Chapter 85: Shrek Academy Encouraging Self-Devotion and Sacrifice

Sun-Moon Empire, Sun-Moon Royal Soul Instructor Academy, underground conference room.

This place is completely closed, the ceiling is made of steel mesh, various tools and equipment are hung on the walls, and a thick layer of cement is laid on the ground. There is a round table in the middle of the secret room, with some documents and drawings scattered on the table.

The lights on the wall were dim. Under the dim light, Jing Hongchen and an old man were sitting at a round table, seemingly discussing something.

"Hmph, if he really is a spy sent by Douluo Three Kingdoms or Shrek Academy, I would be more than happy to have him." Jing Hongchen snorted coldly at first, and then a malicious smile appeared on his face.

Hearing this, the old man frowned slightly and murmured, "Are you talking about sowing discord?"

Jing Hongchen's smile grew brighter, he nodded, and said in a deep voice: "That's right. If this Yan Xiao is really a spy sent by the enemy country, we can use him to deal with the enemy later."

The old man smiled slightly. He admired Jing Hongchen's calculations, but then he changed the subject and said, "Master Hongchen, don't forget that this kid's martial soul is the Spirit Eye. The Body Sect has mastered the secret method of the second awakening of the body martial soul. Once they discover the existence of the Rock Owl..."

"It's okay." Jing Hongchen waved his hand, not afraid at all, and said seriously: "The Body Sect is currently in seclusion, and its main activity area is not in our Sun Moon Empire. They should not notice the Rock Owl for the time being. Even if they notice it, what's the use? Do they dare to come to my Mingde Hall directly to snatch people?"

"Even if they come to snatch him away, Yan Xiao has to be willing to go with them. My granddaughter seems to like that boy very much. If possible, I can match them up in the future. In this way, Yan Xiao and Mingde Hall can be firmly bound together."

"As for the second awakening of the body's martial soul, as far as I know, there are ways other than the secret awakening. Some owners of the body's martial soul can trigger the second awakening of the body's martial soul during the process of perception and breakthrough. Some other natural treasures also have a chance to trigger the second awakening of the body's martial soul. We have several natural treasure-level medicines for the brain in our Mingde Hall's inventory, which may be used on him when the time comes."

"It seems that you really intend to spare no effort to cultivate the Rock Owl. You even thought of using natural treasures, especially special ones targeting the brain. If you find someone to refine those things into pills, they will definitely have the miraculous effect of nourishing and improving mental strength. Who knows, you may be able to create a ninth-level soul mentor in the future." The old man said thoughtfully.

"Pills?" Speaking of pills, Jing Hongchen was stunned for a moment. He seemed to remember something, and a gleam of light flashed across his eyes. He thought to himself: "I wonder if this kid can refine other pills besides detoxification pills..."

.........

At the same time, in Mingdetang Soul Guidance Laboratory.

The first time Xiao Yan followed Xuan Ziwen to learn about soul guides, he felt his obsession and enthusiasm for the research of soul guides.

When communicating with others, Xuan Ziwen was often serious and even cold, but when it came to topics related to soul guides, he would talk endlessly and enthusiastically, as if he had countless knowledge and ideas in his mind to preach.

Considering that Xiao Yan knew almost nothing about soul guides, Xuan Ziwen started by talking about the various basic concepts of soul guides, which were mixed with Xuan Ziwen's own unique ideas from time to time. In addition to these basic theoretical knowledge, Xuan Ziwen also gave a detailed introduction to the basic ability of soul guides he mentioned earlier - forging.

He also taught Xiao Yan personally, demonstrating the entire process of refining a large piece of pig iron into fine iron whose volume was less than one tenth of the original.

In order to observe Xuan Ziwen's actual forging movements more closely, Xiao Yan also used his mental detection skills, and through mental sharing, let Xuan Ziwen feel the effect of mental detection, which surprised him for a while, and he kept praising Xiao Yan's amazing potential as a soul engineer.

