To reach Shrek Academy's east city gate from the Soul Guidance Department, one had to pass through the Martial Soul Department.
When Xu Zihuang and He Caitou approached the Shrek Plaza near the Martial Soul Department along the lakeside path, a considerable number of Martial Soul Department students had already gathered there.
Xu Zihuang was quite famous throughout Shrek Academy, and he Caitou's physique—more robust than an adult's—and his rare dark skin also drew attention. The two instantly became the center of focus in Shrek Plaza.
"Tianhuang? Senior Brother He?" A surprised voice called out. Xu Zihuang turned his head, his gaze softening with a hint of warmth.
Ning Tian approached from nearby, her expression a mix of surprise and delight. Not far behind her was a petite young girl with shoulder-length cherry-pink hair and a height of no more than 1.6 meters. Unlike Ning Tian's elegant and refined aura, the girl's fair cheeks had a touch of baby fat, making her appear exceptionally cute.
Her cherry-pink eyes, matching her hair color, curiously sized up Xu Zihuang. When he shifted his gaze to her and their eyes met, she showed no trace of shyness.
Xu Zihuang was familiar with this girl. Her name was Ying Ke'er, the class monitor of Year 2, Class 4, and she had a close relationship with Ning Tian.
Across all grades in the outer courtyard, students were divided into four classes. Class 1 consisted of assault-type and control-type battle soul masters, Class 2 included defense-type and agility-attack-type battle soul masters, Class 3 was for auxiliary-type battle soul masters like Ning Tian and was usually the smallest class, and Class 4 encompassed various special-attribute battle soul masters and tool soul masters, including food-type and healing-type.
Ying Ke'er was a food-type soul master who had just acquired her third soul ring a few days ago. For a food-type soul master, whose cultivation speed was even slower than that of auxiliary-type soul masters, reaching Soul Elder at twelve and a half years old was undoubtedly genius-level.
Upon returning to the academy after advancing to Soul Elder with her third soul ring, she was exceptionally promoted to the only food-type core disciple in the Martial Soul Department's outer courtyard. The Soul Guidance Department also had one food-type core disciple: He Caitou. Because the later stages of cultivation for food-type soul masters were exceptionally difficult and prone to stagnation, Shrek Academy had stricter standards for admitting food-type core disciples and inner courtyard students.
Shrek Academy truly lived up to its reputation as the premier academy gathering the continent's young elite soul masters.
Ying Ke'er linked arms with Ning Tian and giggled.
"Sister Tian'er, so the rumors are true. You really are with Yu Tianhuang."
A shy glint appeared in Ning Tian's lustrous eyes as she looked up at Xu Zihuang.
Xu Zihuang understood the implied meaning behind Ning Tian's gesture—she wanted him to confirm their relationship in front of her friend. He nodded readily.
"Now you can be certain."
As he spoke, he took the initiative to hold Ning Tian's hand, eliciting good-natured cheers from many Martial Soul Department students in Shrek Plaza.
After all, both Xu Zihuang and Ning Tian were extremely well-liked in Shrek Academy's outer courtyard.
Ying Ke'er looked back and forth between Ning Tian, whose eyes were filled with sweetness, and Xu Zihuang, who wore a warm smile, before suddenly breaking into an adorably cute grin.
"Since you're with Sister Tian'er, I'll let you eat my cherries too. Not just anyone gets to eat my cherries, you know."
Xu Zihuang was unfazed by her words, but He Caitou, standing behind him with his usual honest expression, showed a strange look.
Ning Tian shot Ying Ke'er a playful glare before softly explaining to Xu Zihuang and He Caitou, "That's Ke'er's martial soul."
He Caitou nodded in understanding.
"So she's a food-type soul master like me."
As soon as Ning Tian finished speaking, Ying Ke'er murmured a few words under her breath. Immediately, two yellow and one purple soul rings rose from her feet. Then, in her fair little hands, three cherries connected by green stems appeared. The cherries were of different colors—black, purple, and pink—each plump, juicy, and brimming with freshness.
With a mischievous intent to steer the conversation astray, Ying Ke'er slyly asked Xu Zihuang, "So, do you want to eat my black cherry, purple cherry, or pink cherry?"
How could Ying Ke'er's little scheme escape Xu Zihuang? Calmly, he picked up the pink cherry from her hand.
"Thank you. Personally, I prefer pink."
