Xu Fu readily agreed and gave Xu San Shi a very kind look.
"Son, you've been at it for two whole hours. Let me take you to rest properly."
Xu San Shi was so startled that he did a backflip and jumped several meters away. A big smile instantly spread across his face, and his hands moved so fast they left afterimages as he spoke rapidly like a machine gun:
"No trouble at all, no trouble! Don't worry, I know the rules. I swear in the name of my Martial Soul that I will never tell anyone about this. Please don't silence me—I'm your own son after all…"
As he said this, Xu San Shi felt a strange sense of familiarity. Had he said something like this before?
A flicker of surprise crossed Xu Fu's eyes: "I just meant to take you to wash up, get some sun, have a meal, and then get some sleep. Where are your thoughts running off to?"
"Our Xu Ming Sect is a grand and ancient lineage. What's strange about producing a genius like your third brother?
His strong combat power comes from awakening a mutated top-tier Spiritual-type Martial Soul and being able to consume supplements you can't. It's not favoritism on our part."
Xu Fu told this lie with his eyes wide open, completely calm and unflustered.
Only then did Xu San Shi relax, feeling a weight lift off his heart. Then he looked at Xu TianXi with amazement and admiration:
"Dad, our Xu Ming Turtle Martial Soul is the top-tier defensive Martial Soul. Not even one in Shrek Academy's outer school can beat me. What Martial Soul did third brother awaken that, combined with those supplements, makes him this strong?"
As a direct disciple of the Xu Ming Sect and having spent a year at Shrek Academy, Xu San Shi knew very well that even if two people had similar soul power, the Martial Soul's enhancement to the user differed greatly. Top-tier Martial Souls naturally bring many advantages to their owners, while useless Martial Souls don't even get a chance to cultivate.
It wasn't Xu San Shi bragging—his physical fitness, nurtured by the Xu Ming Turtle Martial Soul, was definitely top tier among his peers, even surpassing some external Soul Masters.
Just now, when sparring with Xu TianXi, during the first half hour, Xu TianXi had brute strength but didn't know how to use it effectively. He was heavily suppressed by him. If it weren't for Yue Lao's off-field healing, he would have been knocked down long ago.
Even so, Xu TianXi's brute strength still shocked him. His strength was already comparable to some of the top Soul Masters at Shrek Academy—those guys who all possessed at least mid-level Martial Souls and optimal soul ring configurations.
This was a terrifying fact. Given how young Xu TianXi was, if his Martial Soul hadn't reached the level of a top-tier Martial Soul, his body definitely wouldn't be able to withstand the powerful medicinal effects, let alone endure such intense battles.
What was even more outrageous was that as time went on, the medicinal power inside this guy's body started dissipating rapidly. Almost every few minutes, the force behind his punches grew stronger, and he got more and more excited the longer they fought.
He threw a few solid Iron Mountain Shoulders at him but couldn't knock him down! Xu TianXi would just somersault back up and keep fighting! Even though Yue Lao's healing helped.
After an hour like this, most of his soul power was drained, but Xu TianXi seemed completely unfatigued—only getting more exhilarated. That excited look in his eyes made even him, a battle-hardened defensive Soul Master, feel uneasy.
In the last half hour, offense and defense changed shapes; he got scared of wearing Xu TianXi down and no longer wanted to fight fiercely. He fell into a losing position, being beaten senseless.
The feeling was so frustrating—he hadn't felt this uncomfortable even after fighting that bitch Beibei many times. Saying Xu TianXi's Martial Soul was weaker than his was simply unbelievable.
Xu Fu knew he couldn't keep this secret and, considering that Xu TianXi might still have to test soul skills with Xu San Shi later, he smiled calmly and said:
"There's no point hiding it from you. Your third brother's Martial Soul is the original Martial Soul 'Phantom Moon Gaze,' a top-tier Spiritual-type Martial Soul. It has the mysterious ability to absorb moonlight energy for cultivation. It's a mutation of your stepmother's Martial Soul."
"Because we don't need to worry about a second awakening of the Xu Ming Turtle, he can recklessly consume powerful supplements. I, your father, prepared him a thousand-year whale gelatin—that's why you're seeing this scene right now."
"A so-called inherently powerful original Martial Soul? And it's the eyes, such a vital part of the human body? That makes sense—no wonder I couldn't figure out what his Martial Soul was."
