No Teacherly Virtue—Only Dogs Would Go to Shrek

Mysterious Underworld Sect, main sect hall.

The middle-aged man seated at the head of the hall wore an expression as dark as water.

In all his years since inheriting the position of sect master, this was the first time anyone had dared defy him.

"Xu Tinglan!"

"Don't you know that Shrek is the continent's number one Soul Master Academy? And you actually chose to refuse!"

Fury burned in his eyes.

Some time ago, Xu Bingtian, the Mysterious Underworld Sect Master, had written two letters of recommendation.

Yet he had never expected his own nephew to be unwilling to join Shrek.

"I'll give you one more chance. Pack your things obediently and head to Shrek with Sanshi!"

The youth standing below the platform wore a luxurious black robe and looked to be around twelve years old.

Xu Tinglan cupped his fists, his expression respectful.

"Uncle, I don't want to go to Shrek."

The youth's voice echoed through the hall.

A stifling atmosphere filled the air.

The imposing man's eyes flared wide with rage.

Shrek stood as the continent's foremost sect and possessed a history spanning over ten thousand years.

Countless students wished to join Shrek, yet lacked a letter of recommendation.

As a reclusive sect with peerless alchemy skills, the Mysterious Underworld Sect was only entitled to two recommendation letters each year.

He could not understand it.

Why did his nephew not want to go?

Could it be that Innate Full Soul Power was enough to make him arrogant?

If that was the case, then he was looking down far too much on the other gifted Soul Masters of the world.

"Heh?"

Xu Bingtian leaned against the Black Tortoise Throne. His face had already turned faintly livid, though he barely restrained his patience.

"Tell me. Why don't you want to go?"

Xu Tinglan raised his head and calmly met his uncle's gaze.

"To learn Shrek's core knowledge, one must become an Inner Court disciple. And the prerequisite for becoming an Inner Court disciple is joining the Shrek Supervisory Corps."

He recalled the information he knew.

"But the Inspector Group's casualty rate has always remained high. Even among the Shrek Seven Devils, the death rate is still not low..."

"Enough!"

With a sweep of his sleeve, the Mysterious Underworld Sect Master immediately cut Xu Tinglan off.

His voice carried barely suppressed fury.

"I never thought you would be such a coward who fears death!"

"If outsiders heard those words, wouldn't you disgrace the spirits of your parents in heaven?"

His voice thundered through the hall.

After being reprimanded, Xu Tinglan's chest rose and fell sharply.

"So that's why my cousin doesn't want to join Shrek."

Xu Sanshi muttered, "From that perspective, you're not even as good as me."

The sect master shot him a cold glance.

"Who gave you the right to interrupt? Get out of the hall!"

After being scolded by his father, Xu Sanshi immediately shrank his head and turned to jog away without hesitation.

Only the two of them remained in the hall.

Once the hall had fallen silent, Xu Tinglan finally had the chance to continue explaining.

"Uncle, I will not disgrace my parents!"

"I'm not afraid of death. I just don't want to die pointlessly because of orders from foolish higher-ups!"

The Mysterious Underworld Sect Master's face darkened at those words.

The youth took a deep breath, and his expression became resolute.

"Please hear me out."

"Even with soul tool technology having developed to this point, Shrek Academy still does not allow Inspector Group students to use combat soul tools!"

"If they could use offensive, defensive, and scouting soul tools, wouldn't that reduce casualties and greatly increase the students' chances of survival?"

"But for the sake of so-called honor and tradition, Shrek actually disregards its students' lives."

"An academy with no teacherly virtue is not worth joining!"

Xu Tinglan raised his head and faced his uncle directly.

His voice was neither servile nor overbearing, and there was not the slightest hint of fear in his words.

The Mysterious Underworld Sect Master slowly rose to his feet.

The lamplight stretched his shadow long and long, his tall, powerful outline like the shadow cast by a mountain range.

The pressure he exuded was immense.

