Douluo Continent: Starting with the Tiger Emperor Template

After leaving the Star Dou Great Forest, Lu Ren didn't rush on his way. Instead, he found a shady mountain hollow, made sure no one was around, and sat down cross-legged.

He took out the storage soul tool he had taken from Xu Sanshi from his pocket, probed it with his consciousness, and took out a palm-sized jade bottle.

Upon uncorking the bottle, a refreshing medicinal fragrance wafted out.

"Mysterious Water Pill." Lu Ren examined the pill in the bottle and muttered to himself, "I heard that this thing can increase innate soul power by one level. I wonder if it will still have an effect since I already have full innate soul power."

He thought about it and figured it was stolen anyway, so he wouldn't feel bad about it and might as well try it out.

He immediately tilted his head back and swallowed it.

The moment the pill entered the stomach, a warm energy rose from the lower abdomen and quickly flowed to the limbs and bones.

The feeling wasn't like the surging power of circulating soul energy, but more like someone was giving him a warm bath.

It's warm and cozy, so comfortable that it makes you want to sleep.

Ten minutes later.

Lu Ren opened his eyes and flexed his fingers.

The circulation speed of the soul power in his body was noticeably faster, and his meridians were also smoother than before.

With a thought, he circulated his soul power throughout his body.

It seems like I really did level up?

He paused for a moment, then immediately brought up the system panel.

[Host: Lu Ren]

[Soul Power Level: Level 43]

[Soul Ring Configuration: Purple, Purple, Black, Black]

[Currently available techniques: Demon-Subduing Chef, Crimson Blood Manipulation Technique...]

"You really got promoted?"

Lu Ren blinked, somewhat surprised.

Can one's innate full soul power be increased further?

This Mystic Water Pill is something else.

He glanced at the few remaining pieces in the jade bottle, then at the level 43 mark on the system panel, and couldn't help but smirk.

It's such a good effect, it's just a pity that you can only take one. Taking more will have no effect, especially since this pill is only effective for Soul Masters below level 20.

But it doesn't matter, we can keep it and exchange it for other resources.

After putting away the jade bottle, Lu Ren stood up and stretched.

The sky had darkened, and the afterglow of the setting sun painted the horizon orange-red.

He was preparing to find a place to spend the night when his gaze suddenly stopped.

In the distance, towards the exit of the Starry Sky Forest, several figures were slowly emerging.

Beibei, Tang Ya, and Xu Sanshi, who limps.

There is one more person.

A small, thin boy dressed in tattered clothes, but with exceptionally bright eyes.

Huo Yuhao.

Lu Ren narrowed his eyes.

It seems that the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm has already entered his body.

The original storyline has officially begun.

The difference is that Electrolux, who should have been in Huo Yuhao's spiritual sea, is now with Lu Ren.

Lu Ren's gaze swept over the four people, finally landing on Xu Sanshi.

The guy limped along at the back. Although his black school uniform was all crumpled from being beaten, it was still clear that it was the standard uniform of a senior student from Shrek Academy's outer courtyard.

Lu Ren looked at the black school uniform, then at his own clothes, and suddenly smiled.

"I've figured out how to infiltrate Shrek City."

……

As Beibei and her group walked along the main road, none of them noticed that a figure was following them at a leisurely pace in the distance.

Maintaining just the right distance.

They won't lose track of them, nor will they be discovered.

With Lu Ren's current physical abilities, tracking down a few teenagers whose soul power is far lower than his own would be incredibly easy.

After walking for about half an hour, the outline of a huge city gradually became clear on the horizon ahead.

It would be more accurate to call it a city than an academy.

The towering city walls stretch to the left and right, seemingly without end.

Inside the city walls, buildings stand side by side, and lights begin to twinkle like stars.

Shrek City.

Built on the Lima Plain, it covers an extremely large area and is an independent city in itself.

In the Douluo Continent, Shrek City is a top-tier metropolis with a population of over two million.

Shrek Academy has sole jurisdiction over the city and is not required to pay taxes to any country.

This is something that no other top-tier academy can match.

The academy is located in the eastern part of the city, directly facing the Starry Sky Forest.

The city's south, west, and north gates are open to everyone, but the east gate is exclusively for Shrek Academy.

Lu Ren looked at the majestic city gate from afar and couldn't help but click his tongue.

Ten thousand years ago, Shrek Academy was just a small academy established in a remote and impoverished area, but now it has developed into what it is today.

It's ridiculous.

That's understandable, though. Backed by three great empires and possessing the most outstanding teachers and students on the entire continent, it would be difficult for them not to develop.

Lu Ren snapped out of his thoughts and refocused his gaze on the four people in front of him.

We're almost at the East Gate.

At the city gate, a dozen young men and women dressed in yellow outfits with green patterns embroidered on their chests were on duty.

That's the symbol of the second and third year students of Shrek Academy's outer academy.

As Beibei and her group approached, the students on duty clearly recognized them and nodded in greeting without stopping them.

Right now.

Lu Ren took a deep breath and pushed off with his feet.

He moved like a blur, covering dozens of feet in an instant, heading straight for Xu Sanshi at the back of the group.

Xu Sanshi was walking along, still muttering curses under his breath:

"Damn robber, don't let me ever run into you again, or else..."

Before he could finish speaking, he felt a tightness on the back of his neck.

A large hand grabbed his neck, and the next second, he was lifted up, the wind whistling in his ears, and the surrounding scenery rushing past.

