Join my Patreon to be 30 chapters ahead of the webnovel releases:
patreon.com/ZeroMoney
I would appreciate your help if you could join my Patreon and support me because it would keep me motivated.
******
Su Yu steadied himself, then drew out the Soul Blade from between his brows.
"Teacher, please take a moment to restore your strength."
With that, Su Yu channeled life energy from the Soul Blade into Kong Deming's body.
"First Soul Skill: Starlight Power!"
Guiding the life energy, Su Yu imbued it with unique properties to accelerate the restoration of Kong Deming's spirit power and stamina. Since realizing the essence of mastering acquired soul skills through the cleansing power of his second soul skill, Su Yu had begun exploring his other soul skills, aiming to reach this same mastery.
He had successfully achieved this with his first soul skill, Starlight Power.
This soul skill had two main functions: first, channeling and absorbing the power of the stars; second, transforming that stellar energy into life energy and using it to replenish spirit power and stamina. Here, Su Yu used the latter technique to direct life energy from the Soul Blade, producing the desired effect.
However, given the limitations of his spirit power, he could only influence this massive life energy to a certain extent. Nevertheless, it did expedite Kong Deming's recovery.
After three minutes, Kong Deming was back at peak condition, with a considerable reserve of life energy stored within him.
He activated a soul tool barrier, encasing himself, Su Yu, and the crimson-gold bird's remains in a protective field. Only then did he sit down cross-legged and guide the blood-red spirit ring onto himself.
Su Yu once more directed the Soul Blade's life energy into Kong Deming's body.
"Second Soul Skill: Violet Moon Purification!"
"First Soul Skill: Starlight Power!"
The life energy stored within the Soul Blade was exceptionally vast. Su Yu wasn't stingy with it. Though it was said that replenishing what Kong Deming consumed during his breakthrough to level 95 would take two years, the Soul Blade itself had existed for thousands of years.
Kong Deming's physical condition was ideal, and with his extensive experience in spirit ring absorption, this process went smoothly and without incident.
For him, the objective this time was to prolong the absorption period as much as possible. Su Yu had shared his hypothesis with Kong Deming regarding the heightened activity of the martial soul during spirit ring absorption. Kong Deming took advantage of this state to refine as much life energy as possible.
After a full ten days, the blood-red spirit ring gradually shrank and merged into Kong Deming's body.
Kong Deming's spirit power surged, pulsing with a force even greater than when he fought against Du Busi.
"Level 96."
He felt as though he were in a dream.
He had been stuck at level 94 for decades, and now, in just a month, he had broken through two levels—something he would never have imagined in the past.
"Haha, well done, my good disciple! Let's head back to Mingdu right away; I can hardly wait to dive into the study of rune techniques!"
---
*Shrek Academy.*
*Inner Court.*
Inside the Sea God Pavilion, there was a heavy silence.
An elderly man, hunched over and reclining in the chair at the head of the table, finally broke the silence.
"Still no word on Lin'er?"
A quiet murmur spread through the room in response.
Xian Lin'er had gone missing.
Since her battle with Kong Deming, she had disappeared without a trace.
The Star Luo Empire had repeatedly sent envoys to Shrek Academy, asking what had really happened that day. Though they couched their inquiry in polite terms, this was essentially a reminder to the members of Shrek that, during that incident, Xian Lin'er had inadvertently decimated an entire Star Luo battalion.
The Solar God Needle was a single-target attack, yet in Kong Deming's hands, its power rivaled that of an ultimate strike.
When it struck the battalion, the 87th-level Soul Douluo leading them, Ye Changsheng, was killed instantly, and the residual shockwaves caused severe casualties across the whole unit.
The Star Luo Empire lost at least five Soul Sages and one Soul Douluo, while a battalion of over a thousand troops was so decimated it had to be dispersed and absorbed into other units.
Xu Jiawei's inquiry was already quite diplomatic, giving Shrek Academy as much respect as possible. Yet Shrek could provide no answer.
That was because Xian Lin'er was missing.
After that battle, she had escaped severely injured, but she had since cut off all contact with the academy. Shrek refused to give up hope, sending people out in search of her, but they found no trace.
By now, they had to face the reality that Xian Lin'er was likely dead.
In truth, they could have reached this conclusion sooner, but Shrek wasn't willing to admit it. After all, Xian Lin'er was Elder Mu's disciple, the junior sister of Yan Shaozhe, the dean of Shrek's Martial Soul Department, and, notably, the dean of the Soul Tool Department. Oh, and she was also the wife of Qian Duoduo, the department's deputy dean.
Elder Lin and Elder Xuan had both watched her grow up and were deeply attached to her, naturally reluctant to accept her death.
Yet despite waiting for so long, there was still no glimmer of hope.
"It's all your fault, Yan Shaozhe!"
Qian Duoduo suddenly erupted, pointing at Yan Shaozhe and shouting angrily.
"Why did you send Lin'er to her death?"
"Duoduo, I didn't expect things to turn out like this," Yan Shaozhe replied, though his explanation felt weak and hollow.
He deeply regretted sending Xian Lin'er on that dangerous mission.
Yet back then, he had only suggested that someone should confirm Su Yu's status.
Su Yu was, after all, someone tied to the Star Luo Empire, and his Blue Silver Grass martial soul potentially represented the ultimate in life power.
Surely that needed to be verified?
If it was true, and he had joined the Sun Moon Empire, wouldn't that be a serious misstep?
That's why he made the suggestion.
At the time, Xian Lin'er, fascinated by Su Yu's prowess as a Soul Tool Master, had volunteered for the mission.
But now, how could he defend himself? Ultimately, if not for his suggestion, Lin'er wouldn't have been lost.
Cai Mei'er, Yan Shaozhe's wife and the deputy dean of the Martial Soul Department, sat silently beside him.
After a long tirade from Qian Duoduo, the Sea God Pavilion fell silent again. Then Yan Shaozhe spoke up.
"We must avenge Lin'er's death!"
"And who exactly do you plan to seek revenge on?" Qian Duoduo demanded.
On the Sun Moon Empire?
In front of everyone, Xian Lin'er had disguised herself as a powerful unknown warrior.
In front of everyone, Kong Deming had allowed her to escape.
Shrek held no ground for retribution.
Even if they were known for not adhering strictly to reason, this was a high-stakes conflict among elite powers, where rationality had to be considered.
And this wasn't even the biggest issue holding Shrek back.
The real restraint came from another question:
Was it really the Sun Moon Empire that killed Xian Lin'er?
She had fled towards Shrek territory, following a route entirely within the Star Luo Empire.
She was grievously injured, which led to the severe losses for the Star Luo Empire.
Moreover, given her identity, her death would certainly incite enmity from every member of Shrek's Sea God Pavilion towards the Sun Moon Empire.
Considering all this, the Star Luo Empire seemed just as suspicious as the Sun Moon Empire!
Would the Star Luo Empire dare to do such a thing?
Absolutely.
They'd been frustrated for a long time over Shrek's reluctance to give full support in the fight against the Sun Moon Empire. They'd even pressured Shrek several times before the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament.
This plot was well within the realm of their capabilities.
Furthermore, with the recent tournament, Shrek had inflicted both economic and reputational losses on the Star Luo Empire, making this theory even more plausible.
"But we can't just sit here and do nothing!" Yan Shaozhe's voice was filled with grief.
"Of course, we won't just sit idly by!"
Elder Lin's voice cut through the silence, her tone steely and unyielding, masking an anger that simmered beneath the surface.
She was of the same generation as Elder Xuan, holding a spirit power of 97.
Most importantly, she was Xian Lin'er's mother.
(End of Chapter)