As soon as Gu You spoke, the whole car fell silent.
"Can you drive properly?"
If you get distracted and drive too fast, what if you crash into a ditch or can't stop?
"If you all behave, I'll drive properly."
Ye Xinglan was a bit surprised. "My wish is to stay at the academy — always stay at the academy, never leave. From the inner court to the outer court, I know I will definitely return to the inner court. In the future, I want to train hard and become a powerful battle armor master to protect the academy."
Gu You's eyes showed surprise. "Just that? Always like that?"
"That's not a contradiction. The academy is the purest place. When I was little, when my martial soul first awakened, the elders in my family told me I was the hope of the clan's future — to work hard, become strong, and revitalize the family. But I wasn't interested at all. Later I understood and knew what I should do, but I've always liked sword practice. I hate the family's power struggles and deceit. It was only when I entered the academy, Shrek Academy, that I truly felt what I wanted. I like everything there — peaceful, calm, and filled with a special aura. I'm willing to stay there forever. I like the quiet. I'll just stay at the academy, and my family can't do much about it."
At first, Gu You wondered if the ideological imprint of Shrek Academy was still so strong. If Ye Xinglan hadn't said those later words, he might have misunderstood her.
Xie Xie, who was teaching Gu You to drive, couldn't help but say, "To be blunt, don't you just want to be a quiet, pretty girl?"
Ye Xinglan snorted lightly. "You just don't get it."
"Do you have ambitions?" Gu You looked back at Xu Xiaoyan.
"Me? I don't have any ambitions! When I grow up, I want to marry someone I like and be a housewife, raising kids. That's it. Actually, I think the same as Sister Xinglan. I don't want any family responsibilities; I just want to be a carefree little princess. I wish my martial soul was not starlight." Xu Xiaoyan answered simply.
"You have no big ambitions!" Xie Xie scorned. "As for me, my ambition is much greater. I want to become one of this generation's Shrek Seven Devils. The Shrek Seven Devils are reselected every fifty years. When the new generation appears, the old generation steps down. I heard the new selection is in four years. All inner court disciples under twenty-five at Shrek Academy can participate. I must be selected then."
"I want that too," Ye Xinglan said with stars sparkling in her eyes.
But Gu You, driving, had a strange look in his eyes.
The words "Shrek Seven Devils" carried immense weight. Each generation of the Seven Devils was the backbone of Shrek Academy, and even the soul master world.
The first generation was the ancestors of the Tang Clan — Tang San and the others — who changed the entire continent's landscape.
The most famous generation after that was Ling Bing Douluo Huo Yuhao's, who also shocked the continent and created the current Spirit Pagoda.
The title of Shrek Seven Devils was a huge honor in the soul master world. Only the best young talents at Shrek Academy could become one. And luck mattered — it happened only every few decades, so if you just missed the age limit, you lost the chance.
"What's the use if you can't achieve it?" Xu Xiaoyan said casually.
Xie Xie angrily retorted, "How do you know I can't? I'll work hard."
Gu You agreed with Xie Xie's mindset. Who could say an ordinary young person today wouldn't become the one who looks down from above tomorrow?
…
They talked a lot and all came to some peace.
The car drove fast and smoothly. Traveling from Tiandou City to the next city by spirit-guided train takes about two hours, but driving took only an hour — showing how fast Gu You was driving.
Tianling City
Tianling is a medium-sized city. The ten cities on this route are all medium or larger because small cities have too few soul masters, making it difficult to quickly find opponents stronger than themselves.
They found a hotel to stay and rested for a day before starting to look for fights.
Early the next morning, a dusty spirit-guided car silently arrived at the Tianling Spirit Pagoda.
Yes, they were returning to their old profession. But only Gu You was annoyed at who their opponent was. Finding a soul saint expert in a second-tier city was like finding a flawless ant among thousands.
Tianling City is small with a limited area, so searching the city for opponents was easier.
Around seven or eight in the morning, the Tianling Spirit Pagoda became lively. The gates opened and soul masters gradually arrived.
Gu You kept watching to see if there was a soul saint expert. If not, he would tell the teachers after the exam that no one wanted to fight him.
As expected, no soul saint expert official appeared in this second-tier city.
What did a soul saint expert mean? It meant that anyone with a first-rank battle armor was a normal titled Douluo expert — these people had exalted status on the main roads, generally employed by the federation and major powers. There were basically no freelance soul saints unless they were crazy for ignoring better resources.
The spirit-guided car sped toward the next city.
Fortunately, Gu Yue and the others hadn't succeeded either.
They heard the opponent was a soul master with a first-rank battle armor plus soul king level.
After several battles and breaks, Gu Yue and friends had finished more than half their tasks, but Gu You was still stuck on one opponent.
He looked troubled. He wasn't afraid the academy would expel him but felt this wasn't a good feeling.
Suddenly, Xie Xie's panicked voice rang out.
Everyone looked through the windshield ahead, stunned.
Over twenty mechas lined up side by side in the distance: five purple mechas and fifteen yellow mechas, blocking the highway.
No spirit-guided cars were stopped on the road — apparently, the mechas had just landed. Their chest emblems showed they came from the Spirit Pagoda.
After completing five exams, the Spirit Pagoda had finally come looking for them.
"What do we do?" Xie Xie was almost in tears.
"What else? Run!" Gu You slammed the accelerator and steered toward the median strip.
Ah!
A shout erupted inside the car.
"Don't be afraid."
(End of chapter)