Shrek Inspection Group

"Shall we continue?"

Xi Xi and Chen Zifeng, who had originally intended to resist, retracted their martial souls and raised their hands the moment they saw the faint dragon's breath flickering before Lin Shuo.

Bei Bei's Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon martial soul also dissipated. He looked down at his empty hands, offered a bitter smile, and then raised his hands in surrender as well.

The entire arena fell into a deathly silence.

On the high platform, the chicken leg in Xuan Zi's hand dropped to the ground without a sound. His typically bleary, drunken eyes were now fixed intently on the seven-colored barrier upon the Soul Fighting Platform. His mouth hung slightly open, and he didn't even notice the wine dripping from the corner of his lips.

A domain. A genuine, authentic domain. And within this domain, all elemental attacks from the opposing side had been rendered completely ineffective. It wasn't suppressed or weakened; it was utterly nullified.

"This little monster..." Xuan Zi muttered to himself, his voice so low that only he could hear it, "what exactly is his background?"

If he could easily crush Ma Xiaotao, a six-ring soul master, while only at the four-ring level, what would happen once he became a Titled Douluo? Would he be able to contend with a Limit Douluo?

Setting aside the future and looking only at the present, as long as Lin Shuo remained at Shrek Academy, the championship for the next two Soul Fighting Tournaments would undoubtedly belong to Shrek Academy.

On the Soul Fighting Platform, Ma Xiaotao's Phoenix Fire Line struggled at her fingertips for a moment before finally extinguishing completely. She looked down at her hands, and for the first time, an emotion she had never experienced before surfaced in those typically arrogant and flamboyant eyes—not anger, not unwillingness, but a sense of bewilderment when faced with an absolute disparity in power.

She raised her head to look at the young man holding the Silver Dragon Spear. Sunlight spilled down from behind him, gilding his silver-white robes with a faint golden edge. On that handsome, almost unreal face, a pair of pure black eyes watched her calmly. There was no mockery, no triumph, only a natural, matter-of-fact indifference.

"I lost," Ma Xiaotao said, her voice hoarse.

Lin Shuo retracted the Silver Dragon Spear, and the overwhelming pressure dissipated as if it had never existed. He turned and walked back toward his team.

Xu Sanshi poked his head out from behind his Mysterious Turtle Shield, his expression dazed as if he were dreaming. He looked at the trenches and shattered ice Lin Shuo had carved into the ground, then at the scene of the entire team raising white flags, and finally fixed his gaze on Lin Shuo's upright back, swallowing hard.

Wang Dong'er stood where she was, her powder-blue eyes shining brilliantly. She watched Lin Shuo walk back, the corners of her mouth curling up in a way she couldn't suppress. The warmth from releasing the Butterfly Goddess Light still lingered in her palms, but her entire focus was now on that young man.

Across the way, Huo Yu'er looked at Ling Luochen, who was sitting on the ground, with a helpless expression. "Why did Sister Xiaotao have to pick me?"

On the high platform, Xuan Zi cleared his throat and coughed loudly, drawing everyone's attention back to himself.

"Alright, starting today, Lin Shuo will serve as the captain for all thirteen of you. Of course, if any of you can defeat him, the captaincy will automatically transfer to that person."

"Don't be discouraged by today's loss; everyone here should have felt the gap in strength between both sides. Go back and summarize your gains and losses. You are all dismissed. Assemble at the academy gate early tomorrow morning to head to Star Luo City for the tournament."

Hearing this, Lin Shuo and Wang Dong'er looked toward Huo Yu'er, with Wang Dong'er wearing a look of concern.

Though Huo Yu'er was a bit surprised, she returned a reassuring look to Lin Shuo and Wang Dong'er.

After finishing his announcement, Xuan Zi vanished from the spot, though he didn't forget to reach out into the air to grab a fresh chicken leg from his storage ring before leaving.

The main team members recovered from their shock and retracted their martial souls one after another.

Ma Xiaotao walked up to Lin Shuo and stopped, her fiery red eyes once again burning with spirit.

"Lin Shuo," she said, her voice bright and hearty, "I'm beaten. But don't think it's over just because you won this time. Once I break through to the seven-ring level, we'll fight again."

"As you wish," Lin Shuo replied indifferently.

After shaking off inquiries from the others at the Soul Fighting Arena, Lin Shuo left with Huo Yu'er and Wang Dong'er.

Early in the morning, at the main gate of Shrek Academy, the morning light had just begun to crest over the walls. A group of people slowly emerged—the fourteen tournament participants, along with Xuan Zi and Wang Yan.

The sixteen people walked in small groups. Xuan Zi was still wearing his incredibly slovenly white cloth robe, a wine gourd in his left hand and a chicken leg in his right, his messy hair blowing wildly in the morning breeze.

Lin Shuo wore a long silver-white robe, the fabric embroidered with faint, almost imperceptible dragon scale patterns in fine silver thread, which shimmered with a subtle, barely visible seven-colored glow in the morning light. His short, jet-black hair was tousled by the breeze, and deep within the strands, a faint seven-colored halo flickered and vanished whenever the sunlight hit at a specific angle.

Wang Dong'er walked to Lin Shuo's right, her powder-blue hair flowing like silk in the morning light. She wore a light blue knee-length dress, and her large, powder-blue eyes were incredibly striking.

Huo Yu'er walked to Lin Shuo's left, dressed much more simply than Wang Dong'er. Her long, deep-blue hair was tied into a neat, high ponytail with a plain ink-blue ribbon. She wore a deep-blue combat outfit, no longer the little girl in plain cloth clothes from a year ago.

Xiao Xiao wore a light green dress with her hair in two braids, whispering quietly to Wang Dong'er.

In the distance, Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi were chatting about something. Jiang Nannan, walking nearby, heard them, frowned, and moved away from the pair.

Xuan Zi walked at the very front, took a swig of wine, wiped his mouth with his sleeve, and suddenly slowed his pace. "We're a fair distance from the school now. Before we officially set off, there are some things I need to tell you."

The inner court students and Wang Yan seemed to know what Xuan Zi was going to say and immediately stopped in solemn silence.

"There is an organization within the inner court of Shrek Academy called the Shrek Inspection Group. All inner court disciples and teachers are members. This organization has only one responsibility: supervision. As long as you join the inner court, you must shoulder this responsibility. Every inner court disciple must complete thirty inspection missions before graduation; this is why there are so few disciples in the inner court of Shrek Academy."

"The subjects we supervise are soul masters, the most important of which are Evil Soul Masters. Does anyone here have any understanding of Evil Soul Masters?"

Seeing that most of the preliminary team members looked confused, Xuan Zi continued: "So-called Evil Soul Masters are those who possess special evil martial souls and use wicked cultivation methods to improve their power. Perhaps there are some among them with kind hearts, but from what I know, they all eventually fall into evil ways. Therefore, if you encounter an Evil Soul Master in the future, do not hesitate—strike immediately."

"As members of the preliminary team, you will all eventually enter the inner court to study. So, I need an answer from you now: join or withdraw."