"Very good. I didn't expect that your spiritual detection could last for such a long time. This will be of great help to you in learning the various practical operations in the process of soul guide production. In the future, as long as it does not involve the production of some major secret soul guides, I will allow you to observe." Xuan Ziwen's voice was not as cold as before, and it was filled with various expectations for Xiao Yan.

"Yeah." Xiao Yan nodded slightly. After observing for a while, he finally expressed his doubts and said, "Teacher Xuan, what is the working principle of soul guides? Why can they convert soul power into energy?"

"The principle of soul guides is very simple. It is to transform soul power into destructive energy through some special techniques and methods. The most commonly used of these methods is compression, and the way to achieve these methods is to engrave the core magic array." As he spoke, Xuan Ziwen picked up a fixed soul guide from the table and disassembled it.

"The main body of a soul guide is generally divided into three parts: the outer shell, the inner shell, and the core. The outer shell is what you see. The outer shell must be made of the hardest and most high-temperature resistant metal so that it will not be easily damaged during long-term use."

"But the inner shell is different. The biggest feature of the inner shell is that it amplifies and conducts soul power. Therefore, the inner shell needs to be made of very precious conductive metals, such as crystal silver. By amplifying the soul power through the inner shell, we can consume as little soul power as possible when using soul guides. Therefore, our soul guides below level seven have stronger sustained combat capabilities than soul masters."

"The core array is the key to a soul guide. It requires the most precious metals and gems to make. The core array determines the function, purpose, power, and appearance of a soul guide. When rating a soul guide, the most important thing is to engrave the core array. The level of core arrays engraved is the level of soul guide. With the core array, the corresponding inner shell and outer shell are matched."

After saying that, Xuan Ziwen took out the core array of the fixed soul guide in his hand, and then handed it to Xiao Yan. It was a thing only the size of a thumb, with strange patterns carved on the surface, which was particularly eye-catching.

"This thing looks like... a chip." After taking the core array, Xiao Yan's eyes narrowed slightly, and he suddenly remembered something he had come into contact with before, and said to himself.

"What chip?" Hearing this, Xuan Ziwen was confused and asked doubtfully.

Xiao Yan touched his nose awkwardly. He was too lazy to explain. He smiled a little embarrassedly and said, "I just said it casually. You continue... you continue."

Xuan Ziwen didn't think much about it and continued, "There is no shortcut to engraving the core array. The first thing is to remember the arrays left by the predecessors with great effort, and then keep engraving and trying. However, the most feared thing for an excellent soul guide is to have no ideas and creativity."

"If you only engrave the core array left by the predecessors, you will definitely be standing still and will not be able to create a new soul guide. Therefore, when you engrave the core array in the future, you must have your own ideas. What kind of soul guide you want to create, then engrave the array according to what you think in your head."

"Of course, failure is inevitable. I will teach you how to engrave the core array later. Remember what I said just now. When engraving the array, you must learn to add your own ideas. Do you understand?"

"Your own thoughts?" Hearing this, Xiao Yan rubbed his chin with his palm and nodded slightly. A light flashed in his eyes. He seemed to remember something and muttered to himself: "In other words, this core array is indeed a bit like the role of a chip. The function, power, purpose and appearance of the soul guide all depend on it. If this is the case, then can't I make airplanes, tanks, cannons, missiles...all these things?"

"But the prerequisite is that I have to inject all these ideas into the core magic circle, then engrave it, and finally assemble the inner and outer shells."

Xiao Yan's idea is not completely unreasonable. In the original novel, when Douluo Continent was in the fourth chapter, the soul masters on Douluo Continent had even built spaceships that could leave the galaxy. With the arrival of Xiao Yan, all this is likely to be advanced.

…………

At the same time, Shrek City.

In the early morning, a group of people walked out slowly from the main gate of Shrek Academy which was covered with morning mist. Judging from their age, they should be students of Shrek Academy, but they were not wearing school uniforms at this time. Some were wearing cloth clothes, some were wearing fancy clothes, each one looked different.

