Interception at Shrek

Coming home felt wonderful.

Xiao Cheng lay on his soft bed, gazing at the familiar patterns on the ceiling as a sense of solidity welled up within him.

The Body Sect had been nice too, and his grandfather and uncle had cared for him deeply, but no golden nest or silver nest could compare to one's own humble home. Returning home brought a sense of relaxation that nowhere else could match.

Early the next morning, while Xiao Cheng was still asleep, a rapid knock on the door woke him.

"Xiao Cheng! Xiao Cheng! Get up! The sun's already shining on your butt!"

That familiar, somewhat flamboyant voice made Xiao Cheng spring out of bed.

"Yao Zhu?" He hurriedly got dressed and ran to open the door.

The moment the door opened, he saw Leng Yaozhu standing there with her hands on her hips. Her fiery red hair was as striking as ever, but she had clearly grown taller. The baby fat on her face had faded, leaving sharper features and a heroic air. Her gaze had also become keener, with a faint glint in her eyes—a clear sign that her strength had advanced considerably.

Leng Yulai had changed even more. She was no longer the shy little girl who always hid behind her sister. Though she was still somewhat reserved, she stood straighter now, and her eyes held more confidence and determination. Her wine-red hair gleamed softly in the morning light, and paired with her delicate little face, she was already beginning to show the makings of a beauty.

"Xiao Cheng, you're finally back!" Leng Yaozhu looked him up and down, then nodded in satisfaction. "Mm, you look much sturdier. Seems you didn't slack off at the Body Sect."

"Yao Zhu, Yu Lai, long time no see." Xiao Cheng smiled in greeting. "How did you know I was back?"

"Your dad told our dad yesterday," Leng Yaozhu said as though it were obvious. "As soon as I heard you were back, I dragged Yu Lai over first thing this morning. So? After four months apart, did you miss your big sister?"

"I did, of course I did." Xiao Cheng smiled. "Come in first. Don't stand around talking at the door."

He ushered the sisters inside, then went to the kitchen and poured three glasses of fruit juice. Mu Wan had gone out early to buy ingredients, saying she would cook Xiao Cheng something delicious for lunch. Xiao Ran had also gone to the Spirit Pagoda, saying he had a project to wrap up.

Leng Yaozhu strode into the room without ceremony, looked around, then dropped into a chair and crossed one leg over the other. "I heard you came back yesterday, so I brought Yu Lai to see you. How was it? You spent four months at the Body Sect—did you gain anything?"

"Not bad." Xiao Cheng smiled modestly. "My Soul Power rose by three levels. I'm level twenty-five now."

"Level twenty-five?" Leng Yaozhu raised a brow, then exchanged a glance with Leng Yulai. The two of them started laughing at the same time.

"What?" Xiao Cheng was baffled by their laughter.

"We thought you'd improved a lot more. Turns out you're about the same as us." Leng Yaozhu lifted her chin proudly. "Let me tell you, I'm level twenty-seven now! Yu Lai is level twenty-four too!"

"Huh?" Xiao Cheng froze. "You both rose three levels too?"

"Of course!" Leng Yaozhu said smugly. "Did you think you were the only one who could have a lucky encounter?"

Xiao Cheng asked curiously, "How did you manage that? Three levels in four months isn't slow at all."

Leng Yaozhu and Leng Yulai exchanged another look. Then Leng Yaozhu lowered her voice. "Let me tell you a secret—we absorbed Soul Bones."

"Soul Bones?" Xiao Cheng was slightly taken aback.

"Mm." Leng Yaozhu nodded. "My dad gave each of us an Eighty Thousand Year Soul Bone. I absorbed a Red Feather Fire Phoenix Right Arm Bone, while Yu Lai absorbed a Nether Flame Beast Left Leg Bone. After we absorbed them, our cultivation started shooting up."

Xiao Cheng sucked in a breath.

Eighty Thousand Year Soul Bones! And two of them at that!

Leng Zhaoran really had gone all out!

