At the East Gate of Shrek Academy, as usual, there were many vendors selling various goods, but the young man who sold grilled fish rarely appeared anymore.
In the distance, an old man and a young man were walking towards the gate. The old man had short, grizzled hair. Although his face had many wrinkles, he walked with a vigor that belied his age. He was tall, and his grey-blue eyes shone with a bright Spirit.
And that "young man" was Pan Yang, who had met Wang Nan once before.
Shrek Academy's main gate had no guards, only a middle-aged gatekeeper sitting near the entrance. Of course, Shrek didn't need guards; although many people came to visit out of admiration, no one would easily enter.
The old man and the young man were no exception. After approaching from a distance, they stopped and looked up at Shrek's gate.
The gatekeeper initially thought these two were just visitors like usual, but after a while, he felt that they seemed to be more than just visiting.
"Hello, may I ask if you have any business at Shrek?"
"Oh, we're here to find someone," the old man replied, looking at the gatekeeper.
"Finding someone, huh? Are you looking for a teacher or a student? What's the name of the person you're looking for?"
"We're looking for a student; his name should be Wang Nan."
Although Wang Nan hadn't told Pan Yang his name back then, with the conclusion of the Soul Duel Tournament, the names of the Shrek group were no longer a secret.
The gatekeeper looked at the old man suspiciously. "What do you mean 'should be'? Who are you to him?"
Pan Yang, behind the old man, was about to flare up but was restrained by the old man's hand.
"Just tell him Pan Yang, who had an agreement with him, has come to find him."
The gatekeeper looked at the old man again, still unsure. Seeing the old man offer a kind-looking smile, he finally nodded slightly, stepped back a few paces, and, from a distance, pulled out a voice spirit tool from his pouch.
This made Pan Yang, who was standing by, look at him with a bit more respect. He hadn't expected even a gatekeeper at Shrek Academy to be a Spirit Master capable of using a spirit tool.
A moment later, the gatekeeper finally relaxed. "Alright, you two can come in with me first."
With that, the gatekeeper turned and walked into the Academy, and the old man and Pan Yang followed.
After walking about two hundred meters, several tall statues appeared ahead.
"Alright, you two can wait here. The person you're looking for will be out soon. Beyond this point is Shrek's Outer Courtyard area, and you cannot enter further."
The old man nodded, watched the gatekeeper return to the entrance of Shrek Academy, and then looked up at the statues.
On the other side, Wang Nan had just left his dormitory, preparing to go to the Sea God Pavilion for meditation practice as usual, but he didn't expect a teacher to come looking for him, saying someone was waiting for him at the Academy gate.
After confirming, Wang Nan understood that it must be Pan Yang from that day, bringing his grandfather to find him.
When Wang Nan arrived at the Outer Courtyard, he saw the old man looking up at the statues.
Those statues depicted the Golden Triangle and the first generation Shrek Seven Devils, who founded Shrek Academy ten thousand years ago. Wang Nan had seen them many times when entering and exiting the Academy.
However, the old man's gaze was different; it seemed quite complex, even subtly lost in thought.
"Grandpa, he's here."
Pan Yang was the first to spot Wang Nan, reaching out and tugging at the old man's sleeve.
The old man looked towards Wang Nan upon hearing this. A glimmer seemed to flow in his grey-blue eyes, and the Evil Breaking Dragon in Wang Nan's spiritual sea seemed to sense something and stirred slightly.
"A pleasure to meet you, young friend Wang Nan."
"Hello," Wang Nan replied politely, glancing at Pan Yang beside him, then returning his gaze to the old man. "I heard you've been looking for me?"
"Yes," the old man nodded, "Please allow this old man to introduce himself. This old man's name is Pan Huai, also known as Qian Guhuaiwu."
After his introduction, Pan Huai stared intently into Wang Nan's eyes. Seeing no significant emotional fluctuations, he couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
Wang Nan took in Pan Huai's changing expression, but he didn't understand why Pan Huai would react that way. Was he supposed to have heard that name?
"How about this: if young friend is willing, I'll start from the beginning?"
Wang Nan nodded.
"Then let's start with the Coiling Dragon Staff Spirit of our lineage," Pan Huai said, his gaze once again falling on the statues before him. "Although the stories of Shrek Academy and the first generation Shrek Seven Devils are well-known, young friend probably rarely heard them when you were young, right?"
Wang Nan had also been puzzled by this, but he had always thought it was because he was precocious, which was why his parents didn't tell him stories meant for children. Now it seemed there was more to it.
"Actually, if we're being honest, these people could all be considered our enemies." Pan Huai's expression changed as he began to tell a story from ten thousand years ago.
"Ten thousand years ago, there was an organization on the Douluo Continent called Spirit Hall. During its most prosperous period, its power once spread throughout the entire Douluo Continent, and its Supreme Pontiff Palace even became a Holy Land in the hearts of all Spirit Masters on the entire continent."
Wang Nan nodded as he listened to Pan Huai.
Even in his previous life, he hadn't delved deeply into it, but he had heard some of these terms. Additionally, Shrek Academy's history recorded it.
"And above the Supreme Pontiff Palace, there was also a Hall of Offerings. Only those whose cultivation reached the Titled Douluo level could enter there, and our ancestors were among them."
Pan Huai lowered his head, his eyes dimming, "Later, Spirit Hall was destroyed, and our opponents at the time were the first generation Shrek Seven Devils. Our two ancestors consequently retired, no longer involving themselves in worldly affairs."
"Later, after the first generation Shrek Seven Devils achieved God Positions, and our two ancestors passed away one after another, their descendants could only change to other surnames to live in anonymity. Only the direct descendants of the two ancestors changed their surnames to 'Pan' and 'Long' from the Coiling Dragon Staff Spirit, passing down the stories of their ancestors orally."
"The Coiling Dragon Staff Spirits of our two ancestors sealed a Heavenly Awakened Sacred Gold Dragon. Similarly, only a Coiling Dragon Staff that has awakened its Dragon Soul is a true Coiling Dragon Staff Spirit."
Combining his impressions from his previous life, Wang Nan didn't feel that Pan Huai was lying. Perhaps in this life, he truly carried the Bloodline of those two Titled Douluo, and perhaps he also had a name like Qian Gu Nanli.
But what use were these words to him?
From Pan Huai, no, from the name Qian Guhuaiwu, Wang Nan could understand many things, but to him, Spirit Hall was just a name. He had never felt such emotions for Spirit Hall as Pan Huai did.