Douluo Continent: Long Live the Spirit Hall

A rumbling sound echoed across the land. Zhao Wuji seemed to be fighting some kind of monster. His massive bear body moved violently, appearing and disappearing amidst the billowing dust.

A howling wind suddenly arose, and a figure with outstretched wings landed with a round, fat man on the ground. It was none other than Ma Hongjun, who had gone to resolve his own problems, and Fred, the dean of Shrek Academy.

No one knows where they got the news, but they managed to return ahead of schedule. Fred's entire body was now covered in feathers, his orange-yellow eyes had vertical pupils, and seven spirit rings of the same color as Zhao Wuji suddenly appeared, pulsating around his body.

Although he did not use his Martial Soul True Body, his aura was extremely profound. As the dean of Shrek Academy, his strength was even above Zhao Wuji's.

"Fred, do you also want to fight me?" Yan waved slightly to retract the Golden Dragon Soul. The irritable and disheveled Zhao Wuji came to Fred's side and was about to speak when the latter immediately flapped his wings to stop him.

"Your Highness is too kind. Shrek Academy had no intention of offending you. Old Zhao simply didn't recognize you and thought it was some troublemaker; he acted impulsively." Fred said with a forced smile. He had already learned some of the details on his way here and was utterly speechless about what had happened today. Dai Mubai and Ning Rongrong were both problem students, and the down-on-his-luck prince had bullied them with his strength, but he hadn't expected the prince to be even more arrogant, directly sending people to teach them a lesson. The academy had suffered an undeserved disaster.

If he were there, he would definitely have stopped Dai Mubai on the spot. But it's no use saying these things now; he should think about how to smooth things over.

“You’re right, I’m here to cause trouble. Even without Rongrong’s matter, I was still planning to talk to you.” Yan walked slowly to Fred, looked at him and said coldly, “Your so-called Shrek Academy has never been authorized by the Spirit Hall or the two great empires, and has no qualifications to run a school.”

"Well, Your Highness, you should know that running an academy requires funding, facilities, and scale. We have no problem with the teaching staff, but the others are difficult to resolve. In addition, our academy has high standards but insufficient scale, which is why we don't have the necessary qualifications to run a school." Fred put on a shrewd businessman's face and said with a fawning smile, "Although Shrek Academy is called an academy, it is actually a master-disciple relationship. They are all my disciples. It shouldn't be a problem for a few Soul Emperors and Soul Saints to teach a few Great Soul Masters and Soul Venerables as disciples, right?"

"That's true. You did take on quite a few disciples by leveraging the reputation of a Soul Saint teacher. But over the years, you've admitted sixty-two genius students, yet only fourteen have graduated. Can you tell me where the remaining forty-eight went?" Yan's tone suddenly turned sinister as he coldly questioned, "With such a high student mortality rate, and teachers failing to protect them, then tell me, what's the point of having you teachers?" Fred's smile froze instantly. Yan's words had struck at Shrek Academy's greatest weakness: the student mortality rate was too high.

It's important to know that Shrek Academy has very high admission standards. Those who can get in are basically geniuses who are twelve years old or in their twenties. Such geniuses would be admitted to any advanced soul master academy. The reason they come to Shrek is because of the hype surrounding the Soul Saint teacher.

However, ordinary geniuses with ordinary backgrounds who were not noticed by Fred and others received very little training after enrolling.

Students frequently die while hunting soul beasts, and the hunting teams are led by at least Soul Emperor level experts. This is outrageous.

"You're a Soul Saint, and there's no concrete evidence of you committing a crime. Plus, those students enrolled voluntarily, so killing you would be troublesome for me. Therefore, I can't pursue the past with you." Yan spoke, his voice still echoing through the room, past Fred's stiff smile.

"But don't think this matter is over. I've dealt with all the Spirit Halls within the Barak Kingdom. Kundera has already stepped down and disbanded the Spirit Master Preparatory Camp. From now on, no one will dare to recommend graduates to Shrek Academy. You'd better watch yourself." As Yan finished speaking, he walked right in front of Tang San and suddenly struck him on the forehead with another palm strike.

"Ah..." Tang San never expected that the Holy Son of the Spirit Hall would launch such a sneak attack on him. The intense pain made him subconsciously throw off Dai Mubai, who was being carried on his shoulder, and purple light began to flow across his face.

