Douluo Continent: The Holy Evil Emperor

In Poseidon Pavilion.

Mu En remained seated in the recliner, recalling the aura emanating from Ye Qing when he helped Ma Xiaotao clear away the evil fire.

"Years have passed, and the holy aura around Xiao Yeqing has become increasingly intense..." Mu En sighed inwardly, also with some doubts. "Could it be that the Holy Tiger of Light has a hidden divine attribute? But I've never seen him use it before."

"Is it an inherent ability of the martial soul, or is it an ability that arises spontaneously after the light attribute reaches its peak?"

Mu En was completely baffled. If the Holy Tigers of Light in Douluo Continent hadn't all died out long ago, he would have even considered going out for a walk and finding a Holy Tiger of Light to conduct an experiment.

He genuinely had this idea; after all, in the original story, he even went to the far north to catch a few Ice Jade Scorpions to study in order to understand Huo Yuhao's martial soul.

Neither the Holy Dragon nor the Phoenix, both top-tier martial souls of the Light faction, possess this holy ability. So why does the Holy Tiger have it?

Modification of the Golden Tree?

That doesn't make sense either. Mu En and Yan Shaozhe spent much more time by the Golden Tree than Ye Qing did, and they didn't see their Martial Soul possess any divine attribute abilities.

Unable to get an answer, Mu En could only attribute Ye Qing's abilities to extreme attributes or martial soul mutation. After all, he wasn't the kind of person who liked to dig into other people's secrets, and these thoughts were just to satisfy his own curiosity.

"Now that we have Ye Qing, Xiao Tao won't have to worry about being affected by the evil fire anymore!" Yan Shaozhe said with a joyful expression as he approached Mu En.

Moon glanced at the unfortunate child and nodded slightly: "Don't forget the generous gift you promised that little guy. He's not easy to fool, so don't do anything that goes back on your word."

Yan Shaozhe said somewhat awkwardly, "Yes, teacher, I understand."

Of course, he really didn't intend to make empty promises to Ye Qing this time. He actually decided to give Ye Qing something nice. Speaking of which, Ye Qing had been studying in the outer academy for four years, and he, as the dean, hadn't given Ye Qing any preferential treatment yet.

……

The words are divided into two parts.

Ye Qing found Zhang Lexuan in her dormitory. At that moment, she was sitting on a chair in the courtyard, basking in the sun, slowly turning the pages of a book in her hands. She gave Ye Qing the feeling of a quiet and gentle older sister enjoying a peaceful life.

"Qing, how is Xiao Tao?" Seeing Ye Qing sitting next to her, Zhang Lexuan naturally put down her book and held hands with Ye Qing.

"There's no major problem anymore. As long as we cleanse her evil fire every now and then, she'll be able to become a true fire phoenix in a few years," Ye Qing replied.

"That's great. I hope she can become a true phoenix and soar through the heavens, just like her ancestor Ma Hongjun," Zhang Lexuan said softly, leaning on Ye Qing's shoulder.

"By the way, Qing, you've passed your inner court assessment. Dean Cai just came to see me and asked you to go to Dean Cai's office after you finish treating Xiao Tao. You need to register and pick up your inner court uniform and badge from Dean Cai."

The inner courtyard and the outer courtyard are obviously different. The outer courtyard has a large number of people, so they can just register them all at once.

As the 'true' Shrek Academy, the Inner Court requires meticulous registration of every Inner Court disciple, including age, martial spirit, spirit power level, spirit master classification, and so on. This information must be updated at the Inner Court's Academic Affairs Office on the first day of each academic year.

This is so that the inner court can more accurately tailor targeted teaching for each inner court disciple.

Joining the Supervisory Committee is an essential step, and Ye Qing needs to personally go to the Academic Affairs Office to collect the Supervisory Committee's equipment.

For the first three months of the semester, Ye Qing could focus on his studies in the inner courtyard. But after that, he would need to complete at least two inspection team missions each year, either in a team or alone.

Ye Qing had taken the time to learn about this information. For a direct descendant like him, information about the inner court was not a secret and could be easily obtained.

Unlike Huo Yuhao and the others in the original story, he didn't need to take any oaths. He only needed to go through the motions with Cai Meier and receive the equipment from the inspection team before he could become a 'glorious' inner court disciple.

