29  The Two Deans

As the match going on in the other arena magnificently continued, the semifinal match in Arena 1 had already ended. The time it had taken for Team Huo Yuhao’s match to end was much shorter than anyone had expected.

Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong had won again. Even though they were lacking a team member, they’d still been able to win the two matches afterwards, allowing them to progress directly from the top 8 to the top 2.

Although this match had ended very quickly, they were still lacking a person, which had made it a very narrow victory. If it weren’t for their Haodong Power playing an extremely crucial role in their matches, they wouldn’t have even had a chance at winning. If this were a life and death match, it would be very hard to tell who would’ve won.

Huo Yuhao had used the rules to his advantage, which had allowed him to escape unscathed from the boomerang due to the proctor’s protection. However, what if there there hadn’t been a proctor? Wang Dong would’ve had to block Long Xiangyue’s attack for him. Furthermore, Huo Yuhao wouldn’t have been able to activate his Spiritual Shock on Zhou Sichen in a situation like that. Once his two summoned beasts joined the battle, it would’ve become hard to predict the outcome.

Their change in tactics, in addition to the appearance of Huo Yuhao’s four soul skills, had allowed them to barely eke out a victory. However, nearly all of their skills had been exposed. Huo Yuhao had already used his Spiritual Shock multiple times during the knock-out tournament, thus their future opponents would definitely be vigilant towards it.

The freshmen assessment was only designed to test the cultivation of a student’s martial soul. However, modern soul masters were always equipped with soul tools during combat, and there was no lack of extremely defensive soul tools. At many times, the advantages a martial soul had would actually become disadvantages because of this.

Despite this, a victory was still a victory. After defeating Zhou Sichen’s team of three, Team Huo Yuhao had formally entered the top 2. They were guaranteed to at least obtain second place, which also guaranteed them a prize.

As soon as the match ended, they immediately left the Assessment Area and went back to their dorm room. It was highly probable that their last opponent would be the team from Class 5 that Dai Huabin led. As to whether or not Xiao Xiao would recover in time for the match, Huo Yuhao wasn’t clear. However, a spark had already been lit in his heart; he had to win this next match.

Once they got back to their dorms, Wang Dong couldn’t help but ask, “Yuhao, what happened to you before the match? Did you recognise that Dai Huabin?” Huo Yuhao’s reaction when saw Dai Huabin had been extremely strange. The normally-calm Huo Yuhao had almost lost control of himself; how could Wang Dong not be baffled?

Huo Yuhao took a deep breath. After hearing the words ‘Dai Huabin’, his body shook uncontrollably. He lowered his head and madly ruffled his hair before sitting down heavily on his bed. Afterwards, he slowly spoke in a hoarse voice, “Dai Huabin is the son of the White Tiger Duke. You should know who the White Tiger Duke is.”

Wang Dong nodded. “Naturally. The White Tiger Duke is the hereditary and perpetual Grand Duke of the Star Luo Empire. He has an extremely venerated position. The White Tiger Duke’s clan was originally the royal family of the Star Luo Empire. However, the Star Luo Empire was nearly destroyed during a massive war that occurred a few thousand years ago. The empire was only saved due to the cooperation of a few large sects in the empire. When that happened, those sects guarded the entire country. At that time, the bloodline of the White Tiger Duke had withered to the point that they were extremely weak, and their subjects were unwilling to continue serving them. Thus, that generation’s White Tiger Duke stepped down and gave the throne of the emperor to the general who’d quelled the rebellion that had occurred. That general’s family is the current royal family of the Star Luo Empire. However, royal blood still flows through the veins of the White Tiger Dukedom, so the new emperor bestowed him with the hereditary position of Grand Duke so that his family could enjoy riches and honor in perpetuity.”

“The blood flowing through the veins of the White Tiger Duke’s clan is still the blood of a former royal family, so the White Tiger martial soul that they pass on is an extremely strong Beast Soul. The head of our Shrek Academy’s first generation Shrek’s Seven Monsters was the Evil Eyed White Tiger Dai Mubai, who came from the White Tiger Dukedom. I didn’t think that this Dai Huabin would actually be a descendant of the White Tiger Dukedom.”