"You've got great taste. This pink cherry is my third soul skill, and its effects are much better than the first two."
Ying Ke'er maintained her beaming smile and handed the remaining two cherries to He Caitou.
"Senior from the Soul Guidance Department, these two cherries are for you."
"Huh?" He Caitou was momentarily stunned before accepting them with an honest grin.
"Alright, thank you, junior sister."
Satisfied, Ying Ke'er linked arms with Ning Tian again.
Xu Zihuang glanced at the rising golden sun and said to Ning Tian and Ying Ke'er, "It's getting late. Senior Brother, He and I have things to do, so we'll head out first."
"Mhm." Ning Tian nodded slightly. She knew Yu Tianhuang and He Caitou were about to begin the Ultimate Soldier Plan and didn't press further.
Xu Zihuang and He Caitou bid the two farewell and left the area.
Ning Tian watched Xu Zihuang's figure until it disappeared before turning back, only to meet Ying Ke'er's teasing gaze.
"Sister Tian'er, don't be mad. I just wanted to test him for you."
She usually appeared cute and playful, but was actually quite cunning. She had deliberately tried to provoke Yu Tianhuang earlier. Unfortunately, Yu Tianhuang's gaze remained clear throughout, giving her no openings to exploit.
Of course, this was also due to Xu Zihuang's true nature. With his mental fortitude, how could he be easily swayed by such words? As a normal person, he wasn't immune to desires, but he wasn't so dominated by them that his mind was consumed by such thoughts.
Ning Tian dropped her usual gentle tone, her expression turning serious. "Ke'er, don't do that again."
"Fine," Ying Ke'er pouted.
On the other side, Xu Zihuang and He Caitou had exited Shrek Academy's east city gate.
He Caitou casually ate the black cherry and said in surprise to Xu Zihuang, "Junior Brother Yu, that junior sister's soul skill is pretty good. I can feel this black cherry quickly restores stamina."
"A stamina-recovery soul skill?" Xu Zihuang, now intrigued, stopped and turned to He Caitou.
"Senior Brother He, try the purple cherry too."
"Oh, alright." He Caitou nodded earnestly and popped the purple cherry into his mouth. A fragrant, sweet juice burst forth, transforming into a cool sensation that spread throughout his body.
"Junior Brother Yu, I don't have a specific feeling about this soul skill, but I think it's probably for detoxification or alleviating negative physical effects."
As a fellow food-type soul master, He Caitou was well-versed in such soul skills. While his description might not be entirely accurate, it was close enough. The "alleviating negative physical effects" he mentioned wasn't like Xu Zihuang's first soul skill, which removed negative states, but rather eased physical pain or fatigue.
Hearing this, Xu Zihuang finally turned his attention to the pink cherry in his hand. Without hesitation, he swallowed it. The sweet juice transformed into a peculiar sensation, giving him the feeling of his body being cleansed.
"A soul skill that improves a soul master's physical aptitude?"
Xu Zihuang raised an eyebrow.
Unfortunately, his aptitude was already top-tier. His meridians were not only resilient but had essentially reached a state of purity, with no impurities in his body to expel.
But this didn't mean the soul skill was useless. A skill that could improve innate physical conditions and cleanse impurities from meridians would be a godsend for soul masters with poor aptitude, like Huo Yuhao.
The effect of a single pink cherry was naturally far inferior to the Mysterious Water Pill. However, if taken regularly and the effects are stacked, it would be remarkable.
Of course, this was merely a theoretical assumption. A thousand-year soul skill couldn't be that heaven-defying and surely had various limitations. For example, it might stop being effective after a certain number of uses, or it might only have noticeable effects on soul masters with extremely poor aptitude. The fact that the pink cherry did not affect Xu Zihuang indirectly confirmed the latter.
In fact, both limitations applied to Ying Ke'er's third soul skill.
Moreover, even for soul masters with poor aptitude who continued using it until the skill no longer worked, the effect would at most reach one-tenth of the Mysterious Water Pill's efficacy.
Understanding this, Xu Zihuang didn't dwell on it.
After all, he had He Caitou, an even more talented food-type soul master, by his side.
"Let's go, Senior Brother He." Shaking off his thoughts, Xu Zihuang retrieved a level-four flight soul guidance device from his storage soul guidance device and nodded to He Caitou.
"Alright." He Caitou's expression grew serious. Surviving in the Star Dou Great Forest's mixed zone for half a month wouldn't be easy.
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