"Since there's not much to do lately, let's retreat."

After explaining some things, Han Yu officially entered the Heavenly Burning Soul Refining Tower for retreat.

With his strength, he naturally wouldn't be affected by the fire poison.

With the main fire and the secondary fire complementing each other, his cultivation speed would be even faster.

Meanwhile, the Shrek people were not idle either.

Yu Xiaogang had obtained a lot of information from the Academy Exchange Competition.

He summoned Tang San and others to the conference room and then shared the information.

"How can the Four Elements Academy and Canaan Academy be so strong!"

Just looking at the strength on paper, Tang San and others felt suffocated.

The Soul Master Competition was still over a year away, and their opponents were all high-level Soul Masters.

Even if they practiced hard without food and water for over a year, it would be difficult to reach their opponents' current level before the Soul Master Competition began.

Yu Xiaogang turned his back, his hands unconsciously clasped behind his back. "With your current strength, you have no chance against these five teams."

"According to past practice, there are only five qualifying spots in the Tiandou Division, so there's a high probability we won't even make it past the preliminaries."

"Teacher, I'm confident I can reach the Soul Master realm before the Soul Master Competition," Tang San said sternly.

"Master, I'm confident too," Xiao Wu said.

Yu Xiaogang shook his head. "You have confidence, but the others don't. Even if we have four Soul Masters, there's a good chance our opponents will be all Soul Masters, or even Soul Kings. The champions of the previous two Soul Master Competitions, the Spirit Hall teams, all had Soul Kings participating."

"This time, Feng Xiaotian, as well as Ye Lingling and Dugu Yan from Canaan Academy, will likely advance to Soul King status by the time the competition begins!"

Ning Rongrong was puzzled. "Master, we're all younger than them. If we can't make it this time, we'll try the next one."

Yu Xiaogang was using a standard PUA tactic, but Ning Rongrong wasn't fooled.

But Tang San took Yu Xiaogang's words to heart. "Teacher, since our hard power isn't up to par, we can work on our teamwork!"

Yu Xiaogang turned and smiled, "Xiao San is right. We Shrek might not be able to fight alone, but as a team, we can completely defeat our opponents. Starting tomorrow, I will lead you into the fourth phase of training."

After a pause, his face suddenly grew serious. "The fourth phase of training will last for six months. During these six months, everyone, give your all. I will not allow any of you to hold us back!"

"Master, we don't really need to fight so hard. After all, we can still participate in the next one." Oscar, encouraged by Ning Rongrong, stepped forward and said.

"Little Ao, don't affect the atmosphere. Master is willing to lead us to rapid improvement in strength. If you don't want to cooperate, then withdraw as soon as possible." Dai Mubai said with a veiled criticism.

His brother would definitely participate in this Spirit Master Competition. If he couldn't defeat them this time, he wouldn't have a chance to wait until the next one.

Once Davis turned twenty-five, it would be the end of him.

Now that Zhu Zhuqing had abandoned him, leaving him to face the Davises alone, the outcome was already sealed.

"Dai Mubai, why are you yelling at Oscar? If you have the ability, break through to Soul King before the Soul Master Competition," Ning Rongrong shouted angrily.

Their relationship had always been strained, having only been temporarily suppressed thanks to Tang San's mediation.

Tang San quickly stepped between them, intervening, "Alright, Dai Boss, Rongrong, Teacher won't harm us. Rongrong, if your strength improves significantly, your father and both grandfathers will be delighted."

"Rongrong, we've been through thick and thin together for so long. It wouldn't be worth quitting now. How about we give it another try?" Oscar whispered.

"Alright, stop being childish. Cultivation is something that will benefit you throughout your lives." Yu Xiaogang finally acted as a peacemaker.

This Soul Master Competition was his perfect opportunity to prove himself.

If he could lead the Shrek team to an upset and ultimately win the Soul Master Competition, they would be in a difficult position.

So, who would dare call him useless? Shouldn't others respectfully address him as "Master" when they saw him?

After this interlude, the Shrek group was still under Yu Xiaogang's control.

...

Time flew by.

With the continuous refinement of his soul power, Han Yu finally broke through level ninety.

Slowly opening his eyes, Han Yu gathered his aura and concluded his training.

When he reached the top floor of the Heavenly Burning Soul Refining Tower, he glanced at the soul guide calendar on the wall and muttered, "Twenty days of retreat, huh? Not bad."

Dugu Bo didn't know his soul power level, and Han Yu had no intention of announcing his Titled Douluo status immediately. Only

two years had passed since he officially absorbed the strange fire.

To advance from Soul Sect to Titled Douluo in just two years would be absurd if public knowledge spread.

To avoid unnecessary trouble, Han Yu decided to keep it secret for a while.

Returning to the dean's office, Han Yu felt a surge of anxiety as he looked at the mountain of reports on his desk.

"Oh my god, what troublemakers these guys are capable of!"

Helplessly, as the head of the academy, he had to handle these matters personally, or else delegate his authority.

Most of these reports dealt with trivial matters,

like the restaurant's procurement budget being over budget or a broken tile in the academy's floor.

Once submitted, these matters, if not rejected within three days, would automatically be approved.

Putting these reports aside, Han Yu focused on the matters concerning Canaan City.

"Are there not enough jobs?"

These were all submitted by Dugu Bo. Knowing Han Yu's personality, he kept these reports simple and straightforward.

Han Yu pondered for a moment, then poked his head out the window.

"Wow, quite the progress! It looks like the factory is ready to operate."

Indeed, Han Yu planned to open a factory.

As for the goods to be sold, he had long ago reached an agreement with the Danniu Chamber of Commerce in Tiandou City: once he began production, the Chamber would take full responsibility for sales.

But right now, Han Yu had no such plans. At least, he had to wait until he got the ninth spirit ring.

But he didn't get any god-given spirit rings in the recent system rewards.

That meant he had to rely on his own strength to get spirit rings.

"Two licking beasts, or facing the sea?"

There were a lot of spirit beasts in the sea, and there were many hundred thousand year old spirit beasts suitable for Han Yu to absorb. But at the same time, it would be a waste of time for him to search for them.

He didn't want the Titan Giant Ape and the Azure Bull Python.

The Fire Cloud Stick spirit didn't have a domain yet, and he planned to give it a try when he reached level ninety. Therefore, the choice of spirit ring was particularly important.

(End of this chapter)

Read 20+ chapters ahead at Patreon

[email protected]/TaroYama