"There will naturally be opportunities to deal with him in the future."
The other elders were still somewhat resentful, but at this point, there was no other choice but to retreat.
"Hmph, don't let me see that old man again, or he won't have a good time."
The elders, still in a foul mood, grumbled as they left.
Half a moment later, several miles away, two figures appeared simultaneously.
One was dressed in a blue robe, tall and imposing, exuding a chilling aura.
The other was dressed in white, with neatly combed silver hair, and an aura as sharp as a sword.
"Lord Mu Wu, thank you."
The white-clad elder cupped his hands and sincerely expressed his gratitude.
If not for this person erasing his presence earlier, he might have been caught by that group.
That Body Sect group truly had no honor.
Even after completing a transaction, they still sent people to hunt him down—utterly disgraceful.
Mu Wu waved his hand and said, "Chen Xin, how did the task assigned by the Young Master go?"
The old man was none other than Sword Douluo, Chen Xin.
Chen Xin pondered and replied, "The mission entrusted by the young master is complete. I obtained a 50,000-year-old soul bone and three million gold soul coins from Du Busi."
"By the way, you met Du Busi in person. What do you think of his strength?"
Chen Xin recalled for a moment and said, "His strength is formidable and gave me immense pressure. However, in terms of sheer presence, he is still inferior to you."
Mu Wu smiled. "The Young Master believes that this man has little hope of breaking through to Ultimate Douluo in this lifetime. Now that you've confirmed it, he doesn't seem to be a major threat."
"Our real opponents may still be those evil soul masters."
"When you return, you should start condensing your soul core as well. Your strength is still lacking."
"I understand."
Chen Xin nodded.
"Alright, let's go."
Mu Wu waved his hand, space rippled, and the two figures vanished swiftly.
...
Half a month later.
Sea God Island.
Inside a wooden hut, Su Yu withdrew his palm, and the obscure glow at his fingertips faded.
In front of him, a graceful figure slowly opened her eyes.
Ma Xiaotao, dressed in a revealing outfit, her fiery and alluring figure on full display.
She lifted her head, revealing a delicate oval-shaped face, her pink eyes filled with fervent admiration.
She gazed at Su Yu with reverence and worship, as if looking up to a god.
"Crawl over here."
Su Yu spoke calmly.
Ma Xiaotao did not hesitate. She immediately got up, kneeled, and crawled towards Su Yu step by step.
Her already revealing clothing allowed Su Yu to take in every enticing detail as she moved.
Slowly, she reached Su Yu's feet, gazing up at him with devoted, burning eyes. Her beautiful pupils shimmered slightly.
"Master!"
Ma Xiaotao whispered, completely and utterly submissive.
Su Yu raised his hand and gently stroked her head as if petting a cherished pet.
Ma Xiaotao obediently rubbed her head against Su Yu's palm, closing her eyes in contentment.
"This conversion went quite smoothly. But why is Huo Yuhao such an odd case?"
Su Yu furrowed his brows slightly, puzzled.
Recalling how that person had repeatedly called him "Dad," Su Yu couldn't help but twitch his lips.
Was it the Heaven-Swallowing Devil Art that was flawed, or was Huo Yuhao himself just abnormal?
Looking at it now, it was probably the latter.
"Stand up. Never let the people at Shrek Academy know about me, understand?"
Su Yu gently lifted Ma Xiaotao's delicate chin and instructed.
"Yes, master."
Ma Xiaotao responded obediently.
At this moment, Ma Xiaotao was in absolute submission to Su Yu.
This kind of submission came from her very soul—there was no resisting it.
The Heaven-Swallowing Devil Art was an extremely overbearing and sinister cultivation method.
Its power was nothing short of terrifying.
"From now on, don't call me Master. Call me 'Young Lord' or 'Young Master' instead."
"Also, when I'm not around, you must obey Zhang Leyuan's orders. Remember, you must obey."
"Do you understand?"
"I understand."
Ma Xiaotao nodded seriously.
"Good. Go change your clothes—we're heading out."
Su Yu instructed indifferently.
Ma Xiaotao obediently got up and went into the side room.
Moments later, she returned, now fully clothed.
Su Yu glanced at her, then turned and walked outside.
