Thrown Out of Shrek Academy

Wait, how much had the Red-Robed Cardinal just said? An 82% reduction to all attributes? A child's domain?

"Pope, he's messing with you!"

A Black-Robed Cardinal strode over. He had been waiting for a chance to rise in the ranks for a long time, and now he had an opportunity to bring down the Red-Robed Cardinal. There was no way he'd let it slip by.

The Red-Robed Cardinal saw who had arrived and snorted.

"I'm discussing a matter with His Holiness the Pope. It's not your place to butt in!"

The Black-Robed Cardinal strode past him, brushing shoulders with the Red-Robed Cardinal as if he didn't even exist.

"I'm here to be rewarded for my achievements. I'm not like some useless fool who led ten thousand Soul Masters and still couldn't take down the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect!"

As he spoke, the Black-Robed Cardinal took three Soul Bones from his Soul Tool.

When Bibi Dong saw the three Soul Bones, she smiled knowingly. This Black-Robed Cardinal certainly knew how to make himself useful.

The Red-Robed Cardinal fell silent. His position was as good as lost. He had no achievements to satisfy Bibi Dong, nor any rich spoils of war to offer her.

All he had were cold casualty figures and unpaid medical bills.

Without Bibi Dong needing to say another word, the Red-Robed Cardinal took the Pontiff Order from his robes and left. He didn't want to offer any excuses. If Bibi Dong wanted to know the details, she could ask Spirit Kite Douluo and the others.

"From now on, you are Spirit Hall's new Red-Robed Cardinal!"

The Pontiff Order flew toward the Black-Robed Cardinal, who caught it and bowed.

"Thank you, Your Holiness!"

"You've earned it! During this operation, your Red-Robed Cardinal was killed by Yu Yuanzhen, leaving the position vacant. Given your performance, Spirit Hall will help you reach the Soul Douluo realm, befitting your new rank."

The Black-Robed Cardinal was overcome with excitement. He had been stuck at the Soul Saint level for twenty years. Now that he had a chance to break through, he felt that all his hard work had finally paid off.

"Bring Elder Spirit Kite here. I want to know the truth about Li Tianyi!"

"Yes!"

The Black-Robed Cardinal disappeared at once. A moment later, a one-armed woman stepped forward. Her complexion was nowhere near as rosy as before.

"Elder Spirit Kite pays her respects to Your Holiness!"

Bibi Dong narrowed her eyes and looked at Spirit Kite Douluo's severed arm. The bleeding had stopped and the wound had been bandaged, but her strength had clearly fallen by a level, leaving her barely at level 90.

"Tell me what happened."

Bibi Dong's expression was grave. She knew something about Chen Xin and Gu Rong's strength. To be safe, she had sent four elders from Spirit Hall.

She was deeply dissatisfied with the outcome and couldn't understand it. Even with the advantage on her side, she had still suffered such a crushing defeat.

"Your Holiness, the Red-Robed Cardinal's account was true! What's more, his domain can drag people into an illusion for a short time. Soul Kings and even Soul Emperors can remain trapped for a long time, until they fall beneath that boy's sword!"

Bibi Dong was stunned. Those words had come from a Titled Douluo. That meant the terrifying degree of the weakening within Li Tianyi's domain was real!

"Could such a monster really exist?"

Bibi Dong could hardly believe it, but the facts were right before her. The deaths of nine thousand Soul Masters, Spirit Kite Douluo's severed arm, and Bone Armor Douluo's death left her no choice but to believe it.

If she couldn't bring him into Spirit Hall, it would have a huge impact on her plans for the future.

Realizing how serious the matter was, Bibi Dong immediately gave an order.

"Pass this down: summon all the elders for a meeting at once! Either this boy will serve me, or he'll join Yu Yuanzhen in the grave!"

Heaven Dou City, Shrek Academy.

Liu Erlong and Yu Xiaogang had decided to spare Ling Chen for now and had already left. Flender had arranged for Ling Chen to stay in one of the academy's dormitories.

From his conversation with Golden Dragon, Ling Chen learned that when he stacked his First Martial Soul's rings, his attributes would increase. The distance his clones could travel, how long they could last, and the Soul Power they consumed would all change accordingly.

Also, the new Martial Soul he condensed depended on the original owner of the Martial Soul he had taken. The more of the original owner's Martial Soul Origin remained, the closer the new Martial Soul would be to theirs.

As for his Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul, its level after awakening wasn't linked to his First Martial Soul. In other words, he couldn't do what someone with Twin Martial Souls could—raise the level of their First Martial Soul, then fill their Second Martial Soul with ten-thousand-year rings.

This didn't affect Ling Chen much. He could stack rings, after all, and ensure that both Martial Souls' rings reached their maximum limit.

The only troublesome part was that he'd have to start cultivating his Second Martial Soul all over again. Now that the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan had been wiped out, if Ling Chen went to awaken his Second Martial Soul, he'd never be able to clear his name, even if he jumped into the Yellow River.

The Shrek Academy students passing by stared curiously at the little boy moving into the dormitory.

"Huh? Since when did Shrek start accepting children?"

"Who knows? I thought you had to pass a test. With a little body like that, could he even get past Teacher Zhao Wuji?"

"No way! When I faced Teacher Zhao alone, his gravity had me pinned so hard I couldn't even lift my head. If you're saying this kid got into Shrek, tsk, the only way is if he has connections!"

Ling Chen ignored their comments. He was only here to stay for a while.

At that moment, Zhao Wuji was standing outside the dormitory when he spotted Ling Chen's unfamiliar face and grew suspicious. He didn't remember a Soul Master this young passing his test.

"Stop! What brat snuck in here?"

Zhao Wuji didn't know that this was the very Li Tianyi Yu Xiaogang and the others often talked about. He assumed he was some Soul Master's relative.

Ling Chen looked at Zhao Wuji's short but sturdy build and recognized him immediately.

"Teacher Zhao, I'm not some stray kid who snuck in. Dean Flender told me I could stay here for a while."

"Oh?"

Zhao Wuji circled Ling Chen twice, then pointed at the dormitory building behind him.

"He told you to stay here?"

Ling Chen nodded. According to Dean Flender, he was supposed to stay in the smaller dormitory building. The one Zhao Wuji was pointing at was the right one.

Zhao Wuji couldn't help but sneer. He grabbed Ling Chen with one hand and lifted him up.

"Couldn't you come up with a better lie? This is the teachers' dormitory. Since when does a little brat like you get to stay here?"

Ling Chen struggled to break free from Zhao Wuji's grip, but he couldn't get any leverage in the air.

"I'm not lying, Teacher Zhao! Dean Flender really told me to come!"

Zhao Wuji dug a finger into his ear, looking impatient.

"Kids these days refuse to behave and insist on learning to lie. You need a spanking!"

"Smack! Smack! Smack!"

Zhao Wuji's merciless iron palm slapped Ling Chen's bottom. The pain made him grimace, and tears nearly spilled from his eyes.

"I'm warning you: if you try to swindle people again, next time you'll get more than three smacks!"

As he spoke, Zhao Wuji carried Ling Chen to the gates of Shrek Academy like a little chick and tossed him outside.

Zhao Wuji brushed the dust from his hands and closed the gates.

In the distance, Huo Wu and Feng Xiaotian watched, stunned.

"Was that... Teacher Zhao Wuji?"