Douluo: The Peerless Sun and Moon Mechanical God

The sun blazed high in the sky, its rays pouring down from the distant heavens, dispelling the thin mist that lingered above Shrek Academy and illuminating the cheerful, youthful faces in front of the freshman registration office.

Inside the empty classroom, Lin Qing stood alone by the floor-to-ceiling window, silently watching his peers, who were extremely excited about passing the entrance exam.

Every enrollment season, a thousand gifted children under the age of twelve travel from afar to Shrek City, full of ambition to enroll in Shrek Academy. They naively believe that the continent's number one academy is the glorious beginning of their Soul Master career, but little do they know that it is just wishful thinking.

The number of sixth-year students graduating from the outer academy is pitifully small, averaging no more than fifty per year. The graduation rate of five percent is astonishing, and Shrek students are facing a nightmare mode akin to raising a venomous insect.

"Squeak—"

The door was slowly pushed open, and Lin Qing turned around to see a stunningly beautiful face.

With her exquisite features and clear, bright eyes, Lin Qing had to admit that the woman was exceptionally beautiful, like the moon with its gentle, flowing light. Her beauty was unconventional, and her appearance, figure, and temperament were flawless. However, she was not the older sister he longed to see.

"My name is Zhang Lexuan, the chief disciple of Shrek Academy and the senior sister of the inner court."

Zhang Lexuan gazed at the tall, slender figure by the window, her silver-gray eyes clear and bright, as if reflecting the shadows of clouds and the light of the sky.

"Hello, Senior Zhang, this is Lin Qing. Sister Xiao Lan often mentions you when she gets home. Thank you for taking care of her all this time."

Lin Lan enjoys sharing her learning and life at Shrek Academy with her family, from the timeless running training to the thrilling missions of carrying out surveillance tasks, as well as the gossip and entertainment between the inner and outer academies.

Those were peaceful and tranquil times.

Lin Qing was carving the core array of the soul guidance, while Grandma Lin's recliner swayed under the old locust tree. Lin Lan, her eyes sparkling, propped her snow-white chin up and chattered about what she had seen and heard.

How many students did the crazy old hag from the outer courtyard expel this year? The consumption of chicken legs in the cafeteria has once again reached a new high. And the two active volcanoes have once again transformed into fixed-position guided missiles and blown up the inner courtyard...

Among them, the name Zhang Lexuan appears with an extremely high frequency, and the image is usually positive.

They were only two years apart in age, yet Lin Lan had been cared for by Zhang Lexuan for many years. Sitting opposite Lin Qing, she cupped her pretty face in her hands and sighed with admiration, thinking how wonderful it was that there was such a gentle and virtuous senior sister as Sister Lexuan in the world. She would surely become a perfect wife and mother in the future.

"No... that's nothing..."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Lexuan forced a smile, but the curve of her lips was not as gentle and charming as usual; her smile contained a lingering sense of guilt.

"When Sister Xiaolan was sixteen, she met the graduation standards for Shrek Academy's outer academy," Lin Qing said softly. "Two choices were placed before her: graduation assessment or further study in the inner academy."

I repeatedly suggested she graduate directly because she said there was no fundamental difference between the internal and external education, but she ultimately didn't listen to me.

Zhang Lexuan lowered her eyes: "I heard Xiao Lan mention this once. There was a disciple in the inner courtyard who suffered greatly due to a defect in her martial soul. She had a top-level fire attribute martial soul, while Xiao Lan had an ice attribute blue dragon martial soul, which could effectively suppress the heat."

Initially, Xiao Lan did propose graduating and leaving the school. Upon hearing this, the dean of the Martial Soul Department personally intervened to persuade her, saying that as long as Xiao Lan entered the inner academy and helped that student control his Martial Soul, Shrek Academy was willing to provide a sum of cultivation resources every year as compensation.

