Douluo Dalu 2: Heavenly Eyed Douluo

Yan Shaozhe stopped before the Sea God's Pavilion's entrance, he bowed respectfully and said, "They're back, teacher."

Everybody was taken aback when they heard "teacher". The inner courtyard students: Ma Xiaotao, Ling Luochen, and Xi Xi—were utterly shocked.

Yan Shaozhe was the Martial Soul Department's Dean, and his status was already extremely high in the minds of the inner courtyard's students. Even Elder Xuan wasn't as important to them as Yan Shaozhe due to the differences in their responsibilities. Never once did they expect that Yan Shaozhe's teacher was still alive.

Ma Xiaotao was shocked for a different reason—she knew who her master's teacher was and the identity her grand teacher holds in the entire Shrek Academy, no, the whole world!

'Huh? Why do I sense a familiar aura from within?' Huo Yuhao furrowed his brows. Even if he hasn't use either his Sharingan or the Purple Eyes at the moment, his spiritual perception was sharp enough to detect a faint, familiar presence emanating from within the Sea God Pavilion.

'Hm? Guys, why are you all hiding?' His eyes slightly widened when he came to the realization that his ancestor, Electrolux, Skydream, Ice Empress, and Snow Empress were hiding deeper into their respective spaces.

He didn't get a reply, which indicated that they were adamant on hiding.

'So there's a Limit Douluo in here...' Huo Yuhao guessed, they weren't this scared when in the presence of Xuan Zi—a rank 98 peak Transcendent Douluo—which means that there's someone stronger than him. Which is a Limit Douluo! A person closest to becoming a God in this world.

Huo Yuhao gulped, feeling inwardly nervous but he smiled to mask his unease.

He wasn't sure what to expect, but he knew at the very least that they wouldn't do him any harm.

Because there's only one person in the entire academy that would be stronger than Xuan Zi, the true leader of the Sea God Pavilion, Shrek Academy and Shrek City—the Sea God Pavilion Master! As he had gathered information about the Sea God Pavilion, he unsurprisingly knew about the hierarchy within it.

The Sea God Pavilion Master holds the highest power and authority. The Sea God Pavilion Master makes all the important decisions for Shrek Academy. Other than the Pavilion Master, only the highest officials in the academy can join the Sea God Pavilion. Such as: Shrek Academy Department Deans, Elders - Outer, Inner and Core, Teachers - Outer, Inner and Core, and Leader of the Shrek Seven Monsters.

At that moment, intense radiant beams of golden light glowed, bathing the entire pavilion in a warm, almost divine brilliance. The light was not blinding but seemed to gently caress everything it touched, radiating a sense of peace and majesty.

Huo Yuhao instinctively squinted, shielding his eyes with his hand as his senses were overwhelmed by the sheer purity of the energy emanating from the light. His eyes widened.

The warm and dense light aura nourished everyone's bodies, and all the exhaustion that they had brought back from their long road home was swept away in an instant.

Huo Yuhao subconsciously channeled the Heavenly Tempering Technique, and he could feel his cultivation rising linearly with every circulation and his light element grew stronger.

His light element affinity was the lowest among his repertoire of elemental affinities, but under the nourishing radiance of the golden light, it surged and had now caught up to his Earth affinity(Mid).

'Is this the Golden Tree's doing? No, this feels artificial...Is this the Sea God Pavilion Master's doing? It's...amazing!' Huo Yuhao marveled, his mind racing to comprehend the sheer magnitude of the energy enveloping him. It was as if the God of Light himself was blessing him.

The Life Gold within him begin to stir, his body's endurance gradually increased. His Eye of Eternity started to itch as he soaked himself within the dense light aura — it was subconsciously absorbing the life energy in the air.

The Heavenly Soul Tempering Technique's exercise of his soul power circulated smoothly, converging both dream and reality into one — and the dense vitality in the air seemed to flow directly into his soul, his cultivation steadily increased.

If felt as if only a minute had passed, yet it also felt like a century. The warm and radiant aura gradually vanished, and everybody woke up from their strange sensations and experiences one after another.

'Aww. I didn't broke though rank 46!' As he opened his eyes, Huo Yuhao inwardly groaned, disappointed that he didn't manage to get one rank increase of his cultivation.

If anyone heard about his complaints, they would've spat out blood. Most people at his level would've been thankful they could even advance one rank in two months, much less 3 that he had in one month!

At 13 years old, Huo Yuhao managed to reach his current level of cultivation with a perfect foundation that would guarantee him no bottlenecks until Titled Douluo, despite having a martial soul with the Ultimate Ice that would slow down his cultivation when he reached rank 30.

He only managed to bypass that because of the Ice God's Bone, and that also he skipped several ranks of soul power because he was Indra's incarnation—and he was born with a huge amount of innate soul power, but it was sealed away because his body couldn't handle it, and it went on being sealed because his body had been malnourished over the years as a slave in the mansion.

However, that didn't mean he didn't reach this far without working his butt off—constantly active weight bracelets that weighed hundreds of kilograms, with dozens of shadow clones working on hundreds of things on the side with a few popping off to transfer the knowledge and experience it gained over to the original, had to fight off monsters beyond his peers, and he had pushed back against the Ice God and he lived by sacrificing his left arm.

