Chapter 45: Super Douluo
Chen Sheng sat cross-legged on his bed in the hotel room, the moonlight casting pale light across the floor. The others had finally fallen into restless sleep in their rooms, processing their first experience with killing.
But Chen Sheng had other business to attend to.
Time to open the remaining treasure chests accumulated, he thought.
[Opening Treasure Chest...]
[Congratulations to Host! Obtained: Decorative Ceramic Vase]
Useless. He stored it without a second thought.
[Opening Treasure Chest...]
[Congratulations to Host! Obtained: Million-Year Divine Soul Ring]
Chen Sheng's eyes snapped open. Another million-year divine soul ring!
The golden ring materialized before him, pulsing with overwhelming divine energy. This would be his ninth soul ring for the Ancient White Tiger martial soul.
Perfect timing. Let's push my cultivation even higher.
Without hesitation, Chen Sheng released his Ancient White Tiger. The white tiger emerged with crackling lightning, its eight soul rings—Yellow (Red), Purple (Red), Purple (Red), Black (Red), Black (Red), Red (Gold), Red (Gold), Red (Gold)—rotating magnificently around it.
He guided the new million-year divine ring toward his martial soul.
The ring descended, and immediately Chen Sheng's body was flooded with unimaginable power. The absorption process began, divine energy integrating with his martial soul and spirit power.
His cultivation base surged dramatically.
Level 91... 92... 93... 94... 95... 96... 97!
The breakthrough from Titled Douluo to Super Douluo sent waves of power through his body. At Level 97, he had entered the realm that only the absolute peak experts on the continent could reach.
Chen Sheng felt his entire being transform. His spirit power became denser, his control more refined, his perception sharper. The difference between a regular Titled Douluo and a Super Douluo was enormous—each level above 90 represented a qualitative leap in power.
The ninth soul ring settled into place, glowing with brilliant golden light. Information about its ability flooded his mind:
Ninth Soul Ability: Ancient Tiger Descent
This ability would summon a massive projection of the Ancient White Tiger a celestial beast of pure lightning. The projection would attack independently while Chen Sheng retained full control of his own body, essentially fighting as two beings simultaneously. The projection possessed 80% of his full combat power and could exist for up to ten minutes.
An autonomous fighting companion, Chen Sheng analyzed with satisfaction. This essentially doubles my combat effectiveness in battle.
He continued opening the remaining treasure chests, but they contained only mundane items—common objects, decorative pieces, nothing of real value.
When he finished, Chen Sheng stood and stretched. Level 97 Super Douluo, twelve Dragon Elephant cells awakened, nine divine soul rings on his Ancient White Tiger.
My displayed power is still Level 42, he reminded himself. But my true combat ability now... I could probably overkill Level 99 Limit Extreme Douluo. And against a newly ascended Level 100 God Officer? I am still not sure until I fight.
The thought was both thrilling and sobering. At thirteen years old, he had reached a level of power that would terrify the entire continent if they knew.
Chen Sheng looked out the window at the dawn beginning to break.Time to continue our journey. Heaven Dou City awaits.
---
The next morning, the group woke early and prepared to continue their journey toward Heaven Dou City.
Despite the traumatic experience from the previous night, spirit masters generally had strong physiques and mental resilience. After a night's rest, everyone looked refreshed and energetic, though perhaps a bit more serious than before.
Silvis City was not far from Heaven Dou City anymore. Even if they traveled slowly, they would reach their destination in at most four days.
The group set off at a leisurely pace, no longer rushing. The countryside was beautiful, and the weather pleasant. It would be their last few days of relative freedom before entering the strict environment of Heaven Dou Imperial Academy.
Three days passed peacefully. They stopped at small towns, ate good meals, and slowly processed what had happened. The students talked more, laughed occasionally, and began to return to something resembling their normal selves.
Chen Sheng observed them carefully during this time. The trauma was there, but they were adapting. Good. They would need this mental strength for what was coming.
---
On the afternoon of the third day, the group finally arrived near Heaven Dou City.
