All the students and the teachers, whether they were sleeping or meditating, opened their eyes wide and scrambled to look out of the window.
A distance away in the clouds, they saw a very tall pillar towering in the skies as if it was supporting heaven. At the base of that heavenly pillar, there was a gigantic blue lake. Around the surface of the lake, there were many compact buildings surrounding the blue lake in a ring shape, going outwards. The spaces between the buildings were covered by a variety of vegetation, and further away, there was a vast expanse of forest.
That’s right, it was a ring-shaped city and in the middle of a large forest, at that. This was the first academy of the Soul Federation with its 30,000 years history; it was also the sacred place of all Soul Masters, the Shrek Academy!
The ring-shaped city was Shrek City, and the huge lake in the middle was called Sea God Lake in honor of the first person in Shrek Academy to become a god—Tang San, Sea God and one of the first generation Shrek Seven Devils.
In the middle of Sea God Lake, that huge tree was called the Eternal Tree, which was said to be the source of life for the entire Douluo Planet.
Ji Hongbin also looked at the scenery outside the window. He clenched his fists subconsciously, and although his stiff expression didn’t show much changes, his eyes were filled with emotions.
‘I’m back, I’m finally back!’
“Shrek, this is Shrek Academy! It’s beautiful!” Liang Shushi gripped Bing Tianliang’s arm tightly, and her big eyes were filled with excitement.
Lan Xuanyu looked around with wide eyes too. Overlooked from the sky, Shrek Academy was huge and the dark blue lake was simply stunning, but what was even more extraordinary was the towering Eternal Tree.
When he saw the Eternal Tree, he couldn’t take his eyes off it. An indescribable sense of closeness welled up in him all of a sudden. The life energy in his body that was already heated began burning up, subtly stimulating his vortex to rotate quickly.
Even Bing Tianliang and Qian Lei, who were seated next to him, could feel the heat his body was releasing.
“Xuanyu, are you alright?” Qian Lei whispered.
Lan Xuanyu shook his head. The warmth in his body made him feel comfortable and that moisturized feeling in him made him feel invigorated.
Compared to his condition in Heaven Luo Planet, the bloodline vortex in his body was like a blackhole that kept having to absorb energy to supplement his body. Food was the energy it engulfed, which was why Lan Xuanyu ate so much. The Soul Power that was produced during cultivation was also its target of absorption.
And when Lan Xuanyu arrived here, he could clearly feel the change in his bloodline vortex’s appetite. The rich life energy here could replenish it and cause the vortex to absorb much less from his body.
He had this feeling the moment they arrived at Douluo Planet, and this feeling was becoming more and more obvious. His bloodline vortex was no longer absorbing the energy from his body, but it seemed that taking in the life energy in the air was enough to supplement it.
This was Shrek Academy! It was truly the Federation’s top academy. Just the environment alone was many times more suited for cultivation than any other planet. He must get in, he must. As long as he could stay here, everything would change for him.
With that thought, Lan Xuanyu’s gaze turned resolute.
The Soul Guidance plane slowly descended. The Sea God Lake below became blocked by buildings as the plane glided slowly and landed smoothly. A pleasant-sounding voice resounded in the cabin, “Welcome to Shrek City. Shrek City has a long history, and the first academy of the Federation, the renowned Shrek Academy, is located here as well. In the east of the city is where the headquarters of the Spirit Pagoda are located at. This is the cultural center of the Federation and also the sacred ground that all Soul Masters aspire to be at.”
That’s right, this was the sacred ground in every Soul Masters’ heart; it was an honor to be able to go there to cultivate. Unfortunately, Shrek Academy only recruited 30 people every year, and although there was recruitment every year and also some cases where rules were bent to recruit someone, the numbers were still very small. It was said that the total number of people studying in Shrek Academy at any one time didn’t exceed 300 people. As the top academy of the Federation, they had such small numbers. It was simply hard to imagine, but Shrek actually did it like so.
According to legend, the earlier Shrek Academy’s enrollment was much higher than this. It was not known when it had been reduced; however, every student who could graduate from here was an elite in the Federation.
When Lan Xuanyu and the rest from Heaven Luo Planet got off the plane, they were all solemn and respectful. Perhaps, this was the attitude of a pilgrimage. Nobody said a thing, but simply took in and observed everything from the outside world.
The second they got off the plane, they felt the fresh, moist air around them with a refreshing fragrance from the plants. It wasn’t cold nor hot, making one very comfortable. The slightly moist air attacked their senses and that crisp air seemed to be able to immerse into one’s skin. It was an unspeakable sense of comfort.
Lan Xuanyu looked around. The style of the airport was quaint and green, which was the main color for decoration; it felt fresh and pleasant.
There weren’t many magnificent decorations, but they were simple and tasteful, which gave one a sense of intimacy, allowing him or her to relax unknowingly.
Ji Hongbin, walking in front, saw all of this as well, but his eyes were filled with emotions. He touched his face subconsciously as if trying to confirm something.
A big Soul Guidance bus awaited them when they stepped out of the airport. The body of the bus was dark green with some images drawn upon it using gold lines. The most striking image was a slightly odd head, the emblem of Shrek Academy.
It wasn’t especially beautiful but was filled with history. This emblem had been passed down for over tens of thousands of years!
The door opened, and a person walked out. Seeing this person, Lan Xuanyu’s eyes lit up, as he actually knew this person. It was that beautiful girl from Shrek Academy, Ling Yiyi, who guided them during the qualifiers.
Ling Yiyi saw him as well and smiled sweetly at him. “Welcome, everyone, to Shrek Academy. I am the counsellor in charge of the students from Heaven Luo Planet taking part in the semi-finals. Please get in the bus with me. Also, a warm welcome to the teachers from Heaven Luo.”
Ji Hongbin nodded towards her and said, “Thanks for the trouble.”
The group shuffled into the bus one after another. This Shrek Academy bus was very luxurious. Each seat was like a sofa, and there was a table with a bottle of clean water. The bus could accommodate 50 passengers at once.
There were 30 students in total, and including the teachers, they didn’t even tally up to 40 people, so there were more than enough seats in the bus.
The bus began moving, and all of the students looked out their windows. They couldn’t wait to see this legendary city.
It was said that about 10,000 years ago, the original Shrek Academy was once destroyed and the current Shrek Academy was rebuilt on a much larger scale than before. Although there wasn’t any literary documentation of what happened exactly, one could imagine that this was definitely a devastating blow to the academy. Nonetheless, with its rich heritage, Shrek Academy was rebuilt, and with its current scope, it became the legend of all legends.
As the saying goes, ‘The fruit is the sweetest when it is the scarcest.’ It was precisely because Shrek Academy only recruited a small number of students that it caused so many young Soul Masters to go after it like a flock of ducks. Whether they could get in or not, everyone hoped to give it a try. If they managed to get in, it would be like reaching the sky in a single bound!