An Opportunity, Shrek's Move

"Master, judging by their route, they're expected to meet in the core area of the Spirit Ascension Platform."

Wu Zhangkong reported to Xie An.

Xie An took a closer look. Sure enough, although the seven hadn't all gathered together,

they were nevertheless heading deeper in unison, making their way toward the core area of the Spirit Ascension Platform.

"What Spirit Beast guards your Spirit Ascension Platform?"

Xie An turned to the staff member behind him.

"Reporting to you, Master, the guardian of this Primary Spirit Ascension Platform is a Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear."

"And because it's the rampage period, the Spirit Beasts' strength has increased substantially."

"I personally feel that your students may not be able to defeat the guardian."

Xie An nodded at that.

"Then let's wait and see."

The view shifted from the Spirit Pagoda to Shrek Academy.

At Shrek Academy, Cai Yue'er was lecturing several students she had recruited.

"There's only one month left until the Eastsea Alliance Grand Competition."

"Remember, you represent Shrek Academy."

"You carry Shrek's honor on your shoulders."

The young men and women, led by Wu Siduo, couldn't help but puff out their chests at her words.

Though the pressure was there, this honor was an even greater inspiration.

"Among you, only Wu Siduo has currently broken through to the four-ring level."

"The rest of you are still at the three-ring level."

"To give you a better chance of winning, the academy has specially applied for some resources for you."

"If there are any special resources you want, you can ask for them now."

No one spoke. Their eyes were filled with confidence.

They were certain that, as members of the Genius Youth Ranking, there were very few of their peers who could defeat them—though they couldn't say there were none at all.

Cai Yue'er was very pleased with the students' spirits.

She took a crystal bottle from her robe. A little less than half of it was filled with green liquid.

"This is some of the finest sap collected from the Golden Ancient Tree each year."

"It's also a reward the academy is advancing to you in anticipation of your victory."

"There's enough for each of you to use two drops."

"Make good use of it."

With that, she handed the little crystal bottle to Wu Siduo.

"You're the strongest one here, and the captain of this team, so you can distribute it."

Wu Siduo reached out to take it, her eyes burning with excitement. She placed one hand over her chest.

"I'll lead everyone through every obstacle for Shrek and carry on Shrek's glory."

Cai Yue'er nodded in satisfaction.

"Distribute the resources among yourselves. I'll leave you to it."

With that, Cai Yue'er disappeared.

The young men and women left behind quickly surrounded Wu Siduo, discussing how to divide the resources.

Cai Yue'er appeared again in front of Long Yeyue's room.

"Elder Long, I've distributed the resources to the children. I believe they'll make good use of them."

Long Yeyue emerged from the room, her hunched figure nodding.

"Now, contact the person in charge at the Tang Sect again."

"Have them stir things up again."

Cai Yue'er hesitated before replying, "Elder Long, is that really a good idea? Won't the pressure be too much for the students?"

"Hmph. You still don't understand the heart of Shrek's spirit."

Long Yeyue snorted.

"Anyone who can enter Shrek can be called a monster."

"In recent years, Shrek's development has reached a bottleneck."

"A thousand years ago, Ming City Academy wanted to challenge Shrek's authority."

"Back then, Spirit Ice Douluo took part in the Youth Spirit Master Tournament and led his companions to win twice against stronger opponents."

"That was what reaffirmed Shrek's place as the continent's number one and crushed Ming City Academy's ambitions."

"That history is recorded in the school's history books. Have you forgotten?"

"And now, the Federation wants to test Shrek again."

"Shrek must strike back with the force of a thunderbolt."

"We'll make the Federation submit—even bring it to its knees."

"Let the world know what Shrek means."

"And besides, perhaps Shrek can use this opportunity to break through once more."

A feverish determination flashed in Long Yeyue's eyes.

Cai Yue'er nodded, indicating she understood.

"I'll notify the Tang Sect now and have them report on this."

Inside the Spirit Ascension Platform, Tang Wulin and the others had gathered in the core area and were continuing farther in.

The deeper they went, the fewer bird and beast calls they heard.

Even the Spirit Beasts along the way had become extremely scarce.

"Gu Yue, where are we?"

Tang Wulin asked Gu Yue.

If Long Yue had been there, he would naturally have asked the question.

But Long Yue wasn't there, so the question fell to Tang Wulin, the team's second-in-command.

Although Tang Wulin wasn't among the strongest members of the team,

his control and the boost provided by Blue Silver Grass,

along with support from Na'er and Gu Yue,

made him the team's core figure after Long Yue.

Gu Yue had originally come from the Spirit Pagoda, so she answered Tang Wulin's question without hesitation.

"If I'm not mistaken, we've reached the boundary between the Primary Spirit Ascension Platform and the Intermediate Spirit Ascension Platform."

"The Spirit Ascension Platforms are all connected to one another."

"Just like the outer and inner areas of the Star Dou Forest."

"You can pass through if you go deep enough."

"But there's one difference: the boundary between Spirit Ascension Platforms is guarded by a powerful Spirit Beast."

At Gu Yue's answer, Tang Wulin sent his Blue Silver Grass spreading out from his hands.

Vines wrapped around the group, linking them together.

"Everyone, stay alert. Don't let your guard down."

Outside the Spirit Ascension Platform, Xie An watched Tang Wulin's actions and nodded in satisfaction.

He really was worthy of being the protagonist of the Douluo series: the one with the worst innate talent, who ultimately rose to prominence with the least help from external forces.

Just as he was about to keep watching the group, his secretary stepped forward and interrupted him.

"Master, a message from the Federation Council Chairman."

Xie An glanced at it. An invisible Soul Power barrier cut off the staff behind him, and only then did he answer the call.

"Council Chairman, what do you need?"

The Federation Council Chairman's voice came through, somewhat grave.

"Take a look at the files I sent you first."

Xie An opened the information feed, puzzled.

A huge headline appeared at the top of the file.

<Shrek Academy's Expedition to Eastsea: Carrying on a Thousand Years of Glory>

<Shocking! A Tiny Eastsea City Is Actually Lucky Enough to Have Shrek Compete>

<A Dispute Between Shrek and the War God Temple Master: Foolhardy Presumption or Arrogance?>

The farther down the list of articles he went, the more outrageous they became.

"Who did this?"

Xie An furrowed his brow slightly and asked, puzzled.

"The Tang Sect did it. The Federation has already tried to talk to them."

"But it's had little effect."

By this point, the Federation Council Chairman's voice had grown somewhat angry.

"You're the War God Temple Master, and you're the one who led this operation. You decide what to do."

The Federation Council Chairman quickly regained his composure and spoke gravely.

"Raise the stakes."

"Keep building up Shrek Academy."

"Have our people stir up publicity for Shrek too."

Xie An spoke, his words icy.