Chapter 10 - Admission to Shrek Academy

It was morning at Shrek City. 

Sunlight peered from the windows as I frowned and shook off the bed, I stood up and stretched while basking in the warm light.

"Mm... I have to arrive before the afternoon."

I was reminded that I could stay in the inn for free, due to the sponsorship from the Shrek Academy. 

'Those old guys must be talking about me by now.'

My performance today shook the entire school, causing mayhem in the inner and core departments. They were still deciding whether they should promote me to a core disciple, but since I rejected Xuan Lao, who is a Rank 98 Hyper Douluo.

The chances of becoming a core disciple were slim.

Nonetheless, it didn't matter to me because keeping pace with the storyline was safer. If I had wandered throughout Soul Land, I wouldn't have gained the advantages from my past knowledge of Soul Land II.

There were abundant resources, and even backers, in case there were enemies who were out for blood.

'Money... didn't I leave a lot of gold, and jewelry in the treasury?'

I'll check to see whether I could trade it to the Merchant Association.

As I finished washing my face and eating breakfast, I went out and headed towards Shrek Academy. There were dozens of carriages passing through the stone pathway.

"You must Huo Yuhao? Here's your dorm and classroom."

The registrar smiled and ushered me directions to the dormitory. I was surprised since Huo Yuhao in the story didn't get this treatment. Supposedly, my actions have brought changes to the timeline.

When I went to the Shrek Plaza. It was buzzing with students from across the continent. They were taking glances at me while gossiping.

"Hey, isn't that the monstrous examinee that defeated an instructor?"

"Wow. He's so handsome."

"Is he part of a noble's family?"

"I heard he rejected the Titled Douluo's offer to be his master."

"That's crazy. If I was him, I would've accepted the offer!"

"Can't cry over spilled milk."

The voices of gossip continued until it quietened down when I passed through the Plaza before arriving at a room. Surprisingly, it wasn't the same as in the story where it was dusty and moldy. 

The room was clean and neat. It seemed that Shrek Academy was willing to put some extra privilege into my accommodation as an outer student.

"I wonder how Tang Wutong must be doing in her dormitory."

She must've been torturing her roommate due to her poor attitude, which was a result of Tang San and Xiao Wu's pampering.

It was best to keep a distance, so this situation was far better than I anticipated.

"Hm..." I went to the window and opened it.

A gentle breeze of fresh air from the forest entered the room, the basking sun from above the horizon dazzled my surroundings with rays of sunlight.

I couldn't ask for a better room for me who disliked company.

I sat on the chair next to the study table and started writing my plans for the day.

I still had the entire day before class started, so I went into my consciousness, and the familiar dark dreary surroundings entered my sight.

"Now... what are those two doing?"

I closed my eyes and glanced at the room where the Skydream Ice Worm, Tian Meng was staying. It was located in one of the master rooms where distinguished guests like ambassadors from different nations would stay for the night.

"Hahahaha! My territory is so comfy! I can sleep here all day!" 

Tian Meng in human form, bounced up and down from the queen's bed, and I shook my head at the hilarious sight before turning to look at the place where the Necromancer was staying.

It was a minimalistic room where the past Commander of the Undead Corp used to stay before he succumbed to the Hero's blade.

Yi Lai Ke Si was sitting on a lotus position, as he continued to absorb the energy's surroundings.

'I guess he felt that there was an abundant amount of death energy from the souls of evil and he used the room as a catalyst for restructuring his soul? It's an interesting method.'

I didn't want to alarm them since it was their first day staying in the Demon Realm. It would be best for them to familiarize themselves with this dreary world.

Huh, time? 

Suddenly, I remembered a significant fact about the Demon Realm. It was that the Demon Realm's time rotated slower. 1 hour in Douluo Dalu would be equivalent to 1 day in the Demon Realm. Since I had 12 hours, that would mean 12 days.

That would mean, I could cultivate longer here than the outside.

In the modern world, an ability like this was broken, in layman's terms.

'Good, I have enough time to explore this place. My memory is a bit foggy. If I adventure around the castle. I might even remember something.'

I stood up from my throne and entered the hallways from the throne room's exit. The first place was the opera stage where performances usually partake for special occasions where nobles would celebrate holidays. 

It was also where the Marionette fight occurred. 

I stared at the helpless broken Marionette, the energy of corruption had long dissipated from its cracked magic core.

I approached it and touched the magic core, I used my spiritual energy to reconstruct its body.

The process took several minutes, and finally, the Marionette regained its light. It bowed at me as if it was greeting a King. 

