Chapter 168: Strolling Around, Returning to Shrek

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After exploring the Undying Volcano in the Star Dou Forest, Li Luochen decided to check out the sea. He remembered that during his earlier travels across the continent, Dugu Bo had discovered two hundred-thousand-year pseudo-dragon-type soul beasts near the coastal cities of the Tian Dou Empire.

One was called the Sea Thunder Demon Python, and the other was the Deep Sea Titan Python—both were incredibly powerful marine soul beasts.

Li Luochen figured he might as well take a look since he was already late; being a little later wouldn't hurt. After all, preparing soul rings and soul bones for his grandfather wasn't something to be embarrassed about.

Old Li was only five levels away from breaking through to Title Douluo. He needed to push harder, but his current soul ring configuration—white, yellow, purple, purple, purple—was quite eye-piercing.

Perhaps sending Old Li to the Sea God Island could help increase the years of his soul rings.

At incredible speed, Li Luochen arrived at the territories of the two marine soul beasts. His plan was simple: one would be reserved for Liu Erlong, and the other for his own grandfather. After all, there were plenty of marine soul beasts to go around.

The strength of these two marine soul beasts wasn't particularly overwhelming—roughly equivalent to level 94 Title Douluos—but thanks to their natural advantage in the water, they could perform at the level of a 96th-tier Super Douluo.

After assessing their strength, Li Luochen prepared to leave. He had tested them thoroughly and now knew their capabilities—it was time to make his escape.

*Screech!*

A pair of massive claws suddenly appeared, swiping toward Li Luochen.

"Get lost!"

Li Luochen summoned the Atlas Divine Dragon Staff to block the unexpected attack.

Focusing his gaze, he saw a gigantic flying creature over forty meters long, its silver feathers sharp like blades.

"A Sea Azure Divine Eagle? A hundred-thousand-year soul beast? And it's ambushing us just like humans do?"

"Hmph! Too bad your ambush failed, human! How dare you disturb our secluded lair? Prepare to die."

The voice of the Sea Azure Divine Eagle echoed, followed by the emergence of the two hundred-thousand-year marine soul beasts from the depths of the ocean. They locked onto Li Luochen's position, clearly intending to capture him.

"Heh, you think you can hold me here? You're mistaken."

Li Luochen immediately activated his Ring Fusion technique, this time combining his first and second soul rings: Wind Amplifies Fire!

He unleashed a massive fire tornado. To maximize its power, Li Luochen released several enormous fire tornadoes.

The three hundred-thousand-year soul beasts were instantly restrained by the fire tornadoes. Without hesitation, Li Luochen activated his dragon wing soul bone and flew away at full speed. It wasn't that he couldn't defeat them—it was just that these three hundred-thousand-year soul beasts were too valuable to waste.

Flender was on the verge of becoming a Title Douluo, and this Sea Azure Divine Eagle would be a perfect match for him. *Sigh!* Li Luochen suddenly realized he had given Flender an eighty-thousand-year torso bone earlier. 'Damn, I feel like I've lost out!' Flender had missed out on a hundred-thousand-year soul bone.

However, Liu Lan'er was almost four years old and would soon awaken her spirit. By then, this hundred-thousand-year soul bone might belong to her. Knowing Flender and Liu Erlong's personalities, they would undoubtedly give their child the best.

Li Luochen quickly departed, planning to return another time. The next visit would be when he dealt with these hundred-thousand-year soul beasts.

Li Luochen left at top speed, returning to Shrek Academy. After the three hundred-thousand-year soul beasts broke free from the fire tornadoes, they roared furiously at the sky.

"Damn humans!"

Meanwhile, Li Luochen had been away from Shrek Academy for over ten days.

All the members of the Shrek team had arrived, except for Ma Hongjun, who was still out training with You Tianshang. Even Ning Rongrong had returned on time.

However, Li Luochen wasn't present—he had gone out to help his teachers hunt for soul rings. The students felt somewhat disheartened; they had hoped Li Luochen would train them personally.

This time, the teacher overseeing their training was a senior alumnus of Shrek Academy—Qin Ming. Qin Ming was a seven-ring Soul Sage, thirty-four years old, and his strength was nearly catching up to the other teachers.

When the students saw this senior alumnus, they were thrilled. After all, aside from Li Luochen, Qin Ming was the third strongest graduate of Shrek Academy.

Moreover, Li Luochen had left behind a training manual for Qin Ming to follow when training the group.

Qin Ming was usually gentle and approachable, like a friendly older brother. However, when it came to training, he was strict and demanding, not allowing anyone to slack off.

On the first day of training, everyone collapsed from exhaustion. Qin Ming personally carried them back to their dorms and placed them in medicinal baths. Of course, the girls were assisted by Dugu Yan and Qian Renxue.

