At twenty years old, they were still students.
Especially in the world of Douluo Continent, a supernatural realm with few external pressures.
In this world that revered soul masters, martial souls, and innate talent, everyone presents felt a deep sense of immersion.
Since their martial soul awakenings, most of their lives had been spent within the academy, with limited opportunity to interact with the outside world. They had primarily encountered only fellow students and teachers, leading to strikingly similar lives.
However, there were others just like them who had already left this stage—simply because they had chosen the wrong academy or the wrong teacher.
Just thinking about it gave them chills.
And most importantly, one of those people was now the leading teacher of the second team of Heaven Dou Imperial Academy.
This was the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy—nominally the highest institution of learning in the Heaven Dou Empire. Although many there, for various reasons, hadn't enrolled, their friends or descendants might attend in the future.
But now, would they still dare?
"Someone like this? Can they be a teacher?"
"Does Heaven Dou Imperial Academy not review its teachers?"
"How could they hire someone like this?"
"Shouldn't this be managed by the Spirit Hall? Or the Empire?"
After a moment of silence, various voices rose from the crowd. Almost everyone was denouncing Flender.
By the standards of the Douluo Continent, those gathered could be considered the future of the Heaven Dou Empire. This scene almost made Flender faint, as it seemed his future was over as well.
Upon hearing the surrounding discussions, Dugu Yan blinked. It seemed she had blown things out of proportion.
Originally, she had only intended to expose Flender's lack of teaching ethics—someone who preached ideals but cared only about profit. But before she could finish, the issue had escalated into a matter of trust in the Heaven Dou Empire.
She hadn't intended for this to happen. No wonder Xiao Li had warned her not to manipulate public opinion lightly. Now she understood—once words were spoken, some things became uncontrollable.
"Don't worry, it's not a big problem."
Just as Dugu Yan pondered her next move, Han Li's voice echoed in her mind.
At that moment, he had already greeted the others and was sitting with his eyes closed, communicating with her through the pendant she always carried.
What seemed uncontrollable to Dugu Yan was a trivial problem from Han Li's perspective.
The students from Shrek Academy had been specifically recruited for their talent, and the plan had always been to sever ties with them.
Coincidentally, Qian Renxue, disguised as Xue Qinghe, was also planning to ascend to power after this event. At that time, they could easily sever connections and shift the blame onto Emperor Xue Ye, as he had been the one who recruited these individuals during his reign.
Furthermore, Qian Renxue could take advantage of this situation to gain favor with the three major deans, further enhancing her reputation. In this light, it wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
So, under the name of Emperor Xue Ye, they would make some adjustments, remove Flender, and bring back Grandmaster.
The Soul Master Tournament couldn't proceed without Grandmaster, just as the Harem genre couldn't go without the Ecchi scene. Otherwise, a lot of the excitement would be lost.
In the blink of an eye, a corresponding plan had already formed in Han Li's mind, and he had even begun communicating with Qian Renxue about it.
With the crown prince as the inside man, it was almost effortless.
Dugu Yan, who had initially been anxious and was even considering bringing in her grandfather, Dugu Bo, immediately calmed down after receiving Han Li's message. If Xiao Li said there was no problem, then there wasn't a problem.
"You're lying. I didn't do anything. Do you have any proof?"
Flender, now panicking, retorted. Given the situation, he could no longer afford to worry about Dugu Yan's status. If he didn't defend himself, it wouldn't just be his reputation at stake.
If things escalated further, not only would he be expelled from Heaven Dou Imperial Academy, but he might even become a wanted criminal.
"Proof? Do you want proof? I can gather it right away. What do you think?"
Dugu Yan shook her head and smiled. Who needed proof? His reaction alone was proof enough. Just look at the expressions of the people around them—there was no way he could turn this around.
Hearing her response, Flender's heart sank.
In the past, students he had expelled had protested, but under the intimidation of his strength—and given that most students who chose Shrek Academy had no background—there had never been any real issues.
But if the Spirit Hall got involved, it would be a completely different matter.
If only he hadn't gotten involved in this at all.
He knew perfectly well what Dai Mubai's situation was, but considering that Dai Mubai had been the academy's benefactor for years and that he had personal feelings involved, he had turned a blind eye.
Now look where that had gotten him—he had dragged himself into this mess. Flender hung his head in regret. He hated Dugu Yan to the core, but at the same time, he didn't dare say anything further. Who knew what else might be waiting for him?
All he wanted now was to back down and hope the other side would let him off the hook.
"Why aren't you defending yourself? Do you think playing dead will let you avoid this?"
Dugu Yan pressed on, but there was no longer anyone to respond.
"How boring. Hmph, so they only pick on the weak. No wonder they get along so well—teacher and student are a perfect match."
Dugu Yan once again opened her mouth to mock them but received no response.
She turned to look at Zhu Zhuqing, who had just finished catching up with Ning Rongrong and was standing nearby.
"Zhuqing, do you have anything you want to say?"
Zhu Zhuqing glanced at the few people standing there with their heads down in silence. She didn't say a word, just shook her head. She didn't want to have anything more to do with them.
"Alright then."
Dugu Yan glanced at her helplessly and then turned her attention back to the group in front of her.
"Since Zhuqing doesn't want to deal with you, we'll leave it at that for today. However, since you've chosen to cower, make sure you stay that way. I don't want to hear any words that shouldn't be said or see any looks that shouldn't be given."
She paused for a moment and then looked at Flender.
