Spirit Hall Academy, Seven Finally Reunited

Spirit Hall Academy, in order to have enough space to train its students, was actually not located within the Two Great Empires. Instead, it stood beyond the border where the two empires met, forming a strategic pincer position with Spirit City from afar.

After boarding Spirit Hall's exclusive carriage, the two quickly arrived at their destination.

Compared to the shabby Shrek village, Spirit Hall Academy was truly extravagantly wealthy. Even Heaven Dou Royal Academy paled greatly in comparison.

Not only that, when it came to teaching staff, Spirit Hall Academy possessed a terrifying level of strength that other factions could hardly hope to match.

Two Titled Douluo remained stationed here year-round to protect the students' safety. At the same time, several Spirit Douluo, over a dozen Soul Saint, and numerous Soul Emperor served as teachers and handled instructional duties.

However, half of these teachers were not permanently stationed here. Most came to rest after completing major missions, teaching students along the way so they would not grow rusty.

They could relax while nurturing the next generation of talent, killing two birds with one stone.

"Spirit Hall Academy is in the mountains?" Zhu Zhuqing looked curiously at the surrounding scenery through the carriage window.

"More accurately, this entire mountain range belongs to Spirit Hall Academy." It was Xia Tianling's first time here as well, though Hu Liena had introduced the place to him before.

The complete Spirit Hall Academy was not simply a school that encompassed an entire mountain range on the surface. It also contained Mimic Training Grounds for academies of every attribute.

Artificial lakes, underground lava, lush forests, even a Sea of Thunder built from Thunder Attribute plant-type spirit beasts. If you could think of it, Spirit Hall Academy had it.

Spirit Hall Academy even had its own separate spirit beast forest. Its scale was far larger than a first-grade Soul Hunting Forest, and it contained no shortage of Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Beasts.

This spirit beast forest had been specially enclosed by the school for students to undergo assessments, gain experience, and hunt soul rings.

Money really could let you do whatever you wanted.

To claim such a vast uninhabited mountain range for an academy, then add a separate Soul Hunting Forest on top of it—only Spirit Hall, which controlled seventy percent of the spirit masters in the world, had such power.

Having been notified in advance, the carriage passed through without obstruction and headed straight into the academy.

At the foot of the mountain within the academy stood a row of villa-like buildings. This was an area specially reserved for gifted students.

Unlike the Two Great Empires, where nobles monopolized everything, Spirit Hall understood the principle of promoting talent above all else.

As long as you had ability, cultivation, and talent, you could enjoy better treatment.

Every new student received an initial rank medal after completing their aptitude evaluation.

Whenever your cultivation broke through, you accumulated merits through missions, or achieved excellent results in academic-year examinations, you could apply to the academy for a rank promotion and receive more resources and superior teaching guidance.

For example, the Purple Lu Medal obtained by the three members of the Golden Generation in the Original Work represented the academy's highest-ranking students. Upon graduation, they could immediately enter Spirit Hall and assume important positions. (This medal only appeared once in the Original Work, and its exact purpose was never explained.)

Under normal circumstances, Xia Tianling and his two little companions should have reported directly to the academy after their awakenings.

However, there would always be a small group of people in this world who were extremely important to a certain organization. Thus, before they possessed sufficient ability to protect themselves, the three of them could only remain in Spirit City to cultivate.

It did not really matter to the three of them. During the first few years of cultivation, the main focus was raising their Soul Power Level and studying theoretical knowledge. It made no difference where they studied.

Now that their cultivation had reached a modest level, they could begin training such as actual combat.

Xia Tianling brought Zhu Zhuqing to a several-story building.

This was the exclusive teaching building for gifted students. Only a very small number of people were qualified to enter.

The moment they stepped through the entrance, a rapid pattering of footsteps sounded out. A beautifully dressed young woman with a seductive expression rushed down from upstairs and threw herself into Xia Tianling's arms.

"Wow! Junior Brother, I missed you so much! We haven't seen each other in a while, and you've gotten taller again. You're almost as tall as your Senior Sister now!"

The newcomer was none other than the Spirit Hall Saintess from the Original Work, the little fox Hu Liena.

"Cough, cough, Senior Sister, let me go already. I can barely breathe." Xia Tianling struggled free from Hu Liena's embrace. "Do you really miss me? You're obviously just craving my cooking!"

"Hehe, who told you to cook so deliciously, Junior Brother? After eating your food, even the cafeteria food has lost its appeal." Hu Liena stuck out her tongue. "Eating too much of Little Ao's spirit also gets tiresome, and his cooking isn't as good as yours anyway."

Like him, she had been adopted by Spirit Hall. During academy breaks, she would return to Spirit City to cultivate under her teacher.

After accidentally tasting Xia Tianling's cooking once, she had frequently shamelessly come over to mooch meals. Over time, she had also become familiar with Oscar and Ma Hongjun.

"To be honest, I envy Tianling every single time." A few more people came down from upstairs.

"Brother Yan, you're such a simp. How could Senior Sister Liena possibly like you?" Xia Tianling recognized the speaker and snapped back irritably. "You need to improve yourself first."

"Hahahaha, Tianling is right. If you put even a little more effort into cultivation, my sister would not find you so annoying." Another man beside him laughed.

He was Hu Liena's older brother, Xie Yue.

