In addition to the original Shrek teachers and students, there was also a new female instructor present on the training ground. She appeared to be close to thirty years old, with delicate features and an impressive figure. This was likely the legendary Liu Erlong.
In contrast to the newcomer's confident presence, Flender seemed to have a hint of excitement gleaming in his eyes, while Yu Xiaogang's face appeared ashen, as if he was suppressing some powerful emotion, completely unlike his usual stern and composed expression.
Flender was the first to speak, making the introduction. "Little monsters, today I'd like to introduce you to a new instructor. This is Teacher Liu Erlong. From now on, she will be responsible for your combat training alongside Teacher Zhao."
Liu Erlong looked capable and shrewd, speaking very directly and without ceremony. "Dean Flender says you are all little monsters. I certainly hope you won't disappoint my expectations."
The other students appeared relatively indifferent to this announcement, but Yang Xiong couldn't help feeling an internal shock. This Liu Erlong was known throughout the soul master world as the Slaughter Corner. Despite her calm and composed appearance, she was probably the most vicious and brutal among all their instructors.
Moreover, Yang Xiong found the situation rather strange. Liu Erlong indeed appeared to be a remarkable beauty, so why was she so completely infatuated with Yu Xiaogang? No wonder Yu Xiaogang attracted such resentment from others. The relationship between two people with such a vast difference in strength and appeal was truly incomprehensible, especially since Yu Xiaogang seemed to be the one being relentlessly pursued.
Flender seemed to sense something unusual about Yang Xiong's demeanor. "Yang Xiong, have you successfully advanced to Spirit Elder?"
Yang Xiong nodded respectfully. "Teacher Flender, I took leave to hunt for a spirit ring yesterday. I am now a level thirty-two Spirit Elder."
Everyone felt surprised upon hearing this remarkable news. Originally, Yang Xiong had possessed the lowest spirit power among all of them, but from enrollment until now, he had achieved the highest spirit power increase of anyone. One must understand that Zhu Zhuqing and Ma Hongjun had only increased by two levels so far, while Tang San had improved by five levels at most. Yang Xiong had actually increased by a full six levels. This advancement speed was simply extraordinary and somewhat exaggerated.
One must realize that it had been less than ten months since joining Shrek Academy.
The Slaughter Corner's Methods
Next, Liu Erlong indeed demonstrated to everyone exactly what earned her the title of Slaughter Corner. She personally fought against all nine Shrek students simultaneously. Within just a few minutes, everyone had been knocked to the ground. She showed absolutely no mercy and was extremely brutal in her approach.
Unexpectedly, just two days after Liu Erlong's arrival at Heaven Dou Royal Academy to begin teaching, Flender actually arranged a week-long holiday, claiming that everyone needed a proper balance of work and rest and should have adequate recovery time, as the next stage of training would be more demanding and dangerous. However, Yang Xiong seemed to observe Yu Xiaogang looking utterly lifeless, probably because the teachers had personal matters requiring attention.
Yang Xiong took Ning Rongrong, Oscar, and Qin Shuang directly back to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School together for their vacation.
Upon returning home, Yang Xiong couldn't help feeling deeply emotional. This represented the longest period he had been away from the sect in this lifetime. Only by returning to the sect did he truly feel like he had come home.
Oscar continued diligently pursuing Qin Shuang during this period. Qin Shuang seemed to be somewhat more accepting of Oscar now, at least not displaying the complete indifference she had shown initially. This was especially true since Ning Rongrong had spoken many favorable words about Oscar in front of Qin Shuang. Unfortunately, Qin Shuang had also joined Ning Rongrong in calling him "Uncle Big Sausage," which made Oscar feel quite awkward and embarrassed.
After returning to the sect, his father Yang Lin and mother Sun Yu displayed tremendous happiness. Even his eldest brother Yang Wei was at home, as Purple Star Academy seemed to be enjoying an extended holiday as well.
The family ate together, chatted together, and drank together, enjoying harmonious and peaceful times. Their cultivation talent might be relatively average, but these were his true family members.
His eldest brother Yang Wei had been cultivating very diligently recently and had reached level thirty-four soul power, becoming a substitute member for the Purple Star Academy team.