"I'm not interested in dealing with Tang San for now, so I'll just leave a mark on him for now." Yan slowly withdrew his hand, leaving a purple scale that had become ingrained in Tang San's bone.

"You should have guessed who was behind that battle a few days ago. The Spirit Hall will have people monitoring him until that person is caught. You should understand that, right?"

"I understand." Fred looked at the pained Tang San. The thought of this being the disciple of his sworn brother Yu Xiaogang made him want to turn against Yan, but reason told him he couldn't. At worst, he could only bow his head and submit.

Yan glanced at Fred and said indifferently, "As for Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing, I'm taking them with me. Shrek Academy doesn't deserve to keep them. As for the others, is there anyone willing to join the Spirit Hall?"

Chapter 287 Checking into the Rose Hotel

"You all chose to stay at Shrek Academy? Very good, very good..." Outside Shrek Academy, when Yan mentioned that some teachers and students were willing to leave, some of the academy's teachers and students unconsciously looked at Fred. Seeing this, Yan basically understood what was going on and naturally wouldn't do anything more useless.

Of all the people from Shrek Academy, only one and a half truly made him feel sorry for them: Shao Xin, the Food-type Soul Saint, and Oscar, who was already half-crippled.

Shao Xin, the Soul Saint of the Food type, is the most regrettable person. There are already very few strong people who can reach the Soul Saint level on the Douluo Continent, let alone those of the support type, and even fewer of the food type. Even if such a person went to the Spirit Hall, he would be among the most prestigious.

Another one is Oscar, a food-type soul master born with full soul power. He was later chosen by the God of Food in the God Realm to become the new generation of God of Food. His potential is amazing, and Yan should try his best to win him over.

However, Oscar now clearly has a stronger sense of belonging to Shrek Academy. In addition, his previous remarks to Ning Rongrong were quite speechless. His values ​​have been distorted by Fred, Dai Mubai, and others, and are difficult to correct.

Furthermore, although he has amazing potential and may become a god in the future, it is only a possibility. Moreover, he is just a support-type food god, which Yan doesn't think much of.

If this guy just cultivates honestly and doesn't cause trouble, fine. But if he dares to oppose the Spirit Hall in the future, Yan won't be polite to him and will just wipe him out.

As for the others besides these two, although those teachers were decent in cultivation, they were just so-so. The Spirit Hall had no shortage of ordinary Soul Emperors and Soul Saints. Even if someone like Ma Hongjun were to actively defect to the Spirit Hall, Yan would have to consider whether to recruit him or not. There was nothing to regret.

The so-called Shrek Academy is actually just a bunch of people; if you exclude those who are impossible to recruit, there aren't actually that many.

Since no one responded, Yan naturally didn't bother to stay any longer.

"Nobody's here, alright. Well then, I wish you all the best in your final Shrek Academy term. Rongrong, let's go." Yan said, walking to Ning Rongrong's side and taking the terrified, baby-faced giant... kitten Zhu Zhuqing from her.

The latter's beautiful face was now filled with fear, clearly indicating that she was unwilling to leave with Yan.

"Zhu Qing, Zhu Qing...you bastard, put Zhu Qing down! She is the Crown Princess of the Star Luo Empire. What you are doing is a provocation against the Star Luo royal family..." At this moment, Dai Mubai finally showed some backbone and, with Tang San's help, managed to stand up and rebuke Yan.

Moreover, what he said surprised Tang San and the other students quite a bit. The matter between Zhu Zhuqing and Dai Mubai was actually related to the royal family of the Star Luo Empire.

Although several students in the academy had guessed that Dai Mubai had an extraordinary background, no one had expected that he would actually be related to the Star Luo Empire's royal family. Zhu Zhuqing was the Crown Princess, so wouldn't he be a prince of the Star Luo Empire?

So why did things end up in this situation?

"Oh! Young Master Dai, now you remember you're a prince? But do you really think your father, with his temper, would stand up for a good-for-nothing like you?" Yan looked at Dai Mubai with a mocking expression.

