Chapter 88: The Exchange Program with the Star Luo Empire

With this realization, everything suddenly made sense.

The Beast God of the soul beasts, the supreme ruler before whom all beasts bowed, and the fearsome leader who harbored deep hatred toward human deities—he had chosen a path completely different from their master's, yet one that ultimately led to the same destination.

A single thought connected all the dots in the mind of the Demon King. In the dark abyss of his beastly existence, a ray of light suddenly pierced through.

"How much more time does Boss Ditian have left?"

Without pausing, he continued, "Is it at least a year?"

Having worked together for many years, Bi Ji naturally understood what the Demon King was thinking—he simply wanted to verify things for himself.

Of course, the timing was still appropriate.

"As soon as possible."

The Demon King gave a deep nod. He was feeling particularly unsettled, his emotions rising and falling like a roller coaster.

He needed some time alone.

And so, he abruptly left.

One after another, the other fierce beasts also departed, giving responses similar to the Demon King's.

Only Bear Lord remained. At that moment, he wasn't sure what he was feeling, nor did he voice his thoughts like the others.

He glanced at Bi Ji, who was staring at him, then at Zi Ji, who was eyeing him from the side.

Finally, he said, "I promise to keep today's events a secret."

"I only followed our master to Heaven Dou City to fulfill my duty as a guardian. I didn't see anyone, and nothing unusual happened."

Bi Ji could almost see a large, dark-gold Dreadclaw Bear in place of the burly man before her, its round ears folded tightly against its head.

With their work of shaking the foundations of their master's position now largely complete, Bi Ji and Zi Ji's task was nearly done.

The rest would be left to time itself—to let things gradually fester and unravel.

As it turned out, time did not make them wait long. Soon enough, the fierce beasts were given a personal opportunity to witness the truth.

Gu Yue and Tang Wulin had been staying inside Shrek Academy, leaving no such opportunity before, but that was about to change.

The Star Luo Empire had recently sent invitations to various forces and academies on the Douluo Continent, requesting exchange delegations to visit the Star Luo Continent for an academic and cultural exchange.

Having performed outstandingly in recent times and risen to prominence, Tang Wulin and Gu Yue, along with their eight-member team, had made it onto the leadership's shortlist for the next generation of the Shrek Seven Monsters. Naturally, they were given the opportunity to become exchange students.

The delegation would be led by Silver Moon Douluo Cai Yue'er, the Outer Court's dean, with their accompanying instructor being none other than Wu Zhangkong, who was well-acquainted with most of the exchange students.

This meant that the strongest combatant in the entire delegation was merely a three-word battle armor master at the rank of Super Douluo. For the fierce beasts, this was an open invitation to act without restraint.

And so, with the steady march of time, the exchange students gradually boarded the ship that would take them to the Star Luo Continent.

At Tianhai Harbor—Outside the Passenger Liner

Though the number of people gathered was growing, the event remained orderly under the organization of the Sun-Moon Federation authorities.

At that moment, a booming voice echoed throughout the terminal via the soul-powered loudspeakers.

"Greetings, everyone. I am Pan Wen, Secretary General of the Federation."

"I will be leading the delegation for this exchange trip to the Star Luo Continent."

"In a moment, the Star Luo Empire's exchange group will disembark in an orderly fashion and proceed to board Buses 1 through 25. Once they arrive at Tianhai Grand Hotel, their respective departments will conduct a headcount."

"We will follow a strict disembarkation-boarding sequence. Once all members of the Star Luo Empire's delegation have left the vessel, our Federation's exchange group will board according to the prearranged order."

"…"

Managing the flow of thousands of passengers was no small task. Even with the spacious terminal passages, enforcing the disembarkation-first policy remained necessary.

While waiting to board, Tang Wulin gazed at the two massive ocean liners before him.

From his vantage point, both ships had at least five reinforced decks, their entire structures gleaming with metallic luster. Clearly mounted on their surfaces were soul-guided weapon turrets.

Arming a passenger ship with weapons was a precaution against dangers at sea.

After all, the ocean was far from a peaceful place.

According to the Federation's advanced soul-guided technology estimates, the number of marine soul beasts far exceeded that of land-based soul beasts.

Even in the last remaining soul beast sanctuaries on land, their populations rarely exceeded 200,000 to 300,000. Yet, in the ocean, their numbers started in the millions!

This reality remained unchanged despite humanity's encroachment upon the seas and the subsequent drastic reduction of marine soul beast populations.

As such, only these heavily fortified and astronomically expensive vessels were capable of transcontinental voyages.

Priority Boarding for the Shrek Academy Delegation

As representatives of Shrek Academy, Tang Wulin and his group received privileged treatment, gaining near-VIP access to board the ship first.

At the entrance to the boarding passage, the overall commander of this exchange program, Federation Secretary General Pan Wen, was personally waiting.

Upon meeting Shrek Academy's delegation leader, Cai Yue'er, he immediately initiated a cordial and friendly exchange.

At least, on the surface. What lay beneath remained unknown.

Pan Wen was a middle-aged man of average stature, appearing to be in his early fifties, with a slightly receding hairline and unremarkable features.

However, his reputation spoke volumes, embodying an old saying: "A man's worth is not measured by his looks, just as the sea's depth cannot be gauged at a glance."

As the sitting Secretary General of the Federation, Pan Wen was hailed as a rising political star with both the qualifications and influence to contend for the next Speaker of the Federation Parliament.

Otherwise, such a high-profile international exchange event would never have fallen under his leadership.

"Greetings, Secretary General Pan Wen." Cai Yue'er's response was neutral—neither particularly warm nor overtly indifferent.

She was unsure whether he was attempting to establish ties with her, eyeing the political sway of Shrek Academy and the Federation's dovish faction.

Thus, she maintained the Academy's traditionally detached attitude toward the Federation.

After all, Shrek Academy was powerful enough to stand independently, without needing to cater to anyone.

Pan Wen's warm greeting met with a cool reception, but his expression remained unchanged, his smile unwavering—perhaps even broadening.

"Dean Cai, allow me to explain," he said.

"The academy participating in the exchange with Shrek Academy is the Star Luo Empire's top institution, Monster Academy."

"The current principal of that academy is the disciple of its former leader, an Extreme Douluo and a four-word battle armor master—Kirin Douluo, Lord Tong Yu. I believe your academy is aware of this."

"To facilitate smoother international exchanges, there will be an initial interaction session."

"For this reason, we have arranged for you to board the Star Luo, one of the Star Luo Empire's premier ocean liners."

"Also accompanying you are young individuals who have just completed their exchange program here in the Federation—primarily students from the Star Luo Royal Academy, as well as some exchange participants in auxiliary professions such as blacksmithing and mecha crafting."

"They are eager to interact and compete with you during the voyage."

However, Cai Yue'er's next response made Tang Wulin and the others instantly perk up, some even clicking their tongues in surprise.

"Oh, you mean that academy that wanted to send students to our Shrek Academy for an exchange but got rejected by us?"

With that statement, an eerie silence fell over the surrounding space, so quiet that one could hear a pin drop.

(End of Chapter)