After leaving the Sea God Pavilion, Zhou Sichen and Ye Guyi immediately departed from Shrek Academy, heading toward the location Elder Mu had mentioned in search of the Brightlight Dragon Turtle.
Before they left, Zhou Sichen specifically reminded Dugu Xianmeng to continue purging the toxins from her body, and advised Ma Xiaotao to focus seriously on her cultivation.
As the two women watched Zhou Sichen and Ye Guyi walk away, they couldn't help but feel a twinge of envy.
They both wished it was them accompanying Zhou Sichen on this soul beast hunt.
Normally, a soul master's hunt could take one or two months at minimum. Spending that much time alone with him was bound to spark something, right?
Although neither of them got to accompany him, they consoled themselves with the fact that it was his sister who did.
Zhou Sichen and Ye Guyi's close relationship had never aroused suspicion—no one ever questioned whether they were truly siblings.
To outsiders, they were both dazzling prodigies—handsome and beautiful beyond compare. No one ever thought to question their sibling bond.
Even though Elder Mu, Yan Shaozhe, and the others now knew the truth about their relationship, they chose not to mention it.
Since the pair hadn't said anything themselves, the elders saw no reason to interfere.
Before leaving, Zhou Sichen also decided not to give the prepared immortal herbs to Cao Jinxuan and Long Xiangyue just yet. Their entrance assessments were a little over a month away. He planned to give them the herbs at the end of the term.
That way, they could absorb the herbs at home, possibly break through to the next realm, and return with their soul rings already acquired.
If they consumed the herbs in the Outer Court and experienced a sudden surge in cultivation overnight, it would definitely attract the attention of enemy spies.
The Outer Court wasn't as secure as the Inner Court. Shrek's Outer Court had been established under the joint request of the Three Great Empires and was filled with all sorts of people from different forces.
Only the Inner Court was considered the true Shrek Academy, where both safety and information security were more tightly controlled.
Zhou Sichen believed that Cao Jinxuan and Long Xiangyue would surely shine in the freshman competition. After taking the immortal herbs at the end of the term, they would likely earn a spot in the Inner Court.
Plus, the selection process for the Shrek Reserve Battle Team was coming up soon. With their current strength, and the boost from the herbs, their acceptance would practically be guaranteed.
With Hellfire Armor activated and his soul tool boosters at full thrust, Zhou Sichen raced ahead. Ye Guyi, with her Angel Martial Soul and soul tool propulsion wings, flew right behind him.
Thanks to their speed, they reached the eastern edge of the Lihuo Plains in just three days.
They headed straight for the area Elder Mu had described, searching for the 50,000-year-old Brightlight Dragon Turtle.
They encountered no obstacles along the way, and within two days, they located the beast's resting grounds.
As a ten-thousand-year-class soul beast, the Dragon Turtle had claimed a vast territory. Its overwhelming strength meant that it was the sole ruler of the region. With Elder Mu's guidance, finding it was easy.
From the sky, Zhou Sichen and Ye Guyi spotted the enormous Brightlight Dragon Turtle below, its body as massive as a mountain.
Its whole form radiated a brilliant light. Though turtle-like in shape, it bore the head of a dragon—proof of its Brightlight Holy Dragon bloodline. Immensely powerful, it was a perfect match for Ye Guyi.
What they didn't know was that one of Elder Mu's own soul rings had come from a similar Dragon Turtle. It had granted him a powerful defensive soul skill.
He had deliberately spared this one in the past, hoping to leave it for a future soul master with a light-attribute martial soul.
He hadn't expected it to be used so soon.
This Brightlight Dragon Turtle was so formidable that even a Contra-level expert would be hesitant to face it.
Ye Guyi, despite her strength and being Rank 60, was no match for it on her own.
But Zhou Sichen was no ordinary soul master. With three top-tier 25,000-year soul beasts and a 100,000-year red soul ring from Honghong, taking on the Dragon Turtle posed no real threat.
Naturally, the Brightlight Dragon Turtle had already noticed their presence. Its eyes lifted with a cold gleam. After so many years, someone actually dared to covet its soul ring?
It had driven off—and even killed—numerous foolish soul masters over the decades, some of whom were even Contras.
Zhou Sichen glanced at it, then gently patted Ye Guyi's soft hand. "Wait here for a bit."
Ye Guyi nodded. Even though she was strong for her level, she knew she couldn't help in this fight. Better to stand back and let her little brother handle it.