If the cure is achieved, Shrek Academy will give her a 50,000-year-old soul bone, with the attributes and soul beast species to be chosen by her, and they will try their best to meet her requirements.

She told me that she didn't care about resources; her younger brother's martial soul had just awakened, and it was a time when he needed to solidify his foundation. Furthermore, if her brother decided to enroll at Shrek Academy in the future, his sister could continue to accompany and protect him in the inner courtyard.

"No wonder, she always produces some rare treasures when she comes home for vacation, such as whale glue, meridian nourishing pills, and dragon blood elixir... When I pressed her for details, she just waved her hand and said it was a reward for finding a bargain at the treasure appreciation event and for monitoring tasks."

The doubts buried for many years were suddenly understood. Lin Qing's lowered eyes were shrouded in shadow, no longer clear silver-gray, but like the deep gray sea undulating under the clouds, silent and profound.

"Seriously injured, or..."

Lin Qing wasn't a fool. The moment Du Weilun said he was going to Poseidon Island to find Lin Lan, but it turned out to be his senior sister Zhang Lexuan who came, he knew that his sister was probably in grave danger.

"Perhaps, Xiao Lan should have listened to advice back then and not set foot in Shrek Academy's inner courtyard."

Zhang Lexuan's forced smile slowly disappeared, and she gently revealed the cruel truth: "Six months ago, the Inner Court organized a large-scale soul-hunting operation."

Twelve inner court disciples who needed soul rings to break through their cultivation levels gathered together, with the Sea God Pavilion elder, Taotie Douluo, accompanying and protecting them. Together, they ventured deep into the Star Dou Great Forest to hunt soul beasts. Xiao Lan and I were both in the team.

Unfortunately, we got separated from Taotie Douluo by accident. In the dead of night, a 100,000-year-old soul beast, the Blood Moon Crimson Flood Dragon, attacked the camp, resulting in a tragedy of eight deaths and four serious injuries. Xiao Lan tragically sacrificed herself...

I'm sorry, I failed in my responsibilities as a senior student and let down the junior students who trusted me.

As soon as she finished speaking, Zhang Lexuan bowed deeply, her cheeks suddenly feeling a cold, stinging pain. An extremely sharp and chilling aura seemed to appear in the air, a sign that only appeared when Lin Qing's emotions were in extreme turmoil.

"The tragedy that happened six months ago has been concealed until now. If I hadn't come to Shrek Academy, were you planning to keep it a secret forever?"

"Absolutely not!" Zhang Lexuan answered decisively. "After absorbing that bloody 100,000-year soul ring, my already severely injured body was aggravated, forcing me to enter the Golden Tree for seclusion to treat the injury. I recuperated for half a year before emerging from seclusion."

I'm sorry, Xiaoqing, I don't want to make excuses for myself, but I feel that the deaths of the eight junior students were all caused by the teachers.

Therefore, the ones who should be delivering the obituary and bearing the brunt of the deceased's family's anger are none other than myself and Taotie Douluo.

"The Gluttonous Douluo..."

That level 98 Title Douluo who drinks heavily and eats chicken legs every day…”

Lin Qing had already realized the vortex Lin Lan had gotten herself into—the Star Dou Massacre, one of Taotie Douluo's two heaven-defying mistakes. The sudden, overwhelming surge of hatred and rage was like a raging fire about to burst through his chest.

"Since Shrek Academy admits its dereliction of duty and decides to bear the wrath of the deceased's family, you're standing here now, so where is the Gluttonous Douluo?"

Zhang Lexuan remained silent for a moment, then straightened up, finding it difficult to speak, and said, "Elder Xuan knows he has failed in his duty and intends to resign from his position at the Sea God Pavilion. He hasn't left the Sea God Pavilion for half a year, so he must still be grieving..."

Yes, Taotie Douluo can't escape the shadow of the Star Dou era, and then next year he'll happily lead his team to participate in the Soul Master Competition, repeating the same mistakes, and the tragedy will lead to an even bigger tragedy.

