After the Shrek Academy team left the arena, the members of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy also stood and exited the plaza. Today wasn't one of their scheduled round-robin matches, so they didn't share a match day with Shrek at the moment.
Shrek had never cared about the matches of other academies, and now, the Sun Moon team was adopting the same attitude. Their goal was to match—and even surpass—Shrek in every possible way.
Both teams returned to the Star Emperor Hotel, one after the other. The Shrek members went their separate ways—some to train, others to relax in the hotel—while the Sun Moon team gathered in a conference room.
All the main and reserve members were seated upright and alert. Elder Ma took out a stack of sealed letters and spread them out on the table in front of everyone.
"According to our investigators," Elder Ma began, "among Shrek's current main team, Dai Yueheng, Ling Luochen, and Gongyang Mo were all reserve members last year. Judging by the timeline, their current strength matches the information we have. But the other four—well, the intelligence we have on them doesn't match their apparent capabilities at all."
Ma Rulong took the letters, reading them carefully before passing them to Xiao Hongchen. Everyone read through the contents with equal seriousness.
Ma Rulong spoke slowly, "Shrek's vice-captain, Ye Guyi, based on her age and when she entered the inner court, should be at most around the same level as that Duogu Xianmeng. For her to progress from an early-stage Soul King to Soul Sage in just over a year is nearly impossible."
Xiao Hongchen added, "And then there's Ma Xiaotao. She seemingly appeared out of nowhere at Shrek, with no official enrollment records. Based on the gathered information, she might very well be a descendant of the Phoenix God from ten thousand years ago."
"If Ye Guyi's information is potentially falsified," he continued, "then the odds of Ma Xiaotao's cultivation level being real are actually much higher."
Elder Ma nodded slightly. "Indeed. If Ma Xiaotao is truly a descendant of the Phoenix God, then this kind of progress is plausible. We're talking about the bloodline of an actual deity—it's possible she experienced some form of bloodline awakening."
The other members of the Sun Moon team nodded in agreement with the captain and elder's assessments.
But what puzzled them was why Shrek would go to the trouble of faking a Soul Sage.
If Ma Xiaotao's power is real, then even if Ye Guyi only had five soul rings, Shrek's main team would still be more than enough to crush any team outside of the Sun Moon Academy.
Even against them, victory would be hard-fought. So what would be the point of faking another Soul Sage? Just to scare them?
If it really were a deception, then they could expose Shrek for it and potentially force them to withdraw from the competition.
After all, falsification was strictly forbidden.
But if it wasn't fake… then things were getting way too strange. Advancing two soul rings in just over a year? That was nothing short of fantasy.
Xiao Hongchen's eyes glimmered. "Ye Guyi's martial soul is the Sacred Angel. We all know how the Spirit Hall was destroyed a thousand years ago, and yet Shrek still harbors an angel spirit user. Could there be more to this?"
The others considered this theory but found it hard to believe.
Ma Rulong's eyes widened. "Are you suggesting Ye Guyi inherited the legacy of the Six-Winged Angel? But that divine inheritance was supposedly lost when the angel god fell. Even if we don't know all the details from back then, it's impossible that such a legacy still exists. Besides, her martial soul is just a Sacred Angel—not quite on the same level as the Six-Winged Angel."
Xiao Hongchen shrugged. "It's just a hypothesis. Otherwise, we can't explain her rapid progression."
Elder Ma sighed. "It's a pity we can't get an informant into Shrek's inner court. Otherwise, we might know more of the truth."
"Still," he continued, "Xiao's theory isn't baseless. If both Ye Guyi and Ma Xiaotao are as he suspects, then they're bound to become major threats to our Sun Moon Academy."
The others nodded silently. If these theories were true, then given the current power gap between both teams, defeating Shrek's main team might be impossible.
They had previously assumed that something had happened to Shrek's main team, which was why they were using reserve members in earlier matches.
But now, it seemed far more likely that the main team was simply too powerful—so powerful they didn't even bother participating early on. They were just using the matches to temper their reserves.
And once the reserves hit their limit, the main team would step in to finish the job…
The very thought was terrifying.