During this period, Qian Renxue mostly focused on nurturing her pregnancy, taking daily walks. She happened to observe the Shrek team's training and occasionally lent a hand.

As for the upcoming Continental Advanced Soul Master Elite Tournament, she knew many of the inside details. This time, the Pope had personally offered three soul bones as rewards to cultivate the Spirit Hall's "Golden Generation."

However, she felt that the Spirit Hall's team was likely to suffer a crushing defeat. The Shrek team was almost entirely composed of Soul Ancestors—twelve members in total. Among them, Ma Hongjun, Oscar, Ye Lengleng, Yang Wu, Niu Dun, and Dai Mubai were all Soul Ancestors, while Zhu Zhuqing, Ning Rongrong, and Tai Long were at level 39, on the verge of becoming Soul Ancestors.

These days, the Shrek team members experienced both pain and joy during training, but their strength was steadily improving. Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong, both at level 39, showed signs of breaking through soon.

With just one year left for training, the pressure on Shrek Academy was immense. This was their first participation in the Soul Master Tournament, and they needed to make a name for themselves.

Initially, Flender had considered letting Li Luochen and Dugu Yan compete since they were within the eligible age range. However, their strength was far beyond the norm—two Soul Douluos appearing in a tournament dominated by Soul Ancestors would have been inappropriate.

Li Luochen found no satisfaction in bullying weaker opponents. Instead, he preferred to focus on cultivating his own foundation—some for building his power base, others for ascending to godhood.

This time, the leader of the Shrek Academy team was Li Luochen, with Qin Ming as the vice-leader. The team members included: Oscar, Ma Hongjun, Ning Rongrong, Zhu Zhuqing, Ye Lengleng, Yang Wu, Niu Dun, Dai Mubai, Tai Long, Jing Ling, Huang Yuan, and Jiang Zhu.

The preliminary rounds and elimination matches would be easy to breeze through. The real challenge lay in the finals.

And today, as the Shrek team members were training, a figure suddenly descended rapidly from the sky.

*Boom!*

A superhero-style landing!

Li Luochen landed perfectly on the ground, though the pristine patch of land beneath him was slightly damaged. But it didn't matter—being cool was a lifelong pursuit!

Didn't you see the hearts in Dugu Yan and Qian Renxue's eyes? Clearly, they were captivated by his charisma.

"Wow, Director Li's entrance was so cool!" Ning Rongrong was the first to comment. Being the mischievous girl she was, her mind worked quickly.

The others nodded in agreement. Meanwhile, during training, Dai Mubai suddenly glanced at Zhu Zhuqing. He noticed something unusual in the way she looked at Li Luochen—her gaze was filled with deep emotion.

Dai Mubai could only force a bitter smile. There was no point in competing; Li Luochen was only three years older than him but was three whole realms stronger. There was simply no comparison.

Family background? Forget it. Dai Mubai was only temporarily residing in the Tian Dou Empire. He knew most of what Li Luochen had done in the Star Luo Empire, and even his family couldn't touch him.

This soul master tournament was essentially a competition for the throne. He was competing against Davis. At best, he could survive this contest. Even if he somehow became emperor, Li Luochen would surely become a Title Douluo by then.

What could he possibly do to oppose Li Luochen? Moreover, the strength of Shrek Academy wasn't something the Star Luo Empire could easily control. Unless the empire sent a million troops to invade—which was impossible—there was no way to stop these powerful individuals from infiltrating the palace and assassinating the emperor.

*Sigh.* One day at a time, Dai Mubai thought. These past few days had been exhausting due to the intense training. Tonight, he planned to relax a bit.

As for Zhu Zhuqing? He didn't care anymore. He believed Li Luochen must have feelings for her and had likely given her some rare treasures to boost her soul power, bringing her close to his level.

Who wouldn't be attracted to a woman like Zhu Zhuqing? Both of Li Luochen's women were stunning, especially the blonde beauty—the most beautiful woman Dai Mubai had ever seen.

Dai Mubai could only admire from afar. At most, he might find a blonde woman at some place. Rumor had it that blonde women were Soul Sages with a hundred-thousand-year seventh soul ring—untouchable.

For now, Dai Mubai's goal was survival. Revenge for losing his wife? What was more important than living freely? Besides, he and Zhu Zhuqing had no emotional foundation. Hadn't he abandoned her before?

These were Dai Mubai's inner thoughts. As for the others, they were all striving to grow stronger. After all, this was an opportunity to bring glory to Shrek Academy—even Director Li had entrusted this chance to them.

Li Luochen observed the students before him. Each had made significant progress. Ning Rongrong's once delicate arms now carried a sense of strength.

Ye Lingling's gaze had grown firmer, and Zhu Zhuqing's presence had become more serene. All of them had made remarkable strides.

"You've all done exceptionally well—I'm very pleased!"

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