Lin Qing's smile was cold, his pupils seemed to be frozen: "The number one academy on the continent, the deputy pavilion master of the Sea God Pavilion, a level ninety-eight Gluttonous Douluo, and the leader of the Soul Hunting Operation."

He inexplicably lost track of the twelve inner court disciples, leading to your encounter with a 100,000-year-old soul beast. The battle ended tragically with eight dead and four severely injured. Finally, he arrived late and led the survivors away from the Star Dou Great Forest.

"Who exactly did Taotie Douluo protect? And what right does he have to cower in the Golden Tree like an old turtle hiding in its shell, afraid to take responsibility and leave a student to bear the consequences?"

Even the Three-Headed Crimson Demon Hound, the eighth most ferocious beast on the continent with 300,000 years of cultivation, couldn't cause any trouble in Elder Xuan's hands. This shows how absurd and pointless the sacrifice of eight inner court students was when Taotie Douluo personally led the team.

Zhang Lexuan's eyes trembled; she knew all too well that Elder Xuan could not escape his guilt.

With Dragon God Douluo Mu Lao seriously injured and old, if Taotie Douluo Xinruo insists on staying indoors, Shrek Academy's high-end combat power will be greatly reduced. Song Lao alone cannot protect the once aloof Shrek Academy.

Elder Mu had done her a great favor, and Zhang Lexuan was caught in the middle, torn between two difficult choices. She could only blame herself for the mistakes, enduring the anger of the deceased's family while trying to persuade Taotie Douluo to let go of his grudges and start afresh.

"Give me back my sister's body, and I'll take her home to be laid to rest."

"...The Blood Moon Crimson Dragon's innate soul skill, Blood Moon Erosion, contains corrupting power, leaving no trace of the bodies of eight junior brothers and sisters."

Zhang Lexuan avoided Lin Qing's scorching gaze and took out her storage soul tool: "After I came out of seclusion, I sorted through the belongings of my junior classmates. This is Xiao Lan's. It contains one-eighth of my savings from the past twenty years. It's a small token to make amends to the deceased's family and also to put my mind at ease."

Taking the crescent-shaped ring, Lin Qing probed into it with his spiritual power and took out Zhang Lexuan's compensation item by item, keeping only Lin Lan's personal belongings.

He remained silent and no longer vented his anger on Zhang Lexuan.

This senior disciple of the inner court was also a tragic figure. In another timeline of her memory, it was clearly Elder Xuan who made the mistake, but in the end, she was the one kneeling before the golden tree, unable to rise.

After tidying himself up, Lin Qing strode past Zhang Lexuan and left Shrek Academy.

In the era of Douluo Continent II: The Peerless Tang Sect, Shrek Academy was like a dilapidated house that was about to collapse and had drafts coming from all sides. Lin Qing went up and kicked it, the house shook but nothing happened, and then a bunch of burly men rushed out and beat him half to death.

Douluo Continent is ultimately a world relatively small, where cultivation level and background are the true measure of success. The future belongs to geniuses, while the present belongs to the towering Sea God Pavilion.

I am not yet strong; if I were, things would change.

……

Various cultivation resources were scattered haphazardly on the table. Zhang Lexuan looked dazed. The window glass showed Lin Qing's back as he resolutely left against the tide of new students, like a sturdy and upright green bamboo.

She didn't know where he was going, but she was absolutely certain that he would be locked in a life-or-death struggle with Shrek Academy and Taotie Douluo.

With her knees bent and her legs resting on a table, Zhang Lexuan looked out the window at the bustling crowds. A wave of exhaustion washed over her. She felt reluctant to return to Poseidon Island to continue trying to persuade Elder Xuan to come out of seclusion for the greater good. She just wanted to be alone for a while.

From daylight to dusk, Zhang Lexuan maintained the same posture, watching as the number of new students registering dwindled, and the registration period for the day was about to end.

