The Sixth Day of a Rich Second-Gen

Facts proved that even the king of grinders needed rest.

On her first visit to Calais City, Ming Sui did not rest any extra because of the journey. Instead, she followed behind her parents to scout things out. It was their new home, after all—she had to familiarize herself with the surroundings before throwing herself into cultivation. Besides, when she had left the Heaven Dou Imperial City, Ning Rongrong had repeatedly reminded her not to forget her if she encountered anything novel or fun. Other than hunting soul rings and traveling, they had done nothing else along the way. Now that they were settled, she could finally share things with her. But could she correspond with Ning Rongrong now? She would ask her parents first.

Having decided to ask Ming Zhen and Tang Yunhua whether she could communicate by letter, Ming Sui stopped dwelling on it. Their family arrived at the banks of the Goddess River. It was said that long, long ago, a goddess had bestowed her blessings upon Douluo Continent here, hence the name.

This mother river of Calais City originated in the snowy mountains of the western regions. It wound its way to Calais City before flowing into the sea within its territory. Many villages depended on the Goddess River to thrive, and the delta at its mouth was home to many unique soul beasts not found in the Heaven Dou Great Forest. The place was truly rich in resources.

The section of the Goddess River near the Calais City Main City had become a leisure area. Many pavilions and towers had been built for sightseeing, while farmers from nearby towns and villages came to set up stalls, creating a one-stop strip for food, drink, and entertainment. Ming Sui, a little country bumpkin who had not properly gone shopping in years, was thoroughly tempted. She hurriedly dragged Tang Yunhua off to browse and play, leaving Ming Zhen alone upstairs.

Why had Ming Zhen not gone with them? The answer was that he was conducting interviews.

In this world where strength reigned supreme, Ming Zhen and Tang Yunhua worried most about their precious daughter's survival. With no constraints of law, no bottom line of morality, and no unified order, overwhelming strength was the only correct answer for surviving—and living with dignity. Though they were also trying to change this continent, that would take time.

After Ming Sui successfully awakened her rare martial soul, her cultivation became Ming Zhen and Tang Yunhua's greatest concern. Especially after arriving in Calais City, the couple would be busy with military and political affairs and could no longer keep watch over Ming Sui's cultivation at every moment. That was why they had posted recruitment notices before even arriving in Calais City. Before this, Ming Zhen had already met several groups of Spirit Masters seeking the position, but unfortunately, none had met his standards.

Flender was uneasy. After hearing Ma Hongjun's mother recount her experiences in Calais, his emotions had surged. He barely waited until Ma Hongjun finished cultivating and helped him straighten out his Soul Power before hurriedly returning to their shabby academy. After discussing things with his few simple companions, he decided to come to Calais City first to find out what was going on, then return to discuss their future path. He immediately released his martial soul and rushed toward Calais City, not even bothering to deal with the two students eavesdropping outside.

Upon reaching Calais City and registering at the City Lord's Mansion, he was soon notified that he could meet the City Lord. Flender felt joy and sorrow in equal measure. He was pleased that the City Lord took this seriously enough, but dismayed because the Soul Power fluctuations of the guard leading him surpassed his own. The man appeared to be a Spirit Douluo. Did a Soul Sage like him still have any competitive edge?

The History of Shrek Academy recorded that the first meeting between founding principal Flender and the lifelong honorary principal and honorary elder, the Calais City Lord, had been constructive. The two reached a preliminary consensus on their educational philosophies, with tangible results.

In reality, when Ming Zhen and Tang Yunhua had traveled the continent years ago, they had happened to help Flender and his companions, who were also traveling. Flender, captivated by Tang Yunhua's violent aesthetic, had also remembered the other kind-hearted person, Ming Zhen, and successfully struck up a friendship.

Ming Zhen was not unfamiliar with Flender either. Flender the Four-eyed Owl of the Golden Iron Triangle—the other two were Yu Xiaogang of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan and Liu Erlong. He and Tang Yunhua had even shipped those two before, but for certain reasons, that ship had sunk.

The couple could no longer be shipped, but meeting Four-eyed Owl Flender still made catching up possible.

Flender candidly explained the predicament facing Shrek Academy to Ming Zhen. Although their teaching staff consisted entirely of High-level Spirit Masters, they could not survive under the interference of Suotuo City's nobles.

"Then do you want to become a private tutor for the City Lord's Mansion, or reopen Shrek in Calais City?" Ming Zhen took a sip of tea after listening.

Flender remained silent for a long time. "I know this is presumptuous, Your Excellency, but I still want to continue pursuing my dream—teaching monsters."

A hint of a smile flashed across Ming Zhen's face. Teaching monsters was good. His little Sui was a typical Shrek Seven Devil, after all. He had been worrying that Ming Sui would have no companions during her formative years. Fighting alone was a skill every Spirit Master needed, but Spirit Masters did not have to fight alone.

"Are you sure, Flender? The pay for a private tutor at the City Lord's Mansion is quite generous. It is one thousand Gold Soul Coins a month." Ming Zhen tempted him.

Flender firmly refused.

Ming Zhen grew serious. "Calais City happens to lack a Spirit Master School. Flender, I know the principles of your Shrek Academy. Given your resolve, I can offer you two choices. One is to cooperate with Calais City. Your academy will bear the Calais City name. You know Calais City's current standing on the continent, and I can guarantee that Shrek Academy will receive support sufficient to satisfy you. The second choice is to move your academy to Calais City. Everything else will remain as before, and you will support yourselves. You may return and discuss it with your companions. Of course, whether you choose the first option or the second, my daughter will need to cultivate at your academy until she obtains her third soul ring. Consider it temporary enrollment."

