Chapter 37: Surveillance Team

From Ma Xiaotao's attack to the battle's end, it was only about a minute. All six enemies fell.

After all the enemies were killed, Ma Xiaotao scratched her head, somewhat embarrassed, saying: "I forgot to leave a live one……"

Thus, a group of people, along with the six corpses, returned in a mighty procession to Shrek Academy.

……

The next day after class, Wang Yan organized his lesson plan and said: "Core disciples, stay behind for a moment; later, come with me to the Soul Fighting Zone."

All the core disciples were energized; they knew the selection competition was about to begin. However, unlike what they had initially imagined, the examination did not take up their class time, but was held after school in the afternoon.

Wang Dong, Huo Yuhao, and Xiao Xiao were quite excited; their class had an exceptionally large number of core disciples this year, more than any previous year—just their class alone had eight including him, plus Dai Huabin, Xie Huanyue, Zhu Lu, and Wu Feng from the second class, and Ning Tian from the third class, making twelve in total. This was extremely rare in the outer court of Shrek Academy.

Soon Wang Dong and the others arrived at the Soul Fighting Arena, where core disciples from other grades were also present.

From afar, one could even see Bei Bei, the senior master brother, greeting Huo Yuhao.

Senior master brothers Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, and Jiang Nannan appeared one after another in view; they were all fifth-year core disciples. Most noticeable remained Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi, this pair of twin stars.

Rather than calling them twin stars, they were more like a pair of mischievous buddies…… Among fifth-year students, core disciples were certainly not just these three. But those who had not yet turned fifteen were only these three. Undoubtedly, they were also the strongest in cultivation among all outer court core disciples.

I'll skip the middle plot; it's just that another main character was added, and since Gu Yue was on the side of the soul beasts, she couldn't participate in the competition.

Hurry up.

Xuan Lao acted as if he had heard and done nothing just now, speaking in a deep voice: "We're not far from the academy; I have some things to say up ahead. You eight little guys of the reserve team, listen carefully. This will concern your future direction at the academy."

Xuan Lao's usual demeanor is emotionally unstable; seeing him so solemn now was a first. Huo Yuhao and the other seven instantly felt a solemn awe, their earlier laughter and chatter subsiding as they focused intently on Xuan Lao. The seven inner court disciples and Wang Yan seemed to understand what Xuan Lao was about to say, yet their expressions were also solemn, faintly carrying a special pride.

Xuan Lao said: "Our Shrek Academy has a history of over ten thousand years. Generally speaking, a powerful Soul Master can live at least two hundred years, or even longer. And the academy almost every year has students pass the examination to enter the inner court. Yet, the number of inner court disciples currently remaining at the academy is less than a hundred—do you know why?"

Xu Sanshi said: "Is it because the senior students have all graduated and left?"

Xuan Lao shook his head and said: "You're partially right. Indeed, some inner court disciples have graduated and left the academy. But I'm referring to another part—those who failed to graduate from the academy."

At this point, Xuan Lao's voice took on a more sorrowful tone: "They were all good children; although they never truly graduated, their names remain on the academy's rolls. They took the academy's ideals as their own; they were not lacking the ability to graduate, but died fighting for the academy's ideals."

"Many outer court students actually have the strength to qualify for the inner court, yet quite a few choose to leave after graduating from the outer court. Because entering Shrek Academy's inner court means not only learning more and having better teachers, but also shouldering a heavy responsibility. Those who opted not to enter the inner court considered themselves unable to bear that responsibility, and after swearing secrecy, they left."

"The academy respects any student's choice, but I want to say that anyone who chooses to pursue further study in the inner court is a hero—not a hero of the academy, but a hero of the Douluo Continent."

"Hero"—these two words were still quite foreign to Huo Yuhao and the other young men and women. Yet, coming from Xuan Lao's mouth, they carried an inexplicable weight.

Xuan Lao spoke in a deep voice: "It cannot be denied that from the moment you become reserve disciples, one of your feet has already stepped into the inner court. But precisely for that reason, I must confirm before truly taking you away from the academy whether you are willing to bear the responsibility that belongs to the inner court. If you are not willing, you may return to the academy now, and no one will blame you. You will continue to study and graduate smoothly in the outer court. Moreover, I want to tell you that the teachings of the inner court are actually not much more than those of the outer court. The inner court disciples are strong precisely because of that responsibility. If you choose to go back, you must also swear secrecy like those who left after graduating from the outer court—can you do that?"

Huo Yuhao and the seven others all felt that the secret Xuan Lao was about to reveal was extraordinary…

Xuan Lao said: "The Douluo Continent was originally vast; after colliding and merging with the Sun-Moon Continent, it became even larger. Among the four great empires, the Sun-Moon Empire has the largest area and abundant mineral resources. But they are ultimately outsiders. Even after thousands of years, in the hearts of the three original kingdoms of the Douluo Continent, they still seem alien and cannot truly be accepted. This has created mutual opposition. Although there is currently no large-scale war on the continent, conflicts are constantly present. If it were merely disputes among ordinary people, even if something happened, it would not cause great destruction. But if it were disputes among Soul Masters, it would be different."

"Not all Soul Masters are good. Many, due to their own strength, become arrogant, thinking they are supreme under heaven, even harboring evil thoughts. These people will inflict great harm on ordinary people. Evil deeds by Soul Masters are not uncommon, and often those with greater talent and higher cultivation who turn to the wicked path possess even greater destructive power. There has been a tragedy where a Soul Emperor slaughtered an entire village just because the food was unpalatable. Why? Because a Soul Master's abilities far exceed those of ordinary people, yet they lack supervision and restraint."

After Xuan Lao's lecture, Huo Yuhao and the seven others all joined the Surveillance Team; as for Chen Qiye, he had already been recruited earlier.

(End of chapter)