Jing Hongchen not going to Shrek Academy was one factor. Another was that Xiao Hongchen had begun cultivating painstakingly after the tournament ended.
The reason for his cultivation was naturally the Ten-Thousand-Year Evil Spirit Orca Leg Bone purchased at the Starlight Auction House.
Xiao Hongchen had grand ambitions. He wanted to break through to Soul Saint rank within these five years and seek out Ye Qing at the next tournament for an open, honorable showdown at the pinnacle.
Without this Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone, Xiao Hongchen would have had to overdraft his potential to break through to Soul Saint, just as in the original story, making no further progress for at least five years after forcing the breakthrough.
But with this Soul Bone, things were different.
A Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring and a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone were both great blessings for a Soul Master. By absorbing a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone, combined with the vast resources Jing Hongchen poured into him, breaking through to Soul Saint was not impossible.
He had already reached level sixty-seven, and with over a year until the next tournament, he had enough time to break through to Soul Saint.
That more or less counted as a little cheating.
But even among cheaters, there were differences. When he saw Ye Qing as a Soul Douluo with nothing but Hundred Thousand Year Soul Rings, his resolve might shatter in an instant.
(Ye Qing: One punch shattered a genius's dream. Coach, I'm just an ordinary guy.)
Xiao Hongchen had no time for any exchange student program, and Jing Hongchen had no reason to go to Shrek, so the two academies' attempts to steal each other's teachings naturally fizzled out.
Now, let's turn back and take a look at our original protagonist, Huo Yuhao.