The imperial capital was massive—easily ten times the size of Soto City. Towering walls surrounded the city, and even from a distance, they could see grand buildings rising above the skyline.
Flender pulled out a map, studying it with a frown. "Huh, why isn't there any mark for Heaven Dou Royal Academy on this map? Master, do you know where it is?"
Generally speaking, on any city map, the marks for Spirit Hall branches and spirit master academies would be very prominent—especially for a major academy in the imperial capital.
But on this map of Heaven Dou City, Flender couldn't find any academy mark at all.
Yu Xiaogang looked over his shoulder, equally puzzled. "There's no mark on the map?"
He turned to Flender with an accusatory look. "You, as an academy head, don't do your homework before going out? You can't even find where the academy is?!"
Flender's face reddened. "What do you mean I don't do my homework? Didn't you and Qin Ming discuss all this back then? Did you not even ask where the academy was located?"
"I only discussed the transfer of students with him," Yu Xiaogang defended himself. "Heaven Dou Royal Academy is so famous, who would have thought it wouldn't be on the map?"
"You fellow, I originally—"
"Dean, Master, you don't need to argue anymore," Ning Rongrong interrupted with a smile. "I know where the academy is."
Both men turned to look at her.
"The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan's headquarters is on a mountain not far from Heaven Dou City," Ning Rongrong explained. "I used to come to Heaven Dou City often to play, and some of our clan's collateral branch members study at Heaven Dou Royal Academy."
She pointed toward the mountains in the distance. "Actually, Heaven Dou Royal Academy isn't inside the city. Like our Shrek Academy, it's located outside the city limits."
Flender's face immediately brightened with a triumphant smile. "See! The head of Heaven Dou Royal Academy actually has the same idea as me! This proves that my foresight is still very impressive!"
Yu Xiaogang mercilessly shot him down. "You? Foresight? Heaven Dou Royal Academy probably put their academy outside to prevent the luxury of the capital from affecting the students' cultivation. Most importantly, it's probably because the academy is too big. A simulated environment requires a lot of space, and there are various complete facilities. Heaven Dou City probably couldn't accommodate it all within the walls."
He gave Flender a pointed look. "As for you? That's clearly because you were poor. I remember you looked at three plots of land in Soto City back then, but you rejected them all because of the price, and could only buy a piece of cheap land in a village outside."
At this point, Xiao Wu innocently added, "Oh, so the Dean was so poor! I thought the Dean specifically chose a good environment outside the city for us. After all, buying a large plot of land in the city isn't that expensive—it's only about a hundred thousand gold coins or so."
Flender's face went through several colors. "..."
Chen Sheng suppressed a smile. Poor Flender. He can't catch a break.
Soon, guided by Ning Rongrong, the group continued their journey toward the academy's location.
About half an hour later, Ning Rongrong finally led everyone to what she claimed was Heaven Dou Royal Academy.
Ma Hongjun looked around in confusion. "Rongrong, are you sure this is an academy? To me, it just looks like a mountain?"
Everyone shared similar doubts. Although this mountain wasn't huge, it wasn't small either. But they didn't see any buildings, walls, or signs. How could this be an academy?
Ning Rongrong smiled at their confusion. "Fatty, what do you know? This entire mountain belongs to Heaven Dou Royal Academy, and that small forest behind the mountain, as well as the lake at the foot of the mountain on the left—all of it is part of the academy. It's huge!"
"What?! That big?!" Everyone exclaimed in shock.
The sheer scale was difficult to comprehend. Shrek Academy's entire property could probably fit in one corner of this place.
Chen Sheng, however, didn't think much of it. This kind of high-level spirit master academy is equivalent to a university from my previous life. And universities back then often had campuses this large or larger.
Some universities were so massive it would take over an hour to walk from one gate to another. This is nothing special.
The Heaven Dou Royal Academy was located halfway up the mountain, so everyone still had to walk upward to reach the main entrance.
As they climbed the winding path, Yu Xiaogang couldn't help but admire the surroundings. "Look at this environment—surrounded by mountains and rivers, with rich natural spirit power. Putting everything else aside, the cultivation effects for spirit masters here are definitely much better than in that village we were in before."
