Douluo: One Man Returns, the Heaven-Defying Seal Smashes Tang San to Death

Meng Shenji smiled kindly. "Your Highness, this is Lu Yu, the new student specially recruited by the imperial family."

The young man sized Lu Yu up and down, then curled his lip. "Specially recruited? Him?"

Meng Shenji's expression stiffened, and he hurriedly said, "This was the Dean's Office's decision, and it also had His Majesty's approval!"

"If Your Highness has any objections, you may discuss them with His Majesty!"

With that, he ignored the young man and turned to leave with Lu Yu.

Lu Yu was not angered. Instead, he looked the young man over with interest.

For Meng Shenji to call him "Your Highness," and for him to be studying at Heaven Dou Royal Academy, the young man's identity was already obvious...

Xue Beng, the Fourth Prince of the Heaven Dou Imperial Family!

An actor who had disguised himself as a spoiled, arrogant playboy!

Not long after Lu Yu and Meng Shenji left, Xue Beng turned to one of his lackeys with an ugly expression. "Investigate him!"

"I want to see what is so special about that brat that Chief Meng personally came forward to recruit him!"

The lackey did not think much of it. He simply assumed that Xue Beng had grown used to being overbearing and wanted to put Lu Yu in his place.

But he did not know that Xue Beng had already begun making calculations in his heart...

Meanwhile, Meng Shenji had brought Lu Yu to the entrance of a small courtyard.

The courtyard was spacious, with a two-story building standing in the center.

"This will be your dormitory..."

Meng Shenji said, "As agreed, you may enter and leave the academy freely. However, in one month, the annual Academy Grand Competition will be held."

"The champion will receive one hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins, as well as temporary VIP status for the Heavenly Dou Auction."

At this point, Meng Shenji deliberately lowered his voice and smiled. "As a VIP, all handling fees at the auction will be waived. Furthermore, after winning an item, you will only need to pay seventy percent of its price."

"Although the temporary VIP status will expire after this auction ends, with the prize money of one hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins, you'll be able to buy quite a few good things!"

Lu Yu was slightly stunned. In his previous life before his previous life, he had heard of the Heavenly Dou Auction, but he had never heard of this so-called VIP status.

Meng Shenji explained further, "Throughout the entire Heavenly Dou Empire, very few people possess VIP status. Apart from a small number of nobles and members of the Heaven Dou Imperial Family, only the sect masters of the Seven Great Sects are qualified!"

"Lu Yu, although you are a specially recruited freshman, you already possess the cultivation of a Three-Ring Soul Master. Are you interested in participating?"

Lu Yu understood that Meng Shenji had likely seen his battle with Tang San and wanted to test his strength, which was why he was encouraging him to participate in the Academy Grand Competition.

However, Lu Yu had come to Heaven Dou Royal Academy precisely to temper himself through battles with Soul Masters. Naturally, he would not miss such an opportunity. He immediately nodded and said, "Chief Meng, I'm willing to participate!"

Meng Shenji laughed heartily and patted Lu Yu on the shoulder. Then he said, "Then I'll be leaving first! The dormitory is fully stocked with daily necessities. If you need anything, you can submit a request directly to the Dean's Office!"

With that, Meng Shenji turned and left.

As a dignified eight-ring powerhouse, he did not have time to waste here.

The only reason he had personally sought to recruit Lu Yu and patiently spoken to him for so long was because he valued Lu Yu's talent and wanted to forge a good connection.

After Meng Shenji left, Lu Yu entered the courtyard.

The small building was lavishly furnished. Just as Meng Shenji had said, it was fully stocked with everyday necessities, most of which were quite expensive.

"As expected of a noble academy..."

Lu Yu shook his head with a laugh. Compared to Heaven Dou Royal Academy, Nuoding Junior Soul Master Academy was practically a slum...

After looking around, Lu Yu headed out again and began wandering through Heaven Dou Royal Academy.

It had to be said that in the original plot, Heaven Dou Royal Academy's first team had been a seeded team in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament, yet they had been easily defeated by Spirit Hall's team. There was a reason for that...

The entire Heaven Dou Royal Academy was steeped in extravagance, with wealth flaunted everywhere.

Furthermore, most of the students came from noble families and had been pampered since childhood. Most of them probably had not put much thought into cultivation at all!

Finding it dull, Lu Yu left the academy gates and came to the lake at the foot of the mountain.

