Shrek Pre-Academy

Spirit Soul Grand Soul Fighting Arena.

This was established only a few thousand years ago; initially, it was just a small plot of land with few participating soul masters.

Later, as time passed, the Spirit Soul Grand Soul Fighting Arena began to expand aggressively. Today, it has become a massive structure covering nearly ten thousand square meters, with hundreds to thousands of soul master duels taking place every single day.

All of this was inseparable from the schemes and strategies of Li Changsheng.

There was no helping it; the outside world was too dangerous, so he had simply encouraged the village chief to move all those interesting things from the outside into Spirit Soul City.

Whenever he felt like seeing them, he could go at any time.

Night fell.

The streets were noisy.

Li Changsheng wove through the crowd, his Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track steps clumsy and unrefined.

According to the transcripts left behind by Tang San, one could understand:

Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track could be divided into two stages.

Ghost Shadow and Perplexing Track.

The Ghost Shadow manifests in thousands of forms, overlapping layer upon layer; only then could it be considered the first stage of mastery.

A single ghostly shadow was considered the entry level, yet it could also be the peak. Some could use a single shadow to evade all things in heaven and earth, concealing the secrets of fate. Others, even with ten thousand shadows at their side, would be seen through by an enemy at a single glance.

This was the gap—the gap in comprehension.

As for the Perplexing Track stage, it could numb the opponent, causing them to develop illusions and thereby achieving the effect of using retreat as an attack.

Li Changsheng's footwork was very stiff and wobbly, like a child who had just learned to walk. Fortunately, he did not bump into anyone nearby; otherwise, he might have invited unnecessary trouble.

At the same level, once Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track is deployed, unless an agility-attack soul master makes a move or an omnidirectional, indiscriminate attack is used, it is absolutely impossible to injure a soul master who has mastered Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track in the slightest, or even capture their trail.

In other words, every skill inherited from Tang San, once cultivated to the peak, is actually equivalent to gaining an additional martial soul characteristic... or even more.

Did you think Tang San had twin martial souls? On the surface, that was indeed the case, but in reality, every skill he used contained martial soul characteristics, and they were the most top-tier characteristics at that.

Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track—Agility-attack type.

Purple Demon Eye—Control type.

Mysterious Jade Hand plus hidden weapons—Power-attack type.

Crane Controlling Dragon Capturing—Power-attack; defense.

So, there is a reason why Tang San is so strong... Li Changsheng thought to himself while practicing the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track.

Soon, Li Changsheng arrived at the Spirit Soul Grand Soul Fighting Arena.

An ancient coliseum!

That's right, the building standing before his eyes, covering ten thousand square meters, was modeled after the massive coliseums of antiquity.

The Spirit Soul Grand Soul Fighting Arena was circular in its entirety, with the outer perimeter built using specialized metal bricks, stacked a full three hundred meters high.

Inside, there were nearly ten thousand spectator seats, a main soul fighting ring in the center covering a thousand square meters, and hundreds of smaller soul fighting rings.

The rings were all constructed using specially crafted metals.

The main soul fighting ring, in particular, was an eighth-level soul guidance device ring custom-ordered from the Sun Moon Empire in recent years. It possessed special defensive properties; by injecting soul power, one could activate a protective shield capable of withstanding attacks from an ordinary Titled Douluo for a period of time, as well as the siege of several Spirit Douluo powerhouses.

The sheer scale of the investment was staggering.

Since ancient times, the soul fighting arena had been the best place for soul masters to hone themselves, and at the same time, a place for various factions to display their strength.

With the passage of time and the development of soul guidance devices, the arena now also had dedicated areas for soul engineers to battle.

At the same time, there were also specifically established rules.

Li Changsheng did not care much about these rules.

In any case, it was just a matter of whoever had the bigger fist and higher soul power.

Li Changsheng was still quite interested in soul guidance devices; he felt that if development continued, perhaps some truly high-tech products would emerge.

He entered the soul fighting arena.

Compared to the arenas of ten thousand years ago, the current arena had changed drastically.

Huge soul power projection screens shone in the sky.

They recorded the real-time status of battles and broadcasted the lists of participants.

There were also some rankings being displayed.

Combat Power Ranking.

Winning Streak Ranking.

Rising Star Ranking.

Ten thousand years ago, at the entrance of the soul fighting arena, there would be a list of fallen soul masters, but nowadays, that architectural custom has long since vanished. However, modern soul masters believe more in the idea that the dead are gone; once dead, they are dead, and there is nothing worth commemorating.

Li Changsheng fixed his gaze on the entrance of the Soul Fighting Arena, his eyes cold.

Li Changsheng retrieved his VIP room key and ascended the automatic soul power staircase to the top-floor VIP suites of the arena.

Back when Li Changsheng had participated in the design of the arena, he had specifically carved out nearly a hundred VIP rooms to sell at high prices for exorbitant profit.

In reality, he had done it simply so he wouldn't have to squeeze in with others to watch the soul fights.

After all, the intangible benefits he had gained because Spirit Soul Village produced a Tang San were simply too many, far too many!

The arena was exceptionally lively tonight. Li Changsheng, not understanding why, picked up the communication device in the VIP room and summoned a server.

Soon, a knock sounded at the door. After Li Changsheng called for them to enter, the knocking paused, and a moment later, a female server in a uniform walked in.

As she entered and saw Li Changsheng standing before the massive floor-to-ceiling window, a flash of deep confusion crossed her beautiful eyes, though she quickly relaxed.

He was likely the child of some VIP, here to observe the soul fights before their upcoming martial soul awakening.

"Distinguished guest, how may I assist you?"

Even though he was just a child, the woman approached Li Changsheng with a gentle and respectful demeanor as she asked.

