The Extreme North core.
Snow filled the sky. The Ice Empress sat on Ah Tai's shoulder, legs swinging, sucking on a piece of Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Ice Marrow. Each piece contained vast energy; using it like a popsicle—only the forty-hundred-thousand-year-old loli Ice Empress could manage that.
"Snow Empress, are you really going to take human form?" the Ice Empress paused.
"The seventh heavenly tribulation is hopeless. Without taking human form, there's no path to survival." The Snow Empress still carried an aloof, ethereal grace, like a fairy untouched by mortal dust. Her voice was calm.
"Then…" The Ice Empress blinked.
"You know what I mean."
"…" A flicker of hesitation flashed in the Snow Empress's eyes, quickly replaced by resolve.
"I am the Snow Empress, the ruler of the Extreme North. How can I bow to another? Though the contract is equal, and could evolve, with a decent chance to become a god, still…" She drew a breath—and stopped. She hadn't considered it before, but laying it out now, the benefits were considerable. She almost talked herself into it.
"But…" She opened her mouth.
She couldn't think of a reason to refuse.
"Heehee." The Ice Empress took another slurp of Cold Ice Marrow, giggling. "Ah Tai, the Snow Empress is like this—more stubborn than me when she meets something."
"Roar~" Ah Tai spread his hands, meaning: your business—I'm out.
"But since you've decided to transform, knowing your personality, anything I say is useless. When the time comes, remember to call me~" The Ice Empress skipped off, smiling.
"Such a big change." The Snow Empress sighed.
Before Su Wen arrived in the Extreme North, she had frowned all day, like everyone owed her rations. But once the life-and-death crisis was solved, she returned to this carefree self.
"Indeed." Ah Tai nodded.
"I will begin my transformation tomorrow. Ah Tai, call Xiao Bai to guard me." Determination firmed in her eyes.
"Yes!"
The Titan Snow Devil King's massive form vanished in an instant.
"May you watch over me…"
The Snow Empress murmured.
…
"What have you done this time!"
Smack!
Another ringing blow across the nose. Dai Huabin's head buzzed; his nose bridge went crooked, blood gushed nonstop, his cheek swollen blue and purple.
Dai Yueheng looked at his brother, who spun twice and fell, with a pang of pity—but more anger.
"I was just going to kill a little punk. He's provoked me again and again, shaming me in front of classmates—what did I do wrong?!" Dai Huabin struggled up. Disheveled, but his eyes burned with fury.
"If you killed him, I'd at most warn you—because you acted outside the academy and in public. But what you should never have done was act yesterday!"
"Because yesterday, besides the Duke's Mansion people, there were evil soul masters! They were hunting Su Wen! Now the Duke's Mansion can't wash this clean even in the Yellow River. Mother is rushing to the academy. Even Father—I sent someone to write to him…" Dai Yueheng watched his brother's face drain and hissed through his teeth.
"You've caused a catastrophe!"
The words "evil soul master" struck Dai Huabin like thunder.
He stood dumbstruck.
"How, how… What about Uncle Zhang and the others? They weren't caught by Shrek, were they?" Dai Huabin asked anxiously.
"What do you think Shrek is?!" Dai Yueheng snapped.
"They've already been captured. After some interrogation and torture, they spilled the Duke's Mansion. Trash—you found a bunch of rotten fish and shrimp. Those were house guards, not deathsworn!"
"And… Huo Yuhao is missing."
Dai Yueheng shot him a cool glance.
"Think about how you'll explain when Mother arrives."
…
"Huo Yuhao is missing?"
In the classroom.
Su Wen was taken aback.
"Yeah. After that night, the three peak Soul Douluos chased us two, but he was chased by another group. We crossed paths—each chased by our own…" Wang Dong chattered about the intel she'd gathered.
"But as for who did it, it's hard to say. Things were chaotic."
She felt sorry for the roommate she'd only met once, but seconds later, when Xie Huanyue asked how the two of them had taken down three peak Soul Douluos—evil soul masters at that—she tossed the thought aside and dove into an excited replay.
"Heh, Su Wen was doing the killing; you were just cackling," Wu Feng curled her lip.
"If I'd been there instead, those three evil soul masters would've died all the same."
