"Okay, I'll go."
Wang Nan agreed.
Even if Mu En hadn't mentioned it, his goal had long since ceased to be ordinary ten-thousand-year Spirit Beasts. Now that he had a suitable lead, he naturally had to make the trip.
"Then prepare early. The last sighting of that Spirit Beast was at a place called Haibin Port on the southeastern coast of the Star Luo Empire. Also, this counts as a monitoring mission. If you're not confident in absorbing its spirit ring, don't let it continue to harm people."
"I understand."
Wang Nan nodded, watching Mu En close his eyes again without saying anything more. He then turned and walked toward Sea God Lake.
After walking a few steps, seeing that no one around noticed him, a faint light flashed on Wang Nan's left leg, and the next moment, he disappeared.
Wang Nan adapted to the sudden change in environment while nodding slightly. Although he didn't know how Chasing Moon would perform in combat, it was very useful in daily life.
Not long after Wang Nan left, a young man walked over.
Seeing Mu En, the young man stepped forward and respectfully said, "Hello, Grandpa. I'm a new student here to move into the dormitory. Do you need to check my new student badge?"
Mu En slightly opened his eyes, observing the young man before him. Golden light faintly glowed in his eyes, but the young man didn't notice it.
Mu En trembled as he extended his right hand, his voice gaining the hoarseness and low tone unique to an old man, "Let me see your badge and dormitory key."
The young man quickly handed them over.
Mu En looked at the key in his hand, and a slight smile appeared at the corner of his mouth, as if he had thought of something. "Go, your dormitory is number 102. You'll see it as soon as you enter. The fourth floor and above are girls' dormitories, and you're not allowed to go up there."
"Thank you, sir." The young man bowed and gave Mu En a smile.
Following Mu En's guidance, the young man quickly found his dormitory. Pushing the door open, his roommate had already arrived.
"Hello, my name is Huo Yuhao." The young man spoke, his tone full of the youthful energy and high spirits of youth.
"Ah, you're my roommate. Hello, my name is Zhou Sichen." The person in front of Huo Yuhao was also a young man, but a bit shorter than him.
Seeing Huo Yuhao greet him and then start tidying his bed, Zhou Sichen mysteriously leaned closer.
"Did you just register today?"
"Yes." Huo Yuhao nodded, unfolding his luggage. Although the items weren't high-end, they were clearly a brand-new set of bedding.
"Then you probably don't know yet," Zhou Sichen leaned next to Huo Yuhao. "Our dormitory is a famous 'Scholar's Dorm' in the Outer Courtyard."
"Scholar's Dorm?" Huo Yuhao looked at Zhou Sichen, puzzled.
"I moved in yesterday, and I heard from other classmates that there was once a Senior Brother who meditated deeply in this dormitory for as long as three months."
Although Huo Yuhao had successfully entered Shrek Academy, just a few days ago he was merely a Spirit Scholar without even a spirit ring. Even though he had crammed a lot of knowledge about Spirit Masters in the past few days, deep meditation was something he had only heard of for the first time, and he had no idea what three months of deep meditation meant.
Seeing Huo Yuhao's bland reaction, Zhou Sichen spoke somewhat helplessly, "You don't know what deep meditation is, do you?"
"Yes." Huo Yuhao nodded honestly.
"Then you just need to know that even a Titled Douluo rarely meditates deeply for more than a month."
Huo Yuhao finally grasped the significance of it. Even that person wasn't a Titled Douluo when he left that place, was he?
"Now that we've moved in here, has that Senior Brother graduated from Shrek Academy?"
"Of course not." A look of longing appeared on Zhou Sichen's face. "That Senior Brother entered the Inner Courtyard early when he was in his fourth year. That's a place all Spirit Masters dream of going to day and night."
Zhou Sichen said, sitting on his bed, "That Senior Brother lived in our dormitory when he was in the Outer Courtyard. I've decided that whenever I have time, I'll sit on my bed and meditate. Maybe I'll also experience a rare deep meditation."
Huo Yuhao didn't respond, instead turning his gaze to the window.
'That person was with Dai Yueheng. He should also be a student of Shrek Academy, right? Will I be able to see him again?'
...
Two days later, the person Huo Yuhao was thinking about had already arrived in the Star Luo Empire.
Although Mu En told Wang Nan that the last sighting of the Dragon Carp was at Haibin Port on the coast of the Star Luo Empire, by the time he and Zhang Lexuan arrived, there was no longer any news of it.
"Junior Brother, let's stop here for today." Watching the bright moon rise over the sea, Zhang Lexuan said to Wang Nan.
Wang Nan and Zhang Lexuan's cultivation was not low. Relying on their flying spirit tools, they had already arrived at Haibin Port by noon. After that, they searched along the coastline for an entire afternoon, but found nothing.
With Zhang Lexuan's current cultivation, such searching barely constituted any consumption, but considering Wang Nan had not yet obtained his sixth spirit ring, she suggested they stop.
Wang Nan also knew the proverb "haste makes waste." He had made some preparations before setting off, knowing that the Dragon Carp's Dragon Transformation Secret Art required human sacrifice. Since it hadn't fully transformed into a Dragon yet and its traces had been spotted nearby, it would surely reappear sooner or later.
However, just as Wang Nan was about to agree, there was a sudden stir in his Mental Sea.
Nine-colored light suddenly reflected on the surface of the sea, symbolizing mental force. A faint, ethereal sensation emerged from Wang Nan's Mental Sea, vaguely pointing towards the distant depths of the ocean.
Something there seemed to be calling to him.
Wang Nan gazed into the distance, an endless ocean before him, with no trace of any living creatures. His vast mental force poured out, yet still yielded no results.
That call was coming from an even more distant place.
"Junior Brother, what's wrong?"
"Nothing." Wang Nan gently rubbed his brow. The Evil Breaking Dragon lay quietly coiled in mid-air within his Mental Sea, seemingly oblivious to the call.
"You look tired. Let's find a place to rest first."
Wang Nan suppressed the feeling and nodded slightly.
Just as they were about to leave, there was a sudden movement on the distant sea surface.
Moonlight and waves intertwined, dyeing the ripples silver-white, but beneath this silver-white, a black shadow continuously approached.
Just as Wang Nan turned his back to the shore, preparing to leave, a black shadow leaped high.
It was a huge carp. Unlike other carp, this one had a slender body, covered in black scales, and crimson eyes.