Elder Xuan said, "That"s great. However, Long Xiaoyao was obviously here on behalf of the Ill.u.s.trious Virtue Hall. There was also the Scorpion Tiger Douluo, Zhang Peng. This is very unusual. Long Xiaoyao"s from the Heavenly Soul Empire, he shouldn"t be mixing with those from the Sun Moon Empire. If he"s really being used by the Sun Moon Empire, it means huge trouble."

Huo Yuhao suddenly thought of a possibility. "Elder Xuan, do you think that the Dragon Emperor Douluo has something to do with the Holy Ghost Church that we discovered? Perhaps it was even created by the Sun Moon Empire?"

Elder Xuan furrowed his brow and said, "Impossible. I noticed that Long Xiaoyao still cares about his brotherly ties with Elder Mu. Otherwise, all of you would have perished long before we reached you. I don"t think there"s anyone capable of challenging the Dragon Emperor Douluo in a duel. Not even Du Busi can match up to him."

Huo Yuhao said, "I feel like this Dragon Emperor Douluo is one who cherishes promises. He came for the rare and valuable materials I snagged. However, he decided to give up after he lost. Can we exploit this aspect of his personality…?"

Elder Xuan shook his head and replied, "The Dragon Emperor Douluo has been around for two hundred years. He won"t be that easy to deal with. However, I"m certain that he won"t attack Shrek Academy. Initially, he received grandmaster"s guidance when he was acquainted with Elder Mu, and also spent some time in Shrek Academy. The academy can be considered his benefactor. As long as he doesn"t become an evil soul master, I won"t think he"s one to repay kindness with ingrat.i.tude."

After ascertaining the Dragon Emperor Douluo"s background, Huo Yuhao felt a little heavy hearted, like time and tide waited for no man. He was a very long way aways from the abilities of the truly strong individuals. After Elder Mu pa.s.sed, Shrek"s strongest individual was now Elder Xuan. With Elder Xuan"s Rank 98 abilities as a Transcendent Douluo, he was strong enough to terrorize almost anyone. However, Du Busi"s and Long Xiaoyao"s appearances shook Shrek Academy"s stability greatly.

Huo Yuhao desired to contribute his strength to ensure the safety of the academy! However, he knew that he wasn"t strong enough. The only way he could reach that level was to cultivate tirelessly.

…… 

Shrek City slowly came into view. Huo Yuhao also focused his thoughts, as he was about to return home. This welcoming feeling also alleviated the anxiety that he"d felt. He clenched his fists as he saw the majestic city wall in the distance.

He still had a long way to go, but he needed to take it steadily, step by step. A storm was brewing on the continent, and the only thing he could do was become more powerful. It was only a few months until the Elite Continental Advanced Soul Master Soul Dueling Tournament. This time, the tournament was going to be held in the Sun Moon Empire.

Without a doubt, this was going to be another intense tournament. He and his compatriots were going to be the main forces of Shrek Academy this time, and they were even going to compete as Shrek"s Seven Monsters. Everything started long ago defending Shrek"s glory.

Under Elder Xuan"s leaders.h.i.+p, their group landed a few miles away from Shrek City. The defenses of Shrek City were pretty resolute. Even those from the city didn"t dare to fly above it, lest it leads to misunderstandings, and this also applied to Shrek Academy members. As soul tools developed, all sorts of defense-type soul tools had been installed in Shrek City and Shrek Academy.

The few miles that they had to walk was nothing to their group. When Huo Yuhao saw the gate to Shrek Academy, he started to tear up.

To him, this wasn"t just an academy that had educated and nurtured him. It was his home!

When he had left the Duke"s Mansion, he had told himself that he was an orphan from that point onwards. His mother had pa.s.sed away, and he could only rely on himself. Shrek Academy was the place that had given him warmth, nurtured him into a talent, given him strength,  and made him one of the best among those of the same age. He missed Shrek and everyone from Shrek right now.

"Everyone can return to rest. Yuhao, you can stay in the Sea G.o.d"s Pavilion temporarily. I"ll arrange a place for you to live after the activities end in a few days. The dormitory that you had on the Sea G.o.d"s Island has been allocated to someone else," Elder Xuan told Huo Yuhao.

"Activities? What activities?" Huo Yuhao was confused.

Yan Shaozhe could tell what he was thinking, and smiled. "Silly kid, have you forgotten? It"s time for the inner courtyard test for the outer courtyard students."

Huo Yuhao only remembered that after Yan Shaozhe mentioned it.

There was an entrance test for Shrek Academy"s inner courtyard every year. It was targeted towards students of the senior grades in the outer courtyard. There were also other talented students from other academies that wanted to enter Shrek Academy"s inner courtyard. They could use this chance to join the test with recommendations from their academies. If they pa.s.sed, they could become a part of Shrek Academy"s inner courtyard.

