In a simply furnished office, Yan Shaozhe was bent over his desk, writing something. Nothing about it suggested it belonged to the head of the continent's number-one academy. Simplicity and thrift were evident everywhere.
One wall was covered in portraits. Only academy presidents who had made enormous contributions during their tenure were honored with a place there. The first portrait was unmistakably of a middle-aged man who looked a bit like a shady merchant.
Hearing a knock from outside, Yan Shaozhe wearily set down his pen and tapped the desk.
"Come in." He looked up. A handsome, slender young man stepped in at an unhurried pace, and Yan Shaozhe's face immediately lit up with a smile.
"Little junior brother, what brings you here?" This was Shrek's greatest treasure: a twin Ultimate Martial Soul wielder whose potential was limitless. Yan Shaozhe now looked at Xiao Yi as if he were his own son—no, closer than his own son.
"Senior Brother Yan, I'd like to request permission to enter the third floor of the Library Pavilion, and to take part in the freshman assessment on my own." Xiao Yi cupped his hands in a salute as he made his request.
Yan Shaozhe pondered for a moment. In truth, he had wanted to let Xiao Yi skip the freshman assessment altogether. It was pointless given his strength. But Xiao Yi had insisted, saying he wanted his status as a Core Disciple to have a proper, legitimate basis. Openly pulling strings would bring Shrek's dignity into disrepute.
Those words had struck a chord with everyone. Even Yan Shaozhe couldn't help thinking that Xiao Yi was practically born to be a Shrek student.
In truth, Xiao Yi had other plans. The Freshman Grand Competition was the perfect chance to show off and flirt with girls. Xiao Yi remained true to his original purpose, never forgetting his mission: if cultivation wasn't for showing off and chasing girls, it was utterly meaningless.
Yan Shaozhe considered it. With Xiao Yi's strength, bringing along two burdens would be no problem, but it wouldn't be fair to him or the other freshmen.
"How about this? You can take part alone and just go through the motions. But remember, don't hit anyone too hard. As for the Library Pavilion, you can go straight there. Teacher has already given the order, but you mustn't tell anyone."
Xiao Yi nodded. Of course he wouldn't tell anyone. This place would be his property one day. What good would it do to let that get out?
Xiao Yi made another trip to see Mu En and asked him for some guidance on cultivating Dominating the World. Only then did he head straight for the Library Pavilion.
Meanwhile, the moment Tang Wutong entered the classroom, she drew countless eyes. The students stared at her with wonder and longing, though most of all they looked puzzled. Who was this beauty?
Tang Wutong had returned to her distant, unapproachable demeanor. Her face was haughty, with an air that warned others not to mess with her. She was nothing like the way she acted around Xiao Yi—that was purely because he'd teased her.
Huo Yutong and Xiao Xiao couldn't hide their amazement. They even felt a little inferior beside her.
Each of the three was beautiful in her own way, but the goddess-like aura around Tang Wutong was impossible to hide.
"Wulin, did you really change back into girls' clothes?" Xiao Xiao asked in surprise, looking at her with great curiosity.
"Xiao Xiao, Yu Tong, my original name is Tang Wutong. You can call me Wutong from now on." She rather liked the look in Xiao Xiao's eyes.
"Okay, Sister Wutong. By the way, why isn't Xiao Yi here?"
"Probably off looking for some other senior girl again." Tang Wutong gave a cold snort and spoke through gritted teeth. She still couldn't quite tell whether what she felt was possessiveness or love, but she knew she couldn't live without Xiao Yi. He had to be hers.
Watching Tang Wutong with jealousy written all over her face, Huo Yutong pondered. Even after Tang Wutong had changed back into girls' clothes, she was still living with Xiao Yi.
I want to join them too. Does Big Brother Xiao Yi like girls with big breasts? Tang Ya and Jiang Nannan both seemed pretty well-endowed.
