Qian Duoduo hid high in the sky, with the clouds providing the perfect cover.
Watching the boy below walk out of the city gate alone, a pack on his back, he furrowed his brow slightly.
If Sea God Tang San hadn't left those words behind before departing—"Make sure to cultivate Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong properly"—
he and all of Shrek Academy wouldn't have paid any attention to this nobody with a Ten-Year Soul Ring.
A good-for-nothing with a ten-year soul ring.
If not for his connection to the Tang Sect, even getting into Shrek Outer Court would have been a struggle.
Let alone having a Titled Douluo personally sent to protect him in secret.
"What does this kid think he's doing, leaving on his own?"
Qian Duoduo muttered, his gaze fixed on Huo Yuhao's retreating figure.
It was because Mu En, Elder Mu, had personally given the order to protect Huo Yuhao that he had no choice but to grit his teeth and follow him like a babysitter.
He wanted to see for himself what was so special about the boy Sea God Tang San had personally singled out—and where he was headed.
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's internal injuries still hadn't healed.
The Sky Phoenix True Fire still lingered deep in its core, flaring up from time to time and making it bare its teeth in pain.
As a result, it hadn't used its spiritual power to scan the surrounding area on a large scale.
It had simply holed up in Huo Yuhao's Spirit Sea and pointed him in a general direction, telling him to head north.
So it hadn't noticed the Titled Douluo tailing them from high above.
And because Huo Yuhao had been unconscious earlier, he hadn't personally heard the words Tang San left behind after descending.
So he had no idea just how much attention Shrek Academy was paying him now.
He still thought he was the same commoner boy nobody cared about or looked after.
Huo Yuhao, who had to fight tooth and nail for everything himself.
All these coincidences combined, and he never noticed anyone following and protecting him from behind.
At the same time,
while Qian Duoduo and Huo Yuhao headed toward the Far North, one openly and one in secret,
Yan Shaozhe returned to Shrek Academy with a crowd of Soul Masters, his expression grim.
Inside Sea God Pavilion, Xuanzi was wrapped in bandages from head to toe, with only his gloomy eyes and mouth exposed.
His injuries hadn't fully healed, but at least he looked much better on the surface.
His spirits, however, clearly hadn't recovered.
When he saw Yan Shaozhe walk in with a grim expression—and no one following behind him—Xuanzi's foreboding grew even stronger.
"Yan Shaozhe! Didn't I tell you to bring back everyone from Xiao Xiao's family? Where are they?" Xuanzi demanded hoarsely.
Yan Shaozhe shook his head, his expression grim. "No one was there."
"I took people to the address of Xiao Xiao's family, but when we got there, we found the whole clan had vanished without a trace!"
"No one knows where they went!"
At those words, Xuanzi slammed a fist into the bed.
He struck so hard that his own wounds flared with pain.
But he gritted his teeth and didn't cry out. Only the eyes visible between his bandages turned bloodshot with rage.
"Damn it! Damn it!"
The suspicion he'd already harbored was now completely confirmed.
Xiao Xiao had betrayed Shrek Academy long ago!
Otherwise, why would her family have moved away from their old home ahead of time?
They had clearly planned it all in advance, conspiring with that so-called Spirit Transmission Academy!
That wretched woman! She really was a traitor, biting the hand that fed her!
Yan Shaozhe stood beside him, silent.
He knew Xuanzi's temper. Speak up now, and he'd only get an earful.
Xuanzi cursed "damn it" several more times, his voice echoing through the meeting room.
But once he was done, he realized there was nothing he could do.
Though they still didn't know exactly where Xiao Xiao's family had gone,
it didn't take a genius to figure out they'd headed to Spirit Transmission Academy.
With a Limit Douluo stationed there, they didn't dare provoke Spirit Transmission Academy anymore.
What made them even angrier was that, according to the intelligence they'd gathered over the past few days, Spirit Transmission Academy was actually the new academy established by the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect!
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect!
Xuanzi thought of them, grinding his teeth.
"Not only did Xiao Xiao betray us, that wretched woman, but so did the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, our ally for tens of thousands of years! How dare Ning Qingyun, that old hag!"
Ever since the era of the first-generation Shrek Seven Monsters ten thousand years ago, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and Shrek Academy had been allies.
Though time had long since worn away most of their old ties,
at least they had always kept up appearances, cordial and respectful toward each other.
But now, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had joined someone else without a word.
Worse, they'd helped that other faction establish an academy and poach Shrek's people!
Unfortunately, aside from impotent rage, Xuanzi could do nothing!
After panting heavily, his chest heaving for a long while, Xuanzi finally gritted out a few words through clenched teeth.
"This isn't over! One day, Shrek Academy will find a chance to get revenge and wipe away this humiliation!"
He jerked his head up and looked at Yan Shaozhe.
"Spread the word. Make those fools in the inner court train properly!"
"Isn't Spirit Transmission Academy just home to one talented brat? So what if he's a genius! One tiny Spirit Transmission Academy can't compare to the foundation of Shrek Academy!"
"Shrek Academy has never lacked geniuses!"
Yan Shaozhe sighed. He could understand, to some extent, what was going through Xuanzi's mind.
It wasn't just anger. It was the humiliation of having someone walk all over them.
The mighty Shrek Academy, the greatest academy on the continent, had been attacked, forced to hand over compensation, and made to lose face. In the end, they'd had to rely on their ancestor manifesting to scare the other side away.
For someone like Xuanzi, who had spent his whole life accustomed to pride, that humiliation was worse than death.
"You don't need to tell me. I'll notify them."
"Hmph! See that you do! I hope they don't disgrace Shrek Academy again!"
Just as all the students in Shrek Academy's inner court began training with everything they had, under the elders' strict orders,
news of what had happened at Shrek Academy quietly spread.
Though Cai Mei'er had issued a strict order, threatening to expel anyone who leaked the story and cripple their Soul Power,
the students present had all obediently agreed.
But Shrek Academy was enormous, with tens of thousands of students and hundreds of teachers. How could other factions not have planted spies there?
Those spies didn't need to be highly regarded or have access to core secrets.
As long as they were inside Shrek Academy, they could see what had happened that day and hear the rumors circulating around the academy.
Shrek Academy's sworn enemy, Sun Moon Royal Academy, was naturally among the first to receive the news.
Inside the Bright Virtue Hall,
Jing Hongchen sat in the main seat, holding a report that had just arrived from Shrek City.
His shrewd little eyes narrowed, and his brow furrowed tightly.
"Shrek Academy... there were battle fluctuations at the Titled Douluo level? Several Titled Douluo fought at once? The statue of Sea God Tang San shone with golden light?"
He read the report again, and the more he read, the stranger it seemed.
"And the shadows of several Soul Beasts appeared? Did some place's Soul Beasts launch a massive attack on Shrek Academy?"
His fingers tapped lightly on the armrest.
"Something's not right. Something's not right."
"Soul Beasts attacked Shrek, and even Sea God Tang San was roused to personally manifest a divine miracle..."
"But why can't I find out a single thing about what actually happened? What did Shrek Academy go through this time?"
"And what's the story with that Spirit Transmission Academy?"
"The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect suddenly established it, then started recruiting students right after Shrek Academy came under attack? Those two things have to be connected!"
"We must find out what happened at Shrek Academy!"