Li Changsheng did not look at the server, his gaze fixed on the bustling crowd below.

There were many, many children—at least several dozen by his estimation—who had likely come to watch the matches since they were due for their martial soul awakening tomorrow.

This meant nothing to Li Changsheng, and he certainly wouldn't have summoned a server for something so trivial.

His gaze shifted bit by bit, eventually landing on the center of the Spirit Soul Grand Soul Fighting Arena, the stage that symbolized an eighth-rank soul tool.

The eighth-rank soul tool arena covered a thousand square meters and was forged from pitch-black metal. On normal days, it remained inactive, looking much like black soil. To activate it, dozens of Soul Emperor-level powerhouses had to simultaneously inject their soul power to maintain it.

Therefore, this central arena was essentially a display piece. It was only activated when high-ranking soul master teams engaged in battle, and even then, it was never fully activated; a few Soul Emperors were enough to simply open the defensive barrier.

Yet, at this moment, sixty soul masters stood in three neat rows on the central arena.

Six colorful, flowing patterns adorned their bodies, and the soul power radiating from each of them was truly shocking.

Soul Emperors!

They were all staff members of the Spirit Soul Grand Soul Fighting Arena—every single one of them a Soul Emperor-level powerhouse!

"Is there a major event today? Why is the central arena even open?" Li Changsheng asked.

The server was taken aback, looking at Li Changsheng's back with a surprised expression before hurriedly answering:

"Today, the genius soul masters from the Shrek Pre-Academy are here to hold a simulation match against a team of Soul Venerables from our Spirit Soul Grand Soul Fighting Arena."

The woman's words left Li Changsheng stunned for a moment.

Scenes of memories unfolded, and familiar yet foreign terms impacted his mind.

Shrek Academy!

Pre-Academy?

"Pre-Academy? The Pre-Academy that only accepts soul masters with innate soul power above level eight upon their six-year-old awakening?" Li Changsheng asked without turning around.

The server nodded behind him and replied, "Yes."

Shrek Pre-Academy!

This must have been a branch established under Shrek Academy after the great war between the Sun-Moon Continent and the Douluo Continent thousands of years ago.

If Shrek Academy was the pinnacle of high-level soul master institutions, then the Shrek Pre-Academy was the peak of the lower-level ones.

Its enrollment requirements were even higher than those of Shrek Academy.

First, it only recruited students who had just awakened their martial souls; their innate soul power could not be lower than level eight, and their martial soul strength had to meet a certain threshold.

Second, they had to be fearless!

This so-called fearlessness referred to the specific training systems within the Pre-Academy...

Shrek Academy cultivated "Big Monsters."

The Shrek Pre-Academy was where they first selected the "Little Monsters."

The most desirable aspect was that anyone who graduated from the Shrek Pre-Academy could be directly promoted to Shrek Academy. It was even rumored that if one could become the valedictorian at graduation, they would be directly admitted into the Shrek Academy Inner Court for cultivation...

Shrek Academy! Who didn't yearn for it? As long as one could graduate, they would be considered a top-tier powerhouse across the entire continent. It was the kind of success that meant one's ancestors were smiling down from heaven!

"Interesting. Why would the Pre-Academy soul masters come to Spirit Soul City? I don't recall them ever coming here before." Li Changsheng was suddenly full of interest.

Many people knew of the Shrek Pre-Academy's existence, but very few could enter.

After all, the requirements were too high.

Innate soul power had to reach level eight! Level eight! And the strength of the martial soul had to pass, which locked out four-fifths of the population.

The benefits of entering were also obvious; at the very least, one wouldn't have to worry about soul rings...

The server smiled slightly and said in a sweet voice, "To recruit students and showcase their prestige. It is true they haven't been here before, but I heard that this year, the child of a major figure is coming to Spirit Soul City to awaken their martial soul..."

The woman didn't finish her sentence, whether because she wanted Li Changsheng to figure it out himself or because she truly couldn't be too explicit.

"The child of a major figure? How major? Seventy or eighty years old?" Li Changsheng joked with a laugh.

"Hehe, you are quite interesting, honored guest. You must be the son of some sect master, right? Are you also here for the martial soul awakening tomorrow?" The waitress smiled like a painting, covering her mouth lightly as she asked.

"Mm." Li Changsheng nodded, watching the soul power barrier rise around the level-eight soul guidance fighting platform below.

"Then I wish you a good martial soul awakening, reaching innate full soul power, and entering the Pre-Education Academy for your studies."

In this era, there was no such thing as "placing on the golden list." To congratulate a child, one had to say: "May your soul power reach the innate level, taking a half-step into the Pre-Education Academy!"

Li Changsheng still did not turn back, only saying with a hint of mockery: "Forget it. The Pre-Education Academy reeks of rot. I'm afraid of being suffocated by the stench."

"Are you referring to the Pre-Education Academy bringing an elite team here to perform a martial demonstration just for the sake of a sect master's son?"

Li Changsheng waved his hand and said with a smile: "Don't, I didn't mean that. I'm just curious which sect's soul master hasn't even awakened their martial soul yet, and can already make people from the Pre-Education Academy come here..."

As he spoke, Li Changsheng slowly turned around. At the same time, the God of Wisdom took control of his body, and his absolute ocular technique, the Purple Demon Eye, was activated!

His gaze met that of the reasonably attractive waitress. Within the cold pupils of the God of Wisdom, a rich and vast purple light flashed, piercing into the woman's mind like a sharp blade.

Snap.

With a crisp sound, the woman's consciousness was instantly invaded. She shook her head in a daze, and then spat out a few words:

"Clear Sky Sect."