They might not have been as outrageous as Qiangu Dongfeng's Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone, but Eighty Thousand Year Soul Bones were still incredibly precious treasures. In this era, high-year Soul Beasts had nearly gone extinct, and every Soul Bone used meant one less in existence. Many small and medium-sized families could empty their entire fortunes and still fail to produce even a Ten Thousand Year Soul Bone, yet the Leng Family had equipped its two daughters with two Eighty Thousand Year Soul Bones in one go.

"Deputy Tower Master Leng... that's truly generous," Xiao Cheng said sincerely, though inwardly he sighed, Damn rich people!

There was nothing to be done about it. The Xiao Family's foundation had always been weak. Though Xiao Ran was one of the Spirit Pagoda's Four Spirit Envoys, his family's resources were still far inferior to ancient clans like the Qiangu Family and Leng Family, which had been passed down for thousands of years.

What was more, Xiao Ran had spent most of his wealth creating the Space-Time Divine Shuttle. There were still enough resources to nurture Xiao Cheng, but priceless treasures like Soul Bones over fifty thousand years old were difficult to obtain.

After all, land-based Soul Beasts on the Douluo Continent were now nearly extinct, while high-year Soul Beasts in the ocean were extremely difficult to hunt. Only great families with inheritances spanning thousands of years possessed Soul Bones of that caliber.

This was something money could not buy.

"Of course! My dad loves us the most! The Seven Luminaries Team will have to face the elites of Shrek Academy and the Tang Sect in the future, so we can't do without enough strength." Leng Yaozhu proudly lifted her chin, then looked at Xiao Cheng curiously. "What about you? Did you get anything good at the Body Sect? Your cultivation also rose three levels, so you must have had some sort of lucky encounter too, right?"

Xiao Cheng smiled without explaining much. "Something like that. My grandfather gave me some help."

He did not mention the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger. It was one of his greatest trump cards, and the fewer people who knew about it, the better. It was not that he distrusted the Leng sisters; it was simply that some things were better left unknown.

Leng Yaozhu did not press him. Everyone had their own secrets, and she understood that.

"Oh, right. You came back at just the right time." Leng Yaozhu suddenly remembered something, her expression turning serious. "The Spirit Pagoda issued an emergency summons yesterday, ordering every member of the Seven Luminaries Team to gather at headquarters before noon today."

"An emergency summons?" Xiao Cheng was slightly startled. "What happened?"

"Seems the Spirit Pagoda has a mission for us," Leng Yaozhu answered.

"A mission?" Xiao Cheng asked curiously. "What kind of mission?"

"I'm not sure about the details." Leng Yaozhu shook her head. "My dad only said that we were to go to Spirit Pagoda headquarters this afternoon, and we'd receive a full briefing then. It seems to be related to Shrek Academy."

"Shrek Academy?" Xiao Cheng raised a brow. Thinking about the current time of year, he began to form a vague guess. That afternoon, Xiao Cheng went to Spirit Pagoda headquarters with the Leng sisters.

When they entered the familiar conference room, everyone else had already arrived.

Qiangu Dongfeng stood by the window with his hands behind his back, looking every bit like an expert. His cultivation had indeed broken through again, rising from level twenty-eight to level twenty-nine. He was only one step away from becoming a three-ringed Soul Elder.

Qiangu Qingfeng sat in a corner with his eyes closed, resting. He still had that unapproachable air, but his cultivation had clearly improved as well.

Zhang Geyang sat beside Qiangu Dongfeng. When he saw Xiao Cheng enter, his expression was complicated. The scene of Xiao Cheng sending him flying with a single sweep of his spear four months ago remained vivid in his mind. Although his father, Zhang Hongwen, had given him special training afterward, he still felt somewhat intimidated by Xiao Cheng.

Xia Zhengleng sat quietly on the other side. When she saw Xiao Cheng enter, she gave him a slight nod in greeting.

Once all seven had arrived, the conference room doors were pushed open, and Leng Zhaoran entered.

His expression was somewhat grave as he got straight to the point. "I summoned you here today because there is an urgent mission that requires you to carry out."