"As for you, since you're currently a teacher at Heaven Dou Imperial Academy, I'll be passing this information along to them and let them deal with it."
"Of course, regarding your use of the Spirit Hall's name to deceive people and your sheltering of Zhao Wuji, the Spirit Hall still retains the right to pursue the matter."
After finishing, she no longer paid attention to Tang San and his group, who were silent as if they had lost their voices. Instead, she looked at the members of the Skywater Academy.
"Alright, let's go. What bad luck, running into a bunch of scumbags first thing in the morning."
After exchanging another glance with Ning Rongrong, Zhu Zhuqing followed them as they left.
The crowd that had gathered to watch quickly returned to their respective resting areas after some murmuring and pointing.
The members of the Heaven Dou second team remained standing where they were, silent and unmoving.
Ning Rongrong stood to the side, feeling somewhat vindicated but not approaching the others.
She noticed that Oscar was sneaking glances at the others, unlike the rest who had dark expressions. He seemed to be somewhat worried about Flender.
After a long moment, he took the initiative to walk over to Flender.
"Dean, we should head back to the resting area."
Flender closed his eyes briefly, took a deep breath, and then said, "Alright."
Without waiting for the others, he led the way back to the resting area.
The others, following Oscar's persuasion, also began heading toward the resting area one after another.
Watching this amusing scene, Ning Rongrong sighed inwardly, thinking, What a pity, he's just a support-type soul master.
She didn't feel much emotional turmoil. The recent events around her had been rather surreal, and she had learned to observe and think as an outsider, slowly coming to understand some of the things her father, Ning Fengzhi, had told her.
Walking leisurely behind everyone, she found herself thinking about Zhu Zhuqing.
Unlike the atmosphere around Tang San and his group, the resting area of the Skywater Academy was filled with laughter and joy.
Shui Yue'er, acting as a social lubricant, kept the mood lively, making everyone laugh non-stop. There was no trace of pre-tournament nerves.
This relaxed atmosphere drew frequent glances from the surrounding teams and academies. On one hand, the beautiful girls of the Skywater Academy were eye-catching, and on the other hand, the carefree mood made others deeply envious.
Suddenly, in front of the northern high platform of the arena, ceremonial cannons fired, and a group of people slowly appeared from the rear. Under the gaze of the entire audience, they walked to the front of the stands and took their seats.
As the cannon fire ceased, a winged host dressed in an ornate outfit appeared in mid-air at the center of the arena.
"Dear elite students, dear audience, please settle down for a moment!"
He paused, and once the arena quieted, a light screen appeared behind him, displaying the scene of the northern stand.
"Now, let us invite His Majesty, the Emperor of the Heaven Dou Empire, to announce the opening of this tournament."
As his voice fell, the light screen in the air showed the figure of Emperor Xue Ye, seated in the center of the front row of the VIP seats, dressed in a golden robe. Amid thunderous applause, he slowly stood up.
After a slight gesture toward the audience, there was silence, and his solemn and powerful voice echoed through the arena via the amplification soul device.
"I, Xue Ye, Emperor of the Heaven Dou Empire, on behalf of the Heaven Dou Empire and the hosts of this tournament, hereby declare the Continental Advanced Academy Soul Dueling Tournament open!"
The applause and cheers surged once again, reaching their highest peak so far.
After two more brief interruptions, Xue Ye skillfully offered his blessings to the elite students. Of course, he didn't forget to deliver a speech to win them over.
In short, he was saying, Follow me, and wealth and status are guaranteed.
Amid the enthusiastic cheers, Xue Ye returned to his seat, satisfied. He had just had a pleasant conversation with Han Li backstage.
Han Li had assured him that during this tournament, he would not actively recruit this batch of people, as a gesture of goodwill between the Spirit Hall and the Heaven Dou Empire.
Xue Ye was very pleased. His gaze toward Xue Qinghe was filled with even more comfort. It seemed that the crown prince's diplomatic policies were indeed effective.
The result of his satisfaction was that the number of seats in the front row of the stands had increased from three to five. Of course, this also had something to do with Yu Yuanzhen's attendance.
But besides Xue Ye being in the central seat, Xue Qinghe and Han Li were seated at his sides, while Ning Fengzhi and Yu Yuanzhen were positioned further out. This was quite a clear signal.
As Xue Ye returned to his seat, the host's voice rang out again: "Next, let us invite the Holy Son of the Spirit Hall, Han Li, to deliver the opening speech for this tournament."
The large screen in the air switched to show Han Li.
The screen displayed the young man, as radiant as jade, first smiling and then slowly standing up.
However, instead of stepping forward immediately, he turned to the two sect masters on either side of him with a look of apology, slightly bowing to them before standing upright again and walking toward the amplification soul device.
In the image, Ning Fengzhi and Yu Yuanzhen's expressions stiffened slightly before quickly changing to smiles, but inwardly they were cursing.
What a cunning brat. Backstage, when we said you should speak first, you didn't hesitate. But now that you're on stage, you pull this stunt to embarrass us, huh?
Then, the two of them heard Han Li's voice.
"Hello, everyone. I am Han Li. I am honored to be a guest at the Soul Master Tournament, but first, I must apologize to the two sect masters."
On the stands, Han Li had already turned toward the two of them.
The camera in the air followed his movement, capturing both of them in the frame.
Ps: If you're wondering why there are cameras and things like that, it's because this book was inspired by the Donghua version of Soul Land 1.