to fantasize about the wonderful scene of these little monsters shining brightly in the continent-wide elite competition of advanced soul master academies, making Shrek Academy famous and prosperous overnight.
And what was the result?
His dream was only half-fulfilled when reality slapped him hard across the face!
Before he could even celebrate for a few days, a young man named Xuan Hao suddenly appeared, not only forcefully taking away the wealthy and powerful Ning Rongrong, but also managing to abduct the highly promising Zhu Zhuqing and Tang San's "precious little sister" Xiao Wu!
A perfectly good start was ruined and torn apart.
Xiao Wu's departure was almost devastating for Tang San.
In the past few months, although Tang San has continued to cultivate diligently under Yu Xiaogang's guidance, it is obvious to everyone that he is like a lost soul, extremely depressed, and his cultivation efficiency has been greatly reduced.
He has not yet fully recovered.
Zhu Zhuqing's departure and resolute attitude also greatly stimulated Dai Mubai.
But none of that matters.
What Flander, as the dean, found most unacceptable, and even somewhat terrifying, was that Dai Mubai was in trouble!
Moreover, it was a catastrophic disaster that was too shameful to talk about!
About a month ago.
During a break from the grueling training arranged by Yu Xiaogang, Dai Mubai, with a gloomy face, said he wanted to go out for a walk and clear his head.
As a result, he disappeared as if he had vanished into thin air, and there was no trace of him for a full two weeks!
No matter how hard Flanders and Zhao Wuji searched in Soto, even using their underground connections, they couldn't find a trace of him.
It wasn't until late one night, half a month later, that Dai Mubai, like a ghost, staggered back to the academy.
When Flander first saw Dai Mubai, he almost didn't recognize him as the arrogant Star Luo Prince.
Dai Mubai had lost a lot of weight, his eyes were sunken, his once golden hair had become dull and lifeless, and he exuded an extremely pungent smell of blood and some indescribable nauseating odor.
What alarmed Flander the most was the change in Dai Mubai's demeanor.
The arrogance, domineering attitude, and haughtiness that came with being born into royalty have completely disappeared.
Instead, there is an extremely morbid gloom, a neurotic sensitivity, and a kind of...femininity that makes people extremely uncomfortable.
That's right, it's feminine.
As a seasoned veteran at the Soul Saint level, Flander keenly noticed the most fatal change in Dai Mubai—his masculine characteristics seemed to be disappearing, not only in the shape of his Adam's apple and the depth of his voice, but even in the extremely unnatural way he walked!
Out of concern, and in order to find out what had happened in the past two weeks, Flander had no choice but to bite the bullet and ask Ma Hongjun, the fat guy who usually had a good relationship with Dai Mubai and was also his roommate, to secretly find out what was going on.
result.
This question almost caused a fatality in the boys' dormitory!
That night.
Ma Hongjun looked at Dai Mubai, who was sitting silently in the shadows on the edge of the bed, and casually leaned over, teasing him in his extremely irritating tone:
"Brother Dai, why have you been so well-behaved lately?
You've been back for several days now, how come I haven't seen you going out to the city to flirt with girls?"
"By the way, what about that amazing pair of twins you booked a while ago?
Haven't you brought them back to show off?
Are you feeling weak and unable to keep up?
Hehehe..."
These words were like a spark, instantly igniting the powder keg in Dai Mubai's heart that had been suppressed for so long, a powder keg filled with extreme humiliation and terror!
"ah--!!!"
With a piercing scream, like a wild beast's desperate cry before death, Dai Mubai's eyes turned blood red instantly.
His White Tiger Martial Soul instantly possessed him, and he slapped the unsuspecting Ma Hongjun away, sending him crashing into the dormitory wall!
Ma Hongjun was struck by this sudden and fatal attack, causing him to vomit blood and fall unconscious, while Dai Mubai went berserk, smashing everything in sight in the dormitory.
How could he possibly still be involved in extramarital affairs?!
How could he possibly still have the physical intimacy to touch those women?!
He no longer has that ability!
He's been sold!
He was treated like trash and sold to this underground black market, which caters to perverted people with unusual fetishes, for a mere two hundred gold soul coins!
Moreover, if it weren't for the obese buyer forgetting to administer the sedative beforehand in his pursuit of thrills...
He had no idea how many disgusting men had treated him like a plaything in this dark and hopeless place!
In the ten days or so that followed.
