The aftershocks of Mu En's demise were still brewing on the Douluo Continent, but Shrek Academy seemed to have already emerged from its grief—at least, on the surface.
Within three days, the new Tian Yuan Pavilion, led by Xuan Zi, took over the power and tasks left by Mu En and officially began to execute the three major plans established during Mu En's lifetime.
Empress's Advent Plan, the Soul Engineer Plan, and the Yuntian Plan!
Among the three plans, only Empress's Advent Plan had its preliminary preparations complete; the other two plans were still awaiting their opportune moment, so Empress's Advent Plan was launched first.
However, before the plan's activation, its executor, Zhang Lexuan, still needed to complete her final mission at Shrek Academy: leading a team to hunt for spirit rings.
Thanks to Mu En's parting gift, many Inner Courtyard disciples achieved breakthroughs, including those who advanced in realm, such as Jiang Nannan, who broke through to the Spirit Emperor realm; Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi, who broke through to the Spirit King realm; and Huo Yuhao, who broke through to the Spirit Ancestor realm.
These individuals were all connected to Zhu Ziyang, so his participation in helping them hunt for spirit rings was naturally indispensable. However, before setting out on the Spirit hunt, Zhu Ziyang was called aside by Xian Lin'er.
"Senior Sister, what is it?" Zhu Ziyang asked, his face showing confusion.
"We caught a girl trespassing in the Academy; she said she's your friend, so I specifically called you to identify her," Xian Lin'er said, her expression indifferent, showing no discernible emotion. Mu En's death had the greatest impact on Xian Lin'er and Qian Duoduo. If Zhu Ziyang wasn't someone who avoided gossip, he would definitely inquire about the story between his Senior Brother and Senior Sister.
"Ah?" Xian Lin'er's words stunned Zhu Ziyang, and he immediately thought of someone. His expression became strange, and he said, "Let's go then, I also want to see who this foolish fellow is."
Xian Lin'er led Zhu Ziyang to a classroom in the Outer Courtyard, where they found the reckless girl who had trespassed into Shrek Academy.
"It really is you!" Zhu Ziyang sighed, helplessly rubbing his forehead upon seeing her.
"Ah! Zhu Ziyang, you're finally here!" This person was none other than Qian Lingyi. It turned out that after she broke into Shrek Academy and received Mu En's residual gift, she fell into meditation. When she woke up, before she could even celebrate her gains, she was brought here by a grim-faced Xian Lin'er.
If she hadn't promptly mentioned Zhu Ziyang's name, the enraged Xian Lin'er would probably have suppressed her directly.
"So, she really is your friend, Ziyang?" Seeing Zhu Ziyang's reaction, Xian Lin'er already had her answer, and her anger dissipated considerably. She then began to scrutinize Qian Lingyi.
She hadn't looked closely before, but now, upon careful inspection, Xian Lin'er realized that Qian Lingyi was also a rare beauty, her looks on par with Jiang Nannan and Princess Xu Jiujiu. She immediately felt a sense of helplessness, lamenting that Zhu Ziyang was truly adept at attracting girls. That girl Nannan would be busy in the future!
"Yes, Senior Sister." Zhu Ziyang, unaware of Xian Lin'er's thoughts, smiled and explained to Xian Lin'er, "Her name is Qian Lingyi, sixteen years old, a Level 57 Spirit King, and her Spirit is the Holy Angel."
"Qian Lingyi, Holy Angel?!" A hint of surprise flashed across Xian Lin'er's face. As the Dean of Shrek Academy, she naturally understood what the Qian surname and the Angel Spirit implied, which only heightened her astonishment.
However, her surprise was merely that. The conflict between the Angel family and the Sea God was an event from ten thousand years ago, unrelated to Shrek Academy. Moreover, Mu En's dying words still echoed in her mind.
"Correction, I'm now a Level 59 Spirit King!" Qian Lingyi proudly puffed out her chest when she heard Zhu Ziyang introduce her, declaring triumphantly.
"Level 59?" Zhu Ziyang was momentarily stunned, not yet understanding what had happened.
"This girl broke into the Academy when Master passed away, so she also received Master's gift," Xian Lin'er said with a wry smile.
"Ah, this!" Zhu Ziyang's face darkened. He hadn't expected this girl to be so wild, daring to trespass into Shrek Academy. He had initially thought she was caught while attempting to break in, but it turned out she was caught after succeeding. More importantly, she even managed to gain something from it. No wonder Xian Lin'er had been so angry earlier.
"Senior Sister, how do you plan to deal with her?" Zhu Ziyang asked Xian Lin'er.
