Chapter 33: Shrek Academy? Isn't That Just a Scam Den?!
[Although Tang Hao struck once and immediately retreated, possessing only a single strike's worth of power.]
[Don't forget that even though Bibi Dong was suppressed at the time due to the Rakshasa God Trial and couldn't display the full strength of a Rank 99 Ultimate Douluo, she was still a peak Rank 98 Super Douluo!]
[And back then, Tang Hao was only at Rank 95!]
[A Rank 95 directly clashing head-on with a Rank 98, plus a soul power barrier jointly deployed by a group of Titled Douluo, and still managing to shatter it.]
[With that kind of combat strength, do you really think Yue Guan, Gui Mei, and She Long could stop him?]
[Even if Tang Hao currently has hidden injuries, as long as he wants to leave—or even if he just wants to drag one or two people down with him—]
[Someone among the three of them is definitely going to end up flat on a coffin board!]
[Back when Tang Hao made his move, he said: "Xiao San, this is the true Clear Sky Avatar!"]
[But I can't help feeling that if it were merely the Clear Sky Avatar, could it really break through a soul power shield jointly established by so many Titled Douluo?]
[I suspect this guy secretly exploded several low-year soul rings to strengthen his Clear Sky Avatar. Otherwise, how could it possibly have such terrifying power?]
Inside the Pope's Hall.
Bibi Dong stared at the diary, her expression turning unusually grave.
"Great Sumeru Hammer… ring explosion…"
Naturally, she understood the terror of those two techniques.
"It seems I still underestimated Tang Hao's threat."
"But since Tang Hao has already been forced to leave Nuoding City,"
"Then my objective has been achieved."
A cold smile curled at the corner of Bibi Dong's lips.
"As for whether he can be killed—there's no rush. Time is on my side."
[Although in the original work, Tang Hao himself once said that the hidden injuries in his body were so severe that even high-level healing-type Soul Masters found them difficult to treat.]
[In truth, he still had another solution—guiding the accumulated injured blood within his body into one arm and one leg using soul power, then severing them like a gecko sacrificing its tail to survive.]
[After losing the arm and leg, the hidden injuries would naturally disappear.]
[However, doing so would cause his cultivation to drop by a full twenty levels. Unless absolutely desperate, this method could never be used lightly.]
[And now that he knows Tang San possesses such astonishing talent, he definitely wants to stay by his side these next few years to protect him, so for the time being, he cannot choose that option.]
[The only question is—after being frightened off by three Titled Douluo this time, how long can he stay away from Nuoding City?]
[If he could stay away for two or three years, that would be perfect.]
[By then, my cultivation should at least break through to the Soul Grandmaster—maybe even make a push toward Soul Elder.]
[At that point, there'd be no need to stay in this tiny Nuoding Junior Soul Master Academy. I could skip grades and go straight to a high-level Soul Master Academy!]
[But looking across the continent, there really aren't many high-level academies suitable for me. The Elemental Academies can be ruled out—they only accept students of matching attributes.]
[As for Shrek Academy, where Tang San went in the original work—forget it. The entire academy is built in a rural village on the outskirts, and the facilities are completely run-down.]
[Not to mention basic Mimicry Training Grounds—they don't even have a proper cafeteria. Students actually have to help villagers do farm work!]
[What's even more ridiculous is that this trash academy doesn't even have legitimate operating qualifications and was never officially recognized by the Balak Kingdom.]
[To put it bluntly, it's just an unlicensed, illegal diploma mill!]
[They can't even secure official quotas for regular Soul Master tournaments!]
All the women: ???
Seeing this, quite a few female characters who were secretly peeking at the diary were completely stunned.
Shrek Academy?
The academy Tang San attended in the original work?
Was it really that bad?
[What I find most outrageous is this academy's enrollment criteria.]
[That old bird Flender shouts his slogan loud and proud: "We only accept monsters, not ordinary people!"]
[So what's the admission threshold? Reach Rank 20 soul power before the age of twelve!]
[But that's merely the entry ticket.]
[After enrollment, you still have to pass four rounds of assessment!]
[Most Rank 20 Soul Masters get stuck in the first three rounds.]
[Only freakish geniuses who reach Rank 25 or higher by age twelve—even more terrifying talents—can truly pass the fourth round and become official students.]
[Isn't this pure, unfiltered fraud?!]
Spirit Hall, Pope's Palace.
Bibi Dong frowned deeply, her face filled with disbelief.
"This Shrek Academy… is there something wrong with their brains?"
As the supreme ruler of Spirit Hall, she possessed an extremely deep understanding of the Soul Master cultivation system.
"Twelve years old, Rank 25 soul power?"
"With that kind of talent, even within Spirit Hall, they'd be nurtured as core seeds!"
Bibi Dong simply couldn't comprehend it.
"Such top-tier geniuses—why wouldn't they join Spirit Hall, or the imperial academies of the two great empires, or at least a reputable high-level Soul Master academy to enjoy the best resources?"
"Why run off to some broken village that doesn't even have a Mimicry Training Ground?"
"What's the point?"
Mimicry Training Ground wasn't as simple as just placing you in a suitable environment.
For example, if you were a plant-type Soul Master, then naturally a forest-type environment would suit you—but that didn't mean just having a few plants around was enough.
One had to understand that for Soul Elder–level Soul Masters, Mimicry Training Grounds were practically a rigid necessity!
It wasn't as simple as planting a few trees.
A complete Mimicry Training Ground required enormous investment to construct, incorporating specific soul power magnetic fields, soul beast ecological interactions, and more.
Because of the massive financial costs involved, Mimicry Training Grounds were not something junior or intermediate academies could afford.
They were precious cultivation resources commonly equipped only by high-level Soul Master academies and major clans, capable of greatly enhancing cultivation speed.
Training in such an environment could boost cultivation speed by at least twenty to thirty percent!
Perhaps this was also why, in the original work, many talented Soul Masters failed to exceed Rank 30 before the age of twelve—those who did were only a small minority.
That was because in their early stages, they simply couldn't enjoy these advanced Mimicry Training Grounds.
But after the age of twelve, with the support of Mimicry Training Grounds—
Under normal circumstances, a Soul Elder could increase one level every three months, which was already considered quite fast.
Did that mean that as a one-ring Soul Master, they should be able to gain one level per month?
Apparently, it couldn't be calculated that way.
And this was exactly what Bibi Dong found most regrettable.
"If those geniuses who were fooled into Shrek could instead join Spirit Hall…"
"Flender, you are misleading the youth and squandering the future of the continent!"
Heaven Dou Imperial Academy, girls' dormitory.
Dugu Yan stared at the diary, her eyes growing brighter and brighter.
"High-level Soul Master academies?"
"That's right! That little brat Lin Yuan will definitely attend a high-level academy in the future!"
"If he looks down on that broken Shrek village, then is there any better choice than Heaven Dou Imperial Academy?"
"Sure, our academy has a lot of nobles, and the atmosphere isn't the best."
"But in terms of hardware facilities, we're absolutely top-tier across the entire continent!"
"Mimicry Training Ground, a top-grade soul beast meat cafeteria, imperial-funded scholarships…"
"Which of these isn't a hundred times better than that so-called trash Shrek academy?"
The more Dugu Yan thought about it, the more it seemed reliable.
—
End of Chapter