Douluo: Soul-Breaking spear

Chapter 116: Changes in Shrek Academy and the Po Clan

A year had passed since Yang Potian obtained the Man-Faced Demon Spider's soul bone, and subtle shifts were starting to emerge within the Shrek Seven.

While hunting for spirit rings in the Hunting Forest, Shrek's group once again encountered the Titan Giant Ape. True to form, it snatched Xiao Wu, and Tang San desperately pursued her. However, luck was not on their side this time. Unlike before, they didn't come across an injured Man-Faced Demon Spider, so Tang San settled on a standard spider-type spirit beast. His new skill was still Web Bind, and his spirit power rose to level 31, showing no significant difference.

But this time, Tang San missed out on obtaining the immensely valuable Eight Spider Lances spirit bone.

Following this event, Yu Xiaogang arrived at Shrek Academy, initiating a series of rigorous training exercises that left everyone exhausted but brought substantial improvement to their skills. Soon afterward, Shrek Academy's students entered the Great Spirit Arena of Soto City, winning fight after fight and ultimately earning their Silver Spirit Arena Badges.

True to the original events, Qin Ming led his team from Heaven Dou Imperial Academy to face them in a team battle. In the fight, after Xiao Wu was injured, Tang San unleashed a deadly array of hidden weapons, each laced with a distinct blue glow, signaling that they were poisoned.

The Shrek team barely eked out a victory, but the damage to Heaven Dou's team was considerable, with multiple members injured by hidden weapons, and several severely poisoned. Lacking the healing expertise of Duguyan or Ye Lingling, Heaven Dou's team was left critically vulnerable, while Shrek's team suffered injuries from the battle. Without the advanced healing techniques that only top-tier spirit masters could provide, both teams teetered on the brink of collapse by the end of the fight. Fortunately, the Great Spirit Arena employed high-level healing spirit masters who managed to avert the worst.

Despite this, Qin Ming still extended an invitation to Shrek Academy to engage in an exchange program with Heaven Dou Imperial Academy, much as he had in the original storyline. Given Shrek's team's age, it was unlikely they'd participate in the upcoming Spirit Master Tournament. Their youth left them perfectly poised to join the next tournament, so Heaven Dou saw it as an opportunity to scout for talent early.

Unaware of Heaven Dou Academy's internal structure, Yu Xiaogang and his group eagerly accepted the offer. They saw the exchange program as a way to take advantage of Heaven Dou's ample resources—high-quality simulated training environments, financial support for the academy's teams, and access to valuable information. It seemed a mutually beneficial agreement with no apparent drawbacks.

Had Yang Potian known of Yu Xiaogang's thoughts, he would have scoffed at such naivety. Although Heaven Dou Imperial Academy indeed provided its students with plentiful resources and top-grade facilities, such privileges often came with hidden costs. Students were often exposed to countless temptations—wealth, power, food, even beautiful companions, all strategically placed to draw in students who lacked discipline. Heaven Dou Academy's aristocratic circles knew all too well how to ensnare young, impressionable spirit masters.

Shrek's younger members, with their limited life experience, were far from immune to such influences. Neither Ma Hongjun nor Oscar had been exposed to such luxuries, and it was questionable if they could withstand the allure.

Meanwhile, the Po Clan had also seen notable advancements over these three years—primarily positive developments. First, Yang Potian's father, Yang Zhentian, finally broke through to become a Titled Douluo. His breakthrough had actually occurred over two years ago, while Yang Potian was still training in Slaughter City. Accompanied by the clan's elder Douluos, he ventured into the Star Dou Forest and acquired an impressive spirit ring from a Ghost Tiger estimated to be around 86,000 years old, substantially boosting his offensive abilities.

Not long afterward, Yang Potian's mother also ascended to the rank of Titled Douluo, making her the fourth Titled Douluo within the Po Clan. All she needed was a spirit ring, which the family planned to obtain in Star Dou Forest soon. With Yang Potian now at level 60, the plan was to accompany her and acquire his own new spirit ring at the same time.

The Po Clan's youngest prodigy, Yang Tianyue, had reached age twelve and was also ready to begin formal training. Possessing innate full spirit power, Yang Tianyue had advanced to level 33 without any use of celestial herbs. Each of her spirit rings was carefully chosen under the supervision of Yang Wudi, who personally escorted her to Sunset Forest to acquire highly offensive rings of ideal strength and age.