Wang Dong’s voice paused. He looked Huo Yuhao straight in the eye. “Then, then you and Dai Huabin….”

Huo Yuhao replied, “My mother was a servant of their clan, while I was born without a father. My mother worked in the White Tiger Dukedom in order to provide for me….” He didn’t say that he was actually one of the White Tiger Duke’s sons, as he’d never thought of him as his father. Furthermore, he hated the man who’d ruined his mother’s life. He’d rather say that he didn’t have a father, and wasn’t willing to admit the truth of his real identity. As he told the story of his life to Wang Dong, about how his mother had been beaten up for the sake of protecting him, and how she’d finally died of her illnesses, Huo Yuhao was reduced to tears.

“That bastard.” Wang Dong suddenly smacked the wooden bed and stood up with a ‘whoosh’.

“What are you doing?” Huo Yuhao hurriedly grabbed ahold of him.

Wang Dong angrily said, “I’m naturally going to help you seek revenge! Let’s go! Let’s go right now!” He’d originally thought that Huo Yuhao was just an ordinary kid who’d been born poor. Only now had he become aware of what Huo Yuhao had gone through. It was no wonder that he’d already become as silent as he was by the mere age of twelve. Furthermore, he was much calmer than his peers, and he cultivated like his life depended on it.

Huo Yuhao stood up and pushed Wang Dong back onto the bed. A light flashed through his eyes. “No, we can’t do that. It’s not time to confront him yet. This is Shrek Academy. Let’s not even mention whether or not we have the strength to do anything to him within the confines of the Academy; the Academy definitely won’t tolerate our malicious actions. He’s only one of the main culprits behind my mother’s death. I want revenge from all of them, not just from him alone. As such, the target of my revenge is the entire White Tiger Dukedom. Therefore, I want to become stronger—strong enough to take on the entire White Tiger Dukedom and obtain the revenge I seek.”

Wang Dong looked at Huo Yuhao, astonished. He didn’t think that Huo Yuhao’s unwillingness to seek revenge was a cowardly act at all anymore. On the contrary, he sensed an extremely chilly aura from Huo Yuhao’s body.

The heaven-turning hatred that had instantly burst forth from Huo Yuhao’s body was so great that even the three rivers and five lakes weren’t able to wash it away; the hatred in his eyes was simply that deep. The current him was like a lion that was about to devour its prey; he was completely different from the normally-warm and diligent Huo Yuhao.

An eleven-year-old child had actually been able to conceal his hatred this much, while remembering everything. From this, it could be seen what he’d experienced during his eleven years of life. This definitely wasn’t something that could’ve accumulated in a single day!

The anger in Wang Dong’s eyes gradually dissipated. After wiping some of the tears from his eyes, he asked in a quiet voice, “Then, how do you intend to seek your revenge?”

Huo Yuhao shook his head. “The current me is just a mere ant that the White Tiger Dukedom can stomp on at any time. What I need to do right now is become stronger, much stronger. The White Tiger Dukedom will continue on, but after ten, twenty, thirty, or even fifty years from now, there will come a day when I’ll find them. When that happens, I’ll sever the bloodline of the White Tiger Dukedom.”

In that instant, a savage light appeared in Huo Yuhao’s eyes. His pupils had even turned blood-red due to the deep hatred that had been carved into his heart. In that instant, the grey pearl in his spiritual sea shook lightly, causing Huo Yuhao to feel dizzy for a brief moment. His body swayed for a moment, but he was barely able to stand firmly on the ground with Wang Dong’s support.

Wang Dong assumed that he’d been stirred up due to his emotions. However, he’d never thought that there was such a deep hatred hidden within Huo Yuhao’s heart.

Huo Yuhao held Wang Dong’s shoulders with his hands and fiercely stared at him. The red in his eyes seemed to have deepened as he said, “Wang Dong, I think of you as a brother. Please help me keep my secret.”

Wang Dong clearly had a higher cultivation than Huo Yuhao, but he suddenly felt fear in that instant. Right after that feeling of fear appeared, he felt even more sympathy and pity for Huo Yuhao. They were both only eleven, yet how had he lived during his eleven years of life? On the other hand, how had Huo Yuhao lived!?

