Douro Continent

Chapter 499 Shrek, Reunited (Part 1)

Tang San smiled wryly and said, "How could I not be nervous in the face of potential retaliation from a Title Douluo?"

The Seventh Elder angrily retorted, "With my status, would I retaliate against you? Um, I take back what I said earlier about you being that kind of person. A bet's a bet, I shouldn't have insulted you. I also agree to your recognition of your ancestral lineage."

Upon hearing this, Tang San was stunned and couldn't help but glance at the Seventh Elder a few more times.

"What are you looking at? A bet is a bet, don't you understand?" After saying this, the Seventh Elder had no face to stay any longer, turned around and left, disappearing in a few leaps.

At this moment, Tang San realized that this elder was not so hateful after all; his passionate and straightforward temperament made him more acceptable.

Turning their gaze to Tang Xiao and the other elders, the Second Elder nodded to Tang San, "We keep our word. You won the competition just now. You are permitted to return to your ancestral clan."

Tang San asked excitedly, "Then can I also pay respects to my grandfather now?"

Upon hearing this, the elders' faces darkened, clearly recalling the resentment they felt when the old sect leader died. The Second Elder, however, nodded. "No. Because of your father's mistakes, you are not qualified to pay respects to the old sect leader. You said before that you would atone for your father's wrongdoings and serve the sect. Wasn't that right?"

Tang San's heart tightened, but he also breathed a sigh of relief. After all, this was the first step he had taken to atone for his father's sins. "Yes, I did. So how can I pay respects to Grandpa?"

The Second Elder said, "Since that's the case, we require you to do three things for the sect. As long as you do these three things well, it will be considered that you have absolved your father of his sins. Not only will you be recognized as a member of the sect, but we can also allow your father to return to the sect and join you in paying respects to the former sect leader."

"What?" Tang San was taken aback, his eyes immediately reddening. Although his father had never mentioned this wish, Tang San knew that leaving the sect was a perpetual pain in his father's heart. If his father could return to the sect and pay respects to his grandfather, it would undoubtedly be a tremendous joy for him.

Of course, with his intelligence, he understood that if the Second Elder offered such generous terms, those three things must be extremely difficult. However, he had no other choice at the moment.

For his father's sake, and for the sake of the Haotian Sect, he had no choice but to shoulder the responsibility.

"Okay, I agree." Tang San took a deep breath, calming his emotions. He needed to analyze the situation more rationally. He glanced at Tang Xiao beside him, who remained expressionless, clearly agreeing with the Second Elder's decision.

The Second Elder smiled calmly and said, "These three things are impossible for you to accomplish at the moment. We've also given you a long timeframe. The first thing is that you must break through to level eighty in soul power within ten years."

Advancing twenty levels in ten years might not be difficult for low-level Soul Masters with hard work. However, the Second Elder's requirement is to go from level sixty to level eighty, a leap of twenty levels that is quite too large.

Many Soul Masters would never reach such a height in their entire lives. Let alone in just ten years. Tang San is twenty years old this year, and in ten years, he will be thirty. Breaking through level eighty at thirty is absolutely astonishing in the entire Soul Master world.

"Okay, I believe I can do it." Tang San agreed without hesitation. He had already accomplished too many impossible things, so he didn't care about this one.

The Second Elder nodded in satisfaction, admiring the unwavering conviction in Tang San's eyes.

"The second thing is that within ten years, I want you to bring back the head of a Title Douluo from the Spirit Hall. No matter what method you use, we only care about the result."

Tang San's pupils contracted. He had killed a Title Douluo? Taking a deep breath, he nodded firmly once again.

The Second Elder's gaze sharpened, and he said in a deep voice, "The third thing I require is that you obtain a 100,000-year soul ring when you reach your eighth soul ring."

"What?" If the first two things were still possible to accomplish, then the third thing that the Second Elder asked Tang San to do felt like a fantasy.

A 100,000-year spirit ring is not so easy to obtain. Among the titled Douluo Tang San knows, only his father and Bibi Dong, the Pope of the Spirit Hall, each possess a 100,000-year spirit ring. Moreover, his father's 100,000-year spirit ring came from his mother.

Putting aside how difficult it is to hunt a 100,000-year-old soul beast, just finding one is already extremely difficult. Not to mention it's the eighth soul skill.

