The morning sun had just risen, and the branches and leaves of the tall, sturdy trees divided the warm sunlight into fine golden spots.
Xu Zihuang and Ning Tian strolled along the flight of bluestone steps in the mountain forest. Looking up, they could see the flat and spacious training platform on top of the nearby hill.
There was still plenty of time, so the two weren't in a hurry to get there.
Ning Tian leaned against Xu Zihuang, her pretty face glowing with a captivating smile. Her eyes misty, she raised her jade hand above her head. The dappled light and shadow slipped through the gaps between her slender fingers, falling onto her delicate face.
To ordinary people, this was a game they had played since childhood. But for her—who had borne the heavy responsibility of inheriting the sect leader's position since birth—this was her first time trying it. Of course, the main reason was that the person she was deeply in love with was by her side.
"This doesn't seem like you at all," Xu Zihuang said, holding Ning Tian's hand and slowing his pace.
Ning Tian turned her head and met Xu Zihuang's gaze, smiling sweetly as she replied, "Don't all girls act like this? Senior Sister Xiaoya was right. I've suppressed myself too much since childhood and lost a lot of my natural girl's instincts. I get jealous sometimes, too, and I want to act spoiled in front of the person I like."
"Are these all the things Senior Sister Xiaoya taught you?" Xu Zihuang responded with a gentle smile, his tone warm yet firm.
"Actually, what Senior Sister Xiaoya said is indeed correct. From now on, with me by your side, you won't have to bear the sect's heavy responsibilities alone like before. Just be yourself."
Hearing Xu Zihuang's words, although the smile on Ning Tian's face didn't fade, her delicate nose felt a sour sting, and a layer of mist gathered over her water-blue eyes.
Being herself, just such an ordinary and natural thing, had been a luxury for her in the past.
It wasn't until she met Yu Tianhuang that her dull and monotonous life finally gained color.
Ning Tian stopped in her tracks, her eyes filled with affection as she tightly wrapped her arms around Xu Zihuang. Then she closed her eyes and stood on tiptoe.
The sounds of cicadas and birds echoed through the woods, along with the intertwined breathing of the two of them.
After a long while, they finally continued walking toward the training ground. This time, they were pressed even closer together.
Ning Tian's rosy lips and jade neck made a swallowing motion as she swallowed the saliva that carried Xu Zihuang's breath. Noticing his strange expression afterward, her cheeks flushed slightly.
In the past, she had always done this afterward to savor the moment, but today she was moved by emotion and couldn't help herself, doing it right in front of Xu Zihuang.
Still, as a member of a great clan, she maintained her dignified and graceful demeanor on the surface despite the overwhelming shyness in her heart.
"Since you've told me to be myself, Tianhuang, I'll admit that I'm a little bothered by what you said earlier to Senior Brother Xu, about the few senior sisters you met at the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy."
Xu Zihuang naturally wouldn't deliberately tease Ning Tian. He smiled helplessly and took the initiative to tell her about Ju Zi and Ke Ke.
"Those two senior sisters are named Ju Zi and Ke Ke. They were students of the mentor I had at the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy…"
Ning Tian listened thoughtfully, her shy feelings gradually fading.
By deliberately slowing their pace, it took them half an hour to reach the training ground.
There were seven people on the training platform: Wu Feng, Xiao Xiao, Nanmen Yun'er, Dai Huabin, and Xie Huanyue, the five newly promoted inner court disciples, along with one inner court teacher and one inner court teaching assistant.
The inner court teacher was Wang Yan, and the teaching assistant was a female inner court student who appeared to be twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old. Her figure was similar to that of the inner court's eldest senior sister Zhang Lexuan, but her face was a bit thinner. Her eyes were as black as ink, and her expression was very gentle. Her appearance wasn't stunningly beautiful, but it was the kind of look that grew more pleasing over time.
Xu Zihuang was familiar with this female inner court student.
Her name was Han Ruoruo, and she was one of only two Soul Douluo-level powerhouses among the inner court disciples of Shrek Academy. In terms of seniority and age, she was even above Zhang Lexuan, though her cultivation was slightly inferior. The fact that she and Zhang Lexuan addressed each other directly by name was enough to prove her status in Shrek Academy's inner court.
Wang Yan and Han Ruoruo stood beside the training ground. Whenever their eyes met, the smiles on their faces grew warmer. Clearly, they got along very well.
Xiao Xiao, Wu Feng, and Xie Huanyue were also standing near Wang Yan and Han Ruoruo, while Dai Huabin and Nanmen Yun'er were in the center of the training ground, looking as if they were preparing for a sparring match.
