Douluo Continent: Long Live the Spirit Hall

This most famous advanced soul master academy in the Heaven Dou Empire is not located in the Heaven Dou capital, Heaven Dou City, but in a deep mountain outside Heaven Dou City.

It is said that the current location of the Royal Academy was personally chosen by the current Emperor Xue Ye. The reason for placing it outside the capital is twofold: firstly, to prevent the luxury of the capital from affecting the students' cultivation; and secondly, and more importantly, because land in the capital is extremely valuable, and even the royal family could not afford to build the academy on enough land.

The Heaven Dou Royal Academy covers an enormous area, occupying an entire mountain outside Heaven Dou City, including a forest and a lake, all directly under the academy's jurisdiction. The need for such a large area and diverse ecosystems is naturally related to the practice of mimicry.

The Heavenly Dou Royal Academy is less than 20 kilometers from Heavenly Dou City and less than 30 miles from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School's castle. Moreover, the environment here is beautiful, like a paradise. No wonder Ning Rongrong often comes here to play.

On the official road at the foot of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy, Yan and Ning Rongrong rode in a carriage bearing the emblem of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School into the mountains. As the carriage slowly traveled along the mountain road, one could truly appreciate the wealth and power of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy.

The horse trail here is paved with bluestone, while the steps on the side are carved from white marble. Both the horse trail and the stone steps are decorated with different mythical beast patterns, with exquisite workmanship and superb craftsmanship.

Yan lifted the curtain and looked out of the carriage. Ning Rongrong's little head also came closer. She saw that there were no carriages in front or behind on the wide bluestone road. Instead, there were many people coming and going on the steps. Obviously, usually, few people use the horse path to come and go to the Royal Academy.

Those walking on the steps were probably students from the Heavenly Dou Royal Academy. They were all wearing neat, light yellow school uniforms and looked quite elegant.

However, most of them didn't give off a very good impression. Mainly, they were too aristocratic. Although their manners were impeccable, their speech and manners were quite affected, as if they were deliberately emphasizing the difference in status and hierarchy. In any case, it gave people a very uncomfortable feeling.

It's not surprising that Yan felt this way. The Heavenly Dou Royal Academy is named after the royal family, and anything related to royalty is bound to be sought after by nobles. In addition, several of the current emperor's children have also studied at the Royal Academy, making even more nobles see an opportunity and desperately try to send their children to this royal academy.

This has led to a bad situation: very few people who can enter the Heaven Dou Royal Academy have real skills; the vast majority get in through connections and noble titles. This has always been the biggest problem for the Heaven Dou Royal Academy.

Although they are the most famous advanced soul master academy in the Heaven Dou Empire and are known by many as the empire's number one academy, in reality, everyone in the academy world knows that the Heaven Dou Royal Academy only has the name of the number one academy, but not the strength of the number one academy.

This situation naturally gave the members of the Royal Academy's academic committee a major headache, but they were powerless to make any changes. The Royal Academy was established with the support of the royal family and high-ranking nobles, and getting rid of those nobles and their cronies would likely cause uproar.

"Huh! A carriage from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School. Could it be that someone from the Ning family of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School is enrolling again?"

"That's unlikely! It's not the time for enrollment yet, and judging from the style of that carriage, it's the clan emblem of the Ning family, a direct descendant of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School."

"Do you think it might be that recent thing, the team formation?"

"Have you heard? It's said that in the last Elite Tournament, the cooperation between the Blue Lightning Tyrant Clan and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan was not satisfactory. In the end, the two senior students almost came to blows. So this time, the teaching committee abandoned the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda as an auxiliary and chose other martial souls."

"That's impossible. The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda is the number one support martial soul. Moreover, during that elite competition, Senior Ning was always considering the overall situation, while Senior Yu seemed a bit..."

"Keep your voice down. There are quite a few people from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Sect in the academy. Those guys are very domineering. You want to get beaten up?"

"I heard that the Education Commission found a genius with a powerful auxiliary martial soul that is no less powerful than the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda martial soul, so they replaced him."

"Do you think it's possible that the Ning family members in this carriage are here to cause trouble?"

"Hehe, I'm not too sure about that. Anyway, it's none of our business. We'll just watch the show."