Sea God Island was lush with vegetation, and the air was exceptionally fresh.
Su Yu walked in front, and Ma Xiaotao followed behind. The two walked along a stone path.
The moment they left the wooden house, Ma Xiaotao's expression turned serious, as if she was in a bad mood.
The brilliance of the Heaven-Swallowing Devil Art was that it did not alter a person's personality.
In other words, apart from her unwavering devotion to Su Yu, Ma Xiaotao was still the same as before.
And no one would be able to notice any abnormalities in her behavior.
This was precisely why Su Yu dared to use the technique.
If not for the simplified version requiring multiple sessions for a full conversion, the technique's danger level would have skyrocketed.
Su Yu walked for a while and arrived at Sea God Lake.
Gazing at the vast blue waters, as pristine as a mirror, he took a deep breath, feeling refreshed.
At that moment, it felt as if some invisible shackle had been broken—effortlessly, Su Yu had ascended to Rank 59, Soul King.
"Rank 59… just one more level to 60."
"At this rate, I'll reach Soul Emperor within six months at the latest."
Su Yu spread his arms, feeling elated.
Once he broke through to Soul Emperor, his strength would skyrocket. At that point, he'd be one step closer to godhood.
"Tang San, you'd better be ready to die."
Su Yu cursed inwardly. Cultivate, ascend, kill Tang San—all in one go.
To Su Yu, Tang San was the ultimate enemy.
If he wanted to save soul beasts and the Douluo Continent, Tang San had to go.
As long as Tang San lived, the continent would never know peace!
After cursing for a bit, he felt much better.
At that moment, several graceful figures approached from a distance.
Seeing Su Yu, they waved at him.
Su Yu's lips twitched—he turned to leave.
The women panicked and immediately rushed up, surrounding him.
"Su Yu, why are you running when you see us? We're not going to eat you."
Wu Ming grinned like a rogue and reached out to pinch Su Yu's face, showing no restraint.
Su Yu raised his hand to brush hers away and took a step back.
Hua Yao quickly stepped forward and wrapped herself around Su Yu's arm, rubbing against him affectionately.
Han Ruoruo also took a step forward, carefully and gently tidying up Su Yu's clothes, like a caring older sister.
The three women surrounded Su Yu, each using their methods to try and drown him in their tenderness.
Su Yu's eye twitched, and he said helplessly, "Ladies, are you really this idle?"
"You wait here for me every day?"
"Don't you have to cultivate?"
"With such a free and undisciplined attitude, aren't you letting down Shrek Academy's efforts in training you?"
Su Yu looked heartbroken, his acting impeccable.
Wu Ming giggled and said, "Su Yu, you're enjoying this, so why pretend to be a gentleman?"
"Aren't our embraces warm? Stop struggling."
"Having three beautiful girlfriends—you're not at a loss."
"I think I am at a loss. I'd have to support three extra people, and there are already two jealous ones at home. It's too much to handle."
"In times like these, even landlords don't have extra grain. I really can't afford to support you three. Goodbye."
Su Yu pulled his hand free and turned to leave.
Wu Ming reacted quickly and grabbed him.
"What are you running for? We don't need you to support us."
"We have money."
"If you ever end up poor and starving, unable to put food on the table, we can take care of you too."
"Why not consider it? You could skip twenty years of hard work."
Wu Ming grinned mischievously.
Ever since Su Yu had escaped last time, she had found him increasingly interesting.
She was naturally bold, and among the three women, she was the most aggressive in her pursuit.
"Min'er is right. Worst case, we'll just take care of you."
Han Ruoruo smiled gently.
If Wu Ming was bold, then Han Ruoruo was truly as soft as water.
She was like a caring elder sister. Sometimes, Su Yu could even see Zhang Lexuan's shadow in her.
If it weren't for her impure motives, Su Yu might have been tempted.
"Ladies, stop joking. What did I do to deserve the three of you?"
"I have things to do. I'll be leaving now."
Su Yu freed himself from their grasp and left Seagod Island.
Watching him flee in panic, Wu Ming burst into laughter.
"Ruoruo, Su Yu is quite interesting. I'm starting to think being his girlfriend wouldn't be such a bad idea."
