I have added this story to my Patreon. You can support me and read the 40 latest and advanced chapters there. It also fed and motivate me to write more chapters!
Free Members will get 10 Chapters Ahead of the schedule on Patreon!!!
Link: Patreon.com/AVRKingsTL
—------------------—
The wind swept the remaining clouds, and they ate and drank their fill.
The team, sated and returning home, walked across the street with umbrellas, their laughter echoing through the rainy streets and alleys.
"Wulin, I'm telling you, it's right to pay more attention to the Soul Net. You can't just Cultivate behind closed doors," Xie Xie said, his Face flushed with excitement.
Tang Wulin let out a satisfied burp and happily agreed, "You're right."
It had been a long time since he had eaten so much. It would be great if he could get free meals every day from now on.
Xu Xiaoyan held the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy's introduction brochure and admission notice, two cute dimples appearing on her small Face.
"My Family will be so happy if they know my Spirit is so popular. What do you all think?"
"Envious," Wang Jinxi and Zhang Yangzi said in unison.
Under two waves of public opinion, Shrek Academy was deeply mired in a reputation crisis, and its title as the continent's number one was stained with much dust. The Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy, while not surpassing it, already had the momentum to contend with it.
Roughly speaking, Xu Xiaoyan received invitations from a group of star students from the continent's top academy. How could they not be envious?
Xie Xie said mysteriously, "Just the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy isn't that impressive. What's important are those Geniuses. Xuanwu Xu Miao, third on the Young Talent Ranking, and Shenjia Wang Wen, seventh, are both there. They're all rare and formidable masters."
"If Teacher Wu hadn't wanted us to go to Shrek, maybe I would have recommended my talent and gotten close to them. We're not bad, right?"
Tang Wulin, with clear eyes, asked, "What is the Young Talent Ranking?"
Xie Xie: "..."
I told you to look at the Soul Net more often. The Spirit Pagoda has been spreading the news like wildfire this past year.
After an explanation, Tang Wulin nodded and then asked, "What's Senior Brother's ranking? Is he first?"
Xie Xie's mouth twitched, "He's not on the list. It's said he's not interested in rankings and is wholeheartedly pursuing and killing Evil Soul Masters."
"A year ago, five students from Shrek Academy caused a ruckus in Mingdu. Your Senior Brother and another Genius teamed up and achieved a complete victory, two against five. All five of those people were on the list."
Wang Jinxi interjected, "It's said that after he was injured by a Shrek teacher, he went into seclusion with the Angel Family. After coming out of seclusion, he traveled thousands of miles in a single day, killing eight Evil Soul Masters in a row."
"Many people on the Soul Net say he is the future Sword God of the Federation, the bane of Evil Soul Masters: 'A hundred evils and a thousand specters, do not run wild; the divine arrow's feather drinks blood, sorrow.'"
"This is exactly me in my dreams," Xie Xie said, clenching his fists and looking wistfully.
"Then this list is useless," Tang Wulin said, looking very disappointed. Since such a powerful Senior Brother wasn't included, it was just a wild list.
Having rarely met such a kind person who treated him to a full meal, Tang Wulin had a good impression of Feng Zaixing.
Xu Xiaoyan pouted, showing a look of deep agreement: "Before he came out of seclusion, everyone thought he might have the strength to be in the top three. Now, there's very little debate: he's number one."
"The controversy mainly stems from Shrek Academy because, apart from Xu Miao, all of the top five on the list are from Shrek," Zhang Yangzi added.
Just then, a cool voice came from afar.
"Discussing so enthusiastically, have you thought about your upcoming competition?"
Hearing this voice, the five shivered. Unbeknownst to them, they had already walked into the hotel where they were staying.
Wu Changkong leaned against a pillar at the front desk, looking at them with a stern gaze, clearly a strict teacher.
Tang Wulin gave an embarrassed smile, taking on the responsibility of a captain.
"Sorry, Teacher Wu, I rarely get to eat my fill, so I took a bit longer."
Wu Changkong's mouth twitched slightly. Unable to find fault with this reason, he waved his hand and said, "Since that's the case, then discuss your tactics early and rest."
If others had said this, Wu Changkong would have dismissed it as nonsense to appease him. But for Tang Wulin, it was perfectly reasonable.
Normally, without the academy's reimbursement, it wasn't easy for him to even eat his fill.
"There's nothing much to discuss about tactics. The few of us were all taught by you, weren't we?"
Xie Xie gave a playful smile. He was agile, Tang Wulin was control and strong attack, Wang Jinxi and Zhang Yangzi had a Spirit Fusion Skill, and Xu Xiaoyan was there to make up the numbers. Their competitiveness was undeniably strong.
Wu Changkong's Face straightened, and he scolded, "Don't be complacent. You are still far behind the continent's top Geniuses."
Xu Xiaoyan's small Face trembled, and she mumbled, "It's not that much, is it? We saw some tonight, and they think highly of us."
Tang Wulin and the other three didn't speak, but their eyes shimmered with bright light.
Feng Zaixing didn't look down on them because of the Cultivation gap. Although he didn't directly invite them to enroll, he welcomed them to Mingdu.
Long Chen and Le Zhengyu were also very enthusiastic, not to mention there was also a Heavenly Phoenix Douluo, who was a top figure in the Federation.
