Douluo Continent: The Eye of Truth

Chapter 72 A Troublesome Reward

"Children, come here." Moon smiled slightly, and Bebe immediately went over and helped him up.

Moon's back was bent at almost a ninety-degree angle, which surprised the others.

Huo Yuhao, on the other hand, didn't put on much of a performance. After all, Mu En was a shrewd old man, and even if he made a reaction like being surprised, his exaggerated acting skills probably wouldn't fool him.

Anyway, for someone like me who possesses the Spirit Eye, a martial soul in her original body, and whose persona at Shrek Academy was known for her insightful abilities, it wasn't too strange that she knew the old man lying at the entrance had a bad back and wasn't simple-minded.

Mu En smiled slightly at the somewhat surprised group, then said to Huo Yuhao, "Little guy, why don't you seem surprised at all?"

Huo Yuhao answered directly, "After all, even the minimum requirement for a teacher's cultivation level at Shrek Academy is Soul King. This is already an open rule."

"As for the staff, I don't think that if he were just an ordinary person, an elderly man who is already in his twilight years would be kept in the academy."

Upon hearing this, everyone except Bei Bei suddenly realized what was happening. After all, Mu En's previous image was like a piece of rotten wood, lying on a recliner in front of the dormitory building. Not even a trace of soul power fluctuation could be felt from his body. He looked gloomy and lifeless.

Coupled with the busyness of their studies and the carefree nature of young people, naturally not many students would pay much attention to who this elderly man, who was already half-buried in the ground, really was.

Mu En nodded, and without asking any further questions, he led Bei Bei and the other six people toward a wall in the main hall of the Sea God Pavilion.

With a gentle tap of his hand, Moon unleashed a dazzling light, illuminating everything around him. A rich golden halo instantly enveloped everyone, and they all immediately closed their eyes.

Huo Yuhao, on the other hand, activated his Martial Soul, using the abilities granted by the Eye of Truth, along with mental detection, to perceive the changes around him and record everything around him.

"Is this... spatial ability? It should be a technique set up by a Limit Douluo, but most of the structure seems different from Mu En's soul power composition? It's probably due to Shrek Academy's modifications over the years. After all, many of the Sea God Pavilion Masters in Shrek Academy have been Limit Douluo level, so many of these modifications are likely the work of predecessors."

Apart from martial souls specifically related to space, most soul masters can only access true spatial abilities and techniques when they reach the ultimate level.

When the golden light dissipated and everyone's feet touched solid ground, they opened their eyes to find themselves in a spacious hall. The square hall was about 100 cubic meters in size, roughly the same size as the arena of the previous Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Battle Tournament.

Although this place is enclosed and everything around it is made of wood, the air is exceptionally fresh. You can see statues of the founders of Shrek Academy, the Golden Iron Triangle, and the original Shrek Seven Devils, while further away are a series of passageways.

Moon slowly explained to everyone the origin of this place and its connection with the Golden Tree.

"This is the underground world of the Sea God Pavilion, with 108 rooms. It encompasses almost all cultivation environments suitable for all martial souls, allowing people to enter a state of deep meditation, which is of great benefit to their future cultivation path."

"Originally, this was a privilege reserved for inner court disciples. Generally speaking, unless they made outstanding contributions, ordinary inner court disciples only had one chance to enter here."

Upon hearing this, everyone except Huo Yuhao was taken aback, while Mu En continued speaking.

"Although you failed in the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Battle Tournament, you only lost because you didn't receive the massive resource support that Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen siblings received."

"As an academy, Shrek Academy cannot be like a family or sect, showering all students with excessive resources without compensation. We must ensure a certain degree of fairness and impartiality."

"But as the next generation of Shrek Seven Devils, I hope you can use this opportunity to find your own path, overcome your past immaturity, and once again compete against the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy in future tournaments."

"If we really compare resources, Shrek Academy's foundation and accumulation will be even more profound than any family or sect on the continent."

After hearing Moon's words, everyone's eyes turned red, and Bei Bei was especially excited, with most of the gloom in her heart being swept away.

Indeed, compared to resources, Shrek Academy's accumulation over ten thousand years is something no other force has the right to challenge.