Xu Sanshi only had time to let out a muffled groan before everything went black, and he was dragged into the bushes by the roadside in the distance.

Because Lu Ren was moving so fast, the others only felt a gust of wind passing by behind them.

Beibei subconsciously turned around and saw that the place where Xu Sanshi had been standing was now empty.

"?"

He rubbed his eyes again.

It's still empty.

"Huh?" Tang Ya also noticed something was wrong. "Where did Xu Sanshi go? Wasn't he just behind us a moment ago?"

Bei Bei frowned and looked at Huo Yuhao.

Huo Yuhao immediately understood, and his Spirit Eye Martial Soul activated instantly, with his first Soul Ring lighting up for mental detection.

An invisible spiritual force spread outwards, covering a small area around it.

After a moment, Huo Yuhao shook his head.

"Senior Brother, we couldn't find it."

Beibei frowned even more deeply.

When did that guy run away? Where did he go?

But then I thought, we're already in Shrek City, what could possibly happen?

That guy may have a sharp tongue, but he's not a child; he wouldn't get lost in front of his own house.

"He probably ran off to complain somewhere else." Beibei waved her hand. "Never mind him, let's get you enrolled first."

In his mind, Shrek City was the safest place on the entire continent, so Beibei wasn't worried that Xu Sanshi would get into trouble there.

Huo Yuhao nodded and followed Bei Bei and Tang Ya toward the city gate.

……

at the same time.

In a quiet alleyway a few hundred meters from the city gate.

Xu Sanshi hadn't even realized what was happening when he felt a dizzying sensation and then everything went black.

No, to be precise, it was a punch to the face.

A dazzling black light burst forth from the fist, and Xu Sanshi didn't even have time to scream before his eyes rolled back and he passed out.

Lu Ren withdrew his fist, stared blankly at Xu Sanshi who had collapsed to the ground.

"Well……"

He looked down at his fist, then at the unconscious Xu Sanshi on the ground, his expression somewhat subtle.

"It was a mistake."

He really just threw a punch casually; he didn't intend to use his full strength at all.

But who knew that a casual punch would trigger Black Flash?

In the sorcery system, Black Flash is equivalent to a critical hit.

The principle is that the impact of the curse power and the physical attack perfectly coincide within 0.000001 seconds, resulting in a damage bonus of 2.5 times.

The problem is that the triggering conditions for this thing are extremely mysterious.

Even top-tier spellcasters like Gojo Satoru and Sukuna wouldn't dare guarantee they could land a Black Flash 100% of the time.

Lu Ren triggered it with a casual punch.

After all, he inherited Tiger Emperor's abilities. Does he understand the true value of Black Flash's punches?

Left punch deals high damage, right punch deals high damage, every punch flashes black, turning blue bars into health bars, health bars into blue bars...

Lu Ren squatted down and checked Xu Sanshi's breath.

Thankfully, I'm still alive.

He glanced again at Xu Sanshi's swollen face and couldn't help but mutter:

"Luckily it was just a casual punch; if it had been a serious one, you would be dust by now."

As he spoke, he began to disdainfully undress Xu Sanshi.

The black school uniform is the exclusive uniform for sixth-year students of Shrek Academy.

Lu Ren quickly took off his clothes and put on the black school uniform.

The size is just right; Xu Sanshi's build is about the same as his.

After changing his clothes, Lu Ren casually pulled a piece of clothing from his storage soul tool and threw it on Xu Sanshi, barely covering his bare upper body.

"Let's just build it as is; it's better than nothing."

After doing all this, Lu Ren stood up, dusted off his clothes, and strode toward the east gate.

……

At the East Gate, a dozen or so trainees on duty were still chatting idly.

"It seems like quite a few new students are registering today?"

"Yes, it's the start of the new school year, and quite a few people have come over these past few days."

As the group was chatting, they suddenly sensed someone approaching.

Looking up, I saw a boy in a black school uniform walking towards the city gate.

The boy had his hands in his pockets, walked casually, had no expression on his face, and his eyes were indifferent; he didn't even look at them directly.

The black school uniform represents the sixth-year students from Shrek Academy's outer school.

The trainees on duty immediately straightened their backs and instinctively began to salute.

However, when the boy reached the city gate, he didn't pause for a moment, as if they didn't exist, and walked straight in.

"Um... senior!" a student on duty mustered his courage and spoke up, "Could you please show me your identification..."

The boy didn't stop walking, but coldly uttered a single word:

"roll."

There is only one word.

But the student on duty felt as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over him from head to toe, and he froze on the spot, unable to utter a word.

The boy withdrew his gaze and continued walking forward, and no one dared to stop him anymore.

Only after the black figure disappeared inside the city gate did the guards dare to breathe heavily.

"Is it really okay to just... let him in like this?" a female student asked in a low voice.

The person next to her rolled their eyes at her: "Are you blind? That's a guy in a black school uniform, a sixth-grade student! You dare to stop him?"

"But he didn't show any proof... Isn't it too hasty to just rely on a school uniform?"

"Then why didn't you stop them just now?"

The female student opened her mouth, but couldn't say anything.

Just from his gaze and his aura, you could tell at a glance that he was ridiculously strong.

Who would dare to stop them?

……

Inside the city gate.

Lu Ren walked forward with his hands behind his head, looking relaxed, and squinting his eyes.

He heard every word of the conversation behind him.

Bullying the weak and fearing the strong is one of the defining characteristics of Shrek.

But that's fine, he got in so easily.

Next...

Lu Ren looked up at the buildings in front of him and a smile appeared on his lips.