The War God Hall wasn't clean either. A God-Slaying Soul Cannon had been stolen, no one would believe that at least a few high-ranking officials inside the War God Hall weren't secretly connected to the Holy Spirit Cult.
The Tang Sect was even less suitable. It was an organization that allowed entry but rarely exit, just that alone was enough for Su Qiu to rule it out.
As for Shrek Academy, its battle armor technology was excellent, and it gathered countless prodigies.
Su Qiu planned to study there for a time, and perhaps see if he could recruit a few talented individuals along the way.
However, he had no intention of climbing the ranks within Shrek itself. There was no point.
The current Shrek Academy had grown far too bloated. Even if he somehow rose to the position of Sea God Pavilion Master, endless political entanglements would only slow him down.
Thinking about it irritated him.
Shrek Academy, the Tang Sect, the War God Hall, and the Spirit Pagoda, the four greatest powers in the Federation, and not a single one of them was truly clean.
This damned Douluo Continent.
"So how long do we still have to wait?" Mu Xi asked expectantly. She would soon be heading to Shrek Academy herself and secretly hoped they could go together.
"Three years," Su Qiu replied after some thought. In three years, he would be twelve, the typical age when most talented youths entered Shrek.
Another three years of cultivation would also give him enough confidence to dominate the competition and perhaps recruit a few promising talents to work under him in the future, helping him hunt down evil soul masters.
"Three years…" Mu Xi sighed. She couldn't wait that long; it seemed she would have to go ahead on her own.
"Then I'll wait for you at Shrek Academy."
"Hopefully," Su Qiu waved dismissively and turned to leave. "That's it for today's forging session. Next up, I need to go receive my daily beating from the old man."
Su Wuyan's method of teaching the Falling Star Flash technique was simple and brutal: fight.
In his view, once the fundamentals were mastered, controlled combat practice would bring faster improvement than anything else.
The old man was a pure brawler.
Unfortunately, Su Qiu couldn't even argue with that logic. With his instinctive perception, real combat truly was the fastest way for him to improve.
Thanks to that instinct, even when he didn't fully understand what he was doing, his body would still make the most correct decision in battle.
And after establishing a solid foundation, consciously applying Falling Star Flash only enhanced the effect.
At present, Su Qiu's mastery of the technique was nearly perfect. Perhaps his theoretical understanding didn't match Su Wuyan's, the original creator, but in actual combat, Su Qiu executed it even more seamlessly.
That was how unreasonable instinct was:
Even if I don't fully understand it, I can still do it perfectly.
Still, even though Su Qiu's execution surpassed Su Wuyan's, he couldn't defeat him when both suppressed their soul power to the same level.
After all, the core concept of the technique was overwhelming the weaker with strength. With a Super Douluo's raw stats as a foundation, Su Wuyan could still crush him, even when lowering his power to ten levels below Su Qiu's.
That was why Su Qiu kept getting beaten during training.
And the old man still thought he was showing off his brilliant technique.
"I feel like you're already extremely strong. Do you really need to train this hard?" Mu Xi had once watched Su Qiu spar with his uncle; even as an outsider, she could see how formidable he was.
His movements flowed like water, natural, seamless, and carrying a distinct rhythm of their own.
"That used to be the case," Su Qiu said seriously.
"But now… instead of teaching me, it's more like we're exchanging insights."
"Exchanging insights?" Mu Xi didn't quite understand.
"Something like that." Su Qiu didn't elaborate.
In reality, he and Su Wuyan were now working together to refine the Falling Star Flash technique. Su Qiu could execute it perfectly, but many of the adaptive movements he used were things he understood only intuitively, not theoretically.
Su Wuyan, as the creator, possessed the deeper understanding and could incorporate those movements into the formal structure of the technique. Su Qiu would then study the underlying principles and, guided by instinct, perform them even more flawlessly.
Thus the cycle continued, each complementing the other.
Seeing that he didn't want to explain further, Mu Xi stopped asking. Her eyes flickered slightly as she suggested, "Then let's eat together first. My treat. No matter how important cultivation is, you still have to eat."
"Sure."
A free meal was a free meal.
After eating together, the two parted ways. Mu Xi returned to forging practice, over the past few years, the pressure Su Qiu placed on her in forging had been immense.
Su Qiu, meanwhile, went to find Su Wuyan for training.
When he was too exhausted to move, he would return to his room and meditate.
.....
A few days later,
Eastsea Academy.
The school Su Qiu previously attended, though called Eastsea Junior Academy, had no relation to Eastsea Academy itself.
The academy was surrounded by towering walls, and its grand entrance was constructed from massive stone blocks, imposing and magnificent.
It was a large institution that housed both intermediate and advanced divisions.
The intermediate division, part of compulsory education and tuition-free, occupied two-thirds of the entire campus. The remaining third was the advanced division, the true core of Eastsea Academy.
Students entering the intermediate division required only a recommendation letter from a junior academy and would study there for six years. Compared to junior academies, the focus here was far more practical, training in the application of martial souls.
Walking inside, one would find bluestone pathways shaded by lush trees, creating a refreshing and pleasant environment.
Since Su Qiu had already visited the campus beforehand, he needed no guidance from senior students and easily made his way to the academic affairs office to register.
He received two sets of uniforms and a dormitory key; textbooks would be distributed once classes began.
He was assigned to Class One, Grade One.
This was expected. Students were placed into classes according to talent ranking, and Su Qiu's talent placed him far ahead of the rest, even within Class One.
Truthfully, he would have preferred Class Five. For him, any class was the same, but Class Five contained Tang Wulin, which made it slightly more interesting.
He simply wanted to see the protagonist of Legend of the Dragon King with his own eyes and satisfy a long-held curiosity.
Back when he read the novel in his previous life, Su Qiu had quite liked Tang Wulin at the beginning. But as the story progressed, the character became increasingly frustrating, yet having already spent the money, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and finish reading.
Passing the teaching building, he reached the dormitory complex behind it, also twelve stories tall.
His dormitory was on the third floor, Room 306.
The entire building was noisy; many new students and their parents were moving in, and the corridors still carried the scent of dust.
Freshmen chatted excitedly, full of anticipation for the future, while parents repeatedly reminded their children to take care of themselves and contact home if anything happened.
The chaotic scene might have been uncomfortable for some.
But Su Qiu found it rather pleasant. He liked liveliness, he liked the warmth of everyday life.
Entering his dorm room, he saw two bunk beds, two desks, and four chairs. It was clearly a four-person dormitory.
He seemed to be the first to arrive. Setting down his luggage, he began tidying up.
Suddenly, an angry shout echoed from downstairs.
"What are you doing?!"
Moments later came the sounds of shouting, and fighting.
A fight on the very first day of registration?
Su Qiu paused, a thought flashing through his mind.
Bullying?
People who didn't even know each other fighting right after moving into the dorms, what else could it be?
Without hesitation, he moved.
Su Qiu hated bullying more than anything.
Who was he?
He was the future nemesis of evil soul masters!
Since he had come across it, there was no way he could just ignore it.