But what shocked them the most wasn't Ye Guyi or Ma Xiaotao.
It was Shrek's team captain: Zhou Sicheng.
According to their records, Zhou Sicheng was only a level 55 Soul King. Though a fifth-tier Soul Engineer, his soul power was the lowest among Shrek's main members. And yet, he had been chosen as captain over Dai Yueheng and even two Soul Sages?
If Ye Guyi and Ma Xiaotao's strengths were genuine, this made absolutely no sense.
Shrek had always prided itself on strength above all. How could someone with the lowest soul power lead?
Even if he was a dual cultivator in martial soul and Soul Engineering, how could that let him surpass one six-ring and two seven-ring Soul Masters?
In short, none of this made any sense.
But when Ma Rulong and Xiao Hongchen saw Zhou Sicheng's martial soul, they finally started to understand.
Just like Ma Xiaotao, Zhou Sicheng had also appeared out of nowhere in Shrek Academy. No prior records of him existed.
Elder Ma gently tapped the table. "Look closely at Zhou Sicheng's martial soul."
Xiao Hongchen was the first to answer, "Bright Holy Dragon."
At that name, most of the Sun Moon members were confused. Dragon-type martial souls were indeed powerful, but how was that related to Zhou Sicheng being captain?
But Ma Rulong and the Hongchen siblings suddenly had a flash of realization, remembering one of Shrek's legendary powerhouses from the past.
Elder Ma explained, "The Bright Holy Dragon martial soul dominated an entire era two centuries ago. For decades after, it became the symbol of strength in Shrek's martial soul department."
"The wielder of the Bright Holy Dragon martial soul was renowned across the continent. The Twin Sacred Dragons, the Dragon God Douluo… He even became the Pavilion Master of Shrek's Sea God Pavilion."
"Over a hundred years ago, that Dragon God Douluo fought a legendary duel against the previous patriarch of the Body Sect. The Dragon God Douluo won by a hair, and shortly afterward, the Body Sect's leader passed away. Then the Dragon God Douluo vanished from the public eye…"
Hearing this, the team began to understand the significance of the Bright Holy Dragon.
Most hadn't heard of a figure from two centuries ago, but they knew what it meant to be the Sea God Pavilion Master or the Body Sect Patriarch.
That kind of status… was terrifying.
Elder Ma's eyes gleamed. "That Dragon God Douluo may no longer be with us, but Zhou Sicheng might very well be his descendant."
Ma Rulong couldn't help but say, "Even if he is, so what? He could just be riding on his ancestor's fame. He might not have the real ability, just a borrowed name."
"Or maybe Shrek only became this strange after he joined them."
Xiao Hongchen shook his head. "No. Ancestral fame matters, but without real strength, others wouldn't treat him with such respect. We've seen how the Shrek team treats Zhou Sicheng—that respect is genuine."
At that, everyone fell silent. They understood Xiao Hongchen's point.
The Hongchen siblings were also beneficiaries of ancestral prestige. But it was their own talent that earned them respect.
The same applied to Zhou Sicheng.
Meng Hongchen muttered, "So… everything in Shrek's records is real? Then how can we even win? Angel bloodline, Phoenix descendant, Dragon God Douluo's heir… Just gathering those people into one team is already absurd, and now we're supposed to fight them?"
Her words left everyone speechless—including Elder Ma.
Because… how could they win?
And if it was all true, how could one academy, even Shrek, produce so many prodigies?
Soul Sages under twenty years old? That kind of cultivation wasn't even human anymore!
And then there was Zhou Sicheng. On paper, a fifth-tier Soul Engineer with five rings. But if Ma Xiaotao and Ye Guyi were real, there was no way he could suppress them unless...
Unless his Soul Engineer level wasn't really tier five—it could be tier six, maybe even tier seven.
Why guess that? Because there was an unspoken rule: Even if you could craft tier-seven soul tools, if you only had six rings, you were still classified as a sixth-tier Soul Engineer—perhaps called a "peak" one at best.
Just like Ma Rulong, who could make tier-seven tools, but only had six rings. So his record stated "sixth-tier."