She used to be the one protecting him… now, only a few years later, he had grown strong enough to protect her.
Releasing her hand, Zhou Sichen spread his Phoenix wings and shot toward the Brightlight Dragon Turtle.
While flying, he flicked his right hand, summoning a golden, book-shaped Contract Artifact. Four soul rings appeared—three black and one red.
They only stayed visible for a moment, just long enough for his first and third black rings to light up. From the contract book, two orbs of light—one ice-jade green and the other dark gold—shot outward.
The book disappeared, and the shocking rings vanished back into his body.
Zhou Sichen grabbed the dark-gold orb and hurled it at the Dragon Turtle, who was already glaring at him.
The ice-jade orb merged into his body, transforming his fiery aura into something cold and lethal—the Ice Jade Scorpion possessed him.
The Brightlight Dragon Turtle hadn't expected such decisiveness. When it glimpsed the red 100,000-year ring earlier, its instincts screamed danger.
It couldn't comprehend how a four-ring soul master could wield such a terrifying soul ring configuration.
Before it could react, the dark-gold orb expanded into a five-meter-tall Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear.
"ROAR!"
The bear let out a furious bellow, and its twin claws slashed through the sky, sending ten dark-gold energy blades surging forward. They split the massive golden beam fired by the Dragon Turtle in an instant.
25,000-year-old Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear!
Although its cultivation was only half of the Dragon Turtle's, its bloodline power and claws were monstrous. The bear wasn't intimidated at all.
As the turtle's golden beam shattered, the bear charged downward, claws gleaming with dark-gold light at their full potential.
At the same time, Zhou Sichen descended at breakneck speed. His right hand had turned into a flaming claw wreathed in a dark crimson flame—Phoenix Hellfire, which burned the soul itself.
He had never used this terrifying ability on other soul masters. Soul damage was almost irreversible unless one had the rarest heaven-and-earth treasures.
He only used it against soul beasts, when necessary.
Facing such pressure, the Brightlight Dragon Turtle held nothing back. It couldn't understand why such a powerful beast would serve a human, but it knew if it didn't go all out, it would die.
Even the human descending from the sky radiated the aura of a terrifying soul beast.
One beast was hard enough to handle—now he had to fight both!
With no other options, it went all-in.
"WOOONG!"
A radiant light erupted from its body as its sacred Brightlight Holy Dragon bloodline awakened.
"ROOOAR!"
A thunderous dragon's roar split the skies. From within the turtle, brilliant light and bloodline power surged out, forming the majestic shape of a massive Holy Light Dragon.
It exuded overwhelming might, charging directly at the bear to intercept.
Brightlight Dragon Turtle Bloodline Ability: True Form of the Holy Dragon.
This ability was the beast's ultimate move—so powerful it was only used in life-or-death situations. To use it at the start of the fight showed how dire the situation was.
With the Holy Dragon form holding off the bear, the turtle focused all its strength on Zhou Sichen.
The dragon form knocked back the bear and lunged at it again, claws raised, determined to eliminate this "traitor" of a soul beast.
At that moment, Zhou Sichen descended from above. The use of its bloodline ability had clearly drained the turtle—it now glowed less brightly.
Raising his clawed hand, Zhou Sichen struck.
"Phoenix Hellfire!"
A crimson blaze erupted like a fire phoenix, plunging toward the turtle.
Flames that burned the soul were nearly impossible to block unless the target possessed unique skills or overwhelming soul power to resist.
Though only Rank 43, Zhou Sichen's soul power foundation far exceeded that of ordinary Soul Emperors.
Fused with the Hellfire Bear and A'da, the Phoenix Hellfire could seriously harm even a 50,000-year soul beast.
Especially now, with the turtle's power weakened after using its bloodline ability.
"WOOONG."
The phoenix-shaped flame hurtled down, only to be blocked by the turtle's colossal shell, which now radiated with a golden glow strong enough to resist even soul-burning fire.
Zhou Sichen wasn't frustrated—he was thrilled. The stronger the beast, the more powerful the soul skill it would grant his sister.
Phoenix Hellfire wasn't his only offensive technique, after all.
If your defense is that strong, let's see how many of my moves you can take!
His fingers curled into claws, wings flaring wide. Zhou Sichen launched a follow-up strike.
"Phoenix Style Nine – Meteor Rain!"
A barrage of flaming meteors rained down from the sky.
Locked in place while defending against the Hellfire, the Brightlight Dragon Turtle couldn't dodge—only brace itself and take the full brunt.
****
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