By the time Chen Junting stepped out of the secret chamber, most of the academy holiday had already flown by. The initial buzz surrounding the reappearance of the Nine Treasures Glazed Tower had quickly died down. Aside from a few days of excitement within the sect, life across the continent settled back into its usual rhythm.
Chen Junting hadn't wasted a second. He split his focus between studying Sword Dao: Chen Xin and diving deeper into the mysteries of formation design. At the same time, he passed down his Juyuan Formation and foundational formation theories to the sect's newly formed research department.
Meanwhile, Ning Tian had taken a leap forward—after reaching level 39 thanks to the immortal herb, she absorbed a powerful 60,000-year-old spiritual gem-type soul bone. With that, she broke through to level 40.
Now, two of the sect's Supreme Elders—Wu Yan and Yang Zihan—had departed for the Star Dou Great Forest, searching for a compatible ten-thousand-year soul beast to provide her next ring, one that could amplify her soul power.
Wu Feng and Huo Yuhao were progressing fast too. After taking small portions of the Fiery Resin and Autumn Dew, Wu Feng's flames became fiercer than ever. Her martial soul now rivaled even the legendary Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon. As for Huo Yuhao, his spiritual power had skyrocketed, pushing him to Soul King level. Even his martial soul had begun to mutate in unusual ways.
The rest of the former Shrek students in the Nine Treasures Glazed Sect weren't slacking either.
Dugu Xin became a direct disciple under Yang Zihan, eager to learn the poison arts of the Breaking Clan. Xiao Xiao was formally accepted by Elder Bai Sheng as a personal disciple. Talented students like Qin Lan, Huang Chutian, Nanmen Yuner, and the Lan twins were taken in by Zhang Ming, Taiyu, Qinglan, and Zhiyong respectively. Even Gao Ming, though not officially apprenticed, was receiving direct guidance from the sect's Soul Saints.
Everyone was leveling up fast—and Chen Junting had no plans to be left behind.
While he couldn't yet unleash Sword Dao: Chen Xin to its full potential due to soul power constraints, his progress in formations was another story. Five days before they were due to return to the academy…
"So that's how the circular array works…"
Eyes gleaming, he swung his Seven Killing Sword and knelt beside his Juyuan Formation. Using incredible precision, he etched in a mysterious circular rune he'd salvaged from an evil soul master's array disk.
The results were immediate.
The formation's original function—to saturate its surroundings with spiritual energy—suddenly reversed. Instead, a dense stream of essence erupted from its core, forming a spiraling column of power.
Chen Junting stared at the surge. "So... what were those guys trying to do with this?"
He thought for a moment, then let the question go. It didn't matter. The real question was: how could he use it?
"Wait… what if I reverse the rune?"
Without hesitation, he carved the rune in the opposite direction.
The flow of energy flipped instantly—rushing inward instead of outward. Though the source was still the Juyuan Formation, the new behavior changed everything.
To most, it might seem like a minor detail. But to Chen Junting, it opened a world of possibilities.
He etched five more reversed runes into the other nodes of the hexagram layout. The moment the array locked into place, he felt the shift.
The surrounding spiritual energy thinned rapidly, sucked into the formation. Inside the core, the concentrated energy began to liquefy.
"Electrolux," he murmured, eyes fixed on the blazing center.
The old voice echoed in his mind. "You're really pushing your luck, boy."
Then a pause. "But go ahead. Your body's been reforged with the Gold of Life. It'll hold."
"Good enough for me."
He dismissed his martial spirit and stepped straight into the center.
Boom—pure essence slammed into him.
His body trembled under the pressure, almost like a Soul Saint had dropped a mountain on his back.
In his palm, the Seven Killing Sword flickered into view.
"Disperse!"
He raised two fingers into a blade and slashed one of the formation nodes.
The array dissolved in a burst of soft light. The energy columns vanished.
Chen Junting exhaled sharply and checked himself.
He had been inspired by the legendary seven-in-one fusion technique used by the Shrek Seven Devils in the Soul Master Tournament ten thousand years ago. He thought maybe—just maybe—if he funneled six streams of essence into himself, he could achieve something similar.
But it hadn't worked.
For one, the energy density simply wasn't high enough. More importantly, without a team to help regulate the flow, the power inside his body had gone berserk.
Still… this was far from a failure. In fact, the results were promising. Once improved and stabilized, this formation might even let one stand toe-to-toe with a god.
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Six days later — four days left before the academy reopened.
"You guys really aren't going back?"
Outside the gates of Jiubao City, Chen Junting stood by the soul-powered carriage. He, Ning Tian, Wu Feng, Huo Yuhao, and Xiao Xiao were boarding—alone. The others who'd transferred from Shrek weren't with them.
They weren't coming back.
Qin Lan answered for them all. "Nope. Originally, we joined Shrek just to boost our standing before graduation—maybe earn a spot in the inner courtyard."
She smiled.
"But now? We're already disciples of top elders here. We're better off than we ever would've been in the outer court. Honestly, only someone like Xiao Xiao has a real shot at the inner courtyard."
Chen Junting nodded. "Fair enough."
They had good reason to stay.
"Well then… see you around."
He gave the nod to the two white-robed disciples driving the carriage.
"Let's move."
With a flick of the reins, the soul carriage accelerated, heading toward the academy as the sun rose behind them.
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(End of Chapter)
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