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"Strange, my soul power!"
Xiao Xiao suddenly felt something amiss as she continued playing. Her soul power was actually circulating in sync with the melody of this tune.
This piece contained a hidden cultivation method for soul power, far more advanced than the meditation techniques she had learned from the city lord who recommended her to Shrek Academy.
"Yuwen Tuo, what exactly is this tune? It's incredible!" Xiao Xiao couldn't help but stop playing and ask.
Yuwen Tuo put down the leaf he had been using as an instrument and smiled. "It's called The Plain Rhythm Heart Method. It's a cultivation technique that uses music to refine soul power. My master's wife taught it to me, but since I'm not very skilled in music, I never delved deeply into it."
"You say… you're not good at music?" Xiao Xiao awkwardly patted her head, feeling both confused and embarrassed. Yuwen Tuo's musical skill was clearly far superior to hers. If he considered himself unskilled, then she was nothing more than a complete amateur.
Yuwen Tuo reassured her, "You have great talent. Surpassing me is only a matter of time. Don't underestimate yourself."
Praise made Xiao Xiao blush slightly. "Oh right, you mentioned your master's wife earlier. So, does that mean you already have a teacher?"
"Yes," Yuwen Tuo replied. "My master has been gone for a long time. He was a good man—cold on the outside but warm-hearted, incredibly powerful. Though he did kill some people, probably no more than seven figures in total, overall, he was quite gentle."
"Hmm, seven people…" Xiao Xiao didn't catch the full meaning at first and thought little of it. After all, any soul master would inevitably take lives during their lifetime. Seven didn't seem like much. But then she suddenly realized something. "Wait, did you just say… seven figures?"
She began counting on her fingers, quickly running out of digits. "Ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, ten thousand, hundred thousand, million… Your master killed over a million people? Who exactly was he? No, wait—is he even human?"
Even the most evil spirit masters wouldn't dare to claim such a body count. This wasn't just a person anymore—it was practically a super-demon king of legendary proportions. Even the strongest evil spirit masters would bow and call him "ancestor."
How could Yuwen Tuo possibly associate such a figure with the word "gentle"?
"Haha, just kidding," Yuwen Tuo laughed, waving his hand dismissively. He didn't want to scare Xiao Xiao too much.
Xiao Xiao let out a sigh of relief, patting her still-flat chest. "I knew it! There's no way someone like that could exist in this world." She was genuinely worried that Yuwen Tuo might be the disciple of some monstrous villain.
"What about your master's wife, then? If she taught you such an incredible tune, she must be a grandmaster of music, right?"
"Of course!" Yuwen Tuo nodded.
Back then, when he was still young and known simply as "Little Tuo," his stepmother was none other than Dugu Ningke—the human incarnation of the Demon Realm's princess. Her mastery of music was so profound that she could freely control the legendary Fuxi Guqin.
Perhaps due to her affection for him, she doted on Little Tuo before her true identity was revealed.
As part of her disguise while living among humans, she naturally avoided using demonic cultivation methods and instead adopted martial arts techniques from a human sect—a sect known as the Heavenly Sound Sect, which specialized in combat through music.
This sect possessed three levels of cultivation methods:
- The beginner-level Plain Rhythm Heart Method,
- The intermediate-level Stringless Sound Technique for elite disciples,
- And the supreme-level Ultimate String Resonance reserved only for high-ranking members of the sect.
Dugu Ningke's royal status as a princess meant she didn't need to follow the usual steps to learn these techniques. With a single imperial edict from Emperor Sui and a subtle threat from Yuwen Tuo's Xuanyuan Sword, the sect obediently handed over all three cultivation methods along with their other teachings to Ningke.
Ningke believed that Little Tuo focused too much on swordsmanship, which cultivated excessive aggression. To balance his temperament, she urged him to study music and passed on these techniques to him.
What Yuwen Tuo had shared with Xiao Xiao today was merely the foundational Plain Rhythm Heart Method.
As for the higher-level techniques like Stringless Sound and Ultimate String Resonance, he had no intention of teaching them yet. First, Xiao Xiao's soul power and musical aptitude were still too low to handle such advanced methods. Second, though their relationship was friendly, they were still only casual acquaintances. Offering small gifts or guidance was fine, but going overboard might create awkwardness between them. Third—and most importantly—Yuwen Tuo knew that as Xiao Xiao practiced, she would eventually feel unsatisfied and seek out the next stages of the cultivation method. By then, he planned to use this opportunity to draw her closer to his own circle of influence.
Shrek Academy had wasted six years of his life. Wasn't it fair game to lure away one of their prized dual-spirit students?
---
After their impromptu duet in the grove, Xiao Xiao's fondness for Yuwen Tuo grew significantly. She no longer admired him solely for his looks but also felt a deep connection as if finding a kindred spirit. By noon, she eagerly dragged Yuwen Tuo to the freshman teaching building.
Today was the day they would find out their class assignments.
Due to the crowd, Xiao Xiao, being petite, was pushed to the outer edges. She jumped up repeatedly, trying to see past the taller students, her twin ponytails bouncing like a rabbit's ears.
Yuwen Tuo chuckled. "Alright, Xiao Xiao, stop jumping. I can see your name. You're in Freshman Class One, under Teacher Zhou Yi."
His height gave him a clear view since he towered over most of the freshmen.
Upon hearing "Zhou Yi," many students who had gathered intelligence about Shrek Academy immediately looked at Xiao Xiao with pity. Such a cute girl—how unfortunate to end up in the hands of that old battle-axe.
Someone couldn't help but warn her, "Classmate, be careful. Rumor has it that Teacher Zhou was excessively strict when she taught third-year students. Only one-tenth of her class managed to advance to fourth year. Her students filed complaints multiple times, which led to her demotion to teaching freshmen. Our academy may not have many monstrous students, but we certainly have plenty of monstrous teachers—and Teacher Zhou is the worst of them all."
"Really? I don't believe it unless I see it myself!" Xiao Xiao seized the opportunity.
The crowd immediately parted, allowing her to squeeze through. However, she ignored her own name entirely and frantically searched for something else. Muttering under her breath, she repeated, "Yuwen Tuo… Yuwen Tuo… Ah, there it is! Yuwen Tuo, Freshman Class One. Perfect!!!"
Xiao Xiao leapt joyfully. "Yuwen Tuo, did you hear? We're in the same class!"
"Holy cow!" Everyone facepalmed. They'd been duped by this little girl. It turned out she didn't care which teacher she got; she only cared about being in the same class as Yuwen Tuo.
All their efforts to show her the grim reality of her situation now seemed wasted. Instead, they found themselves wallowing in despair, painfully aware of their own perpetual singledom.
They glared at Yuwen Tuo as if sizing up livestock, their eyes conveying a single message:
Impressive, kid. You've already snagged such a cute classmate on your first day. And she's clearly a lolita-type girl—how could you bring yourself to do it?