A few days later, at night.
Feng Xiaodi and Ozka changed back into their night clothes and went out to gather intelligence.
"After all these days, things have finally calmed down a little."
Ozka asked, "Are we going to Heaven Dou Royal Academy, Heaven Dou Imperial Palace, or Shrek Academy?"
"Shrek! Ye Lingling's doppelganger, Ye Lingling, isn't at Heaven Dou Academy. Heaven Dou Imperial Palace is under tight security because of Ning Fengzhi's affair. Besides, that huge empire doesn't even have a single Titled Douluo. There's no point gathering intelligence there. When the Immortal Court army arrives, we can just crush them with the Vanguard Battalion! Shrek is the only place worth our attention. We have to figure out why so many of Immortal Court's talented doppelgangers have gathered there!"
"Right, then Shrek it is! By the way, have you found out where Shrek is?"
"Don't worry, follow me. I even got hold of a map of Shrek Academy's grounds!"
They leaped over countless rooftops along the way and arrived at Shrek Academy.
"It's pretty big and impressive! Even the name 'Shrek' looks freshly carved!"
"Forget about that. It's still not as grand as our Xianting University! Let's hurry inside and take a look."
Once inside Shrek, they saw that the lights in many dormitories had already gone out. Ozka said, exasperated, "How can people their age sleep at a time like this? They're in their twenties, and their Soul Power Levels are only in the twenties or thirties. They ought to take a good look at themselves! None of them put any effort into cultivating. No wonder their cultivation is so low!"
"Ahem~~ Stop rambling. Let's go to the Shrek Inner Court dorms! Those are the people we're here for."
Outside Tang San's dormitory in the inner court.
Ozka said in surprise, "That should be Tang San, right? He actually dared to return to Shrek after getting slapped by the elder? What a guy! But I have to say, he's pretty hardworking. Everyone else is resting while he cultivates... Wait! Feng Xiaodi, take a closer look. He seems to be cultivating with an internal martial arts technique! That's not ordinary Soul Power meditation!"
Feng Xiaodi watched carefully for a little while, his face full of astonishment too. He lowered his voice. "How is that possible? It's neither the Dao Scripture nor the Yijin Jing! Douluo World No. 1 actually has Martial Path techniques too, though they're a little crude."
Ozka said gravely, "The elder was right. We can't afford to let our guard down! We must never underestimate anyone, especially when we're facing an entirely new world. Every world has its own potential and strengths. Douluo World No. 1 may not be as simple as it looks! Remember, even when a lion hunts a rabbit, it uses all its might!"
"Honestly, we're still too young compared to the elder... Shh, quiet!"
Suddenly, Feng Xiaodi quickly stopped Ozka, and the two of them slowly withdrew.
After they had retreated, Ozka said, still shaken, "As expected of the doppelganger of Tang Si, the Clear Sky Hammer clan's genius! His instincts are terrifying. We were more than thirty meters away, and he still sensed someone watching him! We almost got caught! The Breath Concealment Art was created by Emperor Qingtian. It can conceal every trace of our presence. Even a Titled Douluo wouldn't be able to detect us! That doppelganger of Tang Si has terrifying instincts!"
Feng Xiaodi nodded in agreement. "Yeah! I think I understand why Emperor Qingtian sent us here. Our mission isn't just to build the World-Crossing Gate! More importantly, it's to find doppelgangers like Tang San! I have a feeling that if we let him grow, he'll definitely get in the way of the Immortal Court conquering Douluo World No. 1!"
"Then should we eliminate Tang San right now?"
"Um... I don't think we need to. No matter what, Tang San is only at Soul Power Level thirty-something! He's just a talented youngster with some potential. Is the Immortal Court really going to be afraid of him? Let's not bother. 'Genius' is just another word for the weak!"
"Uh... we're geniuses too, so you just insulted yourself."
"I wasn't talking about us. Don't change the subject."
