"Hall Master, if we do this, will Shrek Academy treat the exchange students we send there badly?"
After Lin Huiqun and Yan Shaozhe left, an old man in a cyan robe spoke up. This elder was none other than Old Lin, who had led the team from the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy in the previous Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament.
"Don't worry. Their students and teachers are still sitting in the Sun Moon Royal Prison anyway."
Jing Hongchen's eyes flickered slightly. After pondering for a moment, he spoke calmly.
"But Hall Master, didn't you promise to return the teachers and students of Shrek Academy to them?"
Another elder in a red robe asked. He too was a Level-9 Soul Engineer.
"No. What I said from the beginning was that I would return Huo Yuhao to them. I never mentioned anyone else."
Jing Hongchen said softly, revealing a fox-like smile.
The other students of Shrek Academy and Fan Yu had been captured by the Sun Moon Imperial Family. Asking him for them was useless anyway…
"Hall Master, you really are brilliant."
The red-robed elder praised.
"But we should still take precautions. After returning Huo Yuhao to them, let our children come back as well. After all, we must prepare for the next All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament."
"The next tournament won't be simple. Calling it a battle of dragons and tigers would be no exaggeration. Keeping the championship this time won't be easy…"
Jing Hongchen clasped his hands behind his back and spoke thoughtfully.
The next All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament would be hosted by the Sun Moon Empire, but the rules would differ from before. Not only could soul master academies participate—sects would also be allowed to enter the competition.
Compared to academies, disciples within certain sects often receive better training, and their martial souls and combat methods are usually stronger.
Some major sects even begin cultivating their core disciples from childhood, so their strength absolutely cannot be underestimated.
"Sigh… Back then my strength simply wasn't enough. Otherwise, that student Xiao Jiang wouldn't have been taken away by the Body Sect. The glory our academy achieved in the last tournament was mainly thanks to him. I wonder how he's doing now…"
Old Lin sighed with some self-reproach.
Jing Hongchen's expression stiffened slightly, thinking inwardly:
That brat is doing quite well right now… he even ran off with my granddaughter.
"Alright, everyone go back and rest. There's nothing more to do here."
Jing Hongchen waved his hand. The three Level-9 Soul Engineers nodded slightly and left one after another.
"Xu Tianran, the rest is up to you…"
Looking out the window, Jing Hongchen murmured quietly.
Inside the room, the linked soul device system contracted again, everything returning to its original state—except for several "priceless" decorations that had been knocked down.
Holy Spirit Church — Secret Chamber
Inside a hidden chamber of the Holy Spirit Church, Jiang Jue sat cross-legged on the ground with a calm expression.
The entire chamber looked as if it had been dyed with blood, illuminated by a deep crimson glow.
On the altar, the fragment of a divine position continuously rotated. Scarlet ribbons of energy were endlessly produced from it, winding around the Soul-Refining Banner.
Meanwhile, the six beast souls guarding Jiang Jue had undergone tremendous changes in their aura, each now resembling ferocious beasts.
The Evil Eye, which served as Jiang Jue's first soul ring, had already grown ten tentacles, and the vertical pupil in its center had expanded many times over.
The originally tall Twin Cyclops had grown even larger—its feet planted on the ground and its head nearly touching the ceiling.
"Pop! Pop! Pop!"
Three crisp sounds rang out in succession.
The crimson ribbons seemed to be squeezed dry, gradually dissipating into the air. The fragment floating above the altar stopped spinning, and the blood-red light filling the chamber dimmed.
But the soul rings on the Soul-Refining Banner had undergone a tremendous change.
Black! Black! Black! Black! Black! Red!
Five black rings and one red ring—six soul rings far exceeding the optimal configuration surrounded the banner.
Moreover, the first five ten-thousand-year soul rings showed hints of red within the black, clearly having reached the absolute limit of the ten-thousand-year level.
"Still not enough?"
Jiang Jue murmured inwardly.
Half an hour earlier, his first five soul rings had already reached 99,999 years. For the next thirty minutes, he had continuously drawn energy from the crimson ribbons, trying to break through into the 100,000-year threshold.
Unfortunately, he was always just a tiny bit short.
Instead, his sixth soul ring had already reached 190,000 years.
"Looks like I still need to use a bit of Tianmeng Ice Silkworm's origin essence."
With a movement of Jiang Jue's spiritual power, a mass of golden light was dragged out by dark chains. It was the origin essence of Tianmeng Ice Silkworm, stored inside the Soul-Refining Banner.