Wu Changkong's Face darkened, feeling a sense of powerlessness, like his nurtured cabbages wanted to grow legs and run to other vegetable gardens. He said irritably:
"Don't think that just because they're polite, you're as strong as them. That's just them being courteous and polite."
"Being polite is much better than being a terrorist, isn't it?"
Xu Xiaoyan observed Wu Changkong's expression and whispered.
Being implicitly criticized to his Face, Wu Changkong felt a blockage in his chest. He wanted to say that not all Shrek Academy students he remembered were scoundrels, but he felt he couldn't explain it clearly.
Sighing, he looked at Xu Xiaoyan and said:
"Perhaps some students at Shrek Academy do have problems, but Shrek Academy's teaching ability is the best on the continent; other academies cannot compare."
"Are you deciding now whether to go to Mingdu in the future?"
Xu Xiaoyan was silent for a while, then nodded gently, her voice as faint as a mosquito: "Teacher Wu, you know me. I don't have a very firm Cultivation ideal, and I don't want to take huge risks to gamble on an uncertain future three years from now."
On one side was a notorious and non-existent former top academy, and on the other was the current top academy representing the Federation's orthodoxy, with an incredibly enthusiastic admissions office. Xu Xiaoyan felt this was a choice that required no thought at all.
She slowly said, "Perhaps Shrek has advantages I don't know about, but they said that because of the special nature of my Spirit, they can arrange a three-word Battle Armor Master-level expert as my guiding teacher and create the most suitable starry sky Cultivation environment for me, so..."
"Then Shrek really can't offer better conditions."
Wu Changkong sighed with relief, then waved his hand somewhat wearily: "Forget it. Since they're willing to go to such lengths, you should follow your own path in the future."
"Wulin, Xie Xie, get some rest early."
As his words fell, a blue light flashed around Wu Changkong, and he disappeared from the spot.
As a former inner court Disciple, Wu Changkong knew that Shrek could not possibly invest such resources in Xu Xiaoyan.
How many inner court Disciples were there? How many had masters who were elders? With Leng Yaozhu there, Mingdu couldn't fake it; they couldn't afford to lose Face.
Xu Xiaoyan's mind was made up, and more words were useless. He couldn't possibly change his attitude just because a student had her own goals, so it was better to leave.
The imagined storm did not arrive. The five youngsters breathed a sigh of relief and returned to their rooms to rest... A thousand meters away, Luan Hongchen, hanging upside down like a bat from the rafters, took in the entire scene, clapping his hands and praising:
"What a thoroughly enjoyable show! Zaixing, you've made another contribution. You truly live up to being my specially approved Deputy Director of Admissions."
"Hehehe, this Dean loves poaching people from Shrek. This academy needs talent like you. I'll make you a full-time employee when we get back."
Originally, it was just a casual position for fun, but Feng Zaixing unexpectedly brought three surprises, making Luan Hongchen feel deeply gratified.
"I think you should be glad Wu Changkong has good character. If it were the outer court Dean, you would have had to intervene."
Feng Zaixing hung upside down beside Luan Hongchen, stroking his chin: "But then again, if Cai Yue'er were leading the team, I wouldn't have let Xu Xiaoyan come back. I would have just had Yuanen Yehui eat and sleep with her."
"Shrek's team leader is Lan Muzi, the inner court Senior Brother. I wonder how he compares to my Senior Brother."
Luan Hongchen said seriously, "Lan Muzi leads inner court elites. To my knowledge, their itinerary starts from the Tianhai Alliance and covers eighteen first-tier cities."
"The winners of these competitions will participate in the All-Federation Grand Competition next year. By sweeping them all now, Shrek will effectively win the All-Federation Grand Competition in advance. Their final stop must be Mingdu."
"In the past, they never bothered to participate in the All-Federation Grand Competition. This year, you've really pushed them to their limits."
Their reputation was damaged, and it would take decades for it to fade. Shrek Academy clearly didn't want to take the dignified, kingly path, choosing instead the quick and overbearing path.
As long as they crushed all other academies with the most formidable posture, proving their invincible status, a large number of Geniuses would naturally flock to them.
"No matter what schemes they're plotting, if they dare to challenge us, we'll take care of them all."
Feng Zaixing's Face showed a hint of mockery, and he slowly said:
"They want to maintain their status as the continent's number one, yet they're unwilling to stoop to participating as a normal academy. They go around challenging others, trampling the Federation's Face underfoot, it's like being a harlot and building a monument to chastity while singing praises."
"Since they care so much about Face, next year I'll also go to Shrek City and make a big splash, let's see how they respond!"
The advantage of the overbearing path is that it's quick to take effect and can snowball, but the side effect is that you absolutely cannot lose.
Since you are unwilling to bow your proud heads to the Federation and apologize to the public for your actions, I, Feng, will break your spines!
Luan Hongchen nodded and reminded him, "Their lineup is not weak: Bright Phoenix, Dark Saint Dragon, Dreadclaw Bear, Spirit Eye, Thunderstorm Falcon, Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda. Although they are all around fifteen years old, none of them are mediocre."
"And there are two younger ones who should have trump cards."
"Isn't that even better?"
Feng Zaixing's eyes showed domineering intent, and he smiled proudly: "After four years of honing my sword, it's time to let the world know my true capabilities."
"I've hidden my strength for a long time, and I'm a bit tired of it. I hope they can, at least, force out all of my Spirit Abilities..."
There are many who walk the overbearing path.