In the blink of an eye, half a month passed.
Compared to previous years, Shrek City was undoubtedly more bustling this year.
Although the news of Shrek's self-audit had leaked not long ago—specifically the public beheading of those criminals in front of numerous factions at the city gates—it had caused a massive stir throughout the Douluo Continent.
This led many to realize that Shrek wasn't exactly a pristine place.
However, holding onto the belief that "a starved camel is still bigger than a horse," and coupled with the fact that Shrek had abolished the old recommendation letter system to expand its recruitment scope, the number of applicants for this year's Shrek Academy actually quadrupled.
As the number of applicants rose, so did the possibility of discovering more civilian talents. In any case, the teachers at the admissions office were quite happy, meticulously noting every student's talent and potential future development leanings.
Following the massive purge, many positions within Shrek Academy were now vacant. One could say that by working hard in Shrek Academy now, you really would get promoted and receive a raise!
How could they not work hard?
While Shrek's admissions work was in full swing, two figures were conversing within the Spirit Transmission Pagoda.
"I'm sorry, Dong'er, my teacher still hasn't returned."
As soon as the words fell, the expression on Wang Dong'er's face clearly turned to disappointment, but she quickly managed to compose her emotions.
After all, this wasn't the first time.
Ever since she accidentally obtained a Soul Tool belonging to Teacher Ning Tian, the Master of the Spirit Transmission Pagoda, a year ago, a mysterious guidance told her: as long as she could find this Pagoda Master, she would be able to learn the truth about everything!
Whether it was why she had such a strong rejection of other Soul Tools, or the incredibly blurry memories of her father and mother.
Everything—everything could be known if she could just meet this Pagoda Master!
But this simple step had been delayed for an entire year!
Wang Dong'er looked at Ning Tian, who displayed a perfectly measured look of apology:
"I'm truly sorry, Dong'er. It really has been a long time since I last saw my teacher. But please rest assured, if Teacher returns, I will definitely notify you immediately."
Ning Tian's tone was earnest.
Wang Dong'er shook her head: "It's fine, there's no rush."
Since she had already waited a year without any news, what was the harm in waiting a bit longer?
She still had plenty of time at Shrek; there was no hurry...
...
In the shadows, two figures were secretly eavesdropping on the conversation between Ning Tian and Wang Dong'er.
"Is Dong'er so distracted and tinkering with those Soul Tools all day just because of this Spirit Transmission Pagoda Master?"
Titan scratched his head, looking at a pile of parts of various shapes and the instruction manual beside them. His eyes displayed a clarity that had never been tainted by knowledge.
"Titan! Why are you stealing things again?! Give it back!"
Niu Tian slapped Titan on the back of the head, feeling that bringing his younger brother along had been a real mistake.
However...
"The Master of the Spirit Transmission Pagoda, hm? At least we know who Dong'er's goal is now. Return the items; we're going upstairs to take a look. Remember, be polite in a moment. No fighting allowed."
The name of the Spirit Transmission Pagoda Master was like a clap of thunder to Niu Tian's ears.
After all, this was the entity that invented the "Artificial Soul Ring Device." Such a Soul Tool was of monumental significance to both humans and Soul Beasts.
In a sense, this Soul Tool had even eased the relationship between humans and Soul Beasts.
As a former Soul Beast, Niu Tian naturally harbored a great deal of goodwill toward this Pagoda Master.
After telling Titan to behave, Niu Tian prepared to head to the upper levels. However, in the next instant, a petite blonde girl holding a life-sized, blue-haired moe doll suddenly descended.
Looking at Niu Tian and Titan before her, Skydream's massive Mental Power swept over them. Sensing their auras, she unexpectedly discovered something wrong.
"...Wait, why do the auras of you two not quite seem like humans?"
Though Skydream was weak in actual combat, no one could say her Mental Power was weak. The Mental Power of a million-year-old Soul Beast was, in a way, infinitely close to that of a Third-class God, especially after Huo Yuhao's help allowed Skydream to take another step forward.
It could be said that currently, on the entire Douluo Continent—excluding Gu Yuena and Huo Yuhao—the quality of Skydream's Mental Power even surpassed that of the Evil Emperor, ranking her third.
Of course, quality is one thing, and combat power is another; they shouldn't be conflated.
Nevertheless, such powerful Mental Power still made Niu Tian and Titan feel a slight sense of pressure, causing them to instinctively adopt a defensive posture.
"Who are you? Intruders?"
Skydream frowned slightly on the surface, but in reality, she was already secretly calling for backup using her Mental Power, with one hand behind her back, ready to open a spatial portal and flee at any moment.
She knew from a brief sense that she couldn't beat these two, but the opponents were clearly intimidated by her Mental Power, so she needed to stall for time.
"Our apologies, Your Excellency. We brothers only wish to meet the Spirit Transmission Pagoda Master to ask about some matters."
"Heh, every intruder gives that same answer. Can't you guys be a bit more original?"
Hearing Skydream's disdainful tone, Titan immediately became annoyed. "We said we're here to ask about some matters! Do you not understand words?!"
Titan was getting heated when he suddenly noticed something was off.
Under normal circumstances, when he got heated, Big Brother would always pin him down to keep him from causing trouble. Even if he let him go, he'd say something. Why was it silent this time?
Turning his head, he saw his Big Brother Niu Tian with a blue-haired youth's finger pressed against the back of his head. His eyes were lifeless, looking as if he were being controlled.
"Despicable human! Let go of my Big Brother!"
Huo Yuhao looked up, his azure eyes glancing indifferently at Titan. In the next instant, Titan's spirit suffered a heavy blow, and he collapsed abruptly to the ground.
Withdrawing his gaze, Huo Yuhao resumed focusing intently on locking down Niu Tian's soul and spirit bit by bit. Then, he cautiously extracted and sealed the strand of Tang San's Divine Consciousness on Niu Tian's body.
"Yuhao, are these two guys special?"
Skydream, who had already secretly tucked her custom Yuhao doll back into her Soul Tool storage ring, leaned over.
Skydream had also sensed that Niu Tian and Titan were special. After all, facing these two, her Yuhao hadn't immediately frozen them into ice sculptures and tossed them into the Spectral Space, which indirectly proved their uniqueness.
"Yes. These two are, in a sense, Divine Beasts. However, under the world's suppression, they can't exert much power."
"Divine Beasts?!"
"Yes."
After sealing Tang San's Divine Consciousness using a cross-seal of the power of fate and the power of faith, Huo Yuhao finally looked at these two "elders."
Niu Tian and Titan.
Regarding these two beasts who had sacrificed themselves to Tang San ten thousand years ago, were later resurrected, and granted the strength of God Officers, Huo Yuhao's impression of them was actually quite decent.
But clearly, a decent impression was one thing; they were obviously not on the same side.
"They are, after all, elders who were good to Dong'er. For her sake, I'll give them a chance..."
Huo Yuhao murmured softly, his decision already made.