Thinking of the Moon

At this moment.

Li Changsheng and his group were atop a mountain range bordering the region, their carriage traveling along a path carved out specifically for transit.

High in the distant firmament.

Deep in the nearby mountain hollows.

Li Changsheng beheld architecture the likes of which he had never heard of.

In the sky, a massive, pitch-black structure resembling a star floated in the air like a fortress of steel. The entire black edifice was spherical, with numerous thick, cannon-like protrusions growing from its exterior. Surrounding this steel fortress were dozens of sky-piercing pillars, around which surged vast, destructive torrents of soul power.

Li Zishuo was also pressed against the window, staring blankly at the structure suspended in the firmament.

Below in the mountain hollow.

That appeared to be the city where the Shrek Pre-Academy was located.

It was a large city cradled by mountains, teeming with an endless stream of people and countless massive buildings.

Beside them, Exquisite Dice also cast her gaze toward the sky.

Looking through the window.

She spoke with a hint of stagnation in her tone: "That is the Pointing-to-Heaven Fortress, a composite soul tool crafted by the Sun Moon Empire. If categorized by soul tool rankings, this aerial fortress is infinitely close to a level-ten soul tool. Even a Titled Douluo would be little more than a bubble before such a weapon."

"Is the Sun Moon Empire planning to start a war?" Li Zishuo asked dazedly.

He had never seen such a colossal soul tool.

"Start a war? No, this Pointing-to-Heaven Fortress was transported here thousands of years ago when the Sun-Moon Continent launched its war; it is already damaged."

"Damaged?" Li Changsheng asked. "Then how is it still floating in the sky?"

An aerial fortress.

Li Changsheng felt like cursing.

Had the Douluo Continent developed that quickly in ten thousand years?

No, the Sun Moon Empire was from the Sun-Moon Continent.

But it was still shocking.

It was Seven Absolute Zither Master who answered him, saying: "It is not actually damaged, but the Sun Moon Empire lacks enough Titled Douluo to activate it. As for why it floats in the air, look at those dozens of black sky-piercing pillars; those are soul power converters that can recharge the aerial fortress."

"After the Sun Moon Empire was defeated, the number of soul masters in the original nations dropped sharply. While soul tools are powerful, the stronger the soul tool, the more powerful the soul master required to unleash its true might. The Pointing-to-Heaven Fortress is composed of multiple level-nine soul tools; to activate it, one would likely need... over a dozen Titled Douluo. I heard from my teacher that at least one Limit Douluo is also required."

Li Changsheng was shaken once more.

Following the mountain path, they began their descent.

They headed toward the city below where the Shrek Pre-Academy was located.

It was worth noting that this entire city, built within the embrace of the mountains, was not entirely the Pre-Academy; after all, it was only a Junior Soul Master Academy.

The academy likely occupied about half the city's total area.

To add, the name of this city was Two-Part City.

A strange name.

But the meaning was straightforward.

A division between the Star Luo Empire and the Sun Moon Empire.

The adjacent Mingdou Mountain Range was considered territory occupied by the Star Luo Empire.

On the other side, the Sun Moon Empire's Pointing-to-Heaven Fortress also displayed its formidable reputation.

Two-Part City, built within the mountain embrace, only had one transit gate opening to the east, and to reach this gate, one had to travel along the mountain path.

It could be called truly secure, with natural barriers and man-made fortifications all reinforced.

Most importantly, building a city here meant there was no need to pay taxes to any empire.

After all, it was a land divided, a land governed by no one.

Soon.

The carriage convoy reached the gate.

They did not stop, instead driving directly into Two-Part City.

Two-Part City was divided internally; the outer side was a city for daily life, while the inner side was the Shrek Pre-Academy.

Ordinary people were not permitted to enter the Pre-Academy.

The carriages traveled in a grand procession, arriving at the final gate leading into the Pre-Academy.

Once they reached this area, the number of merchants and the like dwindled significantly, making it much quieter.

The carriages came to a halt.

"Alright, let's get off," Exquisite Dice said, standing up first. She stretched her body slightly and jumped directly off the carriage.

Then followed Seven Absolute Zither Master, Li Changsheng, and Li Zishuo.

At the city gate, it was deserted; there wasn't a single person in sight. In the empty front street, aside from Li Changsheng's group, there wasn't even a ghost to be seen.

"Stop looking around. You all need to prepare yourselves before entering the Pre-Education Academy." The Seven Absolute Zither Master, who stood to the side, watched Li Changsheng as he peered about, then offered this reminder.

"More preparation? What a hassle." Li Changsheng curled his lip.

Gu Feibai stepped down from the first carriage.

Li Changsheng craned his neck to look, but the two graceful, opulent women were nowhere to be seen; were they perhaps still inside the carriage?

Well, it didn't really matter.

Soon, the Seven Absolute Zither Master and her companion walked to one side, and Li Changsheng and the other new students lined up again, turning their attention toward the lethargic, middle-aged Gu Feibai.

It seems everyone has improved quite a bit.

His keen perception proved useful at this moment.

Merely by standing there, Li Changsheng could sense that the leaking soul power of the children around him had increased to a certain degree—and the margin was not small, roughly half a level.

They were worthy of being called geniuses who dared to come here and offer themselves up; they were clearly determined to reach the limit of a Soul Master, ten levels of soul power, within fifteen days.

Actually, could it really be called fifteen days? Counting the nearly seven days spent on the journey, it should be twenty-one or twenty-two days in total.