It was Wang Dong, Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, Jiang Nannan and other seven people who stood out from the melee. They finally seized the opportunity to travel with Jiang Nannan. Xu Sanshi followed her stubbornly and never left her side.

"Can you please get away from me?" Suddenly, Jiang Nannan turned her head to look at Xu Sanshi and shouted coldly.

Hearing this, Xu Sanshi's face suddenly fell, and he said with a look of grievance: "Nannan, how can I make you understand my heart? I am sincere to you." Jiang Nannan glared at Xu Sanshi fiercely, and a hint of anger flushed on her beautiful face, and said: "Can you stop pestering me? I won't be with someone like you. Besides, my name is Jiang Nannan, please call me by my last name, understand?"

After saying that, Jiang Nannan quickened her pace and walked forward, widening the distance between herself and Xu Sanshi.

"Nannan, don't be like this. I'm not what you think." Seeing this, Xu Sanshi quickened his pace and chased after her.

Hearing this, Jiang Nannan quickened his pace again, snorted coldly, and muttered in a low voice: "Not that kind of person? You are just a pervert!"

"That's really not the case! That time I..." Xu Sanshi had good hearing and immediately retorted.

"You...you still dare to mention that matter?" Jiang Nannan turned her head suddenly, and her eyes were like knives, which frightened Xu Sanshi so much that he shut his mouth instantly and stood there not daring to move.

At this moment, Beibei came to Xu Sanshi's side without knowing when, and said with a smile, calmly and earnestly: "Do you need help?"

"Beibei, are you a brother? You are still laughing at this time. When Xiaoya is not here, your true nature is exposed." Xu Sanshi said speechlessly.

Beibei said in surprise, "You are talking to me about brotherhood now? I remember you said you would stick a knife in your brother's ribs, but you would stick a knife in your brother's ribs for a woman."

"Humph." Xu Sanshi snorted coldly, not feeling ashamed at all. He raised his head and said, "A woman can give birth to a child for me, can you? A woman can sleep in the same bed with me, can you?"

"Not in the front, but okay in the back." Beibei said with a warm smile.

Hearing this, Jiang Nannan, who was walking in front, suddenly staggered, then turned around and stared at Beibei and Xu Sanshi fiercely, which made the two of them look serious and they immediately dared not say anything more.

"I really don't know what Dean Yan wants to talk to us about. By the way, why hasn't he come yet?" Wang Dong yawned and said in a low voice.

However, as Wang Dong finished speaking, a white light descended from the sky. It was Yan Shaozhe, the dean of the Martial Spirit Department of Shrek Academy. He said kindly, "Hello, seven little guys."

"Dean Yan." Everyone bowed to Yan Shaozhe as a disciple.

Yan Shaozhe said calmly: "I found you today because I have something to tell you. When you are promoted from the big fight to become a candidate disciple of the inner courtyard, one of your feet has already stepped into the inner courtyard. However, as a disciple of the inner courtyard, the pressure and responsibility you need to bear are often unimaginable. Do you have the confidence to face it?"

"Yes." Upon hearing this, the seven people said in unison without hesitation.

At this point, Yan Shaozhe seemed a little serious, and said solemnly: "The inner courtyard students of Shrek Academy have always been called the supervisors of the continent. They have the responsibility of supervising the soul masters of the continent. They are called the Shrek Supervisory Group. Everything that the Shrek Supervisory Group has to deal with is difficult and very dangerous. You may even be in danger of your life at any time. Do you want to become one of them?"

"Once you become an inner court disciple, you must learn to devote yourself to the academy and make sacrifices for the entire continent. Only in this way can you gain unlimited glory. Now I need you to give me an answer, join or quit?"

