"Oh?" Jing Hongchen said in surprise.
Truth be told, he came over today just to put some pressure on Qian Duoduo. Who told this kid to always be so idle? Since he joined the Soul Tool Department, life had been downright leisurely for him. Damn it, Jing thought, I just retired from Mingde Hall, and now I have to pull all-nighters again? And to top it off, I have to lead this soul tool department, which has nothing, and rebuild it from scratch? The more he thought about it, the angrier he got!
He had originally intended to scold Su Wen together with Qian Duoduo, but to his surprise, this kid actually… said he had something?!
"Sea mines," Su Wen replied with a faint smile.
"What the hell? You've gotten the sea soul beasts on your side too?!" Jing Hongchen was dumbfounded.
It was only after arriving at Shrek Academy that he realized just how terrifying Su Wen's network was… Soul beasts, both in the sky and underground, all seemed connected to him.
The Extreme North, Star Dou Forest—when Jing took over, he'd been stunned; a ten-thousand-year soul beast had delivered the message…
"That's right," Su Wen nodded with a smile.
"I've established connections with the Sea Princess Clan. Every year, there'll be a batch of seabed metal ores mined and brought ashore by them. Of course, I'll send people to collect them… They only ask for some items from the land. By the way, I heard they're quite interested in soul tools. Maybe we could give them some underwater propulsion devices or the like."
Jing Hongchen: "…"
How is that any different from just giving them away?!
"Fine," Jing Hongchen clicked his tongue. Since he couldn't make things difficult for this kid, he'd just drop it...
Time to find Xiao and get him to work under me.
Since he'd decided to join Shrek Academy's Soul Tool Department, with his sense of responsibility, there was no way he'd let this mess continue. The first step was to take care of the students who'd transferred from the Sun and Moon Empire...
Coincidentally, they were all from commoner backgrounds.
These fifth- and sixth-level soul engineers could be the backbone of the next generation of the Soul Tool Academy. With Xiao Hongchen, Jing also had a bit of a selfish motive: he wanted his grandson to inherit the position of Dean of the Soul Tool Department at Shrek in the future.
He saw clearly that the future focus of the continent would be at Shrek Academy. With a monster like Su Wen, the Sun and Moon Empire's so-called plan to defeat the Three Empires was just a pipe dream.
Since that was the case, it didn't matter where the Hongchen family was located...
Jing Hongchen left in a hurry.
Qian Duoduo finally relaxed, collapsing onto the sofa, his plump body like a puddle of mud.
"By the way… Wen, you didn't get involved with one of the sea soul beasts, did you? Don't let the Sea Princess Clan show up with a baby claiming it's yours..."
"Ouch, ouch!"
But before he could finish, Xian Lin'er stormed in and yanked his ear, furious. "What nonsense are you spouting? How could you joke about Wen like that?!"
"We're both men, just a little guys' joke…" Qian Duoduo said sheepishly.
"It's fine, Aunt Xian," Su Wen said with a grin. "Uncle Qian must be feeling lucky with the ladies lately. Maybe he's got his eye on a female teacher in the Soul Tool Department? There are plenty of new hires lately—you'd better keep an eye on him."
"Qian Duoduo!" Xian Lin'er roared.
Like a Valkyrie, she dragged Qian Duoduo away by the ear.
"Wait, Lin'er, listen to me! Listen—"
Su Wen watched this scene, a smile on his face.
For some reason, he felt Qian Duoduo and Xian Lin'er got along much better than in the original story; they were clearly a real couple, unlike in the original where Qian Duoduo was single all the way, only given a "nice guy card."
Xian Lin'er also seemed to have a much more explosive relationship with Yan Shaozhe.
Oh well.
Su Wen shook his head.
A pitch-black spirit ball appeared in his hand, decorated with a simple sea-blue shark carving.
That's right—when he took in Li Ya, he naturally didn't let Bai Xiuxiu slip away either.
Talent 7, able to become the female lead twenty thousand years later, and chosen by Tang San as his grandson's wife—her aptitude was far from poor.
The fifth spirit ball for his second martial soul.
Her advancement route was rather unexpected.
[Demon Soul Great White Shark] → [Abyssal Demon Dragon Shark] → [Abyssal Water Demon Dragon]
And the final stage, naturally, was [Heavenly Blue Water Devouring Dragon].
