"Human, I hope you won't disappoint me."
After seeing Jiang Jue put his clothes back on, Bingdi finally turned around, looked at him, and said calmly.
Ever since she entered the Soul Refining Banner, she had felt an inexplicable sense of submission toward Jiang Jue, and this feeling only seemed to be intensifying.
If it weren't for her powerful spiritual essence, she might've shamefully called Jiang Jue…
"Don't worry, Bingdi. When the chance to become a god comes, I will go all out."
Jiang Jue spoke with firm determination. He had endured so much pain and put in so much effort just to escape this cage and maybe—just maybe—become a god in the heavens.
"You better prepare some heavenly and earthly treasures with ice attributes. When you humans awaken ultimate attribute martial souls, your cultivation tends to slow down significantly. Now that you've added an ultimate attribute, the same might happen to you."
As if recalling something, Bingdi suddenly warned him.
"Don't worry about that."
Jiang Jue smiled slightly and shook his head.
What he lacked the least right now was cultivation resources. Plus, he believed that the reason ultimate attribute soul masters experienced a slowdown in cultivation at certain levels might be because their bodies were gradually adapting to controlling such an intense attribute.
Just like now—when using his body martial soul, the silver-white soul power in his body would intertwine with ice-blue chill, but at the same time, his control over the ice element became increasingly refined.
Also, due to the overpowering nature of ultimate attributes, their inheritance rate in future generations was very low.
"Good. I've bet everything on you, after all."
Bingdi snorted lightly, her emerald-green hair gently swaying.
"By the way, I felt a familiar aura in that little banner of yours. Is there another ice-type soul beast in there?"
Upon hearing Bingdi's words, Jiang Jue's expression remained unchanged.
"Of course you'd feel familiar—there's a snow emperor embryo in there," he thought silently.
Suddenly, it dawned on him: wasn't Bingdi fond of Xuedi (the Snow Emperor)…?
"There's just a dumb tiger in there, also ice-type. Maybe that's what you sensed," Jiang Jue said softly, his face not betraying a single lie.
"That dumb tiger? No way. It couldn't possibly make me feel any sort of familiarity."
Bingdi frowned and immediately rejected the idea.
That dumb tiger's legs would go soft whenever it saw her.
Inside the Soul Refining Banner, the little tiger:Didn't expect that after finally working up the courage once, I'd still lose so badly… and now she's talking behind my back for life…
"Alright then, Bingdi. You go back into the Soul Refining Banner and get used to things for now."
Seeing that Jiang Jue didn't want to talk more, Bingdi wisely stopped asking. She turned into a stream of light and returned to the Soul Refining Banner.
Now was not the time to let Bingdi and Xuedi meet.
Because, through the Soul Refining Banner, he could feel that Bingdi's loyalty toward him still wasn't high enough. After all, she was a 400,000-year-old spiritual essence—even the domineering power of the banner would need some time to work.
Also, Jiang Jue hadn't absorbed Bingdi's spiritual essence yet, because of what was coming next.
"Elder Yi, thank you for your help this time."
Jiang Jue turned to Electrolux and bowed deeply.
"Kid Jiang, no need to be so formal with me. Once you get strong, it'll benefit me too."
Electrolux waved his hand, and a special force gently lifted Jiang Jue back up.
"Understood, Elder Yi."
Jiang Jue's eyes showed deep respect, his tone solemn.
Without Elder Yi, he wouldn't be where he was today.
Such a favor—he would definitely repay it one day.
Outside the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy
It was early morning. Normally a rather quiet street outside the academy gate was now packed with students standing in neat circles, all looking excited. Some even held up red banners.
On the banners, it read:
"Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy — This journey will surely end in victory!"
That's right. Today marked the departure of the academy's team for the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament.
Though they had lost battle after battle, they always fought again and again.
They believed that one day, they would defeat Shrek Academy and become the number one academy on the continent!
Suddenly, a path opened through the crowd. A dozen people stepped out and stood in a row in the clearing.
"Very good, children. On behalf of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy, I await your triumphant return."
A chubby figure descended from the sky and landed before them, speaking loudly.
It was Jing Hongchen.
He looked at the energetic youths and nodded with satisfaction.
"We will not fail you, Lord Hallmaster and fellow teachers!"
"This time, we will surely return victorious!"
Ma Rulong took a step forward and shouted confidently.
Jiang Jue also stood in this row, right next to Meng Hongchen.
On his other side, Xiao Hongchen stood proudly, like a rooster ready for battle.
"Jiang Jue, just watch my performance this time!"
"Shrek Academy is just a bunch of overhyped losers—watch me crush them in one blow."
Xiao Hongchen made a few cocky remarks and turned to look at Jiang Jue.
Only to feel his vision darken—Jiang Jue wasn't even looking at him! He was chatting with Xiao's little sister!
"Hey! Jiang Jue! Did you even hear what I said? Look at me, just look at me once—"
At that moment, Jing Hongchen raised his hand.
"Alright! Depart!"
Everyone brought out their flight soul tools, attaching them to their backs. Jets of orange flames burst out.
And just like that, they soared into the sky, heading off into the distance.
Normally, airspace over Mingdu was restricted, but for this particular event, permission was always granted for the academy's team.
Because the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy represented the face of the Sun Moon Empire.
After flying for about half an hour, Ma Rulong quietly drifted over to Jiang Jue's side.
"Brother Ma, do you have something to say?" Jiang Jue noticed him and asked casually.
"Ah—don't call me that, don't call me that."
"Too many people around earlier, I couldn't say it. From now on, just call me Brother Ma. If that's too much, Little Ma works too."
Ma Rulong's rugged face looked a bit shy as he waved his hands and spoke quietly to Jiang Jue.
Seeing Ma Rulong like this, Jiang Jue immediately understood what was going on.
He must've found out something about Jiang Jue's background.
And he was right—last night, Ma Rulong's grandfather suddenly came to him and asked whether he had ever gotten into conflicts with Jiang Jue.
Though Ma Rulong was confused, he answered honestly that he hadn't.
Then he asked his grandfather why he was so concerned.
His grandfather let out a sigh of relief upon hearing that and warned him seriously: "Don't meddle in worldly matters, and whatever you do, don't offend Jiang Jue."
Ma Rulong wasn't dumb. Anyone who could make his grandfather—a Soul Douluo—feel that wary must have an incredibly powerful background.
Ma Rulong had been around long enough to understand—when you're out in the world, it's not just about how strong you are. You need influence, need backing. Just knowing how to fight won't get you far.
And Jiang Jue was different from the Hongchen siblings. At least they were members of the Mingde Hall, so internal problems could be resolved internally.
But Jiang Jue wasn't part of their system at all.
Just thinking about how he made Jiang Jue call him "Boss Ma" made Ma Rulong regret it to his core. So today, he rushed over to make amends.
(End of Chapter)