"Little Chu, look, there's a small village ahead."
Xiao Wu pointed to the village in the distance.
Following the direction of Xiao Wu's finger, Chu Chengzhou saw a small village about half a kilometer away.
Thanks to his enhanced vision from cultivating the Divine Refinement skill, he could clearly make out that the village consisted of roughly a hundred households. In the vast Balak Kingdom, it was utterly unremarkable.
However, he knew that Shrek Academy—their destination—was located within this village.
The address of a soul master academy was in a small village?
It was somewhat embarrassing to admit, but Flender, the seven-ring Soul Sage and principal, couldn't afford better. He had to cut every possible expense, lowering the academy's standards to the bare minimum.
"Let's go—it's probably where we need to be."
Chu Chengzhou gestured to Xiao Wu.
"That's Shrek Academy?"
Xiao Wu's eyes widened in disbelief.
"If nothing's wrong, it should be."
Chu Chengzhou nodded.
"Brother~, how about we change course and head to Tian Dou City instead?"
After glancing at the distant village again, Xiao Wu timidly suggested.
It wasn't that she looked down on Shrek Academy—it was just hard for her to associate that tiny village with a soul master academy.
One of the indicators of a soul master academy's strength was its infrastructure. But here, there wasn't even proper academy architecture. Clearly, Shrek Academy was incredibly lacking.
Coming here to study would only waste their time, wouldn't it?
Not to mention, could such a rundown academy even afford a simulated training field?
A training field suited to one's martial soul was crucial. If it matched well, it could boost soul power cultivation speed by 10-20%.
"No, Tian Dou Imperial Academy is a noble academy. Even if our talent is decent, they might not welcome us."
Chu Chengzhou shook his head.
Class discrimination existed everywhere. While the three Soul Douluo-level instructors at Tian Dou Imperial Academy might welcome talented commoners like them, most of the students there wouldn't feel the same way. They'd only see peasants encroaching on their resources.
Even if they were to join a formal advanced soul master academy someday, in Chu Chengzhou's opinion, Liu Erlong's Lanba (Blue Tyrant) Academy was better than Tian Dou Imperial Academy.
He didn't need a prestigious academy with deep roots. All he needed was an academy that could help him hunt spirit beasts during his early soul power advancement stages.
"Really?"
Xiao Wu blinked suspiciously, feeling like Little Chu Trash had some ulterior motive for coming to Shrek Academy.
Suddenly, Chu Chengzhou's sharp eyes caught sight of two figures emerging from the village ahead.
One figure had long golden hair and a tall, imposing build. The other was none other than Ma Hongjun, whom he had beaten up earlier.
'Dai Mubai? Did Ma Hongjun bring reinforcements?'
Chu Chengzhou thought with a strange expression.
But… Dai Mubai alone wasn't enough!
The White Tiger martial soul passed down through the Dai family of the Star Luo Imperial Clan was decent, considered a relatively powerful top-tier beast-type martial soul. However, the White Tiger wasn't on the level of divine-quality martial souls like the Six-Winged Angel and didn't possess high-end abilities like innate domains.
Among all three-ring Soul Elders on the continent, Dai Mubai's strength was above average but still mediocre overall.
Unless his opponent was a four-ring Soul Ancestor with poor soul ring configurations and a weak martial soul, without the Spirit Fusion Technique: Netherworld White Tiger, Dai Mubai simply didn't have the ability to challenge higher-ranked opponents.
Even though Chu Chengzhou's soul power was several levels lower than Dai Mubai's, and he lacked a third soul ring, if they fought, Dai Mubai wouldn't stand a chance against him.
Not to mention, with his archery skills and movement techniques, he could easily kite Dai Mubai into submission.
Soon, Xiao Wu also spotted Ma Hongjun approaching with reinforcements.
"Little Chu, do you think that little fatty brought people to seek revenge on us?"
Xiao Wu pointed to the two figures running toward them.
"No problem, they're just small fries. Your brother can handle them effortlessly!"
Chu Chengzhou said dismissively.
"Little fatty, weren't you satisfied with the beating I gave you earlier? Do you want another round?"
Xiao Wu teased with a playful smile.
"Hmph~, Boss Dai, it's him!"
Ignoring Xiao Wu's taunts, Ma Hongjun didn't respond but coldly pointed at Chu Chengzhou, turning to Dai Mubai.
"Fatty, don't worry—you're my brother. I'll settle this for you!"
Glancing at Chu Chengzhou and openly ogling Xiao Wu, Dai Mubai patted Ma Hongjun's shoulder and spoke with righteous indignation.
At this moment, Dai Mubai seemed like the perfect big brother willing to take a knife for his buddy.
Of course, this wasn't about loyalty—it was because the moment Dai Mubai saw Xiao Wu, his lustful instincts kicked in.
'The Flamboyant Prince,' 'The Thousand-Man Playboy,' and 'The Time Management Master'—all these titles described him. Spotting such a high-quality girl, how could Dai Mubai, a notorious womanizer, resist?
Helping his plastic brother? That was just a bonus. His real goal was to steal Xiao Wu away!
"Little fatty, I suggest you call more people. This golden-haired freak isn't enough."
Chu Chengzhou sneered at Ma Hongjun.
"Boss Dai, he called you a golden-haired freak—get him!"
Upon hearing Chu Chengzhou mock Dai Mubai as a golden-haired freak, Ma Hongjun immediately perked up.
This pretty boy was dissing Dai Mubai—how could Dai the Tiger tolerate that? When the fight broke out, this guy's fate would be far worse than what Ma Hongjun had suffered earlier.
"Boy, you're a soul master too, right? Release your martial soul!"
Insulted as a golden-haired freak, Dai Mubai couldn't let it slide. However, to leave a good impression on the bunny-eared girl, he refrained from attacking immediately.
To successfully steal someone's girlfriend, he needed to thoroughly crush her current boyfriend in front of her.
"I hope you won't kneel and beg for mercy, calling me 'Dad,' later!"
Mocking him, Chu Chengzhou activated his soul power. A large flag with a tree and lion design materialized in his hand, accompanied by two disguised hundred-year spirit rings.
With a wave of the flag, the second spirit ring on his body lit up. As soul power surged, a radiant white lion over three meters long, with a mane of golden fur around its neck, suddenly manifested beside him.
"Holy cow, a spirit beast?"
Seeing Chu Chengzhou summon a formidable spirit beast with a flick of his flag, Ma Hongjun blurted out a curse.
This pretty boy not only packed a punch but could also summon spirit beasts to fight?
"A Light Lion?"
Unlike Ma Hongjun's loud exclamations, Dai Mubai's expression turned serious as he gazed at the Light Lion summoned beside Chu Chengzhou.
As a prince of the Star Luo Empire, Dai Mubai had extensive knowledge of spirit beasts. He immediately recognized it as a Light Lion, and judging by its aura, its strength was likely on par with his own.
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