Chapter 29: Such a Genius Must Belong to Our Shrek!
Shrek Academy, Sea God Island.
Elder Xuan's heart hammered against his ribs in a frantic, violent rhythm. The shock crashing over him was so absolute that his fingers went completely slack. His beloved wine gourd slipped from his grasp, hitting the stone tiles with a dull thud and rolling away. Amber liquid spilled out, pooling around his dirty boots, yet he did not even spare it a downward glance. His mind was entirely consumed by the impossible image Ling Luochen had just painted for him.
A two-ring Soul Grandmaster taking a devastating, full-force blow from a five-ring Soul King. Sliced completely in half. Yet, within a single minute, regenerating a severed torso and limb. And even while hovering on the very brink of death, managing to fire a beam of destructive light straight through the enemy's wing?
Such an absurdity had never been recorded, not even within the vast, ancient archives buried deep inside Shrek Academy.
"This youth has a boundless future!" Elder Xuan inhaled sharply. A piercing, unmatched sharpness cut through the usual murky, drunken haze in his eyes. He snapped his head toward Ling Luochen, locking his gaze onto her. The sheer weight of his aura pressed down, turning his tone into a harsh, urgent interrogation. "Where is he now? Did you bring him back to the Academy?"
The sudden burst of pressure from a Super Douluo forced Ling Luochen to stumble half a step backward. Her breathing hitched, and she shook her head, a trace of anxiety flickering across her usually cold features. "Elder Xuan, after the battle ended... we parted ways. I do not know where he went."
"What?!"
Elder Xuan completely lost his composure. He slammed his heavy palm against the stone table beside him. Spiderweb fractures instantly cracked across the solid rock. His messy beard trembled with raw indignation. "Parted ways? You actually just stood there and let him leave?"
"Luochen, do you have any idea what you are doing? A prodigy who can severely injure a Soul King while only at the Soul Grandmaster realm, someone who possesses an immortal body—and you didn't recruit him to our Shrek?!"
Ling Luochen stood stunned. She bit the inside of her cheek, her fingers curling into tight fists at her sides as a wave of grievance washed over her. "But... Elder Xuan, the situation was incredibly urgent at the time., the Inspection Team has a strict, absolute order: we must never reveal our identities while executing a mission."
She paused, her brow furrowing as she recalled the youth's cold, pragmatic demeanor. "Besides, I observed that the youth and his companions were dressed elegantly and behaved with strict decorum. It was entirely obvious they already belonged to a powerful Sect with a deep legacy. If I had spoken up rashly and demanded he join us..."
"Rules are dead, but people are living! Why don't you know how to be flexible?!"
Elder Xuan waved his arms frantically in the air, looking as devastated as a man who had just watched a mountain of gold slip through his fingers. "So what if he already has a Sect? On this entire Douluo Continent, what other Sect could possibly be more outstanding, more glorious than our Shrek Academy?"
He stepped forward, his voice rising in arrogant certainty. "You only needed to flash the Shrek brand! Tell him that as long as he is willing to come, the Academy will provide him with the absolute best simulated cultivation environment. Tell him we would even allow him to bypass the outer exams and enter the Inner Courtyard directly! Could anyone possibly resist that temptation?"
Elder Xuan scoffed, crossing his arms. "Once he hears it is a direct recruitment from Shrek Academy, that kid would definitely be begging on his knees to come!"
Ling Luochen remained silent, keeping her eyes lowered, though a heavy skepticism settled in her chest.
She remembered the absolute, ruthless determination in that youth's eyes when saving his companion. She remembered the genuine, heartbroken concern his companion showed upon seeing him injured. Those two relied entirely on each other. They did not look like people who would be easily swayed by a mere reputation, no matter how grand the name 'Shrek' sounded.
Elder Xuan exhaled a long, heavy breath, forcing down the bitter frustration burning in his chest. He waved his hand dismissively. "Enough. Don't just stand there like a wooden post."
"You will immediately take your people back to the exact location where you last executed the mission. Search carefully, comb through every inch of land within a hundred miles of Yaluo City! See if you can pick up his tracks again."
