Without Meng Bei personally participating, the Shrek Team achieved consecutive victories in their battles at the largest Spirit Arena in the Heaven Dou Empire. They remained undefeated, proving their strength even in such a grand setting.
However, despite their stellar performance, Meng Bei's main goal of triggering a system task remained unfulfilled.
"Do I need to stir up some trouble myself?" Meng Bei pondered.
With several advanced Spirit Master academies in Heaven Dou City, Meng Bei began entertaining the idea of systematically challenging these institutions, one by one. Surely, such an audacious move would trigger the system.
As he was mulling over this plan, the system's prompt suddenly echoed in his mind:
[Ding! Side Quest Triggered!]
Side Quest: Academy Challenges
Due to the Shrek Team Leader's audacious idea, you must now lead the Shrek Team to challenge and defeat at least five advanced Spirit Master academies!
Difficulty: Normal
Reward: Spirit Power +2 Levels
Meng Bei's lips twitched. "Audacious idea? This is just a practical training plan—a friendly exchange between academies!"
Still, a mission was a mission.
Heaven Dou Empire had many advanced Spirit Master academies, though their quality varied. In Heaven Dou City alone, there were over a dozen. Most of these academies were of average or subpar quality, often finishing at the bottom in Spirit Master Tournaments.
Some academies, aware of their limitations, didn't even bother registering for tournaments.
Meng Bei understood their situation. Not every Spirit Master was a prodigy, and not everyone could join the elite Five Elemental Academies or Heaven Dou Royal Academy. For individuals with innate Spirit Power of only four or five, these lesser-known academies were good options.
For Meng Bei, these academies presented an opportunity.
Did he plan to challenge elite institutions like the Five Elemental Academies? Of course not! Why would he unnecessarily increase the difficulty of his task?
Given the choice, he would naturally pick the "low-hanging fruit."
In less than half an hour, Meng Bei mapped out a "Soft Targets Route" in Heaven Dou City, pinpointing five nearby academies known for their poor tournament performances.
However, given that the Shrek Team had already fought several matches that day, everyone was exhausted, and it was getting late. Instead of starting the challenges immediately, Meng Bei decided to take the team to the prestigious Heaven Dou Grand Hotel to rest.
The Heaven Dou Grand Hotel was the largest official hotel in the city, frequented by the wealthy and influential. Its services were top-tier, and even the most basic rooms cost over a hundred gold spirit coins per night.
Meng Bei casually pulled out a gold card from his spatial tool and swiped it at the front desk. In an instant, over ten thousand gold spirit coins were spent, booking multiple luxurious suites.
Ma Hongjun, watching in awe, couldn't hide his envy. "Xiao Bei, you've made it big!"
Meng Bei chuckled and replied, "It's nothing. Uncle Ning was kind enough to give me this gold card."
"Uncle Ning?" Ma Hongjun thought for a moment before realizing who he meant—the master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Ning Fengzhi, one of the richest men on the continent.
Initially, Ma Hongjun felt a pang of jealousy, but he quickly reasoned that it made sense. A genius like Meng Bei attracting the attention of such a prominent figure was only natural.
Soon, the hotel's luxurious services distracted Ma Hongjun from his grievances. From the exquisite cuisine to the unparalleled comfort, everything was beyond his wildest experiences. Even the dishes served were so high-class that he couldn't even name them.
After dinner, everyone returned to their rooms to rest—except for Ma Hongjun, who sheepishly approached Meng Bei.
"Xiao Bei, about that… uh… evil fire… If I don't vent it, it might affect my performance."
Meng Bei immediately understood and whispered, "Brother Hongjun, each room comes with premium service staff. Just call for one. I'll cover the cost."
Satisfied, Ma Hongjun left, leaving Meng Bei to return to his room.
Meng Bei didn't need to call any staff. After all, the little princess of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Ning Rongrong, was already there to "serve" him personally.
Before long, Ning Rongrong was utterly defeated, lying limp and powerless.
Meng Bei thought the night's "battles" were over, but in the middle of the night, there came a quiet knock on his door.
When he opened it, he was met with Xiao Wu's teary-eyed expression and a pitiful question:
"Big meanie! Did you forget about me?"
Her reddened eyes and trembling voice tugged at Meng Bei's heart.
He rubbed her soft bunny ears and teased, "Don't you like Tang San?"
Xiao Wu's eyes widened in shock, and tears welled up even more. "You!" she choked out, pointing at Meng Bei, but she couldn't find the words to continue. Hurt and frustrated, she turned to leave.
But before she could step away, Meng Bei scooped her up from behind, his hands firmly under her knees.
"My silly little bunny," he whispered, "I was just teasing you. It's only been two months, and you already missed me this much?"
"You're awful! A big meanie!" Xiao Wu pouted, her face flushed with a mix of anger and embarrassment. Despite her protests, the warmth of Meng Bei's chest and his familiar scent made her feel secretly pleased.
Still, Xiao Wu couldn't let her feelings show entirely. Even as she delivered herself to his door in the dead of night, she stubbornly defended herself.
"You promised me seven days! I'm just here to make you keep your word!"
Meng Bei recalled the promise and nodded. "Alright, my dear little bunny. For the next seven days, I'm all yours."
The Next Morning
Meng Bei led the Shrek Team along the planned route to challenge the academies.
The first stop was Divine Bird Advanced Spirit Master Academy, an institution specializing in bird-type spirits.
On paper, a bird-type academy should have been formidable, given the abundance of powerful bird spirits like Ma Hongjun's Phoenix.
However, most talented bird-type Spirit Masters chose to attend specialized academies like Blazing Academy for fire attributes or Thunderclap Academy for lightning attributes. Even those with weaker spirits opted for Divine Wind Academy. As a result, Divine Bird Academy was left with Spirit Masters of mediocre ability.
When Meng Bei arrived to challenge the academy, the headmaster of Divine Bird Academy didn't greet him warmly.
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