It was the third clash between the Shrek Academy and the Monster Academy. Their first two clashes had ended with the Shrek Academy being victorious. If Yue Zhengyu managed to best the strongest student of the Monster Academy, the fame of his school would rocket up again.
The situation had become critical for the Monster Academy. If even Long Yue, the Dragon King, couldn’t secure a win and stop the Shrek Academy, then this tournament would end early for the Monster Eight Kings.
Yue Zhengyu opened his eyes and sprang to his feet, his face determined and serious. Then he hid his aura, straightened his clothes, and walked towards the stage.
His teammates stood up and thumped their left chests with their right fists, watching him leave.
Yue Zhengyu gave them a smile. “Why the grave faces, guys? Relax. It’s not like I’m gonna die or anything. You just sit tight and wait for me to bring back good news,” he said, striding out of the waiting area.
It was the most high-profiled match so far. The people of the Star Luo Empire were on edge, as even they understood the importance of this match for the Monster Academy, and for all of them.
The air was thick with tension. Even Dai Tianling, the Emperor of the Star Luo Empire, had come to watch this match. Dai Yueyan had assured his father that Long Yue wouldn’t lose and told him this match was as good as won, but nonetheless, Dai Tianling wanted to be here. Because this was a match they could not afford to lose. Now everybody knows they are delegates from the Douluo Continent, Dai Tianling thought, and that their average age is five years younger than that of the competitors from the Monster Academy, which is basically a knockoff Shrek Academy. If we can’t win this tournament, we’ll be under the shadow of the real Shrek Academy forever.
Alongside Dai Tianling sat a very old man in a queer, white robe, with a bony face and long white hair falling over his shoulders. Despite his age, his eyes were clear and bright, nothing like those of an old man. The surprising thing was not that he was sitting beside Dai Tianling, but that the authoritative vibes emanating from him were even stronger than those given off by the emperor.
The audience was stunned when they recognized this old man – En Ci, Holy Dragon Douluo, principal of the Monster Academy.
En Ci was the most powerful soul master in the whole Star Luo Empire, and he was a legend.
When he first appeared on the Star Luo Continent, he was 30 years old and just a three-ringed soul master; nobody showed any interest in him. However, his legend began when he went to the Monster Academy to take the entrance exam.
They didn’t let him take the exam at first, of course, because of his age and low cultivation level, but he didn’t give up. He sat at their main gate and told them he would leave if any four-ringed or lower soul master could defeat him. One challenger after another went to fight him, and he beat them one by one. 18 days later, he ran out of challengers, so the Monster Academy had no choice but to enroll him.
Five years later when he was 35, he managed to become a six-ringed Soul Emperor. Few people knew how he had pulled that off. Increasing the cultivation level by 30 soul power ranks in such a short time was simply unimaginable.
After another five years, he became a nine-ringed Title Douluo.
Yet another five years later, his soul power reached rank 95 and he became a Hyper Douluo.
When he was 50 years old, he became the most powerful soul master in the Monster Academy – a rank 98 Hyper Douluo. He was only a step away from becoming a Limit Douluo.
Then he started learning to make his own battle armor. He quickly became a blacksmith and a mecha designer and maker. He did all the work by himself, and five years later, he became a three-word battle armor master. Theoretically, without a Divine Blacksmith, creating four-word battle armor was impossible; however, although there was no Divine Blacksmith on the Star Luo Continent, after another ten years, he managed to use his spiritual power, soul power, and rare metals to upgrade his three-word battle armor to a four-word one. It was widely believed he would in time reach rank 99 and become a Limit Douluo.
It was said that the reason why such a legend had only been a three-ringed soul master when he was 30 years old was because of his weird martial soul. It had taken him over 20 years to get to rank 30. But after that, cultivating had become as easy as pie for him.
At the age of 45, En Ci had taken over as the new principal of the Monster Academy; as of now, it had been 60 years.
All the soul masters on the Star Luo Continent held him in very high regard, including the Emperor of the Star Luo Empire, Dai Tianling, who had once been his disciple.
“Master En Ci, what brought you here today?” Dai Tianling asked. He hadn’t known En Ci would come and had offered him his seat – the most important seat in the whole stadium of course – when he saw him, but En Ci declined politely.
En Ci smiled. “I’m here for the same reason as you: to watch this match. Long Yue is a student of mine, and this match is a good opportunity for me to find out how strong the students from the Shrek Academy are. I’ve always wanted to visit the Shrek Academy.”
“Oh? Why?”
“To spar with the strong soul masters there. I’ll go there, no matter how this tournament will end. All the principals of the Monster Academy wanted to visit the Shrek Academy, but only a few had the courage. I’m already over a hundred years old and at the peak of my cultivation. I fear if I hesitate, I may lose the courage as well.”
Dai Tianling was taken aback. “There are people even more powerful than you?!”
En Ci nodded. “The more you learn, the more you realize how little you know. There is no limit to how far one can go. There is someone I want to see in the Shrek Academy. Hopefully I can learn something from him.”
Dai Tianling’s eyes went wide. He had been under the impression that his master was in a league of his own.
En Ci smiled. “I don’t think I’ll win, and maybe it’s impossible for me to ascend to godhood, but I’ll at least try.”
Dai Tianling nodded. “I’m so envious of you, Master.”
“You’re the Emperor of the Star Luo Empire; I have nothing for you to envy. When I’m gone, you can rely on Long Yue to protect the Star Luo Continent for at least another hundred years. He’s as talented as I was.”
This was the first time Dai Tianling had heard En Ci speak so highly of someone. He looked to Long Yue on the stage.