This "assessment" caused a huge stir.
It alarmed half of Shrek Academy.
Inner court disciples came running from all directions. Yan Shaozhe lay with his eyes closed—though Azure Luan had healed his injuries, he was too ashamed to face anyone after losing to a student...
"Master, are you alright?" Ma Xiaotao ran over anxiously, shaking his arm.
Yan Shaozhe's heart warmed—at least his disciple cared for him. He was about to open his eyes and say something reassuring, when Ma Xiaotao giggled beside him.
"Hehe, teacher's just too weak."
"No worries, he's passed out, he can't hear us."
"That's just how he is. Shrek men care about face. Why did he personally assess Su Wen? Because he underestimated Su Wen's strength. Who'd have thought he'd improve so fast, hehe."
"Xiao Tao..." Zhang Yi noticed Yan Shaozhe's clenched fist and bulging veins, and quietly warned Ma Xiaotao.
"Maybe Dean Yan was just sparring with the Little Pavilion Lord. He's risen so quickly, how could Dean Yan be weak..."
"No way!" Ma Xiaotao couldn't hide her smile.
"Teacher's just vain. He probably tried to give Su Wen trouble at the Sea God's Pavilion, but Su Wen turned it around and beat him up. If he'd just surrendered, things wouldn't have been so miserable..."
"Xiao Tao, Super Douluo aren't that weak, right?" Han Ruoruo coughed, trying to save a life.
Not so weak meant Yan Shaozhe wasn't really unconscious...
But Ma Xiaotao just kept digging her own grave.
Meanwhile, Yan Shaozhe, lying on the stretcher, clenched his fist tighter and tighter!
…
News of Su Wen defeating the Martial Soul Department Dean Yan Shaozhe spread through the inner court in half a day.
To challenge the Dean as a student—and win...
That was far more shocking than when Su Wen killed an evil soul master Titled Douluo.
After all, Yan Shaozhe symbolized absolute authority and the unshakable Martial Soul Department of Shrek. This meant they'd witnessed the birth of another peerless genius.
At the same time—
At the Honor Stele.
Before the dense rows of stele, each representing a member of the Inspection Team—once you joined, your name was inscribed, and if you died, it turned red.
At the front.
A few inner court disciples stared at the new stele.
Stunned.
"Look, am I seeing things?!"
"Senior Su Wen? No, Little Pavilion Lord... He killed six evil soul master Titled Douluo? Two Super Douluo?!"
"No wonder the Sun Moon Empire went to such lengths to get rid of him."
"Awesome!"
"..."
And this update to the honor stele—
Quickly spread through the inner court.
Firmly establishing Su Wen's achievements.
His prestige reached unprecedented heights...
If it had been Mu En, there would have been a stir, but not like now. A "young" and rising leader, carrying everyone's hopes for the future of the academy, was easier to trust.
After all, he represented the confidence that Shrek would stand atop the continent for another century.
And Shrek's bright future.
…
Inner court.
Su Wen looked at the trembling disciples before him and sighed.
"The Inspection Team is Shrek's elite. Once you join the inner court, you're basically in. You'll be fighting evil soul masters for your lives, yet you won't even learn basic knowledge? What are you going to fight with, your half-baked skills?"
Seventeen heads hung low, not daring to speak.
All were prodigies, one in ten thousand, but in his eyes, they were just "half-baked."
And after what happened in the Mingdou Mountains years ago, they had no grounds to argue.
Half-baked is better than useless...
"Young Pavilion Master, we know our mistake, we're willing to learn!" One disciple said sincerely.
"Hmm..." Su Wen nodded in satisfaction.
"Good attitude."
"Much better than Chen Zifeng, Yao Haoxuan, Ma... cough, those guys back then."
He glanced at Wang Yan beside him.
After returning from the tournament, Wang Yan spent two years in the Golden Treehouse, absorbing Shrek's martial soul knowledge and successfully raising Xiao Hongchen's level—a solid theorist, far better than that "master" fraud a thousand years ago.
