Chapter 290: Mu En's Tang Sect Plan
Lin Jiayi: ???
Hall Master, isn't your change of attitude a little too fast? Just a moment ago, you were talking about severely punishing whoever created the golden light, and now you've switched to an extremely kind and accommodating expression?
However, considering Huo Yuhao's immense contributions, it was understandable that the Hall Master would treat him this way. If Lin Jiayi were the headmaster, he would probably do the same, making every effort to accommodate Huo Yuhao.
Huo Yuhao shook his head. "No need, Headmaster. In the future, Qiu'er and I will find a secluded place to test our martial soul fusion skill."
Jing Hongchen looked at him in surprise. "Wait, are you saying that you and Qiu'er can perform a martial soul fusion skill? So that huge commotion just now was caused by you two?"
"That's right," Huo Yuhao nodded, then pointed to his armor. "This is the result of our martial soul fusion skill. Externally, it manifests as either Qiu'er or myself transforming into armor. As for the internal effects, we still need to experiment further."
"Oh? Attack me. Let me test out this skill's effects," Jing Hongchen's eyes lit up with curiosity.
"Headmaster, I'm a bit tired today. Let's do it another time," Huo Yuhao politely declined.
In truth, he already knew the effects of this martial soul fusion skill. In the original timeline, the Dragon's Roar of Destiny had been described in detail. The skill permanently fixed misfortune upon the enemy through the judgment of fate.
Huo Yuhao had no grievances with Jing Hongchen, so there was no reason to use such a skill on him.
"Alright then," Jing Hongchen sighed. He had been eager to personally test Huo Yuhao and Di Qiu'er's martial soul fusion skill, but it seemed that plan would have to wait.
"By the way, Yuhao, in just over three months, the Continental Soul Master Tournament will be held in Mingdu. I need to discuss the tournament rules with you…"
A Few Days Later, at Shrek Academy
Inside the Sea God Pavilion, Mu En sat in his wheelchair, addressing the other elders.
"The Continental Soul Master Tournament will take place in just over three months. As the host, the Sun Moon Empire is planning to modify the competition rules. This time, in addition to allowing academies to participate, sects will also be permitted to enter. However, the age limit remains unchanged only those under twenty may compete.
"The Sun Moon Empire will consult the sects and academies of Douluo Continent about this change. But given that this is a great promotional opportunity for sects, I believe they will successfully push through this new rule.
"This also means that the opponents our Shrek Academy team will face could be even stronger than we anticipated. After all, we have no way of knowing whether any powerful hidden sects will decide to participate."
Xuan Zi, who had just been allowed to leave seclusion by Mu En to attend the Sea God Pavilion meeting, was visibly shocked. "Elder Mu, what is the Sun Moon Empire trying to do? Why would they change the competition rules like this?"
Allowing sects to participate was bad news for any academy.
Some sects were not only incredibly powerful but had long histories of cultivation, such as the Clear Sky Sect and the Body Sect. If these two sects decided to enter, winning the championship would become much more difficult for Shrek Academy.
Mu En sighed. "I don't know what their exact goal is, but when something unusual happens, there is always a hidden agenda. We must ensure the safety of both the Shrek Academy team and the Tang Sect representatives, making sure they return to the academy safely after the competition."
"Tang Sect?" The Sea God Pavilion elders all looked surprised. The Tang Sect had been in decline for many years, and its former sect master, Tang Ya, was missing.
Even if Tang Ya were still around, they doubted she could lead the Tang Sect to any real success in the tournament. From their perspective, Tang Ya's talent and abilities were rather mediocre.
Noticing their confusion, Mu En immediately explained, "This is a two pronged strategy. You all know that Bei Bei and several outstanding students have joined the Tang Sect. If they compete under the Tang Sect's name, we can secure an extra tournament slot.
"Since Bei Bei and his team members are all students of Shrek Academy, in essence, our academy will have two competing teams. This allows more students to gain experience. Even if the Tang Sect wins the championship, it won't tarnish Shrek Academy's reputation."
"Elder Mu!" Xuan Zi's expression darkened. He strongly disagreed with this plan.
"Bei Bei and the others are all Shrek Academy trained geniuses who have undergone rigorous training. If they compete under the Tang Sect's name, doesn't that mean our main Shrek team will be weaker?
"How can we still expect to win the championship? Finding talented students under the age of twenty isn't difficult, but finding talents on Bei Bei's level is much harder!"
Yan Shaozhe also voiced his concerns. "Teacher, given the current situation, we must protect Shrek's thousand year honor. If we follow your suggestion, our chances of defending our title will be slim. Splitting up our strongest students between the Tang Sect and the Shrek team is weakening ourselves unnecessarily."
The other elders also turned their attention to Mu En.
Mu En sighed. "You are all too fixated on this so called thousand year honor. Take Xuan Zi, for example sometimes, in the name of defending this honor, he has made extremely inappropriate and even unethical decisions.
"If this is what it means to uphold our thousand year reputation, then Shrek Academy has a bleak future ahead. We are a righteous institution; every person here should uphold moral integrity.
"Our legacy is indeed important, and I won't deny that. But compared to the growth of our students, it is not nearly as significant. We must not let this so called honor restrict us.
"The foundation of the academy is us, but its future lies in the students. Our duty is to nurture them, not to obsess over preserving an old reputation."
"Shrek Academy is the number one soul master academy on the continent. We must have confidence in ourselves. Even if the Shrek team loses, it will not threaten our status.
"As long as our students grow and improve through this competition, that is more than enough."
Xuan Zi wanted to argue further, but Mu En raised his hand to stop him. "Enough. My decision is final. We will proceed as planned."
He turned to Yan Shaozhe. "Shaozhe, make sure to select outstanding students for the Shrek team."
"Yes, Teacher," Yan Shaozhe replied.
Yan Shaozhe then relayed everything from the Sea God Pavilion meeting to Bei Bei.
Upon hearing the news, Bei Bei's face lit up with joy. As the Tang Sect's senior disciple, he had carried the burden of revitalizing the sect ever since Tang Ya's disappearance. Now, this was a golden opportunity to bring the Tang Sect back into the spotlight.
"Bei Bei, I must remind you that the main team consists of seven members, and you will also need reserve members. You should start recruiting as soon as possible. If I recall correctly, besides the missing Tang Ya, the only current Tang Sect members are you, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao, correct?"
"You're absolutely right, Dean Yan. I should start assembling a full team right away," Bei Bei nodded.
"Good. Then I'll leave that to you. I have other matters to attend to, so I'll be on my way," Yan Shaozhe said with a smile before departing.
However, instead of returning to his office, his next destination was Xuan Zi's private chamber.
(End of chapter.)
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