……

The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School's carriage finally stopped halfway up the mountain. Inside the massive white marble gate was the main campus of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy.

The main campus here is somewhat similar to the Spirit Hall Advanced Soul Master Academy, both being dense clusters of single-story buildings, resembling a massive fortified village.

Yan and Ning Rongrong got off the carriage, glanced around casually, and arrived outside the school gate, where they were stopped by the gatekeeper.

"Gentlemen, you must be distinguished guests of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School. Are you here to find someone?"

The gatekeeper of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy was an old man in his sixties, with silver hair and a calm and reserved demeanor, similar to Feng Lin, the first five-ring Soul King Yan had ever met. He could be considered a strong person.

Ning Rongrong skipped forward, looking adorable and well-behaved, and said with a smile, "Hehe, grandpa, I'm looking for Ning Yi from Class 2, Grade 3. I'm his sister. Can you help me inform him?"

"Ning Yi, that young man is quite nice. You're his sister, so cute..."

It must be said that Ning Rongrong's docile demeanor was quite deceptive, and the doorman, naturally, couldn't discern the little girl's true personality, replying with a smile. No one knows how he notified them, but not long after, a handsome young man hurriedly arrived.

This handsome young man named Ning Yi was probably around twenty years old. Yan seemed to have a vague recollection of him; during the Elite Tournament, he had apparently gone to Wuhun City to cheer on the Tiandou team, and he was Ning Tianlei's follower.

"Rongrong, little sister."

When Ning Yi saw Ning Rongrong, his expression immediately became somewhat frightened. However, when the little girl raised a finger in a shushing gesture, he quickly changed his address. His ability to adapt to changing circumstances was quite good; she was a talented person.

Yan thought to himself, and then greeted Ning Rongrong. When Ning Yi saw him, the expression on her face changed even more clearly, obviously recognizing him.

Although Yan changed his attire this time, he did not conceal his appearance. Some people who truly knew him could still recognize him. It was obvious that Ning Yi in front of him was him. However, it was a pity that His Highness the Holy Son did not have much of an impression of him.

With a student from the academy leading the way, Yan and Ning Rongrong entered the Heavenly Dou Royal Academy smoothly. The main campus of the academy was sparsely populated, with fewer students than at the foot of the mountain.

According to Ning Yi, most of the academy's students cultivate in various simulated zones, while the main campus is nearly deserted. Led by this local expert, Yan and Ning Rongrong toured some of the main campus's unique features, gaining quite a bit of knowledge in the process.

Chapter 224 Nine-Heart Begonia Ye Lingling

"Brother Yan, that's roughly the situation at the Heavenly Dou Royal Academy. If you want to find members of this generation's reserve team, I can only take you there, but I can't guarantee whether you'll be able to meet them."

Inside the campus of Tiandou Royal Academy, Yan and Ning Rongrong walked with Ning Yi along the wide avenue, with shady trees on both sides, and the scenery was indeed very nice.

Through Ning Yi's introduction, Yan gained a better understanding of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy. Like most advanced soul master academies, the Heaven Dou Royal Academy has three tiers of student levels, but the requirements for each level are quite high.

Generally, newly enrolled students and those whose strength is below level 25 are classified as the first level, called the Tianwei level. This group is not very large, and most of them are freshmen or some utterly worthless noble soul masters.

Above the Tianwei level is the Tianzhi level, where students' soul power cultivation is between level 25 and level 30. This is the largest group in the entire Tiandou Royal Academy, and most of the noble soul masters who entered through connections are basically at this level.

It's a bit embarrassing to admit, but most advanced soul master academies admit students based on talent. If you can't break through level 30, you can't graduate, and the consequences will be severe. Under the academy's encouragement, most advanced soul master academies have a high graduation rate.

On the contrary, the Heaven Dou Royal Academy, which is known as the number one academy in the Heaven Dou Empire, has a large number of students dropping out every year, which is utterly shameful.

Most noble Soul Masters don't lack talent, but rather lack perseverance because their environment is too favorable. If they miss the crucial golden decade of fifteen to twenty-five years old for Soul Master cultivation, it becomes much more difficult to break through. If they haven't broken through to Great Soul Master by the age of thirty, their lives are basically over.

