Chapter 78: Joining the Tiandou Royal Academy
Time passed quickly, and under the assistance of Oscar and Ning Rongrong, everyone's fighting ability increased significantly. They didn't have to worry about energy consumption, while the Royal Battle Squad had lost its only support, causing their earlier advantage to vanish.
After continuous battles, the Royal Battle Squad members began to be eliminated one by one. First were the Stone Brothers, who were slower in action. Both of them had the Black Tortoise Martial Soul, and with Yang Xiong's continuous attacks and Dai Mubai's assistance, the Stone Brothers were soon knocked out.
As the battle continued, the Royal Battle Squad started to collapse, and in the end, after being surrounded and beaten by everyone, Yu Tianheng was the last to fall, and the entire Royal Battle Squad was eliminated, while Shrek Academy emerged victorious.
Yu Xiaogang watched the situation on the arena with a serious expression. He never expected to win against such a strong opponent, and it seemed that the victory came quite easily.
Especially in this Soul Fighting match, Yang Xiong led the way in eliminating many opponents, and his performance was the best among everyone, overshadowing all other participants.
Meanwhile, Dean Flender was relatively excited. It seemed that this Soul Fighting match had brought him a lot of profit, especially since the arena had set Shrek Academy's winning probability extremely low, which resulted in a high payout ratio. On top of that, there was also the expensive participation fee for this match.
At this moment, a young man walked over, looking like the leader of the Royal Battle Academy, Qin Ming.
Qin Ming bowed to Flender. "Dean Flender, I'm back."
Flender was overjoyed. "Is that you, Xiao Ming? I didn't expect you to become the leader of the Royal Battle Squad so quickly. Watching the performance of your juniors, you really live up to being someone I taught. You truly deserve to be from Shrek Academy."
...
After some mutual praise, Qin Ming explained the purpose of his visit.
"Dean, I believe these juniors have great potential, but considering Shrek Academy's resources, I'm afraid they won't be able to fully develop their abilities. I have an idea—how about we send them as exchange students to the Tiandou Royal Academy, where they might have access to better resources?"
Upon hearing this, Flender's face darkened. "Xiao Ming, you should know that Shrek Academy is my life's work. I could never betray my students, and I would never go to Tiandou Royal Academy for personal gain."
Qin Ming had no choice but to explain the exchange student plan in more detail, emphasizing how the resources at Tiandou Royal Academy could help cultivate the students even further.
As Flender hesitated, Yu Xiaogang spoke up. "Flender, I think this idea is worth considering. Perhaps we should think about the children's future."
Flender was puzzled. "Xiao Gang, even you support taking the students to Tiandou Royal Academy? I'm just worried that they might not return if they go there, and I want all the students to focus on their training. Only then can they become real high-level Soul Masters and not waste their talents."
Yu Xiaogang shook his head. "Flender, you should understand that these children's future is not confined to the small Shrek Academy or Soto City. Only by going out into the world will they have a broader sky to explore."
"Moreover, Shrek Academy has limited resources. There's no real environment for simulation, and even the gold soul coins are running out. How do you expect the children to train in the future?"
Flender fell silent upon hearing this. His academy was founded to train students, but now the facilities were limiting their growth.
Finally, Flender sighed. "Xiao Gang, I understand your concerns, but have you thought about what life would be like for these children at Tiandou Royal Academy?"
"Qin Ming, you came from Tiandou Royal Academy, so you should know that they only accept noble students. You should be more familiar with the nature of those nobles than I am."
Qin Ming nodded. "Dean, you still care so much for the students. Tiandou Royal Academy has indeed invested a lot of resources into its program. It's also known as the top academy of the Tiandou Empire. But over the years, the quality of their students has not been very high, and they haven't produced any real geniuses or strong individuals. That's why the leaders are eager to recruit talent."
"However, the atmosphere at the academy is quite troublesome. I can't guarantee that my juniors won't face various kinds of manipulation. I'm afraid they may try to poach them."
Flender chuckled bitterly. "It's rare to see you still thinking about the academy. Xiao Gang, you tell me your thoughts."
Yu Xiaogang nodded. "Teacher Qin Ming, I remember that according to the Soul Master world's rules, Tiandou Royal Academy should have two spots for the Soul Master competition that will take place in a year and a half. If you could secure one of those spots for Shrek Academy's students, I think it would be worth sending them to Tiandou Royal Academy."
"Of course, I also have one condition. Tiandou Royal Academy must accept not only the students but also their teachers. After all, these students have been trained by their teachers for some time."
Flender was a bit confused. "Xiao Gang, are you suggesting this just for the Soul Master competition? Is it really worth it? Maybe Shrek Academy will cease to exist by then."
Yu Xiaogang replied, "Flender, don't forget one thing. After we've trained these students, they need a platform to showcase their abilities and talents. They can't all stay at the academy as teachers, nor can they all be wandering Soul Masters. The Soul Master competition might be their biggest stepping stone."
"Besides, why do you think that once they go to Tiandou Royal Academy, they won't still be considered students of Shrek Academy? These kids aren't ungrateful, and they won't forget the training they received from Shrek Academy."
...
After a lengthy discussion, the three of them finally agreed on the direction Shrek Academy would take.
In the following days, Yang Xiong and Ning Rongrong walked hand-in-hand through all of Soto City. This was one of the rare times that Yang Xiong had fully let go of his obsession with training and enjoyed the time spent shopping.