"Don't forget, when you chose to escape the struggle for the throne and left for Shrek Academy, you already abandoned Zhu Zhuqing. If you really didn't want to fight for the throne, why didn't you just cripple your cultivation? That way, you could at least save your life. Your talent is clearly superior to Davis and Dai Wuji, but as for your character, I'm really embarrassed to say anything. You don't know how to fight, and you can't escape completely. You're afraid to fight Davis, yet deep down you still harbor expectations for the throne. You abandoned Zhu Zhuqing and fled the Star Luo Empire back then, so what right do you have to speak now? As for the Star Luo royal family, do you think anyone will still speak for a cowardly deserter like you, a useless prince? Ah, hahahahaha..." Yan's words completely broke Dai Mubai's defenses. His dark history had been completely exposed by the person in front of him. It was a scene of utter despair. He didn't know if it was just his imagination, but he could even feel that the way the people around him were looking at him had changed.

Dai Mubai's eyes were bloodshot with malice, and he wanted nothing more than to push Tang San away and fight Yan. But as Yan's gaze turned cold, his ruthless aura made him lose his courage. His body trembled involuntarily, and he recalled the process of having his limbs severed. However, he dared not speak.

"Trash." Yan looked at Dai Mubai with even more disdain. Dai Mubai's talent was, in fact, the worst among the Shrek Academy students, only slightly better than Ma Hongjun.

Ma Hongjun's martial soul had significant inherent flaws, and his poor guidance from Fred, coupled with his excessive indulgence in matters of love and sex, depleted his physical strength and damaged his foundation. He had the potential to inherit the position of the God of Fire but failed and had to settle for second best.

Dai Mubai truly lacked that talent. The claim that he was the strongest talent among his generation in the Star Luo royal family, the Evil-Eyed White Tiger, and born with double pupils, was just a boast. Without innate full soul power, his talent was just so-so.

Coupled with a complete loss of courage, only knowing how to bully the weak and fear the strong, even being terrified of a mere Davis, such a person normally has no future at all.

In the original story, if it weren't for the immortal herbs that forcibly enhanced his talent, and his luck in defeating the Star Luo Royal Team, he would have been doomed after graduating from Shrek Academy, and would have even lost a kitten. He was truly a complete waste.

"Let's go." Yan glanced one last time at Tang San beside Dai Mubai, a strange smile playing on his lips. He then carried Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong away from Shrek Academy. They boarded a carriage and headed towards Soto City.

Dai Mubai, who was next to Tang San, struggled for a moment, but Fred grabbed the back of his neck and knocked him unconscious. After taking Dai Mubai from Tang San, he handed him to Shao Xin. Support-type Soul Masters generally have healing skills, and food-type healing usually comes with some special effects.

Dai Mubai's limbs were crippled by Yan, all of them comminuted fractures. Now he's so emotionally agitated. If he stays awake and becomes anxious and restless during treatment, his bones might grow out of place, making further treatment even more difficult.

"Dean, let me help." Tang San said softly, and walked over to squat down next to Shao Xin and Oscar. His hair was disheveled, and he used his long hair to cover the purple mark on his forehead. That piece of purple scale that was integrated into his bone was an absolute disgrace to him.

"Xiao San, I'm sorry. I failed to protect you just now. Sigh..." Fred sighed as he stood beside Tang San. If he could, he would also like to protect Tang San from harm, after all, he was the only direct disciple of his good brother Yu Xiaogang.

Unfortunately, this disciple carried too much trouble on his shoulders, far beyond his ability to handle. The fact that the Spirit Hall didn't arrest and imprison Tang San after learning his identity was already an act of great mercy. The fact that they only left a mark on him is considered lucky for Tang San.

Anyway, Fred was judging others by his own standards. If he were a high-ranking member of the Spirit Hall, encountering the son of a villain who killed the former pope, taking him back and subjecting him to all sorts of torture would be the most basic thing he would do, right?

However, he could roughly guess what the Spirit Hall wanted to do. A few days ago, a great battle broke out outside Soto City, not far from Shrek Academy. At that time, Tang San's father had just left Shrek Academy. Considering the Spirit Hall's subsequent reaction, the two sides in the battle were self-evident.

"Dean, can you tell me about my father?" Beside Oscar, Tang San skillfully helped Shao Xin fix the splint on Dai Mubai's arm. Since ancient times, medicine and poison have been inseparable. The Tang Clan has researched poisons, so their medical skills are naturally not bad either.

You could say Tang San's strength is relatively weak, but in some other skills, he completely surpasses most people in Douluo Continent and possesses advanced knowledge.

“Your father, Xiao Gang, didn’t mention it before. He must have had some concerns. I shouldn’t say anything, but now that the Spirit Hall has come knocking, there’s no point in hiding it from you anymore. So I’ll tell you what I know.” A hint of reminiscence appeared in Fred’s eyes.