He remained silent for a moment before finally speaking.

"Shrek's dean cannot be wrong, and neither can I."

"Fear of death is human nature. You need not say another word."

Xu Tinglan shouted, "Must unnecessary sacrifices be used to prove courage?"

The veins on the Mysterious Underworld Sect Master's forehead throbbed.

Unable to answer him directly, he instead roared in rebuke.

"You merely have Innate Full Soul Power, yet you lack even the slightest reverence. What right do you have to question Shrek?"

"Do you know that there are always greater people beyond you and greater heavens beyond the sky? Above you, there are even twin martial souls and ultimate martial souls!"

Xu Tinglan looked innocently bewildered.

He looked up at his uncle.

"What does the Mysterious Underworld Turtle not being an ultimate attribute have to do with me? Could it be that our ancestors once produced someone with ultimate water?"

The Mysterious Underworld Sect Master's eyes turned crimson, and he panted like a bull.

"I told you to be humble. What kind of attitude is this?"

The middle-aged man took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing his anger. He turned his back on the youth.

"It is fine if you do not join Shrek. In the future, Xu Sanshi will surely surpass you and leave you farther and farther behind."

"You ignorant brat."

He waved a hand.

"Get lost. I can't be bothered to waste words on you."

Xu Tinglan said nothing more and stormed out of the sect hall.

Honestly, was there even the slightest problem with what he had said?

Yet his uncle only knew how to suppress him with status and cultivation, calling him cowardly and ignorant.

Xu Tinglan's breathing grew rapid.

One day, he would prove who was right and who was wrong.

You expect your son to surpass me after being taught by those fools at Shrek?

I will shatter your delusions.

The youth strode quickly along the path.

This had been the most stifling day since he had transmigrated to Douluo Continent.

He had originally been rather happy to learn that he was a member of the Mysterious Underworld Sect.

After all, the Mysterious Underworld Turtle possessed dual earth and water attributes. It was a top-tier defensive martial soul, no less impressive than the Radiant Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon.

It possessed the dual nature of both beast martial souls and tool martial souls.

The martial soul itself could even undergo a second awakening, so its strength was certainly not low.

But today,

his uncle had actually berated him harshly just because he did not want to join Shrek.

He had even told him to get lost!

The more the youth thought about it, the worse he felt.

On Douluo Continent, Shrek Academy truly was the number one academy.

It had students from across the entire continent, while the Golden Ancient Tree contained a simulated cultivation environment for core Inner Court disciples.

But with its complacent attitude, if not for Huo Gua's outrageous antics, Sun Moon Academy and the Body Sect would sooner or later surpass Shrek.

What was more, most of Shrek's Pavilion Elders treated Inner Court disciples as expendable materials for competing over honor.

With higher-ups who did not treat people like people, only dogs would be willing to join.

Compared with Shrek, he had long since formed his own plan.

He returned to his residence.

Without the slightest hesitation, Xu Tinglan quickly packed a travel bundle.

His uncle's words still echoed in his ears, and it felt as though a lump of mud were clogging his chest.

Fine, I'll get lost. If I stay even one more day, then I'm a damned turtle!

He placed two Black Tortoise Divine Pills into his Storage Ring.

His parents had left them for him before they died.

A Black Tortoise Divine Pill could only be taken once in a lifetime. They had been meant for him and his future wife to use for their second awakenings and to improve their physical condition.

They were his parents' belongings, so naturally he had to take them.

Though the pills were precious, compared to the contributions his parents had made to the sect over so many years, they were not worth mentioning.

Before his parents' memorial portraits, the youth bowed deeply and remained kneeling.

When he finally rose, his eyes were red as he left a letter on the incense table.

The handwriting on the envelope was clear, the ink still wet.

It read:

"My child vows to leave his homeland. Until he achieves renown through learning, he swears never to return!"

On the day he returned,

he, Xu Tinglan, would become the first sect master of the Black Tortoise Sect!