Right now, the Silver Shadow Beast was being kept in a private cell within the Beast Arena, personally guarded by the Beast King Gong Changlong. Upon learning that this soul beast was intended for Zhou Sichen's fourth soul ring, Gong took charge himself to ensure nothing went wrong.
For Zhou Sichen, this Silver Shadow Beast was indeed a rare treasure—but he already had his fourth ring, and one far superior to anything the Silver Shadow Beast could offer.
The beast was around twenty thousand years old. If Zhou Sichen hadn't already obtained his fourth ring, it would have been an excellent choice. But as a fifth ring, it simply didn't measure up. With Zhou Sichen's current physique, not only could he handle an eighty-thousand-year soul ring, but absorbing a hundred-thousand-year one wasn't out of the question.
That said, the Silver Shadow Beast still held incredible potential—it could copy soul skills, and once it reached the hundred-thousand-year level, it might even be able to replicate martial souls.
According to records, the beast's replication ability was absurdly strong. A hundred-thousand-year-old Silver Shadow Beast was said to be worth ten ordinary beasts of the same level. While the records might be exaggerated, they surely weren't that far from the truth.
When Elder Xuan and Elder Song brought back the soul beast, the most excited person was Elder Mu.
He knew full well how powerful a Silver Shadow Beast could be. Creatures of this caliber rarely survived long enough to reach the hundred-thousand-year threshold. It was the same case with the Dark Devilgod Tiger—once such beasts matured, they underwent a qualitative transformation that ordinary hundred-thousand-year soul beasts couldn't match. Who would allow such a threat to fully evolve?
But Zhou Sichen's Contract Book martial soul was a different story. Although the Silver Shadow Beast was only twenty thousand years old, once contracted by Zhou Sichen, it could grow alongside him.
With Zhou Sichen's current strength, by the time he reached Rank 50, the Silver Shadow Beast's cultivation would probably jump straight to around fifty thousand years. Over time, it could definitely reach the hundred-thousand-year mark.
Its most powerful innate skill was replication—of techniques, and possibly even martial souls. Wouldn't that mean Zhou Sichen could learn the abilities of anyone he copied?
He didn't possess a dragon-type martial soul, nor did he have a dragon-type contract beast with a light attribute. But with the Silver Shadow Beast's power, wasn't it equivalent to having everything?
Forget just Elder Mu—Zhou could potentially copy the abilities of everyone around him.
With that, wouldn't Zhou Sichen have no weaknesses at all?
An ordinary person probably couldn't handle that much power or knowledge. But Zhou Sichen wasn't ordinary.
Even if he couldn't master everything, surely he could at least inherit Elder Mu's abilities, right?
Elder Mu was overjoyed. He lavished Elder Xuan and Elder Song with praise, then shared his plan with the other Elders. They all agreed.
After all, Zhou Sichen was a little monster who had inspired real hope in them. If others couldn't do it, maybe that just meant they weren't good enough. Zhou Sichen clearly was.
But no one expected Zhou to return after just a week with his fourth soul ring already obtained. That alone was fine—they could always wait until Rank 50 to contract the Silver Shadow Beast and teach him exclusive techniques then.
But what was that fourth ring?
When Elder Xuan and the others saw that deep crimson hundred-thousand-year soul ring, their expressions were even more exaggerated than Elder Mu's.
Was this guy even human?! A fourth ring at the hundred-thousand-year level? Even Tang San, ancestor of the Tang Sect, couldn't pull that off ten thousand years ago!
Back then, just having a ten-thousand-year fourth ring was enough to shock the world. Now Zhou Sichen had gone straight to the peak.
They couldn't even fathom what level of monster he truly was. What kind of heights could he reach in the future?
At first, they had hoped Zhou might bring about Shrek's fourth golden age. Now, even that sounded conservative.
With someone like him, Shrek might actually nurture a god in the future.
And what would that mean? Everyone knew about Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang. His strength wasn't all that impressive, but his status? Unshakable.
Truthfully, once they learned how unique Zhou Sichen's Contract Book martial soul was, the entire Sea God's Pavilion had already begun to stir. A martial soul like that had never been seen before.
