Douluo Continent: The Twin Sons of the Styx River, Shaking the World and Destroying the Heavens

Chapter 39 Glory
"Elder Xuan, I have a question."

Tang Lin raised his hand in greeting, his well-defined knuckles standing out prominently in the queue.

Xuanzi's gaze swept over this top-tier prodigy with twin martial souls. The subtle air about Tang Lin bore a striking resemblance to Tang San, the ancestor of the Tang Sect. Xuanzi was secretly delighted, feeling this was a godsend—if he could bring this person into the inner courtyard and carefully cultivate him for the academy's use, Shrek Academy's future legacy would have a solid foundation. "Tang Lin, is there a problem?" Xuanzi's smile was gentle, but his eyes held a sharp, scrutinizing edge.

"Elder Xuan, you said that entering the inner academy is an opportunity that countless people dream of but rarely have, so why are there only about a hundred disciples who have joined the inner academy?"
"Tang Lin's tone was calm, but his words suddenly became sharp, "Since entering the inner academy doesn't provide significantly more educational resources than the outer academy, and graduation requires completing as many as thirty tasks—then where exactly do the resources offered by the inner academy come from? With so much time spent completing thirty graduation tasks, is there really any time to enjoy those resources? Does the Douluo Continent truly provide every inner academy disciple with enough tasks to complete to reach the graduation standard?"

His gaze swept over the thoughtful students in the queue, and he continued to press, "You said that entering the inner academy is an honor, so you must tell us what specific benefits this honor brings us?"

The original intention was to use the comparison between the Sun Moon Empire's Soul Master Academy and Shrek Academy to offer the Tang Sect the enticing condition of "giving away cultivation manuals upon joining the sect," and then use the name of Tang San, the leader of the first generation of Shrek Seven Devils and the ancestor of the Tang Sect, to attract geniuses.

But upon seeing Xuanzi's suddenly cold expression, Tang Lin swallowed his words.

It's alright. Let's plant the seeds of doubt in everyone's hearts today, so that we can proceed step by step in the future.

Xuanzi's face darkened. He had originally hoped that Tang Shan's questions would provide him with an opportunity to ignite Tang Shan and the others' desire to join the inner courtyard, but he never expected that the boy's questions would be so incisive. Except for the last question, which was somewhat tactful, the rest were like knives stabbing him in the heart.

As a Super Douluo, Xuanzi was extremely well-mannered. Although he was furious, he wouldn't stoop to arguing with an outer court student. He took a big bite of his chicken leg, gulped down a mouthful of wine, and then said, "Once you enter the inner court, it's natural that you'll receive preferential treatment in terms of resources. The academy will also help you hunt for spirit rings."

Ling Luochen had a close relationship with Zhang Lexuan and knew about Zhang Lexuan's hunting for spirit rings back then. Moreover, she had now disappeared. Upon hearing this, he couldn't help but curl his lips.

The so-called help in hunting spirit rings was nothing more than this level 98 Super Douluo getting lost in the forest and becoming separated from the students. As a result, he delivered eight inner court geniuses right to the mouths of a 100,000-year-old spirit beast. Rather than helping, it was more like feeding the spirit beast.

Especially with Xuanzi leading the team, it's even more worrying. A dignified Super Douluo, getting lost in the forest? Who would believe it? Either his brain has been ruined by alcohol, or he's possessed by an evil soul master.

The thought that Xuanzi would be leading the team to the Star Luo Empire again made Ling Luochen subconsciously touch the soul guide shield she had bought at a high price. The shield was warm to the touch, and her heart finally calmed down a little.

Xuanzi took another big gulp of wine, let out a loud burp, raised his index finger and shook it, and said drunkenly, "More importantly, you can participate in the Sea God's Fate, find a soulmate, and even have the chance to enter the Sea God's Pavilion!"

As soon as Xuanzi said this, the inner court students next to him couldn't help but gasp, thinking to themselves: Elder Xuanzi's promise is too big. The Sea God's Fate is a real thing, but joining the Sea God Pavilion is not so easy. It's practically an unattainable dream.

"Alright, I've finished explaining everything to you little monsters. Now I have something to announce." Xuanzi's expression turned serious as he put away the wine jug and chicken leg. He said solemnly, "In order to hold a training camp for you, we have specially secured a mission for you."

"That is to go to the Mingdou Mountains near the border of the Xingluo Empire to eliminate the evil soul masters!"

"Exterminate the evil spirit masters?!" Everyone was shocked to hear this.

“That’s right. Before we go to Star Luo City to participate in this Continental Advanced Soul Master Competition, we need to wipe out the evil soul masters first. Consider it a training camp for you.” Xuanzi nodded, then said with a confident tone, “However, according to the intelligence we have, there isn’t even a Soul Emperor among the evil soul masters there. You have two Soul Emperors and five Soul Kings on your side, plus these little guys, wiping them out is more than enough!”

Ling Luochen, who had been frowning and considering buying another soul-guided protective shield, relaxed slightly upon hearing this, abandoning the idea of ​​spending a large sum of money on protective equipment. Although Elder Xuan's team was always fraught with unexpected situations and dangers, if it was just about clearing out a group of evil soul masters without even a Soul Emperor, his current soul-guided protective shield should be sufficient, right?

