YOU'RE LEVEL 40?!
Even Tang San, who was burning with rage to avenge Xiao Wu, was so stunned he couldn't string his thoughts together.
What the hell?
You're Level 40?!
They were both twelve!
He even had Xuan Tian Gong to accelerate his cultivation!
29 vs. 40?!
How is that even remotely fair?!
HOW?!
The rest of the crowd was in the same boat—mentally collapsing in disbelief.
Only Dai Mubai was different.
He'd originally been wondering how to go easy on Yi Hong to help them pass the test.
But now?
He was wondering if he could even last a stick of incense's time in the ring!
With a deep breath, Dai Mubai braced himself, stepped forward, and released his martial soul.
White Tiger!
His three soul rings appeared—yellow, yellow, purple.
> "Martial Soul: White Tiger. Level 37 Power-attack Battle Soul Elder. Please advise!"
But as soon as the words left his mouth—
Yi Hong's first soul ring lit up.
Purple lightning burst from the tip of his Destruction Scepter.
> First Soul Skill – Chain Lightning!
"Zzzzt!"
Dai Mubai didn't even react in time—he was immediately stunned by the shock.
Then—
The purple lightning arced over to the nearest person—Zhao Wuji—and jumped again, striking Tang San, who had been watching in disbelief.
Tang San hadn't even put up a guard and was zapped flat on the ground, twitching uncontrollably.
"Zzzzt!"
The lightning rebounded to Dai Mubai.
"Zzzzt!"
Then back to Tang San.
"Zzzzt!"
"Zzzzt!"
Back and forth, it jumped five times before finally dissipating.
And while it looked chaotic, the entire chain of lightning strikes happened in less than a second.
After all—
> "It's called lightning for a reason!"
Dai Mubai and Tang San stood there trembling, hair fried and standing on end, faces blackened.
Absolutely wrecked.
[God of Speed: That's it! More power!!]
[User "God of Speed" sent a gift: "God-Given Soul Ring" ×1]
More power?
Yi Hong activated his second ring.
> "ROAR!"
Dai Mubai's muscles bulked up, and black-and-white tiger stripes covered his body.
> Third Soul Skill – White Tiger Vajra Transformation!
For 30 minutes, his attack, defense, and resistance to status effects were all doubled.
With that boost, he barely shook off the paralysis and charged toward Yi Hong.
But—
Can a tiger sprint faster than lightning?
> Second Soul Skill – Heaven's Thunder Prison!
"CRACKLE—BOOM—"
"Zzzzzzzzt!"
Bolts of lightning exploded outward from Yi Hong's body, instantly covering a 20-meter radius and swallowing Dai Mubai in a storm of electricity.
A full-on lightning baptism.
Dai Mubai froze up again, couldn't even lift his legs.
Momentum carried him face-first into the ground.
Ouch.
So much for "resistance to status effects."
His third soul ring? Probably 1,800 years tops.
Yi Hong's second ring? 2,821 years.
And he had higher level soul power on top of that.
What was he supposed to do—pray?
Dai Mubai was cooked crispy on the outside, twitchy on the inside, stuck in constant convulsions.
[God of Speed: Beautifully done!]
[User "God of Speed" sent a gift: "God-Given Soul Ring" ×1]
[God of Speed: Fry that cheating scumbag!]
[...God-Given Soul Ring ×1]
[God of Speed: That's for two-timing those goddesses!]
[...God-Given Soul Ring ×1]
Six soul rings dropped in quick succession like candy.
That's how much hatred she had for Dai Mubai.
And understandably so.
If she didn't hate him this much, would she really be hand-feeding a streamer to seduce her past self?
The bitterness was real.
Yi Hong was more than happy to oblige.
He maintained his Thunder Prison, repeatedly roasting Dai Mubai to a crisp.
Dai Mubai, not one to admit defeat easily, kept trying to stand—but his twitching limbs failed him every time.
Watching it was painful.
Even Zhao Wuji started to feel bad.
He dashed into the lightning zone, but his movement stalled for a moment—
Wait.
This lightning… actually affects a Soul Saint too?