"Nonsense. Without our martial soul fusion, Su Wen wouldn't have had it so easy. We're a match made in heaven, nyeh-nyeh~" Wang Dong shot back.
"A match made… in heaven?!!"
Wu Feng froze.
She pointed at Wang Dong, bewildered. "Wait, you're really… Mmph—don't cover my mouth!"
Everyone stared with wide, gleeful eyes. The most handsome boy among the freshmen—bent?! And Su Wen… terrifying!
"A slip of the tongue!" Wang Dong's cheeks burned as she remembered she was in male disguise.
"Oooh~~~"
Which only egged everyone on.
Until someone appeared.
"Dai Huabin? Who beat you like that?" Cui Yajie gasped.
"Huabin!" Zhu Lu rushed over, all concern.
"I'm fine, just… ran too fast and fell," Dai Huabin covered his face, avoiding Su Wen's thoughtful gaze, looking guilty and evasive.
Ring-ring-ring—
Luckily, the bell saved him.
He shrank into the last row, huddling like an ostrich.
He didn't want anyone to see his rage.
His shock and rage weren't just for that brat Huo Yuhao—but also for Dai Yueheng—You're my brother, and you're not going to help me?! Just let me fend for myself?
Just wait. All of you wait!
When I have Father's strength, I'll trample you! And Shrek, I'll destroy you too!
…
Mu Jin's class.
She lectured on soul beast theory—why humans must hunt soul beasts and absorb rings to progress through bottlenecks. Countless scholars had researched it through the ages without a definitive answer—only hypotheses.
Naturally, what made it into textbooks was the shallow version.
Gu Yuena frowned often. She had come to the human world to find a path to human–beast coexistence, but this wasn't what she wanted…
"Teacher!"
She stood, silver eyes fixed on Mu Jin.
"Gu Yuena, do you have a question?" Mu Jin was startled, but smiled patiently.
"Why do humans develop faster than soul beasts? Ten thousand years ago the soul beast world was a no-go zone for humans; their map was mostly blank. But now… human hands have reached the core of Star Dou Forest?"
"Good. That's a meaningful question." Mu Jin smiled, clapped, and gestured for Gu Yuena to sit.
"This brings us to human survival models and their unique cultivation method."
"Hunting soul beasts."
Gu Yuena's face twitched.
"Correct. What does a human need to grow stronger? Obtain soul rings; cultivate; take pills if conditions permit; mutate if they don't. Is there a cost? Yes—but small. Compared to soul beasts, whose cultivation hinges on years and demands endless resources and heavenly treasures, humans' cost is negligible."
"Then why don't humans need to spend those resources? For the same realm breakthrough, a soul beast's resource cost is a hundred times a human's."
Mu Jin smiled. "Because soul rings and soul bones replace that portion."
"As we said, soul beasts advance through long years, and the accumulation of heaven and earth energy. In other words, in human eyes, every soul beast is a big, mobile treasure—self-cultivating, moving, and offering humans a selection of treasures."
"So soul rings and soul bones are humans' way of absorbing those treasures."
"…"
Gu Yuena's little face tightened.
She was stunned.
It was the first time she'd heard this argument—but thinking it through, it wasn't without reason.
Pushing further—who started this?
"Also, another reason soul beasts keep losing ground and contracting territory is…" Mu Jin tapped her temple with a smile.
"I believe the high ranks among soul beasts have noticed these problems—but they've never taken measures."
"In human society, division of labor is clear. Cities and towns have management. When something happens, they can mobilize the largest living force quickly. Soul beasts?"
"Still a faceless mass. They can organize a beast tide at critical times, but otherwise, the entire Star Dou Forest is a pile of loose sand. There's no effective organization at the top. Otherwise, humans wouldn't enter their world so easily—like a backyard."
"Calm down."
Gu Yuena's fist clenched. She almost snapped.
But just before she did, Su Wen's hand pressed her shoulder.
"Hoo…"
They looked at each other; the cold in her eyes faded.
She had truly felt the urge to kill.
"Teacher, is there really no reconciling the human–soul beast conflict?" she asked softly.
"No," Mu Jin shook her head.
"Humans need soul beasts to grow. That's a one-way demand. If humanity grows ever stronger, the extinction of soul beasts is only a matter of time…"
"Mm."