The Second Elder said in a deep voice, "Your fourth spirit ring is already at the ten-thousand-year level, and your fifth spirit ring is at least over thirty thousand years old. When you reach your eighth spirit ring, with your physical strength, absorbing a one hundred-thousand-year spirit ring should be no problem. In the process of obtaining this spirit ring, you can rely on any external force except for the sect. All we want is the result. You have ten years. Ten years later, we hope to see you here, having completed these three tasks. If you can complete them, the two spirit bones your father returned to the sect will also be yours. Don't you want to help the sect rebuild its glory? I can promise you now that if you complete these three tasks, then you will be the next sect leader. Only by sitting in this position can you truly lead the Clear Sky Sect to regain its former glory."

Tang San's gaze froze. He knew that he had no room for bargaining. Not only would these elders not allow him to bargain, but if he said such a thing, they would also look down on him.

"Okay, I will do it." Tang San said through gritted teeth. He had to do these three things, for his father, for himself, and for his sect.

……

Heaven Dou City, Shrek Academy.

Just like five years ago, Shrek Academy's exterior hasn't changed much, but its internal facilities have become much more complete. Five years have passed, and it has become a prestigious advanced soul master academy in the Heaven Dou Empire.

Since the Shrek Seven Devils shone brightly in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament five years ago, defeating many strong opponents one after another, especially after defeating the Golden Generation of the Spirit Hall Academy team at the last moment, Shrek Academy has become famous.

Their momentum has even surpassed that of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy.

When news of the victory reached them, Emperor Xue Ye immediately fulfilled his promise and bestowed titles upon the Shrek Seven Devils. Unfortunately, none of the seven returned to the academy, forcing the Heaven Dou Empire's royal family to abandon their efforts to win them over. Nevertheless, Emperor Xue Ye recognized the outstanding teaching abilities of Shrek Academy.

Especially after being reminded by Ning Fengzhi, the sect leader of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, he realized the importance of the Grandmaster to Shrek Academy.

In order to keep the master, Emperor Xueye personally came to Shrek Academy to see him. He did not offer any bribes, but moved the master with his sincerity.

Grandmaster agreed to settle in Heaven Dou City temporarily, but would not leave Shrek Academy. Emperor Xue Ye appointed Grandmaster as the Imperial Soul Master Chief and granted him the title of Earl. When needed, Soul Masters belonging to the Imperial Royal Family would be sent to Shrek Academy to receive Grandmaster's guidance.

At the same time, the Empire allocated special funds to expand Shrek Academy.

Emperor Xueye originally intended to merge Shrek Academy and Heaven Dou Royal Academy, with Flander remaining as the dean, but Flander and Grandmaster politely declined.

They certainly didn't want Shrek Academy's students to be tainted by those nobles.

There are no backdoors for admission to Shrek Academy; it's entirely based on merit. In this respect, Flander received the full support of Emperor Xueye. With such a powerful background...

Shrek Academy will naturally not have any trouble.

Over the past five years, the region has flourished. Although no more exceptionally talented monsters like the Shrek Seven Devils have emerged, it has still achieved considerable success, producing many young Soul Masters with impressive abilities. This has added a new generation of Soul Masters to the Heaven Dou Empire's royal family.

When Tang San was in Yuexuan, he was confined by Tang Yuehua. After finishing his studies, he was eager to see his father. That year, he only secretly ran away from Yuexuan once to see the master and report his safety to his teacher. At that time, he only said a few words to the master before immediately returning to Yuexuan.

The sun shone brightly, and the sky was clear and cloudless.

A gentle, warm breeze, carrying a hint of heat, enveloped Shrek Academy. Many students, dressed in their distinctive green school uniforms, could be seen moving about within the academy.

The once-criticized green school uniform has now become the iconic attire of Shrek Academy. Young Soul Masters are proud to wear it.

At this moment, when the sun was at its zenith, a man and a woman arrived in front of Shrek Academy.

They all appeared to be around twenty years old, with the young man slightly older and the girl looking younger. The young man had long, unruly blond hair that cascaded down his back, and he had double pupils in his eyes. His face showed a hint of excitement as he stood there staring at the peculiar monster carving on the plaque above the Shrek Academy gate.

The girl's face was icy cold; her extremely voluptuous and perfect figure contrasted sharply with the chill in her expression, making her all the more captivating. In contrast to the young man's all-black attire, she wore a long white dress that covered most of her snow-white skin.

The blond youth sighed, "Time flies so fast, five years have passed in the blink of an eye. I wonder how they are doing."

(End of this chapter)