The Shrek Inspection Corps

A hand rested on Chen Tianyuan's shoulder. He turned his head and caught sight of the newcomer out of the corner of his eye.

"Junior Brother Chen, you're not badly hurt, are you?" Gongyang Mo asked softly.

Chen Tianyuan put Bei Bei and Tang Ya's affairs out of his mind. He had said everything he needed to say; now it was up to Bei Bei to choose.

Chen Tianyuan turned around and said, "Nothing serious. Just a few scrapes."

"As long as you're all right," Gongyang Mo said.

He hesitated for a moment before speaking again. "Junior Brother Chen, there's something I'd like to confirm with you..."

"Go ahead, Senior Brother Gongyang. If I can help, I certainly will," Chen Tianyuan said.

Seeing the two talking, Wang Yan walked over as well. He smiled. "What are you discussing? May I hear it?"

"Teacher Wang, you've come at just the right time," Gongyang Mo said.

He looked at Chen Tianyuan and voiced his thoughts. "My martial soul is called the rainbow dragon. Though it's a dragon-type martial soul, it's a support martial soul with no combat power of its own. It also has a major flaw."

"Like the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, it can only cultivate to the Soul Saint realm. After that, advancing even an inch becomes nearly impossible..."

"But after Junior Brother Chen appeared, the martial soul within me began reacting strangely. And when I used my soul skills on him, their effects actually doubled..."

Wang Yan lowered his head in thought. After a moment, he said, "I was actually thinking about that just now. It's perfectly normal for Tianyuan to have Soul King-level combat power, but being able to contend with a high-level Soul Emperor under your enhancement is anything but normal."

"Given that both of you have dragon-type martial souls, I suspect Tianyuan's martial soul can strengthen yours, perhaps even make it evolve..."

Gongyang Mo's eyes lit up. "Yes, exactly! That's what I was thinking."

He looked at Chen Tianyuan. "Junior Brother Chen, I think we could try cultivating together. We might even have a Martial Soul Fusion Skill."

Wang Yan nodded. "It's worth a try. After all, when two people whose martial souls attract each other cultivate together, their cultivation speed increases slightly."

Early morning, at Shrek Academy's East City Gate.

The sun had only just risen, slowly dispersing the thin mist in the air as a dozen or so people walked out through Shrek Academy's gates.

Naturally, the current Shrek Seven Devils, led by Ma Xiaotao, walked at the front. Behind them were the reserve Shrek Seven Devils...

The dozen or so people wore their own clothes, walking ahead in little groups of two or three.

At the rear of the group, Chen Tianyuan walked shoulder to shoulder with Gongyang Mo. He was not yet fifteen, after all, and stood a head shorter than Gongyang Mo, who was nearly 1.8 meters tall. With Gongyang Mo's long hair falling loose down his back, anyone looking at them from behind might mistake them for an older sister and younger brother.

Just then, Wang Yan came over and looked at them. "How did it go? Did it work?"

Chen Tianyuan shook his head. "I cultivated with Senior Brother Gongyang all last night, but my cultivation speed didn't change at all. Senior Brother Gongyang, on the other hand, said he felt his cultivation speed increase."

Gongyang Mo nodded. "That's right. I did feel my cultivation speed increase, but only by about ten percent. It wasn't very noticeable."

Wang Yan frowned and looked at Chen Tianyuan. "Tianyuan, did your martial soul change at all while you were cultivating?"

"Not at all." Chen Tianyuan shrugged.

Wang Yan was utterly baffled. "This is the first time I've encountered anything like your situation. My guess is that Tianyuan's martial soul is of such high quality that Gongyang Mo's martial soul is attracted to it without that attraction being mutual. That would explain it."

Gongyang Mo: "..."

Xuan Zi, who was walking at the very front, suddenly turned around and stopped, along with the seven Inner Court students.

Xuan Zi was usually anything but proper, yet now he was exceptionally solemn.

The sight immediately silenced Huo Yuhao and the others, who had still been fooling around.

Even Chen Tianyuan had never seen Xuan Zi like this before.

The seven Inner Court students and Wang Yan all knew what Xuan Zi was about to say. They stood silently to one side.

Xuan Zi looked at everyone and said, "Shrek Academy has a legacy spanning ten thousand years. A powerful Soul Master can normally live for at least one or two hundred years, perhaps even longer. Every year, students pass the assessment and enter the Inner Court. But do you know how many people are in the Inner Court now?"

"A thousand?" Xu Sanshi ventured.

Xuan Zi shook his head. "No. At present, the total number of Inner Court students is no more than two hundred, and fewer than a hundred are currently staying in the Inner Court."

"Do you know where the others went?"

Everyone shook their heads.

Xuan Zi said, "Not every Soul Master in this world is kind. After gaining power, many Soul Masters become swollen with arrogance, convinced that they're number one under heaven. Some even see ordinary people as ants, or livestock they can beat and slaughter whenever they please..."

"There was once a Soul Emperor who brutally slaughtered an entire village simply because its food wasn't to his taste."

"The greater a Soul Master's talent and strength, the greater the destruction they can cause."

"Because of their tremendous power, Soul Masters are extremely difficult to monitor and restrain. As a result, Soul Masters committing evil is an all-too-common occurrence."

"We at Shrek Academy have never proclaimed ourselves the embodiment of justice, but neither are we willing to stand by and watch tragedies unfold. Thus, the Shrek Inspection Corps was born. Those missing students I mentioned gave their lives to eliminate these evil Soul Masters."

"Every teacher and student in the Inner Court is a member of the Inspection Corps. Perhaps you think that's unfair, but having benefited from the academy's resources, you must naturally contribute your strength to the academy."

"What Shrek Academy seeks to nurture is not merely powerful individuals, but truly capable people willing to uphold peace and stability on the continent."

Dai Yueheng stepped forward then, looking at everyone with unmistakable pride in his eyes. "Junior brothers and sisters, I am honored to be a member of the Inspection Corps. To evildoers, we are the executioner's blade that claims their lives. To the weak who suffer oppression, we are benevolent gods."

"I have killed bandits who raped, abducted, and plundered. I have killed corrupt officials who treated human lives like grass. I have also saved enslaved children. Nothing else can replace the satisfaction of doing good. The Inner Court's motto is: strength must match responsibility, and the heart must walk alongside kindness."

When Dai Yueheng finished, the other Inner Court students all shared in his pride.

Xuan Zi's expression was solemn. "What I must tell you is that we are both inspectors and enforcers. The enemies we face are extremely dangerous, and your lives may even be at risk."

"You are the reserve Shrek Seven Devils, and you are certain to enter the Inner Court in the future. But before that happens, I have already told you the responsibilities an Inner Court student must bear. We are still not far from the academy. If any of you are unwilling, you can turn around and return right now."

He looked at everyone, his gaze more grave than ever. "All right. Now give me your answer. Will you join or withdraw?"

"Join!" everyone answered in unison.