Shrek Monitoring Group

"I surrender." The miracle Xuan Zi had been hoping for did not appear. Huo Yuhao simply walked out of the Battle Soul Arena and called loudly to Xuan Zi, who was hovering overhead watching the show.

Huo Yuhao had never expected Xuan Zi to step in and save him at a critical moment.

Put bluntly, that old bastard Xuan Zi was the sort who would never act until the very last second. Even if he managed to save the day every time, that would be one thing, but Xuan Zi was simply too unreliable.

Every one of his rescues came only after casualties had already occurred, and that was not even the worst part—he never went all out when he did intervene.

Although Ma Xiaotao had nearly exhausted her Soul Power after going all out earlier, killing a Soul Grandmaster in seconds would still have been no trouble for her.

Even if Huo Yuhao could cheat his way into taking her down, what would be the point?

Based on Huo Yuhao's role in the team, he had already completed the task assigned by Dai Yueheng, the "captain." Wasn't that enough? Putting in extra effort did not mean extra pay.

So naturally, preserving himself came first. And judging from Ma Xiaotao's current state, if they really fought, her reason would probably start dancing along the edge of collapse again. In short, whoever wanted to fight her could go ahead. He was done.

Seeing this, Xuan Zi could only shake his head. After sighing, he announced, "Ma Xiaotao's side wins this friendly match."

Xuan Zi then looked at the heavily injured students present and, rather helplessly, called off the second round of the free-for-all that was supposed to begin next.

The losing team straightforwardly accepted their punishment and said the words, "I am a pig." After all, it was only something said aloud and would not cause any real harm.

Although the students had applied medicinal salves for emergency treatment after leaving the arena, Dai Yueheng and Chen Zifeng, who had directly confronted Ma Xiaotao, definitely needed treatment from specialized Healing Type Soul Masters.

After all, Xixi had shown some restraint. And since her match had been a guaranteed victory, Xuan Zi had pulled out her opponent after Xixi made her move. Those few had barely even suffered superficial wounds; only Gongyang Mo was still feeling some tightness in his chest.

But those who had fought Ma Xiaotao were different. Due to the aftermath of Phoenix Meteor Shower, Yao Haoxuan, Xixi, Xu Sanshi, and Xiao Xiao had all suffered extensive burns from the explosive Phoenix Flames.

Though such injuries were not a major issue for Soul Masters with strong bodies, they still needed some time to recover.

Dai Yueheng and Chen Zifeng had suffered the worst. In truth, Xuan Zi could have pulled them out long ago, but the two had refused to retreat. If they had withdrawn and allowed Ma Xiaotao to charge into the crowd, would she not have gone on a slaughter?

Thus, in order to determine both sides' strength and coordination as thoroughly as possible, and to see whether Dai Yueheng's side could win, Xuan Zi had waited until the very end before acting and rescuing Dai Yueheng and Chen Zifeng.

Given their current injuries, even with treatment from professional Healing Type Soul Masters, they would likely need several days of rest before fully recovering.

"All right, little ones. Those of you whose injuries are not serious can head back first." With a wave of his hand, Xuan Zi wrapped the severely injured Dai Yueheng and Chen Zifeng in earthy-yellow Soul Power.

"Inner Court Disciples, return to the inner court with me. Xiaotao, go find Shaozhe."

Xuan Zi rose into the air. After leaving behind those final words, he departed with the Inner Court Disciples.

"After you return, pack your things. Gather at the academy's main entrance at dawn the day after tomorrow. We will be heading to Star Luo City for the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Battle Soul Tournament."

After they dispersed, Xu Sanshi and Xiao Xiao, who had been more seriously injured in the battle, went to seek treatment from specialized Healing Type Soul Master teachers.

Beibei, Jiang Nannan, Wang Dong, Ning Tian, and the others who had suffered lighter injuries—or practically none at all—returned to their dormitories separately to rest and recuperate.

After returning to the dormitory, Wang Dong watched the youth tinkering with the Soul Tool before him, rubbed her arms, and felt an instinctive disgust toward that Soul Tool rising from the depths of her soul.