Now that they'd witnessed the hundred-thousand-year fourth ring with their own eyes, what had once been casual conversation had solidified into unshakable conviction. They were just short of declaring it to Zhou's face.
Every person present was no fool. Even the four youngest deans were in their late eighties or nineties—they knew exactly what this meant.
And Zhou's fourth ring wasn't kept secret. Everyone knew what it did. He was only twelve years old, yet even if he only lived to fifty, he'd produce thirty-eight clones of the Yearning Heartbroken Red.
He'd already given some to his elders and Ye Guyi. Who else would he give them to? The people closest to him, of course.
Though no one dared to ask him for one, they were absolutely tempted. But they understood the order of things.
After all, it belonged to Zhou. He could give it to whoever he wanted—or not at all.
If he wanted to share, he would. If not, asking would only make them look like self-important old fogeys.
Zhou Sichen's unexpected harvest brought joy to everyone—not only had he grown stronger, but he also brought back a way to cure Ma Xiaotao's evil fire.
That alone was worth everything they had invested in him.
Ma Xiaotao's problem had persisted for years. Shrek had never found a solution—until now.
Surrounded by adults praising him, even Zhou Sichen—who was quite the actor—started to feel a little embarrassed. He used the excuse of going to see Ye Guyi to quietly slip away.
Yan Shaozhe, who had been secretly watching everything unfold, knew the truth. Zhou and Ye Guyi had long since fallen for each other.
Watching Zhou leave, he could only sigh and wish Ma Xiaotao good luck. With a man like Zhou Sichen out there, she should at least try to become someone important to him—even if just a close confidant.
Yan wasn't exaggerating. Zhou's hundred-thousand-year fourth ring was earth-shattering. In the future, he'd also have a Silver Shadow Beast to copy all their signature skills. A monster among monsters.
Zhou Sichen's future was destined to be brilliant. Whoever stayed by his side would get to watch the sunrise and sunset with him.
Once he left, the rest of the Pavilion members sat down in silence. The Sea God's Pavilion Conference officially began.
Zhou's talent was now undeniable. Previously, even though they had high hopes, he was only at three rings. It was too early to say too much.
Now, though still only at four rings, that hundred-thousand-year soul ring meant everything had changed.
Now they dared to imagine. The discussion began immediately.
Before, they'd seen him as Shrek's key to a fourth golden age—already an incredible honor.
Shrek's three previous golden ages had all been led by three individuals with Ultimate Martial Souls, all of whom reached Limit Douluo.
Elder Mu was also at that level now, but to be honest, his condition was too poor. He couldn't match up to those past legends.
But Zhou Sichen wasn't just the hope for a fourth golden age—he had the potential to go even further.
Outside of the original Shrek Seven Monsters under Tang San ten thousand years ago, the continent hadn't produced a single god since.
Before, they didn't dare dream of it. Not even Shrek's three Ultimate Martial Soul holders had achieved that.
Now, they could dare to dream.
Why?
Because ten thousand years ago, Shrek had produced seven deities.
And because Zhou Sichen's talent was utterly unprecedented. Even compared to the original Seven Monsters, who among them could match him?
He had talent, he had luck, and he'd already reached a level that defied belief. If Shrek didn't aim for godhood now, when would they?
If they really nurtured a deity…
Forget Shrek. The entire continent would celebrate. Crushing the Sun Moon Empire would be trivial in comparison.
Zhou Sichen had already been receiving the highest possible treatment within Shrek. After this meeting, he became the sole candidate for the Shrek God-Making Project.
Those four words alone said everything. In the future, Zhou Sichen would never have to ask for anything—they'd give it to him automatically.
In fact, they had already begun planning his future soul rings.
The fifth would be the Silver Shadow Beast. The sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth would all be hundred-thousand-year soul beasts.
It would be difficult—extremely difficult—but with Elder Mu at the helm and the full support of Shrek's upper echelon, they were fully committed.
Everyone knew Elder Mu's health was declining. Even Elder Zhuang could do nothing to help.
While Elder Mu was still here to lead them, and as long as he had their unanimous support, they would see this plan through.
They wanted to create a god.
Zhou Sichen, of course, had no idea that the surprise he brought back had caused Shrek to diverge from the original canon.
This was the first time the butterfly flapped its wings—and it would bring about real, world-shaking change.
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