Dai Mubai hid alone in the desolate mountains outside Soto City, crying, collapsing, and self-harming like a madman.
Only after he slowly accepted the cruel fact that he had become a eunuch, a monster that was neither male nor female, did he slowly return to Shrek Academy like a walking corpse.
He dared not tell anyone about this extremely humiliating incident.
All his pride, his throne, and his future vanished completely with that kick and that dark experience.
And the culprit behind all of this...
Xuan Hao! Zhu Zhuqing!
In the shattered dormitory, Dai Mubai looked at his blood-stained hands, a chilling gurgling sound escaping his throat, his eyes filled with resentment and murderous intent that almost solidified into a tangible demon.
"I, Dai Mubai, swear..."
"In this life and the next, even as a vengeful ghost, I will tear you to pieces and sell all the women around you into the lowest brothels, so that you will never be reincarnated!!!"
...
Just as Dai Mubai was falling into the abyss of despair and resentment, transforming into a vengeful demon.
On the other side of Soto, however, lies a completely different scene.
As night falls, the Soto Arena, the most magnificent and bustling landmark in Soto City, is brightly lit and filled with the sounds of people.
The deafening cheers and the booming sounds of colliding soul skills intertwined, pushing the atmosphere here to a fever pitch.
After months of seclusion and intensive training, Xuan Hao once again led Zhu Zhuqing, Xiao Wu, Ning Rongrong, and Na'er into this trial ground filled with bloodshed and glory.
Inside the high-end VIP box of the Grand Arena.
Xuan Hao leaned back on the soft leather sofa, looking down through the huge one-way crystal glass at the fierce battle taking place on the arena below.
"Zhu Qing, after these months of special training, the medicinal power of the immortal herb in your body has been completely absorbed, and your level 39 soul power has been completely stabilized."
"However, true strength is always composed of two core components: one's own stats and combat experience. Neither can be lacking."
"Having overwhelming basic stats without matching combat experience and adaptability is just a pretty face with no substance.
Once you encounter an opponent with extremely high combat intelligence or who knows how to utilize the environment, you can easily be defeated by the underdog and capsize in an unexpected way."
Zhu Zhuqing listened attentively and nodded in deep agreement.
For the past few months, she has been sparring with Na'er every day.
She deeply felt that even with Ning Rongrong's full boost, her various stats even briefly surpassed Na'er's, but because her combat experience and timing were inferior to her opponent's, she was still completely suppressed by Na'er's elusive ice spear.
Now that she has fully adapted to her surging physical abilities and soul power, what she urgently needs next is to frantically accumulate combat experience in real life-or-death battles!
"Therefore, starting today, your training program will enter its second phase—real combat training."
Xuan Hao stood up, walked to the crystal glass, and pointed to the lower-level Soul Masters below who were fighting desperately for money and honor on the arena.
"However, I have an additional restriction on you."
"You are not allowed to use your soul bones when participating in the Soul Battle in this Great Soul Arena!"
"Why?" Zhu Zhuqing didn't complain, but humbly asked for guidance.
"Because the opponents here are not worthy of you using those trump cards."
Xuan Hao crossed his arms and analyzed, "Most of the Soul Masters in the Soto Grand Soul Arena are not top geniuses from prestigious families.
Their Martial Soul grades are extremely ordinary, and their Soul Ring configurations are even more uneven.
In terms of raw strength, they are simply no match for you."
"However, precisely because they are of mediocre talent, they often resort to any means necessary in order to survive and win in this arena.
All sorts of underhanded tricks, poisons, hidden weapons, or extremely bizarre psychological tactics are constantly emerging."
"What you need most right now is to learn how to deal with these unpredictable and underhanded tricks, and to hone your intuition for danger.
If you run into trouble, just use your Soul Bone skills and crush your opponent with sheer numerical superiority..."
"While winning that way might be easy and satisfying, you won't learn anything from it.
Over time, you'll develop a severe path dependency.
If you encounter a peerless powerhouse on the battlefield with higher stats and stronger trump cards, you'll instantly collapse, not even knowing how to fight back!"
"Abandon shortcuts and use your most basic martial spirit and purest fighting instincts to tear your opponents apart.
Only in this way can you truly grow into a top-tier agility-based assassin who inspires fear."
After listening to Xuan Hao's extremely rigorous yet insightful analysis, Zhu Zhuqing's fighting spirit instantly ignited.
"I see."
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