Douluo: Two brothers in douluo

Dai Mubai walked up to Oscar and gave him a pat on the shoulder.

"Not bad, Little Ao! It's been less than an hour, and you've already recovered from your heartbreak!"

Dai Mubai's face wore a bright, sunny smile as he teased him cheerfully.

Oscar's mouth twitched, and he looked utterly devastated. This guy! Why did he have to show up right now?

Just when he'd managed to strike up a decent conversation with the girl in the purple dress—who'd actually seemed interested—Dai Mubai just had to pop in and ruin everything.

Sure enough, the young woman shot Oscar a glare before huffing indignantly and turning on her heel to return to her desk.

"Boss Dai, you're killing me here!" Oscar lamented, tears almost brimming in his eyes.

Life was just so unfair.

Dai Mubai already had Xiao Qing and Xiao Xue, and now Zhu Zhuqing—a literal goddess—was at his side.

Sure, Oscar had some charm and had been in relationships before, but compared to Dai Mubai's track record, his love life was like scraps.

This was the first time in a long while that a girl had shown him genuine interest, and Dai Mubai just had to show up and ruin it.

"Why? Why did I have to be a food-type spirit master?!" Oscar wailed inwardly. "If I were a battle spirit master, I'd smack Dai Mubai's smug face a few times!"

Of course, no matter what he thought internally, Oscar kept his composure on the outside. As a "weakling," the first rule of survival was knowing when to lay low.

"Come on. Stop mentally slapping me in the face and let's go watch the matches," Dai Mubai chuckled, nudging Oscar forward.

Oscar froze.

"???"

How does he know what I'm thinking?!

Dai Mubai, walking ahead, smirked. Did that even need guessing?

If he were in Oscar's shoes, he'd probably be jumping up and trying to punch Dai Mubai's kneecaps.

Sighing, Oscar shook his head and followed Dai Mubai toward the spectator stands.

The Arena

The Great Spirit Arena in Soto City was nothing short of massive.

True to its name, it featured sprawling grounds, segmented into various areas for different match types: betting fights, life-and-death battles, and friendly matches.

Each area contained numerous smaller arenas, completely isolated from one another.

Spectators at one arena couldn't see what was happening elsewhere, ensuring a focused experience.

At Arena 14, Dai Mubai and Oscar settled into the seats.

The crowd was sparse, with only a few scattered people sitting around. Most spectators were gathered at the central stage, where the biggest and most hyped matches took place.

On the stage, Tang San and Zhu Zhuqing stood at opposite ends, ready to fight. A middle-aged man—acting as both referee and announcer—spoke into a microphone.

"These two contestants are both Spirit Grandmasters competing in the Spirit Arena for the first time!"

Hearing this, the few spectators groaned in disappointment.

"First-timers? What's the point in watching this?"

"Yeah, they'll probably just be bumbling around the ring. Let's go check out the center arena."

Within moments, most of the audience had already stood up and left. Since they'd already paid for admission, they could freely move between matches.

As a result, the only spectators left were Dai Mubai, Oscar, and a very pleased-looking Flender.

Flender grinned ear to ear, looking suspiciously smug.

"Boss Dai, why does the Headmaster look so… happy?" Oscar asked quietly.

Dai Mubai glanced at Flender, his lips curling into a knowing smile.

"Clearly, he bet a lot of money on Tang San."

Flender's eyes gleamed as he adjusted his glasses. "Not much, not much—just a little bit of my savings."

Heh, a little? Dai Mubai inwardly rolled his eyes. Flender probably put everything on the line.

Dai Mubai sighed, rubbing his temples.

This academy's teaching methods are a mess.

At its core, Shrek Academy operated more like a survival-of-the-fittest system, akin to raising "gu bugs" in a jar.

They recruited promising talent, fed them all sorts of twisted philosophies like "not daring to cause trouble makes you useless" and "gambling is just another kind of training," and left the rest up to fate.

Those who survived the madness and graduated were hailed as "Shrek's pride." If they failed, it was because they were "incompetent."

Honestly, it was ridiculous.

Given how chaotic and resource-poor Shrek Academy was, any failures were more likely due to poor teaching than a lack of talent.

Even among the teachers, most were has-beens who had failed elsewhere and sought refuge here.

Take Zhao Wuji for example. Sure, he could help students escape danger if needed, but he was a terrible teacher.

His own abilities were so unrefined that his "attack-and-defense" spirit, Vigorous Vajra Bear, ended up being good at neither.

It lacked speed, control, and defensive capabilities—and its offensive strength wasn't outstanding either.

Zhao Wuji could bully weaker opponents, but against his peers, he had no advantage.

As for his so-called "escape from a dozen Spirit Emperors of the Spirit Hall"… who knew if the Spirit Hall had just sent out a bunch of defensive types?

The thought almost made Dai Mubai laugh out loud.

"By the way, Headmaster, I haven't seen Old Zhao these past few days. Where is he?"

Dai Mubai asked, feigning ignorance. He knew Zhao Wuji had been beaten up, but he didn't know how bad it was.

At the question, Flender's expression stiffened, his smug grin vanishing.

His gaze flickered to Tang San on the stage, his eyes growing somber.

If Tang San hadn't been Yu Xiaogang's disciple—or Tang Hao's son—Flender would've already called Liu Erlong and Yu Xiaogang to form their Golden Triangle Fusion Skill and go after Tang Hao.

Alas, with Yu Xiaogang absent, the "wisdom" corner of their triangle was missing. Without it, they couldn't fight a Titled Douluo.

"Old Zhao's fine. He's had some revelations and is currently in seclusion. When he comes out, he might even break through to Level 77."

Flender's voice carried a faint sigh.

"Good to hear," Dai Mubai replied casually, his eyes fixed on the stage. "Who knows—maybe he'll surprise us all."

Flender shot Dai Mubai a sharp glance. This kid knows more than he's letting on.

Meanwhile, Oscar looked between the two of them, completely bewildered.

What are they talking about?

Still, the mention of his third spirit ring left Oscar feeling hopeful.

(End of Chapter)

Notes-Read advances chapters in patreon.com/Shadow_D_X, i have finished uploading the whole series in patreon, a total of 313 chapters you can find it in the collections, first 30 chapters is free for all in patreon