Douluo Continent: The Eternal Order of the Azure Sky.

"that--"

His voice was a little hoarse.

"I...I suddenly remembered I have something to do at the academy!"

Meng Hongchen dared not look into Kong Tianxu's eyes again, afraid that her burning cheeks would reveal too much of her thoughts. She made an excuse and hurriedly left like a frightened little rabbit, leaving behind a back view that she thought was dashing but was actually flustered.

However, after leaving the room, with her back to it, she couldn't help but secretly raise her little fist and give herself a victory sign.

Far ahead! Far ahead!

The door to the private room closed gently.

The air is filled with the aroma of tea, creating a serene and tranquil atmosphere.

Silence lingered in the air for a moment.

A hand with distinct knuckles dangled from the edge of the table and gently lifted the heavy brocade tablecloth.

Ma Xiaotao stepped forward.

She looked up at Kong Tianxu.

Subsequently,

"Tianxu, Xiaotao is very well-behaved."

"But I'm still very hungry..."

The door to the private room was quietly locked, and the soundproof barrier was silently set in place.

The aroma of tea still lingers.

Chapter 213 One Year Later, Level 70 and the Celestial Change

That period of excessive indulgence was ultimately just a fleeting embellishment amidst his busy cultivation. Aside from these hidden interludes, Kong Tianxu began fulfilling his duties as part of the inspection team as promised.

The initial missions were not particularly difficult, mostly involving clearing out the lairs of low-level evil soul masters entrenched around Shrek City or in remote areas bordering the Heavenly Soul Empire and the Star Luo Empire, as well as dealing with the disasters caused by fallen soul masters. These missions were usually led by a senior inner court disciple, assisted by three to five team members.

Although Kong Tianxu was a team member in name only, his strength was outstanding, and no one else dared to question his decisions.

Even if there were occasional private murmurs, the doubts completely disappeared after a few inner court disciples paid a bloody price for not following his judgment and acting unilaterally.

In the months that followed, Kong Tianxu participated in several more surveillance team operations. The team composition varied, sometimes he was with Zhang Lexuan and Ma Xiaotao, sometimes with Han Ruoruo, Wu Ming and other elites from the inner academy, and occasionally he would even encounter Ling Luochen, who had volunteered to join his team.

The owner of the ice element martial soul seemed very interested in Ma Xiaotao's martial soul evolution, but due to the time constraints of the mission, she and Kong Tianxu only had a relatively brief exchange.

Through these missions, Kong Tianxu gained a new understanding of the overall living conditions of evil soul masters. The Holy Spirit Cult had spread throughout the Sun Moon Empire, but its tentacles were still not easy to openly extend into the original Douluo Three Kingdoms, so the idle evil soul masters here were in a completely unruly and wild state of growth.

According to Kong Tianxu's understanding, at least half of the evil soul masters are completely beyond redemption for various reasons, whether their martial souls have affected their minds or they have deliberately fallen into depravity.

Of the remaining half, not many could be considered innocent. After Kong Tianxu secretly lured them in through the Holy Spirit Cult, some even feigned pitifulness and turned around to bite the hand that fed them.

The rate of corruption is even higher than within the Holy Spirit Cult itself. After all, facing a more complex and brutal external environment, the evil spirit masters who survive will only become more savage and bloodthirsty.

Of course, they are all dead.

At the same time, Kong Tianxu's overwhelming strength and his calm, almost ruthless, accurate judgment gradually left a deep impression on the inner court disciples who participated in the operation.

The initial hostility and rejection stemming from their shared origins quietly transformed into a complex sense of awe after their absolute strength and several joint battles.

Aside from the duties of the inspection team, life within the academy continues.

After officially taking over as the senior sister, Zhang Lexuan became much busier than before, but the two did not become estranged because of it.

Kong Tianxu felt sorry for her hard work, so most of their time alone was devoted to cultivation, supplemented by some gradual exploration of each other.

Zhang Lexuan seemed to have vaguely sensed the unusual relationship between Kong Tianxu and Ma Xiaotao from the change in Kong Tianxu's behavior, but whether out of an ostrich mentality or something else, she never brought it up.

