Meeting dismissed," Mu En's voice rang out.
The next second, the elders present instantly vanished.
"Senior Brother," An Zhen looked curiously at Yan Shaozhe, "Did Teacher tell you about that matter?"
It was about the Holy Spirit Church. Although An Zhen knew that with Yan Shaozhe's character, he would definitely draw a clear line with them and even personally deal with Phoenix Ling, whom he had let go back then, An Zhen was just curious and wanted to gossip. There was nothing he could do; it was something he carried over from his previous life.
"My background?"
"Yes."
"Little Junior Brother, don't make fun of me," Yan Shaozhe gently rubbed his brows, a bitter smile on his lips.
He was already decades old, and suddenly he learned such an explosive piece of news. He, the dignified Bright Phoenix Douluo, Martial Soul Department Dean of Shrek Academy, capable of sitting as an equal with a nation's emperor, and holding an important position in the Shrek Supervisory Group. But his background—the four most powerful Evil Soul Masters on the entire continent—all had very close ties to him: one was his paternal grandfather, one was his paternal grandmother, one was his uncle, and one was his ex-girlfriend.
If it weren't for his teacher telling him this, even with his cultivation over the years, he would have been unable to resist punching him. Even cursing wouldn't be done this way!
An Zhen's teasing voice rang out, "Tsk, it's just that your Spirit isn't right, Senior Brother, otherwise you'd be the next Sect Master for sure."
"That's truly the case." Xuan Zi, gnawing on a chicken leg, nodded slightly in agreement.
Xian Liner glared at Yan Shaozhe, "Putting aside everything else, Phoenix Ling's current achievements are all thanks to your good deeds back then."
"I will handle it," Yan Shaozhe said without refuting.
"An Xiaozi," Xuan Zi looked at An Zhen, "Aren't you going for deep meditation cultivation?"
"No, and I can't," An Zhen shook his head, "My Spirit is special, there's no suitable meditation room for me below, and for me, the Spirit World is the best place for cultivation."
However, the aura of the Golden Tree made him feel very comfortable.
He really wanted to "eat" it.
But there was definitely no chance for that now.
The meeting was over, and An Zhen slipped away.
…
To apply for Shrek Inner Courtyard, one first needed to fill out information at the Outer Courtyard's teaching office, confirm age, ensure spirit power was within range, and pass a background check, then report to the Dean. However, with Mu En's special approval, Director Du Weilian directly waived these steps. After simply filling out some information, he brought Xu Jiujiu to the assessment location.
The Millennium Star Luo Spiritual Pearl did not significantly increase Xu Jiujiu's spirit power, but even with Xu Jiujiu's original strength, passing the assessment was not difficult. Accompanied by Zhang Lexuan, she quickly received several red Inner Courtyard uniforms.
Inner Courtyard, Xu Jiujiu's residence.
"How is it?" The princess, dressed in a blood-red school uniform dress, twirled her body in front of An Zhen, showcasing her beautiful figure. The scarlet red merged with the princess's nobility, like an enchanting and captivating Lycoris Radiata.
"Beautiful people look good in anything." Reaching out, An Zhen wrapped his arm around Xu Jiujiu's slender waist, his fingertips mischievously rubbing her body through her clothes.
"It's daytime now," Xu Jiujiu chided playfully.
"Jiu Jiu didn't say that when she was proactive before," An Zhen lightly patted the girl's shapely bottom, then took Xu Jiujiu's hand, fingers intertwined.
Xu Jiujiu's cheeks flushed with shyness.
Formal acquaintance, discussing marriage alliance, engagement, going to bed.
Xu Jiujiu's mind couldn't help but recall herself with disheveled, purple hair flying, twisting her waist. It was too embarrassing; before that, she was still a maiden.
"Sister, do you want to come along?" An Zhen looked at the black-haired, straight-haired senior sister beside them.
"No," Zhang Lexuan gently shook her head, her elder sister's gentle gaze falling on An Zhen, her dark eyes like a high-hanging bright moon, "My Soul Core has long since condensed. Achieving Titled Douluo holds no more bottlenecks for me. I plan to complete this final step."
"Okay, Sister, good luck." An Zhen nodded lightly.
Zhang Lexuan currently had no bottleneck to breaking through to Titled Douluo, only needing sufficient cultivation.
Zhang Lexuan's figure vanished.
"Everyone's in seclusion, huh?" An Zhen sighed with emotion.
Zhang Lexuan was breaking through, Ma Xiaotao and Ling Luochen were regulating their spirit power, and Huo Yutong and the other six girls entered deep meditation cultivation, which would last at least a month.
"What's wrong?" Xu Jiujiu asked, puzzled.
An Zhen roughly explained the situation with the other girls, without mentioning the Sea God Pavilion meeting.
Xu Jiujiu blinked her purple starry eyes, "So, that means it's just us for this period?"