Huo Yuhao slowly closed his eyes and forcefully took a deep breath, calming his raging emotions. He’d hidden this hatred for far, far too long already. After entering Shrek Academy and passing the freshmen assessment, he’d finally felt hope, hope that he could seek revenge for his mother. However, when he saw Dai Huabin today, the flames of hatred in his heart had finally erupted. And yet, he couldn’t explode now, nor did he dare to. He had to continue to endure, until that strand of hope sprouted into his future.

“Ai—” A deep sigh suddenly rang out, causing Huo Yuhao to instinctively shiver. His relaxed mind instantly became vigilant as he released his Spirit Eyes, sweeping the area around him with his Spiritual Detection. He let out a low shout, “Who’s there?!”

The dorm was extremely quiet, and nothing abnormal appeared when Huo Yuhao scanned it with his Spiritual Detection. Wang Dong was astonished as he looked at Huo Yuhao; he didn’t know why he’d suddenly become so nervous.

Puzzled, Wang Dong asked, “Yuhao, what happened to you?”

Huo Yuhao was stunned. “Didn’t you hear it?”

“Hear what?” Wang Dong had a surprised look on his face.

Huo Yuhao was startled by Wang Dong’s reply. “Someone just sighed. I heard it clearly, why didn’t you?”

Wang Dong shook his head, a blank expression on his face. “I didn’t hear anything. Were you hallucinating?”

Huo Yuhao expanded the range of his Spiritual Detection to its maximum, but nothing strange appeared. After that sigh, no other strange sounds had rung out in the dorm room.

Could I really have hallucinated?Doubt appeared in Huo Yuhao’s heart. However, he quickly removed that thought from his mind. He was a spiritual-type soul master, which meant that his senses were much sharper than those of an ordinary person. Besides his vision—which was his strongest sense—his other six senses were relatively strong as well. Even if his emotions were raging, he wouldn’t have hallucinated. Furthermore, that sigh had been extremely clear; it had sounded like it was right next to his ear.

“Brother Skydream, Brother Skydream.” Huo Yuhao called out inwardly.

“Whaddaya want?” The Skydream Iceworm’s lazy voice rang out. An overwhelming majority of its time was spent sleeping. The only reason it had remained awake during the past few days was due to its interest in Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong’s martial soul fusion.

“I just heard a sigh—did you hear it as well?” Huo Yuhao asked.

“A sigh? You brat, did your emotions get to your head!? What sigh? If it’s not something important, don’t interrupt my sleep. Also, you should calm down a bit. If you can’t even control your emotions with the little strength you have now, you won’t be able to tell how you died in the future. It doesn’t matter if you die, but what if this Brother is involved?”

At this moment, Huo Yuhao was truly shocked. Unexpectedly, even the Skydream Iceworm hadn’t heard that sigh. Was it truly non-existent?

No, he couldn’t believe it. He was completely confident in his judgement. However, where did that sigh come from? With the Skydream Iceworm’s power, how could someone have evaded its senses? That’s impossible; the Skydream Iceworm is a million year soul beast! Even if its combat strength is lacking, it’s still practically an unparalleled existence in terms of spiritual power.

Just as Huo Yuhao was thinking about this to himself, the Skydream Iceworm’s voice rang out again, “Right, Huo Yuhao, I have to remind you of something. You need to use your Spiritual Shock as little as possible. If it’s exposed, your opponents will be prepared for it next time. Although it’s been strengthened by your what-cha-ma-call-it ‘Purple Demon Eyes’, it’s highly probable that you’ll receive a backlash if someone with a higher cultivation than you is guarding themselves against it. That’s very dangerous for you.”

Astonished, Huo Yuhao hurriedly asked, “Brother Skydream, under normal circumstances, how much stronger would someone have to be to make me suffer a backlash from my Spiritual Shock?”