"Ah? You still want to punish me? Why? Zhu Ziyang, aren't we good friends?" Qian Lingyi was bewildered, then anxious, and immediately cried out.
"Hmm!" Xian Lin'er pondered, then raised her hand to seal Qian Lingyi's mouth and said, "This girl isn't from our Shrek Academy, yet she received Master's gift. In that case, there are only two solutions: either cripple her spirit power, or have her join the Academy."
"Mm! It seems that's the only way." Zhu Ziyang frowned, nodding in agreement.
"I, I'll join Shrek Academy! Don't cripple my spirit power!" Qian Lingyi, now able to speak again, immediately cried out, a hint of terror on her pretty face, as if genuinely afraid that Xian Lin'er would cripple her spirit power.
At this moment, she had completely forgotten her grandmother's warnings when she left home to stay away from Shrek Academy. Let Ye Guyi do that; she, Qian Lingyi, would not only not stay away from Shrek Academy but would join it. Her main goal was to be rebellious.
"Alright then, seeing as you're about to become a Shrek Academy student, I won't make things difficult for you," Xian Lin'er said with a smile. "Let's go, I'll take you to complete your enrollment procedures, and then in a few days, we'll hold a special Inner Courtyard assessment for you."
"Mm-hmm!" Qian Lingyi nodded obediently.
"Ziyang, I'm taking her. You should go prepare for the Spirit hunt!" Xian Lin'er pulled Qian Lingyi away. Zhu Ziyang smiled helplessly and returned to the Inner Courtyard.
At this time, in the Inner Courtyard, on what was once Seagod Plaza, now Tian Yuan Plaza, the personnel participating in this Spirit hunting operation had all arrived. Upon seeing Zhu Ziyang return, everyone became serious.
There were a total of seven people in this Spirit hunting team. Aside from Zhang Lexuan and Zhu Ziyang, who were responsible for leading and commanding and did not need spirit rings, the other five—Jiang Nannan, Princess Xu Jiujiu, Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, and Huo Yuhao—all needed spirit rings.
Jiang Nannan, needless to say, had reached Level 59 long ago and naturally advanced to Level 60 after receiving Mu En's Light baptism. Princess Xu Jiujiu's situation was similar to Jiang Nannan's; having been at Shrek Academy for over a year, she was very fortunate to witness this historic major event and also received Mu En's Light baptism, reaching Level 60 in spirit power.
Bei Bei's original spirit power had reached Level 48. After receiving Mu En's bloodline enhancement, his spirit power naturally reached Level 50, and his Spirit completely transformed into the Light Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon. He no longer needed to activate the Light Holy Dragon bloodline to master the Light Attribute. After inheriting Mu En's two Dragon Emperor Spirit Abilities, it was clear that in a few years, Bei Bei would grow into the new Dragon God Douluo.
Xu Sanshi's spirit power was Level 49 before, making him the highest-cultivated among the seven members of the preliminary team. After receiving Mu En's Light baptism, his spirit power increased by one level, reaching Level 50, preventing Bei Bei from surpassing him.
Finally, there was Huo Yuhao. At the end of the Soul Master Competition, he had just broken through to Level 30. After more than a year of cultivation, his spirit power remained at Level 35. Then, Mu En cleansed his meridians for him at the end, causing his spirit power to reach the bottleneck of Level 40 in one fell swoop. This could be considered Mu En's care for him, after all, he was about to represent Shrek Academy in an exchange with Sun Moon Academy. If his spirit power was too low, it would inevitably damage Shrek Academy's prestige.
A thirteen-year-old Spirit Ancestor might not be much in Shrek Academy, but in Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy, he would definitely be a genius.
"Everyone, let's depart!" Zhang Lexuan announced.
The group of seven advanced towards the Star Dou Great Forest. Behind them were Old Song and Cai Meier. After all, although there were only seven people in this Spirit hunting team, each one held extraordinary significance for Shrek Academy, and no accidents could be allowed to happen.
The Spirit hunting team quickly arrived at the Star Dou Great Forest and stopped at the forest entrance. Zhang Lexuan said, "Now, let's arrange our formation. We are exactly seven people, and a very standard seven-person team, which makes things very easy.
I'll be in the front, Ziyang will guard the rear, Bei Bei will be responsible for the flanks, Yu Hao for control, Jiujiu for support, Sanshi for protecting Yu Hao and Jiujiu, and Nannan, you'll be responsible for scouting and mobility. Understood?"
"Understood!" everyone shouted in unison.
"Very well, let's depart!" At Zhang Lexuan's command, the seven formed their formation and charged into the Star Dou Great Forest.