The War God Hall isn't clean either. If a god-slaying soul tool cannon can be stolen, no one would believe that there aren't several high-ranking officials in the War God Hall involved with the Holy Spirit Cult.
The Tang Sect is even worse—a faction that allows entry but no exit; that point alone makes it a hard pass.
As for Shrek Academy, the Battle Armor technology inside is quite good, and there are many geniuses.
Arthur planned to go in and learn for a bit, and while he was at it, see if he could kidnap a few geniuses.
But he never thought about joining Shrek to climb the Ranks because it was useless.
The current Shrek was too bloated; even if he could climb to the position of the Master of the Sea Gods Pavilion, he would be tied down by various social obligations and worldly matters.
Thinking about this made Arthur angry.
Shrek Academy, the Tang Sect, the War God Hall, and the Spirit Conduction Tower—not one of these four major factions was decent.
This godforsaken Douluo Continent.
"Then how much longer do I have to wait?" With hope in her eyes, Mu Xi was also about to go to Shrek Academy soon; she actually hoped to go with Arthur.
"Three years, I suppose." Arthur thought for a moment and gave a specific timeframe; in three years, he would be twelve. This was also the age when most normal geniuses enrolled in Shrek.
Furthermore, after cultivating for another three years, Arthur was confident he could suppress everyone with a powerful stance and try to recruit a few more talents as underlings to help him fight Evil Soul Masters in the future.
"Three years..." Mu Xi's face turned bitter; she couldn't wait three years. It seemed she would have to go ahead by herself first.
"Then I'll wait for you at Shrek Academy when the time comes."
"Hopefully," Arthur waved his hand and turned to leave. "That's it for today's forging. Next, it's time for me to go accept a beating from that old geezer."
Agravaine's method of teaching the Instant Light Meteorite secret technique was simple and crude: fighting.
In his view, after learning the basics, one would progress faster by fighting in structured combat.
That old geezer was a pure brute.
Yet Arthur couldn't refute it because he had Intuition; direct combat was indeed the fastest way for him to improve.
Under the influence of Intuition, even if he understood nothing, he would make the most correct moves during battle.
Not to mention using Instant Light Meteorite consciously after mastering the basics.
By now, Arthur's mastery of Instant Light Meteorite could be called perfect. Perhaps his understanding couldn't match the creator, Agravaine, but in actual combat, Arthur's execution was even more seamless.
Intuition was just that unreasonable; even if my understanding is insufficient, I can still do it right!
However, even if Arthur's execution was more perfect than Agravaine's, he still couldn't beat him at the same level of Soul Power.
Because the characteristic of this secret technique was primarily about the strong bullying the weak. Agravaine's stats as a Super Douluo were right there; never mind suppressing himself to the same Rank, he could still thrash Arthur even if he suppressed himself to ten Ranks lower.
This was the reason Arthur was always being beaten up.
That old geezer even felt like he was being quite technical.
"I feel like you've already practiced very well; is it still necessary to work this hard?"
Mu Xi had gone to watch the training between Arthur and his granduncle; that scene was such that even an outsider like her could see Arthur's prowess.
His movements were smooth as flowing water, and in their natural perfection, there was a unique charm circulating.
"It used to be like that," Arthur said seriously.
"Now, rather than him teaching me, it's more like we are... discussing the Dao?"
"Discussing the Dao?" Mu Xi didn't understand.
"Yeah, it's something like that." Arthur didn't explain too much.
In reality, he and Agravaine were now more like they were perfecting the Instant Light Meteorite secret technique together.
He applied it perfectly, but many of the movements he improvised based on the situation were things he knew how to do but didn't know why they worked.
As the original creator, Agravaine had sufficient understanding to incorporate those into the secret technique.
Arthur would then learn the principles and use his Intuition to execute them even more perfectly.
They went back and forth like this, complementing each other.
Seeing that Arthur didn't want to say more, Mu Xi stopped asking. Her eyes flickered as she suggested, "Then let's have a meal together first. My treat. No matter how important cultivation is, you still have to eat."
"Sure."
A free meal—might as well take it.
After eating with Mu Xi, the two parted ways. Mu Xi continued practicing her forging; over the years, Arthur had put a lot of pressure on her in forging.
Arthur went to find Agravaine for training.
He practiced until he was too exhausted to move, then returned to his room to meditate.
A few days later, East Sea Academy.
Although the school Arthur previously attended was called Donghai Primary Academy, it had no relation to East Sea Academy.
The perimeter of East Sea Academy was a high wall, and the entrance was built from giant stones.
The gate was grand and imposing, magnificent and wide.
It was a large academy, possessing both an Intermediate Department and an High-Level Division.
The Intermediate Academy division was part of compulsory education and didn't charge tuition; it occupied two-thirds of the entire academy's area.
The remaining third was the Advanced Academy division, which was also the essence of East Sea Academy.
For the Intermediate Department, Soul Masters from East Sea City and the surrounding areas could enroll with a recommendation letter from a primary academy. The program lasted six years and, compared to primary academies, focused more on the practical application of Martial Souls.
Walking into the academy, one could see the scenery of bluestone paths paired with the shade of green trees, which was very pleasing to the eye.
Arthur had come here to visit in advance, so he didn't need the guidance of upperclassmen; he headed to the Academic Affairs Office to report on his own, familiar with the way.
He received two sets of school uniforms and a dormitory key; the study materials wouldn't be distributed until classes started.
He was assigned to First Year, Class One.
This was expected; students were assigned to classes in order of their talent.
Arthur's talent was a cut above the rest, even in Class One.
In fact, he preferred to go to class five; after all, any class was the same to him.
class five, where Tang Wulin was, was more attractive to him.
He didn't have many schemes.
Arthur simply wanted to see Tang Wulin, the protagonist of the legend of the dragon king, with his own eyes to satisfy his curiosity.
When reading the book in his past life, Arthur had a pretty good impression of Tang Wulin at the beginning.
However, the further it got into the Late Stage, the more of a mess Tang Wulin became, but since he had already spent the money, Arthur had to finish reading it with a frown.
Bypassing the teaching building, he arrived at the dormitory building behind it, which was the same height—both twelve stories.
His dorm was on the third floor, room 306.
The entire building was noisy; many people were reporting for enrollment, along with their parents.
There was also a smell of dust in the hallways.
The freshmen were chattering, full of expectations for the future and very excited.
The parents were tirelessly repeating their instructions, telling their children to take care of themselves and to let the family know if anything happened.
The chaotic scene might be uncomfortable to some.
But Arthur felt it was quite nice; he liked the liveliness and the sense of mundane life.
Entering his dorm, there were two bunk beds, two desks, and four chairs inside.
It looked like a four-person dorm.
Arthur seemed to be the first to arrive; he put down his luggage and prepared to tidy up.
Suddenly, a roar came from downstairs.
"What are you doing?!"
After a burst of noise came the sound of fighting; it seemed a fight had broken out.
Fighting right after reporting?
Arthur was stunned for a moment, and a thought flashed through his mind.
Campus bullying?
Fighting in the dorms right as school starts when no one knows each other—it didn't seem like anything else but campus bullying.
His figure moved.
Arthur hated bullying the most.
Who was he?
He was the Crime Buster dedicated to eliminating Evil Soul Masters!
Since he had encountered it, he had to intervene.