After a long while, the golden light in Zhou Sichen's eyes grew increasingly intense. A terrifying domain aura suddenly materialized around him, expanding to a radius of one hundred meters in the blink of an eye.
But soon after, under Zhou Sichen's conscious control, the domain quickly retracted back into his body, vanishing into his eyes.
The golden hue in his gaze slowly dimmed, and the domineering and powerful aura surrounding him faded away, replaced by a warm and gentle presence.
Zhou Sichen looked at Elder Mu, his eyes filled with gratitude.
With Elder Mu's assistance, his Sovereign's Might had fully stabilized and even developed into the embryonic form of a true domain.
As he continued to grow stronger, this domain would also evolve. Among those of the same rank, few could resist the pressure of his Sovereign's Might.
Even though it was only an embryonic domain, it was already incredibly powerful. One could only imagine how terrifying it would become once fully matured.
Approaching Elder Mu, Zhou Sichen bowed slightly. "Thank you, Teacher."
Elder Mu gently patted his hand. "You've exceeded even my expectations. You were able to comprehend and create such a powerful ability on your own. A self-created domain… Sichen, you truly are without equal in history."
Despite the praise, Zhou Sichen only maintained a calm smile, without a trace of arrogance.
He was well aware of how powerful his future enemies would be. He needed to do everything in his power to grow stronger as quickly as possible.
Seeing this attitude, Elder Mu felt even more satisfied. Even in his prime, he couldn't compare to Zhou Sichen.
If he hadn't lived for several hundred years, he might not even be qualified to teach someone like Zhou Sichen.
Elder Mu said softly, "For the rest of the semester, aside from your regular training, the two of you should come to the Sea God's Pavilion."
Zhou Sichen and Ye Guyi both lit up with joy. "Thank you, Teacher!"
Elder Mu waved his hand with a smile. "I'm a bit tired. Come, sit with me and watch the sunrise."
Helping Zhou Sichen stabilize his domain had taken some effort—it wasn't as easy as it seemed.
Zhou Sichen understood this clearly and silently etched this favor deep into his heart.
He was already seriously considering using a Body Clone of the Acacia Heartbroken Red to extend Elder Mu's life…
Though Elder Mu could be eccentric at times, there was no denying that he was a worthy elder. Shrek Academy was able to maintain its legacy largely thanks to him.
Over the following days, Zhou Sichen and Ye Guyi trained regularly at Elder Mu's side. With his guidance, Zhou Sichen gained increasing mastery over Sovereign's Might, deepening his understanding and control.
Ye Guyi, having once learned the Sovereign's Might from Elder Mu, didn't fully grasp its true intent. Instead, she used it as inspiration to develop her own path: the Angel's Heart will.
Now, under Elder Mu's tutelage, she was learning one of his powerful combat techniques—Dragon Emperor's Radiant Rend!
With the Saint Dragon Manifestation ability from her right arm soul bone, Ye Guyi could channel a Holy Light Dragon into her arm, transforming it into a radiant dragon claw.
Since Elder Mu's own martial soul was also the Holy Light Dragon, this unique compatibility barely qualified her to learn the Dragon Emperor's Radiant Rend.
This technique was the culmination of Elder Mu's life's work. If fully unleashed, it could rival even a powerful hundred-thousand-year soul skill!
In addition to their training with Elder Mu, the two of them would visit the Golden Tree once a week for deep meditation—a rare privilege.
Aside from this, Zhou Sichen continued studying soul tools under Fan Yu. Thanks to his superior spiritual power, he no longer found soul tool crafting as difficult as he once had.
With the help of three Rank 8 Soul Engineers—Fan Yu, Xian Lin'er, and Qian Duoduo—and aided by his spiritual prowess and the Tianmeng spirit within him, soul tool crafting felt more like play than work.
The only downside was that Shrek's soul tool resources were too limited to offer further breakthroughs.
In one session, Zhou Sichen showcased his ability to craft a Rank 6 soul tool, stunning Fan Yu and the others. Their expressions were as if they were looking at a monster.
In less than three months, he had gone from Rank 4 to Rank 6 Soul Engineer. Even in the Sun Moon Empire, such a monstrous prodigy was unheard of.
Zhou Sichen wasn't aiming for intricate precision—just the ability to create and use soul tools effectively.
Aside from the initial hurdle of entry-level knowledge, he faced no limits. As long as his spiritual power continued to grow, crafting soul tools would become as easy as drinking water.
Thinking of the Extreme Individual Combatant Project assigned to him, Zhou Sichen couldn't help but laugh. What was a daunting challenge for others felt trivial to him.
He Caitou, upon witnessing all this, had gone from silent resentment to full-blown fanboy mode.
Originally, he was unhappy that Zhou Sichen had taken his spot in the Extreme Combatant program—though he kept that to himself.
