First Meeting with Mu En

After finishing the day's battles, the three of them left the Shrek Grand Soul Fighting Arena together.

Bei Bei looked at Lin Yan and asked, "Cousin, didn't Grandma come with you?"

Lin Yan shook his head and explained, "After Grandma accompanied me to obtain my third Spirit Ring, she sent me to the outskirts of Shrek City and then left."

Bei Bei sighed and said sadly, "Ever since my mother's funeral, Grandma has never entered Shrek City again. Maybe she's afraid of being reminded of the past."

Lin Yan was not surprised. He had already vaguely guessed that this was the reason.

After learning from Bei Bei that Shrek Academy's annual recruitment season would not begin for another three days, Lin Yan was in no hurry and stayed at the Mu Residence.

Their branch of the family had always passed down through a single line, with very few descendants.

Other than their old ancestor, Mu En, the only direct descendant was Bei Bei. The entire Mu Residence was exceptionally spacious; aside from Bei Bei and Zhang Lexuan, there were only a few servants.

As for Mu En, he spent most of his time at Shrek Academy and rarely returned here even once a month.

Lin Yan did not lower his standards for himself in cultivation just because he had become a Soul Elder.

He continued to work diligently to improve himself according to his previously strict training regimen.

Cultivation was like rowing against the current: if one did not advance, one would fall behind. He could not relax at any time.

He meditated in the morning and trained in the afternoon.

At night, he still meditated for the first half of the night and only rested for a few hours during the latter half, allowing his tightly wound nerves to relax.

Training ground.

Two bare-chested figures lay side by side a meter apart, doing sit-ups. Faint black light flickered around their bodies, making for a rather strange sight.

Bei Bei was drenched in sweat and gasped heavily. "Cousin, I can't do it anymore. I really can't. Let's rest for a while."

Compared to Bei Bei's bedraggled state, Lin Yan appeared far more at ease.

Hearing Bei Bei's voice, Lin Yan withdrew his Gravity Control Domain.

The moment the Gravity Control Domain vanished, Bei Bei let out a heavy sigh of relief. Without the slightest concern for appearances, he sprawled flat on the ground. "Cousin, is this how you usually train your body when you're alone?"

"Yeah!" Lin Yan answered with a smile.

Bei Bei sighed softly. "You really are a monster, being able to endure training like this! I couldn't keep it up at all."

Lin Yan smiled. "My physique is different from that of ordinary people. This training method only suits me. It's perfectly normal for ordinary people not to endure it, so don't take it too seriously, Cousin."

"Mm!"

Bei Bei nodded. After resting for a moment, he said, "Let's continue. You're already a Soul Elder, while I'm still a Great Soul Master. If I don't work harder, the gap between our cultivation levels will become far too great."

The two then resumed doing sit-ups under the pressure of the Gravity Domain.

However, after only a little more than ten minutes, Bei Bei could not continue again.

Thus, Lin Yan withdrew the domain from around Bei Bei and allowed him to rest while he continued training.

Just as Lin Yan caught sight of Bei Bei standing up from the corner of his eye, the latter suddenly called out, "Great-Grandfather, why are you back?"

Lin Yan's heart jolted.

Bei Bei's great-grandfather?

Wasn't that the master of Shrek Academy's Sea God Pavilion, the Limit Douluo renowned throughout the continent, the Dragon God Douluo, Mu En?

Lin Yan immediately withdrew his Gravity Control Domain and stood up.

What entered his view was an elderly man with a severe hunchback.

His spine protruded like a camel's hump, his body was thin and frail, and his aged skin was wrinkled like old tree bark. Almost none of his gray-white hair remained.

Seeing the true appearance of the Dragon God Douluo for the first time, Lin Yan was extremely surprised by his appearance.

It was truly difficult to imagine that such a decrepit old man, who looked as though he might keel over at any moment, was actually a famous Limit Douluo powerhouse who shook the continent!

Mu En's cloudy eyes looked at Bei Bei, then shifted to Lin Yan.

Sensing Mu En's gaze, Bei Bei hurriedly explained, "Great-Grandfather, this is the cousin I mentioned to you last time, Lin Yan."

Then Bei Bei introduced him to Lin Yan. "Cousin, this is my great-grandfather."

Hearing this, Lin Yan politely bowed slightly. "Lin Yan greets Great-Grandfather."

Although he did not share Mu En's surname and theoretically had little direct relation to him.

Mu En was Bei Bei's great-grandfather, while he himself was Bei Bei's cousin. After stretching the family ties a little, there was nothing wrong with calling him Great-Grandfather too.

It would never hurt to cling to a thigh as thick as a Limit Douluo's.

Perhaps one day, he might even talk him into helping hunt a hundred-thousand-year Spirit Beast!

To others, a hundred-thousand-year Spirit Beast was incomparably powerful, but in the hands of a powerhouse like Mu En, it was no more formidable than a chick.

"Mm."

Mu En nodded and scrutinized Lin Yan.

Lin Yan's heart tightened. For no apparent reason, he felt as if all his secrets had been seen through.

Could his second martial soul have been discovered?

"What were you doing just now?" Mu En suddenly asked.

Lin Yan thought it over. Mu En must have seen him using the Gravity Domain to train his body just now, so he did not hide it any longer. "Great-Grandfather, I was using the Gravity Domain to train my body."

"How could a Soul Elder like you possess a domain?"

A trace of surprise appeared in Mu En's cloudy eyes.

Lin Yan immediately explained how, at rank twenty soul power, he had absorbed a Millennial Titan Giant Ape Spirit Ring.

Bei Bei and Zhang Lexuan both knew about this matter, so there was no need to conceal it.

Mu En was even more surprised upon hearing this. "A Millennial Titan Giant Ape as your second Spirit Ring?"

"Mm!" Lin Yan nodded.

"Using a domain to train your body is certainly an ingenious idea," Mu En commented.

Lin Yan chuckled. "I only accidentally discovered that this method was effective."

Mu En sighed. "As expected, opportunities are reserved for those who are prepared and willing to try."

As he spoke, Mu En looked at Bei Bei and said, "Bei Bei, you should learn from Lin Yan. As the elder brother, you cannot let your cultivation fall too far behind your younger brother's."

"Great-Grandfather, I understand!" Bei Bei nodded.

"Bei Bei, come with me for a moment."

"Yes."

Watching Bei Bei leave with Mu En, Lin Yan felt a little curious, but he quickly dismissed that curiosity and continued training.

Three days passed quickly, and Shrek Academy's annual recruitment season finally began.

As the number one Soul Master academy on the continent, Shrek Academy was practically a holy land in the hearts of all Soul Masters in this era. Every Soul Master wished to enter and study there.

However, Shrek Academy was only so large, and its places were limited. Naturally, it could not accept just anyone.

First, applicants could not be older than twelve.

Second, their soul power cultivation could not be below rank fifteen.

They also had to possess a letter of recommendation from at least a city lord of a main city from one of the three great empires.

Only by meeting all three requirements could one qualify to register.

With the recruitment season about to begin, the flow of people in Shrek City had noticeably surged recently.

On the first day of the recruitment season, Lin Yan and Bei Bei packed their things early in the morning, left the Mu Residence together, and headed toward the registration site.