Heaven Dou Royal Academy

Heaven Dou Royal Academy was affiliated with the Heaven Dou Empire's royal family, and its nominal dean was none other than the current Emperor of the Heaven Dou Empire.

Therefore, the academy had no dean's position. Instead, an Education Committee composed of three Heavenly Dou Level teachers, all Soul Fighting Douluo, oversaw it.

Heaven Dou Royal Academy only admitted students with noble titles, so spoiled young masters could be seen everywhere within its walls. However, that did not change the fact that it was the most luxurious academy in the Heaven Dou Empire.

At that moment, the three Education Commissioners of Heaven Dou Royal Academy were waiting quietly at the academy entrance.

The sight sparked heated discussion among the students arriving to enroll. Who could possibly warrant such a grand welcome that all three Education Commissioners had come out personally?

Just then, a luxurious carriage stopped at the academy gates. Such carriages were not unusual at Heaven Dou Royal Academy, but when the three Education Commissioners immediately stepped forward to greet it, the surrounding students and teachers became curious about who was inside.

Five people stepped down from the carriage in turn: a young man, an old man, and three youths.

"Your Highness the Crown Prince, Lord Dugu." The three Education Commissioners stepped forward to pay their respects.

"Three seniors coming personally to receive me is more honor than I deserve."

The young man was none other than Crown Prince Xue Qinghe. The other four were Dugu Bo, Dugu Chen, Dugu Yan, and Oscar.

Dugu Chen was a decisive person. After agreeing to Xue Qinghe's invitation to attend Heaven Dou Royal Academy, he brought Dugu Yan and Oscar over just a few days after graduating from Moonlight Pavilion.

Today, the three of them were enrolling at Heaven Dou Royal Academy. Although their strength already qualified them to graduate, they were still young. They had come to further their studies, meet other students, make friends, and spend a few years living on campus. On Douluo Continent, strength was not everything; sometimes, one also needed to understand social connections and worldly ways.

With Xue Qinghe's willpower, she had long buried what happened that night deep in her heart. Although she realized after returning that her attitude toward Dugu Chen had changed somewhat over the past year, her desire to completely win him over had not changed.

As the saying went, what one could not obtain was always the best. Dugu Chen was the man she wanted. Geniuses were proud, and apart from herself, Dugu Chen possessed the greatest talent she had ever seen. It stirred her desire to conquer him.

"These three are the geniuses of Lord Dugu's household. This time, I am merely a supporting character." Xue Qinghe introduced both sides, then mocked herself.

"Greetings, three seniors." Dugu Chen and the other two paid their respects. Strong people deserved respect.

"I have long heard that Lord Nine-Colored Deer Douluo has three geniuses in his family. It is the academy's honor to have you three young friends here." The three Education Commissioners flattered them. After everyone had met, the commissioners led them to the Education Committee to handle their enrollment procedures. After all, this was a school where connections mattered.

After they left, the previously quiet entrance became lively.

"What abilities do those three have, to make the Crown Prince personally see them off?"

"I think they are just three people who got in through the back door, all because of Poison Douluo's reputation."

"Hmph! Whether they have any real ability, we will find out in a few days."

The Education Committee of Heaven Dou Royal Academy stood in the center of the academy's main district. It was the largest building in the entire district. Though it was only one story tall, its highest point reached a full ten meters.

The Education Committee was not as luxurious as imagined. On the contrary, the place where the three Soul Fighting Douluo worked and lived was extremely simple inside. There were only necessary furnishings and a few green plants for decoration.

Everyone took their seats as host and guests, exchanging a few polite remarks.

Chief Meng Shenji, the strongest of the three Education Commissioners, asked.

"I heard that Lord Poison Douluo accepted a disciple with Innate Full Soul Power six years ago, and that two years ago, he made quite a name for himself in the Great Soul Arena. I wonder how far this young friend's strength has progressed now."

Dugu Chen was not the least bit intimidated. At twelve years old, he had fully grown into his looks. His mismatched eyes gave him a somewhat bewitching air. He stood around one meter eighty-five tall, with a slender yet upright frame. His soft black medium-length hair fell behind his back, and two sword-like brows rose above his handsome face. Meeting his gaze, one immediately felt an oppressive presence bearing down.

"This junior is Dugu Chen. I am twelve years old this year and have reached Rank 44."

The youth's calm voice echoed through the room, but the three Education Commissioners were already dumbstruck. They even crushed the teacups in their hands without realizing it.

The pride in Dugu Bo's eyes could not be hidden. Dugu Yan's face was also full of pride. This was her junior brother, always so dazzling. Oscar stared excitedly at Dugu Chen in the middle of the room. This was his goal. He too wanted to become a Battle Soul Master as powerful as Dugu Chen.

Xue Qinghe was stunned for a moment as well. Although she had learned from Ning Fengzhi a year ago that Dugu Chen's Soul Power was already around Rank 40, she knew he had spent the past year studying at Moonlight Pavilion. She had not expected his cultivation speed to slow down at all.

Because of her Martial Soul, she could sense Dugu Chen's abundant foundation. He was only slightly inferior to her. But she had not expected him to already be Rank 44. This cultivation speed was no worse than hers back then.

Soon, the corners of Qian Renxue's lips curved up slightly.

Now this is interesting. You and I really are the same kind.

Meng Shenji quickly calmed himself. Dugu Chen would not lie about something like this, but he still had to test him.

Dugu Chen only felt as though the air around him had solidified. A massive wave of Soul Power surged toward him, leaving his body completely unable to move.