The Skydream Iceworm replied, “If they’re careful, and they know how to properly use their soul power, someone that’s just a single rank higher than you can make you suffer a backlash. Otherwise, why would I have been left in such a wretched state within the Great Star Dou Forest? If the Spiritual Shock was unparalleled, why was I left in such a miserable state for so many years? The main reason why your Spiritual Shock performed so stunningly during your previous matches was because you had the element of surprise. In addition to that, it’s also been strengthened by your Purple Demon Eyes. Lastly, it’s because of your soul power fusion with Wang Dong. All of these factors caught your opponents unprepared. However, you’ll have to be careful if everyone starts prepared against your Spiritual Shock. On the contrary, you can simply use your Spiritual Interference. Although it’s much weaker than the Spiritual Shock, one of its benefits is that you won’t receive a backlash from it. Remember, you won’t be able to always defeat a three-ringed opponent just by releasing a Spiritual Shock—even with Wang Dong helping you. In the future, you should use it sparingly.”

Huo Yuhao smiled bitterly. “It’s not that I want to use it a lot. Rather, Brother Skydream, of the four soul skills you gave me, I don’t have any other ways to attack besides the Spiritual Shock!”

“Ugh… that’s another problem. However, just be patient for a while. How old are you? Why’re you so impatient! Quickly get to Rank 20; I have my own ways of letting you have enough combat strength. At the very least, you won’t be at a disadvantage against anyone of the same rank as you. Anyway, I’m going back to sleep.”

The Skydream Iceworm’s words were a timely reminder to Huo Yuhao, while simultaneously decreasing his urge to pursue the source of that sigh. The Skydream Iceworm had already mentioned ‘Rank 20’ many times, and Huo Yuhao had just been reminded of this fact again. Clearly, Rank 20 would be an important rank for him. If he could break into Rank 20, his strength would probably experience a flying leap, allowing him to possess at least a certain amount of fighting power. At that point, he wouldn’t need to keep relying on his companions.

After thinking this, Huo Yuhao’s emotions gradually calmed down, afterwhich he began cultivating with Wang Dong while recovering his soul power.

The afternoon fight would definitely be a hard one, not only because it was the fight that would determine the champion of the freshmen assessment, but also because it was an ordeal to his heart! However, he couldn’t run away from this fight; either way, he’d have to face Dai Huabin one day. Since that was the case, he’d use this fight as a form of training for his heart.

The dorm room had turned quiet. Due to their martial soul fusion, Wang Dong could sense the change in Huo Yuhao’s emotions. After discovering that he’d actually been able to calm down this quickly, not only was Wang Dong astonished, he even somewhat admired Huo Yuhao. From looks alone, Huo Yuhao wasn’t just a single rank below Wang Dong. However, in Wang Dong’s eyes, the eleven-year-old Huo Yuhao already had the resoluteness of a man.

The two cultivated all the way until it was time for lunch, which allowed them to fully replenish their soul power. When they reached the canteen, they were met with a big surprise.

“Hey you two fellas, I heard that you managed to enter the finals. Good, because this young lady has returned. How could you go to the finals without me?” Xiao Xiao happily leaned against the door to the canteen as she stared at Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong, who were about to enter.

The two of them were immediately overjoyed. They quickly walked over to her, and Huo Yuhao hastily asked, “Xiao Xiao, have you recovered?”

Xiao Xiao giggled. “Naturally! I have twin martial souls, so I’m obviously very talented. How long did you guys think I’d have to rest after a little scene like that? As a matter of fact, there’s nothing wrong with me anymore. Let’s go, I’ll treat the two of you to lunch. Let’s eat something nice for lunch today so that we can make sure we’re well fed when we beat those fellas in the afternoon till they can’t even take care of themselves. Hehe.”

Huo Yuhao smiled, then moved his right hand forward. Once again, Wang Dong immediately placed his hand on top of Huo Yuhao’s hand as fast as he could, while Xiao Xiao’s ended up at the very top. The three of them looked at each other, and confident smiles appeared on their faces.

“We’ll be the champions.”

Lunchtime had just started, so not many students had arrived. The instant they said that they’d be champions, the slightly sharp voice of a girl rang out, “How shameless. You’re not even scared of bragging. The champions will definitely be our Class 5.”

