Arrival at the Continent's Greatest City, Shrek City

As a Limit Douluo, Long Xiaoyao's speed was undeniably astonishing. Even after diverting part of his power to protect Huo Yuhao and deliberately slowing down for his sake, he was still incomparably fast.

However, Long Xiaoyao's destination was not Shrek City, where Shrek Academy was located, but a city within the Star Luo Empire.

Shrek Academy's Outer Court had two admission requirements. The first was to possess no less than level fifteen Soul Power before the age of twelve.

Huo Yuhao had failed to meet this requirement in his previous life, but things were much better in this life.

At present, Huo Yuhao's Soul Power was exactly level fifteen.

Logically speaking, having only recently absorbed a Soul Ring, he should have been at level eleven.

However, Huo Yuhao's physique in this life far surpassed that of his previous life. Coupled with the Mysterious Heaven Skill, when Tian Meng became the first Soul Ring of his Spirit Eye Martial Soul, he had already reached level twelve.

The remaining two levels of Soul Power came from the gift of the Divine Tool Eye of Eternity within his Spiritual Sea of Consciousness.

The Eye of Eternity's seal had absorbed his Innate Soul Power when his Martial Soul awakened. It had also continuously absorbed the Soul Power he cultivated before his mother's death, only returning to normal after she died and he obtained the Mysterious Heaven Skill cultivation method in a dream.

Part of that absorbed Soul Power had then become a gift upon advancement, granting Huo Yuhao three levels of Soul Power when he officially became a Soul Master.

Thus, Huo Yuhao, who had only just become a one-ring Soul Master, directly possessed level fifteen Soul Power.

As for Shrek Academy's second admission requirement, one needed a letter of recommendation from at least a main city of one of the Three Great Empires other than the Sun Moon Empire.

In other words, aside from exceptional luck, Shrek Academy's most basic admission qualifications were nothing more than toys for the nobility.

It was precisely because of these harsh admission requirements that Shrek Academy did not have many commoner Soul Masters like the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy of the Sun Moon Empire.

However, Shrek Academy did not prohibit early admission. Such cases generally applied to geniuses who displayed supreme talent from the very beginning.

For example, Innate Full Soul Power.

Aside from this conventional method and exceptional geniuses, there was another way to enter without taking the admission examination: special exemption admission slots.

In his previous life, Huo Yuhao had entered Shrek Academy by joining Tang Ya's Tang Sect and obtaining the Tang Sect's exemption admission slot.

But in this life, there was no longer any need for that.

Huo Yuhao had also figured out why Long Xiaoyao had brought him to a city in the Star Luo Empire first.

On the surface, Shrek Academy—or rather, Mu En—seemed to know only that Evil Soul Masters had a coordinated organization. They did not know that it was called the Holy Spirit Cult, nor did they know that Long Xiaoyao was the Holy Spirit Cult's Grand Elder.

And Long Xiaoyao clearly did not wish for Huo Yuhao to be tied to him.

Because that would be equivalent to tying Huo Yuhao to the Holy Spirit Cult.

That would be a hidden danger to Huo Yuhao gaining Shrek Academy's trust.

Replacing it with a recommendation letter from a main city's City Lord, however, made things much simpler.

As for Shrek Academy's background investigation, if they could uncover something like this, then the Holy Spirit Cult would not need to hide in the first place.

The only one who truly needed to keep a tight hold on the secret throughout this process was Huo Yuhao.

Yet, through Long Xiaoyao's deliberate disregard, he never mentioned anything about making Huo Yuhao keep it secret.

Just as he had thought before.

If Huo Yuhao entered the academy and immediately revealed the Holy Spirit Cult's existence, then it would mean his fate had come to an end.

Then let it be considered his final response to the Holy Spirit Cult's existence.

Long Xiaoyao went to obtain the recommendation letter, while Huo Yuhao surveyed this city of the Star Luo Empire.

This city should be one of the Holy Spirit Cult's strongholds. He simply did not know whether the City Lord himself belonged to the Holy Spirit Cult or whether the City Lord had cooperated with it.

Huo Yuhao gently shook his head. It had nothing to do with him. He had neither the ability nor the desire to interfere.

Before long, Long Xiaoyao returned and stuffed an envelope-like item into Huo Yuhao's hand.

Clearly, Long Xiaoyao had already arranged Huo Yuhao's background, even though Huo Yuhao had not revealed his identity.

After giving Huo Yuhao a few instructions, Long Xiaoyao set off with him once more.

This time, they left in a horse-drawn carriage.

Flying directly to Shrek Academy would have been far too conspicuous. Since Long Xiaoyao could not openly reveal their connection, it was only natural to keep as low a profile as possible.

The location of Shrek Academy did not belong to any nation. Rather, it was an independent city governed solely by Shrek Academy.

If Huo Yuhao were to evaluate it now, he could only offer three words.

The Emperor Emeritus.

That was right. The current Shrek Academy was, in truth, the Emperor Emeritus of the Douluo Three Kingdoms.

When Huo Yuhao had listened to Shrek Academy's legendary stories in his previous life, his blood had boiled, and he had been willing to give his life for the so-called "glory of Shrek."

Only after being reborn and thinking it through did he realize how terrifying the forces controlled by Shrek Academy truly were.

Think about it. The Douluo Three Kingdoms' inability to unite was not merely because of their rulers.

Yet despite this inability to unite, when Shrek Academy's dean called out from on high, he had gathered dozens of Titled Douluo, including nearly all the high-ranking commanding generals from the Douluo Three Kingdoms.

If Shrek Academy's dean at the time had wanted to don the yellow robe, the Douluo Three Kingdoms would have had no way to stop him.

When even a nation's generals and military authority could be taken away with a single word from someone else, there was no greater example of a country no longer being a country.

That was why Shrek Academy dared to collect annual taxes exceeding those of the nations across the entire continent, and why not a single empire dared to object to Shrek Academy maintaining a private army.

That was the Emperor Emeritus: Shrek Academy.

Several hours later, the carriage gradually came to a stop.

Huo Yuhao stepped down from the carriage. There was no one by his side, as though he had traveled here alone.

He suddenly found himself unable to tell.

Could someone truly go this far merely by relying on their own kindness?

Was Long Xiaoyao not afraid that he would expose the Holy Spirit Cult's existence to Shrek Academy?

But no matter what, in this life, he had indeed incurred a debt of gratitude to Long Xiaoyao.

Looking at the towering city walls before him, Huo Yuhao walked step by step toward the city gate.

This was the eastern gate exclusively for Shrek Academy. Under normal circumstances, only people from Shrek Academy could enter and exit through the east gate. No one else was allowed passage.

Huo Yuhao had arrived at just the right time, catching the final stage of recruiting new students.

There were not many people gathered outside the eastern gate at the moment. It seemed that one group had already registered.

At the entrance to the eastern gate stood more than a dozen young men and women dressed in fitted yellow uniforms. Each wore a green emblem on their chest, representing Shrek Academy.

Before them, several queues stretched backward like long dragons.