His eyes narrowed, his tone leaving no room for argument. "This time, even if you have to talk until your mouth goes completely dry, you must bring him back to me! Such a heaven-defying, gifted student is born to belong to our Shrek. He absolutely must not be left to wander outside!"
Ling Luochen lowered her head, masking her doubts. "Yes, Elder Xuan."
After accepting the order, she turned on her heel and walked quickly away.
Watching Ling Luochen's slender back disappear into the thick mist of the island, Elder Xuan still felt a lingering sense of deep injustice. He bent down, grunting as he picked up his dented wine gourd from the wet stones. "This girl... she usually looks quite smart. Why is she so hopelessly inflexible at the most critical moments?"
He shook the gourd, listening to the remaining liquid slosh inside. "If this kind of supreme seedling gets snatched away by some other faction, I'll be furious enough to drop dead."
Just as Elder Xuan was turning around, planning to find a quiet corner to drink his sorrows away, the rapid crunch of footsteps approached on the gravel path.
"Elder Xuan! Is Elder Xuan here?"
The person rushing up the path was Teacher Wang Yan.
His face was flushed red with sheer academic excitement, his chest heaving as he clutched a thick stack of reports detailing soul power fluctuations.
Elder Xuan squinted at the approaching man, his expression instantly souring. He lifted a pinky finger and dug into his ear with blatant impatience. "Teacher Wang Yan, what are you running over here for again? I am already incredibly annoyed today. Do not bother me with your superstitious, theoretical research."
Teacher Wang Yan completely ignored Elder Xuan's cold, dismissive attitude. He stepped forward, his eyes shining. "Elder Xuan, this is a major discovery! Regarding the new outer court student, Huo Yuhao. I have closely observed his recent cultivation speed and his combat performance, and I heavily suspect... his Spirit Eyes have very likely undergone a rare Secondary Awakening!"
Wang Yan tapped the papers excitedly. "This kind of mutation in a Body Martial Soul is extremely precious. I humbly ask you to condescend and take a look at him yourself. If my theory is true..."
"Enough, enough!" Elder Xuan waved his hand violently, cutting Wang Yan off. His face twisted into a mask of pure disgust.
"Secondary Awakening? Teacher Wang Yan, have you researched yourself stupid? That piece of trash has Rank 1 innate soul power. If he hadn't used a back door to get a special recommendation, he wouldn't have even been qualified to step over our Academy's threshold."
Elder Xuan sneered, taking a swig from his gourd. "Even if his Spirit Eyes really did undergo some miraculous Secondary Awakening, with that crippled Rank 1 innate talent anchoring him down, how high could his limit possibly go?"
"At his absolute best, he will cap out as a Soul King. You want me, a Super Douluo, to waste my precious time inspecting a piece of waste that only exists to consume our food? Do you think I have nothing better to do with my life?"
Teacher Wang Yan opened his mouth, desperately wanting to argue the academic value. "But Elder Xuan, even if his innate talent is only Rank 1, if the quality improvement brought by the Secondary Awakening is significant enough to alter his foundation..."
"Get out, get out, get out! Get out immediately!"
Elder Xuan did not even let him finish. He released a gentle but entirely unquestionable wave of dense soul power. The invisible force slammed into Teacher Wang Yan's chest, physically shoving the man backward and pushing him completely out of the pavilion.
"Don't bring that kind of mud-that-can't-stick-to-the-wall garbage to disgust me. I have absolutely no heart to deal with a cripple right now." Elder Xuan glared at the stumbling teacher. "If you dare to bother me with this nonsense again, I'll throw you straight into Sea God Lake to sober up!"
Teacher Wang Yan stabilized his footing. He looked at the closed-off expression on the elder's face, let out a long, helpless sigh, and could only turn around, walking away dejectedly with his reports clutched to his chest.
Elder Xuan snorted, sitting heavily back down onto his stone stool. He tilted his head back and took a massive, burning gulp of strong liquor, trying to wash away the irritation.
