Chapter 10 Preliminary Planning
After a fierce battle, both sides suffered casualties of varying degrees.
Knowing the gravity of the situation, Dugu Zhan immediately used his powerful mental strength to command the skeleton spirit, fighting and retreating simultaneously.
However, the pink-clad women seemed tireless and fearless, their numbers like a tidal wave, relentlessly rushing towards Dugu Zhan and his skeleton elf.
As the leader, the Pink Lady was even more agile and swift. Her pair of pink pincers swung incessantly, and wherever she went, the skeleton spirits were quickly strangled, making the situation extremely critical.
Seeing this, Dugu Zhan made a decisive move, ordering the remaining thirty-odd skeleton elves to disperse and attack the pink ladies from different directions.
They were trying to disrupt the opponent's offensive rhythm and find an opportunity to break through.
Just then, the cunning Pink Lady used her soul power to create a large cloud of pink mist.
The fog spread rapidly, casting an eerie hue over everything it touched.
This pink mist is no ordinary substance; it is specifically designed to target humans. Once inhaled, it will cause mental confusion, rendering the person unable to fight.
The Pink Lady is not only skilled at creating bewitching fog, but also adept at spraying deadly venom.
Dugu Zhan was already familiar with its methods and knew the power of the venom, so he quickly moved to a safe distance.
The skeleton spirits he controlled were not living beings, but undead creations originating from darkness.
They showed no fear of the eerie mist, and the chilling venom posed no threat to them whatsoever.
The Pink Lady's appearance is just like a scorpion, and she exudes a dangerous aura. The deadly poison contained in her body is even more terrifying.
After weighing the situation, Dugu Zhan decisively deactivated the "Skull Armor" status.
Following his usual crisis management strategy, he quickly climbed a large tree and cleverly concealed himself.
Then, he gave the order for the skeleton elves left on the ground to engage in a fierce battle with the swarming pink ladies.
Hidden in the tree, Dugu Zhan focused his mind, precisely controlling the skeleton spirit in battle, while also taking the time to recover his greatly depleted soul power.
Once his soul power had recovered somewhat, he unleashed it once more, continuously creating one skeleton spirit after another.
These newly born skeleton spirits, like a black torrent, launched a continuous attack on the Pink Lady, while also shooting at the Pink Lady from a distance.
Dugu Zhan knew that in this cruel world, only by constantly hunting soul beasts could he rapidly increase his strength.
Using war to sustain war is his only way to enhance his strength.
Although he is now capable of killing ten-thousand-year-old soul beasts, he has always chosen to remain active in the outer areas of the Star Dou Great Forest.
Recently, thanks to his keen soul perception, he noticed that some ten-thousand-year-old soul beasts had become inexplicably restless.
This anomaly made him realize that even the outer perimeter of the Star Dou Great Forest was no longer an absolutely safe zone.
Getting back to the main topic...
This battle was extremely difficult. Dugu Zhan spent a full half day, even resorting to his third soul skill, before finally managing to kill the mutated Pink Lady with 6,530 years of cultivation, as well as the hundreds of thousand-year-old Pink Ladies following her.
As the smoke from the battlefield gradually cleared, Dugu Zhan raised his head and looked up at the sky, thinking to himself, "There are some things that need to be clarified. Besides, staying on the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest is full of unknown dangers. It's time to leave."
At this moment, a sense of anticipation welled up in Dugu Zhan's heart.
He knew all too well that the world of Soul Masters was vast and boundless, full of wonders.
Staying in the Starry Sky Forest would likely make it difficult to achieve any significant breakthroughs in the short term, especially given the increasing safety risks there.
Next, Dugu Zhan decided to leave this familiar yet dangerous area.
He had many thoughts in his mind, the first thing being to find his only elder relative and sister in the world.
Deep in his heart, there were many questions that needed to be answered. The mysteries that lingered in his mind were like a fog, constantly troubling him.
In addition to this, Dugu Zhan harbored even grander ambitions deep within his heart.
He longed to experience the prowess of all the powerful figures on the Douluo Continent, to spar with them, to hone his skills in real combat, and to explore higher levels of power.
On this vast continent, there was one person who particularly caught his attention: Tang San.
In a sense, Tang San seems to carry the will of this world, shining like a chosen one of the planes.
Dugu Zhan understood that encountering such a person was perhaps inevitable.
Since fate seemed to have deliberately intertwined them, Dugu Zhan decided to seize the opportunity.
He wondered if he could use the other party's luck to achieve his long-planned goal.
Of course, Dugu Zhan was clear-headed, and reason told him that he absolutely could not do something so foolish as to kill the protagonist and seize his destiny.
After all, it's obvious to anyone with eyes to see that many problems can be easily solved by going with the flow.
If you insist on going against the tide, making enemies of the world, and putting yourself in a predicament where everyone is your enemy, you will only make things more difficult than you can climb to the sky. There is absolutely no need to make things harder for yourself.
It's like playing a game. If you could easily beat it, why make it into hell mode? Isn't that just asking for trouble?
However, before truly embarking on his new journey, the cautious Dugu Zhan decided to first compress his soul to the strength of a Great Soul Master.
He didn't want to reveal too many cards too early. In this world full of unknowns and dangers, it was undoubtedly a wise move to keep some mystery and backup plans.
...
In the magical land of Douluo Continent, within the territory of the Barak Kingdom, outside the city of Soto, lies a quiet little village.
In this seemingly ordinary little village, there stands a unique academy—Shrek Academy.
Upon entering Shrek Academy, one is greeted by a scene dominated by wooden buildings.
These buildings are simple and unadorned, even somewhat rudimentary. At first glance, it is hard to associate them with an academy that trains soul masters. Instead, they seem more like a tranquil place where people can enjoy their later years.
Despite its unassuming appearance, Shrek Academy has extremely strict admission requirements.
To enter this academy, one must be no older than thirteen and possess a soul power of at least level twenty-one.
Moreover, the two spirit rings that a student possesses must both be at least hundred-year spirit rings, a standard that undoubtedly places extremely high demands on the student's talent.
In addition to the strict application requirements, Shrek Academy's admission process is also quite complicated.
To be accepted, applicants must successfully pass four assessments.
The academy's graduation requirements are equally demanding. Students must raise their soul power to level 40 or above, reaching the Soul Master level, before the age of twenty to be eligible to graduate.
Shrek Academy is known for its stringent admission requirements, demanding extremely high levels of talent and aptitude from its students.
Over the years, the academy has admitted a total of forty-two students, but only fourteen of them have successfully graduated.
What is remarkable is that these graduates all became renowned Soul Masters after graduation, leaving behind their own wonderful stories on the Douluo Continent.
Despite Shrek Academy's simple facilities and inconvenient location, it was in this seemingly unremarkable old Shrek Academy that the Seven Heroes of Jiangnan, who would later become famous throughout the continent, were born. Oh, wait, I misspoke, it was the Seven Heroes of Shrek, who later became the world-renowned Tang San and his companions.
The arrival of Dugu Zhan may bring unexpected waves to the once peaceful academy.
During this period, although Shrek Academy was located in a remote area with simple buildings and a relatively small number of students, it was a small but complete institution. Every student there was a top talent selected from among thousands.
Shrek Academy during this period was filled with a pure academic atmosphere and a fighting spirit, making it arguably the purest and most glorious golden age in the academy's development.
It is precisely for this reason that Shrek Academy later earned the supreme reputation of being the number one academy in the Heaven Dou Empire.
This honor was not undeserved, but truly well-deserved.
End of this chapter...