Shrek Academy was nothing if not efficient. Merely three days later, a brief dossier was already placed on the desk of Du Weilin, Director of the Outer Court.
"You've worked hard, brother. Take this to the City Lord's office and claim your reward."
Du Weilin signed a slip and handed it to the man across from him, who was completely cloaked in black, face hidden behind a mask.
"You're too kind, Director Du. Serving the Academy is the honor of all us Shrek alumni."
The masked man accepted the note and stowed it away. Eight soul rings rhythmically pulsed on his body for a moment before fading from view as he silently disappeared from Du Weilin's office.
"A true genius who once walked our halls," Du Weilin murmured in admiration, glancing toward the door. A smile tugged at his lips. "As long as we have talents like you, Shrek will never fall."
The masked man had once been a student of the Outer Court. Though he'd failed to enter the Inner Court, after graduation he'd joined the Shrek City Defense Force under the city's jurisdiction. He remained in service to this day, the fastest Soul Douluo in their ranks.
Since Headmaster Yan had personally ordered that the matter be expedited, Du Weilin dared not delay and directly sought out the man for assistance.
His gaze returned to the document on the desk. After a moment of frowning contemplation, he picked it up and made his way to Yan Shaozhe's office.
"This Xu Tianxi… although he didn't awaken the Xuanming Turtle, he possesses innate soul power of rank seven. Not bad—he's a decent talent. Let the Headmaster decide his fate."
"Oh? A rare spiritual-type martial soul—Moonshadow—and innate rank seven soul power? Not a bad talent at all. But judging from this… his martial soul suffered a malignant mutation. Even after taking the Xuanwater Pill and Xuanwu God Pill, he only reached innate rank seven. Without them, he probably wouldn't even have made rank three."
Yan Shaozhe slapped the urgent intelligence report from his informant onto the table, a faint sneer playing at the corners of his lips.
"Du Weilin, in your estimation, how talented is this boy? Could he graduate from the Outer Court? Any hope of entering the Inner Court?"
"In my opinion… unless that martial soul has some hidden and exceptional traits unknown to us, he might just barely scrape by and graduate from the Outer Court, but he has no chance of making it into the Inner Court."
Du Weilin's voice was firm and resolute. He then calmly analyzed, "Innate rank seven is the absolute minimum threshold for Outer Court graduation. Each year, fewer than fifty students manage to graduate, and none of them have less than rank seven."
"Spiritual-type martial souls do have some unique advantages. If he trains diligently, he might graduate from the Outer Court."
Shrek Academy gathered the brightest talents from the Three Nations. Every year, a number of students were eliminated. Those who made it to the sixth year were virtually never below innate rank seven.
Innate rank eight, nine, even full-rank ten soul power prodigies—rare in the outside world—were commonplace at Shrek. A steady stream arrived every year.
Even after ten thousand years of development, Title Douluo were no longer as rare as before, but among the Three Nations, nearly all Title Douluo were born with innate rank seven or higher. This was why the Outer Court's graduation standard was so stringent.
"As for the Inner Court… while there are rare cases of rank seven talents passing the exam, this Xu Tianxi with his spiritual attribute is almost certainly out of the question—unless the Xuanming Sect is willing to pour immense resources into him."
Du Weilin made a prudent judgment based on Xu Tianxi's background.
Yan Shaozhe chuckled. "So you're saying it's impossible? Why so certain?"
"Headmaster, your eyes see through everything—why ask me?"
Du Weilin chuckled, then said seriously, "Simple reason: soul beasts with spiritual attributes are extremely rare. Powerful ones, even more so. Even with our Academy's ten-thousand-year foundation, it's difficult to find suitable soul rings for him—let alone the Xuanming Sect."
"Without appropriate soul rings, his martial soul will hit a wall in cultivation. Reaching seven rings would already be a feat. Beyond that, where would he find more suitable beasts? Don't tell me he plans to go to the Sun-Moon Empire and hunt Evil-Eyed Specters?"
He laughed at his own joke. The Demonic Forest was a soul beast forbidden zone as dangerous as the Star Dou Forest, feared even by Title Douluo.
Even if the Xuanming Sect had the resources, they wouldn't squander them on such a hopeless junior—especially given their intense internal competition.
"By the way, what about that Xu old freak and the Xu clan patriarch? Have we investigated their situation too?"
Yan Shaozhe asked cautiously, referring to the two individuals closest to Xu Tianxi within the Xuanming Sect.
If that Xu old freak insisted on grooming Xu Tianxi, there wouldn't be much he could do.
"As it happens, our informants just returned word. The Xuanming Clan Leader, Xu Fu, has recently been handing off his affairs to other clan members and announced that he will enter seclusion in the back mountain. As for the Xu old freak… no intel yet."
"That's not surprising… Send word to Xue Lingxun. Let her decide whether or not to get involved."
Yan Shaozhe paced, hands behind his back, before issuing his decision.
"Understood." Du Weilin replied and turned to carry out the order.
Xuanming Sect – Sect Master's Residence
In a gracefully styled palace robe, Xue Lingxun exuded noble bearing as she held the letter in hand, brows knitted in thought.
After a long moment of contemplation with her eyes closed, she turned to the two respectful maids standing nearby and beckoned them.
"Xue Han, Xue Nuan—what do you think?"
The two maids exchanged glances, then answered in unison, "Your Highness should decide."
