"Our Shrek Academy has existed for over ten thousand years. Normally, a powerful soul master can live for two hundred years at the very least, while some can live even longer. Moreover, more and more students enter the inner courtyard every year. However, the total number of inner courtyard disciples who currently remain within the academy doesn't even reach a hundred. Do you know why this is the case?"
Xu Sanshi raised his hand, "It's because our seniors have graduated, right?"
Elder Xuan shook his head, "You're half-right. There are a few disciples of the inner courtyard who leave the academy after graduating, but I now want to talk about the disciples who don't graduate."
Simply put, Elder Xuan began explaining the history about students who didn't stay long in the academy and wanted to explore the world to try and uphold their sense of justice and righteousness to the Soul Masters who do evil. The academy didn't want to leave their students to the wolves and decided to create a special category that is consisted of most, if not all, of the inner courtyard students and even graduated students of the outer courtyard.
They are called....Shrek Guardians.
They are considered to be heroes and the greatest honor any Shrek Academy student would want when they inevitably graduate.
Huo Yuhao couldn't help but get a bit excited at the thought of becoming a Shrek Guardian. Every child, especially a boy, always dreamed about being a hero. His mom would always try to tell him bedtime stories, mostly heroic ones; saving people, overcoming dangerous situations, vanquishing evil, and standing up for justice.
'Funny how fate works,' He snorted inwardly, calming himself down. Although it was possible to be a hero for him, but his heart wasn't all in it. He was more focused on himself, not like the others.
He was a Shinobi. One that isn't good, but isn't necessarily bad. They had their own set of ideals and justice.
Now that he thought about it, he should lay some rules for his members...
Being a Shrek Guardian doesn't sound that bad; it'll help him and his friends gain experience in the outside world. With the Akatsuki not officially active, they didn't have any qualifications to deal with commissions from anyone or any organizations. This was a law set by numerous guilds and associations from throughout the entire continent since more than ten thousand years ago, it was even revised a few times when the Sun Moon Empire's land collided with them.
Without any official documents will warrant an arrest from nearby authorities, and could lead to serious consequences. They didn't have to worry for now, since Shrek City is governed by the academy and they wouldn't face immediate consequences for operating without official documentation.
However, in the future when the sect members graduates and begin operating beyond the academy's borders...
Ugh, the things he does for his sect.
Huo Yuhao found out about it a long time ago, and he had his teacher Fan Yu help him set it up for him as he wasn't old enough to handle such paperwork. But even with his help it's still taking months to get the permission!
'Yeah....I'm leaving all of my paperwork and other troublesome stuff in the future to teacher Ya. She's reliable like that after all.'
"?!"
Tang Ya felt a cold shiver run down her spine and she crossed her arms. She looked around in a panic, suddenly feeling a sense of dread.
"....you're about to take on your first Guardian mission in a bit. Xiaotao, you can explain our assignment this time. Wang Yan, give them the equipment of a Shrek Guardian." Elder Xuan said with a soft smile.
"Yes." Wang Yan nodded, then took a few rings from his storage tool and passed them to every single person there.
The ring was very beautiful; the ring itself was made of a silvery-whitish metal, and a jade-green gem the size of a fingernail was embedded on it. The glistening gem shone with a bright light, and the green on it was filled with the aura of life. The top of the ring was carved into the shape of a Shrek, making it unforgettable.
Ma Xiaotao smiled at their juniors and said, "You'd better take care of this. This is the symbol of a Shrek Guardian, and only we have it. Now, put a drop of your blood on the surface of the ring, so it'll connect with your bloodline." She raised her right hand and showed a similar ring on her middle finger.
"As long as you're one of us, you can use the Guardian Ring to verify the identity of a Guardian in front of you. The ring is also a storage tool, and it contains a complete set of equipment that we use. You can take a look at it now."
Huo Yuhao let out a low whistle. Storage-type soul tools are incredibly rare, even with the rise of Soul Engineers. When he wandered around Heavenly Soul Empire to help Tang Ya with her revenge, he only managed to find two low-level storage-type soul tools, not including the stuff they got from the numerous hidden stashes of Tang Sect.
As expected of one of the oldest organization in history.
Putting on the ring in his right hand index finger, he slightly cut his other index finger and a drop of blood fell onto the surface of the ring. As the blood made contact, a faint glow enveloped the ring, and Huo Yuhao felt a subtle connection with it. He didn't hesitate to rummage through the stuff inside of it.
'Let's see here....some strange clothes, a dark cloak, a mask and a distress signal; the basic necessities of Shrek Guardian. Hmm? Hold up, these clothes and cloak are pretty damn well made! I need to know who makes these...' he thought, inspecting the contents of the storage ring.
"Our assignment this time is to head towards a mountain range that borders the Star Luo Empire and the Sun Moon Empire to hunt down a group of bandits. The Advanced Academy Continental Soul Dueling Tournament is going to start soon, so we have to finish this in around five days." Ma Xiaotao explained, her voice firm with determination.