As for Ma Xiaotao, having tasted the sweetness, she sometimes even took the initiative to seek out Kong Tianxu for punishment. The two gradually became familiar with each other's every little detail as they continued to explore new positions, and became even more infatuated with each other.

This made Xue Di even more dissatisfied with her for monopolizing most of Kong Tianxu's time.

The Sea God Pavilion was quite pleased with this outcome. It seemed that their well-thought-out plan, despite some setbacks, was generally progressing as expected.

They probably never expected that when the dust settled, who would be the one who was ultimately completely abducted?

Half a year passed in the blink of an eye amidst cultivation, missions, and numerous clandestine exchanges.

Kong Tianxu's second academic year at Shrek Academy is coming to an end, while Meng Hongchen maintains her unwavering confidence in her lead. The sparring incident that once caused a sensation at the academy has gradually subsided under the deliberate guidance of Shrek Academy officials and the passage of time, becoming a fading topic of conversation in the students' memories.

And he himself, sculpted by time, has become increasingly mature and handsome. Approaching seventeen, his physique has become more upright and tall, his muscles smooth and well-proportioned, exuding explosive power without appearing overly muscular, presenting a perfect harmony of strength and beauty. He also possesses a unique charisma.

It's hard to imagine that a young man not yet seventeen years old could be so completely devoid of the impetuousness and arrogance typical of his age.

This is largely due to Kong Tianxu's cultivation of the Heavenly Commandment's combat techniques and his constant tempering of his will. Even without deliberately concealing his terrifyingly powerful aura, the tranquility and profundity emanating from the depths of his soul are still captivating.

As for his cultivation level, it rose steadily, reaching the level 70 threshold that shocked the entire Soul Master world.

A level 70 Soul Master who is not even seventeen years old!

It should be noted that Kong Tianxu's level 70 soul power cultivation is completely different from Huo Yuhao's rapid improvement through numerous fortuitous encounters in the original work. The vast majority of his improvement was achieved through his own talent and by absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth bit by bit through solid cultivation.

His cultivation speed was astonishing. It couldn't be described simply as a genius, yet no other word could so perfectly describe him.

Not many people knew about this; only a handful, including Zhang Lexuan and Ma Xiaotao. But even though they had become somewhat immune to Kong Tianxu's bizarre events, they were still stunned and speechless when they heard the news.

Undoubtedly, the difficulty of a Soul Master's cultivation increases gradually with their cultivation level, especially from the Soul Emperor stage onwards. From level 60 to level 70, each level is extremely difficult to advance, and the last few levels are even more so.

At this stage, even top geniuses will see a significant slowdown in their level progression.

For example, Ma Xiaotao, as Shrek Academy's number one genius in hundreds of years, would need nearly three years to go from level 67 to level 70, if we're being conservative.

The hardships involved are evident.

What left the two women speechless was that Kong Tianxu's foundation was the most impressive among all the seven-ring soul masters they knew. Every bit of his soul power seemed to have been forged through countless trials, making it incredibly solid and pure.

This is the effect of the Myriad Beginnings Returning to Origin Domain and the Holy Primordial Spirit Gathering. His unparalleled talent and the good fortune of encountering the Immortal Spirit Herb in his youth had already destined Kong Tianxu to embark on an unprecedented path to heaven.

Now that the bottleneck of soul power has been reached, the acquisition of soul rings should naturally be put on the agenda.

Still as a backup option, Kong Tianxu has already sent a message to Ye Xishui, asking her to capture the Evil Emperor's youngest son again.

However, with his current physical strength and mental power, he was already capable of withstanding the energy impact of ordinary spirit rings of 100,000 years or more. Therefore, he planned to return to the Sun Moon Empire during his vacation, venture deep into the Demon Forest, and hunt down a super spirit beast-level Evil Eye Tyrant as his primary target for his seventh spirit ring.

As for violating school rules, regardless of the depth of his relationship with the senior sister, his absolute strength and the formidable skills and leadership he displayed in missions within the inner courtyard have unknowingly garnered him a group of staunch followers and supporters.