It seemed Meng Shenji wanted to test him personally.

However, this amount of Soul Power pressure did not affect him in the slightest.

Meng Shenji also saw how relaxed Dugu Chen was, and the pressure gradually grew stronger.

As the Soul Power fluctuations in the air became increasingly intense, the other two Education Commissioners also began to grow nervous. They sat upright and stared at Dugu Chen, afraid that something might go wrong.

Only Dugu Bo and the other two remained leaned back in their chairs, watching the scene before them without the slightest concern.

When the pressure reached Rank 55, Dugu Chen still showed no change. Meng Shenji was now caught between a rock and a hard place. If he increased it further and accidentally injured Dugu Chen, would Dugu Bo not tear him apart? Yet he was unwilling to end things like this.

Dugu Chen understood Meng Shenji's predicament and took the initiative to release his Martial Soul.

"Roar!!!"

As the qilin appeared, a faint pressure filled the entire room. Everyone present felt the suppression from its Martial Soul, except Xue Qinghe.

At that moment, Xue Qinghe looked at Dugu Chen's Martial Soul as the Martial Soul within her body stirred violently, as though it wanted to burst from her body and fight it to the death.

Xue Qinghe hurriedly suppressed the impulse. Looking at the four Soul Rings around Dugu Chen—one yellow, two purple, and one black—she was somewhat shocked.

Then came a surge of irritation. Dugu Chen had concealed himself well over the past few years. Without deliberately looking into it, even she had not known his Soul Ring configuration. That made her uncomfortable.

It seemed Dugu Chen had never truly regarded her as a friend.

The thought had barely surfaced before she drove it away. After all, Dugu Chen had never had an opportunity to fight when he was with her, and she had never asked. Who would walk around with their Soul Rings displayed every day? It did not mean he had been wary of her.

"How is this possible?"

The three Education Commissioners stared at Dugu Chen's Soul Rings in shock, rising to their feet with disbelief written all over their faces.

"This is nothing remarkable, Yanyan." Dugu Bo said calmly.

Dugu Yan was fourteen this year. She had grown into a beautiful and captivating young woman, with an exceptionally curvaceous and alluring figure. Especially when she moved her fair jade-like legs, her slender waist swayed from side to side as though boneless, full of seductive charm.

"Dugu Yan, fourteen years old, Rank 48."

She came to Dugu Chen's side and released her Martial Soul. One yellow and three purple Soul Rings appeared. Though the others were surprised, it was no longer enough to truly shock them.

Looking at the senior and junior disciples in the center of the room, their second purple Soul Rings reflecting each other, Xue Qinghe suddenly felt that her own second Soul Ring seemed a little inferior.

"Lord Dugu, this..." Meng Shenji spoke hesitantly.

Dugu Bo did not care. Or rather, he had planned to reveal this information from the start. In any case, Thousand-Year Whale Rubber had become useless to them over the past few years. Revealing it could save them some trouble.

"After many years of research, I discovered that consuming Whale Rubber can strengthen one's physique. A piece of Thousand-Year Whale Rubber can increase the Soul Ring limit by roughly five hundred years. Soul Rings below ten thousand years are related only to physical strength, so one can attach a Thousand-Year Soul Ring as the second ring."

"This... so it was actually because of Whale Rubber."

Upon hearing the answer, everyone was somewhat surprised. Who would have thought that Whale Rubber, something used as an aphrodisiac, had such an effect? No wonder the Dugu Clan had been collecting Whale Rubber in large quantities these past few years. They had thought Dugu Bo was experiencing a second spring.

One could imagine that once this news spread, Whale Rubber would be frantically bought up.

As for Dugu Chen's Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring, they wisely chose not to ask further.

Next came Oscar, an eleven-year-old genius at Rank 35. Though they were somewhat surprised, everyone had already become numb to it.

Meng Shenji said, "Then, on behalf of Heaven Dou Royal Academy, this old man welcomes you all."

With the matter settled, Xue Qinghe and Dugu Bo left in succession. Although she no longer blamed Dugu Chen, Xue Qinghe still glared at him before leaving.

Dugu Chen found it baffling, but he did not think much of it. The three of them had officially become students today.

At the academy entrance, after seeing off Dugu Bo and Xue Qinghe, Dugu Chen said to Dugu Yan, who was holding his arm, and Oscar beside them.

"Let's go. We'll take a look at the dormitories the academy arranged for us, then explore the academy properly. We should be living here for several years."

The two naturally had no objections. The three attracted plenty of attention along the way.

The news that three people had gotten in through the Crown Prince's back door had already spread throughout the academy. Although most of the others had also entered through the back door, whose backer could compare to the Crown Prince? Naturally, people pointed and whispered along the way.

A handsome man and beautiful women always attracted attention wherever they went. There was no need to mention Dugu Chen and Dugu Yan. As for Oscar's pretty face, he had only become more strikingly beautiful with age. Dugu Chen often felt that if talent on Douluo Continent were determined by looks, Oscar might be invincible under heaven.

Though the three did not care about the discussions around them, it inevitably ruined their mood.

The students of Heaven Dou Royal Academy were divided into three levels. Newly enrolled students and those below Rank 25 belonged to the first level, known as the Heavenly Micro Level. Those between Rank 25 and Rank 30 belonged to the second level, the Heavenly Supreme Level. Those above Rank 30 entered the highest level, the Heavenly Dou Level.

Dugu Chen took out the Heavenly Dou Level badge Meng Shenji had just given him and put it on. Dugu Yan and Oscar followed his example.