While the family initially planned to train Yang Tianyue within the clan, her strong-willed personality led her to insist on attending Heaven Dou Imperial Academy. Ultimately, her father and grandfather acquiesced. Yang Potian arranged for her to join Heaven Dou Imperial Academy's Team Two as soon as she enrolled, where she would receive "devil training" under his supervision and gain exposure to the wider world.

They had also set clear guidelines—most importantly, she was not to interact with any male students. At only twelve years old, Yang Tianyue was too young to be ensnared by noble playboys, which would only bring heartache and unnecessary conflict.

Yang Potian estimated that his younger sister would study at Heaven Dou Imperial Academy for about a year, graduating with the rest of her team and thus allowing them to avoid prolonged entanglement with the academy and its aristocratic circles.

Within the Po Clan itself, significant power shifts had occurred. All six elders had now reached the rank of Spirit Douluo, a marked improvement from the days when only four of them had reached Spirit Saint level before Yang Potian left for Slaughter City.

In recent years, the Po Clan has expanded significantly, reaching approximately 800 spirit masters—surpassing even their numbers before the devastating conflict with the Clear Sky Clan. This growth includes both descendants of the Po Clan and spirit masters from civilian backgrounds who joined through alliances and marriages.

Outwardly, the Po Clan has maintained a low profile, rarely involving itself in disputes within the spirit master community and appearing more like a prominent merchant family to outsiders. Their expertise in herbal medicine and alchemy has made them famous throughout the continent, with their products reaching both the Star Luo Empire and the Spirit Hall.

The Yu Clan, their allied family, has adopted a similar low-key approach. In recent years, they have specialized in construction, establishing themselves as the leading builders on the continent.

Yang Potian's grandfather, Yang Wudi, has spent less time in direct cultivation since becoming a Titled Douluo, focusing more on creating poisons and elixirs. This change has strengthened ties with Dugu Bo, who frequently visits, often spending days on end in the alchemy lab, likely to experiment with new toxins. Their relationship has grown closer, especially since the Po Clan gifted Dugu Bo a rare spirit bone from a 40,000-year-old Single-Horned Violent Dragon. After a casual suggestion from Yang Potian, Yang Wudi and Dugu Bo devised a method to channel toxins into spirit bones, addressing the Green Phosphor Serpent spirit's toxic side effects—a long-standing issue within the Dugu family.

This 40,000-year spirit bone was absorbed by Dugu Bo's son, Dugu Xin, who saw substantial benefits. Not only did it cure his old injuries and resolve the poisonous drawbacks of his martial spirit, but it also boosted his cultivation speed. Despite the permanent damage from past setbacks, Dugu Xin has reached Spirit Sage level and is working to regain his strength and progress further.

Yang Potian reflected on the current status of his clan. Their strength had reached a commendable level. With four Titled Douluos soon in their ranks, the Po Clan's upper-tier fighting power now rivaled that of the renowned Three Upper Clans. Adding in his maternal grandfather, Niu Gao, and Dugu Bo as powerful allies, even the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Clan and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan were cautious about provoking the Po Clan.

However, despite these advancements, Yang Potian knew that their strength was insufficient to resist Spirit Hall directly. Should Spirit Hall decide to involve the Po Clan in one of their spirit hunts, the clan would likely face significant losses, even if their Titled Douluos could hold the line.

After much deliberation, Yang Potian, together with Yang Wudi and Niu Gao, decided to respond to Spirit Hall's invitation to accept an official conferment at Spirit City during the finals of the upcoming Spirit Master Tournament. This would be a symbolic step toward reconciliation and a sign to mitigate tensions between the two sides.

Following Yang Potian's thorough analysis, both Yang Wudi and Niu Gao eased their previously intense opposition to Spirit Hall, choosing not to overtly antagonize them for now.

The Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Clan, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, and even the Heaven Dou Empire were dissatisfied with this decision, but they had little grounds to protest. After all, both Sword Douluo and Bone Douluo of the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Clan, along with Yu Yuanzhen of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, had been conferred their titles by Spirit Hall. Two of them were even listed on Spirit Hall's Papal Decree. It would be unwise to push such a powerful force toward Spirit Hall over a minor disagreement.

(End of Chapter)

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