"I can't wait to go out and have some fun!" Ye Qing smiled slightly and squeezed Zhang Lexuan's small hand in his palm. "Lexuan, do you want to come with me?"

“Sure.” Zhang Lexuan nodded, put the books beside her, and walked out of the courtyard with Ye Qing.

Before long, Ye Qing and Zhang Lexuan arrived at a cluster of buildings with a unified architectural style.

Besides being the dean's office, this area also serves as the academic affairs office for the inner academy. Apart from the offices of the two deans, Cai Meier and Yan Shaozhe, most of the other inner academy teachers' offices are also clustered in this area.

On the contrary, the dormitories of the inner disciples, apart from the golden tree in the center of the island where no other buildings are allowed within a radius of 300 meters, can be seen at regular intervals, each with a different style of student dormitory.

Some of these dormitories were built by the college, while others were built by the students themselves.

That's why Ye Qing hadn't seen other inner court disciples for several years, because they were too scattered and busy with their own things. He only watched from afar at the Sea God's Fate event and didn't make any contact with them at all.

Chapter 144 Preparations for the Battle of Souls

"Dong dong dong..."

Upon arriving at the dean's office, Zhang Lexuan raised her hand and knocked on the door. After a short while, a steady yet gentle voice came from inside.

"Please come in."

Ye Qing pushed open the door and walked in, followed closely by Zhang Lexuan, and the two let go of each other's hands.

What came into view was a woman with gray hair, but her face had few wrinkles. Instead, she had the mature and elegant look of a woman in her thirties. At this moment, she was slightly bowing her head and writing something on the documents in front of her.

Hearing the door open, she looked up at Ye Qing and Zhang Lexuan.

Ye Qing recognized the face; it was Cai Meier, Yan Shaozhe's wife and one of the elders of the Sea God Pavilion.

"Our little monster has finally entered the inner courtyard. We old folks have been waiting for quite a while." Cai Meier looked up and smiled as soon as she saw Ye Qing. "I can't wait to see you, this little monster who can absorb a 100,000-year-old spirit ring with your fifth spirit ring."

"Dean Cai." Ye Qing and Zhang Lexuan greeted Cai Meier together, and then sat down in the chairs in front of her desk.

"The training in the inner courtyard is too intense. The outer courtyard is more relaxed and it's also more helpful for me to digest the power of the 100,000-year-old soul ring and soul bone, so I stayed in the outer courtyard for an extra year," Ye Qing replied with a smile.

Cai Meier looked at Ye Qing with admiration in her eyes and said gently, "The difference between the inner and outer courtyards is not that big for you. As long as you understand which environment is more beneficial to your cultivation, that's enough."

"I understand." Ye Qing nodded.

"I won't say anything more. You grew up in the inner courtyard, so you should know the rules of the inner courtyard. If you don't know, just ask Lexuan." Cai Meier glanced at Zhang Lexuan, who was standing next to Ye Qing like a timid wife, and said with a hint of teasing.

"This is the identification symbol and equipment of the inspection team. Your inner school uniform and badge are also inside. The ring needs to be bound by blood, so you can complete it here. I also need to register your information."

Cai Meier handed over a ring with a small green Shrek emblem on the face.

This is a symbol of identity for the Shrek Surveillance Corps. After being bound to a master by blood, it can only function when worn by the owner whose aura is connected to the ring. Once bound to a master, it cannot be bound to a second master. It is an important credential for members of the Surveillance Corps to distinguish friend from foe.

Every inner court disciple has one of these rings. Ye Qing didn't hesitate. He picked up the ring and gently ran his index finger across the Shrek emblem on the ring face. A drop of blood then merged into the ring.

There's no need to worry about any conspiracies involved. In short, Shrek Academy's research on soul tools isn't that impressive yet.

Being able to distinguish friend from foe is already the limit. You know that Qian Duoduo and Xian Lin'er don't have the ability to add other functions.

Furthermore, Shrek Academy doesn't need to make a big deal out of a ring that symbolizes status.

After the blood oath was performed, Ye Qing was able to use his mental power to examine the items in the ring: five sets of inner school uniforms made exactly to his size, three red Shrek monster inner school badges, three sets of dark green full-body robes, three Shrek monster masks that covered his face, and ten signal flares with different uses.

There are five types of signal flares: distress, assembly, retreat, attack, and danger. There are two of each type, and they are essential items for the monitoring team when carrying out missions.

