"Your Highness, please quell your anger! The destruction of the branch is no small matter. Our Sect must have an explanation for this!"
The man bowed slightly in apology toward Xu Tianran, asking him to calm himself.
"An explanation? Go ask Jiang Shengyu for one. Why bother coming here to question me?" Xu Tianran's gaze was cold. "Did you think that just because I agreed to cooperate with you, you could toy with me at will?"
As expected, evil soul masters were nothing but the filth skulking in the gutters.
Still, for now, he had to rely on their strength to help him seize the throne and consolidate power. He could not afford to tear their relationship apart—yet.
Suppressing the fury in his heart, Xu Tianran said,
"I will find you another location to establish a new branch."
"That will not be necessary. I will be reporting this matter to the Sect Master. Until we receive his orders, our Sect will not rebuild another branch in Mingdu. For the time being, our Sect will also suspend contact with Your Highness. Farewell…"
With those words, the evil soul master melted back into the shadows, his presence vanishing without a trace.
He had given Xu Tianran, the crown prince, absolutely no face.
Staring at the patch of darkness where the man had vanished, Xu Tianran angrily flicked his soul power, sending the pen holder on his desk flying into splinters.
The noise immediately drew the attendants outside; they rushed in and began to speak, but Xu Tianran's voice lashed out like a whip:
"Get out! Did I give you permission to enter?!"
"Please calm your anger, Your Highness!"
The guards hurriedly knelt and backed out, closing the door behind them.
Xu Tianran's eyes were cold and venomous as they lingered on the shattered pen holder. His hands tightened on the armrests of his wheelchair; if not for the fact that the chair was a specially made soul tool, his grip alone would have crushed the frame to pieces.
Through clenched teeth, he muttered to himself, repeating words like "evil soul masters" and "Holy Spirit Sect."
After returning, Kong Deming immediately began selecting suitable rank 9 soul tools for Jiang Shengyu. To him, nothing was more important than his two disciples—Jiang Shengyu and Jiang Qingtong. Even rank 10 soul tools ranked below them in priority.
Jing Hongchen, meanwhile, began choosing candidates for the exchange program.
Jiang Shengyu, Xiao Hongchen, and Meng Hongchen were already confirmed. Jing Hongchen intended to select a few more students focused purely on martial soul cultivation. Even though Shrek Academy would certainly not reveal their true secrets to visiting students, some access was better than none.
Over at Shrek Academy, after Mu En and Xuan Zi returned and brought back news of Ma Xiaotao, the atmosphere turned heavy.
Ma Xiaotao had been captured by Long Xiaoyao, and there was a very real possibility she would become an evil soul master in the future. This blow was almost too much for Yan Shaozhe to bear, leaving him disinterested in even the exchange student arrangements.
This prompted Elder Mu to convene the Sea God's Pavilion and reprimand him for such irresponsible behavior.
"Shaozhe! You are the Dean of the Martial Soul Department! You must take responsibility for the entire Academy! If Xiaotao is gone, we still have Qingtong—and her elder brother, Jiang Shengyu, will be arriving soon!"
Leaning back in his chair, Elder Mu fixed his gaze on the silent Yan Shaozhe.
"If we can keep those two siblings in the Academy, Shrek's glory will remain for the next three hundred years—and may even reach new heights! Do you understand?"
"But Xiaotao…" Yan Shaozhe's brows furrowed.
"Leave Xiaotao to me. I will try to approach Long Xiaoyao myself. As for you, don't worry about it any further. Elder Zhuang, that little girl Wang Dong—she's awake now, isn't she?" Elder Mu said, then shifted the topic without pause.
"She woke up just today. Dai Huabin has awakened as well," Elder Zhuang replied. "I've examined them both—no issues physically. It's just that this Wang Dong…"
"What about Wang Dong?" Elder Song frowned at Elder Zhuang's hesitant tone.
"In her sea of spiritual consciousness, there's a powerful restriction guarding her. When that Huo Yuhao from the Sun Moon Empire launched a spiritual attack on her, it triggered the restriction. That's why both he and Wang Dong fell unconscious. Physically, Wang Dong is fine—but this restriction…"
Elder Zhuang's brows knitted. After a moment of deliberation, he said slowly,
"I've seen it. It's… very strong."
Xian Lin'er asked, "How strong?"
Elder Zhuang glanced at Xuan Zi and Mu En before answering,
"Stronger than the feeling I get from Elder Xuan and Elder Mu."
"You're joking! Stronger than Elder Mu? How is that possible?" Xian Lin'er and the others were incredulous. Elder Mu was an Ultimate Douluo. Anything stronger than that… was that the level of a god?
Mu En, however, showed no surprise.
"Wang Dong hails from the Clear Sky Sect. Do not forget—ten thousand years ago, the Sea God Tang San himself came from that sect. That she carries something unusual is not beyond belief."
At the mention of the name "Sea God Tang San," Xian Lin'er and the rest fell silent. Indeed, although the Clear Sky Sect had long since withdrawn from the world, its reputation as the holder of the world's number one Tool Martial Soul endured. No one could say for certain what inheritance Tang San might have left to them.
"With such a restriction in place… could Wang Dong be a direct descendant of the Clear Sky Sect? Perhaps even their next Sect Master?" Cai Mei'er speculated.
"No matter what her identity is, since she has enrolled in Shrek, the Academy must look after her," Mu En said. "It will also help preserve our connection with the Clear Sky Sect. Arrange for her to cultivate on Sea God Island for the time being."
Placing her on Sea God Island would also allow them to observe her more closely.
Mu En himself was curious about the restriction in her mind. He even suspected that it might be a method left behind by a god. No one could say what Tang San might have left for the Clear Sky Sect after his ascension.
The others voiced no objections to Mu En's arrangement.
Mu En then said, "By the way—Xiao Xiao and Qingtong's cultivation levels should be about ready for their next spirit rings, yes?"
Xuan Zi nodded. "Correct. Xiao Xiao reached level 30 before we departed. After the tournament, Qingtong's soul power rose from level 37 to level 40—likely due to the outburst of her evil fire energy."
Mu En nodded.
"Take them to the Star Dou Forest for their spirit rings. I'll leave that task to you, Xuan Zi."
"Elder Mu, I…" Xuan Zi frowned slightly when he heard the assignment.
"Go. Don't worry so much." Mu En saw his hesitation—he knew Xuan Zi feared that something might happen again—but aside from him, only Elder Song had reached Rank 97.
For talents like Jiang Qingtong and Xiao Xiao, they would need high-quality spirit rings, which meant venturing deep into the Star Dou Forest. Without Mu En's personal involvement, only a level 98 like Xuan Zi could shoulder that responsibility.
If the Academy had more elders at level 98, Mu En would not have to rely on Xuan Zi so heavily. Unfortunately, Elder Song was too old—he would likely never reach it.
Yan Shaozhe's heart had a flaw, and his progress was slow.
As for the rest… they simply didn't measure up.
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