Upon entering the cafeteria, Dugu Xianmeng led Zhou Sicheng directly to the third floor, the level reserved for Soul Duel Badge holders of the purple rank.
The Soul Duel Badge system followed the same color ranking as soul rings—white, yellow, purple, black, and red.
Currently, only one person in the academy held a red badge—Senior Sister Zhang Lexuan. According to known information, even the lowest-tier meal supplement for red-rank holders included at least one dish made from a ten-thousand-year-old soul beast every month.
For Dugu Xianmeng to reach the third-tier purple rank within just one year was a testament to her strength.
After all, she was only at Rank 48.
White Badge – Awarded upon entering the inner court.
Yellow Badge – Requires 100 points.
Purple Badge – Requires 500 points.
Black Badge – Requires 1,500 points.
Red Badge – Requires 3,000+ points.
Winning a Soul Duel awarded only one point. However, consecutive victories provided multipliers:
5 consecutive wins → Double points.
10 consecutive wins → Triple points.
15 consecutive wins → Five times the points.
20 consecutive wins → Ten times the points.
The highest winning streak in the academy's history was 23 consecutive victories, held by Zhang Lexuan.
Both Ye Guyi and Flame Demon Ma Xiaotao held personal bests of 18 consecutive wins.
Winning streaks were difficult because, even though opponents were within the same soul master rank, there were often significant level gaps.
Inner court duels were divided into two types:
Voluntary Duels – Where students could choose their opponents if both parties agreed.
Random Duels – Where students were randomly matched, meaning a Rank 43 student could end up fighting a Rank 49 opponent.
However, the advantage of Random Duels was that if a lower-ranked soul master defeated an opponent at least five levels higher, their earned points doubled.
Of course, this was incredibly rare—since every inner court disciple was a genius, very few could challenge higher levels and win.
One of those few exceptions was Dugu Xianmeng herself.
Her Jade Phosphor Five Poisons were far more potent than even the highly toxic Jade Phosphor Serpent Venom.
At Rank 48, unless an opponent had a martial soul that countered her poison or an extremely high resistance to toxins, even a Rank 55 Soul King would struggle to withstand her venom.
This was why she had been able to earn a purple badge in just one year.
As Zhou Sicheng ate, a thought suddenly crossed his mind.
"Senior Sister, based on what you said... doesn't that mean I can go straight to the top floor and taste the legendary red-tier delicacies?"
Dugu Xianmeng froze for a moment before glaring at him.
"That's right, you new students get one chance to taste red-tier food. But I can't go up there yet. Are you seriously going to abandon me here by myself?"
Zhou Sicheng's mouth twitched. That was... a fair point.
But wait—wasn't she supposed to be the Poison Enchantress?
Why was she pouting like some kind of elegant queen throwing a tantrum?
Was this a test of self-discipline?
What kind of man could possibly resist this kind of test?
Zhou Sicheng wasn't naive—he was very perceptive when it came to emotions. Otherwise, how else would he have captivated his sister's heart so thoroughly?
Even though he had only spent a few hours with Dugu Xianmeng, he could clearly sense how comfortable she was around him.
Actually, it wasn't just Dugu Xianmeng.
Yesterday, even the other senior sister and the newly admitted inner court girls seemed drawn to him.
Because he was too handsome!
Sometimes, good looks really were power.
And on top of that, his talent and strength had been acknowledged by everyone.
A handsome genius with immense potential—who wouldn't like that?
It was the same reason he liked beautiful women.
Of course, his admiration was purely aesthetic—nothing inappropriate.
Zhou Sicheng chuckled. "Then I'll wait until later to try it. I have a whole month, after all."
"That's the right choice." Dugu Xianmeng smiled. "And if you can't finish the food, you can pack it up and bring it back—I'll help you eat it. After all, we shouldn't waste food, right?"
Zhou Sicheng smirked.
Her calculations were so blatant they were practically slapping him in the face.
But since she had already brought it up, he was now even more curious about red-tier meals.
And, of course, if he had the chance, he'd definitely bring some back for her.
After all, she had already asked, and he had no reason to refuse.
Sharing a meal with a beautiful woman—why not?
One thing was certain—Shrek's food was incredible.
Even at the purple tier, breakfast included thousand-year-old soul beast ingredients, making for an absolute feast.
Not that it was anything new to Zhou Sicheng—he had been eating since childhood.
After breakfast, Zhou Sicheng didn't bother touring the inner court.
There was no need—he would naturally get familiar with it over time.
Dugu Xianmeng had already given him a verbal rundown of everything important.
As they left the cafeteria, Zhou Sicheng spoke casually.
"Senior Sister, why don't we go check out the Soul Duel Arena?"
The inner court had its own Soul Duel Arena, far larger and more advanced than the outer court's.
Dugu Xianmeng stared at him in disbelief.
"...What did you just say?"
Zhou Sicheng chuckled. "We have free time anyway. Why not watch some duels and see how powerful the senior disciples are? It'd be a good learning experience."
Dugu Xianmeng looked utterly exasperated.
"I know you're strong, but you just entered the inner court. You don't need to push yourself so hard right away. There will be plenty of time for training later.
Wouldn't it be better to relax, take a stroll around the inner court, and admire the beauty of Sea God's Lake?"
Zhou Sicheng couldn't be bothered to call out her true intentions.
Sure, spending time with a beautiful woman was nice, but his real goal was to catch the attention of Shrek's high-ranking elders.
If they valued him enough, maybe they'd train him like their own son—even better.
He couldn't even imagine how incredible it would be to grow stronger using Shrek's resources.
"Senior Sister," Zhou Sicheng said, "do you want to eat red-tier food?"
Dugu Xianmeng hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
Zhou Sicheng grinned. "Then it's simple. If I reach red-tier sooner, I can bring some back for you."
Dugu Xianmeng laughed.
"You? You're strong, sure. You defeated me using just one soul ring, but that's only because your Ultimate Ice counters my poison.
"But do you have any idea how many powerhouses are in the inner court? With your current rank, red-tier is nothing but a distant dream!"
"You don't believe me?"
"Then let's make a bet."
Zhou Sicheng thought for a moment.
"If I reach red-tier within one year, you owe me a favor. If I fail, I owe you a favor instead. What do you say?"
Hearing this, Dugu Xianmeng's heart raced with excitement.
"Fine! A gentleman's word is as good as gold!"
She extended her delicate hand, and Zhou Sicheng clapped palms with her, sealing the deal.
"A promise is a promise!"
Dugu Xianmeng could barely hold back her laughter.
Even Zhang Lexuan hadn't reached red-tier in just one year.
Did Zhou Sicheng think he was some kind of god?
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