From an appearance perspective, Gu Yue couldn't even hold a candle to Na'er. In other words, they simply weren't on the same level. However, for some reason, Na'er didn't seem to possess more of a presence than Gu Yue.

"When is he coming back? It's already been such a long time," Na'er said in a cold voice.

"I don't know," Gu Yue replied with a shake of her head.

Na'er suddenly flared up with rage. "You don't know? What did you say to me before? You promised me that he was fine and that he'd be back for sure, so why hasn't he come back even after three whole years? You killed him already, didn't you?"

Gu Yue turned to Na'er, and countered, "Would you have failed to sense his demise if I'd killed him? I didn't kill him and I don't know why he hadn't returned yet. However, I'm sure that he's still alive. Perhaps he stayed over there and became Dai Yun'er's fiance.

Na'er suddenly fell silent upon hearing this, and she turned back toward the direction of the Sea God's Island.

"No, my brother isn't that kind of person; he wouldn't fall in love with someone so easily. He's definitely going to come back; he's just been delayed by something along the way," Na'er said in a determined voice.

Gu Yue suddenly asked, "If he does come back, is our bet still on?"

Na'er raised her head in a proud manner. "Of course! There's no way that you'll be able to beat me."

Gu Yue's expression remained unchanged as she said, "But I can't keep waiting here any longer; there are too many things that I need to take care of. You can shirk all your responsibilities and live a leisurely life here, but I can't do the same. You should know the burden on my shoulders. If you're not willing to carry that burden, then I must take up the mantle. Hence, I'm only going to wait for three more months before I leave. I promised him that I would attend the inner court with him, but if he doesn't come back, then it's not my fault. He's the one that's breaking our promise, and I have to leave."

Na'er shuddered slightly upon hearing this, and a gentle look suddenly appeared in her eyes. "You..."

Gu Yue turned to her with a smile on her face, but the smile was rather bleak and lonely. "Are you going to persuade me not to leave? You can't bring yourself to do that, right? In essence, you're the same as me; you're also just running away from reality."

Na'er asked, "Then what if my brother comes back? Will you still leave then?"

"I will!" Gu Yue replied without any hesitation, "I can't keep everyone waiting any longer. There's not much time left, and many things need to be set into motion. The Spirit Pagoda is asking me to take on my role there as early as possible."

Na'er took a deep breath, and said, "Alright, you can go if you insist. I'll always be here waiting for him. You said that he's still alive, so he'll definitely come back; I'm sure of it!"

Gu Yue merely smiled and offered no response to this. She tucked a few stray strands of long hair behind her ear before turning and making her way toward the main school building of the inner court.

Na'er looked on at her departing figure, and she suddenly smiled as she murmured to herself, "As long as he comes back, you'll lose the bet for sure. In reality, you've already lost to me; have you still not realized this or are you simply unwilling to admit it?"

She then looked up into the sky, and sighed, "When are you coming back, Brother? You're not actually staying in the Star Luo Empire to become the princess' fiance, are you?"

At the main gate of Shrek Academy or to put it more accurately, the main gate Shrek City, an extra-long luxury soul car slowly came to a stop, and the right car door was open, following which a man emerged from within. This was a burly mountain of a man with a gleaming bald head, wearing tight-fitting formal attire that further accentuated his strong presence.

He skirted around the back of the car before opening the rear door on the left.

A slender calf with skin as fair as snow emerged from the car first, followed by a long white dress as a young woman exited the car.

Standing beside the bald man, she appeared extremely petite, and she had a head of long wavy curls that trailed down her back. She gave off a pure and refreshing disposition, and there was an expectant look on her exquisitely gorgeous features as she glanced up at the plaque before her with an indescribable hint of desire in her eyes.

The bald man strode directly toward the main gate of Shrek City. People were granted free access through these gates, but the same didn't apply to vehicles, and the bald man was clearly aware of this.

Aside from the two of them, there were also two men in uniforms that got out of the car one after another. It was quite apparent that these two worked for an official department of the federation, and they quickly strode over to the other two people before leading them into Shrek City.

That's right, even an official vehicle from the federation wasn't permitted to drive into Shrek Academy without receiving special permission beforehand.

After making their way into Shrek City, both the bald man and the white-dressed young woman were inspecting their surroundings with curiosity in their eyes.

"Big Brother Long, this place is so lavish! The Douluo Continent really does look more fun than our continent," the young woman said.

The bald man nodded with an intense look in his eyes. "So this is where Shrek Academy is situated. I wonder how special this academy is for it to be regarded as the number one academy on this entire continent."

The young woman smiled, and said, "Anywhere is special as long as he's there."

The bald man turned to her with a peculiar look in his eyes. "Yun'er, it's been more than three years. You..."

The young woman shook her head, and interjected, "There's no need to try and persuade me any further, Brother Long; I've already made up my mind. I know you mean well, and know that you've always been very good to me, but I'm not changing my mind for anyone. Three years ago, I threatened to kill myself so I wouldn't be forced into an engagement, and now, my destiny is completely in my own hands. Have you forgotten that in his fit of rage, Father abolished me as a royal? I'm no longer royalty, and nor will my descendants be of royal lineage."

If Tang Wulin were here, he would immediately recognize this white-dressed young woman as the mischievous princess of the Star Luo Empire, Dai Yun'er. The man accompanying her was none other than the pillar of Monster Academy, the man who was touted as a once-in-a-millennium prodigy, Dragon King Long Yue!

A resigned look appeared on Long Yue's face as he said, "Yun'er, you know His Majesty wasn't serious. Your fourth brother, who's the designated heir to the throne, has already told me that even if His Majesty refuses to forgive you, the first thing he does after inheriting the throne will be to reinstate your royal status."

Dai Yun'er smiled as she replied, "Of course I'm aware of all this! Father only put on an enraged display for others to see so he could protect the dignity of the royal family, but at the same time, he's also given me freedom. As for whether my future children are royals or not, that's not important; perhaps I'll be staying in Douluo Continent for the rest of my life!"

A cold look flashed through Long Yue's eyes as his hands balled up into tight fists. He really wanted to beat the crap of that guy right now.

"Let's go straight to Shrek Academy! I'm not going anywhere until I see him."

In the Shrek Academy inner court dormitory building.

Xie Xie sat on the couch in his own room with a dazed and disoriented look in his eyes. He had been like this for the past few days, and he'd even stopped cultivating during this time.

After entering the inner court, the treatment he received was naturally vastly different compared to when he was in the outer court. Here in the inner court, each student had their own separate room, and the food they were provided with was far better than what had been available to them in the past. On top of that, they didn't have to pay any fees, either.

It could be said that transitioning from the outer court to the inner court was like ascending from hell to heaven. Here, all of the cultivation resources and facilities were top-notch, and they also had the most outstanding teachers.

Wu Zhangkong didn't come to the inner court with them. Instead, he remained in the outer court to instruct the second grade's class one. However, he had said that after this final year of teaching, he was going to quit as a teacher so he could come to the inner court to cultivate and hone his battle armor.

"Knock knock knock!" A burst of door-knocking suddenly rang out, and Xie Xie was given a fright before rising to his feet and hurriedly opening the door.

He was greeted by the sight of Yue Zhengyu standing outside, and he brushed past Xie Xie as he strode directly into his room.