"These bandits are extremely savage and sly. They specialize in killing merchants who pass over the border, and they leave no survivors. They call themselves Envoys of the Death God, and they're supposedly headed by a relatively powerful evil soul master. Because of that, we can't be careless at all." She raised her fist, her expression resolute. "It's our duty as Shrek Guardians to put an end to their activities."
"More information will be provided when we arrive at our destination. Our intel is a week old, there might be some new developments we need to be aware of," Ma Xiaotao added, her eyes scanning each member of their group with a serious gaze.
"A majority of you haven't killed a person before, and you're going to have a brand-new experience now. I have to stress that the target of our assignment this time is to leave no survivors and completely eliminate them. There aren't any elderly, weak, women, or children in this group of bandits, and none of them are kind."
She gazed at them intently. "Remember. You hesitate.....you lose. That is all."
Huo Yuhao smirked as he listened to Ma Xiaotao's instructions. He was no stranger to killing pieces of shit like bandits. They have the power to get things that most people could only dream of, yet they chose to use it for evil deeds. In his mind, they deserved no mercy.
Ma Xiaotao turned towards him with a raised eyebrow. She walked up to him and lightly pinched his right cheek. "Don't get cocky, Yuhao. I know you can handle yourself in a fight, but never underestimate the enemies or overestimate yourself. Accidents can happen..."
Huo Yuhao nodded, his smirk fading into a more serious expression. "Understood, Ma'am. I'll keep that in mind."
"Ma'am..." Ma Xiaotao blinked.
"What? Don't like it?"
Ma Xiaotao's smile softened as she looked into Huo Yuhao's eyes. "Yeah, I kinda do~" she looked a bit giddy, her cheeks flushing slightly.
Huo Yuhao chuckled.
"Jiiiii!"
Everyone looked at them with varying expressions.
"Ahem. Sun's burning and we've got a mission to accomplish. Xiaotao, please continue on your briefing..." Elder Xuan coughed and interrupted their moment.
Ma Xiaotao slightly pouted and took a few steps back. "Fine. Everyone, our main destination right now is Ming Dou Mountains, that's where the bandits are. But our first stop is the group of Star Luo Empire soldiers that we will meet with at the border."
"They'll provide us with a detailed map and accurate information in due course. If there are no further questions, we have to depart at full speed. Keep your Guardian Rings properly. You can only wear them when you're executing a mission."
Everyone nodded and Ma Xiaotao then said, "The ones with lower cultivations will slow us down. There's no way we can accommodate to you guys, so we're going to do things this way. I'll take Ning Tian with me. Gongyang Mo, you take Wang Dong. Xi Xi, take Wu Feng. Ling Luochen, you take Xiao Xiao with you. Everyone, let's go!"
The journey towards their destination was surprisingly smooth and quick, taking only two days of swift speed and short breaks for them to arrive at their destination that was more than a few hundred miles away! The reason for this was simply because of their own ability.
Ma Xiaotao herself was a Soul Emperor, running at full speed while leading the group, with her powerful cultivation, she could easily maintain a fast pace without exhausting herself. The other members of her group, though not as strong as Ma Xiaotao, were still highly skilled soul masters, able to keep up with her pace without much difficulty.
The ones who weren't carried by them didn't look at ease.
Huo Yuhao, Tang Ya and Bei Bei were exhausted, but only a bit sweaty and out of breath. Considering that they trained in the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track and other movement-type techniques, so it wasn't a surprise.
Jiang Nannan was an agility-type soul master, and she had a nimble and agile body. As a result, she was also left in a slightly better state. Xu Sanshi suffered the most however, as he was the heaviest amongst their group.
The only one among them that was at ease like the rest of the seniors were He Caitou, who'd flown the entire journey with the assistance of a soul tool.
They finally arrived at the border between the Heavenly Soul Empire and the Star Luo Empire after some time. When they arrived, a large army camp blocked the path in front of them.
Elder Xuan stepped forward and called for a soldier.
On the side, along with the rest of the students, Huo Yuhao groaned, feeling a bit sore in his legs.
'I should've made a flight-type soul tool...'
"Sniff! Sniff!"
"Oh my God, he's so cute! Here, I still have some food from last night."
"Xiaotao, that's unfair! Let me hold him now!"
"No, me!"
"No! I'm holding him next!"
Huo Yuhao looked up to see Ma Xiaotao, Gongyang Mo, Xi Xi and Ling Luochen were fighting each over Xiao Dong; he let him out during their first break to feed him, but oh boy, Ma Xiaotao and the rest went crazy over the little bunny. It seemed like Xiao Dong had won over their hearts instantly with his fluffy appearance.
"Sniff!"
It seems like he had gotten fed up from all the attention and quickly escaped from Ma Xiaotao's grasp, who didn't hold him tightly in fear of crushing his body. He then hopped towards Wang Dong'er's arms, who quickly ran towards the back of Huo Yuhao.
Ignoring their intense gazes, he then turned towards Elder Xuan, who had an irritated expression after he had a talk with the soldier.
"Elder Xuan, what's the matter?"
....
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