Flender was a little unconvinced. "What's the use of a good environment and a big place? How many true powerhouses can it cultivate? Although our Shrek Academy is small, we have a lot of monsters!"
Everyone has a competitive spirit. When they encounter someone in the same profession or doing the same thing, they subconsciously compare themselves.
Yu Xiaogang chuckled. "I'm actually very curious. Your place has no equipment and no resources. I really don't know how you managed to attract so many talented students."
"What do you mean 'attract'?! It's clearly my personal charm!" Flender glared. "And Shrek Academy is extremely good at guiding geniuses and making them even more outstanding. Just look at how powerful the students who graduate from Shrek Academy are—some have even reached Spirit Emperor level!"
Although Shrek Academy had been established for seventeen years, the first batch of students to graduate probably did so around thirteen or fourteen years ago. Going from Spirit Sect at graduation to Spirit Emperor in that time was indeed impressive.
"It's all because you're poor!" Yu Xiaogang mercilessly retorted.
Flender was speechless. No matter how much he argued, the facts spoke for themselves. If their academy had been wealthy back then, they definitely could have given the children an even better future.
At this moment, Chen Sheng, who had been quietly listening, spoke up with a slight smile. "Dean, there's a saying that goes, 'No pain, no gain.' Although the students of Heaven Dou Royal Academy have a good environment, their strength is probably just average. They might even need teachers to constantly urge them to cultivate their spirit power. While Shrek Academy's conditions are harsh, its students are extremely diligent, and their strength is therefore much greater."
Other advanced spirit master academies only required their students to reach Spirit Elder level to graduate, while Shrek Academy's graduation requirement was Spirit Sect level—a full rank higher.
Moreover, they were all monsters, so in terms of pure student strength, Shrek was probably among the top three academies on the entire continent.
"Good! Chen Sheng, that's a great saying!" Flender's face lit up. "'No pain, no gain'—truly well said!"
Chen Sheng continued thoughtfully, "Students who live in harsh environments often have a strong drive to succeed. When you have everything handed to you, you lose the hunger that pushes you to improve."
He thought back to his previous life. In high school, everyone studied desperately for college entrance exams. But once they got to university with all its freedom and resources, how many became lazy? Skipping classes, last-minute cramming, barely passing...
People without pressure, without a sense of crisis, naturally become complacent. It's human nature.
"Drive to succeed," Yu Xiaogang nodded appreciatively. "That's a good way to put it."
[DETECTED! Yu Xiaogang Emotion (Intellectual Satisfaction, Approval) Congratulations to Host! Treasure Chest acquired!]
Tang San, who had been walking quietly beside them, spoke up. "Back in Notting City, Xiao Wu, Chen Sheng, and I were work-study students. If it weren't for those harsh conditions back then, we probably wouldn't be working so hard now."
Upon hearing this, the others felt a chill run through them.
Such geniuses, and yet they cultivate so diligently—no wonder they could reach Spirit Elder level at this age!
Everyone felt renewed admiration for Chen Sheng and his "siblings" from the bottom of their hearts.
[DETECTED! Zhu Zhuqing Emotion (Admiration, Respect) Congratulations to Host! Treasure Chest acquired!]
[DETECTED! Ning Rongrong Emotion (Admiration) Congratulations to Host! Treasure Chest acquired!]
[DETECTED! Ma Hongjun Emotion (Embarrassment, Renewed Motivation) Congratulations to Host! Treasure Chest acquired!]
Ning Rongrong felt especially guilty. When she first entered Shrek Academy, she thought she was very diligent. But she never expected that everyone else was even more hardworking than her! If it weren't for Brother Sheng helping her change her attitude, she probably would never have improved.
While they were chatting, suddenly ten young men blocked their path. These guys looked to be eighteen or nineteen years old and were all wearing the Heaven Dou Royal Academy uniform—elegant blue and gold robes that screamed wealth and privilege.
The leading young man shouted arrogantly, "Stop right there! Who are you people? What are you doing here?!"
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