Douluo: The Glory of the Peerless Angel

"boom--"

Outside the east gate of Shrek Academy, a golden phoenix, radiant with light, descended to earth and transformed into Yan Shaozhe's body. A layer of light membrane was removed, revealing ten exchange students of the Sun and Moon Royal Soul Master Academy and their team leader, Elder Ma.

"So this is Shrek City...?"

"It doesn't seem as prosperous as Mingdu."

"The soul guidance facilities are so outdated!"

As the group followed Yan Shaozhe into Shrek City, they kept pointing and commenting, displaying a sense of superiority that city dwellers had towards country folk.

The facts are clear: Mingdu is the largest and most technologically advanced city in the Douluo Continent. Compared to Mingdu, Shrek City naturally appears more retro.

"Achoo! Achoo!"

In the exchange student group, Xiao Hongchen sneezed several times in a row, his right eye twitching uncontrollably. He looked at his younger sister, Meng Hongchen, with a serious expression and said:

"A twitching left eye means good fortune, while a twitching right eye means bad luck. It's a dream, and I have a bad feeling about it."

"From a medical perspective, you have blepharospasm."

Meng Hongchen rolled her eyes at him, her pretty face adorned with a dreamy smile, and said, "I'm different. I had a dream last night that Ling Bai was even more handsome than he was two years ago. He instantly captivated my heart. We spent the night alone by the lake..."

"stop!"

Xiao Hongchen interrupted the infatuated girl with a dark face, lowering his voice and saying, "What's the difference between dreaming and metaphysics? Besides, we're here at Shrek Academy to learn how to cultivate Soul Masters, not to date! And remember what you told me at the Soul Master Competition finals two years ago? We're enemies!"

Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy, like Shrek Academy, tightly guards its own core knowledge while secretly sending students to exploit it for free. Neither side is more upright than the other; both rely on their own abilities.

Meng Hongchen pouted: "Public and private matters should be kept separate. Giving my all in the Soul Master Competition is a sign of respect for myself and my country. The competition is long over, and the rivalry no longer exists. Of course, I want to pursue my ideal handsome guy!"

Think about it carefully. If I bring Ling Bai back to the Sun Moon Empire, he will definitely teach us what he learned from Shrek Academy!

"Laughing Red Dust, I'm warning you, don't you dare cause trouble! Grandpa supports my pursuit of Ling Bai. He promises that if we get together, he'll personally officiate our wedding and give us nine level-nine soul tools as a dowry, symbolizing a long and lasting marriage!"

"Ah, the old man's gone mad!?"

Xiao Hongchen's mouth was wide open enough to swallow a watermelon, and even Grandpa Jing Hongchen was fooling around with this infatuated little sister!

Yan Shaozhe led the group through Shrek Square, across the shimmering Seagod Lake, and arrived at Seagod Island, a sacred place in the hearts of countless soul masters and the training ground for Shrek's inner court disciples.

A stunningly beautiful woman had been waiting for some time. Yan Shaozhe introduced her with a smile:

"Zhang Lexuan, the youngest member of the Sea God Pavilion, and the chief disciple of the Inner Academy. The chief disciple will act as the dean of studies in Shrek Inner Academy, and your future life and studies will be inseparable from her."

"You can call me senior sister, or you can call me senior sister like the other Shrek disciples."

Zhang Lexuan smiled slightly and took out a tray. "Here are the Shrek Academy Student Code of Conduct and the Academy Map. Since you cannot be considered true Shrek Academy inner court disciples, the red school uniforms cannot be issued for the time being."

Elder Ma stepped forward, his gaze fixed intently on Yan Shaozhe, and said, "Dean Yan, this probably doesn't comply with the exchange student guidelines set by Hall Master Hongchen and Elder Mu. Elder Mu clearly stated that exchange students from our Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy enjoy all the benefits of Shrek Academy's inner court disciples. Are you going back on your word?"

"Teacher Ma, please calm down."

Yan Shaozhe said casually, "It's just a small test that every inner court disciple goes through. Whether they pass or not, the exchange students will stay on Seagod Island to study. However, they can't be called true inner court disciples. They don't have school uniforms and they are not qualified to receive Shrek Academy graduation certificates."

Old Ma's arrogance immediately subsided. Since the honorary title didn't involve any real benefit, he couldn't afford to lash out at Yan Shaozhe. As the team leader, Xiao Hongchen walked out of the group with his head held high and said:

"Bring it on! Today we'll see what Shrek Academy's test is all about, and whether it can really stop us!"

With a loud and clear voice, brimming with confidence, Xiao Hongchen had been working tirelessly day and night since his crushing defeat in the Soul Master Competition. Now, his soul power had broken through to level sixty-three. He was only seventeen years old this year, and there was even a possibility that he would become a Soul Saint before the age of twenty.