Huo Yuhao’s group of three simultaneously turned around to see three freshman students walking towards them. The person in the middle was Huo Yuhao’s personal enemy, Dai Huabin. The person who’d spoken, on the other hand, was a black-haired girl who was standing to his left.

This girl had very special eyes; the color of her left and right eye were unexpectedly different. Her left eye was pale blue, while her right eye was pale yellow. As she focused her gaze on the trio, her pupils unexpectedly turned into vertical slits, making her look extremely peculiar.

Dai Huabin had a stern look on his face, but he remained silent. After sweeping his gaze over the trio, he walked proudly into the canteen. On the other hand, the black-haired girl snorted disdainfully towards them. However, the other girl in their group—who had long pink hair—smiled sweetly at them. Her smile was extremely charming; so much so that it seemed to seep into one’s bones. Clearly, these two girls were Dai Huabin’s teammates.

Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao were about to explode, but they were stopped by Huo Yuhao. Dai Huabin clearly hadn’t recognised him, and after Huo Yuhao’s internal struggle earlier, he’d been able to remain calm on the surface when he’d met him again.

“A war of words has no meaning. Let’s settle it in the Assessment Arena after lunch.” After speaking indifferently, Huo Yuhao walked into the canteen with his companions in tow.

If this were a normal day, Huo Yuhao would never eat the Academy’s most expensive, top-ranked dishes—even if someone were to treat him to them; they were simply that expensive. However, today was a different story. Xiao Xiao had overdrawn herself yesterday, and her body needed nourishment. In the end, Xiao Xiao wasn’t able to treat them to the meal, as Wang Dong took the initiative to pay the bill. It wasn’t that Huo Yuhao didn’t want to pay it, but he gave up after seeing the numbers on the bill. The money he’d accumulated after selling roasted fish for a few months he’d been in the academy still weren’t even enough to pay for his school fees next term. Furthermore, the school fees required for second year students was supposedly even more expensive.

Dai Huabin’s group of three naturally ate the best food in the canteen as well. The two parties weren’t far away from each other, and the faint smell of gunpowder had already started to permeate through the air. Only, none of them dared to start a fight. After all, their match in the afternoon was more important.

After eating lunch, Huo Yuhao’s trio found a quiet place by the Sea God’s Lake to study some battle tactics for their match in the afternoon. They were about to face an extremely strong opponent, and it was impossible for them to not be nervous. Even though they were only freshmen, and though their strength couldn’t be considered anything within Shrek Academy, this championship match was of the utmost importance to them; any minor detail could decide the final victor of the match.

“It’s about time, let’s head to the Assessment Arena.” Xiao Xiao said.

“Yup.” Huo Yuhao nodded.

At that moment, Wang Dong suddenly said, “Yuhao, hug me for a second.”

Xiao Xiao’s eyes immediately widened. However, she quickly returned to normal when she saw a chilly killing intent appear in Wang Dong’s eyes.

Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong had a somewhat tacit understanding between themselves. His body shook, and he immediately understood what Wang Dong meant.

“Wang Dong…”

Wang Dong smiled indifferently, and a cold light flickered through his eyes. However, his voice was extremely gentle, “If we don’t try, how will we know?”

Huo Yuhao took a deep breath and stopped speaking. Afterwards, he spread his arms and hugged Wang Dong.

—-

The Assessment Arena seemed eerily quiet. Even though they’d already reached the finals of the freshmen assessment’s knock-out tournament, there were no spectating students.

Shrek Academy did its best to keep an element of privacy regarding a student’s abilities. Thus, students definitely wouldn’t be able to spectate other’s assessments.

Any students who weren’t participating in the assessment had to continue their classes. Thus, today was the day where there was the fewest number of students in the Assessment Arena.

However, a lack of students didn’t mean that there was a small amount of people present. Almost all of the teachers who didn’t have any classes were gathered at the Assessment Arena to watch the finals. Even the Dean of Shrek Academy, Yan Shaozhe, had personally come to watch this match match. Accompanied by Du Weilun and the other teachers, he walked up to the tall stage.