"Hiss... Huo Yuhao, where did you get that?" After it had been delivered from the Treasure Gathering Pavilion, Huo Yuhao had put the Soul Tool into his Storage Soul Tool and had never taken it out to calibrate it.

But Xuan Zi's performance was about to begin, so for safety's sake, Huo Yuhao naturally had to test it first.

"The Treasure Appraisal Fair." Huo Yuhao answered without raising his head. At the same time, through the vision provided by Spiritual Detection, he used the Eye of Truth to examine the rune Tang San had left within Wang Dong's Spiritual Sea.

He attempted to replicate the influence it currently exerted over Wang Dong. A method that made someone reject Soul Tools from the bottom of their heart, combined with Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Erosion, would be a crushing blow against Soul Engineers. Why not make it his own?

The fourth-level Soul Tool in Huo Yuhao's hands, called the Glazed Shield, had two activation methods.

The first was active activation. A Soul Master could activate it directly with Soul Power, creating a spherical shield up to three meters in diameter. It could hold several people within it and defend against outside attacks. Its defensive strength was considered quite good among fourth-level Soul Tools.

However, activating it this way consumed a great deal of power. At Huo Yuhao's current Soul Grandmaster cultivation, even with his continuously replenishing Soul Power, he could not sustain it for long.

The second method was passive activation. It required adjusting the Soul Tool beforehand through Soul Power frequencies. When an overly powerful Soul Power attack appeared near the Soul Tool's holder, the resonance between Soul Powers would forcibly activate the Soul Tool.

This produced a passively triggered defensive effect. However, it could then protect only its holder. Though its defensive strength remained unchanged, its consumption dropped drastically, allowing Huo Yuhao to sustain it for quite some time.

Before long, Huo Yuhao finished calibrating the Glazed Shield and put it away. Only then did Wang Dong let out a long breath, seemingly relaxing.

"Rest well for the next two days. Once we leave the academy, watch your own safety." Huo Yuhao flipped onto his bed and pulled up the covers in one smooth motion.

"Watch my safety? Isn't Elder Xuan with us?" Wang Dong asked in confusion.

"After what happened today, do you think he is reliable? If he were reliable, Dai Yueheng and Chen Zifeng would not have been injured so badly. And tell me, who do you think the negligent teacher in that story he told earlier was?"

Wang Dong: "..."

In his dreams, Huo Yuhao entered the Spiritual Sea once more. This time, however, instead of first conducting his usual experiments on Soul Power Circuits or rune formations, he went to find Electrolux.

"Elder Yi, how much of your memory has recovered?" Huo Yuhao asked as he moved closer to the gray sphere.

He would soon be facing the Death God's Emissary. Huo Yuhao wanted to see whether he could get one or two secret trump cards from Electrolux to protect himself.

Although Electrolux could take over and counterkill an opponent, it was best not to get involved in that if possible.

Yet Electrolux's answer disappointed Huo Yuhao. "It is still much the same as before. As my Divine Sense repairs itself, only scattered fragments of memory occasionally return."

"Perhaps encountering certain special circumstances may stimulate the recovery of a particular part of my memories."

Huo Yuhao sighed. Though disappointed, he had expected as much.

After all, while Electrolux had been recovering during this time, he had also been teaching Huo Yuhao the knowledge and magic he recalled. Huo Yuhao had a clear understanding of Electrolux's condition.

So after slightly settling his mind, Huo Yuhao continued refining his research into Soul Power Circuits.

Another morning arrived. A day had passed since the previous training session, and everyone's injuries from that session had mostly healed. Though Dai Yueheng and Chen Zifeng were still somewhat weak, it was no longer a serious issue.

To prepare for the upcoming Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Battle Soul Tournament and fulfill the "responsibilities" the Shrek Monitoring Group ought to bear as the continent's police, the Shrek group had no choice but to head for the Star Luo Empire in advance.

At Shrek Academy's main entrance, everyone had gathered. Dai Yueheng and Chen Zifeng still looked somewhat pale. They wore casual clothes, and thanks to Storage Soul Tools, they had no large luggage to carry.

Besides Xuan Zi, who was leading the group, Wang Yan would also accompany them to Star Luo City for the tournament. As Xuan Zi's disciple's disciple, Wang Yan's greatest role in leading the team this time was really just to build up his credentials.

