A chance encounter with Dai Mubai

Time hurried onward, the years changed in silence, and heat and cold traded places as the seasons turned. In the blink of an eye, Lin Chen had entered his fourth year at Suotuo Intermediate Academy.

After three full years of tireless cultivation day and night, tempered by actual combat in the arena and polished by advanced theory, he had walked his cultivation path steadily, securing every step without the slightest impatience or reckless haste.

Supported by his deep foundations, his soul power had naturally broken through, as smoothly as water flowing into a completed channel, bringing him firmly into the realm of a level twenty-nine Soul Grandmaster.

At the same time, his precision in controlling glazed glass, his mental coordination on the battlefield, his ability to anticipate the course of combat, and his composure under pressure had all reached new heights. His overall strength far surpassed that of Soul Masters at his level.

By now, Lin Chen had completely shed the naïveté and youthful immaturity he had brought to Suotuo City. He had comfortably settled into the fast-paced cultivation system of this premier cultivation hub, adapting to its intensive coursework, rigorous combat training, and pervasive atmosphere of cultivation.

Yet he had always remained true to himself and adhered to his own cultivation rhythm. He neither swayed with the restless tides around him nor envied others' swift breakthroughs, compared his talent and reputation with those of his peers, or flaunted his peerless foundations.

Amid the city's clamor and the rivalry of geniuses, he quietly settled himself, honing his foundations and combat skills in silence. He concealed his edge and lay low, gathering strength as he waited for his own moment of wind and storm to arrive.

That day, the sky was clear and the air crisp, with a gentle, pleasant breeze. Brilliant daylight spread across Suotuo City, and not a single drifting cloud marred the vast blue sky. After days of overcast weather, such a splendid day was a rare gift.

Suotuo City remained as prosperous and bustling as ever. Carriages and horses streamed like dragons along its broad, level main roads, and crowds surged in an endless flow. Ordinary townsfolk walked the streets, cultivators in various Soul Master uniforms hurried past, and students drawn by the city's reputation mingled with merchants and travelers from distant places.

Shops stood shoulder to shoulder on both sides of the streets: Soul tool workshops, medicinal herb shops, eateries and taverns, and stores selling cultivation supplies. The rising and falling cries of vendors mingled with pedestrians' chatter and laughter and the rumble of passing traffic. Lively without being chaotic, it displayed the vibrant spirit and flourishing foundations of this cultivation hub in the heartland of Heaven Dou.

After a tightly packed morning of advanced theory classes and focused meditation, Lin Chen finally found a little relief for his body and mind, which had been taut for days.

The recent stretch of intensive theoretical study, soul power refinement, and tactical review had kept his mind in a constant state of heightened concentration.

With such pleasant weather outside, he simply set his cultivation coursework aside for the moment and strolled out of the academy alone. He wandered at leisure along the city's main road, easing the fatigue and tension accumulated over days of arduous cultivation.

His steps were unhurried and his bearing relaxed as he moved through the crowd. Dressed in a simple, clean student uniform, he possessed a refined, otherworldly air that contrasted sharply with the bustling streets around him without seeming out of place. Quiet and restrained, he attracted no attention.

Wandering wherever he pleased, he passed through wave after wave of people and unwittingly arrived at the busiest crossroads in the very heart of Suotuo City.

This was the city's transportation hub, with roads branching in every direction and connecting the entire city. Here, the crowds were densest, and merchants, travelers, cultivators, and ordinary townsfolk came and went without pause, keeping the place bustling all day long.

Just as Lin Chen paused to look around and slowed his steps, an aged voice cut clearly through the surrounding din and reached his ears. It carried a hint of teasing slickness and worldly experience, along with a deliberate touch of cajolery and bluster. Its practiced cadence was steeped in familiar salesmanship, delivered with a uniquely oily charm.