"Yes."
"That's great," Xu Jiujiu said happily.
She was truly lucky. Before coming, she had already prepared herself for An Zhen not spending too much time on her, as An Zhen himself needed to study and cultivate, and with so many girlfriends around, the average time spent on each person would be relatively short.
But she hadn't expected that as soon as she arrived at Shrek, she would immediately have a considerable amount of time alone with him.
"That's great?" An Zhen repeated Xu Jiujiu's words with a smile, then pulled the Star Crown Princess into his arms. With her purple hair falling down, An Zhen's teasing voice rang in Xu Jiujiu's ear, "This also means Jiu Jiu will have to bear all the firepower."
Xu Jiujiu's expression froze. All the firepower?
The next second, the girl reacted, and a hint of challenge appeared on her pretty little face, "Who's afraid of who!"
An Zhen was a little excited.
Although he really wanted to "rectify" the Princess on the spot, there was no hurry right now; they had plenty of time tonight. An Zhen planned to take Xu Jiujiu on a tour of Shrek Academy, fulfilling his duties as a host, and then personally "entertain" her in the evening.
Outer Courtyard.
"Actually, by rights, I should be back in class now." A man and a woman walked along the Sea God Lake, a golden boy and a jade girl, the boy handsome and the girl beautiful—it was An Zhen and Xu Jiujiu.
"So you're skipping class?"
"Anyway, I didn't say anything. At worst, I'll just make up for it later with a leave of absence."
He, An Zhen, was a great contributor to this competition.
Xu Jiujiu was a bit surprised; it was somewhat different from what she had imagined. However, recalling An Zhen's mischievous demeanor in bed earlier, it seemed to fit his personality quite well.
"An Zhen?"
A questioning voice rang out, as if uncertain.
An Zhen turned his head to look, only to see an elegant young man and a lively girl appear in his sight: Bei Bei and Tang Ya.
"It really is you!" Tang Ya hurried forward.
"Didn't you go to participate in the Soul Fighting Competition? Is it over so quickly?" The lively girl looked at An Zhen with a suspicious expression, "And who is this person next to you, you heartbreaker? You're actually hooking up with other girls behind Wang Dong and Yu Tong's backs! Are you worthy of Wang Dong and them?!"
But speaking of which, who was this person? So beautiful, and she didn't look like a new student by age. Why had she never seen her at school before?
"The Soul Fighting Competition is over. As for this person next to me," An Zhen took Xu Jiujiu's wrist, "Allow me to formally introduce her. This is Princess Xu Jiujiu of the Star Luo Empire, my fiancée, and she has just become an Inner Courtyard disciple of Shrek."
"Princess?" Tang Ya was surprised.
A look of surprise also flashed in Bei Bei's eyes.
"You even managed to abduct a princess after a trip to Star Dou City," Tang Ya said, speechless.
An Zhen looked at Xu Jiujiu, "Jiu Jiu, let me introduce you. This is Bei Bei, Teacher's great-grandson. This is Tang Ya, Sect Master of the Tang Sect."
Xu Jiujiu smiled slightly, "Hello."
Descendants of Limit Douluo.
Sect Master of the Tang Sect, that Tang Sect? A Spirit Elder Sect Master? It seemed it had truly fallen into decline.
It was dinner time in the afternoon, and they happened to meet, so they decided to eat together.
Purple cafeteria.
"By the way, how are Wang Dong and Yu Tong doing?" Tang Ya asked with concern.
An Zhen spoke, "They encountered a significant opportunity and are currently in the Sea God Pavilion, in a state of deep meditation. Furthermore, Teacher plans to keep Yu Tong in the Sea God Pavilion afterward and personally instruct her for the next year or so."
"Is that so? That's great."
Tang Ya was happy for her disciple's achievements, but her voice carried a hint of sadness, and a barely perceptible envy flashed in the girl's bright eyes.
"Xiao Ya," Bei Bei took Tang Ya's hand.
Tang Ya lifted her face, regaining her previous vibrant demeanor, a brilliant smile on her face, "I'm fine, Bei Bei. I promised you I wouldn't use that power."
"Has anything happened at the academy recently?" An Zhen asked.
It seemed that the Blue Silver Holy Maiden from the original work would probably not appear. To be honest, Tang Ya and Bei Bei had helped Yu Tong quite a bit before. As for the future, depending on the relationship between the Tang Sect and him, there were many immortal-grade herbs in the Virtual World that could improve aptitude; giving one to Tang Ya was also an option.
"Does Xu Sanshi being rejected a thousand times count?" Bei Bei teased.
After dinner, the group separated.
"That Tang Ya, she seems to be a Spirit Elder?" Xu Jiujiu said.
"Yes," An Zhen nodded.