However, it was very difficult for students from other academies to pa.s.s this test, as Shrek Academy"s Martial Soul Department was the best on the continent. If there were even one or two students from other academies that pa.s.sed, it was considered very good. Most of the time, no outside students would make it in.

When Huo Yuhao first entered Shrek Academy, he had once wondered when it would be his turn to take the test to enter the inner courtyard. However, he was already a part of the Sea G.o.d"s Pavilion now, even though he was only seventeen years old.

"Dean Yan, do you want me to take the test too?" Huo Yuhao said almost immediately. He was itching to take the test.

Yan Shaozhe gave him a weird expression and laughed, "Why? Do you want to strut your abilities in front of the rest of the students? You can if you want to."

As he said this, Elder Xuan and the other elders couldn"t help but laugh. They had watched Huo Yuhao grow up. Huo Yuhao was Elder Mu"s closed-door disciple, and a core figure among the new generation of Shrek"s Seven Monsters. If he couldn"t pa.s.s the test, the Ultimate Soldier Plan would be considered a failure.

Huo Yuhao turned red, and weakly retorted, "I—I"m only worried that the other students will find it unfair if I don"t take the test…"

Elder Xuan was amused as he replied, "Enough, you don"t have to take any tests. The fact that you can win a bet against the Dragon Emperor Douluo already proves that you"ve pa.s.sed the test. If I used that as a standard, no student would be able to pa.s.s the test, apart from you. There"ll be another test for you, and it"ll be more difficult than the inner courtyard test. You"ll be in trouble then."

"Another test for me? What is it?" Huo Yuhao asked curiously.

Elder Xuan"s smile grew. "You"ll know when you know. Are you returning with us to the Sea G.o.d"s Pavilion?"

Huo Yuhao shook his head and replied, "No. I"d like to tour the academy since I"ve not been back for so long."

"Alright." Elder Xuan nodded and replied, "Your compatriots should know that you"re back. Bei Bei and the rest are waiting for you at the Tang Sect. After you tour the academy, you can go and find them."

"Alright."

After pa.s.sing a few more instructions to Huo Yuhao, Elder Xuan disappeared as a streak of light. The rest of the elders and the two deans also left. After returning to the academy, they didn"t have to worry about Huo Yuhao"s safety anymore.

Eldest senior and the rest are waiting for me at the Tang Sect? Then I should return to the Tang Sect first.

As he thought of that point, Huo Yuhao didn"t enter the academy, instead making his way into Shrek City.

At this point, a figure sprinted out from Shrek Academy, moving quite rapidly. As he turned around, this figure had already reached in front of him.

It was a woman with a tall and slender figure. She wore a white warrior"s robe with silver strappings. Her hair was covered by a bandana, and she wore a veil.

It was early spring now, and the fields around Shrek Academy were flat. The winds also blew stronger during this period of time, and thus it was very common for ladies to be wearing veils.

For some reason, Huo Yuhao felt as if he had met this woman before.

At this point, the bandana on the young lady"s hair was blown off by the wind, and flew towards Huo Yuhao.

He grabbed hold of the bandana subconsciously. At this instant, his entire body stiffened, and he couldn"t s.h.i.+ft his gaze away from that young woman.

As the bandana was blown off, the young lady"s pinkish-blue hair swayed with the wind as she made an exclamation of surprise. Her hair covered her entire back until it reached her hips, concealing the shape of her b.u.t.t.

As she turned back, her frantic-looking pinkish-blue eyes met Huo Yuhao"s gaze.

The moment that their eyes met, Huo Yuhao felt that his spirit had left his body. The familiarity he felt, the beautiful gaze and the excitement that came from the bottom of his heart made it difficult for him to control his emotions.

He almost blurted out three words immediately—G.o.ddess of Light!

Yes! Why was she so familiar to Huo Yuhao? She looked exactly like the G.o.ddess of Light! Huo Yuhao almost went up to pull down her veil.

"You…" Huo Yuhao discovered that his voice was trembling.

The young lady only panicked for an instant. She subconsciously used one hand to grab hold of her hair and extended her other hand towards Huo Yuhao.

Her hand was white and long, and seemed very familiar. Indeed, she looked exactly the same as the G.o.ddess of Light! Huo Yuhao felt his spirit screaming.

"Give it back." The young lady"s voice was very pleasing to the ears, as if birds were singing.

Huo Yuhao returned her bandana subconsciously. Before he had a chance to open his mouth, the young lady ran away with the bandana. A layer of golden light was subtly released from her body. By the time Huo Yuhao was able to react, he was only left with the memory of a delicate figure.