Each day, of every minute of his life, he continued on pushing his limits like a man possessed. Huo Yuhao wasn't simply talented—he was relentless. He turned every moment into an opportunity to grow stronger, refusing to let any obstacle hold him back.

Despite his inward complaints about not advancing to rank 46, he knew he was treading a path that few could ever dream of. Most people with his cultivation speed would hit bottlenecks, succumb to arrogance, or burn out, but Huo Yuhao had none of those luxuries.

He had a purpose, and he would achieve it—no matter the cost.

Gradually, everyone else woke up and had also benefited greatly from this experience. They exchanged a certain look, and they wanted to say something, but they understood it wasn't appropriate at the moment.

They stepped into the Sea God's Pavilion's first level. Everything was just so plain and austere, and every single piece of furniture or decoration seemed to be made from this strange wood, just like the Sea God's Pavilion itself.

There was a long table in the center of the great hall. The four Deans and Elder Xuan were sitting by the table, while Fan Yu stood behind Xian Lin'er and Qian Duoduo. There were several other elders sitting on either side of the table. Huo Yuhao didn't recognize most of them, and only Ma Xiaotao, Ling Luochen, and Xi Xi could recognize some of them.

Huo Yuhao and the others stood before the table, with most of them expressing nervousness. They didn't know what to do at that moment, should they kneel or something?

However, at that moment, Huo Yuhao's gaze was focused on a certain person that was at the head of the table. When he saw the person, the old withered looking man on a wheelchair, his eyes widened in shock.

'The old man from the outer courtyard dormitory?! Why is he....hoooolyyy! Is he the Sea God Pavilion Master?! That would certainly explain why he's here....' But it was just so unbelievable. He had thought that mysterious old man was just an elder or secret great guardian of the outer courtyard, but never the Sea God Pavilion Master.

'Huh? Did he winked at me?' Huo Yuhao blinked, noticing the old man's subtle action towards him.

He wanted to say something, but Yan Shaozhe spoke up.

"Welcome back, children. Whether or not you've heard this before, I will explain it to everyone again. The Sea God's Pavilion is the supreme place for official business and meetings, and conferences held within the Sea God's Pavilion will determine the academy's future direction and path. Everyone here, besides the four Deans, are Elders from the academy, and they have each contributed greatly to the academy."

He smiled and crossed his fingers, "You represented the academy and emerged as champions in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament with an incomplete team. We have heard of the entire process. Giving everyone the opportunity to come here is the academy's way of showing our gratitude and rewarding you guys. We hope that you will continue to work hard and not be overcome with pride by what you have achieved."

Everybody immediately bowed respectfully toward the Elders sitting around the table, some surprised that he didn't introduce the Elders to them.

This wasn't because Yan Shaozhe had forgotten — this was the Sea God's Pavilion's rule, and giving Huo Yuhao and the others the permission to come in was already an exception. Everything inside the Sea God's Pavilion contain the Shrek Academy's core secrets, and anybody that wasn't part of the Sea God's Pavilion wasn't allowed to know.

"I will announce the rewards," Yan Shaozhe said with a deep voice, "Ma Xiaotao, Ling Luochen, Xi Xi."

"Here!"

As he looked at them, Yan Shaozhe's gaze softened and he let out a sigh. "The incident at Ming Dou Mountain was out of anyone's control, not only some of you were severely injured—but three of your teammates; Gongyang Mo, Chen Zifeng, and Yao Haoxuan had passed away. In honor of their duty and achievements, we have decided to commemorate them as heroes of Shrek Academy."

"Their names will be etched into the Pillar of Heroes within Shrek Academy's Inner Courtyard," Yan Shaozhe said, his voice firm yet filled with sorrow. "They will forever be remembered for their bravery and their service to the academy. Let their sacrifices remind us of the heavy responsibility we bear as guardians."

The Pillar of Heroes is a grand monument standing near the center of Sea God Island, carved from an unyielding obsidian-like stone that gleams faintly under sunlight. Initially constructed as a training ground similar to the Holy Pillars of the original Sea God Island, its purpose shifted over time into something far more profound.

The transformation began when one of the first Shrek Guardians fell in battle and requested, in his final moments, that his name be inscribed on the very pillar where he had honed his skills and strength. His request was honored, time passed, and others who gave their lives in service to Shrek Academy expressed similar wishes.

To any true Shrek Academy student or disciple, having their name inscribed on the Pillar of Heroes was the highest honor they could hope to achieve in death. It symbolized not only their exceptional bravery and contributions but also their eternal bond to the legacy of Shrek Academy.

"Although student Huo Yuhao over there did much of the work in the tournament, your own efforts will not be overlooked," Yan Shaozhe said, leaning his chin over his fingers. "Your usual stipend of various resources will be doubled for the next six months, each of you will be given a Soul Ascension Pill, and also receiving a undisclosed reward from your respective master/teacher."

Ma Xiaotao, Ling Luochen, and Xi Xi went wide-eyed and with stars in their eyes.

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AN: Merry Christmas to everyone! Hope you had a wonderful year of 2024. As a Christmas Present, enjoy 5 chapters at the end of year~

Cause I'm not posting anything next week because I'll be out with the fam. See y'all later~

Use this code over at my patreon: 97397 for 50% off on membership~ C'mon now, feel the spirit of Christmas~ Hohohoho~

3/5 chapters