He walked to the conference table and brought up a map on the holographic screen on the wall. A route was marked on it, beginning at Shrek City and ending at Heaven Dou City, passing through more than a dozen cities along the way.

"This is the route for Shrek Academy's first-year final examination." Leng Zhaoran pointed at the map. "Following Shrek Academy's usual free-spirited tradition, they will make their students leave with nothing—not a single coin—and travel along this route within fifteen days. They must pass through at least ten cities and defeat one opponent in each city whose cultivation is at least five levels higher than their own."

"Leave with nothing? They can't even bring money?" Zhang Geyang asked in surprise. "Then what will they eat? Where will they stay?"

"That is their own problem." Leng Zhaoran spoke flatly. "Shrek Academy's examinations have always been like this. The goal is to test a student's overall ability. How they find opponents, how they defeat them, and how they solve their food, clothing, lodging, and travel problems along the journey are all things the students must handle themselves."

He paused before continuing. "And finding an opponent more than five levels above oneself is no easy task. They have no money on them, so why would anyone agree to fight them?"

"So..." Xiao Cheng, who knew the original story, said bluntly, "they'll provoke people?"

"Exactly." Leng Zhaoran nodded. "You should have heard something about the temperaments of Shrek Academy's students. They will take the initiative to provoke Soul Masters in places where local Soul Masters gather, and some are even bold enough to provoke military districts. Shrek Academy students have done this sort of thing plenty of times."

He swept his gaze across the seven of them, his tone growing stern. "And during every final examination, the Spirit Pagoda is among the worst-hit targets. Because we have always been in competition and conflict with Shrek Academy, their students especially like to come provoke the Soul Masters at our branch towers. This time will be no exception.

When the Spirit Pagoda tries to hold them accountable, Shrek Academy brushes it off with excuses like, 'They're just children,' offers a token apology, and the Spirit Pagoda cannot make much of an issue out of it. Later, they could not even be bothered to keep up appearances and stopped offering even token apologies."

"So our mission is..." Qiangu Dongfeng asked.

"To intercept them." Leng Zhaoran spoke decisively. "Your Seven Luminaries Team will split into three groups and follow the route to track the Shrek students. When they challenge the Soul Masters at Spirit Pagoda branch towers, you will intervene and stop them. Aren't they always saying it is merely childish horseplay? You are children too. I'd like to see what else they can say."

He looked at the seven of them and added, "Remember, your mission is not to defeat them, but to stop them from damaging the Spirit Pagoda's reputation. If you can defeat them, all the better. If you cannot, delay them as much as possible so the Soul Masters at the branch towers have time to prepare."

"Understood," all seven answered in unison.

"Good." Leng Zhaoran nodded in satisfaction. "Now, I'll assign the groups."

He looked at Qiangu Dongfeng and Zhang Geyang. "Qiangu Dongfeng, Zhang Geyang, you two will be one group."

Then he looked at Qiangu Qingfeng and Xia Zhengleng. "Qiangu Qingfeng, Xia Zhengleng, you two will be one group."

Finally, he looked at Xiao Cheng and the Leng sisters. "Xiao Cheng, Leng Yaozhu, Leng Yulai, you three will be one group."

"The three groups will travel along three different routes and track the Shrek students. Each group will be responsible for four to five cities. Once you find a target, intervene immediately."

"Remember to stay in contact and do not act rashly. If you encounter an opponent stronger than you, do not force a fight. Retreat in time and wait for support."

"Yes!" all seven replied together.

As they walked out of the conference room, Leng Yaozhu stretched lazily, an excited smile appearing on her face. "We finally have a mission! These four months have nearly bored me to death!"

"Big Sister, don't get too excited..." Leng Yulai said softly. "Shrek Academy's students should all be very strong..."

"What's there to be afraid of?" Leng Yaozhu patted her sister's shoulder. "We're strong too! Besides, there are three of us, while they only have one person. Why should we be afraid of them?"

Xiao Cheng smiled but said nothing.

He gazed into the distance, his eyes deep.

Shrek Academy... was he finally going to cross paths with the most famous academy on the continent?

He was looking forward to it.