Meng Hongchen also made rapid progress. Just a few days before the exchange student activity started, he reached the level 60 bottleneck and became a level 61 Soul Emperor after absorbing the sixth soul ring.

All other exchange students at the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy possessed cultivation levels above Soul King and the abilities of a Level 5 Soul Master.

Since they came to the number one Soul Master Academy on the mainland for exchange and learning, it means that their cultivation direction is a combination of Soul Master and Soul Master, which is quite outstanding in the Sun Moon Empire.

"Confidence is a good thing."

Yan Shaozhe looked at Xiao Hongchen and praised him indifferently, saying that the young man was full of vigor, but it was a pity that Shrek Academy was a cut above the rest. They had previously asked Sun Moon Academy to provide information on exchange students in order to specifically select inner disciples to target Sun Moon Academy students!

With completely different feelings, Yan Shaozhe and Zhang Lexuan led the way to the Inner Court Soul Arena.

At the entrance to the Soul Arena, the Sun and Moon exchange students saw ten figures. They were in different postures, some standing straight like pine trees, others sitting cross-legged on the ground. What they had in common was an incomparably powerful aura.

"Beibei, Xu Sanshi, Jiang Nannan, and..."

After glancing over his former rivals, Xiao Hongchen's eyes finally settled on a figure. The sunlight outlined an exceptionally handsome profile, revealing an innate air of nobility. His long golden hair was blown backward by the howling wind, and his bright golden eyes reflected a faint sense of cold arrogance.

"Ling! Bai!"

The figure he had longed for was right in front of him, and Xiao Hongchen could no longer look away. He had been working hard to cultivate for two years, and he came to Shrek Academy to challenge that nightmarish nemesis once again!

Ling Bai smiled and waved from afar, "Long time no see."

"Yes, okay..."

"haven't seen you for a long time!!!"

Just as Xiao Hongchen was trying to create an atmosphere of the impending battle of the two-year agreement, Meng Hongchen shouted and darted out like an arrow, his excitement overflowing!

"Dream, come back..."

Xiao Hongchen watched his younger sister walk further and further away, helplessly reaching out Er Kang's hand.

So cool! So cool!

Amidst the wry smiles of the Sun and Moon exchange students and the horrified stares of the Shrek Academy students, Meng Hongchen's eyes transformed into bouncy pink hearts. Freed from the constraints of her stance, this incurable looks-obsessed individual charged forward like a locomotive, heading straight for Ling Bai.

The next instant, a lightning-fast green phantom shot towards Meng Hongchen. Meng Hongchen, after all, was one of the strongest disciples of the world's number one soul master academy. He reacted instantly and suddenly pushed out a palm, his palm covered with a misty ice fog.

"Bang—"

The green phantom clashed with Meng Hongchen's. Meng Hongchen felt a slight pain in his palm as he saw the phantom's true form: a small green snake about five inches long, with nine horizontal stripes resembling bamboo joints on its body and a pair of crimson vertical pupils that shimmered with light.

"Nine-section jade!"

Meng Hongchen's expression changed drastically. The Nine-Section Jadeite was a top-grade bamboo leaf viper, a deadly poison among deadly poisons. Shrek Academy actually possessed such a dangerous poison!

"You have good taste..."

A mesmerizing voice rang out, and Nine-Section Jade immediately abandoned its attack on Meng Hongchen. Meng Hongchen looked up in response and met a pair of misty, emerald-green eyes. Emerald-green hair fell over her shoulders, and her jade-like face was both beautiful and enchanting.

"Who are you!"

Previously, Meng Hongchen's attention was only on Ling Bai, and she hadn't paid any attention to anyone else. At this moment, she noticed that the owner of the Nine-Section Jadeite was very close to Ling Bai, while the other Shrek Academy students, including Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi, all kept a distance from them, as if they were wary of some kind of monstrous flood.

The nine-section jade landed in the woman's palm, glanced coldly at Meng Hongchen, and then disappeared into the woman's sleeve. She then smiled alluringly and said:

"Dugu Lin, one of the examiners..."

"You're the examiner?"

Meng Hongchen's gaze shifted from Ling Bai to Dugu Lin. She glared at Dugu Lin with cold anger, but Dugu Lin smiled calmly. Then, under Meng Hongchen's fiery gaze, her thin red lips slowly approached Ling Bai's earlobe. The slow movement seemed to be deliberately slowing down for Meng Hongchen, making sure she could see it clearly.

"I originally just came here to hang out, but I suddenly really want to tease her. Would you feel bad for me?"

"We're not familiar with each other, so it's up to you."

Her red lips moved slightly, and her moist breath sprayed into her ear, making it tingle and tickle. Dugu Lin was extremely good at subtle gestures, and anyone who saw this ambiguous scene would think that the relationship between them was intimate.

Dugu Lin's charming smile deepened: "So cold-hearted, huh? That girl pounced on you the moment she saw you. If she had heard those heartless words just now, do you think she would have dropped her pearls?"