"Teacher Wang, long time no see. How have you been lately?" Xu Zihuang waved from afar toward Wang Yan and nodded politely at Han Ruoruo.
"Senior Sister Han, hello."
Wang Yan's conversation with Han Ruoruo was suddenly interrupted by Xu Zihuang's voice. His face showed a hint of embarrassment. After all, his purpose in approaching Han Ruoruo wasn't entirely pure.
But after that brief embarrassment, his expression was instantly replaced by surprise.
"Tianhuang?! I heard from Elder Xuan that you were in closed-door cultivation. How did you end up here?"
Teaching a student as outstanding as Yu Tianhuang was the proudest achievement of Wang Yan's life. With their shared experience in the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament, the two had always gotten along very well.
"I finished my cultivation this morning. I heard from Ning Tian that you were going to guide them today, so I came along to watch," Xu Zihuang replied.
"Teacher Wang, you won't mind if I sit in, right?"
Wang Yan laughed and scolded, "How could I? Come on over. This is a perfect chance to see how much you've progressed in these past few years."
As he spoke, Xu Zihuang and Ning Tian had already reached Wang Yan and Han Ruoruo. Ning Tian also gave a slight bow to the two of them.
After so many guidance sessions, Han Ruoruo was very familiar with Ning Tian. Her gaze, however, lingered mostly on Xu Zihuang.
"I heard from Lexuan that your talent surpasses even hers. And after Elder Mu designated you as the next-generation successor of the Sea God's Pavilion, I've been quite curious about you," Han Ruoruo said with a warm and graceful smile.
"After Yun'er and Huabin finish their spar, why don't you go up and give it a try?"
Xu Zihuang smiled calmly. "Since Senior Sister Han has said so, of course, I have no reason to refuse."
Han Ruoruo turned to Wang Yan, who nodded at her. Their movements were perfectly in sync.
Beside them, Wu Feng obediently stood behind Ning Tian with her head lowered, completely abandoning her usual fiery temper. After Ning Tian's previous warning, no matter how much resentment she harbored toward Yu Tianhuang, she didn't dare show it.
On Wu Feng's other side was Xie Huanyue.
A few years had passed, and Xie Huanyue had grown even taller and broader, though his "broadness" was leaning more toward roundness.
Xie Huanyue gave Xu Zihuang a friendly smile.
There had never been any conflict between the two of them.
Xu Zihuang returned the greeting and also said hello to Xiao Xiao.
"Xiao Xiao, it looks like you were the first in our class, besides me, to enter the inner court."
Xiao Xiao shyly avoided Xu Zihuang's gaze, her voice soft and gentle.
"Actually, I only entered the inner court half a year ago."
As they grew older and hadn't seen each other for a long time, Xiao Xiao had once thought her vague feelings for Yu Tianhuang would gradually fade. But reality proved she had been too optimistic. Someone as outstanding and perfect as Yu Tianhuang had an unimaginable appeal to peers of the opposite sex.
At the very least, she couldn't stay calm in front of him.
Seeing Ning Tian intimately holding Yu Tianhuang's arm, an absurd thought even flashed through her mind: if she had been braver back then, would the one standing beside Yu Tianhuang now be her?
In the center of the training ground, Nanmen Yun'er also gave Xu Zihuang a gentle smile. Compared to Xiao Xiao, she appeared much more composed and graceful.
As for Dai Huabin, though his expression remained somewhat stiff, he had already calmed his mindset. His eyes burned with fierce battle intent. He knew he wasn't Yu Tianhuang's opponent yet, but he wanted to know the true gap between them.
Ning Tian openly wrapped Xu Zihuang's arm around her chest, while the corner of her eye caught Xiao Xiao's unusual reaction. The twin martial souls of Xiao Xiao did indeed pose a threat to her.
Before long, everyone's attention turned back to the center of the training ground.
Wang Yan saw that Nanmen Yun'er and Dai Huabin were in position and shouted, "Prepare! Although this is only a spar, I still hope you both show your full abilities so I can provide proper guidance. The rest of us will be watching."
Xie Huanyue narrowed his small eyes and said mysteriously, "Just watch. Dai Huabin is definitely going to suffer a big loss this time."
"Hm?" Hearing Xie Huanyue's words, not only the others but even Xu Zihuang felt surprised.
Among their year's inner court entrants, Dai Huabin's soul power level and overall strength should have been second only to his own.
Ning Tian leaned close to Xu Zihuang and explained softly, "Yun'er was very low-key during her outer court days. I only heard that her martial soul had mutated, which was why she was exceptionally promoted to a core disciple. She only entered the inner court in the past half month, so I've never seen her truly fight either."
