Sky Screen Reappears

Seeing the Silver Dragon King lying on the ground, questioning her own existence, Di Tian hurriedly went over to help her up.

"My Lord, this Grass Dragon King, I fear she is an existence we cannot afford to provoke, much like the Akademiya. You had best lower your head."

The Silver Dragon King looked up at Apep again. Though she was loath to admit it, the facts proved that the two sides were simply not on the same level.

When Apep said the Dragon God was laughable, it was not an insult, but merely the statement of a fact.

Apep did not take the Silver Dragon King's offense to heart. She had intended to say a few more words, but then she heard the voice of Little Durin.

"Found you! It's a big green dragon!"

Apep turned her head and saw Little Durin and Scaramouche.

"Hello, big green dragon! I'm Durin. It's nice to meet you."

Apep sized up Little Durin. She could sense the Abyssal energy on him, and for a fleeting moment, she even hallucinated that he was Nibelung.

When Nibelung returned from beyond the heavens, he had carried that very same Abyssal energy.

"Newborn dragon, I am the Grass Dragon King, Apep."

"Apep, what a lovely name! Can we play together? Can we be friends?"

Little Durin blinked his large eyes, looking at Apep with an expression of pure innocence.

Faced with Little Durin, Apep felt a bit overwhelmed; she was not at all skilled at raising children.

Her gaze shifted toward the Silver Dragon King, Di Tian, and Zi Ji.

"Little dragon, you want to make friends? They are dragons from another world; you can converse with them. I have matters to attend to. Farewell."

Having said this, Apep vanished instantly—or more accurately, she merged into the Star Dou Forest. As her Dendro energy fused with the forest, it allowed her to better understand this foreign Douluo Continent.

"The big dragon left. Scaramouche, does she not like me?"

"That's not it. Don't let your imagination run wild. If you want to make friends, they are your kin, after all. Go on!"

"Mm, I understand! Thank you, Scaramouche!"

Little Durin landed and introduced himself to the Silver Dragon King, Di Tian, and Zi Ji.

After the incident with Apep, the Silver Dragon King dared not act recklessly. After spending some time together, they all discovered that Little Durin was just a child with a heavy sense of curiosity.

As for child-rearing, there was a professional for that: Bi Ji. Although she had no children of her own, her gentle nature was very popular with kids.

Seeing that Little Durin was getting along well with them, Scaramouche nodded in satisfaction. He returned to the main campus of the Akademiya, greeted Alhaitham, and then contacted Nahida to recount everything that had happened.

"I understand. Just keep Little Durin company. I will notify you when you are needed."

With that, Nahida ended the communication.

"Talking to herself again. Why must I be the one to watch the kid?"

He complained with his mouth, but in reality, he kept a constant watch on Little Durin's situation.

In Heaven Dou City, the Akademiya branch had not officially enrolled many students. After consulting with Nahida, Ouyang Kong opened a reading room.

The reading room contained some basic texts, giving the people of Heaven Dou City time to study before undergoing an assessment to be selected for in-depth learning at the Akademiya.

Otherwise, the School of Lore, Haravatat, and the Amurta would not even have students to keep up appearances, which would look truly unsightly.

Cyno, through Nahida's mind-reading methods, recruited a few pure-hearted individuals to serve as temporary Discipline Officers.

If they performed well, they could be promoted to official Discipline Officers of the Akademiya.

Bone Douluo and Sword Douluo had actually wanted to become Discipline Officers, but unfortunately, they were eliminated because their intentions were not pure enough.

Compared to strength, the purity of a Discipline Officer's heart was more important. As an officer tasked with maintaining justice, corruption within one's own ranks was a very serious matter.

This was the reason Nahida specifically exercised her mind-reading authority.

Time flew by, and a month later, the Heaven Dou City branch of the Akademiya was fully on the right track.

Dai Mubai, Zhu Zhuqing, and Xiao Wu were being taught by Collei, with Lana acting as a supervisor. The Akademiya Student Handbook was the core of their studies, alongside basic knowledge from the Amurta.

Ning Rongrong was the same, studying under Layla. Faruzan, when she had nothing to do, would also come over to offer guidance, which made things miserable for Ning Rongrong.

Faruzan's requirements were far stricter than Layla's.

Kaveh had taken on Titan and Tang San as students. Tang San had contributed some of his hidden weapon schematics; these materials were indeed of reference value, but strictly limited to that.

The Akademiya could even build something like the Shouki no Kami; there was no need to even mention their level of technology.

Tang San had only touched upon the surface of mechanical knowledge, and his previous sense of superiority had been completely shattered. Now, he was studying very honestly.

Of course, the Akademiya Student Handbook was also a mandatory course, and Kaveh, as their teacher, would be checking it thoroughly.

Tang San was fine, as he was still young, but for an old man like Titan, it was true torture.

Nahida and Ouyang Kong left the management of the Heaven Dou City branch to Cyno, while they headed to Martial Soul City to prepare for the opening of a second branch.

At the same time, Ouyang Kong had Alhaitham arrange for people to go to Star Luo City, and notified Scaramouche and Little Durin to take a trip to the overseas Sea God Island.

It was also at this moment that golden light flashed in the sky, and the Sky Screen appeared once more. It had been exactly one month, accurate to the very second.

After the Sky Screen appeared, everyone's eyes were fixed upon it, eager to see what kind of ranking would be revealed this time.

Amidst the anticipation of the masses, text slowly appeared upon the Sky Screen.

[Inventory of the Top Ten Forces: All those who make the list shall receive rewards.]

Seeing that the Sky Screen was about to rank the top ten forces, many people began to stir with anticipation.

"Xue Xing, as one of the two great empires on the Douluo Continent, our Heaven Dou Empire should be able to make the list, right?"

Emperor Xue Ye asked Prince Xue Xing.

"Imperial Brother, that is a certainty. I must congratulate you."

In the Star Luo Empire, the Star Luo Emperor asked the exact same question.

They both felt that the two great empires would surely be on the list, but the Sky Screen quickly slapped them in the face.

[Outside the Rankings: The Two Great Empires]

Emperor Xue Ye and the Star Luo Emperor stared at the Sky Screen in disbelief. Outside the rankings meant that their two empires did not even qualify for the top ten.

This was something they found difficult to accept.

Seeing the two empires ranked outside the top ten, Ouyang Kong roughly understood that the Sky Screen's ranking was likely based on high-level combat power.

The two empires possessed no Title Douluo of their own, so being ranked outside the top ten was quite reasonable.

[Heaven Dou Empire: The nobility is corrupt, the commoners are impoverished, the military is lax, authority is fragmented, and high-level combat power is absent.]

[For nearly twenty years, the crown prince Xue Qinghe has been replaced by Martial Soul Hall Young Master Qian Renxue without the slightest detection; the imperial power nearly changed hands.]

[As an empire, it is already a massive failure. Please take this as a warning.]

Seeing the Sky Screen's unsparing disparagement of the Heaven Dou Empire, Emperor Xue Ye gasped for air and promptly fainted dead away.

The Star Luo Emperor laughed heartily, but his laughter died in his throat the very next moment.