He didn't expect this group to become another Wang Yan, but basic martial soul knowledge had to be mastered.
The inner court was full of people with Ma Xiaotao's overconfidence, who ignored knowledge and only pursued combat power...
"Teacher Wang Yan, I'll leave the theory classes to you. Four hours every morning, starting at six. Cover everything—terrain, soul beasts, even obscure evil martial soul research..."
"No problem, leave it to me." Wang Yan nodded with a smile.
Su Wen pondered.
And announced the special training plan.
Since its founding, the Inspection Team had one goal—hunt evil soul masters. So, first, improve strength, vision, and intelligence, so they wouldn't blunder into the mountains as before. Without Wang Yan's deductions, they'd never have found their targets.
Second, learn about evil soul masters and train against their strange skills.
The first part was easy: Wang Yan taught, and Su Wen threw them into Xuan Ji and Azure Luan's spirit balls to hone themselves, to experience ultimate attributes and double their growth.
As for the second...
If needed, he'd just go to the Sun Moon Empire, capture some evil soul masters, and raise them as live training dummies.
"Ah!!!"
Everyone groaned.
Such a tough schedule.
…
Sea God's Pavilion.
Mu En watched and sighed, "Looks like you're serious. That's good—I look forward to seeing how far these kids can go under your guidance."
"They are Shrek's future pillars, and the first batch of battle armor testers. They'll join the forging department too..." Su Wen said softly.
"I just have a feeling..."
Mu En's expression was complicated.
"You want to leave something for Shrek, Xiao Wen. Everything you do seems rushed."
"Has a god contacted you already?"
"Are you ascending, so you want to..."
"Elder Mu, you misunderstand." Su Wen sighed. "I do think that day won't be far off, but for now, I just want to forge battle armor."
"I joined Shrek at six, rescued by Sister Xiao Tao in the Star Dou Forest. From that moment, I was bound to Shrek."
"But I always complained about Shrek's flawed, even sick, system. I want to change it. There are so many kind, sunny seniors here—they shouldn't die pointlessly fighting evil soul masters, and end up with a hasty grave and a brief record."
"They trusted Shrek."
"But Shrek let them down, stomped on that trust."
Su Wen took a long breath.
He'd always wanted to change Shrek Academy, so he kept gathering power to make Shrek what it should be.
He had so much to do.
"Hahaha..."
Mu En laughed, tears flowing.
"Heaven blesses Shrek." After a while, he looked at Su Wen and said:
"You do what you need to. I'll handle the rest..."
….
Forging Department.
Smoke curled through the air, and each forging room was unbearably hot.
Even in the sweltering summer, you could hear the clang of metal everywhere.
"You brat, it's been ages since you came." Old Du stopped his huge hammer, glancing at Su Wen.
"With you here, it's the same." Su Wen laughed awkwardly. Was Old Du calling him a hands-off boss?
After being back for over two months...
He hadn't come once.
"No worries." Old Du nodded. "The kids inside are progressing fast, especially the Lou girl, and the one you brought with the Clear Sky Hammer martial soul, that girl's got talent."
"What about Mu Qiu'er?" Su Wen asked, surprised.
"She's good too." Old Du stroked his white beard, hesitating. "But her fortune is off the charts—almost about to soar to the heavens, and she's a soul beast in human form. Did you bring a sacred beast here?"
Su Wen: "..."
You guessed it right.
Old Du saw Su Wen's silence and his face froze. He stared at Su Wen, "What? Really a sacred beast?! You brought one to the academy?!"
Old Du turned pale.
That was a sacred beast!
It represented the fortune of all soul beasts!
Last time, the Star Dou Forest made such a fuss, even started a war with Shrek—for the sacred beast.
And you brought it here, and even convinced it to become human?
When the Star Dou Forest finds out, won't they come for Shrek's head?
"It's not that bad." Su Wen coughed awkwardly, seeing Old Du almost pull his beard out.
"Not that bad?!" Old Du's voice rose.
"Because I brought the Lord of Soul Beasts too." Su Wen coughed.
Old Du: "..."