They had followed Xue Lingxun from the Douling Empire and were her most trusted confidantes, having been granted the surname 'Xue'.
"You want me to decide… Heh, this matter is quite the headache. What do you expect me to do?"
She had been married into the Xuanming Sect for many years and had a reasonable understanding of its strength. In one word—unfathomable.
She once considered bringing her son Sanshi and her husband back to the Douling Empire, allowing the royal family to use this as an opportunity to invite the Xuanming Sect to become their national protector sect—an arrangement that would benefit both sides.
But she hadn't expected her natal family to be so hostile toward her husband, who had eloped with her. Even after revealing his identity as Xuanming Sect's Sect Master and demonstrating power close to that of a Title Douluo, even her once doting father now treated them coldly. Her newly crowned nephew? He didn't even bother hiding his disdain.
Her husband, once a youthful prodigy, wasn't someone who could stomach mockery and scorn. The reunion ended in an ugly fallout.
After returning with him, she was never stripped of her princess title—but as a former imperial princess, her influence in the Douling Empire had dwindled to almost nothing.
Now Shrek's Headmaster wanted her to make things difficult for Xu Tianxi? The audacity.
"This could be big or small… It all depends on how much that boy means to my husband."
Having made up her mind, Xue Lingxun turned to her maids.
"Xue Han, gather the kitchen staff. Prepare nourishing whale collagen soup tonight. Invite the Sect Master—I want to speak with him at length by candlelight."
"Xue Nuan, go buy as many toys and knick-knacks for children as possible. The more variety, the better. Tomorrow, deliver them to Xu Tianxi in the second branch residence in my name. If anything's lacking, supplement it."
Xue Han's face reddened slightly but obeyed respectfully. Whale collagen was a powerful aphrodisiac—she knew exactly what "talking by candlelight" meant. Her mistress missed the Sect Master.
Xue Nuan, however, looked confused. "Forgive me, Your Highness… I don't understand your intent."
"What else? Just pamper him a bit. Give him whatever he likes. Let him indulge in comfort and lose interest in cultivation. Isn't that how royalty raises good-for-nothing scions?"
Xue Lingxun lazily twirled her hair and smiled. "That child just lost his mother. It's only natural that I show some care. Whether this works or not isn't my concern."
"At least I'll have done my part. Maybe they'll show Sanshi a little more favor too. I'm just a Soul King—surely they don't expect me to act personally?"
"Alright, you two go now. Have Xue Xin and Xue Ling come in. I'm going to bathe and dress up. I haven't seen the Sect Master in a while… I rather miss him. If he's going into seclusion for two or three years, I won't get the chance again soon."
"Yes, Your Highness." The two bowed and departed.
Once the room was empty, a sneer surfaced in Xue Lingxun's eyes.
Shrek people… always so arrogant. Do they really think everyone is willing to be their pawn? If not for fear of the Sun-Moon Empire, do they think the Three Nations would tolerate Shrek acting like some retired emperor ruling over all?
For a royal family, the Sun-Moon is terrifying—but Shrek? Just as dangerous.
That night, Xu Fu was summoned by Xue Lingxun under the pretense of discussing serious matters.
To his surprise, the first lady awaited him in elegant formal attire.
Golden hairpin fixed her wig, flower ornaments swayed with each step, highlighting the fair skin of her chest.
After a few bowls of the potent whale soup, what happened next need not be said.
The next afternoon, Xu Tianxi was flipping through books in the Sect's library when Xue Nuan arrived with a pile of antique toys, leisure books, and even a golden soul coin card.
Xu Tianxi stared blankly, question marks popping up above his head.
"Chen Wu, Yue Lao—what's the meaning of this? Why is the Lady giving me all this?"
He picked up a throwing dart from an ancient Touhu set, turning it in his fingers. It was good stuff—but why him? He hadn't even gone to greet her lately.
Yue Lao frowned in thought. Chen Wu grinned and said, "Maybe she just wants to show off her authority? Why not go hang out with Second Young Master?"
"Good point."
Without another word, Xu Tianxi found Xu Xiaoyun and asked him to track down the ever-elusive Xu Sanshi.
Smiling, he said, "Sanshi, my dear brother—I have a little mystery I need your help with…"
After quickly explaining the strange gifts from Xue Lingxun, Xu Sanshi furrowed his brow and pondered for a while before speaking.
"I'm not sure about anything else, but when I went to pay respects to Mother this morning, she was still in bed and couldn't get up. Her maid said Father came to her room last night, and they were… busy all night…"
"She was in a great mood and even gave me a gold soul card, told me to spend freely once I'm back at Shrek."
Xu Tianxi: "...???"
What the hell? Did Xu Fu please her so much that she started handing out gifts?
Come to think of it, that was rather righteous of him. Xue Lingxun was in her prime… For Xu Fu to put in that much effort, all so the two boys could gain some benefits—even if he didn't need them—was admirable.
"Old man's a good guy," Xu Tianxi sighed with emotion. Though Xue Lingxun's motives were unclear, with his ancestor backing him, there was no need to overthink.
"Yeah, the old man's a real good guy," Xu Sanshi agreed sincerely, admiring the gold soul card he just received.
Xu Xiaoyun stood silently to the side, eyes flickering with a trace of familiarity.
"…I'd better go ask Xu Fu what's going on later."
PS: Read Advance Chapters at https://www.patreon.com/c/ReadJin