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"Alright, then. From now on, you'll be called Zhuqing, right? Follow me to Shrek Academy."
Li Luochen walked ahead with his hands clasped behind his back, leaving the outer regions of the Great Star Dou Forest not long after.
Upon hearing the name "Shrek Academy," Zhu Zhuqing's heart trembled. Based on the intelligence she had gathered, her fiancé was studying at a place called Shrek Academy.
Even someone as powerful as Li Luochen was associated with it? Her understanding of Shrek Academy deepened once again.
Two days later, the trio arrived in Suotuo City.
Li Luochen planned to rest for a while at Flender's old grocery store. Since Flender had already closed the shop and wasn't around, Li Luochen simply took up residence there.
Oscar didn't care where they stayed—it was all the same to him. The once-dilapidated shop had been renovated by Li Luochen, making it quite comfortable.
At this moment, Zhu Zhuqing's attention was drawn to a figure in the distance.
It was a blond-haired man, each arm wrapped around a scantily clad woman. The two women looked nearly identical—likely twins.
"Dai Young Master, be gentle with us. My sister and I aren't soul masters, so we can't handle your strength."
One of the women cooed seductively.
Zhu Zhuqing witnessed everything, and Li Luochen and Oscar noticed it too. Dai Mubai's spirit seemed somewhat off, but the distance was too great, and his meridians, injured by Li Luo Chen, prevented him from sensing anything.
"This lustful tiger is at it again? Now he's messing around with twin sisters? This scum is ruining our academy's reputation. Big Brother Chen, just give the word, and I'll cripple him right now."
Oscar despised this lecherous tiger the most. Talented yet squandering his potential on nightly indulgences? And not just that—he also picked fights, competed for women, and brawled in brothels.
"What's the point of bothering with him? He doesn't have many years left to live. Dead men don't need attention. Let's go."
Li Luochen's calm words carried an air of indifference. Why waste time on someone destined to die before the age of twenty? He might as well serve as a whetstone, sharpening others' resolve.
The whetstone was ready, but what about Zhuqing's choice? At this moment, Li Luochen's sharp gaze, like that of an eagle, fixed on Zhu Zhuqing, whose body trembled with rage.
Zhu Zhuqing was absolutely livid. Just as her older sister had said, this despicable man had abandoned her, leaving her to bear immense pressure alone. She had thought he would strive to grow stronger, only to find him wallowing in depravity.
She viewed such a man as a disgrace, unworthy of being with her. She wanted to personally destroy him.
"Senior Li, please help me grow stronger. I'm willing to pay any price. I want to defeat him myself and make him understand that he doesn't deserve me."
Zhu Zhuqing spoke coldly, her body radiating an intense fighting spirit.
"Fine. But I require you to kill him. Keeping trash like him alive is a waste of air. As for the consequences of killing him, I'll take full responsibility. All you need to do is eliminate him. Tell me—can you do it?"
Li Luochen crossed his arms, his piercing gaze scrutinizing Zhu Zhuqing, trying to determine if she was worth cultivating.
Deep down, Zhu Zhuqing was still kind-hearted. She hesitated. She didn't want to kill anyone—just teach him a lesson and cripple his soul power. But taking a life? She couldn't bring herself to do it.
However, thinking of her future fate, she clenched her teeth and nodded in agreement.
"It seems you're struggling. After all, you've never killed anyone before, and he is technically your fiancé—a certain connection exists between you.
I admit this is difficult for you, but these problems are easy to solve. Trash like him deserves to die. You'll find someone better. Don't worry—I'll train you properly. Report to Shrek Academy in three days.
Until then, stay here. There's space in the side room on the second floor—you can sleep there. Here's the key."
Li Luo Chen handed Zhu Zhuqing the key to the side room, then entered the shop and reclined in a rocking chair, closing his eyes to rest.
Oscar busied himself with the items in the store, now acting as the shopkeeper.
In the coming days, Li Luochen patiently awaited Tang San's arrival. Once Tang San arrived, he would set out to accomplish a significant task.
Li Luochen wasn't sure if the item was still there, but he had pinpointed the location. The question was whether the treasure was with Tang Hao or still in the cave.
During his travels, Li Luochen had roughly determined the location. Ten miles west of Holy Soul Village lay a dense forest. Using his mental strength, he confirmed the presence of a waterfall within—it was enough.
He only needed to wait for Tang San's arrival before retrieving the soul bone. But who should it go to? Dugu Yan no longer needed it—she already had a hundred-thousand-year right leg bone.
