– Although the war eventually ended in victory, the Tang Sect’s hidden weapons were greatly affected. From then on, various nations, suspicious of their effectiveness, began to reduce the number of hidden weapons they ordered from the Tang Sect. While our Tang Sect earned a considerable amount of money, we always adhered to the principles of the first Sect Master, donating most of our income to charity, either to help the poor improve their lives or to build schools and public infrastructure. Therefore, not much was left.
– At that time, the Tang Sect still had several thousand members. The Tang Sect was incredibly prosperous, yet its decline was astonishingly swift. In just two hundred years, the Tang Sect had completely collapsed. Once the foremost sect on the continent, and now… its former glory has vanished… By my generation, there were only three of us left: my father, my mother, and I. However, during a soul beast hunt, my father and mother also left me. The Tang Sect was left with only me.
As she spoke, Tang Ya’s eyes welled up with tears, her hands clenched tightly, and her whole body trembled.
Huo Yuhao murmured:
– Teacher Xiaoya, are our Tang Sect’s hidden weapons truly inferior to these Soul Tools?
Tang Ya sighed, saying:
– You could say that. On the Sun Moon Continent, there are not only Soul Tools, but also a large number of rare mineral deposits. These minerals all possess the special ability to conduct soul power, making them unique materials for crafting Soul Tools. That’s why, in recent years, Soul Tools have flourished, further limiting the market for our Tang Sect’s hidden weapons. However, in terms of intricacy and ingenious design, we are absolutely far superior to them. Especially our top-tier hidden weapons, it’s just that they are extremely difficult to craft.
Bei Bei gently patted Tang Ya’s head, saying:
– The development of Soul Tools has indeed greatly impacted the Tang Sect. When I first met Xiaoya, she insisted that the Tang Sect’s hidden weapons were more powerful than Soul Tools. But the truth has proven that for Soul Tools to be able to replace hidden weapons, they must have their own unique advantages. Firstly, they are easy to use. Secondly, they are especially suitable for Tool Soul Masters, because they lack combat ability. Thanks to Soul Tools, they can immediately become Battle Soul Masters; all they need is soul power. Therefore, Tang Ya and I have discussed and decided that the Tang Sect’s path of development can no longer be as conservative as before; we must change ourselves. To restore the Tang Sect’s glory, we must understand Soul Tools even better, and especially find a way to integrate the Tang Sect’s hidden weapons with Soul Tools. Why? Because the product after integration will truly be the most powerful Soul Tool. Only then will our Tang Sect have a chance to rise again. Therefore, as long as one is a disciple of the Tang Sect, in addition to cultivating soul power, they must also cultivate Soul Tools.
Huo Yuhao said:
– Teacher Xiaoya, Senior Brother. If Soul Tools are so powerful, how did the Sun Moon Empire lose to our Three Nations Alliance before?
Bei Bei chuckled faintly, saying:
– Because even though Soul Tools are very powerful, they are still not strong enough to compare with the combat power of a Titled Douluo. However, after a thousand years of evolution, several exceptionally powerful Soul Tools have emerged, some even capable of threatening Titled Douluo. But they also have a drawback: the stronger a Soul Tool is, the more powerful the wielder needs to be. Without enough soul power, its full potential cannot be unleashed. Therefore, after the two continents merged, an interesting phenomenon occurred: our side began to learn the methods of crafting Soul Tools, while the Sun Moon Empire continuously cultivated powerful Soul Masters. For several millennia, a certain balance seemed to have been struck.
After Beibei and Tang Ya briefly introduced some matters, Huo Yuhao vaguely understood the situation at Shrek Academy.
Tang Ya pulled Beibei's sleeve to wipe her tears, then turned to Huo Yuhao and said:
– Little Huo, for you, the most important thing is to be able to stay in the academy. Beibei and I are already third-year students. This time I've obtained a Millennium Soul Ring, so it won't be a problem for the two of us to advance to the fourth year. Once we enter the fourth year, the elimination rate won't be high anymore. In a few more years, we'll all have a chance to enter the inner court to study. But you won't. Now that you're entering the academy, things will be different for you than for us. The first year always has the highest elimination rate. The academy conducts an assessment every three months. Only those who pass can stay. Although our Tang Sect allows you to bypass the entrance interview, whether you can stay or not depends on your own abilities. No one can help you with that, understand?
Huo Yuhao nodded and said:
– Teacher Tang Ya, I will definitely do my best. But with your strength, you two still haven't been able to become inner court disciples?
Tang Ya said:
– Entering the inner court isn't that easy. Shrek Academy's teachings have never changed. The outer court was built later, at the request of the Three Great Empires, with the sole purpose of training more new Soul Masters. However, the inner court is different; these are the true disciples of Shrek Academy. Every single one of them is a genius, even to the point of being called a monster. Outer court disciples who persevere until their sixth year will take a graduation exam. Passing it means they graduate. Among them, only the most outstanding have the chance to undergo an assessment to become inner court disciples. Studying in the inner court also requires another six years… It's said that those who graduate from the inner court are at least Soul Emperor-level powerhouses!
– That powerful!
Hearing this, Huo Yuhao was completely captivated. He imagined a day when he would become an inner court disciple of Shrek Academy, then return to the Duke's mansion to retrieve his mother's remains. His mother would surely be very content. Thinking this, his fists clenched even tighter.
Beibei said seriously:
– It's even more than that. I once met an inner court senior disciple. That senior disciple ventured alone into the Star Dou Great Forest, defeated three Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts – merely defeated them, not killed them – and then brought all three back to the academy. I heard that was a tenth-year assessment mission.
Tang Ya said:
– I've also heard that there was a twelfth-year senior who, after graduating, had a cultivation level of Rank 70 Soul Sage, and even possessed a pink Ten-Year Soul Ring. That senior has now been retained by the academy and is being groomed to become the successor dean.
Listening to the two of them tell their stories, Huo Yuhao felt an even greater surge of eagerness. Having spent the past few days with Beibei and Tang Ya, he had truly come to understand the immense benefits of having a master for cultivation. Shrek Academy was undoubtedly the best choice! He secretly swore that no matter the cost, he would strive to remain at the academy, and later seize the opportunity to become an inner court disciple.