Douluo Continent: My name is Lu Mingfei, and my martial soul is Lu Mingze.

Lu Mingfei was stunned.

He never expected that someone would actually be willing to take him in.

Moreover, he is a level 97 Super Douluo.

He opened his mouth, as if to say something, but his throat felt like it was blocked by something.

In the end, he could only manage to utter two words.

"Thanks."

His voice was a little hoarse.

Old Song waved his hand, indicating that he didn't need to say anything more.

Old Master Mu watched this scene with a slight smile on his lips.

Then he looked around at everyone present.

The smile faded considerably.

"I'm asking Mingfei to choose you, not the other way around."

The voice wasn't loud, but every word seemed to pierce the ears of everyone present like a nail.

The hall fell silent.

Elder Xuan put down the chicken leg, his expression becoming more composed.

Yan Shaozhe lowered his head.

Cai Meier pursed her lips and remained silent.

Xianlin'er and Qian Duoduo exchanged a glance but remained silent.

Old Mu then looked at Lu Mingfei.

"Mingfei, have you made your choice?"

Lu Mingfei took a deep breath.

He glanced at Old Song.

Old Song was looking at him, his expression calm, but there was an indescribable gentleness in his eyes.

As for the other elders, whether they politely declined or were observing, they all had their own reasons.

He has nothing to complain about.

But Mr. Song is different.

She was the only one who, when everyone else refused, took the initiative to ask for him.

Lu Mingfei turned his head and looked at Old Song.

"Mr. Song, I choose you."

Old Song nodded, his smile widening slightly.

"it is good."

Old Mu smiled too, a very kind smile.

"Okay, it's settled then."

Xian Lin'er spoke up at this moment, her tone much more polite than before.

"Lu Mingfei, although you've become Master Song's disciple, the doors to the Soul Guidance Department are always open. Come find us anytime you're interested."

Qian Duoduo chimed in from the side, grinning.

"Yes, yes, come anytime. Our Soul Guidance Department will provide you with all the resources you're entitled to. I can't speak for other things, but when it comes to soul tools, you won't find a better place on the entire continent."

Old Zhuang also spoke, his voice still gentle.

"If you have any questions about treatment, you can come to me. Health is the foundation of all your health."

Lu Mingfei wrote them down one by one and thanked them.

Yan Shaozhe, Elder Xuan, Cai Meier, and Elder Lin didn't say anything more, they just nodded as a polite gesture.

Lu Mingfei could sense that they breathed a sigh of relief.

That's true. Anyone would be relieved if a good-for-nothing didn't become their disciple.

He didn't think anything of it.

It's normal for them not to accept it; it would be abnormal if they did.

Old Master Song accepted him because Old Master Song was kind; it wasn't because Lu Mingfei had anything special about him.

Everyone got up and left.

Zhang Lexuan walked to Lu Mingfei's side.

"Come on, I'll take you to your new place."

Lu Mingfei followed Zhang Lexuan out of the Sea God Pavilion.

After crossing the stone bridge and passing through the woods, we arrived at the inner courtyard.

The inner courtyard was much quieter than the outer courtyard. There were few people on the road. Occasionally, one or two students in red school uniforms would walk by, nod and greet Zhang Lexuan, and then glance at Lu Mingfei a few more times.

Zhang Lexuan led him to a small building and pushed open the door.

"This is your room. Each student in the inner courtyard has their own room."

Lu Mingfei walked in and paused for a moment.

The room wasn't big, but it was very clean.

There were several books and a note on the table with some notes.

Zhang Lexuan stood at the door, not coming in.

"The rules of the inner courtyard are all on that piece of paper, take a look yourself. Cultivation resources will be delivered every month, you don't need to collect them yourself. Eat in the dining hall, the inner courtyard dining hall is better than the outer courtyard dining hall, don't eat too much."

"Also, regarding Elder Song, you should report for duty first thing tomorrow morning. She lives in the gray building on the east side of the inner courtyard, so don't go to the wrong one."

Lu Mingfei nodded repeatedly, like a woodpecker.

Zhang Lexuan glanced at him, then turned to leave.

"Senior," Lu Mingfei called out to her.

Zhang Lexuan turned around.

"What's wrong?"

"Thank you."

"What are you thanking me for?"

"Thank you for bringing me here, thank you for speaking well of me to Elder Mu, thank you... anyway, thank you."

Zhang Lexuan looked at him, and the corner of her mouth twitched slightly.

"Don't overthink it. I wasn't saying anything nice for you; I was just telling the truth."

"Thank you anyway," Lu Mingfei said. "You know, you're stubborn but soft-hearted. You say you won't help, but you've actually helped a lot."

Zhang Lexuan didn't reply and turned to leave.

He took two steps, then stopped.

Go to bed early, so you won't be late tomorrow.

"Yes, ma'am."

Zhang Lexuan is gone.

Lu Mingfei closed the door, stood in the room, and looked at everything around him.

It feels a bit unreal.

Just a few hours ago, he was a good-for-nothing who hadn't even passed the grade assessment, ridiculed by the entire college, and advised to repeat the year.

He is now standing in a room in the inner courtyard, having become the disciple of a level 97 Super Douluo, and receiving cultivation resources every month.

The plot development is even more outrageous than a storybook.

He walked to the bedside, plopped down, and felt the soft mattress so comfortable that he wanted to sigh.

"It's a pity the little devil isn't here," he muttered to himself. "Otherwise, I would have shown him that your brother has also infiltrated the inner courtyard."

Lu Mingfei lay down and stared at the ceiling.

"Lu Mingze, where the hell have you been? You don't show up when you should, and you show up when you shouldn't."

No one answered him.