"Young man, I can see that you possess an extraordinary constitution and exceptional talent—a cultivation prodigy seldom seen in this world! Alas, a brilliant pearl lies buried in dust, with no one to recognize its worth. Ordinary academies will only bury your peerless gifts. Why not come with me to Shrek Academy? I will teach you personally, impart the finest cultivation methods in the world, and nurture you with the utmost care. You are certain to become one of the continent's greatest powers!"

At the mention of Shrek Academy, Lin Chen's steps briefly faltered.

He quietly looked toward the voice, his gaze piercing the shifting crowds and settling precisely on two figures in the middle of the street.

There stood a lean yet upright middle-aged man with an aged appearance, dressed in worn, plain clothes, his face marked by weathering and fatigue. With an earnest expression and sincere tone, he was speaking at length to the boy before him.

The man looked down on his luck and utterly unremarkable. His clothes were plain, his appearance travel-worn, and he showed none of a powerful expert's bearing. Yet a keen, cunning gleam lurked in his narrow, sharp eyes. Rich in experience and meticulous in thought, he deliberately restrained his aura and concealed his depth. Though he looked like an ordinary old man from the streets, he was actually one of the continent's foremost flying-type Soul Masters, as well as the founder of Shrek Academy, who would one day overturn the balance among the continent's younger generation and forge a legendary academy—the Four-Eyed Cat Owl, Flender.

Years of traveling from place to place to recruit geniuses and scrambling to run his academy had polished his slick, worldly manner. His patter for coaxing young people into joining had long since reached perfection, ready to roll off his tongue at any moment.

The boy whom Flender was circling and tirelessly trying to recruit was even more striking. He wore a finely crafted brocade robe of luxurious fabric, and his tall, slender figure was exceptionally handsome. His features were sharp and cold, carrying the innate nobility of the Star Luo Imperial Family.

At that moment, however, after traveling a thousand miles in flight, his brocade clothes were stained with dust and grime. His hair was somewhat disheveled, his expression betrayed exhaustion he could not conceal, and deep impatience and irritation lingered between his brows.

He had clearly long since tired of Flender's endless persuasive spiel. Exhausted in both body and mind, he nevertheless forced himself to stand tall.

Even in such a bedraggled, fallen state, nothing could conceal his extraordinary bearing or the underlying edge of a supreme genius.

He was Dai Mubai, son of the White Tiger Douluo, future leader of the Shrek Seven Devils, and a supreme genius of the power attack system. Having finally escaped the Star Luo Imperial Family's brutal infighting, broken free of its restraints, and left behind the imperial homeland where he had grown up, he had traveled a thousand miles alone through wind and rain, wandering from place to place before finally reaching Suotuo City with great difficulty.

Stripped of his halo as an imperial prince, he was now merely a runaway boy weary of strife, yearning for freedom, and uncertain of the road ahead. His heart was full of exhaustion, yet the defiance and sharpness in his bones remained impossible to hide.

Lin Chen stood quietly amid the crowd, his upright, elegant figure remarkably distinct within the bustle, his serene, otherworldly air seeming apart from everything around him. He watched the classic recruitment scene unfolding nearby, his eyes utterly calm and his mind clear. He already understood the situation completely.

Having lain low in Suotuo for several years, he had silently watched the plot unfold and waited for its various figures to appear. Now, the first crucial plot point had finally arrived, exactly on schedule.

He silently calculated the timeline, his thoughts racing. According to the original story's established course, in exactly one more year, Tang San and Xiao Wu would follow Yu Xiaogang's arrangements, bid farewell to Nuoding City, and travel a thousand miles to study in Suotuo City, entering this city where winds and storms converged.

Then, Shrek Academy's core geniuses would arrive one after another. Young prodigies with vastly different personalities and heaven-defying talents would gather in one place, ultimately completing the Shrek Seven Devils.

When that time came, Shrek Academy—which had languished for years, hidden in a small village outside the city and attracting no interest—would finally cast off its ordinary shell and welcome the beginning of its own legend. It would raise the curtain in grand fashion on the legendary tale of the continent's younger generation and embark on a heaven-defying rise that would shake the entire Douluo Continent.