Under Er Ming's guidance, Xie Xie had improved considerably in his control over the power of time. The Space Time Dragon's powers weren't limited to just its spatial facet, and having found the right direction, Xie Xie had been improving rapidly during recent times.

"Nonononono, I'm just an ant compared to you, Boss," Xie Xie hurriedly replied with a shake of his head.

Having known Tang Wulin for so long, Xie Xie was able to read between the lines, and he knew that he would be in for beating if he weren't careful.

"Why are you such a coward? Fight him! How will you improve if you don't challenge people more powerful than you?" Er Ming was eager to add more fuel to the flames.

Xie Xie rolled his eyes in response. "For the sake of Yuanen's future happiness and my health, please don't get involved in this, Senior."

Yuanen Yehui chimed in, "I really do want to give it a try. How about Xie Xie and I challenge you together when we get some time, Boss?"

She had improved significantly during this recent period of time. Under Er Ming's guidance, her Divine Cloudvortex Fists and Divine Titan Fists had gradually begun to fuse as one, and she had also reached the pinnacle of the Soul Douluo level. Just as Er Ming had said, in order to improve more quickly, she had to challenge people more powerful than her.

"Sure!" Tang Wulin agreed without any hesitation.

Xie Xie couldn't bring himself to raise any objections at the sight of Yuanen Yehui's determined expression, and he could only remain silent with a wry smile on his face.

Perhaps Tang Wulin's luck had turned with soul trains, but nothing out of the ordinary happened during this trip.

The Yuanen Family was situated in the eastern part of the continent, not far away from the original site of Shrek City. It was located to the east of the past Great Star Dou Forest in a city known as Shangling, which was surrounded by mountains, and was only accessible by soul train through underground tunnels.

After everyone arrived, they immediately felt as if they had stumbled upon a hidden paradise.

Shangling had natural city walls formed by the surrounding mountains, which were teeming with lush greenery. The environment here had been preserved very well, and air was noticeably fresher here; even the sky up above seemed to be a brighter shade of blue.

"What a wonderful place!" Xie Xie said as he closed his eyes and took in a deep breath of fresh air.

However, upon turning to Yuanen Yehui, he discovered that something wasn't quite right about her. She was standing still on the spot, and her body was trembling slightly.

It had been many years since she had returned to this familiar yet alien place, and she was overcome with emotions.

She could still clearly recall the traumatic events of her childhood. In a single day, her mother had passed away, and her father had become a complete shadow of his former self. Everyone had appraised her with fury and resentment, and the warm family had suddenly become hell for her.

She felt as if she could still hear the heart-wrenching sobs and howls ringing out right beside her ears.

Xie Xie hurriedly strode over to her before holding onto her hand in a firm manner. "It's alright, everything will be fine, and I'll be by your side at all times."

Yuanen Yehui turned toward him, and all of a sudden, her heart melted ever so slightly. Indeed, he had always been by her side over the years. He had been with her through thick and thin, regardless of how cold and unapproachable she had been toward him.

Due to her past trauma, she was unable to completely open up her heart to him, but in this instant, she suddenly felt like she was finally able to do so.

Compared to Tang Wulin and Gu Yuena, she and Xie Xie were already far more fortunate. At the very least, they had always been together!

She gave Xie Xie a slight nod and held tightly onto his hand as well.

After emerging from the train station, there was already a car waiting for them, and Yuanen Yehui's expression changed slightly at the sight of the man standing beside the car. It was none other than her uncle, Yuanen Tianshang.

Yuanen Tianshang cast an expressionless gaze toward her before opening the car door.

Everyone arrived at the car, and Yuanen Yehui wanted to say something, but couldn't find the words in the end, and got into the car together with Xie Xie.

They were followed by Tang Wulin with Er Ming bringing up the rear, and Er Ming took a glance at Yuanen Tianshang before remarking, "Your aura is too depressed and subdued. You're refusing to let go of the past, and that's severely impacting your ability to attain enlightenment."

Yuanen Tianshang raised an eyebrow upon hearing this. "Who are you?"

Er Ming gave no response to this and merely chuckled as he got into the car. However, in the instant that he arrived in the car, Yuanen Tianshang was immediately struck by an indescribable sense of pressure, the caliber of which he had only ever experienced from his own father.

His pupils contracted slightly as it occurred to him that this man could be a Limit Douluo from Shrek Academy.

Even in Shangling, he had been able to watch the live broadcast of the joust for a spouse event, and all Soul Masters were stunned by the sight of the Tang Sect and Shrek Academy's four Limit Douluos. What an incredible display of power that had been!

If this man were also a Limit Douluo from Shrek Academy, then Shrek Academy's hidden forces would be far too formidable to imagine.

Yuanen Tianshang had driven the car to the train station in person, and this was a seven-seater soul car.

Yuanen Yehui had notified the family prior to her return, and Yuanen Tianshang had agreed to pick her up in person precisely because of this display of courage. The fact that she was willing to return and face everything was an indication that she was a courageous child. He hated his sister-in-law for causing the death of his wife, but he didn't hate Yuanen Yehui, who was only an innocent child at the time. All he wanted was to prevent that same tragedy from taking place again.

Shangling wasn't a very large city, and due to the fact that the Yuanen Family was a hidden sect, their estate was situated outside the western outskirts of the city.

To call it an estate was actually overly flattering; in reality, it was just a village that was constructed next to a lush forested mountain.

The entire village was constructed on the mountain, but there was a winding mountain path that was accessible to soul cars passed through the front of all of the houses to ensure convenience.

As Yuanen Yehui looked at the village through the car window from afar, she was no longer able to hold back her tears. This was a place that had given her countless beautiful memories, but also inflicted upon her immeasurable pain.

Meanwhile, Er Ming was appraising his surroundings with curiosity in his eyes, and he was becoming very excited as he sensed the extremely familiar aura spread throughout this village. Almost all of the people here bore his bloodline!

In reality, he was no longer just a pure soul beast. In a sense, at least a part of him was human, and even as a soul beast, creating offspring and descendants was extremely important.

He had always thought that he didn't have any descendants, but he had never been happier to be proven wrong about something. This was an extremely wonderful feeling, the likes of which he had never experienced in the tens of thousands of years he had been alive.

It had been countless years since Er Ming had been this happy, and he couldn't wait to appear before his descendants. He didn't want to prove anything, and nor did he expect them to acknowledge him; all he wanted was to see his descendants live happily while passing on his bloodline.

For the first time in his life, he developed a strong sense of affection for humans, even more so than for Tang San. A human woman had passed on his bloodline and produced descendants for him, so his descendants were also human.

All of a sudden, it seemed as if humans weren't all that abhorrent anymore.

The soul car stopped in front of a large house halfway up the mountain. This was a relatively flat area, and the house was the largest building on the entire mountain. This was the ancestral hall of the Yuanen Family.

Yuanen Tianshang exited the car first, then strode into the ancestral hall without waiting for anyone else.