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"Xiao Xiao, let me ask you something."
"Ask away!" Xiao Xiao replied between bites of food. At this moment, she would answer any question Yuwen Tuo posed without hesitation.
Yuwen Tuo leaned close to Xiao Xiao's ear and whispered softly, "Your second martial soul… since you've already added a soul ring to it, does that mean you never intended to hide it from the academy? Instead, you wanted to boost your combat strength to gain the academy's attention?"
Given the sensitive nature of twin martial souls, of course, such a discussion couldn't be held aloud.
The warmth of Yuwen Tuo's breath against Xiao Xiao's ear made her blush—partly out of shyness, partly because of how close he was.
Meanwhile, the sound of clenched fists cracking echoed around them. The onlookers were seething with jealousy, infuriated by this "sneaky" little loli who had stolen their chance with Yuwen Tuo.
Xiao Xiao nodded at Yuwen Tuo. "Tuo Tuo, as you know, I don't come from a powerful noble family. To keep up with everyone else, I need to excel in the academy to earn recognition and secure more cultivation resources."
Yuwen Tuo was momentarily speechless. Xiao Xiao wasn't exactly dumb—she clearly understood the importance of resources and knew how to obtain them through practical means.
But then again, if she hadn't planned to hide her twin martial souls, why not just approach the principal directly? Simply revealing the existence of twin martial souls would have been enough to earn the academy's attention—no extraordinary feats required. Why go through all the trouble of wasting one of her second martial soul's soul ring slots?
"Xiao Xiao, since you didn't intend to hide it anyway, I'd like to ask you for a favor," Yuwen Tuo said. Technically, he could have done this himself, but asking for Xiao Xiao's consent was a matter of respect. If she refused, he would think of another way.
He whispered his plan into Xiao Xiao's ear. After hearing it, Xiao Xiao gave him a strange look. "Tuo Tuo, you're quite the schemer. Is it really okay to trick people like this?"
Yuwen Tuo shrugged. "I don't have much of a choice. Given my current situation, I can't leave the academy."
"Well, it's just a small favor. You've helped me so much already—I'm happy to return the favor," Xiao Xiao replied cheerfully. Truthfully, she was delighted to have the opportunity to assist Yuwen Tuo.
Later that day, after finishing their classes, the two didn't leave campus. Instead, they went straight to the Academic Committee to request an audience with the principal.
For most students, meeting the principal wasn't something that could be arranged easily. But Yuwen Tuo wasn't just any ordinary student.
Upon learning that Yuwen Tuo wished to see him, Yan Shaozhe didn't refuse. He instructed someone to bring the pair into his office.
Seeing Yan Shaozhe again—the man partially responsible for wasting six years of his life—Yuwen Tuo couldn't help but feel a surge of hatred. However, he was excellent at controlling his emotions and showed no trace of animosity. Instead, he greeted the principal naturally. "Greetings, Principal!"
"Greetings, Principal!" Xiao Xiao chimed in, her tone far more sincere. Unlike Yuwen Tuo, she genuinely admired Shrek Academy and respected its principal.
"Hmm." Yan Shaozhe sat behind his desk and asked, "What brings the two of you here?"
"Principal, it's about me. My soul power has broken through to level twenty, and I hope the academy can provide me with a spirit beast to advance my cultivation," Yuwen Tuo stated bluntly.
Yan Shaozhe frowned. "You just obtained your first soul ring recently. Your soul power hasn't fully stabilized yet—perhaps it's better to wait a bit longer."
The same excuse as before. Yan Shaozhe truly didn't want Yuwen Tuo to grow too quickly. First, Yuwen Tuo didn't have deep ties to Shrek Academy. Second, he worried that adding too many different types of fire-based soul rings might contaminate Yuwen Tuo's pure flames. If that happened, how could he help his precious disciple, Ma Xiaotao, ascend to Ultimate Fire? She was only one step away—failure was not an option.
Yuwen Tuo responded, "Principal, I understand your concerns, but rest assured, my flames won't be affected in the slightest. Haven't the past six years proven that? Besides, I'm not asking for this without offering something in return. I'm willing to trade a valuable piece of information for a millennium-level spirit beast."
At this, Yan Shaozhe's interest was piqued. "Oh? What kind of information? Tell me."
"I know someone—a genius with twin martial souls. We're willing to recommend her to the academy in exchange for a millennium-level spirit beast. Principal, surely a twin martial soul is worth far more than a single millennium-level spirit beast, right?" Yuwen Tuo proposed.
Indeed, he was planning to pull off a clever scheme: recommend Xiao Xiao—a talent already belonging to Shrek Academy—back to the academy itself.
"What?! Twin martial souls?!" Sure enough, Yan Shaozhe stood up in excitement.
Shrek Academy had no shortage of talented students or powerful martial souls, but twin martial souls were incredibly rare—even over thousands of years, they could be counted on one hand.
If what Yuwen Tuo said was true, Yan Shaozhe would gladly trade a millennium-level spirit beast for information about a twin martial soul talent. It was an absolute steal!
This tactic could have worked with Wang Dong or Huo Yuhao as well, but Wang Dong's background was too influential. Yuwen Tuo didn't want to risk offending her and drawing the ire of the Hao Tian Sect. As for Huo Yuhao, his second and third martial souls weren't fully developed yet. His second martial soul remained incomplete, and his third martial soul, Iliescus, was likely still dormant. If Yan Shaozhe found out later that Yuwen Tuo had deceived him, it would cause trouble.
Thus, Xiao Xiao was the most suitable candidate.
This arrangement also provided Xiao Xiao with protection. Ma Xiaotao's personality bordered on obsessive, and Yuwen Tuo feared she might harm Xiao Xiao in the future. However, if Xiao Xiao's twin martial souls were revealed early, she would become a focal point of the academy's attention. Even Ma Xiaotao wouldn't dare act recklessly against her then.
As for why Xiao Xiao accompanied him, it was all part of the ruse. Yan Shaozhe hadn't realized that the twin martial soul prodigy Yuwen Tuo was referring to was none other than the little loli standing right in front of him.
After all, Yuwen Tuo had phrased it as "a friend we both know." Since Yuwen Tuo had been confined to Shrek Academy for years, theoretically, he shouldn't have met anyone outside. But Xiao Xiao, who had always been active outside, led Yan Shaozhe to assume that the twin martial soul prodigy must be one of Xiao Xiao's friends.
Yan Shaozhe sat silently, deep in thought. Finally, he asked, "Xiao Xiao, what is your relationship with Yuwen Tuo? Why are you helping him so willingly? If the information about your twin martial soul friend is genuine, you could use it to request numerous cultivation resources from me—and I would certainly agree."
"I don't want resources. I just want to help Tuo Tuo because he's my friend!" Xiao Xiao declared firmly.
"Friends, huh…" Yan Shaozhe murmured.
"Agree to their request." At that moment, a voice transmitted secretly into Yan Shaozhe's ear.
"Teacher!" Yan Shaozhe exclaimed inwardly. The voice belonged to Mu En, the Dragon God Douluo.
Mu En's reasoning was straightforward. First, as Yuwen Tuo had pointed out, a single spirit beast shouldn't affect his pure flames—after all, six years of demonic fire hadn't harmed them. Could the flames of a millennium-level spirit beast possibly surpass demonic fire?
Second, Yuwen Tuo finally seemed to have formed a friendship within Shrek Academy. Perhaps, through Xiao Xiao, they could resolve some of his lingering grievances.
Third, the value of a twin martial soul prodigy vastly outweighed that of a mere millennium-level spirit beast. Hesitating even for a second would be disrespectful to the concept of twin martial souls itself.