After Xuan Zi's well-prepared, emotionally stirring speech, along with the testimonials from inner courtyard seniors Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yaoheng, all the reserve team members, except for Huo Yuhao, were moved to the point of tears, as if they were fools.
Even the sharp and wise Ning Tian couldn't help but feel her eyes welling up.
She glanced at Huo Yuhao, who was silently criticizing Shrek in his heart, and couldn't help but feel puzzled.
Is this guy's emotional threshold that high? In such a passionate moment, you don't react at all?
Of course, in response to such thoughts, Huo Yuhao's evaluation was: So much hype.
"Alright, you don't have to tell me now whether you're joining or not, because I'm here to take you on several reconnaissance missions, so you can experience what Shrek's honor truly is." Xuan Zi looked towards Wang Yan.
"Xiao Yan, hand out the Shrek Overseers' gear to them."
"Yes." Wang Yan responded, taking out several rings from his storage soul tool and handing them to each of the reserve team members.
The design of the rings was hard to describe. The ring bands were silver-white metal with a large green gemstone, about the size of a fingernail, set into them.
The gemstone was vibrant and full of life. The ring's face was carved into the likeness of Shrek the monster, looking like a cheap toy from a convenience store.
Ma Xiaotao explained, "You better keep this safe. This is the symbol of our Shrek Overseers. Later, you just need to drip a drop of blood onto the ring's face, and it will be connected to your bloodline."
"As long as we're one of us, we can use our own Overseer Ring to verify the authenticity of another's ring, confirming identities. The Overseer Ring is also a storage soul tool. Inside, there's a complete set of equipment specifically for us. You can check it out now."
"When performing reconnaissance missions, we can't let others see our faces, to avoid future complications, so we need to wear masks. The most important thing is the signal flare. This flare is unique to us. If any overseer encounters danger and releases it, any Shrek Academy student, whether from the inner or outer courtyard, will rush to the rescue. Its usefulness is far greater than you might imagine."
Huo Yuhao took a ring and checked the contents inside, finding that Xuan Zi hadn't tampered with it.
Otherwise, if there were something like a hundred-thousand-year-old soul bone inside, it would be hard to clear his name in the future.
As for this so-called Shrek Overseers' equipment, Huo Yuhao was rather unimpressed. Although it wasn't shabby, it couldn't compare to his custom-made battle suit, so he didn't bother using it.
Not professional, not professional at all!
However, Huo Yuhao still kept the ring but didn't drip blood on it. After all, this thing might prove useful in the future.
At this moment, Ma Xiaotao, entrusted by Xuan Zi, began describing their mission.
"Let me talk about the missions we're going to undertake. Currently, we have two tasks ahead of us."
"First, five miles ahead, within a few small hills, resides a group of bloodthirsty evil soul masters. These evil soul masters call themselves the Bloodthirsty Demons, numbering about fifty, with their leader at roughly the Soul King level. The intelligence comes from the Star Luo Empire's official sources, so it should be reliable."
"The second task is to head to a mountain region at the border between the Star Luo Empire and the Sun Moon Empire, to find and eliminate a group of bandits. These bandits call themselves the Reapers' Messengers, and their leader is said to be a powerful evil soul master, so we mustn't be careless."
"Most of you haven't killed anyone before, right? This will be a brand new experience. I must emphasize that our mission this time leaves no survivors; we must wipe them out completely. This group of bandits has no women, children, or elderly, nor a single good person among them!"
Huo Yuhao was a bit surprised; he was quite familiar with the Reapers' Messengers, one of the strongest Soul Kings in history.
They had almost wiped out the Shrek Seven Monsters in front of a Super Douluo, and if it weren't for the original protagonist with his plot armor, they might have escaped.
Such a record truly earns the title of a "child of destiny!" Xuan Zi's title of Saint Spirit Douluo came from that.
But where did this other group of evil soul masters come from? They weren't mentioned in the original story.
Could it be part of that person's plan?
Xuan Zi nodded in satisfaction, his eyes occasionally glancing towards Huo Yuhao.
Yes, this second group of evil soul masters was found through Xuan Zi's contacts with the Star Luo Empire. Originally, they were supposed to be eliminated by the stationed soul masters in nearby towns, which is why they weren't mentioned in the original story.
But this time, Xuan Zi intervened to incorporate them into his "perfect" plan.
"Among these two tasks, the first one has clear enemy strength, and we also obtained a map of their location from the Empire's officials. The difficulty is low, so I'll leave it to you reserve team members to complete."
"Huo Yuhao, you'll lead this mission. Take the six reserve team members to eliminate this group of evil soul masters. If you encounter danger, don't panic. I and the other main team members won't be far and will assist you whenever necessary."
The question of how to instill a sense of belonging to Shrek Academy in Huo Yuhao was something Xuan Zi pondered. His clever mind seemed to have found the answer: let Huo Yuhao witness firsthand what Shrek Academy's honor truly is.
The difficulty of the first task wasn't high, but the enemy had dozens of evil soul masters, including a Soul King.
The reserve members were weak, and even with Huo Yuhao leading, they'd likely face danger.
At that time, he and the main team members would come to the rescue and teach Huo Yuhao and the others a lesson, making them realize their shortcomings.
Then, they'd let them watch as the main team effortlessly swept away the Reapers' Messengers, inspiring Huo Yuhao's admiration for the inner courtyard and the Shrek Overseers.
At that moment, with a little manipulation, Huo Yuhao would return to Shrek, and Xuan Zi would be a hero of Shrek Academy!
"Shrek would have fallen apart without me, Xuan Zi," he thought happily.
However, Huo Yuhao's thoughts were different. When he heard Xuan Zi assign him the task of eliminating the Bloodthirsty Demons, Ning Tian noticed his expression freeze for a moment.
But soon, a cold smile appeared on Huo Yuhao's lips, one that made people shiver as if death itself was beckoning.
"Reconnaissance, disguise, infiltration, assassination?" A strange feeling welled up in Huo Yuhao's heart, as if memories long buried were suddenly reawakened.
The beast slumbering within him had awakened!
There was no other way; these tasks were all too familiar to him. After all, in his past life, he had worked in this field, standing among the very best—a top-tier hunter.
Never challenge a professional with your hobby. This time, old man, I'll show you what a 100% success rate looks like from a gold-medal assassin!