He had always placed too much focus on cultivation, either training his body or meditating. He had never really considered matters of the heart and had even become somewhat distant from his family.
After confessing his feelings, Yang Xiong finally felt like he was truly living, no longer solely consumed by cultivation.
Back at the academy, when Flender announced that Shrek Academy would merge with Tiandou Royal Academy, everyone's expressions were mixed.
Yang Xiong was also quite surprised. If this happened, wouldn't Tiandou Royal Academy have all the direct disciples of the top three sects? This would make things very interesting.
As for Blue Tyrant Academy, the Snow Mountain Prince, and so on, Yang Xiong no longer cared. If he had to go to an academy, he would prefer Tiandou Royal Academy over Blue Tyrant Academy.
Moreover, Yang Xiong knew better than anyone the nature of Tiandou Royal Academy. If they went there, it would likely be the beginning of the disbandment of Shrek Academy. At the very least, Ma Hongjun wouldn't be able to resist the temptations that awaited him.
Then again, returning to Tiandou City would put him closer to home. He felt it was about time he started thinking about his family and couldn't just be a monster focused only on cultivation.
Of course, Yang Xiong also knew what the biggest hidden danger in Tiandou City was, or even for the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. He had always been careful not to reveal his secret of being a reborn person, fearing that others might learn about it and cause unnecessary trouble.
However, if they did end up in Tiandou Royal Academy, he might be able to slowly guide others, potentially avoiding a disaster and keeping his family safe.
For the rest of Shrek Academy's students, they didn't really care. They were just going out to study, and the location didn't matter too much.
Ning Rongrong, on the other hand, complained, "I only slipped out to play for half a year, and now we're back in Tiandou City. Isn't this just like going back home?"
The Shrek group quickly packed up everything within just a few days. Even the broken sign was carefully stored by Flender, who clearly had strong feelings for Shrek Academy.
Soon, they left Soto City and headed for Tiandou City.
By now, Qin Ming should have already returned to Tiandou Royal Academy to handle the enrollment procedures.
Fifteen days later, they arrived at Tiandou Royal Academy.
Tiandou Royal Academy was located on a mountain several dozen kilometers outside of Tiandou City. The entire mountain was occupied by the academy, and the sheer scale of it was impressive.
Ning Rongrong originally wanted to go home first, but Yang Xiong stopped her, saying that given the circumstances, it was better for them to go to Tiandou Royal Academy together instead of returning to the sect. (He was afraid she'd get beaten).
As Yang Xiong had predicted, they "coincidentally" ran into the Snow Mountain Prince in the square, likely due to Qin Ming's return leaking the news.
The Snow Mountain Prince and his entourage seemed to be prepared, mocking Shrek Academy's students, especially claiming they were not fit to be in Tiandou Royal Academy.
After traveling for more than ten days, the group was indeed a little tired, but they certainly didn't look as pathetic as the Snow Mountain Prince suggested, especially since Dai Mubai himself was a prince. While his attire was modest, it was still far from being labeled as "uncivilized."
Dai Mubai, always rebellious, couldn't tolerate the Snow Mountain Prince's insults. He directly gave the Snow Mountain Prince and his group a thorough beating, especially Snow Mountain, who ended up with a bruised face.
It seemed that the Snow Mountain Prince had deliberately tried to provoke Shrek Academy's students into a fight, hoping to use this incident to pressure the academy into expelling them.
However, to his surprise, Tiandou Royal Academy had already arranged for Teacher Sun to welcome them, and Teacher Sun, clearly aware of the Snow Mountain Prince's character, scolded him instead.
Yang Xiong carefully observed the Snow Mountain Prince. He didn't seem like a good person. Originally, this spoiled young noble was the last remaining heir of the Tiandou Empire, and his rise to power was thanks to his brother's death. Especially after his kneeling to Tang San, he became the first "lucky winner" in the Douluo world.
This kind of spoiled, incompetent noble was naturally the villain. How could he become a wise and capable leader? Later, he even claimed his past behavior was all for survival, but what about those he had harmed?
Seeing the Snow Mountain Prince thinking, probably planning some form of revenge, Yang Xiong walked up to him, placing his right hand firmly on his shoulder. The Snow Mountain Prince felt an overwhelming force, unable to resist.
"What do you want? Teacher Sun is provoking me for no reason."
Yang Xiong smiled. "Teacher Sun, I need to talk to this student. I won't hurt him."
Yang Xiong turned to Ning Rongrong and said, "This student just called us all 'uncivilized.' You've caused quite a bit of trouble for yourself. She's our little princess from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. If you keep slandering her like this, it won't end well for you."
The Snow Mountain Prince's face turned pale. He knew exactly who he shouldn't provoke. "I didn't know she was from Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. I was just making a random comment, and I've already been beaten. Are you still planning to hit me?"
Yang Xiong smiled. "No, not at all. But our Rongrong is well-loved by Sword Douluo and Bone Douluo. If they found out about your provocations, do you think they might just cut out your tongue?"
The Snow Mountain Prince was terrified. "What else do you want? I've already been beaten up."
Yang Xiong leaned in and whispered in his ear, "I know you have backers, but your backers can't afford to offend us. If even a word of today's incident gets out, and you try to get revenge, you might lose your tongue. And from now on, just avoid us whenever you see us in the academy."
After speaking, Yang Xiong patted the Snow Mountain Prince's shoulder. The Snow Mountain Prince was so terrified that he quickly fled the scene.
(END CHAPTER)
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