Feng Xiaodi rolled his eyes at Ozka and said, "Let's keep looking and see if we can find your doppelganger!"
"Sure!"
At the mention of his doppelganger, Ozka perked up.
As it happened, the dormitory next to Tang San's belonged to some of the other boys.
"Only one dormitory is still lit. Didn't they say Shrek Academy has four male inner court disciples? Why are only Tang San and someone else cultivating?"
Ozka furrowed his brow. "My doppelganger must be cultivating!"
Sure enough!
When Ozka and Feng Xiaodi reached the window of Oscar's dormitory, they saw someone who looked exactly like Ozka meditating on his Soul Power.
"Heh-heh~~ Looking at him, I'm pretty handsome, aren't I?"
"Quit showing off. Let's go look at the others. Ma Hongshuai was praised by Emperor Qingtian as someone with the potential to become a god! His doppelganger definitely won't be ordinary!"
Ozka said dismissively, "His dorm light's out. Someone that lazy could never measure up to Ma Hongshuai!"
"Maybe he forgot to turn the light on?"
Feng Xiaodi wasn't convinced. He wanted to see if Ma Hongshuai's doppelganger had forgotten to turn on the light while cultivating.
But!
There was no one in either of the two remaining dorm rooms!
"Were they called Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun? What are those two doing up so late instead of sleeping?"
"Who knows? Forget it. Let's go take a look at the girls' dorms. We can look for them after we get back."
The girls' and boys' dormitory areas were not far apart. They were just over ten meters apart, with not even a fence between them.
"Ozka, look! Isn't that Ning Rongrong, the mysterious girl your doppelganger likes? Looks like she's already asleep."
"That's her!"
Ozka nodded slightly and explained, "Three years ago, when I first entered Xianting University, I saw Ning Yuzhi take his daughter Ning Maomao to the school. It's just been too long, so I forgot what she looked like. That's why I didn't recognize her the last time we met. Ning Yuzhi's daughter Ning Maomao had decent talent. She broke through to Soul Ancestor at such a young age, but her Martial Soul's defect was never fixed!"
"Martial Soul defect? Hadn't Ning Yuzhi already fixed that? Did his daughter's Martial Soul mutate again? Degenerate again?"
Ozka explained, "Before Ning Maomao was born, Ning Yuzhi's Martial Soul was still the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda! It wasn't until after Ning Maomao was born that Ning Yuzhi evolved his Martial Soul into the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda."
"Oh~ All right. Ning Maomao sure was unlucky."
At that moment, Ning Rongrong tossed restlessly in bed and opened her eyes to look out the window.
Whoosh!
Feng Xiaodi and Ozka ducked down with a whoosh, patting their chests. "That was close!"
Ozka said, exasperated, "What time is it? Fine, she's not cultivating this late, but now she's got insomnia? How old is she, and she already has insomnia! Young people ought to lie down and fall right asleep."
"Ahem~~"
Feng Xiaodi coughed awkwardly to remind him. "Don't forget, her father was castrated by you not long ago. His wound is probably still scabbing over! How could she possibly sleep?"
At that, Ozka froze, the corner of his mouth twitching. "Damn! So my doppelganger's future father-in-law was castrated by me?"
"Shh~ Keep your voice down. Let's go!"
They came to Zhu Zhuqing's dormitory, where they saw her cultivating intently.
Ozka whispered, "I feel like her aura is pretty similar to the younger sister of Empress Zhu Zhuqin. I've met Zhu Zhuqin several times. She's a genius in the first year at Xianting University—and the campus belle!"
After watching for a little while, Feng Xiaotian shook his head. "Her aptitude's a little lacking. Her Soul Power Level hasn't even broken through thirty yet. She's nowhere near as good as Zhu Zhuqin!"
"All right, let's go look at the last Shrek inner court disciple."
As soon as they reached Xiao Wu's window, Feng Xiaodi furrowed his brow. "Something's not right."
"What's not right?"