...
At the exact same time, deep inside the Sea God Pavilion.
The entire interior of the grand pavilion radiated a faint, warm golden light. An ancient, gentle aura flowed smoothly through the room, breathing life into the sacred wood.
Elder Mu lay quietly on his large wooden rocking chair. His eyes were slightly closed, his breathing so shallow and rhythmic that he appeared to have physically merged with the space around him.
"Is there still no news of Liu Yuan?" Elder Mu spoke slowly. His voice was incredibly light, barely a whisper, yet it carried a heavy dignity that penetrated straight to the soul.
Standing respectfully in front of the rocking chair, two high-ranking staff members of Shrek Academy responsible for the intelligence network lowered their heads in shame.
"Reporting to Elder Mu, we haven't found him yet."
The lead staff member swallowed hard. "Following your strict instructions, we have thoroughly checked all surrounding provinces. We even specifically dispatched elite personnel to infiltrate the areas near the imperial city of the Heavenly Soul Empire to search, but we have never found a single trace of his tracks."
"It is as if... he has simply evaporated from the world."
Elder Mu let out a long, heavy sigh. The sound seemed to carry the weight of a century.
Liu Yuan was the very last bloodline of those two loyal teachers. Even more so, he was an orphan of Shrek. The fact that the boy had been chased away, humiliated right under his own nose, left a deep, indelible scar of regret in the old man's heart.
The second staff member hesitated for a moment, exchanging a nervous glance with his partner before suddenly speaking up. "Elder Mu, although we did not find Liu Yuan, we did hear a rather strange rumor while inquiring for news in the outer territories. It seems to be directly related to Ling Luochen of the Inner Court Inspection Team."
Elder Mu's eyelids parted slightly. "Speak."
"Ling Luochen encountered a youth possessing an eye-type martial soul near Yaluo City while executing a suppression mission a few days ago."
The staff member carefully recounted the intelligence. "According to Luochen's official description, the youth looked to be only about twelve years old, exactly the same age as Liu Yuan. But... this person's cultivation had already reached Level 27."
Elder Mu's eyes narrowed slightly. The golden light in the room seemed to pulse. Clearly, that specific age paired with such a high cultivation rank was more than enough to attract his full attention.
Encouraged, the staff member continued, his voice dropping into a tone of disbelief. "also, his combat strength is extremely bizarre. His first soul skill can shoot highly condensed, destructive energy beams directly from his eyes. Not only is the piercing power terrifying, but it even directly and severely injured a five-ring Evil Soul Master during the battle."
"But what is most shocking is..." The staff member took a deep breath. "Luochen saw with her own two eyes that after this youth was sliced completely in half by that Evil Soul Master, he relied on his second soul skill to achieve instantaneous limb regeneration, healing a fatal bisection right there on the spot."
"What did you say?!"
The ancient man, who had been lying as motionless as a statue on the rocking chair, suddenly sat bolt upright. The wooden chair snapped back with a sharp creak.
Two terrifying clusters of golden light, burning as fiercely and brightly as the scorching sun, erupted from Elder Mu's long-silent eyes. The gentle aura of the pavilion instantly vanished, replaced by the suffocating weight of a waking dragon.
"A Level 20-something injuring a Level 50-something? Limb regeneration after being cut in half?"
Elder Mu's voice trembled, no longer calm. "Can humans really do such a thing?"
[Akarin's Note:
Enjoying the story? Dropping a quick review, comment, or Power Stone means the world to me and keeps these daily updates flowing!
Want to read 50 chapters ahead or just want to help keep a shameless translator alive? (My livelihood actually depends on this, haha 😭). You can support me directly here:
(P.S. Just remove the brackets and replace the [.] with a regular dot . to use the links!)
✨ Patreon (50 Advanced Chapters): patreon[.]com/AkarinTL
☕ Ko-fi (Support / Sponsor): ko-fi[.]com/AkarinTL
🔗 All My Links: linktr[.]ee/AkarinTL
Thank you so much for reading and keeping this project alive!]