Yang Xiong also reorganized his collection of immortal herbs, his eyes sparkling with possibilities. Since the Ice and Fire Tempering process, the two immortal herbs had not been fully digested within his system, making it temporarily unsuitable to consume additional immortal herbs. Moreover, because he didn't understand the effects of too many immortal herbs and couldn't properly identify them, Yang Xiong had never planned to use them for his parents and family members—at least not until his eldest brother Yang Wei graduated.
Future Concerns and Long-term Planning
Especially since in approximately six years, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School would face a true catastrophe, when it would be attacked by ten thousand Spirit Hall members plus four Titled Douluos. His peaceful life would be completely shattered, and even his parents and elder brother would experience tremendous danger. Yang Xiong only wanted them to survive this coming disaster; nothing else truly mattered.
Yang Xiong understood very clearly that even six years from now, he would probably only be a Spirit Emperor, which would have minimal impact on such a large-scale conflict. What the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School truly lacked was high-end combat power capable of facing Titled Douluo opponents.
No matter how extensively Yang Xiong contemplated strategies, the foundation for all of his plans was that he must learn to recognize and understand more immortal herbs.
Looking across the entire Douluo Continent, the only people who truly possessed knowledge of immortal herbs were Tang San, Chrysanthemum Douluo, and Yang Wudi. These three all possessed their own inheritances and treated their knowledge of immortal herbs as absolutely top secret, which they would not easily reveal. The only realistic breakthrough point was Yang Wudi.
However, it remained far too early for such an approach. At least for now, Yang Xiong didn't dare to approach Yang Wudi directly. He was an extremely hot-tempered top-tier Spirit Douluo, and his family resided in the Star Luo Empire, thousands of miles away.
A Year of Intensive Training
After returning to the academy, Yang Xiong spent most of his time cultivating in the gravity-controlled simulated environment, except during joint training sessions.
Looking at the original timeline, the Shrek members' true opportunities were only two: first was the immortal herbs, and second was the Sea God's trials on Sea God Island.
Compared to the Sea God's Light from those trials, the gravity-controlled simulated environment was clearly much less effective. Yang Xiong had even considered inviting a Spirit Sage who could control gravity to create pressure simulating the Sea God's Light, but the results were not ideal. After all, everyone possessed their own soul power fluctuations and different attributes, and even a Spirit Sage could not continuously maintain gravity control scenarios for extended periods. The gravity simulation environment proved somewhat more practical.
There were many people utilizing the gravity simulation environment, and it also contained numerous independent rooms. In addition to physical training under ordinary heavy pressure, Yang Xiong primarily meditated within this challenging environment.
Although it was relatively difficult initially, as his cultivation improved, his state of mind gradually became more peaceful. Meditating in this gravity simulation environment did produce certain positive effects.
However, this type of cultivation was extremely demanding on one's natural talent and mental fortitude. Under heavy pressure, it was difficult for many people to even maintain focus and concentration. Only those with exceptionally firm willpower could continue such training.
Nevertheless, although adapting to the gravity simulation environment was somewhat difficult at first, as time progressed, it did produce measurable effects on cultivation progress.
Especially from another perspective, all three spirit rings Yang Xiong had absorbed were power-type spirit rings, which were also very well-suited for cultivation in this gravity simulation environment.
Time passed quickly, and soon an entire year had elapsed. During this year, Yang Xiong cultivated with dedicated diligence. When he fully adapted to the gravity ecological environment, he even brought Oscar, Ning Rongrong, and Qin Shuang to cultivate alongside him. The three of them were initially unaccustomed to the harsh conditions, but as time progressed, the effects became increasingly obvious, and their cultivation speed also improved.
Among these three companions, the first to adapt was Qin Shuang. Her martial soul was the Great Strength Vajra Bear, and she also followed a pure power-based cultivation route. In terms of physical quality, she was even stronger than both Ning Rongrong and Oscar, despite being a full major realm lower than both of them.
Diverging Paths and Personal Struggles
Compared to the diligent cultivation efforts of these four students, the others lived relatively more chaotic lives, or perhaps had more complicated personal matters to handle.
Liu Erlong persistently pursued Yu Xiaogang, even suggesting that Yu Xiaogang and Flender take the Shrek students to Lanba Academy, where she was even willing to change the institution's name to Shrek Academy.
