Douluo Dalu (Soul Land): Shadow Monarch

Having received the answer he wanted, Xue Qinghe's smile grew even wider. After chatting with Cheng Xiao for a while, he stood up and said, "Brother Cheng Xiao, if you encounter any problems with the academy, feel free to come to the Crown Prince's residence. I believe you still have the token my cousin gave you, right?"

"Of course." Cheng Xiao cupped his hands and smiled, "Thank you, Your Highness."

Xue Qinghe nodded, smiling, "Then, let's end our conversation here for today, Brother Cheng Xiao. I have other duties to attend to, so I'll take my leave."

With that, Xue Qinghe offered an apologetic smile, then turned and left the room.

Watching Xue Qinghe's fading figure, Cheng Xiao shook his head with a smile. He opened his hand, and a cloud of black smoke surrounded him. Instantly, Cheng Xiao's figure vanished from the room, replaced by a bewildered shadow soldier.

…

After using a shadow swap to leave the quiet room, Cheng Xiao returned to the spirit mimicry training ground, where the members of the Huangdou team were locked in fierce combat with the shadow soldiers, too focused to notice anything else.

Due to Cheng Xiao's shadow swap, the Huangdou team members hadn't noticed his absence, as all their attention was on the never-ending wave of shadow soldiers. This relentless onslaught was the rigorous training organized by the dragon Nash.

With Ye Lingling around, Nash didn't have to worry about the team getting severely hurt, so he kept pushing them to the limit. As long as they survived, they'd keep training to the death.

While Nash was contemplating ways to increase the training intensity, a dark shadow suddenly appeared before him.

The moment the shadow appeared, Nash dropped to one knee respectfully, "My king, you have returned."

The black smoke surrounding Cheng Xiao dissipated as he waved his hand, "Rise. Halt their training for now; I have something to say."

"Yes, my king." Nash nodded, stood up, and snapped his fingers toward the shadow soldiers besieging the Huangdou team. Instantly, all the shadow soldiers stopped their actions, gazing reverently at Cheng Xiao, who stood beside their commander.

"My king!" the shadow soldiers respectfully bowed to show their loyalty.

"It's Cheng Xiao." Looking at his exhausted teammates, Yu Tianheng wiped the sweat from his forehead and addressed his companions.

"Oh… finally, he's back." Yufeng collapsed onto the ground, lying down without caring about the dirt. Cheng Xiao's absence had pushed them into a brutal training regime, and now that they could rest, Yufeng didn't care about his appearance anymore.

Utterly worn out…

Facing the shadow soldiers, Cheng Xiao waved his hand, and the soldiers transformed into wisps of black smoke, merging back into Cheng Xiao's shadow.

Watching the Huangdou team members lying down to rest without a care, Cheng Xiao formed a complex hand seal. Instantly, a green light emanated from the members, filling them with a soothing sensation.

Yu Tianheng was astonished to find his fatigue fading away. Staring at Cheng Xiao, he was at a loss for words.

Feeling his energy and spirit power replenished, Yufeng, who had been utterly drained, suddenly perked up, "Cheng Xiao, what kind of spirit skill is that? It restores way faster than Lingling's healing abilities—it's practically divine!"

Everyone, except for Dugu Yan, who had heard about Cheng Xiao's abilities from her grandfather, was stunned, including Ye Lingling, the team's healer, who looked at him in astonishment.

What kind of spirit power did Cheng Xiao possess? A spirit with fighting, scouting, support, and self-enhancement capabilities—it was like an unstoppable six-sided warrior! "Uh, I'll explain later," Cheng Xiao said, shaking his head. "It's not something I can explain quickly."

"Cheng Xiao, was it the Crown Prince Xue Qinghe who wanted to see you just now?" Yu Tianheng asked.

"Yes," Cheng Xiao replied with a faint smile. "The Crown Prince didn't approach me for anything major. I can tell you all about it—I, along with Sister Yan's grandfather, Dugu Bo, am planning to establish an advanced spirit master academy. I wasn't going to mention it initially, as it's just an idea and not easy to realize."

"But just now, with the Crown Prince's help, we managed to resolve the issue with the imperial family. I expect that soon, we'll find a location and begin enrollment. I'm telling you this because I wanted to ask if any of you would be interested in joining our new advanced spirit master academy."

As soon as Cheng Xiao finished speaking, the initially relaxed group froze in place. After a long pause, Yu Tianheng cleared his throat and asked curiously, "Cheng Xiao, are you saying that the academy you're setting up is connected to the Crown Prince? Does that mean if we leave the Heaven Dou Royal Academy, it won't count as 'jumping ship'?"

"Smart." Cheng Xiao snapped his fingers and smiled at the group, "Tianheng's right. Heaven Dou Royal Academy is an academy of the Heaven Dou Empire. My academy, co-founded with Dugu Bo and the Crown Prince, is also an academy of the Heaven Dou Empire. So even if you leave the Heaven Dou Royal Academy, you won't be offending the royal family."

"And I'm just putting this out there today; I won't pressure anyone to join. We've all been together for a while, so even if you don't join, there'll be no hard feelings."

"Since it's my grandfather's academy, as his granddaughter, I'll be the first to join." After Cheng Xiao's words, Dugu Yan agreed immediately, glancing meaningfully at Yu Tianheng beside her.

Yu Tianheng sighed, "Brother Cheng Xiao, honestly, given your age and current strength, I wouldn't usually consider it. Even with Senior Dugu as your support, you'd still lack the power. But that's how I used to think. Now, I have no reservations about saying yes."

"Captain!" Hearing Yu Tianheng's decisive answer, Osle and Yufeng were taken aback.

"Osle, Yufeng, sometimes you need to look ahead. If you're restricted by a fixed mindset, you'll regret it in the future." Yu Tianheng glanced at the two, his meaning unmistakable.

Ever since he was easily defeated by Cheng Xiao, Yu Tianheng understood that if Cheng Xiao grew up safely, his name would surely be etched on the peak of the continent's history.

With Yu Tianheng's veiled advice, Osle, Yufeng, and the Shi brothers exchanged glances. After a few seconds of silence, they all agreed.

They weren't foolish; their captain's words made the situation clear, and failing to adapt would be a mistake.

"By the way, Cheng Xiao, is there anything we need to do now?" Yu Tianheng asked, curious.

"Uh… all we need to do now is wait." Cheng Xiao scratched his nose, feeling slightly embarrassed.

"Wait? What do you mean?" Yu Tianheng looked puzzled.

"To put it simply, the Crown Prince and I only recently reached an agreement, so it'll take a bit longer for us to secure a location and start the academy."