Outside the Star Dou Forest, a carriage was slowly making its way toward Shrek Academy.
Inside sat Jiang Qingtong, while the reins were held by a Title Douluo from Mingde Hall. He had been personally appointed by Kong Deming to ensure Jiang Qingtong's safety.
Even though she was equipped with seven Level 9 Soul Devices, enough to keep even a Super Douluo at bay, Kong Deming still felt that no amount of protection was too much—given the uniqueness of her martial soul.
It had been six years since Jiang Shengyu and Jiang Qingtong had joined Mingde Hall. Both had now obtained their second soul rings, also at the millennium level, and once again without hunting soul beasts—each soul ring had simply condensed directly from their martial souls.
Though their growth might have seemed modest on the surface, only the siblings knew the truth: their soul power was constantly accumulating, and even merging into their soul rings, slowly increasing their age and strength.
"Girl, we're almost at Shrek Academy now. If you've changed your mind, I can turn the carriage around and take you straight back to Mingde Hall," the elder—referred to as Old Hong—said as he looked at the vast silhouette of Shrek City rising in the distance.
By now, Jiang Shengyu's spiritual power had become so refined that controlling two bodies at once was no different than using just one. As a result, to outsiders, it simply appeared that Jiang Qingtong had grown more cheerful over the past few years.
Jiang Qingtong lifted the curtain, gazing at the great city ahead.
"Old Hong, you don't need to persuade me. I've already made up my mind. I've come all this way—I'm not turning back."
"What's so great about Shrek Academy anyway? Our Mingde Hall isn't any worse than them!" Old Hong grumbled. In his view, sending Jiang Qingtong to Shrek was like sending a lamb into a den of wolves.
Such a young girl—what if those crafty old foxes at Shrek tricked or took advantage of her?
"But you can't deny it—Shrek Academy is still the holy ground for martial soul cultivation on the Douluo Continent," Jiang Qingtong replied with a smile, kneading his shoulders. "Only there can I find more high-quality martial souls."
Old Hong clearly enjoyed her attention and said,
"You know, you and your brother really are lucky stars for the Sun-Moon Empire. That boy Shengyu's whole Soul Hall idea actually dug up a ton of talented soul masters."
Back when Jiang Shengyu first proposed creating a new organization—modeled after the original Spirit Hall—to handle martial soul awakening and talent recruitment, neither Mingde Hall nor the Royal Soul Engineer Academy opposed the idea.
Even though the Emperor feared that such actions might stir up suspicion from the three original Douluo nations and advised them to keep a low profile, Soul Hall still grew rapidly. In fact, it had already established branches in all three nations.
The truth was, the lower classes in the original three kingdoms were full of people who'd never awakened their martial souls and lived under the heel of soul master aristocracies.
But when Soul Hall found them, awakened their martial souls for free, and even provided living stipends after they gained soul rings—no matter how low the grade—those people became loyal followers of Soul Hall.
That was one of the key reasons Soul Hall had exploded in growth in such a short time.
Naturally, the governments of the three nations had begun to investigate. But even if they uncovered the truth, their real opposition wasn't Soul Hall—it was the people who now stood firmly behind it.
It was a righteous conspiracy.
Soul Hall's explosive momentum had earned universal praise from the elders of Mingde Hall.
"If it weren't for Master's support, it wouldn't have been this easy," Jiang Qingtong said with a laugh. "I heard from Senior Brother that you're joining Soul Hall too?"
Old Hong nodded.
"Soul Hall may be new, but the results speak for themselves. The Hall Master decided to assign several Title Douluo to strengthen their ranks. Once you enter Shrek Academy, I'll be heading over to Soul Hall myself."
Then he added,
"But I heard some of the staff complaining that Shengyu insists everything be done personally—no outsourcing, no weird villain laughter, and so on. Not sure what that's about."
Of course, Jiang Qingtong knew exactly what that was about. She gave a small cough and grinned.
"Well, we are the good guys, after all."
Just then, the skies above Star Dou Forest suddenly shifted. Dark clouds rolled in, and a brilliant streak of light fell from the sky, shooting toward a specific location deep within the forest.
Jiang Qingtong and Old Hong both noticed it.
"Careful, girl!" Old Hong warned. "I just sensed a surge of very powerful spiritual energy!"
"Old Hong, let's go check it out!" Jiang Qingtong urged, her eyes fixed on the spot where the light had fallen. Something about it tugged at her instincts—she had a feeling she knew what it was.
Old Hong frowned.
"Better not. That spiritual pressure was stronger than mine. At least Super Douluo level—maybe even higher. If a fight breaks out, we could be in serious trouble."
"Relax, Old Hong. Worst case, we run away screaming," Jiang Qingtong joked.
"Oh? So you're planning to throw me under the bus?" Old Hong grumbled, but even as he spoke, he was already steering the carriage in that direction.
When they arrived, they saw a lean young boy collapsed on the ground. Nearby lay the corpse of a ten-year Wind Baboon, and a white soul ring hovered beside it.
"…Huh?" Old Hong furrowed his brows.
"That can't be right. How could such a small kid generate such massive spiritual energy? But if it wasn't him… where is the real source?"
While Old Hong was still puzzled, Jiang Qingtong had already jumped out of the carriage and stared excitedly at the unconscious boy.
She recognized him.
The Wind Baboon. The white soul ring. The incredible spiritual power. And the sudden shift in the weather…
It could only be one person—
Huo Yuhao!
That boy was Huo Yuhao!
"Be careful!" Old Hong warned, hurrying after her and staying alert to their surroundings in case anything unexpected happened.
Jiang Qingtong activated her martial soul: Mirror Blossom.
Behind her, the crystal lotus bloomed. Two purple soul rings glowed in front of her. One of them lit up brightly, casting a beam of light toward Huo Yuhao—capturing his martial soul and soul skill in an imprint.
Seeing this, Old Hong was stunned.
"Girl! The Hall Master specifically warned you not to casually imprint other people's martial souls!"
"Don't worry, Old Hong," Jiang Qingtong replied calmly. "Imprinting his martial soul will only bring benefits. No harm at all."