However, Flender now found himself in a terrible dilemma. Prince Xue Qinghe and the three great education committee members all attached tremendous importance to the Shrek group, providing various resources completely free of charge. Xue Qinghe had even personally visited them multiple times. If they attempted to leave at this time, they would likely face various forms of targeting and retaliation from the Heaven Dou imperial family, especially since the three education committee members were all experts at the Spirit Douluo level. Flender and his colleagues couldn't simply come and go as they pleased.
Especially considering the extremely favorable environment at Heaven Dou Royal Academy, it was unlikely that either students or teachers would be willing to return to the conditions of ordinary educational institutions.
Many teachers, led by Zhao Wuji, had become somewhat reluctant to leave their current situation. With three thousand gold spirit coins per month, Heaven Dou Royal Academy even provided them with cultivation resources and various preferential treatments from the empire. This was completely incomparable to their former circumstances in Soto City. Everyone was living extremely comfortably.
In contrast, Lanba Academy was far inferior in every measurable aspect. Among the many advanced spirit master academies, Lanba Academy was one of the rare institutions that accepted commoner spirit masters. Its finances were not particularly robust, and even its various conditions were far inferior to Heaven Dou Royal Academy.
Flender and his colleagues hesitated repeatedly before finally deciding to remain at Heaven Dou Royal Academy. If they stubbornly insisted on relocating to Lanba Academy, the academy's teachers and students would likely disperse immediately.
One must understand that given Lanba Academy's situation, there wasn't even a single Spirit Sage within the entire institution except for Dean Liu Erlong herself, mainly because Spirit Sages were too valuable, and they simply couldn't afford to employ them.
Individual Progress and Relationships
Zhao Wuji had actually increased by one level after arriving at Heaven Dou Royal Academy, now reaching level seventy-seven. This straightforward man was simple-minded, honest, and direct, never overthinking situations. Besides training students, he focused entirely on his own cultivation, living an excellent life.
However, there was also an interesting development in this regard. Since Qin Shuang's enrollment, perhaps due to their martial souls being similar, the two had developed a very positive relationship. Zhao Wuji enjoyed providing Qin Shuang with individual training whenever he had free time, and Qin Shuang demonstrated exceptional determination. Their relationship was actually much stronger than with other students. It seemed Zhao Wuji was even training Qin Shuang as a half-disciple.
In contrast, Yu Xiaogang and Xiao Wu helped Tang San resist most outside temptations. Whether these involved recruitment attempts by nobles or the romantic advances of various beautiful girls, both were firmly rejected by the protective pair.
However, Tang San's schedule remained quite busy. Besides cultivation, he also had to spend time with Xiao Wu, and in his spare time, he had to craft and assemble hidden weapons. His life was becoming rather demanding.
Ma Hongjun found Heaven Dou Royal Academy to be like paradise and quickly acquired a girlfriend—a very beautiful noblewoman. Even though Flender was his teacher, he couldn't prevent such romantic developments.
Dai Mubai had returned to his former playboy tendencies. He and Zhu Zhuqing maintained a distant relationship; they seemed to be together but had developed many more barriers between them. At least he didn't possess Tang San's mindset of resisting all temptations. However, regarding cultivation, he remained diligent, and his soul power was always far ahead of everyone else's, considering he was a full three years older than Yang Xiong and his contemporaries.
Zhu Zhuqing continued training diligently, even more intensively than before arriving at Heaven Dou Royal Academy. Her cultivation speed among the group was respectable, but her natural talent was ultimately limited.
Compared to the relative innocence of these students, the teachers faced completely different circumstances.
Flender constantly experienced various states of internal conflict and excitement. On one hand, he worried about Ma Hongjun's romantic situation, while on the other hand, he felt thrilled about the remarkable growth of all his students.
Liu Erlong relentlessly pursued Yu Xiaogang, often making him extremely uncomfortable and causing him to lose some of his former authority and prestige. It was clear that Yu Xiaogang was suffering internally from this attention.
The situation was further complicated by the fact that Yu Xiaogang and Liu Erlong were both former lovers and blood-related cousins. This complex relationship was indeed a tremendous headache for everyone involved.
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