The Choice

Zhu Lu still quietly stayed by Dai Huabin's side, like a shadow.

Among the group, however, Dai Luoli was undoubtedly the most troubled.

His talent was indeed mediocre. Even with Yin Chen's little circle helping him from time to time, his Soul Power still improved slowly. As his peers broke through to the second ring one after another, he remained stuck at a dozen-something levels. It would still take quite some time for him to formally break through to the second ring.

This inevitably discouraged him somewhat, but under Xu Yun's stern, impatient urging, he had never truly given up.

As for Xu Jiujiu...

The frequency with which this Star Luo princess appeared at Yin Chen's side had not diminished with time. Instead, it had become increasingly natural.

She still cared about his cultivation progress, discussed the mysteries of Martial Souls with him, and shared insights from the royal family's treasured books. During their leisure time, she would also stroll through the gardens with him, drink tea, and chat as ordinary friends did.

Yet the initial investment and calculation behind it seemed to have quietly settled over their day-to-day interactions, gaining an indescribable closeness and mutual understanding.

Perhaps even Xu Jiujiu herself had not fully realized that when she looked at Yin Chen, the calculations belonging to a member of the royal family in the depths of her eyes were gradually being replaced by a more personal gaze filled with appreciation and warmth.

Graduation was imminent. His life at the junior academy was about to end, marking the conclusion of one journey and heralding the beginning of a new one.

Yin Chen stood atop the academy's clock tower, looking down at the familiar scenery below, his shattered golden eyes calm and unruffled.

Eleven years old, a level-thirty-eight Soul Elder.

Within the Star Luo Empire, he was already a rising star attracting widespread attention.

Yet only he knew that compared to the heights Castorice had reached in the Evil Demon Forest on the other side of the continent, this seemingly dazzling achievement was merely a beginning.

The night was deep. Yin Chen sat alone on a stone bench in the Snow-Listening Pavilion courtyard, his fingertips unconsciously tapping against the tabletop.

With graduation from the junior academy approaching, a crucial choice lay before him.

Should he remain in Star Luo City and enter the Star Luo Royal Advanced Soul Master Academy, or travel all the way to Shrek City to apply to the sacred land in the hearts of Soul Masters across the continent—Shrek Academy?

This decision was far more complicated than it appeared on the surface. It concerned his future path and plans.

The benefits of remaining at the Star Luo Royal Academy were obvious.

He would undoubtedly become a core figure nurtured with all the academy's and empire's efforts, enjoying the finest resource allocation and the most stable cultivation environment.

Given the talent he had currently displayed and his increasingly close relationship with the royal family—especially Princess Xu Jiujiu—his future would be bright.

Perhaps, as those palace dramas liked to say, he might eventually marry a beautiful, wealthy woman, be named a prince, and become a figure second only to one person and above countless others in the Star Luo Empire.

But that was precisely contrary to the ambition of "ruling the world" buried deep within his heart.

"A peaceful environment means a lack of tempering, and without the pressure of competition, people can only grow dull."

Yin Chen analyzed the matter calmly.

What could he learn by staying at the Star Luo Royal Academy?

What the academy could teach him would likely not compare to what Ye Xishui taught Castorice. Although Ye Xishui's instruction had been aimed at Castorice, she was, after all, a Limit Douluo and a Ninth-Level Soul Engineer. Yin Chen's main body had benefited greatly as well.

Resources? The Star Luo Imperial Family had indeed spared no effort on his behalf. Otherwise, he could not have risen from level twenty-four to level thirty-eight within three years, firmly surpassing Dai Huabin, who had the support of Duke White Tiger Mansion.

It was like Tang San in the original work. Despite possessing Twin Martial Souls, Innate Full Soul Power, and the Mysterious Heaven Skill, he had been unable to break through to Soul Elder even at the age of twelve due to a lack of resources in the early stages. Dai Huabin, on the other hand, had Innate Soul Power at level nine and had broken through early with the help of resources.

Yin Chen had never underestimated the importance of resources, and the Star Luo Imperial Family was not stingy in that regard.

So what did he truly value about Shrek Academy?

Connections, circles, and a potential future power base that transcended imperial borders.

Shrek Academy gathered elites from every corner of the continent.

Aside from a small number of exceptionally gifted commoners, most who could enter came from wealthy or noble backgrounds, with intricate networks of influence behind them.

If he stayed at the Star Luo Royal Academy, nearly everyone he encountered would have been cultivated within the Star Luo Empire's system. They were loyal to the royal family and loyal to the empire.

No matter how close Yin Chen became to the royal family, his surname was not Xu, nor did the bloodline of the Star Crown Spirit flow through his veins.

The pinnacle he could reach might be that of a high-ranking minister. He might even become one of the royal family through marriage, or perhaps, after becoming the strongest, turn the tables and seize the empire's sovereignty—but that was not what he wanted.

The Star Luo Empire was a top-tier power and the strongest of the original three Douluo nations, but it was not actually as powerful as it appeared.

The Holy Spirit Cult, the Sun Moon Empire, the Body Sect, and Shrek Academy—these were the forces truly capable of influencing the continent's balance.

Compared to the forces truly standing at the summit, the Star Luo Empire still fell short.

Shrek Academy, meanwhile, offered an entirely new platform.

In the Outer Court, he could meet outstanding young talents from the Heaven Soul Empire, the Dou Ling Empire, and even the major sects.

If he could enter the Inner Court, he would step into the circle of the continent's top elites.

If he relied on his own strength and methods to establish prestige and a network of connections there, perhaps... one day, he might even reach the core of Sea God Pavilion.

If I could become the master of Sea God Pavilion...

A sharp glint flashed through Yin Chen's eyes.

Then Shrek Academy, one of the continent's three great powers, would become his possession.

He was not a person of this world, and he possessed a natural immunity to Shrek's calls of glory and faith. He could regard it purely as a powerful tool and organization that needed to be controlled.

Shrek Academy's transcendent status and unique composition were precisely the best fulcrum for him to shift the continent's balance.

However, he was not cold-blooded or heartless.

The resources and affection the Star Luo Imperial Family—especially Xu Jiujiu and Emperor Xu Jiawei—had invested in him over the years were genuine.

If he chose to leave for Shrek, they would undoubtedly be disappointed and might even regard it as a betrayal.

This debt of gratitude and these concerns were shackles he could not easily cast aside.

As far as he knew, the people familiar to him—Dai Huabin, Zhu Lu, and even the sisters Lan Susu and Lan Luoluo—had all decided to go to Shrek.

Xu Yun could not go to Shrek due to the restrictions of her royal status, while Dai Luoli did not have sufficient talent.

"Shrek..."

Yin Chen quietly savored the name, repeatedly weighing its advantages and disadvantages in his heart.

Going meant stepping out of his comfort zone and facing fiercer competition, but it also gave him the possibility of weaving his own network and pursuing an even greater hegemony.

Staying meant stability and the continuation of his existing advantages, but the ceiling was plainly visible.

This was not merely a choice of academies. It was a critical decision regarding his future path.