"Speaking of your father, we must mention the Clear Sky Sect, once the number one sect in the world, possessing the Clear Sky Hammer, the number one weapon spirit in the world. The strongest members of the Clear Sky Sect throughout history are given the title of Clear Sky Douluo, and your father is the Clear Sky Douluo of this generation, His Majesty Clear Sky. About twelve years ago, when you were born, your father clashed with the previous Pope of the Spirit Hall, and severely injured him. The latter returned to the Spirit Hall and died, which caused turmoil and chaos on the continent. Many things happened on the continent after that..." Soto City, as the second most prosperous main city in the Barak Kingdom after Barak City, was naturally very lively, and the Spirit Hall's carriage was not stopped by the city guards.

After the carriage successfully entered the city, Ning Rongrong, holding her new best friend Zhu Zhuqing in her arms, lifted the curtain and looked outside. Patrolling soldiers could be seen everywhere on the streets, and bustling crowds moved about.

She quickly realized something was wrong. The carriage they were riding in didn't seem to be heading towards the Martial Soul Main Hall of Soto City, but rather towards another bustling and lively district. Eventually, the carriage stopped in front of a very unique hotel.

The hotel has three floors and doesn't seem very large, but its exterior is decorated entirely in rose red. The architectural style of the entire hotel is like a giant rose, which easily gives people a refreshing feeling.

"Rose Hotel. Shall we stay here?" Ning Rongrong blushed and pointed to the hotel. Her gaze towards Yan was strange, as if to say, "Good brother, I didn't expect you to be this kind of person."

"Hmm..." Yan coughed lightly and said seriously, "Rongrong, don't overthink it. It's just that there are too many people and too many eyes and ears at the Spirit Hall in Soto City, and there just happens to be a room here." Ning Rongrong rolled her eyes at him disbelievingly. She already knew what kind of person this guy was.

However, she didn't say much, and helped Zhu Zhuqing down from the carriage and into the hotel. Upon entering the Rose Hotel, the first thing you smelled was the intoxicating fragrance of roses, a refreshing aroma with a hint of ambiguity that soothed the mind and body.

The hotel's interior is decorated in only three colors: white, silver, and rose red. The warm, unique, and elegant environment easily makes people feel good.

Yan went straight to the counter and gave a few instructions. The hotel staff quickly handed him a room key, their eyes filled with ambiguity.

Finally, watching the three people leave, he shook his head with some envy, seemingly lamenting why he didn't have such good fortune.

Chapter 288 The Meeting of the Big and Little Kittens

The Rose Hotel's decor is very appealing; the simple and comfortable color scheme, along with the subtle fragrance of roses, all contribute to a sense of well-being.

The top floor of the Rose Hotel has only a few rooms, with names like Blue Enchantress, Pink Tenderness, Yellow Sincerity, White Innocence, Green Farewell, Red Ocean, and so on.

The names on these doorplates represent different colors of roses, and the colors of the doors are the same as the names on the doorplates.

"Do you know where this is?" Yan led the two to the room in front of the red ocean, a strange expression in his eyes.

The bright red door is decorated with beautiful dark red crystal roses, and next to the red crystal roses is a line of small vertical text: Red Ocean, Ocean of Love.

"Isn't this the kind of place for a date? Bringing me and Zhuqing here, do you have some ulterior motive?" Ning Rongrong looked at him suspiciously, her playful demeanor mixed with a hint of anticipation.

Yan raised an eyebrow, glanced at Zhu Zhuqing, and said, "This 'Red Ocean' room at the Rose Hotel has been booked by Dai Mubai for a long time. Guess why he specifically booked such a room? When I was beating him up just now, a room key happened to fall out of his pocket. And I asked the receptionist, who said that a few days ago Dai Mubai gave this room to a young man, who seemed to be Tang San..." Yan's expression became somewhat strange. Tang San clearly didn't have Xiao Wu with him, yet he still became acquainted with Dai Mubai through a fight. What the hell is this?

A plot-correcting power? But that doesn't seem likely. If it really had such a strong plot-correcting power, wouldn't my pet rabbit have run away long ago?

"What? Tang San, and Dai Mubai. That Tang San always seemed so serious, I never imagined he was that kind of person." Ning Rongrong blinked her big eyes, looking amused, while Zhu Zhuqing's face paled even more, her impression of Dai Mubai plummeting to rock bottom.

