Yu Xiaogang Change.

Thus Aiden went to the principal's office, but the moment he got near he heard sounds of battle and immediately became combat-ready, sneaking in. He thought he will attack the enemy when all conditions are right and help others but he froze the moment he saw what was happening and couldn't help feeling warm and delighted.

"What did you say? How dare you not look after little Aiden? Your piece of horse dung, I will thoroughly teach you how to look after the one I consider my son!" - Liu Erlong was giving a beating of his life to Zhao Wuji who had no way to defend. She was already a woman shaped tyrannosaurus, but after training in "Lightning" marks and Heavenly Tempest Descend Art became something else alright. Coupling it with Aiden giving her pills that were condensed from dragon blood of the Dragon Heart and purified with his platinum might she already was at the 89 level and just a little step away from becoming Titled Douluo. And when she suddenly does, Aiden will make sure to develop a way to create a red ring for her.

Zhao Wuji was like a poor punching bag flung from one side of a room to another.

"How the hell did you do your job, huh? Why is it my little Aiden that covered a full brunt of Titan Ape strike and not you? You just wait, after I went to trash that stupid ape I will enjoy my stay here and thoroughly teach you manners!" - she raged like a dragoness she technically was.

"Mmm... Erlong... maybe."

"Shut up, Flender!"

"No, really, my wife... maybe."

"Shut up, hubby!"

They both hang their heads in defeat.

As for Aiden, he was stunned by what he saw and heard. And mainly her saying that he is like her son. It was just... too unexpected. He actually never brooded over it. How does he see her? She was the only grown-up person to ever was this close to him. He really thought of her as someone very dear and precious but didn't dare to question the issue of status.

It was too confusing for him even now because there were three people in his mind and two of them... well... let's say he wasn't that keen to remember.

But now that he heard her saying it like that, he felt something new inside. It was a strange emotion he can't understand.

He needed time to figure it all out.

"What is going on here?" - Aiden went inside with an oblivious attitude about everything that transpired here and saw Liu Erlong flinging Zhao Wuji at the corner as some irrelevant trash rushed to him with a worried look.

"Are you alright? Does it hurt anywhere? Any long-lasting injuries? Tell me!" - she was like a hen running around her eggs.

"It is fine..." - he said. It seems he needs some time to understand what the mother is and how to call someone like that. - "Aunt Erlong... I came here to help you and Grandmaster to have a fulfilling wedding."

"What are you talking about?" - she asked and then he repeated what he learned about beast spirits, making her not so stunned with disbelief but very nervous with shyness and expectation. She already overheard his conversation with Grandmaster. To see Aunt Erlong behave like a little maiden in love was something new altogether.

"Grandmaster... I have an immortal herb here to help you heal your spirit somehow." - he then gave Yu Xiaogang a Deep Hell Lotus. It was an eerie plant with black petals and a red inner core. It looked threatening and caused one to feel dread just with a single look, but it was exactly what will help Cerberus awaken its bloodline further through struggle.

It is imperative to find and heal guardian spirits as they have a direct connection with the protective barrier of the world. The stronger they are the firmer the Veil will be and the more time they have for preparation to face invasion later on.

"Aunt Erlong, help Grandmaster to refine it properly, guard him. You need to feed this herb to Luo San Pao. Everything else will depend on your own resilience." - Aiden said and sat cross-legged. It is a rare occasion to collect data on the healing of Cerberus. He forgoes observing Rong Rong because his own Tree of Life was very similar and healing it gave him extensive knowledge about the evolution process of plant type martial spirits.

Cerberus was one of the unique cases among all guardian spirits. It had three heads and technically three entities in one body so when they were destroyed injury went further than just a grievous wound and became a lethal strike that "killed" one of the Cerberus manifestations.

If not for that reason Aiden was confident to help nurture guardian spirit to the top condition just with the usage of Tree of Life healing properties.

What happened next will be recorded in the annals of history as the birth of the Hell Paragon who will be one cornerstone of the Extermination War. But now they only saw torture he was undergoing and couldn't help but tighten their fists for him.

It lasted for a full hour and finally Luo San Pao went from round puppy to a brutal two headed hell hound as huge as a truck. Its left head breathed out fire, while right exuded tremendous dark power. With that Aiden found that Yu Xiaogang directly broke through to 40 rank. He gave him one of the primordial marks, the "Destruction" one.

To his shock, it was like giving tiger wings, as they directly became red ones!

'I just created a monster.'

He also transferred him Hell Extermination Art and with this, in several years Grandmaster will be known not only like the best scholar, but a man to fear.

"Thank you." - Liu Erlong cried holding bloodied but satisfied Yu Xiaogang.

He underwent transformation too. He had his youth back as if he never went past twenty five. His hair grew long and black with a tinge of amethyst luster and his eyes also shifted in color to slightly purple ones. Now he looked devilishly handsome. His body went through the renewal process, enhancing talent and reigniting potential in tremendous magnitude.

All in all, Yu Xiaogang became a fresh man. And as it seems, his genetic changed way stronger than Aiden thought.

"Now do you understand what I said about blood relations? You can only barely be considered people of the same species, let alone relatives. So don't let Aunt Erlong down on your wedding night. She waited long enough." - Aiden sighed and left.