The glory of Shrek Academy has never been related to the outer courtyard. Many people were surprised by this. Until today, the seven of them understood that the glory belonged to the inner courtyard because it was dyed with the blood of the inner courtyard disciples. At this moment, a fire was burning in their hearts. As the saying goes, the torch is passed on from generation to generation. They all hope to inherit this glory that belongs only to the inner courtyard.

"Join!" The seven people spoke in unison, as if they had been brainwashed into joining a pyramid scheme.

When people are young, they are often easily instigated and carried away by passion. They want to protect the weak, change the world, and become heroes.

Any organization needs people to sacrifice, because resources are limited. If you don’t sacrifice, how can I get more resources? Anyway, it’s better to die than to die. The so-called glory, dream, passion and dedication are all justified reasons to sacrifice others for oneself.

There is no organization that does not encourage self-sacrifice, but the top management will never explain it. They only promote glory, dreams, selfless dedication and many other empty things. But what's the use of these if people are dead?
Yan Shaozhe smiled happily and said, "I knew there were no cowards in Shrek Academy. I was right. Next, we will arrange for you to carry out a special mission with the inner courtyard disciples."

"What mission?" Wang Dong asked curiously.

Yan Shaozhe waved his hand, signaling Wang Dong not to worry, and continued: "I will tell you about the mission later. I chose the seven of you because there is another thing, that is, the five-year All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Fighting Competition is about to begin. As a reserve team, you will be the substitutes for the regular players. Although the possibility of you playing is very small, only as substitutes, you are eligible to participate in the competition and watch the game. This is an extremely valuable experience for you."

"Now let me tell you about the mission. Our mission this time is to go to the Sun Moon Empire to find the whereabouts of a person, and this person's name is - Xiao Yan!"

"What?" Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, Wang Dong and the others were all surprised when they heard this. All seven of them knew Xiao Yan, and some of them were on good terms with him.

Since Shrek Academy has strictly blocked the news, they don't know that it was Xiao Yan who killed Dai Huabin. They only know that Xiao Yan disappeared mysteriously after Dai Huabin died. Although Zhu Lu also suspected that it was Xiao Yan who killed Dai Huabin, she had no way to do it. After all, Xiao Yan is no longer in Shrek City.

Yan Shaozhe's face became a little solemn, and he slowly said: "You should all know the news of Dai Huabin's death not long ago, right? Various signs show that Xiao Yan is one of the murderers. Not long ago, Elder Xuan went to the border of Xingluo Empire to meet White Tiger Duke Dai Hao, and found a group of evil soul masters on the way. Their leader was Xiao Yan."

"Unfortunately, Xiao Yan escaped with the help of a Titled Douluo. The Three Douluo Kingdoms have always been on good terms with Shrek Academy. I think the only place he fled to was the Sun-Moon Empire. So, this time I plan to send you and the seven students from the Inner Court to the Sun-Moon Empire to look for Xiao Yan's whereabouts. Once you find out, report it immediately."

"One thing you need to remember is that after discovering Xiao Yan's whereabouts, you must not act on your own and must report it to the academy first. For your safety, the academy will also send two Titled Douluo-level elders to accompany you to the Sun-Moon Empire."

Hearing this, Beibei and Xu Sanshi looked at each other, their eyes widened and their mouths slightly opened, as if they wanted to say something but couldn't.

Evil soul master? How could Xiao Yan be an evil soul master?

Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, Wang Dong, and Cai Tou were skeptical about the news, but considering their many years of authority in the academy, it was impossible for them to frame Xiao Yan out of thin air. Besides, Dai Huabin was already dead, so they couldn't say anything more.

"Okay, everything has been explained. This matter is a secret of the academy, and no one is allowed to tell it. Otherwise, you will be expelled from the academy. If there is nothing else, you can go down first. I will send someone to inform you in advance when you set off for the Sun and Moon Empire." Looking at the seven people with different expressions, Yan Shaozhe also saw some clues. After a moment of silence, he warned.

"Yes." Everyone responded in unison.

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(End of this chapter)