Li Luo Chen himself lacked a right leg bone. The Blue Silver Emperor's right leg bone skill—"Wildfire Never Dies, Spring Breeze Revives"—was excellent for someone as reckless as him. However, its secondary flight skill was useless since Li Luochen already possessed the Dragon Wing external soul bone for flight.
Li Luo Chen currently had five soul bones. He needed strength-oriented soul bones, with the arm bones being the most critical. The Dark Demon Evil God Tiger's left arm bone was perfect—its power was immense, and as a life-bound soul bone, it could grow stronger alongside him.
By the time Li Luochen became a Soul Sage, his sixth soul ring and left arm bone would likely evolve to the hundred-thousand-year tier.
As for the right arm bone, Li Luochen wanted the Titan Giant Ape's soul ring and soul bone for his eighth soul ring.
Originally, he had planned to leave the Titan Giant Ape for Dugu Yan and absorb the Azure Sky Bull Python himself. However, Dugu Yan already possessed several sub-dragon-type soul bones besides the Dark Golden Terror Claw Bear, and Li Luochen had a bit of obsessive-compulsive tendencies.
Moreover, Dugu Yan's Golden Radiant Azure Dragon soul resonated slightly with the Azure Sky Bull Python's faint Azure Dragon bloodline. It was close to ascending into dragon form, making it more suitable for her. Thus, Li Luochen swapped their allocations. Both hundred-thousand-year soul beasts were fitting for them, so the switch made little difference.
Next came the decision for the ninth soul ring. Li Luochen and Dugu Yan were destined to use hundred-thousand-year soul rings starting from their seventh. For the ninth soul ring, anything less than a ferocious beast's soul ring would be unacceptable.
But hunting ferocious beasts these days was no easy feat—they either had strong backgrounds or geographical advantages. Unless the three Ultimate Douluos teamed up, it would be nearly impossible to slay one.
Li Luochen had initially considered securing the Sea God position for Dugu Yan, as the Deep Sea Demon Whale King was highly compatible with her. It was on the verge of ascending into dragon form, and its attributes matched hers perfectly, with nearly a hundred thousand years of cultivation. However, it was a treasure left by the Sea God for his successor—untouchable.
Li Luochen wasn't in a rush. During his travels, he had obtained something valuable that might serve as his ninth soul ring. If feasible, it could propel him to new heights. Even without achieving all hundred-thousand-year soul rings, possessing such a ninth soul ring would still make him invincible.
Lost in thought, Li Luochen pulled out a pure golden sphere. It emitted a faint dragon roar, as if it weren't a sphere but a living dragon.
Li Luochen gazed at the fist-sized sphere in his hand. This was his greatest harvest from the Star Luo Empire—a secret known only to him and Dugu Yan.
While traveling with Dugu Yan, they had jointly slain several Soul Sages and Soul Douluos of the Star Luo Empire when they stumbled upon a dimensional rift and fell into a small pocket dimension.
Inside, they found several corpses, the largest and most imposing of which belonged to a dragon. Even in death, its bones remained golden.
Dugu Yan's Golden Radiant Azure Dragon soul seemed wary of these remains. Though not suppressed, she felt a sense of confrontation. Given her lower cultivation compared to the dragon in life, resisting its aura with her own dragon might was taxing.
Li Luochen, however, felt no suppression. Upon closer inspection, he recognized some of the skeletons—Golden Python, Golden Crocodile Dragon, and Golden Unicorn Dragon—all sub-dragon species with golden bloodlines. Their remains were intact, and Li Luochen could gauge their ages: eighty thousand years for the Golden Python, a hundred thousand years for the Golden Crocodile Dragon, and ninety thousand years for the Golden Unicorn Dragon.
Their corpses still contained soul bones, brimming with energy, which Li Luochen promptly claimed. After taking the soul bones, he ensured their proper burial.
As for the massive dragon skeleton, Li Luochen buried it as well. Though damaged and incomplete, it measured a full kilometer in length.
It took Li Luochen several days to complete the burial. He speculated that this was the skeleton of a divine-level dragon. Upon finishing the burial, a golden soul bone resembling armor appeared atop the mound, accompanied by a golden sphere.
A golden dragon shadow emerged beside the sphere, roaring at Li Luochen before vanishing.
Li Luo Chen collected both the soul bone and the sphere. Not long after, the pocket dimension collapsed, and he and Dugu Yan were teleported out.
Regarding the events inside the pocket dimension, Li Luochen and Dugu Yan maintained absolute silence, not mentioning a word to anyone. Such knowledge could invite calamity, and the fewer people who knew, the better.
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