Ling Luochen glanced at Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng, the strongest members of the team, and felt much more at ease.

"So there isn't even a Soul Emperor? I thought there were some powerful figures waiting for us to deal with. How boring!" Gongyang Mo spread his hands, his face showing a listless and utterly disappointed expression.

But you can maintain this confident state later. "Sigh, I thought it was some great mission, but it's just clearing out a den of evil soul masters that doesn't even have a Soul Emperor level expert. There's no sense of accomplishment in doing this. If there were Soul Emperor or Soul Saint level evil soul masters, then it would pique our interest." Yao Haoxuan crossed his arms, his face full of disappointment.

Xi Xi put her hands on her hips and said loudly, "Elder Xuan, how can a hideout of evil soul masters who don't even have a Soul Emperor level be worthy of being used by us for practice?"

Unlike the disappointed and sighing inner court students, most of the outer court students had hopeful expressions on their faces. Only Tang Lin frowned slightly, looked at Xuan Zi, and alarm bells rang in his mind.

If he remembered correctly, when his main body was monitoring Douluo Star in his previous life, he discovered that Huo Yuhao almost perished on the way to exterminate the evil soul masters. According to the timeline, if he was not mistaken, it should have happened when Xuanzi led the team to exterminate the evil soul masters this time.

Considering Huo Yuhao's performance in the first All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Tournament in his previous life, it's likely that the losses suffered by the main team members in this operation must be considerable!
Tang Lin originally wanted to remind Xuanzi to be more vigilant and act cautiously, but after careful consideration, he abandoned the idea. Thinking of Xuanzi's self-righteous remarks just now, and the words of the senior students in the inner academy at this moment.

Given his current status, his warning to everyone to be careful would likely not only be ignored, but would also invite ridicule.

Why should a team with a level 98 Super Douluo, two Soul Emperor-level geniuses, and five Soul King-level geniuses be so cautious about a hideout of evil Soul Masters that doesn't even have a Soul Emperor?
This implies a slight disregard for that Super Douluo.

It's best to play it safe. Once the main players suffer heavy losses, I, as a reserve player, will have the opportunity to step onto the field and show my skills.

Hmph, what Shrek Academy's eternal glory? It's nothing compared to the glory of my Tang Sect that's worth protecting!

A hint of madness flashed in Tang Lin's eyes, and a cold smile appeared on his lips, slightly upturned.

"I'll just use it to practice and warm up for the big competition."

As Xuanzi spoke, he wiped his greasy hands on the oil-stained clothes, and his whole body exuded an unpleasant smell. "Is everything ready? If it is, let's set off as soon as possible, get things done sooner, and get on the road sooner."

Led by Xuanzi and Wang Yan, the fourteen students chatted and laughed all the way, not taking the mission seriously at all. They left Shrek Academy easily and headed towards the border of the Star Luo Empire, preparing to carry out the mission of eliminating evil soul masters.

After all, they were only facing a den of evil soul masters who didn't even have a Soul Emperor, so everyone was quite relaxed. Except for a few students who still had doubts, everyone else was just thinking about completing the mission as soon as possible so they could continue on their way.

But they chatted and laughed all the way, not taking it seriously at all.

Little did they know that this might be the last time they could laugh and talk like this, and that death would soon be the price to pay.

They are on the road, but not the Fifth Ring Evil Soul Masters on the road. It's you guys.

The central region of the Mingdou Mountains on the western border of the Star Luo Empire.

Dressed in dark green Shrek Inspector suits to conceal their identities, and wearing Inspector rings that function as identification, storage, and distress signals, the Shrek members are fully engaged in their mission to eliminate the evil spirit masters. The atmosphere is electric, and the operation is in full swing.

"Tsk tsk tsk, is that all the evil soul master can do? I can just slap him and his head will explode." Yao Haoxuan, a regular team member, said with a look of disdain. He kicked the corpse of the evil soul master he had just killed like a football, his face full of pride and smugness.

So far, we've only encountered Soul Masters; there hasn't been a single Soul King's corpse.

For them, it's just about bullying small fry; one slash and they're gone, it's that easy.

"Hey, these evil spirit masters are so weak! Aren't they supposed to be ruthless and cunning, like bloodthirsty demons? How come they're all just small fry?" Chen Zifeng stood at the front of the group, stretching lazily, his face full of unfinished business. "And their leader, what 'Messenger of Death'? In my opinion, 'Crispy Messenger' would be a better name. He just hides inside like a coward, too scared to come out."

Xixi scoffed and said dismissively, "A Soul King like you, crushing these evil Soul Masters who are at most Soul Venerable level is a piece of cake, something anyone can do. How dare you be so smug here?"

Chen Zifeng chuckled and pointed ahead, saying, "That cave ahead is the lair of the evil soul masters. There are definitely quite a few evil soul masters inside. You guys better hurry up and keep up. If I kill them all by myself later, don't blame me for not giving you a chance to practice!"

(End of this chapter)