"Mm..." Feng Xiaodi looked at Xiao Wu sleeping in bed, uncertain. "There's a trace of Soul Beast aura... Could she be a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast who underwent Soul Beast Transformation?"
Ozka laughed. "What are you talking about? Hunting Soul Beasts isn't illegal in Douluo World No. 1! Besides, a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast that undergoes transformation has no way to protect itself. Would someone called Xiao Wu dare show up in the human world...? Huh?"
Ozka suddenly let out a startled "Huh?" and continued with a furrowed brow, "I think I've seen her before! There's a maid in Empress Gu Yuna's residence. That maid accompanied the empress to Xianting University's graduation ceremony the year before last!"
Feng Xiaodi agreed. "Now that you mention it, I remember too! I graduated that year!"
"Whoa~" Ozka exclaimed in surprise. "So she really is a transformed Soul Beast! Empress Gu Yuna is the Silver Dragon King, a Soul Beast herself, so it makes perfect sense that her maid is a transformed Soul Beast too!"
Feng Xiaodi clicked his tongue. "This Xiao Wu really isn't afraid of dying. She actually dared to come to the human world! Did she think this place was our Immortal Court, where hunting Soul Beasts isn't illegal?"
Ozka thought for a moment, then suggested, "If someone kills her, and we go snatch her Soul Bone... would we be breaking the law?"
"Um... let's go back and ask Elder Dugu first. For now, we'd better not get any crooked ideas."
"Okay!"
"Come on, let's go! Let's take a look over there. Those should be the dorms for Shrek Academy's teachers."
"The professors here are called teachers... Holy crap!"
As soon as they reached the window of one dormitory, Ozka blurted it out. His eyes widened as he stared inside, his face turning red with embarrassment!
"What's wrong...? Holy crap!"
Feng Xiaodi followed Ozka's gaze and looked inside. He froze too, then stiffly raised his hand to cover Ozka's eyes so he couldn't see.
Ozka turned away and hid behind the wall, his face burning!
"Hey! Feng Xiaodi, you're still looking!"
"Ha... haha... ha..." Feng Xiaodi laughed awkwardly, slowly turned his gaze away, and hid behind the wall too.
"Well, Ozka, are you embarrassed? Don't tell me you're still a virgin?"
"You!"
Ozka's face flushed bright red.
Feng Xiaodi asked meaningfully, "She must be Liu Erfeng's doppelganger, Liu Erlong. They look almost exactly alike. Tell me, the Vanguard Battalion's chief instructor, Liu Erfeng, is such an overbearing hothead... does she know... that her doppelganger rewards herself in the dead of night?"
Neither of them had ever imagined they'd see something like this at Shrek Academy!
Just imagine it: the chief instructor who beat people up all day in the Vanguard Battalion, the hot-tempered chief instructor, secretly rewarding herself in another world... Unthinkable! Truly unthinkable!
Ozka shook his head. "She probably doesn't know... Otherwise, one Fire Dragon Roar could burn her doppelganger to death. Come on, let's go. Peeking is illegal!"
"I'll take one more look! That's Liu Erfeng! She's beaten me before... Hey~ Slow down, slow down! I want to take a picture!"
"Hurry up and go!"
Feng Xiaodi dragged Ozka away.
"Her whole image is ruined!"
After a long while, no longer embarrassed, Ozka shook his head in dismay. "The Vanguard Battalion's chief instructor's image is ruined! In the middle of the night, she was hiding in her room rewarding herself!"
Feng Xiaodi agreed. "That really was crazy! What a pity we didn't take a picture! Ozka, wait for me. I'm going back to take one with my Wristwatch! Liu Erfeng beat me up before. Damn it, she even broke my leg! I have to get my revenge."
"Heh~ Is that really what you're after? I'd be embarrassed to call you out, but don't make me report you for peeping!"
"All right, all right."
"Hurry up and keep up. Stop looking back every other step."
Before you continue