It's worth mentioning that the Inner Court doesn't charge for replenishing these items. Any item damage incurred during missions can be reimbursed by the Inner Court, and new items can be obtained after the mission is completed.

Only the inner-school uniform needs to be replaced at your own expense if it is damaged.

Cai Meier waited silently until Ye Qing finished checking all the items before speaking again: "Originally, as a freshman in the inner academy, you only had a three-month adaptation period. After the adaptation period, you would start taking on the tasks of the inspection team. But this year is special."

"Is it because of the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament next year?" Ye Qing raised an eyebrow.

“That’s right, because of the Soul Battle Tournament.” Cai Meier nodded. “Your age meets the requirements for the Soul Battle Tournament, and your strength is even greater than that of Soul Saint Le Xuan. You will definitely be a participant in this Soul Battle Tournament. In addition to you, other eligible students from the Inner Academy will also need to participate in the selection process.”

"Of course, our inner court actually started working on this last year, but this year, due to your unexpected situation, Xiao Tao's evil fire can be resolved by you. This means that in the next competition, we can add Xiao Tao, a Soul Emperor, to our team."

"In addition, you also need to join the team, which completely disrupted our team last year. So we've decided to reorganize this year and build a more complete and stronger team to participate in the competition. You will also need to spend a lot of time cultivating team synergy and discussing various tactics. The seven players participating in the competition do not need to take on the monitoring team mission this year."

Ye Qing nodded silently.

He wasn't too surprised by this. Even with his hidden strength, he was already powerful enough to dominate the entire inner courtyard. Even a Soul Saint wouldn't be a match for him.

He will definitely be one of the participants in this competition.

As for Douluo Continent... it's quite amazing. What was originally a friendly competition seems to become directly linked to dignity and honor in the main storyline. Even if it means risking your life, you still have to win the competition.

Moreover, in order to win the match, all sorts of insidious tricks such as cheating, eye-gouging, and groin-grabbing are used without any psychological pressure.

Such a unique experience is not to be missed. Ye Qing decided to become a team captain first and experience the classic storyline of this competition continent.

"When does the selection competition start?" Ye Qing asked.

“Three months from now, you new students from the inner academy will need to get used to life there,” Cai Meier said with a smile. “Besides, two promising students have been admitted to the outer academy this year, and they have a good chance of becoming part of the team.”

"You mean Ling Luochen and Yao Haoxuan?" Ye Qing's heart stirred as she recalled Ling Luochen's aloof face and Yao Haoxuan's thin, sleazy figure adorned with gold and silver and dressed in lavish attire.

“That’s right, they’re both Soul Kings now. After they meditate once at the Golden Tree, their cultivation level will most likely reach the mid-stage of Soul King next year. That strength is enough for them to become the backbone of the team.” Cai Meier nodded, then asked curiously, “Ye Qing, what is your cultivation level now? Are you confident that you can reach Soul Emperor before next year’s competition?”

"..."

Will I be promoted to Soul Emperor next year?

Reverse boosting, right?

Ye Qing almost burst out laughing, and it took her a while to suppress it.

Chapter 145 Ye Qing: I've succeeded, Daoist Master!

"Dean Cai, you overestimate me." Ye Qing shook his head with a chuckle.

"I am an ultimate attribute Soul Master. Even with 100,000-year Soul Rings and Soul Bones combined, I only reached level 54. A year has passed and my current cultivation level is only level 56. If I don't have a heaven-defying opportunity, it will take at least two more years to break through to Soul Emperor. Asking me to break through four levels in a year is really a bit difficult for me."

Ye Qingxiao shrugged, her face full of helplessness.

“Level 56… You’ll probably reach level 58 before the tournament starts. With your combat power, you could even defeat a Soul Saint. I was really asking too much of you.” Cai Meier said with a hint of apology, but she quickly changed the subject.

"But young people always need to put some pressure on themselves. How can they maintain their motivation if they don't put pressure on themselves? How about I set a goal for you: reach level 59 before the competition starts?"

"If you can reach level 59 before the competition starts, I'll make Le Xuan your team coach for this competition, and she'll go to Xingluo City with you. What do you think?"

Great, great, great, that's a classic.

This is strikingly similar to the situation where Huo Yuhao wouldn't be allowed to date Tang Wutong until he graduated from the Inner Academy. It seems like every woman in Douluo Continent can be turned into a dog leash, right?