Standing by the shore, he gazed at the sparkling water, the dense forest in the distance, and the mountain peak rising straight into the clouds behind him. He felt utterly refreshed.

His expression shifted as he suddenly raised a finger and slowly traced through the air before him.

A faint blue glow flowed around his fingertip, quickly forming a pale blue talisman.

The instant the talisman took shape, a sharp gleam flashed through Lu Yu's eyes, and a smile appeared on his face.

He had succeeded!

The fifth supreme talisman he had painstakingly researched for three years had suddenly come to him in a moment of enlightenment!

As the talisman condensed, the space around Lu Yu subtly warped, and ripples spread across the lake before him.

He waved his hand and dispersed the talisman.

This was, after all, the entrance to Heaven Dou Royal Academy. If he caused too much commotion, he would inevitably attract attention.

Just as Lu Yu turned to head back, he suddenly saw a graceful figure standing in the woods not far away.

She was a girl who appeared to be seventeen or eighteen years old, slender and delicate, with waterfall-like blue hair. She wore a black dress, and a layer of black gauze covered her face, revealing only a pair of sapphire-like eyes.

At that moment, the girl was staring at Lu Yu without blinking.

When she saw that Lu Yu had noticed her, she turned to leave.

Lu Yu frowned slightly. His figure flashed as he chased after her, blocking her path.

The girl looked at him and said in a cool voice, "Sorry, I had no intention of spying on you. Please let me leave."

Suspicion flickered in Lu Yu's eyes as he softly asked, "Are you also a student of Heaven Dou Royal Academy?"

The girl nodded without speaking. Seeing that Lu Yu was no longer blocking her, she walked around him and slowly left.

Watching her retreating figure, Lu Yu fell into deep thought.

His spiritual power was comparable to that of a Soul Sage, yet he had failed to notice that this girl had been watching him from nearby!

Did she possess some special martial soul talent?

Or was it that...

Her strength far surpassed his own?

When Lu Yu had been in the Star Dou Great Forest, he had been able to sense Dugu Bo appearing behind him only because the distance between them had been very close.

Otherwise, there was no way he could have detected the whereabouts of a Title Douluo.

But the girl looked no older than seventeen or eighteen. No matter how he looked at her, she did not resemble a Title Douluo!

Glancing back at the clear lake, Lu Yu shook his head with a chuckle. "Looks like Grandpa was right. Cultivation requires a balance between work and rest."

It was precisely because his mind had been completely relaxed earlier that he had suddenly comprehended the fifth supreme talisman in one stroke.

Over the next month, aside from cultivating in his dormitory, Lu Yu went to the lake at the foot of the mountain every few days to relax. Occasionally, he would also go to the mountaintop to watch the sunrise and sunset.

With that balance between work and rest, the progress of his various cultivation techniques and the speed at which his cultivation improved were actually somewhat faster than when he focused solely on bitter cultivation.

What surprised Lu Yu was that every time he visited the lake at the foot of the mountain, he encountered that girl in the black dress.

Each time, the girl stood a hundred meters from the shore, quietly watching the lake. She seemed somewhat lonely and desolate.

At the foot of the mountain, by the lake.

Lu Yu waved away the talisman he had just condensed, sighed, and muttered, "This Summoning God Talisman is the most unique. It has three levels, but I still have no clue about the second level..."

The Summoning God Talisman was the fifth supreme talisman he had comprehended a month ago.

Just then, Lu Yu's eyes shifted slightly.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a black figure quietly appear at another spot by the lake not far away.

He was slightly stunned, then walked over and sat on a stone by the shore. In a soft voice, he said:

"Why are you standing so close today? You always stand so far away. I thought you were afraid of water..."

Lu Yu was very curious about this girl, or rather...

He was curious about the means she used to evade his spiritual detection!

The girl said nothing. She merely turned and gazed at Lu Yu. After a long while, she suddenly asked in a cool voice, "Are you trying to pick me up?"

Lu Yu was instantly stunned.

Damn...

This girl was a little too direct, wasn't she?

Lu Yu shook his head with an odd expression. "My perception is very strong, and it has never failed me."

"But every time you appear, I don't sense you at all."

"Can you tell me why?"

This time, it was the girl's turn to be stunned. Clearly, she had not expected Lu Yu to approach her merely because of this.

After a moment of silence, she softly said, "Sorry, I can't tell you."

Lu Yu shrugged and said nothing more. He simply gazed quietly at the lake, and the girl did the same.