Therefore, the Tianwei and Tianzhi levels are considered a burden to the Tiandou Royal Academy. The true elites are those Tiandou-level students above level 30. Only the best among the Tiandou-level students are qualified to become members of the Tiandou Royal Team.

However, becoming a true main force in a team is quite difficult. Although the Heavenly Dou Royal Academy is generally terrible, its top members are all personally guided by the Education Commissioner to enroll, and each one is a genius. The team has always been one of the seeded teams in the Elite Tournament, and its strength should not be underestimated.

However, the royal family seems to have some other ideas for this year's team. It's rumored they're planning to create a second royal academy team, which has made things quite lively at the Heavenly Dou Royal Academy recently. With more spots available, more people have a chance, so everyone is naturally putting in a lot of effort.

After introducing the students, Ning Yi then talked to Yan about the faculty and staff. Like the academy, the academy's teachers are also divided into three levels: Tianwei, Tianzhi, and Tiandou, with admission requirements of level 40, level 50, and level 60, respectively.

Because the Heavenly Dou Royal Academy is affiliated with the Heavenly Dou Empire's royal family, its permanent dean is the current Heavenly Dou Empire's Emperor Xue Ye. In other words, graduating from the Heavenly Dou Royal Academy makes one a disciple of the emperor, which explains why so many nobles flock to it.

However, Emperor Xueye was extremely busy and could not possibly manage the academy properly. Therefore, the position of dean was merely nominal. The real power in the academy was held by the three most senior and strongest teachers at the Heavenly Battle level, who formed the Teaching Committee.

Most affairs, large and small, within the Heaven Dou Royal Academy are decided by the Teaching Committee. Of course, some important matters require approval from the Heaven Dou Empire's royal family.

The royal family also attaches great importance to this royal academy. Although Emperor Xueye is too busy to come here, he usually sends a member of the royal family of high status to inspect the affairs of the academy. Yan is quite familiar with this member of the royal family; he is Prince Xuexing.

Yan and Ning Rongrong followed Ning Yi to the outside of a courtyard. Yan noticed that the decoration style here was soft, and there were many female students coming and going. The air was faintly filled with the scent of various perfumes, which made his nose feel a little uncomfortable.

The combination of Yan and Ning Yi, two handsome young men with striking good looks, and Ning Rongrong, a young girl, is quite unusual, which is why they have attracted a lot of attention along the way.

"Hey! Isn't this our colorful young master Ning Yi? What are you doing in our girls' dormitory area? This is not a place for you."

As soon as Yan, Ning Rongrong, and Ning Yi arrived outside the courtyard, a group of girls in light yellow school uniforms gathered around. Some of the girls seemed to recognize Ning Yi, and their tone was full of teasing, making the handsome young man next to Yan blush.

Yan looked in the direction of the voice and saw a young woman in her early twenties in the crowd. Although she wasn't stunningly beautiful, she was still quite pretty and definitely deserved the title of "beauty".

The beautiful woman was clearly quite familiar with Ning Yi. She quickly approached him and her gaze fell on Yan and Ning Rongrong. "Hey! A handsome young man and a cute little sister, Ning Yi, what's your relationship with them?"

"Big sister, I'm Ning Yi's sister. You're so pretty! Are you his girlfriend?"

While Ning Yi was still trying to figure out how to explain, Ning Rongrong's eyes were already sparkling with excitement and interest. Then, the little girl suddenly became adorable, her eyes even shining as she looked at the beautiful girl in the pale yellow school uniform.

The beautiful woman bent down and ruffled Ning Rongrong's hair, replying with a smile, "Little sister, you have such a sweet tongue. So you're Ning Yi's sister, how cute. But you're wrong, I'm not this guy's girlfriend."

Ning Rongrong looked somewhat disappointed. "Oh, I thought Brother Ning Yi had found a girlfriend. Turns out he's still single."

Upon hearing this, the schoolgirl in the uniform burst into laughter, "Hehe, Ning Yi, your little sister is already thinking about your life's important matters."

Ning Yi quickly pleaded with the beautiful woman, "Senior Wu Mei, please forgive me. Rongrong, Rongrong was just asking..."

"Hehe, if you were more ambitious, you might have a girlfriend by now."

The beautiful senior student named Wu Mei seemed to have some interest in Ning Yi. As she spoke, she brushed a strand of hair from her forehead and said, "So, what brings you here this time? You couldn't have come just to see me, could you?"