Upon hearing that Xu TianXi's Martial Soul was an original Martial Soul, Xu San Shi wiped his sweat and breathed a heavy sigh of relief. Thankfully, his defeat wasn't completely undeserved.
In today's Soul Master world, there is a saying: the three greatest top-tier powers on Douluo Continent are the unmatched Shrek Sea God Pavilion, the soul-tech sanctuary Mingde Hall of the Sun Moon Empire, and the mysterious and unfathomable Benti Sect.
The first two are backed by Shrek City and the Sun Moon Empire respectively, while the Benti Sect stands proud by its own strength alone. Its disciples are all original Martial Soul Soul Masters and, like their Xu Ming Sect, undergo a second awakening—proof of just how powerful original Martial Souls are.
According to sect ancient records, cultivating an original Martial Soul enhances physical constitution far more than most top Martial Souls. The soul ring configurations of original Soul Masters are often unusual; whether by secret techniques or innate superiority, they are incredibly strong.
"You don't need to be discouraged. Our Xu Ming Turtle Martial Soul will undergo earth-shaking changes after the second awakening. Crossing a rank in combat is not impossible. Once you complete your second awakening, you'll be able to enjoy whale gelatin just like your third brother."
Xu Fu raised his strong hand to pat Xu San Shi's shoulder, then suddenly grabbed him up. With a flash, he jumped and vanished from sight. Xu San Shi cried out in excitement while still in midair.
Xu Xiaoyun smiled as he watched the two juniors leave, his eyes sparkling with sharp light.
"Though San Shi's talent isn't quite on par with Tian Xi's, it's still very impressive. When Tian Xi rules the world someday, he'll need help. It's necessary to cultivate San Shi well."
The Xu Ming Sect was destined to rise to the peak of the Soul Master world after Xu TianXi's cultivation matured, but the training of other disciples could not be neglected.
Xu San Shi's talent was excellent, not much worse than Xu Xiaoyun's when he was young. If properly nurtured, he might reach level ninety-eight someday and could help Tian Xi handle matters when he's too busy.
If everything had to be personally handled by the strongest, that would be unreasonable.
"Chang Feng has been running the trading guild well in Hanhai City these years. Getting him to bring more seafood isn't difficult... But since Yue'er died, he deeply hates Shrek. In a couple of years, I'll have to take Tian Xi to visit him…"
Thinking of his proudest direct disciple, Xu Xiaoyun couldn't help but feel a trace of worry rise in his eyes. He dared to deal with Yan Shaozhe because he had backing— even if he were to die of old age, there would still be people to protect the Xu Ming Sect. There was no need to worry about what would happen after his passing.
But his eldest disciple had a special background and upbringing, always acting on straightforward principles of justice and revenge. With Kong Xiyue's death, he already regarded Shrek as an enemy. If it came to revenge, he might go to any lengths without restraint.
His gaze then returned to Xu TianXi, whose body still trembled and whose shoulders twitched involuntarily, but whose expression remained resolute. Studying the somewhat similar faces of Xu TianXi and Kong Xiyue, Xu Xiaoyun's heart was filled with mixed emotions.
"Back then, your mother treated your grandmaster as both brother and father. Now, only seeing you can soothe him. With him managing matters between the Three Kingdoms and the Sun Moon Empire, your path will be smoother…"
"We will definitely avenge your mother's hatred!"
At that moment, Xu TianXi was focusing all his energy on resisting the lingering invasion of the evil eye's residual spiritual power, unaware of everything happening around him. Before his eyes, countless silver light shadows flashed past like a sudden surge of a startled phoenix's wings. The greatest pressure hit his eyes, followed by his brow, brain, and body…
Vaguely, he felt as if he were inside a cold and pure spiritual space, where a moon shadow hung high, radiating clear, bright light. Outside this space was the enormous spectral form of the evil eye, its eyeball glaring and flickering, unleashing an overwhelming offensive filled with boundless resentment.
That offensive swept in like towering waves crashing on the shore, shaking his vision into darkness, as if he were aboard a small boat buffeted by stormy seas.
He knew that with his current strength fighting Xu San Shi, ordinary spirit-type soul beasts wouldn't trouble him so much. Only this evil eye clan's most talented, pure-blooded spirit-type evil eye could pose such a formidable threat.