"You have such a twisted sense of humor."

"Can't I even find some fun in the last five years of my life...?"

Dugu Lin's delicate tongue lightly licked her red lips, and her seductive manner ignited a flame in the hearts of the male students of the Sun Moon Empire. They secretly thought that Ling Bai was very lucky to have such a naturally alluring woman by his side.

However, Dugu Lin could only fool this group of naive and inexperienced soul masters. The disciples of Shrek Academy's inner court always avoided her as far as possible and would usually take a detour around her.

As toxins gradually accumulated in her body, Dugu Lin slowly approached the end of her life at the age of twenty-five. The recurring backlashes from the poison tormented her, making her temperament somewhat eccentric, and she began to lose control of the leakage of venom.

She nearly killed her classmates several times in the Soul Arena. Fortunately, Dugu Lin's soul power cultivation was not high enough, otherwise the poisoned inner court disciples might not have survived until the healing teachers came to their rescue.

Ultimately, for the safety of the inner court disciples, Dugu Lin was awarded a Black-level Battle Soul Medal by Shrek Academy and was forbidden from entering the Battle Soul Arena again. The inner court disciples who had suffered greatly were relieved, but in private, they gave her a nickname: the Deadly Snake Woman.

In the inner courtyard, only two disciples dared to guarantee they were not afraid of the Azure Phosphorus Poison: the six-winged angel Ling Bai and Ma Xiaotao, who had broken through to the Ultimate Fire Realm.

Ma Xiaotao and Dugu Lin are like two parallel lines, never intersecting. Dugu Lin's only friend is Ling Bai, and she is looking forward to Ling Bai breaking through to Soul Saint and taking her to that place.

Therefore, Dugu Lin would often dress up in a flamboyant manner to visit Ling Bai. Onlookers were both terrified of the deadly snake woman's deadly poison and envious of Ling Bai having such a beautiful woman by his side. After all, Dugu Lin was a woman who exuded charm from the inside out, and she captivated men's nerves at every moment.

Yan Shaozhe stepped forward and said with a smile, "Dear students of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy, the ten people in front of you are your examiners today. They are all inner court disciples of the same realm as you."

If you survive the time it takes for an incense stick to burn in their clutches, you will become true disciples of Shrek Academy's inner court and enjoy the same treatment as other inner court disciples.

Even if you unfortunately fail, it's okay. You can still stay on Seagod Island as temporary inner court disciples. Shrek Academy will tailor a training plan based on your abilities and weaknesses, with one-on-one guidance from senior students. The second inner court assessment will be held in six months!

Old Ma smiled. Yan Shaozhe was a kind man. He seemed to be genuinely considering the needs of the exchange students from Sun Moon Island. He quickly stepped forward to shake hands with Yan Shaozhe and thanked him repeatedly.

Yan Shaozhe appeared calm on the surface, but inside he was overjoyed. These idiots! When has Shrek Academy ever had any temporary inner disciples?

This is a trap that kills three birds with one stone!

First, he will undermine the confidence of the exchange students from the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy. While he cannot be materially harsh on them, Yan Shaozhe will undoubtedly deliver a severe blow to their spirits, leaving them dejected and wasting their exchange time in a daze, without bringing back anything of real value!

Secondly, the Sun Moon Empire was already disliked by Shrek Academy, and the temporary student system would only incite resentment among all the inner court disciples, who would naturally dislike the exchange students.

Third, legitimately and openly place surveillance personnel, that is, one-on-one mentors, to ensure that exchange students do not come into contact with the college's secrets.

The inside story was known only to Yan Shaozhe, and he didn't even tell Zhang Lexuan. He only said that he would send inner court disciples to fight Sun Moon Exchange to boost morale. He was also afraid that others would raise objections, as this approach would make Shrek Academy seem ungenerous.

In the blink of an eye, how could these exchange students from the Sun Moon Empire possibly fathom the thoughts of the old fox Yan Shaozhe? They were all geniuses selected from among hundreds to become exchange students, and they immediately rubbed their hands together, full of confidence, determined to prove themselves against the disciples of Shrek Academy's inner court.

"Dugu Lin, I challenge you!"

Meng Hongchen directly challenged Dugu Lin to a duel.

"OK."

The person she was supposed to meet came to her door, and Dugu Lin readily agreed. Their eyes met, and a glaring spark seemed to fly between them.

"Wait, shouldn't this be my rival's aura, my lines!?"

Xiao Hongchen slapped his thigh and hurriedly shouted to his brothers, "Don't you dare try to take it from me, Ling Bai is mine!"

The battle matchups were quickly determined, and Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, Jiang Nannan, and others all found their respective opponents. At Meng Hongchen's strong request, she was chosen to fight Dugu Lin in the first battle of the exchange student inner court assessment. Zhu Qingbingchan vs. Bilin Snake, a contest between two highly poisonous martial souls!

(End of this chapter)