So what if Xiao Hongchen is a fifteen-year-old Soul King? If Shrek Academy is willing to invest all its resources, then a fifteen-year-old Soul King and a twenty-year-old Soul Saint are not just a pipe dream.

In the past, due to Shrek Academy's reserve and arrogance, even the team representing the Shrek Seven Devils would undergo a long period of assessment.

This assessment will not end until graduation. Only those students who are willing to stay at Shrek Academy after graduating from the Inner Academy will receive real resource support from Shrek Academy.

But now that Moon's meaning is clear, how can they not be excited?

Logically speaking, there are actually quite a few inner court students whose cultivation has reached the level of Soul King and Soul Emperor, and who have not yet graduated.

So for Moon, even though he had very little time left to live, it didn't matter.

However, as "losers," Huo Yuhao and the others still need to consider the reputation of Shrek Academy.

Then those seven people shouldn't have been chosen by him to be trained in the first place.

So since Moon did this, he was using his position as the head of the Sea God Pavilion to forcibly suppress all the dissatisfied teachers and students in Shrek Academy.

Because in Moon's view, compared to those who had already undergone nearly ten years of education at Shrek Academy.

The inner court disciples are closely connected with the conservative faction of the Grand Secretaries, including Xuanzi, and their thinking has become rigid.

Mu En preferred to place his hopes on the elite disciples of the Shrek Seven Devils selected from these outer academies.

After all, apart from Zhang Lexuan, Ma Xiaotao, who has the most potential in the inner courtyard, can no longer be relied upon.

Most of the other students in the inner courtyard will return to their families to inherit their businesses after graduation.

Of those who remained, only a handful were still worthy of Moon's attention.

Regardless of how things are arranged or done in private, Shrek Academy would never allow a villainous soul master like Ma Xiaotao to act freely in public.

Having mastered evil and embraced darkness, Ma Xiaotao, who has completely transformed into a dark phoenix, undoubtedly possesses terrifying potential.

Even without using the cultivation methods of evil spirit masters, one can improve their cultivation level simply through normal means.

So, if he doesn't become a Limit Douluo in the future, becoming a Super Douluo is definitely a certainty.

Therefore, Shrek Academy would certainly not give up on her; at most, they would keep Ma Xiaotao hidden away, keeping her unknown to outsiders, as a trump card.

After all, Ma Xiaotao was raised by Shrek Academy from a young age. Even evil soul masters would form the Holy Spirit Cult, giving birth to order and faith from chaos.

The influence of evil spirits does not mean that a person's personality and past experiences can be completely erased.

Therefore, Shrek Academy would rather take the risk than let a future Super Douluo leave or perish.

Moreover, the other inner court disciples had already experienced a "deep meditation" in the special environment of the Sea God Pavilion.

Their performance during deep meditation had naturally been closely observed by Moon.

However, Moon could see through the future of most of them at a glance; in his eyes, their potential was already exhausted.

With the foundation laid by deep meditation, these inner court disciples may be able to smoothly reach the Soul Saint level or even the Soul Douluo level after graduation.

However, most of them will never be able to reach the level of a Title Douluo in their lifetime, let alone the Super Douluo and Limit Douluo levels above that.

Shrek Academy can indeed guarantee a stable output of Title Douluos, but those are the seven people selected from nearly five thousand students every five years to represent the academy in the competition.

Although the seven members of this generation's reserve team suffered a painful defeat in the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Battle Tournament, as Mu En said before, if they can use this experience to let go of their mindless pursuit of Shrek Academy's glory.

Only those who can face their own failures and the true nature of Shrek Academy can emerge from the shadows and leave behind what will become the true pillars of Shrek Academy in the future.

After all, the Shrek Seven Devils who represented Shrek Academy in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Battle Tournament each generation, apart from things like the Rainbow Dragon and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, were all different.

While their potential is limited, before reaching the seventh ring, apart from those with extremely powerful martial souls, all other soul master students are carefully selected potential seeds from each generation, geniuses chosen from among five thousand peers.

