Inner Court Battle

"Jin Sheng, Yu Hao is also a freshman in your class. When you register together, help him out if you can."

After some hesitation, Ning Que decided to entrust the matter to the more dependable Jin Sheng.

On the way back, he had deliberately led the group to linger for a day or two, wanting to conduct an experiment and see just how far God King Tang's control over the Douluo Continent extended.

As for Huo Yuhao, Ning Que did have some intention of befriending him. There were benefits to be gained from it.

But there was absolutely no need to recruit him.

Still, Ning Que firmly kept one principle in mind: he could not stand out too much, nor could he go all in.

Ten thousand years ago, Ning Fengzhi had been too conspicuous and chosen to go all in, which was why he had ended up like that.

Had he profited?

As a father, he had profited enormously. His daughter and son-in-law had become legendary gods.

But as a sect master, he had lost everything.

Ninety percent of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's disciples had perished, two Title Douluo had fallen, and only a handful of people remained, along with him, a sect master in name only.

Most infuriatingly, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's wealth, accumulated over thousands of years, had been seized by Spirit Hall. After their eventual victory, not only had he been unqualified to sit at the table where the spoils were divided, but even what had originally belonged to them had been swallowed up by the Clear Sky Sect, Shrek Academy, and the Four Single-Attribute Clans.

The sect's records clearly stated that Ning Fengzhi had been filled with regret in his old age, drinking himself into a stupor for long periods.

Fortunately, he had not forgotten his responsibilities.

After the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect declined, he had traveled everywhere, constantly using the special nature of his martial soul to seek treasures, rebuild the sect's assets, and recruit powerful Soul Masters once more.

Therefore, Ning Que knew very clearly where his bottom line lay.

He would not use the sect's foundation or core resources for the God-Making Project. He would only allow them to provide assistance for growth.

It was not because he was some slave to the sect. Rather, he and Guyi had been able to live safely and happily until now only because of the sect's protection.

He would not necessarily devote his entire life to the sect, but at the very least, he would not drag it into an endless abyss because of himself.

Perhaps one day in the future, he would sever all ties with the sect entirely.

Besides that, the Nine Treasures Glazed Sect had already begun dividing up and transferring its people internally, preserving continuations of its bloodline. Everything was for their plan.

"Boss, don't worry. With me here, no one will be able to bully Yu Hao."

Jin Sheng made the promise with absolute confidence.

And honestly, among this year's freshmen, he truly had the strength and standing to say such a thing.

Then the group took the little ones to register.

After registration, Ning Que took his sister around to familiarize her with the school grounds before returning to the inner court with Ye Guyi.

If he did not still have some loose ends to tie up, he genuinely would not have wanted to return to this damned inner court.

He enjoyed few benefits, yet had to fulfill all sorts of obligations.

They were forced to join the Shrek Inspection Team, and before graduation, they had to complete thirty extremely difficult inspection missions within three years.

From time to time, they also had to participate in inner court contests—individual battles and team battles.

They claimed it was for Title Douluo to guide their cultivation, but which of Xuan Zi or Yan Shaozhe was actually capable of guiding others in cultivation?

As for Mu En personally teaching them, forget it. Ning Que had already been in the inner court for three full years, yet he had never seen Mu En guide anyone's cultivation.

Fortunately, he had joined the Soul Guidance Department, so he did not need to frequently participate in those so-called individual battles.

But he still had to take part in both team battles and inspection missions.

Sure enough, not long after he returned to the inner court, Wu Ming, an inner court senior known as the Golden Crow Saintess, came to inform him that the biweekly team battle was about to begin.

"Fine. I'll be there shortly."

Ning Que did not try to ingratiate himself with this senior whom the inner court called the Golden Crow Saintess.

Someone like her, steeped to the bone in Shrek glory, could never be recruited. Ning Que rarely bothered with meaningless diplomacy.

When he had first arrived at Shrek Academy, he had also protested to Qian Duoduo, the dean of the Soul Guidance Department. As Soul Engineers, how could they possibly have so much time every day to battle those people? But it had been useless.

So he simply went with the flow.

After tidying himself up, Ning Que changed into Shrek Academy's uniform and headed for the inner court's Soul Battle Arena.

He had not delayed, yet he was still the last to arrive.

These people were practically pumped full of adrenaline every day, especially whenever Shrek's glory was involved. Their energy was inexhaustible.

Facing the crowd's scrutinizing gazes, Ning Que felt no guilt whatsoever as he looked over them one by one.

Zhang Lexuan, Han Ruoruo, Wu Ming, Chu Qingtian, Ma Xiaotao, Dai Yueheng, Ling Luochen, Gongyang Mo, Yao Haoxuan, Xi Xi, Chen Zifeng... and Ye Guyi.

Amid the jealous looks of many people, Ning Que naturally walked over to Ye Guyi's side.

Shrek's inner court had never lacked beauties. The issue was that it lacked normal beauties.

Leaving aside everyone else, Ma Xiaotao and Wu Ming were notoriously difficult to deal with. Unless a man had something wrong with his head, few would pursue either of them.

By comparison, Han Ruoruo spent all day in the library, while Ling Luochen was far too aloof.

Thus, the refined and gentle senior sister Zhang Lexuan and the warm, holy junior sister Ye Guyi were the most appealing presences.

Senior Sister Zhang was far too lofty, always making them feel distant from her. That left only Junior Sister Ye Guyi as the one who truly made their hearts stir.

Unfortunately, Junior Sister Ye Guyi already had a fiancé. Because of that, Ning Que had been challenged and harassed by quite a few people.

"This time, the inner court team battle will use randomly drawn teams to train your adaptability. Following the Soul Master Tournament format, there will be two-person battles, three-person battles, and finally a seven-person team battle."

"Come up and draw lots now. Those with matching lots will form a team. You'll have five minutes to familiarize yourselves with each other's martial souls and soul skills, then you'll battle in pairs!"

The moment Zhang Lexuan spoke, she drew everyone's attention. Everyone then cooperatively stepped forward to draw lots.

While they were drawing, a filthy, somewhat greasy old fat man silently appeared nearby. He was Xuan Zi, captain of the Shrek Inspectorate and a Rank 98 Super Douluo.

Ning Que also stepped forward to draw his lot. What he had not expected was that not only would he be the first to fight, but his opponents would be his fiancée Ye Guyi and Ma Xiaotao.

Most absurdly, his teammate was Dai Yueheng, the man who coveted his fiancée.

Ning Que seriously suspected that someone was targeting him.

The Soul Power Levels on both sides were not even in the same league. How was this supposed to be fought?

As for familiarizing himself with Dai Yueheng's soul skills, there was no need at all. This was not their first time dealing with each other.

"Don't drag me down later."

When Dai Yueheng saw who their opponents were, his heart immediately grew heavy.

Ma Xiaotao alone was not someone he could defeat, much less Ye Guyi, whose strength was unfathomable. And his teammate was merely an auxiliary Soul Master with no combat ability at all.

If he had not wanted to embarrass himself before the person he liked, Dai Yueheng would have protested long ago.

"Who'll be dragging whom down is still unclear."

Ning Que showed Dai Yueheng no courtesy whatsoever in response to his verbal mockery.