If that were the case with Zhou Sicheng… then it was even more terrifying.
Xiao Hongchen was already considered a top genius in the Sun Moon Academy, and even he couldn't reach the level of a seventh-tier Soul Engineer with only five rings.
To think that the descendant of the Dragon God Douluo could be this monstrously talented in both martial soul and Soul Engineering…
What was the point of even competing anymore?
Elder Ma was beginning to regret even obtaining this intelligence. The pressure that came with it was overwhelming.
After a long silence, he sighed. "Real or not, just give it your all. Even if we can't beat Shrek, we'll take second place no matter what."
Everyone nodded quietly, each deep in thought, clearly shaken.
Even the ever-confident Xiao Hongchen didn't feel like boasting. He simply sat in silence, digesting what he had just read.
A few days ago, he had loudly proclaimed he'd crush Shrek and win the championship as a reserve member.
Now, after seeing these "detailed" profiles, he had fallen into stunned silence.
It just didn't make sense. A Sacred Angel martial soul, attending Shrek? That alone was suspicious.
Xiao Hongchen felt like marching up to Ye Guyi and demanding, "Do you even know how the almighty Spirit Hall fell? And you still joined Shrek? Aren't you afraid they'll destroy you too?"
You should've come to Sun Moon. That's your real home.
Now, every single member of Shrek's main team seemed absurdly overpowered. Even Zhou Sicheng, with only five rings, might actually be a tier-seven Soul Engineer?
If not, how could a Bright Holy Dragon martial soul alone earn him the position of captain?
Shrek had stood unshaken for thousands of years—not through deception, but strength. That much was certain.
Which was why, despite all their suspicions, they hadn't accused Shrek of cheating. Instead, they chose to believe it.
Just like the Sun Moon Academy—too proud to fake anything themselves.
And Shrek, as the continent's number-one academy, independent of any empire or force, had even less reason to falsify records.
Yet the truth in those records was even more terrifying than any lie.
Eventually, Elder Ma put the documents away, stood up, and opened the door. He called in a guard.
"Deliver this information to the imperial capital. Use the fastest method available."
As the guard departed, a shadow flickered across Elder Ma's eyes.
"Shrek... What a terrifying Shrek. In just five years, they've raised so many prodigies."
"The empires may have joined forces with sects and academies to purge the Evil Soul Masters… but a debt must be repaid. If the old generation made a mistake, then let the new generation suffer the consequences."
Shrek Academy – Sea God Pavilion
Yan Shaozhe respectfully served Elder Mu a cup of tea.
"Teacher, some of the more restless people in the outer court have started to make their moves."
Elder Mu smiled warmly. "And what do you think they'll uncover?"
Yan Shaozhe replied confidently, "Aside from what's on the surface, nothing at all."
Still, he looked slightly worried. "But junior sister and Ma Xiaotao's Soul Sage cultivation is hard to hide. And now that junior brother is publicly acknowledged as your descendant… I'm not worried about the others, but I fear the Sun Moon side might resort to underhanded tactics."
Elder Mu gave a calm, confident smile. "They may get anxious, but my reputation still carries weight. As long as they know Sicheng's official background, they won't dare go too far."
"And Xuan Zi is with them too. With what I gave him, it'll be enough to ensure their safe return."
Hearing this, Yan Shaozhe finally relaxed.
But if Zhou Sicheng had heard this, he'd definitely protest internally—It's because Elder Xuan is with us that it's dangerous! After all, the Supreme Elder of the Holy Spirit Cult was more dangerous than any Inspection Team deputy…
Elder Mu looked toward the outer court. "How's Huo Yuhao doing?"
Yan Shaozhe responded, "He seems to have real potential in Soul Engineering. If he makes it into the inner court and undergoes the Golden Tree's baptism, he may develop into something special."
"Fan Yu has been promoted to vice-dean of the Soul Engineering department, and now has more resources. Huo Yuhao is his disciple now, and I believe with Fan Yu's guidance, he'll become one of the department's future pillars."
Elder Mu nodded gently. "Then continue watching him. I trust Sicheng's judgment."
With that, he waved his hand. "Go on now."
****
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