The Shrek Inspection Corps-So What If I Don't Join?

"Dong'er, there won't really be any danger tomorrow, will there?" Huo Yuhao asked nervously.

"Relax. If there really is any danger, I'll warn everyone."

"All right."

Huo Yuhao trusted that Wang Dong'er wouldn't hide anything from them when it came to something like this.

"Then shouldn't we start cultivating?"

Huo Yuhao treasured the time he spent cultivating with Wang Dong'er and seized every chance to get her to cultivate with him.

"Fine, fine, whatever you say."

Wang Dong'er held out her hand.

Huo Yuhao eagerly took it.

Early the next morning, the two arrived at the academy gates to assemble, and the others trickled in as well.

Wang Yan was there too. As their supervising teacher, he would accompany them to Star Luo City for the tournament.

They waited for a long time before Xuan Zi finally ambled over.

"All right, everyone's here. Let's get moving."

The group left the academy.

Along the way, they laughed and horsed around, keeping the atmosphere lively.

"All right, quiet down," Xuan Zi suddenly called.

"What I'm about to say is important, so listen carefully."

Xuan Zi directed his words mainly at Wang Dong'er and the others.

"Do you know why students pass the assessment and enter our academy's Inner Court every year, yet the Inner Court still has only a few dozen disciples?"

Everyone shook their heads.

"Is it because they graduated and left?" Xiao Xiao asked.

"Yes and no. Some students did graduate successfully and leave the academy. But many Inner Court disciples never made it to graduation. They gave their lives for the academy."

"Gave their lives?" The Outer Court disciples didn't quite understand. Why would Inner Court disciples lose their lives?

Xuan Zi explained, "Because not all soul masters are good people. They died fighting Evil Soul Masters."

"Ever since the Douluo Continent and the Sun Moon Continent became joined, conflicts between soul masters have only grown. Quite a few soul masters have strayed down the wrong path in pursuit of greater power and resources."

"There was once a soul master who slaughtered an entire village to increase his power. People like that are called evil soul masters."

"As Inner Court disciples, you have a special Inspection Mission. Whenever you discover a soul master committing evil deeds, you have a responsibility to intervene and deal with them."

"Our enemies are often very powerful, and many Inner Court disciples have died at the hands of evil soul masters. As members of the Shrek Inspection Corps, you will receive no rewards, yet a heavy responsibility will rest on your shoulders. But it is precisely this responsibility that safeguards peace on the continent."

"Now you need to give me an answer. Are you willing to join the Shrek Inspection Corps?"

Xuan Zi looked at them, his heart full of high hopes.

"We'll join." Bei Bei and the others chose to join without the slightest hesitation.

Wang Dong'er was the only one who hadn't spoken.

Everyone turned to look at her.

"What is it, Wang Dong'er? Are you unwilling to join?" Xuan Zi asked.

"What if I am?" Wang Dong'er asked in return.

Huo Yuhao tugged at Wang Dong'er's sleeve, unable to understand why she would object at a time like this.

"It's all right if you don't want to join. We won't force you to stay. But I'm afraid you won't be able to travel with us, nor will you be able to enter the Inner Court in the future."

In her previous life, Wang Dong'er had chosen to join without hesitation, because she thought ridding the people of evildoers was a wonderful, cool thing to do.

Now, however, what occurred to her was this: wasn't the so-called Inspection Corps created by Shrek Academy also using overwhelming strength to oppress others?

Although the people they dealt with were all supposedly evil, Wang Dong'er now had no interest whatsoever in such self-righteous methods.

Forget it. I'll just treat it as accompanying Huo Yuhao through these events.

Seeing how enthusiastic Huo Yuhao was, Wang Dong'er couldn't bring herself to spoil his mood.

She did rather want to know whether Huo Yuhao would choose not to join along with her if she refused.

Xuan Zi was right in front of them. If Wang Dong'er refused, both she and Huo Yuhao might lose their chance to participate in the tournament. And there was something in Star Luo City that would be very useful to Huo Yuhao, so they had to go there.

Wang Dong'er suddenly smiled. "I was only joking. Of course I'll join."

Huo Yuhao let out a sigh of relief.

Xuan Zi stared at Wang Dong'er for a while. He could tell that she wasn't particularly sincere. Still, given her special status, he decided to keep one eye open and the other shut on this matter.

Besides, they had only just managed to assemble the new generation of the Shrek Seven Devils. Losing a member right at the start would be quite a blow to the others.

"Very good. Welcome to the Shrek Inspection Corps. Next, you will carry out your first Inspection Mission."

"Wang Yan, give them their equipment."

Wang Yan handed each of them a ring and explained, "This is an Inspection Ring, the symbol of an inspector. It can verify your identity. It's also a Storage Soul Tool containing equipment reserved exclusively for inspectors."

"The most important thing inside is the Signal Flare. Whenever you encounter danger, you can launch it. If any other inspectors nearby see it, they will immediately rush over to help."

Everyone began fiddling with their rings.

Wang Yan continued, "Now I'll explain your first mission. You need to go to the area near the Sun Moon Mountains and kill a band of Bandits. Since the tournament is about to begin, you only have three days."

"These Bandits are cunning and evil. They have robbed and murdered many merchants traveling between the continents. If they're allowed to continue running rampant, trade between the two sides will suffer."

"Do we also take missions against ordinary people like this?" Bei Bei asked curiously.

Wang Yan shook his head. "No, we only deal with evil soul masters. We're going to wipe out these Bandits because their leader is an evil soul master known as the Death Messenger. He's very powerful, so you mustn't let your guard down on this mission."

Wang Dong'er knew that Wang Yan's warning was entirely justified. On this mission, the Inner Court students would fall victim to this very evil soul master.

Wang Yan continued, "There is only one objective for this mission: kill every one of these Bandits. Leave none alive."

At the mention of killing, the Outer Court students stiffened slightly. Almost none of them had ever killed anyone.

Ma Xiaotao smiled. "You don't need to worry. We'll be the ones doing most of the fighting. Just keep yourselves safe."

Wang Yan added, "Also, since it's quite far away, we'll be using Flying Soul Tools to get there."

"Huo Yuhao, since you and the others are relatively weak, we'll carry you."

"Teacher Wang Yan, I'll leave Huo Yuhao in your care."

Wang Dong'er pushed Huo Yuhao in front of Wang Yan.

"Senior Xiaotao, sorry for the trouble," Wang Dong'er said to Ma Xiaotao with a smile.

Ma Xiaotao had planned to take Huo Yuhao, but since Wang Dong'er had already asked, she couldn't very well refuse.

"All right, I'll take you."

Ling Luochеn took Xiao Xiao, and everyone set off together.