In its ten thousand years of history, Shrek Academy has only produced three Pavilion Masters with Ultimate attributes. It is their strength that made Shrek Academy what it is today. Ma Xiaotao's extraordinary talent meant that, if her evil fire could be dealt with, she might well become the fourth.
Such an enticing prospect meant the other Pavilion members had no objection to the deal.
After all, what were two Golden Tree training slots? No two people could drain the tree's endless mysteries and power.
Every Pavilion Master, at life's end, merges their soul and cultivation into the Golden Tree.
Plus, as the world's core, the tree's energy was as vast as the sea. Draining it would be like draining a whole planet—impossible.
The second condition was also easy for Shrek—just designate land in Shrek City for Haiyuan City's merchant guild to set up.
On Douluo, Shrek City holds unrivaled importance. For Haiyuan to set up on its own would be nearly impossible, but with Shrek's help, it was simple.
The third condition was the one Yan Shaozhe agreed to most eagerly:
Shrek Academy would help promote Lady Herta's meticulously developed Simulated Universe.
This device, born of Herta's painstaking research, allowed a soul master to inject soul power and instantly enter a wondrous virtual world.
There, the Simulated Universe would match the soul master with suitable opponents according to their soul power—either other users or highly realistic AI generated by the system.
Battles in the Simulated Universe allowed real fighting experience and growth, with no risk of actual death.
Every death would only cost a small amount of spiritual power, recoverable with a few days' meditation.
Victors would earn purified spiritual power from their defeated opponents—making it a highly effective way to boost spiritual strength, as long as one was strong enough to win.
Yan Shaozhe had personally tested the Simulated Universe and was astonished.
To him, the Simulated Universe was almost indistinguishable from reality.
Soul power, soul skills, martial souls—all worked exactly as in the real world.
It could perfectly simulate all his abilities and any scenario, and generate opponents of equal strength. The versatility was astonishing.
For these reasons, Yan Shaozhe accepted the deal without hesitation.
With the Simulated Universe, Shrek's students would have a training platform far superior to the traditional Battle Arena—one that boosted strength while minimizing risk.
As for the hefty price tag of 100,000 gold soul coins per device, Yan Shaozhe didn't even blink: "Give me a thousand units!" In an instant, over a hundred million gold soul coins were spent as if it were pocket change.
He understood the Simulated Universe's revolutionary nature.
If accepted by soul masters, it would sweep the continent in no time.
But there was a major obstacle—the existing Battle Arenas scattered across the land.
That's why Haiyuan City needed Shrek's help to promote it.
Haiyuan alone would be fiercely opposed by the powerful forces behind the Battle Arenas, many of whom were ancient sects and families.
The Simulated Universe threatened their very foundations.
Without Shrek's protection, Haiyuan would be overwhelmed.
Even with experts like Jingliu to keep Lu Jingming safe, Haiyuan as a whole would struggle just to survive, let alone thrive, under united opposition.
Shrek Academy was different.
As the continent's top academy and one of its three giants, Shrek commanded enormous strength and prestige.
Once, a single call from Shrek could gather nearly a hundred Titled Douluo.
Against such power, even those dissatisfied with the Simulated Universe could only grumble quietly—they would not dare challenge Shrek openly.
All in all, Haiyuan's three conditions would greatly help its development, and the cost to Shrek was easily bearable.
Their reward—a potential Ultimate attribute Ma Xiaotao—made the deal a sure win.
Thus, both sides quickly reached a consensus.
With the agreement set, Jingliu personally used her Ultimate Ice to expel the evil fire from Ma Xiaotao.