Otherwise, with Shrek Academy's teaching resources, let alone Super Douluo, it would not have been difficult to casually send a few Titled Douluo to lead the team.

And precisely because Wang Yan, the team's teacher, possessed only the strength of a Soul Emperor, the Main Team had suffered such severe losses in the original storyline when Xuan Zi failed to act.

Xuan Zi led everyone away from Shrek Academy and Shrek City, gradually heading toward the outskirts of Shrek City.

Once they reached the outskirts, Xuan Zi stopped. Looking at everyone present, the seven Inner Court Disciples wore solemn expressions. They had already experienced something similar once and naturally understood what Xuan Zi intended to do.

Next came Xuan Zi's latest round of indoctrination for the Reserve Team members. He imposed rights and obligations that an academy like Shrek Academy should never possess upon Shrek Academy under high-sounding justifications.

At the same time, aided by Spiritual Power, he stirred up the Reserve Team members' "sense of honor" and "sense of responsibility."

Under the influence of herd mentality, the Reserve Team members all chose to join the Shrek Monitoring Group.

Certainly, as members of the Shrek Monitoring Group, they received no rewards even for completing missions. It could be called compulsory labor.

But this compulsory labor was what allowed Shrek Academy's status and influence within the original three nations of the Douluo Continent to grow increasingly distorted and bloated.

And though it was called compulsory labor, while resources did not pass directly through the hands of Shrek Monitoring Group members, vast amounts of resources flowed into Shrek Academy under the name of donations, making Shrek Academy ever wealthier.

Every disciple of the Shrek Monitoring Group could be said to be one link in Shrek Academy's great web controlling the entire continent.

The countless life-and-death struggles of Shrek Monitoring Group members ultimately became stepping stones for that small handful of geniuses standing at the peak of Shrek Academy's pyramid.

Otherwise, how could Shrek Academy support the cultivation resources of the Elders in the inner court? One had to know that every Titled Douluo and Super Douluo, aside from personal talent, required immense resources piled upon them to grow.

Such powerhouses could not be created through teaching alone. For geniuses, massive resources were the true necessity.

At the same time, this process further bolstered Shrek Academy's standing across the continent, attracting more high-quality students and perpetuating this twisted, distorted model of development.

Next, after Wang Yan distributed the Shrek Monitoring Group equipment to the Reserve Team members, he began explaining this mission.

Several Inner Court Disciples listened quietly as well. Logically, they should have been the first to learn of the mission, but since most of them needed time to recover from their injuries, the team teacher Wang Yan had taken responsibility for accepting and relaying this mission.

As for Ma Xiaotao, given her current state, she was not suited to command the Main Team. Thus, Xuan Zi had transferred the position of team captain to Dai Yueheng.

As Xuan Zi drank wine and ate chicken legs nearby, he felt some concern over Ma Xiaotao potentially losing control. But he soon tossed those concerns aside.

He believed in the abilities of these students who had come from Shrek Academy. Besides, he was nearly done with the chicken leg in his hand. What should he eat next? Such a difficult choice.

Xuan Zi's thoughts drifted as he thought this.

After everyone received their Shrek Monitor equipment, Huo Yuhao could not help complaining. No wonder members of the Shrek Monitoring Group died so often.

With equipment like this, it would be hard not to die. The masks and uniforms were exceedingly conspicuous, and the equipment itself was merely made from quality materials without any special effects. At best, it could barely withstand attacks below three rings.

The Shrek Monitoring Group's missions were already extremely dangerous, yet they wore such flashy but impractical equipment. If they had been provided with some mid- to high-level defensive Soul Tools, the Shrek Monitoring Group's casualty rate would probably not have been so horrifying.

This made Huo Yuhao maliciously wonder whether Shrek Academy had arranged things deliberately.

That way, weaker Shrek Monitoring Group members could be eliminated, saving resources.

And they could use the high casualty rate to build prestige across the continent. After all, regardless of how difficult a mission was, if Shrek Academy's students completed every mission without injuries, would that not make the missions seem too easy?

If that happened over time, how could they earn the reverence of the people of the original three nations of the Douluo Continent?