Ming Zhen had made himself very clear, and Flender knew this was respect for him. He stood, bowed to Ming Zhen, and withdrew.

At Shrek Academy, its only two students, Ma Hongjun and Oscar—the very pair of crouching dragons and young phoenixes who had been eavesdropping earlier—had been brutally drilled by Vice Principal Zhao Wuji. They now lay in the training ground, chatting halfheartedly.

"Are you going to Calais City with your family?" Oscar was reluctant to part with his little companion. He was an orphan picked up by the teachers, and aside from Ma Hongjun, he truly had no friends his age.

"The teachers are here, but it sounded like Teacher wants to go to Calais City too." Ma Hongjun painfully rolled over. Teacher Zhao had hit far too hard.

In an instant, the two began denouncing Zhao Wuji, and Oscar crumpled up his melancholy feelings of parting and tossed them away.

Inside the civilian house serving as their office, several teachers sat in a circle. The largest and most powerfully built was Vice Principal Zhao Wuji, whose martial soul was the Great Strength Vajra Bear; he was a level-sixty-four Soul Emperor. The oldest was Lu Qibin, whose martial soul was Star Luo Chess; he was a level-sixty-five Soul Emperor. Slightly younger was Li Yusong, whose martial soul was the Dragon Pattern Stick; he was a level-sixty-one Soul Emperor. The youngest was Shao Xin, a Food System Spirit Master whose martial soul was Candy Bean, and he had just obtained his seventh soul ring.

For the past few days, they had gathered every day for meetings, though they had not managed to come up with much.

"Flender should have registered by now, right?" Zhao Wuji said gloomily.

"It is already afternoon. There has been enough time for a round trip," Shao Xin calculated.

The sound of rushing wind came from outside, and the sharp-eared Spirit Masters sensed Flender's Soul Power fluctuations.

So fast!

With a whoosh, Flender swept into the room. "We have a major problem now, fellows." Flender's eyes were full of excitement. "We have two choices."

Leaving aside how the people of Shrek discussed and made their choice, Tang Yunhua, who was sightseeing downstairs, had indeed received an enormous surprise.

Among the goods sold by a small peddler, she discovered a knife. What made this knife special was that it bore traces of being forged with the Clear Sky Sect's Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer.

As everyone knew, all Clear Sky Sect disciples remained within the sect, apart from Tang Hao, who had severely wounded the former Pope Qian Xunji years ago.

Tang Yunhua suppressed her excitement and coaxed information out of the peddler. After much circling around, she learned that the knife came from Holy Spirit Village in Nuoding City, Fasno Province, of the neighboring Heaven Dou Empire. Suotuo City lay between here and there.

Upon learning the location, Tang Yunhua was momentarily speechless. She had not expected things to narrow down so precisely.

The peddler was still chatting away enthusiastically beside her. "Nuoding City never used to have any great blacksmiths. This blade is really something—damn useful, damn sharp. Next time, I am going back to that blacksmith to place a custom order."

"Hey, all those people elsewhere do not know good stuff when they see it. They thought even twenty Silver Spirit Coins was too expensive. Good thing I kept holding back and did not raise the price. Otherwise, how would I have met someone like you? You really know your stuff..."

Tang Yunhua could no longer listen. She had always been calm, steady, and meticulous. She should have wrapped things up properly with the peddler before setting out for Holy Spirit Village to investigate the knife.

But this was the only trace of her brother in all these years.

She and Ming Zhen had already missed him once. Were they going to miss him again?

Seeing her mother distracted, Ming Sui took the initiative to chat with the peddler and ask about Holy Spirit Village. The peddler was also a frequent visitor there. Seeing that the wealthy customer footing the bill was interested, he became even more talkative.

"They say their village once produced a Soul Sage, which is why it is called Holy Spirit Village."

"We peddlers roam from street to street. Going anywhere is the same to us. Their village chief is quite a good man, so we are happy to go there."

"Ah, next time I make some money, I need to stock up on more malt liquor. That taste is just incredible. Nothing beats having a good drink with dinner when you get home at night."

A few hours later, Ming Zhen and Tang Yunhua set out for Holy Spirit Village with Ming Sui.

Two Titled Douluo sped along with her in tow. There was no carriage and no protection; Tang Yunhua tucked Ming Sui under her arm and simply started running. The wind buffeted Ming Sui so hard that she began questioning her entire life. This was a Titled Douluo?

Yes, this was a Titled Douluo. They entered the Heaven Dou Empire again, passed through Suotuo City, and headed toward Nuoding City. Only a few hours passed before, while the sky had not yet fully darkened, a small city appeared before Ming Sui's eyes. They had arrived at Nuoding City.

Perhaps the closer they got to home, the more timid they became. Ming Zhen and Tang Yunhua did not strike while the iron was hot and head to Holy Spirit Village. Instead, they found an inn to rest briefly. But Ming Sui knew that her father and mother were anything but calm. The more they suppressed themselves, the more excited they were. She could not help becoming curious about the second uncle she had never met.

At Nuoding Spirit Master Academy, Master also received an urgent letter. Its contents left him somewhat hesitant.