But after a few interactions, he realized how ridiculous his feelings were.
Zhou Sichen's strength and talent were on a completely different level—far beyond anything He Caitou could hope to match.
So, he let go of his pride and eagerly tried to learn everything he could from "Big Brother Zhou."
Zhou Sichen didn't mind at all. He knew He Caitou had another identity that might prove useful in the future to hinder the Sun Moon Empire.
Besides, He Caitou's own talent was solid. With proper guidance, he would become a powerhouse in his own right.
In addition to gaining He Caitou as a little brother, Zhou Sichen also recommended Huo Yuhao to Fan Yu.
Now that Huo Yuhao had acquired the Spiritual Detection skill, he was practically born to be a Soul Engineer.
With Zhou Sichen's endorsement, Fan Yu didn't hesitate and immediately summoned Huo Yuhao from the outer courtyard.
Huo Yuhao was stunned—he'd been training Haodong Power with Wang Dong when suddenly the director of the Soul Tool Department called for him?
Only when he learned it was Zhou-ge who recommended him did he feel a deep surge of gratitude.
Under Fan Yu's guidance, Huo Yuhao demonstrated his talent in soul tool crafting and was quickly accepted as Fan Yu's second disciple.
Although his soul power level was low, his martial soul and potential were excellent.
His first soul ring was a hundred-year one, and since he hadn't obtained additional soul rings for a long time, his spirit power hadn't increased much. But after learning the Mysterious Heaven Technique and entering Shrek Academy, he had already reached Rank 12.
Plus, with a Xuan Shui Pill from Zhou Sichen to improve his body, he was now at Rank 13.
His cultivation speed was now several times faster than before. With enough resources to make up for lost time, he had the potential to become a top-tier Body Martial Soul user.
Still, Zhou Sichen wasn't going to spoil him. Growth had to come step by step.
As long as Huo Yuhao didn't cause problems, Zhou Sichen wouldn't mind helping him become a true genius someday.
For now, his development could continue at a steady pace.
After becoming Fan Yu's disciple, Huo Yuhao was supposed to transfer to the Soul Tool Department—but then came the revelation: Wang Dong's second soul ring was of the thousand-year grade, and the two of them possessed a nearly perfect Martial Soul Fusion Technique!
Such techniques were exceedingly rare. Even renowned pairs like the Dai family's White Tiger and the Zhu family's Nether Civet rarely achieved perfect fusion.
Even with lower soul power, this alone would massively boost Wang Dong's strength.
Plus, Huo Yuhao's Spirit Eyes and Spiritual Detection had unique applications, so the Martial Soul Department didn't want to let him go.
In truth, they didn't value Huo Yuhao that much—this year's batch was full of monstrous talents—but since Zhou Sichen vouched for him, they trusted his judgment.
Yan Shaozhe didn't even consult Zhou Sichen. He decided on his own to keep Huo Yuhao in the Martial Soul Department to see what made him worthy of Zhou Sichen's attention.
Little did they know—Zhou Sichen was just PUA'ing Huo Yuhao to make him a useful pawn in the future.
So when Zhou Sichen found out, he didn't care. Since neither department wanted to let Huo Yuhao go, dual cultivation was a fine compromise.
If he couldn't keep up, he could later choose one to focus on. No big deal.
Zhou Sichen's thoughts were simple: since Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong had such a high compatibility, they should continue working together.
He'd slowly influence Huo Yuhao, who in turn would influence Wang Dong. Zhou Sichen didn't even have to get involved.
Even if the plan failed, all he'd lose was Huo Yuhao. No big deal.
But if it succeeded, he'd gain a powerful subordinate and throw a wrench in the plans of a certain God King. No harm done.
Thanks to Zhou Sichen's support, Huo Yuhao quickly became the center of attention.
Everyone knew he had a powerful big brother in the inner courtyard—someone who could talk directly with Dean Yan.
Huo Yuhao thoroughly enjoyed this new status, and his gratitude toward Zhou-ge only deepened…
When Cao Jinxuan and Long Xianyu heard about it, they were speechless. But since Big Brother Zhou was backing the kid, they did too.
The two of them were now the leaders of Class 10—the only freshman class with two Soul Elders. Together, they were undefeated among the new students.
With two more big brothers suddenly watching over him, Huo Yuhao felt like he was living his best life.
Wang Dong, however, just rolled his eyes, inexplicably feeling a little jealous of Huo Yuhao.
He'd never even seen his own parents. Aside from his two dads, no one had ever been so good to him.
So that night, while they were cultivating Haodong Power, Wang Dong used the excuse of Huo Yuhao putting his left foot on the bed first—and promptly kicked him off.
Huo Yuhao was stunned. Was Wang Dong training too hard and going crazy or something?
****
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