"Begin!"
Before Ning Tian finished speaking, Wang Yan had already swung his right hand down.
It was unclear whether it was Xu Zihuang's presence that ignited Dai Huabin's fighting spirit, but his emotions were especially high at the moment. He slammed his fists together in front of his chest, his bones crackling loudly.
The White Tiger's martial soul instantly possessed his body. Two yellow, two purple, and one black- the optimal configuration of soul rings appeared along with pale white soul power. White fur burst forth from his body, exuding the powerful and domineering aura of the king of beasts.
The fur all over his body suddenly radiated intense golden light, and his entire body swelled another size. His aura surged violently. Then, a layer of white light enveloped him.
From the very start, Dai Huabin had activated his two major amplification soul skills: White Tiger Shield and White Tiger Vajra Transformation.
"Roar!" With a tiger's roar, Dai Huabin charged forward with great strides. The old saying that strong-attack soul masters counter agility-attack soul masters was well-established. He planned to suppress Nanmen Yun'er with overwhelming force.
At the same time, Nanmen Yun'er moved. Her body floated lightly as if weightless, turning into a streak of emerald-green afterimage that met Dai Huabin head-on. Her speed was so fast that even Ning Tian, Xiao Xiao, and the others could barely follow her figure.
They could only vaguely see the light of two yellow, two purple, and one black soul rings around her.
So fast!
She hadn't even used any soul skills yet and already possessed such astonishing speed.
But Xu Zihuang, using the power of his Golden-Eyed martial soul, clearly captured Nanmen Yun'er's form.
Behind Nanmen Yun'er, a pair of emerald-green wings had appeared. However, compared to the memory he had of Nanmen Yun'er releasing her martial soul years ago, there was now another change.
That was her eyelids. The upper and lower eyelids on both sides of her ink-green eyes had turned a brilliant gold, extremely divine.
At the same time, Xu Zihuang's second martial soul stirred. A feeling of disgust and disdain originating from bloodline and martial soul surged in his heart.
"This is…"
"Emerald Demon Bird? Yun'er's martial soul is actually the Emerald Demon Bird? No wonder Elder Song values her so highly," Han Ruoruo said in sudden realization.
The Emerald Demon Bird was a particularly rare and ferocious soul beast. Back when she and Zhang Lexuan had led inner court disciples deep into the Star Dou Forest to obtain soul rings, they had once encountered a thousand-year-old Emerald Demon Bird.
She wouldn't mistake it.
That Emerald Demon Bird had only been three thousand years old, yet it had caused them considerable trouble. Its speed was simply too fast, and it could fly.
"What?! Emerald Demon Bird?!" Wang Yan was even more shocked. He hadn't seen one with his own eyes like Han Ruoruo, but he had read about the Emerald Demon Bird in ancient records in Shrek Academy's library.
With his cultivation, he couldn't fully see the changes when Nanmen Yun'er released her martial soul, so he hadn't recognized it at first.
The Emerald Demon Bird was one of the cruelest bird-type soul beasts. Their growth depended on sucking the brain marrow of various creatures, whether soul beasts or humans; they were all targets. In short-distance flight, no flying soul beast could match their explosive speed.
Legend had it that in ancient times, the Emerald Demon Birds had once caused a massive catastrophe. Back then, they were a social species. Whenever a flock flew over an area, every creature in that area would have its brain marrow sucked dry.
It was said that one Emerald Demon Bird King had even sucked the brain marrow of a true dragon and evolved into the most terrifying killer of that era. At that time, the continent was ruled by the dragon race. After a true dragon was killed, the enraged dragons gathered their forces and launched a frenzied retaliation against the Emerald Demon Bird clan, nearly driving them to extinction.
As a result, though the Emerald Demon Bird lineage still survives today, their numbers were probably even rarer than the Darkgold Terrorclaw Bears. And because they were hated by so many powerful soul beasts, the surviving Emerald Demon Birds rarely dared to show themselves.
Ning Tian, Xiao Xiao, and Wu Feng all showed strange expressions. The reputation of the Emerald Demon Bird was simply too infamous. Even now, legends about it still circulated.
Only Xie Huanyue, who had been in the same class as Nanmen Yun'er and had some prior knowledge, appeared relatively calm.
During the outer court advancement assessment, he had once sparred with Nanmen Yun'er. The result was that even his thick-skinned Elephant martial soul's formidable defense couldn't withstand the extreme sharpness of Nanmen Yun'er's martial soul.
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