Yan opened the door with the key and stepped aside slightly to let Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing go first. Ning Rongrong helped Zhu Zhuqing take a few steps forward, but suddenly stopped unconsciously.

"This Dai Mubai is quite adept at enjoying and expressing romance. Calling him a Casanova is a bit of an overstatement, but he's definitely a player." Yan poked his head out between Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong and said with a grin. The room in front of them was very large, with the living room alone covering more than 50 square meters. All the furniture in the hall was silver and carved with exquisite patterns.

The bright red carpet was covered with embossed red rose patterns, and in the center of the hall, there was a huge red heart made of a large pile of roses.

The entire heart-shaped design covers nearly two square meters, requiring at least a thousand roses to complete. A delicate ribbon hangs above it, bearing the inscription: "One thousand and one, you are my only one."

Besides the 1,001 roses, elegant vases filled with fiery red roses were placed throughout the room, and the rich fragrance of roses permeated every corner of the room, creating a mesmerizing and enchanting atmosphere.

Imagine a girl being taken to such a romantic place; if she already has feelings for the guy, she's almost guaranteed to be won over. In other words, this is Dai Mubai's frequent hunting ground for women.

However, everything in the room was very fresh, and the red roses were even covered in dew, clearly indicating that they were changed every day, so there was no concern about hygiene.

Although Ning Rongrong was well-traveled and knowledgeable, she had never seen such a romantic and beautiful room before, and her beautiful eyes were filled with fascination.

"It's really beautiful. Zhuqing and I have requisitioned this room. You, a grown man, should find somewhere else to stay."

"No, it's not evening yet. Let me stay and rest for a while." Yan squeezed into the room with a grin. Ning Rongrong rolled her eyes at him and followed him. When they arrived at the bedroom, even Zhu Zhuqing's eyes unconsciously revealed a hint of dreaminess.

As expected, there was only one bed in the bedroom, but this large bed, which occupied almost half of the room, was heart-shaped.

Pale pink gauze curtains hang from the ceiling, obscuring the space above the heart-shaped bed, creating a dreamlike and ethereal beauty.

Red rose bedding, red rose-patterned pillows—everything carries an ambiguous undertone, making one's blood boil.

"Zhuqing, let's rest for a bit." Ning Rongrong pounced on the bouncy heart-shaped bed with anticipation, tossing and turning excitedly.

"Hey, hey, save me a spot!" Yan tried to squeeze in. Although Ning Rongrong resisted fiercely, she eventually gave in and was embraced by him. Zhu Zhuqing lay in Yan's arms, her little face flushed, lost in thought.

It wasn't that Zhu Zhuqing suddenly developed feelings for Yan, but rather it was just a slight instinctive reaction due to the ambiguous environment and physical contact.

Inside the bright red rose-filled room, Yan was enjoying the company of two women, one on each side. After some time, Zhu Zhuqing, who had been peacefully nestled in his arms, suddenly leaped away from the bed, having regained her mobility.

Yan sat up, embracing the drowsy Ning Rongrong. He had slept soundly and felt refreshed, and the slight depression of the past few days had dissipated considerably.

Zhu Zhuqing looked at Yan warily, then took a few steps back, feeling a little safer.

"Holy Son of the Spirit Hall, I don't think we know each other. You took me away to strike at Dai Mubai? Is the Spirit Hall planning to interfere in the affairs of the Star Luo Royal Family?" Yan squinted at Zhu Zhuqing before him and chuckled softly, "Zhuqing, you should know that since I can easily subdue you, there's no way you can escape my grasp. Why make such a futile attempt?" Zhu Zhuqing had already completed her Spirit Possession. Her eyes changed color simultaneously, her left eye becoming dark green and her right eye clear blue. Her long hair naturally cascaded down her back, and her slender hands transformed into cat paws. Two bright yellow spirit rings appeared around her body.

Zhu Zhuqing said angrily, "I don't want to be anyone's pawn. I've had enough of that feeling of being unable to control my own destiny."

"If you don't want to be mine, are you really willing to follow Dai Mubai?" Yan sat up straight and looked at Zhu Zhuqing in front of him. The twelve-year-old kitten not only had fair skin, but her extremely voluptuous figure was also quite incongruous with her age. If you didn't look at her face, she might be mistaken for an adult girl. In particular, her magnificent breasts would attract the attention of all men.