Damn!
> First Soul Skill – Immovable Body of the King!
Golden light exploded from Zhao Wuji, blasting away the electricity.
He picked up Dai Mubai and bolted out of range.
> "Okay, okay! Mubai lost!"
> "You've all passed the test. Welcome to Shrek Academy!"
> "Oscar! Get out the Recovery Sausages—quick!"
Oscar was still frozen, jaw dropped, failing to recite his soul incantation properly.
Zhao Wuji gave him a slap on the shoulder.
Oscar finally snapped out of it and hurriedly summoned several Recovery Sausages.
But then—another issue.
Dai Mubai's whole body was numb—he couldn't eat.
If it were liquid, they could maybe mouth-feed him.
But a sausage?
> "He's fine," Yi Hong said casually. "Just paralyzed. He'll be bouncing around again in a bit."
Zhao Wuji and Oscar both let out a sigh of relief.
Then laughed bitterly.
> "You didn't have to go that hard…" Zhao Wuji muttered.
> "All I used was my second soul skill," Yi Hong replied with a shrug. "How was I supposed to know he was that sensitive to lightning?"
Zhao Wuji opened his mouth to retort…
But stopped.
Sure, Yi Hong's second soul ring was a thousand-year one—but wasn't Dai Mubai's third ring supposed to be as well?
Unless…
Oscar voiced it:
> "How old is your second soul ring?"
> "Over 2,800 years," Yi Hong replied.
Oscar: "…"
Zhao Wuji: "…"
"Hsssss—"
What the actual hell?!
Normal third rings were maybe 1,700 years max!
No wonder Dai Mubai got fried like a fish fillet.
Soul ring age. Soul power level. Everything was crushed.
Who could survive that?!
The informed ones—like Zhu Zhuqing—couldn't help but look at Yi Hong with eager eyes.
If there really was a way to increase soul ring years, that would be huge.
Already absorbed rings might be locked in, but everyone here was Level 26+—it wouldn't be long before they needed to hunt for their third ring.
And before that…
One pair of eyes stood out—
Tang San, recovering from paralysis, looked especially conflicted.
He'd been robbed of his revenge, then shock-zapped like a side character.
He was pissed, no question.
But now he also needed something from Yi Hong—and apparently so did everyone else.
His emotions were a total mess.
> "Alright," Zhao Wuji announced. "Oscar, take Mubai back to the dorm. Show the others the way, too."
> "Got it!" Oscar said cheerily. "You all must be tired. Let's head back to rest."
Ning Rongrong, ever sharp, was the first to support Xiao Wu.
Zhu Zhuqing glanced at Tang San, then turned to look at Yi Hong.
Her meaning was obvious:
> "You help me."
> "I'm fine. I can walk," Tang San said quickly.
Perfect.
Yi Hong swallowed his rejection and caught up with the group.
Zhu Zhuqing followed right behind him.
Leaving poor Tang San, battered and paralyzed, shuffling along at the rear.
> Hey! I was just being polite!
You were actually supposed to help!
Zhu Zhuqing caught up to Yi Hong.
> "Can that formula be used for my weight?"
Still thinking about it, huh?
Well...
Since he'd already committed to wooing her, might as well give her a little sweetness.
But…
He didn't have any whale collagen on hand. Buying it now might expose his secret.
Just as he was wondering what to do—
[User "God of Speed" sent a gift: "Soul Pills" ×100]
[God of Speed: These are divine snacks sold to kids in the God Realm. They help boost physical strength. Each one can add about 5,000 years of ring compatibility. Eat a few, and you'll get 6,000 to 7,000 years easy.]
[God of Speed: Go get the girl.]
> "You're too generous, boss!"
With that, Yi Hong was full of confidence again.
He smiled at Zhu Zhuqing and countered—
> "Sure, it works. But what can you offer me in exchange?"
> "Just so you know, I'm not short on money. I'm only broke because I got robbed."
Zhu Zhuqing fell silent.
She'd run away from home, only carrying a small sum.
As for anything valuable…
There was only one thing she had left to offer.