"Besides, he's handsome, has a powerful background, and is incredibly strong. He's just my type."
Hua Yao teased, "Min'er, you little flirt, are you catching feelings?"
Wu Ming retorted, "I'm almost thirty—what's wrong with falling for someone?"
"Besides, I'm doing this for the academy, to help relieve some of Senior Sister's burden."
She spoke with righteous conviction.
Han Ruoruo teased, "I think you're just using this as an excuse. We were all doing this for the academy, but now it seems like you're serious."
"But Su Yu isn't easy to deal with—he doesn't fall for tricks."
"We've been trying for half a month. Have you seen any progress?"
"Lexuan, on the other hand, has made progress. They had a falling out before, but now they're holding hands again."
"Isn't that strange? Lexuan is great and all, but there are three of us."
"Together, aren't we more tempting than her?"
Han Ruoruo was puzzled. With their figures, looks, and charm, which man wouldn't be captivated?
Yet Su Yu always wanted to run away whenever he saw them.
Was he playing hard to get, or was he not interested?
At first, Han Ruoruo thought he was playing hard to get. Now, she wasn't so sure.
"Yeah, it's weird. We're not that scary, are we?"
Hua Yao was equally baffled.
They had wanted to help the academy, yet even after delivering themselves to his doorstep, he didn't want them. How frustrating!
"Maybe we changed our attitude too suddenly and scared him off?"
Wu Ming speculated.
"Could be. Maybe he thinks we have ulterior motives and is wary."
Han Ruoruo stroked her chin in thought.
"So what should we do?" Hua Yao asked.
"There's no other way—we'll have to take it slow. Over time, he'll realize how great we are."
"I don't believe a young man can resist the three of us forever."
Han Ruoruo was confident.
"Good point. But I think we should consult Senior Sister first."
Wu Ming suggested.
"Good idea. Let's go ask Lexuan."
"Hmm? Isn't that Xiaotao?"
The three finally noticed Ma Xiaotao nearby and awkwardly stopped in their tracks.
Ma Xiaotao glanced at them coldly before turning away.
Wu Ming frowned. "Xiaotao misunderstands us even more now."
Han Ruoruo patted her shoulder. "She'll understand one day. Let her calm down first."
The two nodded slightly, and the three of them set off to find Zhang Lexuan.
...
Meanwhile, back at the hotel, Su Yu was also making plans.
He tossed a soul bone in his hand and crossed one leg over the other.
"How are the arrangements?" he asked indifferently.
Mu Wu stepped forward and said, "Everything is in place. Also, there are signs of movement from the Body Sect."
"They might act soon."
"In that case, stick to the plan. Keep a close eye on the Body Sect's movements. If necessary, we can fan the flames."
Su Yu instructed.
"Understood."
Both men responded in unison.
"What about Illustrious Virtue Hall? Any movement there?"
Su Yu asked again.
"Illustrious Virtue Hall is as usual. The Body Sect is still digging tunnels."
"And yet, Illustrious Virtue Hall remains completely unaware."
Mu Wu replied.
"Sigh looks like the hall master didn't take my warnings seriously."
"I told him to strengthen security, yet the enemy is practically under his nose, and he still has no clue."
"Is Illustrious Virtue Hall full of incompetents?"
Su Yu shook his head, frustrated.
"Well, if Illustrious Virtue Hall can't protect the hundred-thousand-year soul beast embryo, then it's their fate."
"Illustrious Virtue Hall needs someone to keep watch. Feng Luo isn't enough. Send Lu Yuan and Feng Xue."
"The Ice God Palace has Ling Guang guarding it, and she has my Ice God Pearl. That should be enough to protect the palace."
"I'll handle it right away."
Mu Wu clasped his fists in acknowledgment.
"Go ahead."
Su Yu waved his hand.
Mu Wu bowed and immediately disappeared.
"Chen Xin, go and bring Huo..."
Su Yu began giving orders to Chen Xin. After listening, Chen Xin nodded without hesitation.
"Rest assured, young master. I will take care of it immediately."
Chen Xin cupped his hands in salute and vanished from the room as well.
Su Yu took a sip of tea, feeling the refreshing breeze from the balcony. He gently reached out his hand.
"The wind is picking up~"