To be honest, Su Wen was a little surprised by this evolution, since in the original story, her martial soul only evolved gradually after Zi Ji became her soul spirit.
Plus, her advancement was in the direction of ice, not water.
Maybe it was a butterfly effect of the altered timeline?
Su Wen shook his head.
He was currently lacking water-attribute soul beasts, but had plenty of ice ones. Even if she really did evolve towards ice, it would be a waste—no need for that.
…
At this moment,
Inside the black spirit ball—
In the boundless ocean, Bai Xiuxiu blew bubbles, watching the marine life scurrying beneath her, her enormous body nearly a hundred meters long slicing through the waves on both sides. "Ohhohoho, my world! A world I control entirely!"
"And I can transform into a dragon! This is… awesome!"
From above, one would see a gigantic water dragon, its towering body like a moving sea island, pale blue scales glinting dazzlingly in the sunlight.
As a water attribute being… she could truly be called the ultimate attribute.
The Ultimate Water.
"La la la la, I'm a happy little shark…"
…
Martial Soul Department, Vice Dean's Office
Zhang Lexuan was buried in work. The Martial Soul Department was Shrek Academy's top department, its face, and naturally had endless affairs to handle. Even though Yan Shaozhe took care of most headaches, as the newest vice dean, Zhang Lexuan was still struggling to keep up.
Cai Mei'er had retired to teaching in the inner court half a year ago; with a few more years of experience, she could join the Sea God Pavilion.
Now, as a rank 93 titled Douluo, Zhang Lexuan had naturally succeeded her.
That's how Shrek Academy worked.
New replaces old. Once the younger generation had enough strength, the elders would step aside, passing the baton...
"Come in."
Without looking up, Zhang Lexuan pointed at the sofa.
The stack of files made her head spin; she guessed it was another Martial Soul Department teacher with some issue. She'd have to wait.
But the visitor didn't sit down. Instead, he walked straight behind her, looking over her files.
"…"
Zhang Lexuan frowned slightly.
Who was this?
So ill-mannered.
As the vice dean, she handled many secrets, some concerning the entire academy—these weren't for just anyone's eyes...
But when the beauty looked up, she froze at the sight of an incredibly handsome face.
"Wen? Why are you—mmm."
A flash of joy appeared in Zhang Lexuan's beautiful eyes, but her raised lips were blocked.
Who knows how long passed.
Their lips parted.
Su Wen licked his lips, smiling. "Sister Lexuan? Oh no, I guess I should call you Vice Dean from now on."
Zhang Lexuan panted lightly, her pretty face flushed from the long kiss. She shot Su Wen a glare. "What are you talking about!"
"And aren't you a vice dean too? Vice Dean of the Forging Department, so we're colleagues. When you become Pavilion Master of the Sea God Pavilion, I'm afraid you'll bully me to death."
"How could I?" Su Wen chuckled. "I don't like to use my position to pressure people."
"Oh?" Zhang Lexuan leaned back in her soft chair, propping her long, shapely legs on the desk, still wearing black high heels...
She tilted her head, her pretty eyes gazing at Su Wen.
"I prefer to convince people with reason!" Su Wen declared righteously.
"Then let me see some reason," Zhang Lexuan said flirtatiously.
The next second,
Zhang Lexuan succeeded in grasping "truth".
With a wave of Su Wen's hand,
A gust of wind closed the office door.
And the office was soon filled with the melody of love.
…
"Latest news from the Sun and Moon Empire."
Su Wen sat on the sofa, a nearly bare beauty in his arms, reading a briefing with a satisfied look.
"In two years, the All-Continent Soul Master Tournament will be held. All academies and sects are invited to participate… heh."
"Sects? The Sun and Moon Empire is relaxing the entry requirements?" Zhang Lexuan, face still pink and snuggled in Su Wen's embrace, looked up at this news, meeting his eyes seriously.
"Mm," Su Wen nodded, eyes narrowing.
Frankly, even if Tang San noticed what was happening in the lower realm, there wasn't much he could do overtly. After all, the Golden Tree Ah Yin and Silver Dragon King were both at Shrek Academy now. If things escalated, it would surely attract the attention of the God Realm.
That was something Tang San absolutely wanted to avoid; otherwise, he wouldn't have only used the power of the Sea God from start to finish.