The room was quiet, with only the sound of the wind rustling through the leaves outside the window.

Lu Mingfei closed his eyes, turned over, and buried his face in the pillow.

"Old Wang, did you see that? I've gone into the inner courtyard."

The voice was muffled.

A few days passed like this.

Lu Mingfei goes to see Old Song every morning without fail.

The things that Master Song taught him were different from those taught in the outer academy. He wasn't in a hurry to improve his soul power, but instead had him practice the basics first.

"Your foundation is too weak," Elder Song said. "Low soul power isn't the problem; the problem is that your body is simply not worthy of your original martial soul. Improve your body first, and we'll talk about the rest later."

So Lu Mingfei ran, practiced horse stance, and boxed every day, training like a martial arts apprentice.

I'm tired, but I definitely feel like my body is getting better.

In the afternoon, he went to the Department of Soul Guidance.

Xianlin'er and Qian Duoduo treated him quite well, although they were a little disappointed when they first tested him—because this kid really knew nothing about soul tools.

But Qian Duoduo said something that Lu Mingfei remembered for a long time.

"If you don't know how, you can learn. Nobody is born knowing everything."

Then he started learning from the very basics, recognizing the parts, disassembling the soul tool, and assembling the soul tool, like a watchmaker repairing a watch.

Xianlin'er would sometimes personally guide him; she didn't say much, but every word she uttered was to the point.

Qian Duoduo, on the other hand, is a chatterbox. He tells jokes while teaching, making Lu Mingfei laugh.

The two of them gradually grew fond of this brat.

"Although this kid's talent is average, he has a good attitude, is willing to learn, and doesn't complain," Xianlin'er said to Qian Duoduo.

"And he has a sweet tongue." Qian Duoduo said with a grin, "He calls me Sister Fairy and Uncle Qian so often that I feel embarrassed not to teach him."

"Uncle Qian? He calls you 'uncle' and me 'sister,' so we're from different generations."

"Then let him call you Aunt Fairy?"

"roll."

Lu Mingfei was unaware of all this; all he knew was that he was incredibly busy.

In the morning, I practiced physical training with Master Song; in the afternoon, I learned about soul tools from Xian Lin'er and Qian Duoduo; and in the evening, I cultivated my soul power on my own.

After a long day, I was exhausted, like a dog, and went straight to bed as soon as I got back to my room.

But he felt fulfilled.

It's much more fulfilling than just wasting time in the foreign language department.

That afternoon, he came out of the Soul Guidance Department and ran into Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao.

It seems I've been too busy lately to visit the three of them.

The three men had just come out of the training field, covered in sweat.

"Senior?" Huo Yuhao saw him first, and his eyes lit up.

He hadn't seen Lu Mingfei recently and assumed that Lu Mingfei's performance in the assessment was too poor and he had left Shrek Academy. It turns out that his senior hadn't left. That's great.

Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao also looked over.

Wang Dong looked him up and down.

"What are you doing here? From the Soul Guidance Department?"

"Yes." Lu Mingfei nodded calmly. "I'm a student in the inner academy now, and I'm also taking some advanced studies in the Soul Guidance Department."

The three of them fell silent.

Then Wang Dong laughed, a very loud laugh.

"You? The inner court? Hahahaha."

Xiao Xiao also laughed, not as exaggeratedly as Wang Dong, but her lips were clearly twitching.

"Senior Lu, are you running a fever? Or is your injury still not fully healed?"

Huo Yuhao didn't laugh. Looking at Lu Mingfei's expression, he felt that it didn't seem like he was joking.

"Senior, are you serious?"

Lu Mingfei took a badge out of his pocket and waved it in front of the three of them.

The emblem in the inner courtyard gleamed in the sunlight.

Wang Dong's laughter stopped abruptly.

Xiao Xiao's smile froze.

Huo Yuhao's eyes widened.

"Damn it," Wang Dong cursed, "You really got into the inner courtyard?"

"Of course." Lu Mingfei put the badge away, looking smug.

"I told you long ago, gold will always shine. But you didn't believe me."

Wang Dong opened his mouth, wanting to refute, but couldn't find the words. There was really nothing wrong with Lu Mingfei saying such things now.

Xiao Xiao looked at him with a complicated expression.

"Senior, you didn't use any connections, did you?"

"Through connections?" Lu Mingfei's eyes widened. "I, Lu Mingfei, am upright and honest; I never resort to underhanded methods. I got in based on my own merit."

"Based on strength?" Wang Dong finally recovered. "What strength do you have? The strength to get sent flying with a single punch?"

Lu Mingfei said seriously, "I deliberately let myself be knocked away to lull the examiner into a false sense of security and make him lower his guard. But Elder Mu saw through my intention at a glance and directly recruited me into the inner courtyard."

Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao exchanged a glance and rolled their eyes at the same time.

Huo Yuhao laughed beside him, a genuine laugh.

"Congratulations, senior."

Lu Mingfei looked at him and patted him on the shoulder.

"Yuhao, train hard, I believe you'll be able to enter the inner academy soon."

"Me?" Huo Yuhao was taken aback.

"That's right," Lu Mingfei said. "You're much stronger than me. Your soul power is higher, your martial soul is better, and you're better in actual combat. If I can get in, there's no reason why you can't."

Huo Yuhao opened his mouth, as if to say something, but his eyes were a little red.

"Thank you, senior."

"No need to thank me." Lu Mingfei waved his hand. "If anyone in the inner courtyard bullies you in the future, just say my name."

"Would it help to say your name?" Wang Dong interjected from the side.

"Of course it's useful," Lu Mingfei said.

"As soon as they hear my name, they know I'm a good-for-nothing. They don't feel any sense of accomplishment in bullying me, so they stop."