She glanced again at Tang Wutong's impressive curves, then down at her own small chest, and felt a pang of dejection.
In a room swallowed by darkness, Dai Huabin was curled up in a corner. His eyes were bloodshot, and the room was a complete mess, its furnishings scattered across the floor.
Yesterday, when he saw Xiao Yi return to the academy unscathed, he had been shocked—and consumed with resentment.
He had already noticed that something was wrong with his cultivation. But seeing Xiao Yi's four black Soul Rings and terrifying strength had turned his resentment into fear.
Dai Huabin had even thought about leaving Shrek Academy. To him, the place had become a den of dragons and tigers. He had seen Headmaster Yan Shaozhe's reaction earlier. If Xiao Yi did something to him, the academy probably wouldn't even ask questions. The thought had left him terrified.
But when he went to the White Tiger Duke Mansion's other residence at Shrek Academy, he found no one there. It was as if the place had been emptied overnight—completely deserted.
Next, he went looking for his elder brother, Dai Yueheng. This was the first time he had ever sought him out, but when he reached the Inner Academy, he was told that Dai Yueheng had left to carry out a mission for the Inner Academy.
Dai Huabin had a vague sense that something terrible was about to happen. The feeling filled his mind, making him increasingly anxious and afraid.
That nightmare-like figure was branded deep in his heart. Whenever night fell and all was quiet, the figure came creeping after him like a vengeful ghost.
For now, all he could do was wait for Dai Yueheng to return to the academy. He felt as if an invisible wall stood in his way, blocking his view of everything ahead, as though it would seal him in completely. He had even begun to regret what he had done in the past.
As soon as he entered the Library Pavilion, Xiao Yi headed for the upper floors. The two floors below held information open to the academy's students, including all kinds of knowledge about Soul Beasts and commonly needed reference material. Most of the academy's textbooks were compiled from these resources, which also included knowledge gathered by many well-informed teachers.
After showing his identity token, Xiao Yi began searching for what he had come for.
Xiao Yi had always been fascinated by Alchemy. He had never lost his desire to learn about pills with powerful effects that could also aid one's cultivation.
Douluo Continent had no traditional Alchemy inheritance to speak of. What passed for Alchemy was rather crude. Still, Xiao Yi was curious whether pill condensation was actually possible.
The Mystic Water Pill was made through brute force: mix a variety of rare medicinal ingredients together, and the result was supposedly a Mystic Water Pill. In truth, it wasn't even a rudimentary pill; none of the proper processes were involved.
But Xiao Yi had once seen a Soul Ascension Pill at the Treasure Gathering Pavilion, and that was entirely different. It had obvious Pill Patterns on its surface, clearly showing that it had been made using some kind of technique. Xiao Yi had kept that in mind ever since.
He searched through piles of books. They were the academy's accumulated wealth of knowledge from all these years, including some Self-Created Soul Skills and Secret Techniques.
He even found the Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer and Heart Separation Control, two skills that had left a deep impression on him in his previous life. They were of no use to him, though.
Before long, Xiao Yi found several books. Their covers were worn, and he had no idea how old they were.
"Found it." Xiao Yi leafed through the damaged pages and found information on the Alchemy inheritance of Douluo Continent.
As he read, Xiao Yi couldn't help nodding. There was plenty of value in these methods, especially their approach to combining medicinal properties. The insights were remarkably sound, and Xiao Yi could even roughly guess the effects of pills made from those combinations.
Xiao Yi made a point of opening the book to its first page. He was a little shocked: the author was the wielder of Ultimate Fire from four thousand years ago, who had also been the Sea God Pavilion Master of that era. Supposedly, he had led the original Douluo Three Kingdoms in repelling the invasion from Sun Moon Continent.
Xiao Yi was somewhat surprised. He slowly took out another book and began to read.
(Checked the references: the original says they were refined by Plant Soul Masters. I've made a new setting here, and the pills in Douluo always seemed so inexplicable to me.)
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