Watching the towering tree in the distance, tens of meters high, with every leaf emitting a faint golden light, Lin Yun almost drooled.
The Golden Tree!
The life essence of the Douluo plane!
The energy level contained within this thing had definitely reached the divine level, and it was also of the extremely nourishing light and life attributes. If Lin Yun were to take a few bites with his Dragon's Devour, he couldn't even imagine how delicious it would be.
Hmm... it might even have a hint of Blue Silver Grass.
After all, A Yin was currently dormant in the Golden Tree, seizing control of the life essence of the Douluo plane. Eating the Golden Tree would be equivalent to eating the Blue Silver Emperor.
Noticing Lin Yun's gaze, Xian Lin'er smiled and said, "See that? That's the treasure of our Shrek Academy, the unique Golden Tree on the entire Douluo Continent. If you become an inner court disciple, you'll also have the opportunity to cultivate within the Golden Tree."
Although Lin Yun had clearly refused her, stating that he wouldn't join the Soul Tool Department, if the Soul Tool Department didn't work, he could still join the Martial Soul Department.
The open and secret struggles between the Soul Tool Department and the Martial Soul Department were all internal family matters once the doors were closed. The most important thing was how to keep Lin Yun in Shrek.
And Xian Lin'er's words also served as a direct declaration, openly telling him that Shrek had good things, and as long as he joined, he would be able to enjoy the feeling of cultivating with the aid of the Golden Tree.
It would yield twice the results with half the effort.
The benefits of the Golden Tree were obvious. Just by stepping onto Sea God Island and bathing in the Golden Tree's light, everyone felt their soul power become active.
And this feeling grew stronger as they continuously approached the Golden Tree.
Among everyone, Huo Yuhao felt it most deeply.
He was the one with the worst innate talent. From awakening innate level one soul power until he was nearly twelve years old and only reached level ten, he was most sensitive to the increase in cultivation speed.
The Titan Snow Demon was not like the Ice Empress; it didn't bring Huo Yuhao much potential improvement, and his innate talent didn't recover to a very high level.
Even if he now had the Titan Snow Demon martial soul, his innate soul power was at most around level seven.
This was thanks to the Heavenly Dream Iceworm, that portable charger, being willing to use its essence to forcibly raise his exceptionally poor talent to the level of a small genius.
This had already made him very happy.
To use an analogy from the original work with "Huo Hang," if his original cultivation speed was like sipping chrysanthemum tea with a small straw, then with the assistance of the Xuantian Skill, it was like drinking water from a faucet, and with the additional aid of the Golden Tree, it would be a super spray from a fire hydrant.
This made Huo Hang so envious that he wished his eyeballs could hang on the Golden Tree.
Evidently, Xian Lin'er noticed Huo Yuhao's expression. Everyone else's faces also showed some longing, except for Ma Xiaotao, that rebellious disciple who had opened Yan Shaozhe's back... back door, who had no particular thoughts about the Golden Tree.
After all, she grew up in Shrek. Without the aid of the Golden Tree, how could she have reached the terrifying cultivation of level sixty-seven in the original work at an age of less than twenty, despite being burdened by the evil fire?
Her talent wasn't that good.
She had already enjoyed the Golden Tree's benefits so much that she was numb to them.
Others, including Beibei, Mu En's great-grandson, did not receive the same treatment as Ma Xiaotao. Beibei could only occasionally go to the Golden Tree to cultivate.
The accelerated cultivation bait was incredibly tempting; hardly anyone could refuse such an enticement.
Just as Xian Lin'er was full of ambition, preparing to observe Lin Yun's reaction, she found that his expression hadn't changed at all. There was no look of eagerness or longing, and his eyes even held a hint of disdain.
"?"
Xian Lin'er was bewildered.
Even the Golden Tree can't pique your interest, Lin Yun!
No, no, no, that's absolutely impossible!
No one can resist the temptation of the Golden Tree!
To be honest, Shrek had accumulated a lot of assets and good things due to its ten thousand years of plundering, but the most precious of them was the Golden Tree. Xian Lin'er absolutely couldn't accept Lin Yun's attitude of looking down on even the Golden Tree; she couldn't accept that something she treasured was disregarded by others.
She didn't even dare to think further. If even the Golden Tree couldn't impress Lin Yun, what else could Shrek offer that would make Lin Yun want to join?
Xian Lin'er remained silent for a long time. It wasn't until she entered the Sea God Pavilion that she snapped back to reality, letting out a soft sigh.
'Such a genius, why isn't he part of my Shrek?'