If nothing unexpected happens and they perish prematurely, then even if they rely solely on themselves in the future, they will at least be able to grow into powerful individuals at the Title Douluo level.

However, many of these students are core disciples of various sects and families, and most of them will not stay at Shrek Academy after graduating from the inner academy.

However, precisely because of this, although Shrek Academy has enough resources to help students in their fifties and twenties reach higher levels of cultivation, it has not done so in the past.

Only when a true direct descendant of Shrek Academy emerges will resources be allocated to help them reach the level of Title Douluo, or even Super Douluo.

Among the Shrek Seven Devils of Huo Yuhao's generation, Bei Bei, as Mu En's great-grandson, is undoubtedly a direct descendant of Shrek Academy, while Jiang Nannan is a commoner with no background.

Huo Yuhao joined the Tang Sect, but although the Tang Sect was nominally a sect, Tang Ya, the sect leader, was more of a figurehead. The fact that it had survived to this day was only because Bei Bei supported it.

As for Xiao Xiao, although her family is well-off, it's just that—well-off.

They cannot compare to people like Dai Yueheng from the White Tiger Duke's Mansion, Ning Tian from the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile School, and Wang Dong from the Haotian School, who have been marked by a certain established faction since birth.

These four are entirely worth trying to persuade to stay at Shrek Academy after graduation and become true members of the academy, without worrying about them leaving after receiving a lot of resources for their training.

It's worth noting that this ratio of four-sevenths is actually quite high among all the generations of Shrek Seven Devils.

In most cases, only one member of the Shrek Seven Devils in each generation is usually born as a free agent with an uncertain future. In rare cases, there may be two or more.

After all, compared to the major sects and families with long-standing traditions and abundant resources, it is extremely difficult for independent students and common students to stand out, unless they are truly gifted, since they have even fewer resources.

If we also consider the accidents that happened to the remaining students during their growth, the mortality rate is almost 50%. After all, as Soul Masters, especially Shrek Academy students, going out to train and compete for resources is extremely dangerous.

Moreover, the Soul Hunting Operation itself is a risky undertaking. In the end, after a hundred years, only about twenty Title Douluos can be produced. Adding in the others who grow wildly and by chance, there are about thirty Title Douluos.

Of these thirty titled Douluo who will remain loyal to Shrek Academy for life, it would be a miracle if five of them successfully became Super Douluo.

Therefore, Moon's attempt was undoubtedly bold. Is it a desperate gamble to allocate resources at this stage?

As the saying goes, one should not accept rewards without merit. By doing this, Moon has undoubtedly broken the unspoken rules originally established by Shrek Academy. No one can guarantee that doing so will truly cultivate a new golden generation for Shrek Academy or lead to the future decline of Shrek Academy.

Seeing the crowd still in a daze, Mu En called out each person's name one by one.

"Beibei, go through the first passage on the right, and then..."

Xu Sanshi

Jiang Nannan

Moon addressed each person individually, arranging the rooms for each person.

Without hesitation, everyone followed Moon's instructions and headed to their assigned rooms.

Huo Yuhao took the same passage as in the original story.

Although this memory is quite old, Huo Yuhao, through the Eye of Truth and his greatly increased mental strength, has already dug out every detail of the original work from his memory and memorized it all.

As Huo Yuhao walked, he muttered to himself. He had thought that after losing the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Battle Tournament, Mu En would not only not punish him, but there would definitely be no reward. But how did he end up back here?

These words made Huo Yuhao feel quite uncomfortable, since what Mu En just said represented Shrek Academy's current intentions.

Originally, I wanted to reach the Soul Emperor level after graduating from the outer academy, so I could make a quick getaway. But now things are much more complicated.

Leaving aside the others, after Huo Yuhao entered the room, as the door closed, specks of yellow light lit up. The pupils of the skulls seemed to be burning with yellow light, staring intently at Huo Yuhao.

In an instant, the immense spiritual energy around him pressed down on Huo Yuhao. However, for Huo Yuhao, who had already completed the second golden awakening of his main martial soul, the pressure from the spiritual energy released by these terrifying demon dragon skulls could only make him frown slightly.

(End of this chapter)