At the same time, in Heaven Dou City, at Lanba Academy—
"Have you found Yun Yibai and Dugu Yan yet?" the Director of Education at Lanba Academy asked one of the teachers below.
"They both have special statuses, so they've always had considerable autonomy. Honestly, we haven't been monitoring them much at all," the teacher replied helplessly.
"What about Oscar? He's always been the one who interacts with Yun Yibai and Dugu Yan the most. Doesn't he know where they went?"
"Oscar is still at the academy, but lately he's been coming and going at odd hours. We don't know what he's been up to." The teacher hadn't thought to go through Oscar to track the others.
"The All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament is just around the corner. We need to start gathering the most talented students and let them train and build rapport while there's still time."
The Director said firmly, "This time, we'll have Yun Yibai, Dugu Yan, Oscar, Tai Long, Huang Yuan, Jing Ling, and Jiang Zhu represent Lanba Academy in the tournament!"
"With those seven, maybe this year we can place even higher," another teacher commented optimistically. But what they didn't realize was that this team lineup was completely wishful thinking—they had no idea that Yun Yibai was already preparing to leave the academy.
After all, Lanba Academy had always just been a stepping stone for Yun Yibai—a temporary training base during his stay in Heaven Dou City.
More importantly, the academy's headmaster, Liu Erlong, was his elder—and also, unfortunately, an emotionally driven person. He couldn't afford to offend her. If he stayed in this academy, he might get the scraps, but never the main course.
And Yun Yibai wasn't one to settle for scraps—he wanted all three main courses. No matter what others said about him or how they judged him, he simply didn't care. Just like when he was criticized by the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan for his soul ring choices—he never cared for their approval.
That evening, one of the academy's teachers managed to intercept Oscar.
"Oscar!" a teacher called out as he spotted him near the academy gate.
"Huh? Teacher Ling Ming, what can I help you with?"
"Oscar, you've been closest to Yun Yibai and Dugu Yan. Do you know where they've gone?"
"The boss and the 'big sis'?" Oscar tensed reflexively. These people never cared about them before, so asking now meant something was off.
"I haven't heard from either of them in a while. I don't know what they're up to," he replied nonchalantly.
Just like Yun Yibai, Oscar's attitude toward Lanba Academy had cooled ever since he learned about the creation of Wujie Academy. Truth be told, he never had strong feelings for the academy anyway. That didn't make him disloyal—it was just the reality.
He paid his tuition, and in return, the school gave him standard instruction. No special resources. No targeted cultivation.
It was Yun Yibai who brought him to Lanba Academy. And it was Yun Yibai who helped him grow. Wherever Yun Yibai went, Oscar would follow.
"I see… Well, Oscar, if you hear anything from them, let your teacher know."
"Sure, no problem!" Oscar agreed readily—but whether he'd do it was another matter.
Sure enough, not long after that conversation, three withdrawal forms were delivered to the Director of Education's desk.
They weren't exactly "applications"—more like announcements. The message was clear: whether the school approved or not, they were leaving. Refuse, and Poison Douluo Dugu Bo will personally visit you.
It wasn't the most elegant tactic, but it got the job done.
Not long after Oscar handed those forms to someone to deliver on his behalf and left for Wujie City with Yang Tai and Niu Tian, the Shrek Academy group also arrived in Heaven Dou City.
After their team match against the Heaven Dou Team, Shrek had trained for another half year. In the end, they had no choice but to apply for enrollment at Heaven Dou Imperial Advanced Soul Master Academy.
This time, although Shrek once again provoked the Fourth Prince, Xue Beng, the situation had changed. Dugu Yan and Dugu Bo were no longer interfering.
Even though Prince Xue Xing, acting for Xue Beng, tried to block Shrek's enrollment again, Dugu Bo wasn't around this time.
But despite Prince Xue Xing's interference, the academy's three Soul Douluo deans personally intervened and accepted the Shrek group.
That said, even though Shrek had officially enrolled at the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy, things weren't all smooth sailing.
Shrek was, after all, a grassroots academy now entering a royal noble institution. The status gap was clear. Someone like Dai Mubai may have noble bearing, but Shrek's "commoner" label stuck to them all the same.
Meanwhile, in the southern Sunset Forest, within Wujie City, at Wujie Academy—
With only six months left until the tournament, Feng Xiaotian arrived from Godwind Academy.
For the first time, the Wujie Academy tournament team was finally complete.
"When was this city built?"
Feng Xiaotian looked at the city before him, baffled, then turned to Yun Yibai and asked.
"This is our academy—Wujie Academy," Yun Yibai replied.
"Wujie Academy? Never heard of it. Weren't you at Lanba Academy before?"
"Lanba Academy is a thing of the past. Wujie Academy is newly founded by three of the Four Great Single-Attribute Clans—the Break, Control, and Speed Clans—alongside Senior Dugu. This city itself is Wujie Academy."
Standing beside Feng Xiaotian was a middle-aged man with the same puzzled expression.
This was his father—Feng Kai, Director of Godwind Academy, a 72nd-rank Agility Attack-Type Soul Sage, with the Martial Soul Gale Demon Wolf.
He had personally accompanied his son on this trip, curious about this mysterious new school that his son had insisted on transferring to.
Though he already knew some of the backing forces behind the academy, he was still stunned to discover that this entire city was the academy.
"An entire city as an academy? That's quite the display of power," Feng Kai said, squinting as he assessed it.
Yun Yibai smiled and said, "Uncle Feng, I assume you've heard of the Yu Clan, one of the Four Great Clans?"
"Ah, so that's it!" Feng Kai understood instantly.
He had indeed heard of the Yu Clan's reputation.
At first, he thought Feng Xiaotian's decision to follow Yun Yibai was just because of Poison Douluo Dugu Bo's backing.
Now it was clear—Yun Yibai had much more behind him.
But thinking back to Yun Yibai's strength and talent, Feng Kai realized... it wasn't all that surprising. Someone like him could rally powerful forces.