Therefore, Su Wen guessed, Tang San would probably focus his efforts on the "Yin Yang Love Querying Valley."
That was the only place he could directly control without the God of Destruction noticing anything.
Su Wen himself wouldn't go there, but he still had to be on guard against Tang San's schemes...
"But is the Sun and Moon Empire really so kind?" Zhang Lexuan frowned, the afterglow of their earlier activity still on her face as she leaned in to look at the report.
"Changing rules that have stood for thousands of years—there'll be countless sects rushing to join the tournament. The event will probably be extended a lot."
"Could it be that Mingdu needs the tournament to boost consumption? Are they really that poor?" A mocking look flashed in Zhang Lexuan's eyes.
To be so shameless as to try to kill Su Wen, besiege him—if her little lover hadn't been so strong, he probably wouldn't have made it back. She had no goodwill left for the Sun and Moon Empire.
"Not necessarily," Su Wen said with a grin, squeezing her soft hand.
"Not necessarily?" Zhang Lexuan looked surprised.
She was already used to Su Wen's handsiness.
"The Sun and Moon Empire suddenly doing this—do you think they have good intentions? They're probably gathering all the top powers together for a big sweep," Su Wen said lightly.
"What?!" Zhang Lexuan was shocked, sitting up abruptly.
"How could they dare!"
"The news Elder Jing brought back is probably true..." Su Wen sighed.
"Elder Jing, they—" Zhang Lexuan was dumbfounded. This news was too explosive; the Sun and Moon Empire was basically declaring war on all other major powers!
No, with the tournament open to sects, at least 70–80% of the hidden sects would flood in.
And since it was in Mingdu, as long as the Sun and Moon Empire made a move, most would have no hope of escape. If they captured one or two top powers—like Shrek Academy, or the Star Luo Empire's royal family...
The whole continent could be rapidly overrun by the Sun and Moon Empire.
After all, the original power of the continent was made up of the three great empires and Shrek Academy.
Leaving Shrek out, the three empires were made up of noble families, entrenched sects, and the Star Luo royal family.
The teams sent to compete would be the absolute elite, with many sect leaders personally leading teams.
If these sects were wiped out by the Sun and Moon Empire...
Wouldn't that severely weaken the three empires?!!
When the Sun and Moon Empire launched their invasion, the continent's resistance would have come from imperial cores and local sects. But if things went as Su Wen predicted… it would be a complete rout.
"So sinister!" Zhang Lexuan said angrily.
"If they can't win openly, they resort to trickery!"
But even knowing the truth, it would be hard to stop such a massive conspiracy.
As Shrek Academy, they couldn't make baseless accusations, and they couldn't reveal Jing Hongchen's presence—he didn't want the Sun and Moon Empire to know he was alive.
Were they really just going to watch it happen?
"Not necessarily," Su Wen shook his head.
"Mm?" Zhang Lexuan was puzzled.
"It's not that the Sun and Moon Empire can't defeat the Three Empires. With their advanced soul tools, they could easily trounce the Three Empires and even Shrek Academy, sweeping northwards. They just want to minimize casualties and also take over everything for themselves."
"What?" Zhang Lexuan's pupils shrank.
If anyone else said this,
She'd scoff, but coming from Su Wen...
"Soul tools are really that terrifying?" she muttered in confusion.
"Yes, that's why I'm eager to get battle armor out ahead through a shortcut," Su Wen sighed.
"So that's it..." Zhang Lexuan gently stroked Su Wen's head, feeling sorry for him. "You've worked hard."
"It's hard, but with Senior Sister's comfort, it's not so bad."
Feeling Su Wen's hands getting naughty again, Zhang Lexuan blushed, flipping herself on top.
"No! This time, I want to take the lead!"
"Okay, okay…"
…
"Grand Elder, should we really not inform the Sun and Moon Empire about Su Wen?"
A black-robed elder mused.
"Our Holy Spirit Church has lost so many strong ones. Clearly, Su Wen not only survived but grew stronger. If we don't join forces with the Sun and Moon Empire, I'm afraid..."
"No need!" Ye Xishui said coldly.
"If we inform the Sun and Moon Empire, this war might not happen at all."
"I'm waiting for the war to harvest souls."
"And even if they know, so what?"
"If I could kill him once with Death's Light, I can kill him a second time!"
Ye Xishui's gaze grew icy.
"He must die!"
….