"No matter what, it was once the continent's number one power," Xu Jiujiu sighed with emotion. That was a Sect that had once produced a Divinity. Ten thousand years passed, the Clear Sky Sect went into seclusion, the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile School stood firm, still glorious, and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect split. Shrek Academy became the continent's number one, but the Tang Sect declined.
"They brought it upon themselves, blindly following trends. Because of Tang San, those guys in the Tang Sect stipulated that every Sect Master must have the Blue Silver Grass Spirit," An Zhen explained. The decline of the Tang Sect was not just because Hidden Weapons were suppressed by spirit tools; the biggest reason was human factors. "Tang San's mother was the Blue Silver Emperor, possessing the bloodline of a monarch. As for the other Blue Silver Grass Spirit Masters with spirit power, at most they had a trace of the Blue Silver King's bloodline. It was already very difficult for them to achieve Spirit Emperor. Such people, placed in other major powers, couldn't even serve as mascots, so how could they lead a major power?"
"Ten thousand years passed. Even if they were united by faith initially, passed down through generations, when miracles no longer appeared, and conflicts of interest erupted, decline was only a matter of time. Only one's own strength is the most powerful guarantee."
"Indeed," Xu Jiujiu nodded gently. She had read some royal archives. The Blue Silver Grass Spirit was truly very weak, completely among the weakest in plant-type Spirits, unless it possessed the bloodline of a king or emperor. But besides that one person from ten thousand years ago, Xu Jiujiu had never heard any news about the Blue Silver King or Blue Silver Emperor.
An Zhen and Xu Jiujiu walked along the Sea God Lake, like any other ordinary couple. After a while, An Zhen planned to go home to further "entertain" Xu Jiujiu.
Suddenly, a bizarre sound rang out, not loud, but it exploded like thunder in everyone's ears, "Xuan Zi, and that cripple Mu En, you two get out here! Hand over the people of my Body Sect and the bastard who killed my disciples!"
In an instant, the yellow sky, originally illuminated by the setting sun, was instantly dyed a thick, dark green, like countless mixed poisons. A dense poisonous cloud pressed down towards Shrek Academy. On the horizon, a dark green light pillar rose, followed by more than twenty human figures rising consecutively behind it.
"This…" Xu Jiujiu was filled with confusion by this sudden turn of events.
Who would dare to cause trouble at Shrek Academy?
"Someone here to deliver something," An Zhen said with a smile. How nice, someone came to deliver a gift as soon as he got home.
"Where did this little poisonous creature come from, daring to be presumptuous at my Shrek Academy?" A deep voice rang out, filled with mockery and sarcasm. At the same time, an earthy yellow light pillar soared into the sky, its dense earth power directly dispersing the poisonous cloud above.
"You—" Within the dark green light cluster was a tall, youthful-faced elder with a receding hairline and long dark green hair flowing freely. It was the Body Sect Sect Master, Poison Undying.
Earlier, upon seeing two of his Spirit Douluo disciples return, one dead and one injured, Poison Undying was almost fuming! Wasn't it just killing a disciple of Mu En and kidnapping a student of Shrek Academy? How dare they humiliate his Body Sect and kill his disciples like this!
The entire Sect was shaken. They would use the full power of the Sect to attack Shrek, and they would definitely make that bastard Shrek pay the price! They had always been the ones bullying others, how could anyone bully them?
However, at this moment, Poison Undying's face was full of disbelief. That feeling just now—had Xuan Zi broken through?
"Poison Undying." Another ancient voice rang out, and a warm light rose, like a sun. The Shrek Academy students, who had been startled by Poison Undying's shout, felt their bodies and minds warm up.
"Go!" Poison Undying roared, his true body instantly expanding more than tenfold. His dark green skin swelled, his muscles like granite, and a pair of specially made shorts covered his lower body. Two yellow, two purple, two black, and three red spirit rings appeared around him. The dark green aura surged, threatening to dye half the sky dark green.
Although the people behind Poison Undying were puzzled, they obeyed orders and left. However, the moment they stepped into this place, their fate was already sealed.
"And that cripple Mu En. Poison Undying, aren't you looking for this old man?!" A hint of coldness was added to the usually gentle and benevolent voice, and the gentle light transformed into dazzling brilliance.
"Ang~"
"Roar~"
High-pitched and sacred dragon roars and violent, heavy roars rang out. Under the shocked gazes of the Shrek Academy students and the Body Sect members, a hundred-meter-tall white-golden Light Holy Dragon and a hundred-meter-tall fierce beast with ox horns on its head, a human face, a sheep's body, tiger teeth, and human claws appeared in the sky. One was majestic and sacred, the other ferocious and tyrannical—the Light Holy Dragon True Body and the Taotie Divine Ox True Body.
The two enormous Spirit True Bodies condensed golden and earthy yellow spirit power shields, enveloping the Body Sect members. Below, powerful figures rose from Shrek, creating a wave of aura—a total of over thirty of them.