"Xiao Yuhao, from now on you're a disciple of Shrek Academy's outer court, just like us!"

A cheerful, lighthearted voice came from outside. At the end of the path, three figures walked side by side: two men and a woman. The girl slapped the skinny boy's shoulder hard, while the slightly older boy next to her ruthlessly complained, "Are you going to kill your junior brother with one slap?"

Zhang Lexuan snapped out of her daze and looked at the three people, who seemed to have noticed her as well.

"Senior Sister."

After helping Huo Yuhao obtain a special Tang Sect admission status to exempt him from the entrance examination, Bei Bei made an excuse to have Tang Ya introduce Huo Yuhao to the academy, while she went to the next room of the admissions classroom to meet Zhang Lexuan.

Ever since confirming her relationship with Tang Ya, Bei Bei changed her address from "Sister Le Xuan" to "Senior Sister," and asked curiously, "Senior Sister, what brings you to the outer courtyard today?"

"Just browsing," Zhang Lexuan said casually. "Was the trip successful? Has Xiaoya's third spirit ring been secured?"

"Yes, we encountered a thousand-year-old Datura snake, which is perfect for Blue Silver Grass to absorb," Beibei replied with a smile.

After Lin Qing left the Star Dou Great Forest, the three members of the Tang Sect had incredible luck and found a thousand-year-old Mandragora Snake hiding in its den without much effort. Tang Ya was overjoyed, as her Blue Silver Grass Soul Ring was now the same as that of the great ancestor Tang San!

"Um...Senior Sister, did a boy named Lin Qing come to Shrek Academy today? He's the younger brother of Lin Lan, an inner court disciple," Bei Bei asked hesitantly.

"Do you know him?"

"We met once." Beibei nodded. "I want to say that Lin Qing's martial soul is of the metal element, which is very powerful. It can even suppress the ten-thousand-year-old bronze hellfire dragon head-on. At the same time, he is good at using soul tools."

In my opinion, Shrek Academy's Soul Guidance Department should take Lin Qing's fighting style as its goal and cultivate more students who combine the skills of Soul Master and Soul Guidance Master; that is the inevitable trend for the future. The academy should try to keep him, even if it means making an exception and not requiring a recommendation letter from the main city.

"You're too late. We've already met. He's left and knows that Xiao Lan's sacrifice was entirely due to the academy's negligence," Zhang Lexuan frankly told her.

Beibei frowned: "Can't we get him back? The academy can find ways to make it up to him. Shrek Academy has exceptionally talented classmates, cultivation resources accumulated over ten thousand years, and a powerful and abundant teaching staff. This is a foundation that no other place can match."

How can lost lives be brought back to life?

A hint of weariness was evident in her dark eyes. The Star Dou massacre had destroyed the Taotie Douluo's remaining ambition and also shattered the inner courtyard senior sister's harmonious and contented heart. Bei Bei was stunned. He had never seen Zhang Lexuan so bewildered.

"Beibei, it takes many years to build love, but only a moment to build hatred."

Never underestimate the pain of losing a loved one; karma is a cycle, and I will bear it myself.

"It was the greatest shame of my life for my senior sister to watch her junior sister die right before her eyes. I have eight lives on my shoulders. I should have been the first to die that night..." Zhang Lexuan said with a sense of loss.

"If you die first, perhaps none of the twelve trainees will survive," Beibei couldn't help but retort.

"It doesn't matter anymore; people have to pay the price for the mistakes they make."

Beibei, go to the Sea God Pavilion and persuade Elder Xuan for me. Elder Mu is old and suffered a severe spinal injury that will never heal in his youth. Shrek Academy needs the Taotie Divine Ox to guard it.

I'm leaving Shrek City for a while. The families of the other junior students are probably just as anxious as Lin Qing. I'll travel to their hometowns to deliver their obituaries...