Their status among spirit-type soul beasts was like the place of the Dark Gold Terror Claw Bear among land soul beasts or the Deep Sea Demon Whale among ocean soul beasts. Although only a century-old soul beast, its spiritual strength far exceeded many spirit-type soul beasts thousands of years old. Even non-spirit-type ten-thousand-year soul beasts might not match it.
If the opponent were still alive, even Xu San Shi at his peak would have fled on the spot—there was simply no way to win, because that would be equivalent to a one-on-one fight against an ordinary ten-thousand-year soul beast.
"The pure-blood descendant of the Evil Emperor—your resentment is truly powerful. But today you've just met your bad luck. If you can't get past me, then this trip will have been for nothing!"
"Don't think I have no offensive ability—why don't you try to see how powerful I am!"
After passively enduring multiple attacks, Xu TianXi, who had just won a fierce battle against Xu San Shi, was stirred to ferocity. He tried to communicate with the crescent moonlight hanging in the spiritual space using his willpower.
If he waited patiently and gritted his teeth, he could eventually wait until the opponent exhausted and dissipated, naturally obtaining the top-tier soul ring.
But compared to passively taking hits, he preferred to take the initiative—
Since entering this spiritual space, he had felt a deep and intimate connection between the moonlight in the spiritual space and himself, a chilling presence that he seemed able to control.
He didn't know if this was a projection of the Phantom Moon Spiritual Eye, but some top-tier spirit-type martial souls had protective abilities. With Xu Xiaoyun as his guardian, having no worries in the back, he could give it his all.
With a movement of his will, the bright moonlight instantly leapt out from the spiritual space, carrying a cold gleam as it charged forward in a beautiful straight line. Meeting the resentful gaze beam of the evil eye, it emitted a chilling radiance that seemed to freeze to the bone, then transformed into a silver halo.
The evil eye's beam was instantly stalled upon contact with the cold gleam. The evil eye's resentment was enveloped by the silver halo and stiffened for a moment.
"Whoosh—"
The crescent moon, like a blade, slashed through, and the evil eye's resentment was treated like the original body—it was split in two, then turned into a stream of silvery-white light, completely dissipating.
"Success."
Xu TianXi breathed a sigh of relief. He noticed that after the moonlight eliminated the evil eye's resentment, those streams of silvery-white light were naturally drawn to the surface of the crescent moon, and the originally somewhat illusory moonlight suddenly solidified somewhat.
At the same time, his body within the spiritual space also benefited; it was rapidly becoming solidified, as if it had flesh and blood.
With the formation of the first soul ring, the spiritual space beneath his feet suddenly gained a tangible presence. A cluster of silvery-white light points sank downward, gathering into a vast silver ocean.
"The Sea of Spirit? This feeling of absorbing the soul ring is quite good. It's time to return."
Outside, Xu Xiaoyun's aged eyes fixed deeply on Xu Tianxi. Suddenly, he sensed a change, and his gaze immediately brightened.
"A top-tier martial soul protecting its master? Opening the Sea of Spirit?"
He saw the crescent moon mark on Xu Tianxi's brow suddenly emit two pulses of radiant moonlight. The restless evil eye soul ring inexplicably calmed down, obediently ceasing resistance, and firmly settled beneath Xu Tianxi's feet, becoming part of his strength.
With this soul ring obtained, Xu Tianxi's soul power bottleneck at level ten was instantly shattered. At the same time, a torrent of soul power with traits of both spirit-type and ultimate water surged forth, breaking through two more levels consecutively, reaching nearly level thirteen before stopping.
Xu Xiaoyun was very pleased with Xu Tianxi's success. He could foresee that Xu Tianxi would, like the Hongchen siblings, break through to the next stage at the age of eight and become a great soul master.
"Master, I've succeeded," Xu Tianxi opened his eyes and smiled brightly at Xu Xiaoyun.
"Good boy, Master didn't misjudge you!" Xu Xiaoyun patted Xu Tianxi's shoulder and said warmly,
"Come, Master will also take you to rest for a while. Once you've rested, you can go and try soul techniques with your second brother."
"Alright!"
Xu Tianxi happily agreed, then hesitated somewhat and said, "But Master, the power of my first soul technique might be a bit too strong. What if he can't handle it?"
"You're overthinking it. Defensive soul masters become stronger by taking hits. You're helping him build combat experience against spirit-type soul masters."