But Gu Feibai's next words left Li Changsheng stunned once again.

Gu Feibai scanned the group with a lazy, listless gaze. Without any pleasantries, he went straight to the heart of the matter: "Six days, and this is all the soul power you've managed to gain? You think you can pass the assessment like this?"

The crowd remained silent.

Children were shy; even if Gu Feibai were to scold them, they could only lower their heads and shrink back.

Soon, Gu Feibai beckoned to the Centrifugal Killing Mirror, who stood beside him.

The Centrifugal Killing Mirror stepped forward with fluid movements, appearing well-accustomed to such tasks.

He had no habit of making small talk, either. He simply brushed his palm over his storage soul tool, and in an instant, several white masks appeared in his hand.

"Upon entering the Pre-Education Academy, no one is permitted to show their true face. I assume the specific reasons for this were already explained on the road."

Had they been explained?

Li Changsheng glanced at the Exquisite Dice, who was standing with the Seven Absolute Zither Master.

The other party's gaze met his. Although he couldn't see her expression, she seemed to retreat a small step.

The Centrifugal Killing Mirror continued, "There are also your respective titles. You will register them here in a moment. As for what these titles are, that, too, has already been explained. Once you enter the Pre-Education Academy, your former names will be sealed away for six years. The reason for this should have been explained as well."

Li Changsheng was even more speechless.

Fine, he only knew that these were the rules of the Pre-Education Academy.

"After receiving your masks, you will all enter the Soul Power Tide Chamber together."

With that, the Centrifugal Killing Mirror signaled to the two people beside him.

As for the Exquisite Dice and the Seven Absolute Zither Master, they retreated to the side—or more accurately, they came over to where Li Changsheng was standing.

"Oops, I forgot to mention those things." As soon as she arrived, the Exquisite Dice said sheepishly.

"..."

Li Changsheng sighed, though he didn't pay it much mind.

They stood in line.

Soon, it was Li Changsheng's turn, though currently, it was Li Zishuo who stood in front of him.

First, Li Zishuo handed his martial soul certificate to the Centrifugal Killing Mirror, then took the mask offered to him, along with a sheet of paper.

The children ahead had all filled out their forms quickly; they had likely been informed of these rules on the road and had thought them through in advance.

As for Li Changsheng and Li Zishuo, sorry, but the Exquisite Dice had said they would only get this after entering the academy.

Perhaps it was a discrepancy in information.

But Li Changsheng was more inclined to believe it was a discrepancy in intelligence.

What was most infuriating was that neither of them had mentioned it.

Li Changsheng watched as Li Zishuo wrote down his title.

"No Regrets in Moving."

Exquisite Chessboard martial soul; playing chess, no regrets in moving.

How poetic. Throughout the journey, Li Changsheng had become increasingly interested in this descendant of his.

He was quite clever, though he seemed a bit shy around people. His talent wasn't top-tier, but he worked hard.

The Centrifugal Killing Mirror examined Li Zishuo's personal information, and after he finished writing, he spoke: "No Regrets in Moving, you will also enter the Soul Power Tide Chamber to cultivate. Although you are an exemption student, your soul power is too low and needs to be improved."

The Centrifugal Killing Mirror's tone was icy; or rather, his tone had always been icy. It wasn't that he looked down on Li Zishuo for being an exemption student—after all, within the Pre-Education Academy, true geniuses had their own paths of cultivation, while ordinary geniuses just had to struggle to survive until graduation!

"Understood, Senior." Li Zishuo nodded. Although he didn't know what the Soul Power Tide Chamber was, it should be a place to increase cultivation speed, right?

Soon, it was Li Changsheng's turn.

The Seven Absolute Zither Master, however, walked over alone, her sky-blue, ethereal eyes fixed on the paper Li Changsheng had just received.

The Centrifugal Killing Mirror on the side spoke up in surprise, "Innate full soul power?"

Li Changsheng looked at the cold mask before him and nodded. "Yes."

"A Heavenly Book martial soul? Junior, what exactly is your Heavenly Book martial soul?" He scrutinized the information on Li Changsheng's martial soul, hesitated for a moment, and chose to ask.

"A control-type martial soul, I suppose. As for the specifics, if you have time after I attach my soul ring, we can spar," Li Changsheng said with a smile as he weighed his pen and wrote four characters on the paper.

"Then you'd better hurry; I'm going to take the entrance exam for Shrek Academy this month." He took the paper Li Changsheng had filled out and handed him a mask.

The Seven Absolute Zither Master, who had been watching quietly from the side, asked, "Does the title you chose have any particular meaning?"

Li Changsheng was taken aback by the question, then shook his head. "No particular meaning. If I had to say, it's to commemorate someone."

"Well, I'll be heading off then?"

Everyone except Li Changsheng put on their masks and headed toward the city gate. Li Changsheng said a few words to the Seven Absolute Zither Master, casually put on his mask, and half-turned away.

"Oh? Alright, see you in a bit. Actually, it wouldn't be a problem if you didn't enter the Soul Power Tide Chamber." Her azure eyes blinked, looking quite beautiful.

"I'm worried about Li Zishuo. See you in a bit, then." Li Changsheng's voice came softly from beneath his mask.

"Alright then."

Li Changsheng turned and ran toward the other side.

The Seven Absolute Zither Master stood behind, gazing at Li Changsheng's retreating figure. A thin film seemed to form over her sky-blue eyes, reflecting his running back. Her cherry-red lips moved slightly. "To see the moon. What is that supposed to mean..."