After Wang Nan and Gongyang Mo were ready, they didn't delay any longer, stepping onto the Sea God Lake and flying toward the Outer Courtyard.
Upon arriving at the Outer Courtyard's Sea God Lake shore, many Outer Courtyard Disciples had gathered, gazing toward Sea God Island. The appearance of Wang Nan and Gongyang Mo attracted a lot of attention. Although neither of them wore school uniforms, it was not difficult to guess the identity of those who could come from Sea God Island.
"This Senior Sister is so beautiful."
Wang Nan vaguely heard some whispers.
To facilitate movement, Gongyang Mo had tied his long hair into a ponytail behind him. He was already delicate in appearance, and coupled with his relatively... neutral clothing, he inevitably caused many Disciples to misunderstand.
Gongyang Mo didn't mind at all. He turned back to look at the group of Outer Courtyard Disciples, winked at them, and immediately caused another gasp of surprise among the crowd.
"Aren't you afraid of scaring them when they find out you're a boy?" Wang Nan said helplessly.
"It's good to scare them a bit. The Outer Courtyard is a time for diligent cultivation. They're already thinking about looking at pretty girls at such a young age."
Wang Nan glanced at Gongyang Mo, rarely seeing him so serious.
"If anyone should be looking, it should be people our age."
Sure enough, Wang Nan had thought too much.
Departing from Shrek Academy to Tianming City required traveling southwest. Although they had a flying spirit tool, it still took a full day. It was already late when Wang Nan and Gongyang Mo set off, so it was already the next day when they approached the border of the Star Luo Empire.
As the frontline for the Star Luo Empire to resist the Sun Moon Empire, the defenses here were naturally strict. From a distance, many spirit tool cannons could be seen deployed on the city walls, and numerous soldiers in armor patrolled the walls.
At the city gate, every person entering the city was strictly scrutinized. Wang Nan and Gongyang Mo were no exception. When it was their turn, they were also stopped by the guards.
"Please hold, both of you. Present your identification and state the reason for your visit to Tianming City."
In fact, every time Wang Nan returned home, he would pass through the borders of the Tianhun Empire and the Star Luo Empire, but it was nowhere near as strict as here. After all, since the appearance of the Sun Moon Empire, although there were still divisions among the Three Great Empires on the original Douluo Continent, generally speaking, they were united against external threats.
"We are Disciples of Shrek Academy." Wang Nan took out his identification. The guard in front of him suddenly changed his attitude upon seeing it.
"Please wait a moment." With that, he took Wang Nan's identification and ran to the side, where a tall man stood, solemn in expression, who seemed to hold a high position.
After exchanging a few words with the guard, the man walked toward Wang Nan. Each of his steps was large, causing the armor on his body to constantly clank.
"My apologies. Please, both of you, follow me. The Marshal has been waiting for you for a long time."
Wang Nan was not surprised. Although Shrek Academy said the Shrek Supervisory Group's matters were confidential, for someone of Dai Hao's status, some things were just not openly discussed.
Shrek Academy, thousands of years ago, led the Three Great Empires to repel the Sun Moon Empire. Its supervisory missions rarely interfered with the internal affairs of the various Empires, so the Empires gave Shrek Academy face, and sometimes even helped Shrek complete its supervisory missions.
The two followed the man into the city. On the wide streets, there were almost no ordinary civilians to be seen. Instead, there were teams of soldiers holding weapons. Judging by the spirit power fluctuations on their bodies, it seemed that only the leading captain was a Spirit Master; the others were just ordinary people.
They arrived at the City Lord's Mansion, which had now become Dai Hao's daily residence. Two guards stood at the entrance, and judging by their attire, they appeared to be Dai Hao's personal guards, not soldiers of the Star Luo Empire.
"Marshal, the people from Shrek Academy have arrived."
"Please, come in quickly." In a moment, the door opened, and Dai Hao, in military uniform, appeared at the entrance. He had the same golden hair as Dai Yueheng and wore white armor adorned with black tiger stripes, identical to his Spirit. Spirit power flowed within it, indicating it was a spirit tool.
At this time, there was no full-scale war between the Sun Moon Empire and the Star Luo Empire, and Dai Hao was not as worried as he would be in the future. Upon seeing Wang Nan and Gongyang Mo, he even showed a hearty smile.
"You've come for the Evil Soul Master matter, haven't you?" Entering the room, Dai Hao motioned for his other guards to leave, then got straight to the point.
Wang Nan did not hide anything and nodded.
"Very well, I'll be direct." Dai Hao, having been in the military for many years, spoke straightforwardly. After confirming Wang Nan and Gongyang Mo's identities, he began to recount the whole story. "The news about the Evil Soul Master was sent to Shrek Academy by my people."
Seeing Wang Nan's surprised look, Dai Hao waved his hand, "I know you have doubts. With my strength, dealing with those Evil Soul Masters is not difficult. However, I cannot leave Tianming City for a long time."
"You rarely experience battlefields, so you may not know, but while the Star Luo Empire and the Sun Moon Empire seem relatively peaceful now, both sides are on edge. Once one side makes a move, it could easily trigger a real war, so my every action is crucial."
Wang Nan listened to Dai Hao's words and nodded slightly. He was almost a Titled Douluo, yet his actions were restricted. Indeed, the world of adults was too complex.
"Your Shrek Supervisory Group is renowned, and I have some knowledge of your methods, so I entrusted this matter to you two." Dai Hao sighed as he spoke, "Don't let the numerous soldiers in Tianming City deceive you; only a handful of them can rival your strength."
"Those Evil Soul Masters all have cultivation, and ordinary soldiers are no match for them. Moreover, their actions are unpredictable. To completely resolve them, we can only rely on you two."
Although Dai Hao spoke straightforwardly, his words were quite complimentary toward Wang Nan and Gongyang Mo. When a direct person praises someone, it has a different kind of flavor. If Wang Nan hadn't lived two lives and possessed a steady Heart-Nature, he might have already been a little conceited at this point.
"Marshal, you flatter us. This is simply the duty of us Shrek Disciples."
"Yes, precisely for that reason I sent Yao'er to Shrek Academy." Dai Hao waved his hand, "Enough of that. Afterwards, I will dispatch a team of scouts to help you locate the Evil Soul Masters. However, I still need to guard against the Sun Moon Empire, so the number of people won't be too many, and I can't guarantee how much help they'll be."
"Marshal, how many Spirit Masters are in your scout team?"
"This…" Dai Hao looked a bit troubled, "To be honest, the number of scouts with cultivation is not large. They all have important missions, so they cannot be easily deployed."
"Then perhaps it's not necessary." Wang Nan shook his head. What was the difference between sending ordinary people and sending them to their deaths? Even if it was just to help investigate the Evil Soul Masters' whereabouts from a distance, one slip-up could mean a one-way trip, so it was better not to.
"Very well, this matter is entirely up to you. If you need anything else, you can come to me at any time. It's getting late today, why don't you rest in the city first and leave tomorrow?"
Wang Nan nodded in agreement.