At this moment, in the Sea God Pavilion, all the elders, except for Yan Shaozhe who was forced into seclusion and Xuan Zi who was forced to be imprisoned, were already seated in their respective places. Xian Lin'er also stepped out of the team and took her seat.
Since Yan Shaozhe was absent, Cai Mei'er became the host of the meeting.
"Welcome back, little heroes, to Shrek. Your performance in this competition was outstanding; you successfully upheld the honor of our Shrek. Therefore, we are making an exception to commend you in the Sea God Pavilion!" Cai Mei'er said with a smile and a gentle tone, but the next second, her face turned stern.
"Ma Xiaotao, Ling Luochen, Yao Haoxuan, step forward!"
Ma Xiaotao stepped forward with a calm expression. Ling Luochen and Yao Haoxuan's hearts skipped a beat, and they followed Ma Xiaotao out.
"Do you know why I called you out first?" Cai Mei'er asked softly.
The three shook their heads simultaneously, indicating confusion.
However, Cai Mei'er's next sentence became serious: "Inner court disciples Ma Xiaotao, Ling Luochen, and Yao Haoxuan, due to carelessness and making fatal mistakes during the execution of a mission, which resulted in heavy casualties for the team during the encirclement of an evil soul master, you are each given a major demerit!"
"Ah???" Ling Luochen and Yao Haoxuan were utterly bewildered. Ma Xiaotao, on the other hand, remained calm, her expression completely unchanged.
Her obsession was only to finish this competition and win the championship. After her obsession was fulfilled, Lin Yun's slave seal began to take effect. Now, besides emotional fluctuations caused by Lin Yun, nothing else could affect her.
Unless someone could brainwash her again, a brainwashing that would penetrate her soul and override the slave seal Lin Yun had planted.
Otherwise, Ma Xiaotao would only maintain Lin Yun's form.
"What, do you have a problem?" Although Cai Mei'er's expression wasn't too intimidating, she was still the vice dean of the Martial Soul Department and the current dean. In Ling Luochen and Yao Haoxuan's hearts, her authority was still deeply ingrained.
"Or do you think what I said is wrong? You are not new inner court students; you have carried out many missions for the inspection team, but those many missions did not make you learn from experience. That's why you faced an evil soul master who was merely at the Soul King level and suffered such heavy losses."
Ling Luochen and the other opened their mouths, wanting to refute, but they couldn't.
Because what Cai Mei'er said was true.
Xuan Zi's failure to provide timely rescue was one thing; their complete disregard for the Death God Messenger was another. If they had remained cautious from the very beginning, the losses would indeed not have been as great as they were now.
Chen Zifeng died, Xixi was crippled, Dai Yueheng was crippled, Gongyang Mo was half-crippled, and the remaining three of them all sustained injuries.
While the Death God Messenger's corpse explosion was impressive, they were elite disciples from Shrek's inner court after all; it was impossible for them to have no countermeasures.
Such great losses were entirely due to their underestimation of the Death God Messenger.
Arrogance was the original sin of destruction.
Cai Mei'er quietly observed the expressions of the three people in front of her. Except for Ma Xiaotao's consistently calm demeanor, which she couldn't quite decipher, Ling Luochen and Yao Haoxuan's reactions greatly satisfied her.
This was how it should be. Only in this way could they better contribute to Shrek.
As for Ma Xiaotao's behavior, Cai Mei'er didn't take it to heart. In fact, among these people, Ma Xiaotao was the closest to her.
She was Yan Shaozhe's direct disciple, and Cai Mei'er was Yan Shaozhe's wife. Cai Mei'er often interacted with Ma Xiaotao, and Ma Xiaotao always respected her, sweetly calling her "Mistress."
Cai Mei'er didn't believe Ma Xiaotao would contradict her on such matters.
Ma Xiaotao indeed didn't talk back to Cai Mei'er and quietly said, "This was indeed our mistake, and it was my dereliction of duty as team leader. I have no objection to the academy's arrangement."
Seeing this, Ling Luochen and Yao Haoxuan also humbly admitted their mistakes.
Cai Mei'er nodded slightly, very satisfied in her heart: "Although your mistake this time was significant, in this All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Competition, you also made up for it by upholding Shrek's honor. Therefore, your merits and demerits will cancel each other out this time."
"The major demerit will still be retained, but it will not be recorded in your files, as a warning. You must understand that no matter when, being alive is the first thing you need to consider!"
Lin Yun blinked, subtly taking half a step back.
Oh my.
As expected of Shrek.
Having witnessed the entire process from beginning to end, he was now doubting his life a little.