Yan awkwardly rubbed his nose and pretended nothing had happened. After all, he had been simping for Hu Liena for more than a year or two. Everyone knew it perfectly well.

"Hey, Brother Ling, I was wondering why you didn't come with us. Turns out you secretly went off to find a girl behind our backs."

"Exactly, exactly. Fatty's right. Boss, that's not cool."

"Don't call me Fatty! I'm not fat at all anymore!"

Oscar and Ma Hongjun, the two living treasures, bickered back and forth.

Over six years, it was not only Bibi Dong and Qian Renxue who had changed. Oscar and Little Fatty had changed as well.

No, he could no longer be called Little Fatty.

Having cultivated the Phoenix Fire Technique, Ma Hongjun now had a perfectly normal build. Not only had he lost the lecherous air he possessed in the Original Work, but his entire body radiated blazing sunshine and the vigorous energy of youth. At first glance, he even seemed a little handsome.

Combined with his Level Thirty-Two strength, he had become a genuine young, rich, and handsome man in Suotuo City when he returned home during the previous break. Quite a few girls in the village had secretly fallen for him.

However, now that Ma Hongjun's hidden danger had been removed, he no longer needed to vent through relations with women.

After receiving Xia Tianling's guidance for six years, he had not become a lust-crazed pervert like in the Original Work. Even now, he was still an innocent virgin wholly devoted to cultivation.

Oscar's changes compared to the Original Work were even greater.

After cultivating the Martial Golden Body, Oscar had become confident. He was far from the dispirited, self-indulgent state he would have been in at this point on the original timeline. Increased strength, especially martial training, could make a person resilient and confident from the inside out.

Beneath his well-proportioned, muscular body lay explosive strength terrifying even to Battle Spirit Masters. Oscar, who had already cultivated the Immaculate Body to completion, possessed enough strength, combined with his Level Thirty-Five Soul Power, to defeat Beast Spirit Soul Elders of the same rank.

If he went out and claimed to be a Food System Spirit Master, who would believe him? Who would dare believe him?

"Fatty, are you itching for a beating? Your cultivation is not even as high as Little Ao's, and he's a Food System Spirit Master. Looks like you've been slacking lately. Want me to give you some extra training?"

Ma Hongjun's face instantly fell. "Don't, Brother Ling. Little Ao is basically a freak. How can I compare to him?"

Although Xia Tianling had long since helped him resolve his evil fire problem, Ma Hongjun was naturally somewhat lazy. That was part of his nature and very difficult to change.

"You brat, you don't know how fortunate you are. Let me introduce everyone. This is a new student I recruited, and also my friend. Her name is Zhu Zhuqing. From now on, we'll all be study partners. Zhuqing, say hello to everyone."

Zhu Zhuqing, who had remained silent in the corner, stepped forward. "Hello, everyone. My name is Zhu Zhuqing. My spirit is the Hell Spirit Cat, and I am a Level Twenty-Nine Battle Spirit Master."

"Hell Spirit Cat, and your surname is Zhu? You're from the Star Luo Nether Zhu Family?" Hu Liena asked thoughtfully. "Level Twenty-Nine at your age—not bad."

"Yes."

"But—"

"Don't worry about her identity. I'll handle everything." Xia Tianling cut in.

"Oho!" The group immediately began to tease them.

"Boss, and you still say you're just friends?" Oscar wore a wicked grin.

Although cultivation techniques had changed his mentality, they had not changed his cheeky personality.

"That's right, Brother Ling. We all know each other too well, so stop trying to hide it," Ma Hongjun echoed from the side.

"Get lost!" Xia Tianling flew into a rage. "Fatty, let me tell you this: Zhuqing cultivates much harder than you do. Even Little Ao is far behind her. If she surpasses you in rank in the future, don't blame me for giving you extra training."

"He's panicking! He's getting embarrassed and angry!"

Ma Hongjun burst into laughter, completely unconcerned.

The air was filled with cheerful laughter.

While everyone was fooling around, Tang San and Xiao Wu arrived at Shrek's registration site in Suotuo City on the other side.

However, in this timeline, Shrek was truly pitiful.

Without Oscar and Ma Hongjun, Shrek Academy only had a single student: Dai Mubai.

Six teachers teaching one student—it was practically like some academy's paleontology department.

As expected, during the fourth trial against Zhao Wuji, Xiao Wu suffered backlash from her own Charm.

But Tang San did not try to kill Zhao Wuji as he had in the Original Work. He understood that this was the result of Xiao Wu bringing trouble upon herself.

Without Zhu Zhuqing's assistance, he only managed to circle around Zhao Wuji with hidden weapons for the duration of one incense stick before decisively admitting defeat.

Still, how did that saying go? Travelers come and go, but Zhao Wuji always gets beaten. Even though the two had not fought bitterly, Zhao Wuji still could not escape the fate of receiving a beating from Tang Hao.

Seriously, Xiao Wu's Spiritual Power was truly weak enough. A dignified Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast who had re-cultivated into human form actually had weaker Spiritual Power than a strength-type Soul Saint. It was honestly rather speechless.

This was your innate skill, Little Rabbit!

Wait, one of Little Rabbit's innate skills was Charm?

The hat on Tang San's head seemed to have gotten a little greener.