Enrollment, Meeting Zhu Lu

Two hours later.

Dai Huabin stood before a magnificent city.

Shrek City.

Located on the Lima Plain in the southeastern part of the Heaven Dou Empire, the city lacked the towering walls of a traditional fortress. Yet the oppressive aura that washed over him was stronger than that of any imperial capital.

It was also Dai Huabin's first time seeing this city with his own eyes.

Merchant caravans flowed endlessly along the broad avenues, and Soul Masters clad in all manner of clothing could be seen everywhere.

This was the center of Douluo Continent, the sacred hall every Soul Master yearned for.

As Dai Huabin walked down the street, taking in the grand buildings on either side and the faint air of superiority even on the faces of ordinary vendors, he felt something strange stirring within him.

"Independent of the four great empires, with its own armed forces, law enforcement authority, and even the power to interfere in national affairs..."

Dai Huabin passed through a massive statue plaza.

There stood the statues of the Shrek Seven Devils, with Sea God Tang San in the center, revered by countless people.

He stopped and looked up at the towering statues, a mocking curve appearing on his lips.

What kind of academy was this?

This was clearly a super empire wearing the skin of an academy!

The so-called "Inspection Group" traveled across the continent enforcing the law under the banner of punishing evil and promoting good. They did not need to abide by any nation's legal proceedings. If they called you an Evil Soul Master, then you were one—and your whole family could be wiped out.

How was that any different from Spirit Hall ten thousand years ago?

Oh, there was a difference.

Spirit Hall had pressured the two great empires, sent people to awaken Martial Souls for commoners, and even provided subsidies to low-level Soul Masters.

But what about Shrek?

These people monopolized the finest educational resources and charged exorbitant tuition fees. On one hand, they enjoyed tributes from the entire continent; on the other, they proclaimed themselves neutral.

The Star Dou Great Forest stretched across both the Star Luo Empire and the Heaven Soul Empire, yet with Shrek City planted here, it was like a nail driven deep into the empires' throats.

Especially for the Star Luo Empire, it was like having a ferocious tiger sleeping beside its bed.

"No wonder the three original Douluo nations were so helpless when the Sun Moon Empire invaded later."

Dai Huabin lowered the hood over his head and followed the crowd toward a district in the eastern part of the city.

Shrek's tyranny was regarded as perfectly natural in this era.

Everyone took pride in entering Shrek. Even members of the royal family had to keep their heads down here.

That kind of warped worship was truly astonishing.

Still, none of that had anything to do with Dai Huabin right now.

He had not come here to become some righteous champion, nor had he come to overthrow Shrek.

Dai Huabin had come to use the resources here to improve his strength, while also snatching a few of Huo Yuhao's opportunities and keeping his power from growing too quickly.

After all, once Huo Yuhao became stronger, Dai Huabin's own situation would become dangerous.

The eastern gate of Shrek Academy.

Beneath the enormous archway, newly arrived students and the parents seeing them off were packed together.

Avoiding the freshmen reporting in, Dai Huabin headed straight for the special admissions passage to the side.

Compared with the crowd next to it, this place was excessively quiet.

Behind a rosewood desk sat a senior student who looked to be in her early twenties. She idly spun a pen in her hand, and the green uniform she wore marked her as an Outer Academy student.

"Name. Letter of recommendation." The senior did not even raise her head, her tone lazy.

Dai Huabin did not waste words. Pinching a gilded special admission letter between his slender fingers, he gently placed it on the desk.

"Dai Huabin, White Tiger Duke Mansion."

Upon hearing those words, the senior's pen-spinning stopped. She raised her head, swept her gaze over Dai Huabin's young yet sharply defined face, then settled on his distinctive heterochromatic eyes.

Her previously slack posture straightened slightly.

"Someone from the White Tiger Duke Mansion..."

She muttered to herself, opened the letter, and gave it a quick scan. After confirming everything was in order, she retrieved a brass key and two sets of white uniforms from a drawer, pushing them toward him.

"This is your dormitory key and freshman uniforms. The dormitory is behind Sea God Lake, the white building."

"Thank you."

Dai Huabin accepted them, casually placed them into his storage ring, and turned to leave.

He did not feel much sentimentality.

To him now, Shrek Academy was more like an instance he had to clear.

He passed along the path beside Sea God Lake and around several teaching buildings. The view ahead suddenly opened up.

Quite a few students who had arrived early stood in small groups on the open ground below the Freshman Dormitory Building. Some chatted with one another, while others organized their luggage.

Dai Huabin stopped, his gaze sweeping through the crowd.

Almost instantly, he locked onto that figure.

It could not be helped. She was far too conspicuous.

Among the children still anxious about leaving home or dressed in colorful casual clothes, the girl in tight black leather stood out sharply.

That girl was Zhu Lu.

She stood alone beneath a large tree, her arms folded over her chest. Her long black hair fell over her shoulders, exposing a stretch of slender, fair neck.

(Using the manga design)

A trace of agitation filled her dark eyes as she repeatedly looked toward the academy gates.

A few boys who considered themselves handsome tried to approach and strike up a conversation, but before they got within three meters of her, the icy aura radiating from her drove them back.

As Dai Huabin looked at her, an indescribable emotion suddenly welled up in his heart.

In the original story, Zhu Lu might not have been particularly likable.

She was ruthless, willing to target Huo Yuhao for Dai Huabin and even break academy rules.

But from another perspective, the girl was so foolish it made one's heart ache.

No matter how recklessly the original Dai Huabin acted, how arrogant he was, how thoroughly he was beaten and humiliated, or even how he eventually lost his position, Zhu Lu had always remained by his side.

She was Dai Huabin's Martial Soul Fusion Skill partner, as well as his most loyal supporter.

Unfortunately, the original Dai Huabin had been an idiot. He had only treated her as the key to activating the Hell White Tiger and as a political link to the Nether Duke Mansion.

This life, I can't let you suffer any more grievances.

Dai Huabin composed himself, the corners of his lips lifting slightly as he strode toward her on long legs.

Zhu Lu was counting fallen leaves in her heart.

One thousand two hundred and thirty-one...

Why hasn't that bastard arrived yet?

He clearly said he would report in today.

Did he run into some trouble on the way?

Or does he simply not want to see me?

Just as her thoughts ran wild, a shadow suddenly fell over her.

Zhu Lu instinctively tensed, assuming yet another clueless fly had come to hit on her.

She abruptly looked up, ready to spit out the word "Scram," but it caught in her throat, refusing to come out.

Under the sunlight, the golden-haired boy was looking down at her.

Those heterochromatic eyes, usually filled with arrogance and coldness, now held a trace of a smile she had never seen before.