"Go!"
Jiang Jue shouted.
The cluster of origin energy split apart and flowed into the soul rings.
Immediately, the soul rings—already black with a hint of red—seemed to break free from some invisible restraint. They were gradually dyed and eroded by crimson.
At the center of each ring, a golden pattern slowly crawled into existence, extremely strange and mysterious.
"Break open for me!"
With Jiang Jue's furious roar—
Crack! Crack!
A sound like shattering glass echoed out.
The black soul rings finally shed their shackles and transformed into 100,000-year soul rings.
Red! Red! Red! Red! Red! Red!
Six hundred-thousand-year soul rings burst with blood-red light, illuminating the once-dim chamber once again.
"It worked!"
Jiang Jue felt a surge of joy as he slowly opened his eyes. Standing up, he summoned the Soul-Refining Banner and carefully sensed its changes.
Looking at the ancient crimson patterns on it, a sharp glint flashed through Jiang Jue's eyes.
The banner seemed to have become even more mysterious and powerful.
"Kid Jiang, how are the gains?"
Electrolux looked at the smiling Jiang Jue and asked softly.
"Old Yi, the harvest is enormous!"
"Every soul skill has improved greatly. Just the domain soul skill Boundless Sea of Resentment has had its range expanded three times."
"The absolute suppression within the domain has also increased to 20%. In other words, as long as they're not gods—even Limit Douluo will have their overall combat power reduced by twenty percent inside my domain. My other soul skills have improved significantly as well."
Jiang Jue said with a smile curling at the corner of his mouth. This increase in soul-ring age was truly a huge opportunity for him.
If he had constantly consumed the Tianmeng Ice Silkworm's origin earlier to raise his soul rings, then when he reached Level 70 and tried to condense a soul core, his resources might have been insufficient.
"Ahem… Kid Jiang, don't celebrate yet. I have some news here—and it's not exactly good."
Electrolux coughed lightly, his expression becoming solemn.
"Old Yi, what news?"
Jiang Jue froze slightly, a bad premonition rising in his heart.
"Tell me—what attribute do evil soul masters fear the most? And which god stands opposite to the divine aura emitted by this fragment?"
"Light… holiness… The opposite should be the Angel God."
Jiang Jue thought for a moment before answering.
"In that case, my guess is correct. This is a fragment of the Angel God's divine position, though it's wrapped in another layer of divine power."
Electrolux nodded slightly. The divinity contained within the fragment clearly carried a trace of light, something he was very familiar with.
"What?!"
Jiang Jue was stunned. His thoughts surged violently, and the joy he had just felt instantly vanished.
If it were merely a random fragment of a divine position, he wouldn't care much.
But if this was truly a fragment of the Angel God's shattered divine position from ten thousand years ago, then the implications were enormous.
"Tang San? God King of Destruction? No… could there be another god involved?"
For a moment, Jiang Jue ran through every possibility he could think of, but none completely matched.
Frowning deeply, Jiang Jue shook the Soul-Refining Banner. A figure emerged from it—it was Ye Guyi, who had been sealed inside.
"You damned evil soul master! What do you want now?"
Ye Guyi looked around at the unfamiliar surroundings, her pretty face filled with confusion. She had been practicing with her martial soul just now before suddenly being pulled out.
"Release your martial soul and see if it can trigger that fragment."
Jiang Jue pointed at the fragment on the altar and said in a deep voice.
He wanted to verify whether the fragment truly belonged to the Angel God. If it did, his future plans would have to change.
"Why should I listen to you—"
Ye Guyi was about to argue, but when she saw Jiang Jue's calm face, her heart skipped a beat. Something about him felt unfamiliar.
She snorted lightly, yet her body involuntarily walked toward the altar.
"Fine, I'll do it!"
Electrolux glanced at Ye Guyi thoughtfully.
Ye Guyi summoned her Angel Martial Soul. A phantom of the angel appeared behind her.
She extended a slender hand as pale golden soul power slowly flowed toward the fragment on the altar.
However, the negative divinity on the fragment directly repelled the golden power, as if saying don't come near me.
"Huh… I scared myself for nothing. This probably isn't a fragment of the Angel God's divine position. It's likely just a fragment of some other god…"
Seeing no reaction, Jiang Jue let out a sigh of relief.
But in the next moment—
The fragment seemed to be triggered by something.
A brilliant golden light burst through its dark surface.
And the Angel Martial Soul behind Ye Guyi instantly spread its wings.
"…You've got to be kidding me."
(End of Chapter)