Even though this was only a freshmen assessment that was held three months after school had started, nearly all of the students from Shrek Academy’s inner courtyard had revealed their talents during this freshmen assessment. As a result of this, they were regarded highly by the college and nurtured. The reason that Dean Yan Shaozhe had come was due to the extraordinary strength of this year’s batch of new students. Normally, even students of Shrek Academy would need around three years or so to reach the three-ringed rank. At the same time, a cultivation of three rings was required for third year students to be promoted to fourth year students.

However, there had actually been three new students who were already at the three-ringed rank. With this level of strength, they were practically guaranteed to enter the inner courtyard in the future. Even Yan Shaozhe himself wished to see which of the two teams would become the champions of this year’s batch of freshmen.

However, the team he was paying the most attention to was Huo Yuhao’s team, due to Du Weilun’s report. By relying on the strength of two Soul Grandmasters and a Soul Master, Huo Yuhao’s team had actually managed to beat both Ning Tian and Xie Huanyue’s teams, who were both Soul Elders. Furthermore, Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao’s performances could definitely be described with the word ‘breathtaking’.

Wang Dong’s Radiant Butterfly Goddess was an unrivalled martial soul that was second to none, even in Shrek Academy. On the other hand, Xiao Xiao’s potential as a twin-souled soul master was even larger. Soul masters who possessed twin martial souls had been rarities during the early days of the Douluo Continent, and that still held true to this day. Even as the number one academy in the world, Shrek Academy currently only had three students, including Xiao Xiao, with twin martial souls. However, the other two students were already disciples of the inner courtyard, and they were all ranked among the top 10 overall students of the Academy.

As for Huo Yuhao, Du Weilun had also explained his situation to Dean Yan Shaozhe. Huo Yuhao had a rare Body Soul, which was a spiritual-type martial soul as well. Unfortunately, he hadn’t had a good upbringing, which had resulted in him only being at Rank 17. Furthermore, he only had a ten year soul ring. Although he had a relatively decent amount of talent, the flaws in the starting steps of his cultivation couldn’t be fixed. At the same time, there was also the question as to whether or not he’d be able to obtain a sufficiently strong soul ring as the holder of a spiritual-type martial soul. Due to the culmination of these factors, Du Weilun had put quotation marks around Huo Yuhao’s name, and had also expressed his unwillingness for Huo Yuhao to become a core disciple of the Academy.

Yan Shaozhe was still reassured by the way Du Weilun was handling things. As the Director of Studies, Du Weilun had a very insightful gaze, while both being fair and impartial at the same time. He’d made extremely important contributions to Shrek Academy as a whole by nurturing a large quantity of outstanding students.

However, Yan Shaozhe wasn’t the only Dean of Shrek Academy. He was the Dean of the Martial Soul Department, but Shrek Academy also had a Dean of the Soul Tool Department. Together, these two Deans managed everything in the Academy.

Naturally, Yan Shaozhe—who overlooked the Martial Soul Department—had a slightly larger amount authority amongst the two Deans. However, the Soul Tool Department was an independent body which had a certain amount of competitiveness with the Martial Soul Department. Due to this, he didn’t really have that much jurisdiction over the Soul Tool Department.

Other than the two Deans, the Martial Soul Department and the Soul Tool Department each had their own Vice-Deans who were in charge of taking care of the outer courtyard. After all, Yan Shaozhe and his counterpart in the Soul Tool Department focused more of their energy on the inner courtyard, as the inner courtyard was the true nucleus of Shrek Academy. Due to this, they wouldn’t normally bother with matters in the outer courtyard.

The Dean of the Martial Soul Department’s outer courtyard was also the Vice-Dean of the Academy. He was a scholar who spent most of his time on the studies of the fifth and sixth year students. He picked excellent students from the outer courtyard to become disciples of the inner courtyard, while sending these disciples through many types of strict assessments. However, he didn’t manage many matters other than that. Other than the Dean from the outer courtyard, the person who had the greatest authority in the Martial Soul Department was Du Weilun.

