The moment Gu Yue spoke, the whole car fell into silence.
"Can you please just focus on driving?"
If he lost focus for even a second, the speed they were going could send them flying into a ditch, and by the time they tried to brake, it'd be too late.
"I'll drive properly if you all talk properly."
Ye Xinglan hesitated slightly. "My wish is to stay at the Academy. Just stay there forever, and not go anywhere else. From the outer courtyard to the inner courtyard, I know I'll return to the inner courtyard eventually. My goal is to cultivate hard and become a powerful Battle Armor Master to protect the Academy."
Gu Yue looked surprised. "That's it? Just like that?"
"It's not a contradiction," she replied calmly. "The Academy is the purest place. When I was a child and first awakened my martial soul, the elders at home told me I was the future hope of the clan. They told me to cultivate hard, become strong, and bring glory to the family. But I wasn't interested in any of that. Even though I later came to understand what it meant and what was expected of me, I've always just liked sword practice. I hate all the scheming and infighting that comes with family power struggles. When I entered Shrek Academy, I finally experienced what I truly wanted. I like everything there—peaceful, calm, yet full of a special energy. I'm willing to stay there forever. I love the quiet, and my family can't do anything about it."
At first, Gu Yue felt like the influence of Shrek Academy was still as powerful as ever. If Ye Xinglan hadn't added those personal reasons at the end, he might have misunderstood her motivations.
On the side, Xie Xie, who was teaching Gu Yue to drive, couldn't help interjecting, "So to put it plainly, you just want to be a quiet and pretty girl?"
Ye Xinglan huffed coldly. "What do you know?"
"Do you have any aspirations?" Gu Yue glanced back at Xu Xiaoyan.
"Me? Not really. I just want to grow up, find someone I like, and marry him. Stay home, raise kids—that's it. Honestly, I feel the same as Sister Xinglan. I don't want to bear the burden of family responsibilities. I just want to live my life lazily like a little princess. If only my martial soul weren't Starlight—it'd be perfect."
"No ambition at all!" Xie Xie said with contempt. "Now me, my goals are lofty. I want to become one of this generation's Shrek Seven Devils. Every fifty years, the Seven Devils are selected anew. When a new generation takes the title, the previous one steps down. I checked—four years from now, it'll be time for a new selection. All inner court disciples under the age of twenty-five can participate. When the time comes, I'll definitely get selected."
"I want that too," Ye Xinglan said with determination, her eyes glowing with starlight.
Gu Yue, still focused on the road, gave a strange look.
Shrek Seven Devils—those five words carried more weight than most could imagine. Each generation of the Seven Devils was considered the backbone of Shrek Academy and even the soul master world.
The first generation, led by Tang San, the founder of Tang Sect, had rewritten the very structure of the continent. Another renowned generation included the Spirit Ice Douluo Huo Yuhao and his team, who had shocked the world in their time. Huo Yuhao himself even created the Spirit Pagoda.
The title "Shrek Seven Devils" was a tremendous honor in the world of soul masters. Only the elite of the younger generation at the Academy were eligible—and timing was everything. If your age just happened to miss the selection window, you'd be disqualified no matter how talented you were.
"What's the point if you can't achieve it?" Xu Xiaoyan said lazily.
Xie Xie yelled, "How do you know I can't? I'll work hard to make it happen!"
Gu Yue nodded slightly, agreeing with Xie Xie's attitude. Who could say whether an ordinary boy today might not become a legend tomorrow?
…
The group chatted for a long time, and everyone had their own take on things, easing the weight in their hearts.
Their journey progressed smoothly. The drive from Heaven Dou City to the next city would have taken about two hours by soul train, but Gu Yue's aggressive driving had them arriving in just over an hour.
Tianling City.
Tianling was a mid-sized city. Among the ten cities they needed to visit, all were mid-level or higher. The reason was simple—smaller cities had too few soul masters, making it harder to find opponents stronger than themselves in a short time.
They found a hotel, checked in, and rested. Tomorrow, they'd begin looking for someone to fight.
Early the next morning, a worn-out soul car quietly pulled up outside the Tianling City Spirit Pagoda.
That's right, they were going back to their usual tactic. Only this time, it was Gu Yue who was fretting. In a secondary city, finding a Soul Saint-level opponent was like searching for a needle in a haystack.
Tianling wasn't big, which made searching the entire city more manageable.
By 7 or 8 a.m., the Spirit Pagoda began to stir. Its gates opened, and soul masters began to arrive.
Gu Yue was constantly observing, looking for signs of a Soul Saint. If he couldn't find one, he figured he could just tell the school that he tried but no one was available.
As expected, it was nearly impossible to find a Soul Saint-level administrative officer in a secondary city. Being a Soul Saint meant that, with a two-word battle armor, you'd be comparable to an average Titled Douluo. People of that level were always recruited by the Federation or powerful factions—they wouldn't just be wandering around as independents unless they were lunatics who turned down better offers for no reason.
They gave up and sped toward the next city.
Luckily, Gu Yue's teammates hadn't completed their tasks either.
One of them had fought a soul king with one-word armor, which met the test criteria.
As they bounced from city to city, Gu Yue remained stuck at one win.
He grew more and more frustrated. He didn't fear being expelled, but the whole process was starting to eat away at him.
"Uh-oh!" Xie Xie suddenly exclaimed in panic.
Everyone looked through the car windshield and froze.
In front of them, over twenty mechas were lined up across the highway. Five of them were purple; the rest were yellow. They completely blocked the road.
No other vehicles had been stopped yet—it was clear they'd only just arrived. Judging by the insignias on their chests, they were all from the Spirit Pagoda.
After completing five of their test battles, the Spirit Pagoda had finally caught up to them.
"What do we do?" Xie Xie nearly cried.
"What else? Run!" Gu Yue shouted, stomping on the accelerator and veering toward the highway divider.
"Ahhh!"
The whole car erupted into a chorus of screams.
"Don't be afraid."
(End of Chapter)
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