Privately, many students even believed that he was the true uncrowned chief of the inner academy. Under such circumstances, naturally no one would be tactless enough to say anything more.

However, deep within the Demon Forest, a handsome young man with big eyes, who had just reunited with his beloved concubine and was enjoying a leisurely time, suddenly trembled for no apparent reason and sneezed loudly.

It raised its sixteen tentacles in confusion and looked up at the sky above the nest.

In the darkness, it felt that the gloomy sky above, belonging to the demon forest, seemed to be... excessively dark once again.

……

Early morning, inner courtyard dormitory.

Sunlight streamed through the gaps in the curtains, illuminating the messy bed.

Kong Tianxu lay there, his body wrapped around the still-sleeping Ma Xiaotao like an octopus.

Her long, fiery red hair was scattered loosely on the pillow as she slept soundly. Her exquisite sleeping face carried a hint of contentment and languor.

Things have indeed deviated somewhat from Kong Tianxu's original plan.

Because he was about to begin his final surveillance mission, Ma Xiaotao came to challenge him. After easily winning, he originally planned to send her away.

But as countless times before, things eventually began to slide in a subtle yet familiar direction...

He did resist at first. He hardened his heart and tried to refuse firmly.

But faced with Ma Xiaotao's fiery yet vulnerable and persistent gaze, his attitude inevitably softened in the end.

Some things, once done the first time, are bound to happen a second and a third time...

"Wake up, it's time to go back." Kong Tianxu patted the soft, smooth body in his arms.

Ma Xiaotao mumbled something, but instead of letting go, she clung to him even tighter, her pink lips unconsciously brushing against his neck, finding a more comfortable spot.

……

After another round of morning warm-up exercises, Ma Xiaotao reluctantly got up and quickly put on her clothes.

Just then, a soft, rhythmic knock came from outside the dormitory door, accompanied by Zhang Lexuan's gentle and familiar voice:

"Tianxu, are you there?"

Ma Xiaotao was startled like a rabbit. She hurriedly put on the last piece of clothing, quickly made a shushing gesture to Kong Tianxu, and then, like a streak of fire, silently darted out of the open window.

Only a faint, lingering aroma of burnt food remained, along with the curtains still swaying slightly.

Kong Tianxu rubbed his temples, casually put on an outer robe, the collar not fully fastened, revealing a small patch of firm muscle, and went to open the door.

Outside the door, Zhang Lexuan stood gracefully, carrying an exquisite food box in her hand.

When she saw Kong Tianxu's somewhat disheveled appearance, two blushes instantly rose on her fair cheeks. Her gaze flickered slightly before she whispered:

"Good morning. I brought you some yellow shrimp dumplings and some warming porridge."

"Good morning, Sister Lexuan, come in." Kong Tianxu remained calm and stepped aside to make way for her.

There seemed to be a lingering, ambiguous atmosphere in the air.

Zhang Lexuan placed the food box on the table, not giving the slightly messy bed much of a look, composed herself, and got straight to the point:

"I came here to let you know that our last inspection team mission has been finalized. We'll assemble and depart tomorrow morning."

Where are the personnel?

She paused, her gaze seemingly sweeping across the room, before continuing calmly, "The personnel consist of you, me, Xiaotao, Gufan, and Huayao. The mission briefing is here."

After handing a sealed mission scroll to Kong Tianxu, Zhang Lexuan looked at him with worry in her eyes and whispered:

"The location of this mission is a bit special. On the way... you and Xiaotao, be careful."

It's unclear whether she was referring to their seemingly irreconcilable relationship or something else.

Upon hearing this, Kong Tianxu raised his hand to wipe away the non-existent cold sweat from his forehead and quickly assured him:

"Don't worry, Sister Lexuan, we know what we're doing and won't make any mistakes."

"Us?" Zhang Lexuan seemed oblivious, propping her cheek up and looking at him with a blank expression.

"Cough cough... I got burned, but it's okay. Sister Lexuan, why is it oyster congee?"