It was after all created by the ancestral Demon King, who was the first one to create all the Marionettes. 

But, how could a Demon King create instead of just destroy? Somehow, the Demon Realm could help the current successors of the Demon King's bloodline to create and shape anything within the Castle. 

As for outside, I couldn't use it, whatsoever. This power was unknown as I couldn't understand how it worked.

Maybe, the power of the Godhand wasn't just destruction? As I continued to contemplate.

When I entered the servant's quarters. I saw numerous dolls with no more energy in their magic cores. I then restored all of the maid dolls' magic cores to an optimal level that would last for a year, now they looked like like proper servants. 

"We have guests. Be sure to satisfy their needs and as usual, perform the same schedule as last time."

"-Also, introduce them to all of the Castle's facilities."

"Yes, your Majesty."

They all bowed and left to do different chores like cleaning the castle, preparing breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack times, and so forth. 

I then went to the Treasury Room, where a gigantic gate blocked my sight.

'It's taller than the Eiffel Tower...' I looked up as I couldn't fathom the size of this ridiculous structure. The First Demon King was definitely on a whole different level.

I poured the Godhand's dark energy into the Gate's symbol of the Sun and Moon. It then opened, what welcomed me was the treasury of the Demon Realm. These were all treasures that came from the destroyed worlds that numbered millions.

It was a vast place that could be compared to an entire ocean. It had gold liquid, coins, bars, and in any shape. There were also pieces of jewelry floating from the golden ocean. It amounted to hundreds of billions based on the Tome of Records.

It was endless, without any end to the depths.

"I still can't get used to this. Now that I remember, not even the previous strongest Demon Kings could sense the golden ocean's depths."

The reason why this was known as the Golden Ocean Treasury was due to the 1st Demon King's obsession with gold.

There were also unknown artifacts that possessed powerful forbidden magic that could affect time and space. But, that wasn't what I needed.

I outstretched my hand to grab thousands of gold bars and jewelry from the treasury like a gravitational pull, sucked into the spatial storage ring handpicked from the Golden Sea's Treasury, and exited before striding into the staircase where it lead to the 2nd floor.

The difference in height between the first floor and second floor was astonishing. It was comparable to the Empire State Building.

Fortunately, there was a magic portal that led from the staircase to the 2nd floor.

When I entered the 2nd floor, what welcomed me was the greenery garden. It still held a lush green color of life, a contrast from the outside window where the vast mountains, plains, and forests were dead.

It was raining continuously outside, with no life left in this world.

Inside the Garden, there were all sorts of plant life forms, but I wasn't interested, so I went into the tower which was on the third floor, where the Library of Knowledge is located.

When I entered the Library, the vast place was littered with floating books.

It was a place stowed with the knowledge of many worlds and the Demon Realm.

Since my spiritual rank was already at 20, it had been solidified three times. There was no point in training anymore, so I decided to look for records of the Demon Realm. 

1 week passed.

"Hey, Huo Yuhao."

I then turned my eyes towards the blonde, Tian Meng. It was the human form of the Skydream Ice Worm. The Necromancer was also looking around the library with an intrigued look.

"Did you guys just arrive?"

"We've already been here for a while! You've been so busy reading those books!"

"Hmm..." 

I grasped my head as it would seem that I had lost my sense of time.

"Anyway, Huo Yuhao. Your Castle is so huge, we were given a tour by those strange golems. Just what is this place?"

"You're now at the Library of Knowledge. It has knowledge of many worlds."

"Did I hear you right?" Tian Meng rubbed its ears with a look of disbelief. 

"Yes, I know what I meant."

The Necromancer turned his head with a look of amazement.

"It's endless. I can't see any starting point or endpoint. How do you find the books that you need?"

"Place your hand on that Tomb over there. It's known as the Tome of Records. You can find them in other places as well."

"So, what's next?!" Tian Meng had glittering eyes full of excitement.

"Use your thoughts and evoke your desire. For example, I want to learn about cooking or fishing."

"Oh, oh. I got a book!" Tian Meng glanced down at the book labeled with the title 'Worm Habitat.'

'Bruh.'

The Necromancer was staring at the Necromancy Book with a look of interest.

Oh, as expected.

It's as if all necromancers are fated to find the Commander Corpse's Necronomicon.

"It's knowledge of the previous Corpse Commander. It holds all of his research and knowledge of the underworld. You can borrow it for a while, just put it on the reception, and ask the doll to borrow the book for a specific date."

"Upon the date, the book will return to the Library of Knowledge."

"I see." The Necromancer nodded and went to the garden.