'So, Nexus, how was it?'

= Unbelievable data. I can even tell you something you didn't expect to happen. While healing I could scan the core of the Cerberus and it turns out this beast is a devourer of demons and billions fell from its hands.

'And? What are you gett... wait... are you saying?...'

= You guessed right master! Inside its core I found the origin of all spirit rings! Right now we have extensive data to create even a million years old ring... well, it requires resources of unbelievable proportions and you being at least Spirit Douluo. You need a fully healed Tree of Life. But if we are talking about Red ones no older than 100.000 years old, it is once you reach Spirit King realm.

'Abilities?'

= Most of what you need, but still martial spirits tend to influence it so some deviation will be present. We can point out the general direction.

'Unbelievable! What age of the rings can I create now?'

= 50.000 to 55.000 should be your limit for now. Oh, that is if you don't want to waste much resources and money. Otherwise, with some heavenly herbs, it is possible to use them as a basis to create something older.

'Got it.'

Now Aiden could not only provide spirit rings without killing spirit beasts but even choosing abilities. That was great news, and he already had two abilities he wanted for his spirits. He needed two things drastically – first a way to mask his rings, meaning he needs a powerful illusory ability.

And second, was even more vital. He thought much about demons and corruption they bring to the world, especially to people's hearts and minds and spirit rings. What he needed is an attack or skill that will cleanse someone without killing. Something akin to dispel that can even influence demonic corruption. It will be a tremendously potent weapon against demons.

These two abilities should be the next choice.

From here on, the month of Grandmaster foundations began. It was like a festival of pure torture because acute Grandmaster knew all too well how to tune training load to people's conditions and talents. Aiden got the short draw of a stick here, but he was happy to do that.

His level at the end finally reached 50.

This month was full of other happenings.

First, they have three evolutions of martial spirits here. One went for Rong Rong, who in her euphoria gave Aiden her first kiss and understood what she did only after that. Now she is avoiding him all the time. Needless to say, Oscar was smitten to the ground and became depressed for quite a while.

As for Aiden, he didn't think much about it. He is a man of his own choice and something like "let nature take its course" was not to his liking. With all seriousness, he wasn't even a little bit interested in her and he said it to Oscar straightforwardly. Only after their heartfelt talk in the dorm at night while drinking he finally came to his senses, but then another problem arose.

One of the newbies, Shen Ling who was interested in Rong Rong told Oscar about her clan's custom to choose powerful battle masters as spouses. He was harsh in words at that. The addition of several people created disharmony among Shrek students, which caused Aiden to take action.

He did it in the most straightforward way. Taking an example from Aunt Erlong and using the most basic language. Thrashing. But of course, it was a duel. And of course, it wasn't him giving out the beating, but Oscar. And he did it with flying colors. He was originally higher in cultivation level and had, unlike others, black marks. After giving him Devourer Divine Art that complimented his physique and training him during nights in spear fights, Oscar could understand Primary Spear Aura and even incorporate in it the devourer abilities.

With his powerful body, spearmanship, spirit artifact spear Aiden specifically crafted and food spirit that gave him a tremendous advantage in terms of stamina and healing, everyone saw Oscar in a unique light. Even Rong Rong was amazed by him, and it looks like Oscar's efforts in wooing her were moved from dead-end. Actually, Rong Rong was never a person of light judgment and was seriously considering close people and relationships. She never entered them lightly, but if she did, it was very serious and she can even be considered devoted.

The second evolution was unexpectedly scored by Zhu Zhuqing. However, there is a slight problem with that. She and Dai Mubai lost spiritual connection as her spirit went another route. Reasons unknown, both were dejected at this part, however, somehow it made their relationship closer as if understanding they are losing each other for good both contrary to expectations reached out to one another.

Maybe one day they will be able to create fusion again. Although they lost one trump card, it didn't matter much. Aiden had a plan to investigate this so-called fusion. He thought he can create formations to use as a catalyst. After all, this world has a precedent of such skill and it was right in front of his eyes. Trio Flender, Xiaogang, and Liu Erlong.

The third evolution went for none other than Bing'er.

That day she came out of seclusion. People went silent. She was a celebrity and a very charming girl, her beauty was akin to the rising moon – gentle and one can always discover fresh angles of it never growing tired. After going through immortal herb refinement, she became a literal goddess.

With all his lives and experiences, Aiden saw no girl as stunning and gentle as her. It almost made his heart flutter, but not for long. Actually, Bing'er phoenix became Divine Ice Phoenix. A god beast of legends!

Also, Bing'er, Zhu Zhuqing, and Ma Hongjun became rank 30. However, Aiden revealed his research and ability to create artificial rings to Grandmaster. It was a long but fulfilling talk, after which they decided on how things will proceed.

The trio received artificial rings that were way easier to integrate and even were tuned to their bodies and martial spirits. But what flabbergasted them is a way to choose one's own ability. There were however two downsides.

First impossibility of receiving spirit bones and second – battle experience. Well, the second was just taken out of the blue in Aidens opinion. How much battle experience will one have from these sessions of hunting? Nine times per life and some of them can't even count.

Now it was time for them to enter Suotuo City and its battle arena.