Gu Yuena fell silent.
Mu Qiu'er too.
…
After class.
"Dai Huabin, right? Come with us."
Mu Jin was still on the podium when several figures in dark green cloaks and masks blocked the classroom door. The leader was burly. He glanced around, flicked a look at Dai Huabin, and spoke coolly.
"It really wasn't me! It wasn't!" Dai Huabin panicked, too rattled to catch the man's look.
"Take him."
The burly man sighed and waved.
Two people moved, grabbed his jaw, dislocated it, and hauled the terrified Dai Huabin away.
"The Inspection Team?"
Mu Jin's face went dark.
Snatching a student from her class—did they take her, the homeroom teacher, for nothing?
Dai Huabin was in her class. Taking him without a word…
"Recess."
Mu Jin's face was black as she headed for the Martial Soul Department head's office.
At least, she needed to ask what was going on.
…
Under cold, dim lights.
Dai Huabin shivered uncontrollably.
Once the hood came off, he'd been brought here.
The icy chair felt like an instrument of torture, hammering his heart—torment, fear, dread.
"We ask. You answer."
A slender masked woman spoke flatly.
"Who are you?!" Dai Huabin cried.
"Shrek Inspection Team," the woman glanced at the burly leader. He nodded, and she explained.
"My brother Dai Yueheng is in it! He's a squad leader! Don't touch me—or my brother won't let you go!" Dai Huabin shouted.
"Hehe…"
The woman smiled.
"You're funny. But because of you, Dai Yueheng is implicated too. Pulling strings won't help~"
"Ask whatever you want—I'll tell you everything!" Dai Huabin's throat bobbed. He was terrified.
To kidnap someone in the academy, in broad daylight—Mu Jin could only watch. He'd heard Dai Yueheng say the Inspection Team was Shrek's most special organ. They didn't just run missions against evil soul masters; they also handled many sensitive internal matters. A black glove, essentially.
They would really torture him.
And he wasn't clean to begin with.
"Alright. Confess and be lenient, resist and be strict. Why did you target Su Wen?" the woman's eyes narrowed.
"I—I didn't target him!" Dai Huabin wanted to cry.
"I wanted to kill Huo Yuhao… I just wanted to scare him! Who knew evil soul masters would also be lying in ambush outside Shrek last night? How would I dare collude with them?!"
"Oh? You wanted to kill Huo Yuhao?" The woman smiled.
"Just target him. Not kill." He started spinning lies.
"We're half-brothers—same father, different mothers. I wouldn't really kill him."
He clamped down: it was only a lesson, not murder. Last night everyone's attention was on Su Wen, not Huo Yuhao.
"That makes sense…"
"Zhao Liang."
The burly leader jerked his chin.
"Got it. Kid, if you pass this last check, you're out of suspicion."
Another masked man spoke, his face hidden.
He stepped forward and gripped Dai Huabin's forehead.
Soul power surged. A light screen enveloped them; Dai Huabin's eyes went blank.
A few minutes later.
When he woke,
Everyone was staring at him, surprised.
Clearly, the plot against Huo Yuhao was exposed…
"Alright, that's en—"
The burly leader waved a hand.
He threw the team a look—dinner's on me.
As long as they confirmed Dai Huabin had targeted Huo Yuhao and had nothing to do with the evil soul masters, everything would be much easier. When his mother arrived, they could trade something with Shrek's upper echelon, and it'd be fine.
A core disciple of the Soul Tool Department missing—serious, but not too much. Even if Fan Yu wanted to make noise, it would likely be suppressed—Shrek didn't want this shame public.
"I'll talk!" Dai Huabin suddenly panicked.
He thought he was going to die.
"It was my brother—my brother told me to kill Huo Yuhao! My brother Dai Yueheng—you must know him! Go find him!"
The room's atmosphere turned strange at once.
Everyone looked at the burly leader.
The veins in his neck bulged; his fists clenched. "Say that again—who ordered you?!"
"Dai Yueheng!"
"Then look at me—who am I!"
The mask came off.
Dai Yueheng glared at his dumbstruck brother, face turning iron blue.
"Everyone out. Leave his to me."
"Got it."
"Aaaargh—"
Screams echoed from within.