As the Director of Studies for the outer courtyard’s Martial Soul Department, Du Weilun had an extremely large amount of authority. However, there were no competitors for his position. During his twenty years of teaching, he’d conscientiously given an outstandingly large number of contributions to the Martial Soul Department. As a result of this, Yan Shaozhe was extremely reassured when he took charge of things, and completely trusted his judgement when it came to the students.

“Weilun, who do you favour in today’s match?” Yan Shaozhe asked with a smile.

Du Weilun chuckled. “I’m slightly more confident in Dai Huabin’s team. Although Huo Yuhao’s team managed to defeat two other teams that were led by Soul Elder-ranked freshmen, the overall strength of Dai Huabin’s team is definitely somewhat stronger than that of Huo Yuhao’s team. This is especially so for his two teammates; they’re both quite strong. All three of them have a decent chance at entering the inner courtyard in the future.”

Yan Shaozhe smiled and nodded. At that exact moment, a vigorous voice suddenly rang out, “Since Director Du thinks that Dai Huabin will win, I’ll say that the other party will win.”

Yan Shaozhe didn’t even turn around, but the trace of a smile had already appeared on his face, “Qian Duoduo, why’d a fella like you come running over here? As soon as I smelled the scent of copper from your body, I knew it was you.”

The newcomer was a sturdy fifty-or-so year-old man. He didn’t have any wrinkles on his face, but he had a head full of white hair that resembled steel needles, making him look someone who’d experienced a lot in life. His tall, stalwart body looked as if it had been carved from granite itself, and he was at least 2.2 meters tall. His wide shoulders and rugged muscles didn’t seem to have gone limp due to his age, while his bronze skin glowed with a metallic luster due to the rays of the sun, and a strong smell of metal wafted off his body. However, the person next to him was the person that Zhou Yi had taken Huo Yuhao to see in the past; Fan Yu.

Yan Shaoze didn’t even look back, but Du Weilun had already turned around, a trace of astonishment flashing through his eyes. He hurriedly bowed in respect. “Vice-Dean Qian, how do you do? What brings you here?”

The good-natured Qian Duoduo who always had a smile on his face was the Vice-Dean of the Soul Tool Department, who took care of the daily activities within it. He had a lofty position in the Soul Tool Department, and he only had one person above him. His position in Shrek Academy was slightly higher than even Du Weilun’s.

In Shrek Academy, promotions couldn’t be randomly given out. There were two main ways to obtain a promotion: The first method was based on a teacher’s ability to teach, as well as the contributions he’d made to the Academy, while the other method was by relying on one’s own strength. Throughout the enormous Shrek Academy, there were only a total of four Vice-Deans, and they could be considered the true backbones of Shrek Academy. However, a person who’d obtained such a high position clearly hadn’t done it by doing something as simple as contributing to the Academy. Their individual strengths were all at the peak.

Vice-Dean Qian Duoduo chuckled. “I was just passing by, when I heard you and Old Yan guessing who would win. I personally like betting, so Old Yan, would you like to bet with me?”

Yan Shaozhe finally turned around, laughing as he did so. “A fellow who smells of copper like you would never come here without a reason. I don’t believe that you’ve come here with such a simple purpose in mind. If you’re coveting the people from our Martial Soul Department, you’d better take a look before doing anything.”

Qian Duoduo casually walked over to Yan Shaozhe and sat down. “What do you mean, ‘the people from our Martial Soul Department’? They’re only freshmen. They haven’t chosen their Departments yet. You can say that again when they’ve made their final choices in their third year. Your Martial Soul Department just provides a foundational level of education to these freshmen. So come on, do you wanna bet or not?”

Du Weilun had already moved to one side, greeting Fan Yu as he did so. Fan Yu smiled in return, and the two found a place to sit behind the two Vice-Deans.

Fan Yu had an extremely high position within the Soul Tool Department. Although his current position was lower than Du Weilun’s, Du Weilun clearly understood that Fan Yu was definitely going to be the future Vice-Dean of the Soul Tool Department, and that he could even be the successor to the Dean. Contrarily a Director like him was highly likely to have reached the end of his career.