Ning Yi glanced at Yan, and then, following his instructions, said, "Senior, my friend knows Junior Sister Dugu Yan and wants to have a chat with her."

Wu Mei glanced at Ning Yi and said, "Are you sure you're not talking nonsense? That little poison girl is very dangerous. I advise you not to play with fire. Even some top-tier beast spirits can't withstand her poison. Your Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda doesn't have the ability to detoxify."

"Senior, please take this letter to Dugu Yan, and she will come out to see me."

Ning Yi was about to explain when Yan spoke first. He took out the envelope that Dugu Yan had sent him and handed it to the beautiful senior as a token.

"You really know her? Fine, for Ning Yi's sake, I'll make the trip for you."

At first, Wu Mei thought the three of them were just joking, but seeing that Yan had even brought out tokens and such, she was already more or less convinced. She took the envelope, glanced at Ning Yi, muttered something under her breath, and then turned and walked into the courtyard.

About ten minutes later, Senior Wu Mei reappeared in Yan and the other two's sight, accompanied by two girls of similar age to Yan.

Dugu Yan was probably only a year or two younger than Yan. At fourteen, she had a striking figure, and her short, dark purple hair gave her a heroic air. Her green eyes gave her a somewhat eerie feeling. She wasn't exactly stunningly beautiful, but she possessed a bewitching charm.

Perhaps due to her possession of a deadly poison, which made her appear aloof, she carried a faint air of coldness. Even though Senior Wu Mei was quite outgoing, she still maintained a certain distance from her.

However, when she saw Yan, a sweet smile immediately appeared on her face, as if ice and snow were melting, revealing a rare gentleness.

"You've arrived."

She walked quickly to Yan, naturally took his arm, tilted her head slightly to rest against him, and closed her eyes to enjoy the familiar scent.

"Humph!"

Unfortunately, the Snake Beauty's peace was interrupted by an unhappy snort. Ning Rongrong, who was with Yan, was young but jealous. She gave Yan a look that said, "I've seen through you long ago," and then let out a cold snort in displeasure.

"This is Rongrong, Ning Yi's younger sister, a direct descendant of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School."

Yan introduced Ning Rongrong to Dugu Yan, and then his gaze slid to the side, to the beautiful figure who had just walked hand in hand with Dugu Yan.

This graceful figure possessed a unique aura, perhaps a sense of detachment from the world. She stood silently in the most inconspicuous, dark corner of the crowd, as if she didn't exist at all.

She was about twelve or thirteen years old, dressed in black, covering herself up completely, even her face was covered with a black veil. She was thin but looked very slender, with a cascade of long blue hair draped down her back.

Her eyes were the same blue as her hair, but strangely, her gaze was quite empty, revealing no emotion. From her, one could only sense loneliness and desolation.

Dugu Yan had clearly become best friends with the girl Ye Lingling, and she reached out to introduce Ye Lingling to Yan, "Brother Yan, this is the Lingling sister I told you about..."

"Hello, Ms. Ye."

Yan extended his right hand toward Ye Lingling. He was very interested in this owner of the Nine Heart Begonia Martial Soul. It wasn't that he was lusting after the young lady's body, although he was. He really wanted to study this kind of special Martial Soul, and it would be even better if he could examine her body.

"Hello."

Ye Lingling seemed to have some social anxiety; she didn't extend her hand to shake his, which Yan found quite disappointing. The young woman's voice was beautiful, but it sounded extremely hollow, giving off a very unreal and strange feeling.

Chapter 225 Blue Lightning Twins Yu Tianheng

"Lingling is a little shy, Brother Yan, please don't mind."

When Dugu Yan saw that Ye Lingling refused to shake hands with Yan, she was afraid that Yan would misunderstand, so she quickly explained on her behalf that her newly recognized little sister was actually a very nice person, but she was just shy around strangers and didn't have many friends like her.

"Yanyan, when did you come to think of me as such a petty person?"

Although Yan wasn't particularly magnanimous, he was always very tolerant of beautiful women, especially Ye Lingling, who was a well-known high-quality beauty. He was even more interested in her. "Miss Ye, would you do me the honor of having a cup of tea and chatting for a bit?"