When he read the original work in his previous life, he already felt that the plot here was a bit of a brain aneurysm, but he never expected to witness Shrek's PUA in person.
After all that, they selflessly went around cleaning up Shrek's messes, chasing down evil soul masters across the continent, maintaining Shrek's benevolent, pure, righteous, and just image. It's one thing not to give them rewards, but to suppress them like this instead?
Moreover, shouldn't the biggest blame for this operation be placed on Xuan Zi?
Where's that old bastard?
Lin Yun truly didn't believe that Shrek would suppress Xuan Zi in the same way they suppressed Ma Xiaotao and the other two. Perhaps that old bastard was currently hiding in some dark sewer, drinking and feasting!
(Xuan Zi at the bottom of the Golden Tree: Burp~)
A major demerit, but not recorded in the file.
They fought tooth and nail, doing missions and competing, only to come back to this?
Don't talk about inner court disciples enjoying more resources than outer court disciples, so the standards required are different from outer court students. When Shrek gives inner court disciples missions from the inspection team, aren't they just using these inner court disciples as tools?
Then shouldn't Shrek compensate them even more?
Patience...
I'll endure!
Damn it, endure my ass, all of you, laugh for me!
"Pfft... Hahahaha!!" Lin Yun couldn't hold back and burst out laughing. Then everyone, including the many elders of the Sea God Pavilion, turned their gaze towards him.
Being stared at by so many people at once was a bit embarrassing. Lin Yun tried to hold it in, then failed, and laughed again.
"Student Lin Yun, can you tell me what you're laughing at?" Cai Mei'er looked at Lin Yun and asked in a gentle tone.
Geniuses always had privileges, and Lin Yun was no exception; in fact, he had even more. Even if he laughed out loud in such a serious场合, no one present would think he was ill-behaved.
Lin Yun's mouth twitched, his difficult-to-maintain expression instantly transforming into the bright, cheerful smile of a sunny boy.
"No, no, I personally admire Dean Cai very much and absolutely have no intention of questioning Dean Cai. I just remembered something happy," Lin Yun waved his hand, saying with a brilliant smile.
"Something happy? What happy thing?" Cai Mei'er was immediately sidetracked by Lin Yun, asking him with a face full of curiosity.
Although the other Sea God Pavilion elders didn't speak, their gazes subtly drifted towards them, and their ears perked up, clearly curious about Lin Yun's answer as well.
What could make you so happy?
And Lin Yun did not disappoint them, stating solemnly, "The Ice Jade Scorpion I'm raising seems to be pregnant."
"Ah?!" *N
"Pfft..." Xiao Xiao also couldn't hold back, tightly pursing her lips, her small face flushed from suppressing her laughter.
"What are you laughing at now?" This time, it wasn't Cai Mei'er who asked Xiao Xiao, but Xian Lin'er, who had remained silent since entering the Sea God Pavilion.
"The Ice Jade Scorpion I'm raising seems to be pregnant too!" Xiao Xiao also said solemnly.
"The Ice Jade Scorpions you're raising... are they the same one?" Wu Feng, standing behind Xiao Xiao, leaned in and whispered.
"Ah... yes, yes!" Xiao Xiao kept her small face straight, trying her best not to laugh again.
Cai Mei'er shook her head helplessly and said with a smile, "In the end, you're still dissatisfied or perhaps don't understand my handling method, aren't you? Considering you are all outer court students, I will explain it to you then."
"As everyone knows, the admission requirements for our Shrek inner court are very high. Basically, if five outer court students from each graduating sixth-year class meet the inner court standards and enroll, that's already considered a lot."
"In reality, the number of people in our inner court has never exceeded three digits, and a significant portion of them are even student teaching assistants or inner court teachers. Moreover, the casualty rate for inner court inspection team missions is extremely high. If I don't wake them up now, they will still rush in recklessly the next time they encounter such a situation."
"Rather than being gentle now, it's better to make them understand the pitfalls of arrogance now."
"Being alive is the most important thing."
Lin Yun didn't know what others thought, but judging by their expressions, they were definitely heavily PUA'd.
The resentment on Ling Luochen and Yao Haoxuan's faces faded considerably, replaced by intense gratitude.
So cunning...
(End of Chapter)
────────────────────────────────────
"If you're interested, please support me in my other novel [One Piece: General Blue]."
"If you're interested, please support me in my other novel [Naruto: Starting with Tsunade-san]."
"If you're interested, please support me in my other novel [Battle Through the Heavens: Heavenly comprehension]."
"If you want early access to nearly 35+ chapters, join my patreon:- patreon.com/BaDwYGaMeR"