Yan Shaozhe wasn’t fooled by Qian Duoduo’s provocation. He smiled and shook his head. “I’m not going to bet with you. Old Qian, you’re even trying to make a quick buck from me. When I get back, just watch me tell on you to Lin’er.”

Qian Duoduo’s facial muscles twitched as he indignantly said, “Give me a break, you were an expert at acting shamelessly even when you were young. I’m more moral than you. You use Lin’er as a shield every time, do you have any face at all?”

As Du Weilun listened on, his heart twitched. These two major figures—who could change the entire balance of the Douluo Continent—are actually arguing over here. If the students were to hear them…

Yan Shaozhe chuckled as he looked at Qian Duoduo’s indignant expression. “Fine, what do you want to bet?”

Only then did a smile reappear on Qian Duoduo’s face. “If my team wins, you’ll have to let me pick a freshman from your Martial Soul Department to enter the Soul Tool Department within three years, and you can’t stop me from using any tricks.”

Yan Shaozhe snorted coldly and curled his lips. “I knew that you were up to no good. I’m not betting.”

Qian Duoduo replied with an easy-going voice, “Don’t be so impatient, let me finish talking first. Firstly, I won’t choose any of the students you’ve selected to be core disciples. Next, I won’t choose any students who are able to cultivate above Rank 30 before finishing their second year. Is that fine with you?”

Yan Shaozhe was stunned. “Old Qian, do you even need to make a bet with me? Don’t you take these kinds of students every year?”

Qian Duoduo had a gloomy expression on his face as he said, “Don’t bring it up. These new fellas keep aiming so high that they don’t even understand our Soul Tool Department. They’ve basically entirely ignored us. We’ve had no lack of students over these past few years, but students who’re truly suitable for our Soul Tool Department are rarities among rarities. You know about that plan of ours, and if we want to nurture a talent like that according to our plan, we can’t do it using ordinary Soul Engineers. It’s true that Soul Engineers are extremely important, but the people who can properly use them are just as important as the people who make them! Therefore, I want to choose a few students who have better martial souls. However, the fellas from your side are all following you like a chicken following a hen. You’ve hidden them so well that I haven’t even had a chance to pick any students. If I don’t get any suitable students, our plan is basically screwed. Don’t forget, you also agreed to that plan during the Dean’s Meeting. If you won’t support our work, then I’ll just bring Lin’er to the Martial Soul Department’s inner courtyard next time. Let’s see if you dare to stop her.”

When he saw Qian Duoduo’s sincere look, Yan Shaozhe pondered to himself for a while. Afterwards, he said, “You won’t choose any of my core disciples? And you won’t choose any of our students who’re able to reach Rank 30 by their second year?”

Qian Duoduo immediately assumed the appearance of a righteous person, “When have I, Qian Duoduo, not kept my word?”

Yan Shaozhe nodded and said, “Fine, I’ll take that bet. In addition to that, I’ll still let you choose a student even if you lose, so you can’t say that I’m not supporting your work. However, if you do lose, you’ll have to give me a hundred Stationary Soul Cannon Shells for me to play with if you lose. Also, they have to be high-explosive ones. Those toys are really fun to play with.”

Qian Duoduo’s expression immediately changed. “Old Yan, you’re being too black-hearted. Do you know how much it costs to make a hundred shells? I need a hundred gold soul coins to make just one of those ‘toys’.”

Yan Shaozhe smiled. “If you don’t dare, let’s call the deal off. I wasn’t willing to make a bet with you in the first place.”

Qian Duoduo had a pained look on his face as he replied, “Fifty of them.”

As if he was scared that Qian Duoduo would regret his decision, Yan Shaozhe immediately said, “Deal.” How could he casually use a high-explosive shell specially made for a Stationary Soul Cannon just to satisfy himself? Even having the chance to play with one was already quite decent. Although he was the Dean of Shrek Academy, he couldn’t damage his own house!

Qian Duoduo stared blankly at Yan Shaozhe. Afterwards, he looked at Yan Shaozhe with a startled look on his face. “You old thing, I’ve been tricked by you again!”

Yan Shaozhe immediately burst into laughter. However, he didn’t notice the crafty look that had flashed through Qian Duoduo’s eyes.