"The news should have spread by now."
Inside the Sea God Pavilion hall.
Elder Mu lay on his recliner with eyes closed. If not for his recent speech, one would think he had already fallen asleep.
Yan Shaozhe, standing respectfully beside him, clasped his hands slightly. "Using the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy as our messenger, all matters regarding soul spirits have been relayed back by various forces' spies. Barring any unexpected developments, they should all know about this within half a month."
"That's good."
Mu En looked up at the ceiling, his tone calm.
"Calculating like this, within one to two months, those forces should contact us to discuss the soul spirit matter. At that time, Shaozhe, you must pay attention—keep the negotiation initiative in Shrek Academy and the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect's hands. If you can't make up your mind, find an opportunity to discuss with that child Bowen. But one thing—you mustn't be too petty in your actions."
Hearing his teacher's guidance, Yan Shaozhe naturally nodded in agreement. But after a moment, his expression showed some difficulty. "Teacher, if we truly continue expanding this in the three Douluo nations next, I'm afraid we simply won't have enough soul beasts suitable for soul spirit contracts between our two forces."
"You don't need to worry about that."
Mu En waved his hand. "By that time, I'll personally go to the Star Dou Forest to negotiate with Di Tian. For the future of the soul beast race, as the Beast God, he won't disagree."
"You go ahead and push this matter forward."
"Yes."
Seeing his teacher's confident demeanor, Yan Shaozhe respectfully bowed before leaving the Sea God Pavilion.
Now only Mu En and Chen Junting remained in the Sea God Pavilion.
"Elder Mu."
Chen Junting respectfully addressed Mu En.
"Hmm."
Mu En responded, then looked at Chen Junting. "Although this old man can negotiate with Di Tian, you should be clear in your heart that merely contracting soul spirits and giving soul beasts rebirth isn't enough to make this Beast God stand behind soul spirits. Therefore, the matter of how soul spirits of different ages can provide different numbers of soul rings must also be pushed forward quickly. There shouldn't be any unexpected issues on your sect's side."
"You can rest assured, Elder Mu."
Chen Junting nodded. "Right after I developed soul spirits, I immediately had our sect select a core disciple who had just broken through to Level 30 to contract a soul spirit. It's been nearly a year and a half—by now, he should be close to breaking through to Level 40."
"As long as you're aware of this."
Then, Mu En looked deeply at Chen Junting.
"Though this old man doesn't know the true reason behind your Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect making such a grand move, I know for certain it's not just about competing to be the so-called number one sect under heaven."
Hearing this, Chen Junting merely remained silent. His heart wasn't shocked at being seen through by Elder Mu—after all, he knew this excuse could never fool this wise elder.
Seeing Chen Junting fall silent, Mu En smiled unconcernedly. "Actually, this old man doesn't care about this secret. It's just that my time is limited, and what I worry about now is only Shrek's future. So all I'm doing now is hoping that when Shrek Academy faces a crisis in the future, your Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect will lend a helping hand. That's all."
Chen Junting looked up, meeting the gaze of this aged elder without fear. "Elder Mu has confidence in us?"
"Of course."
Mu En's tone was utterly sincere as he spoke.
For a moment, Chen Junting couldn't tell whether it was genuine or not.
"Elder Mu, the academy's future is also filled with talents. Just like senior sister Lexuan and Di Yao—they're both capable of supporting the academy."
Of course, when speaking of Zhang Lexuan, Chen Junting was sincere.
As for Di Yao...better not count on her.
Mu En shook his head with a smile. "That child Lexuan naturally needs no words—though her talent is exceptional, she can only maintain the current situation. If the world changes, she won't last long. As for that child Di Yao..."
Mentioning "Di Yao," Mu En couldn't help but shake his head.
"Actually, that child is the one I understand least. Like that child Wang Dong, she seems to have a layer of mist shrouding her, making her unclear to me. Entrusting Shrek to her..."
Mu En didn't continue his words.
In his heart, he faintly felt that this "Di Yao" child had an inseparable connection to the Star Dou Forest. But from her, he couldn't detect any soul beast aura—quite strange indeed.
...
After leaving the Sea God Pavilion, Chen Junting was about to return to his apartment.
Regarding Mu En's request, Chen Junting accepted it in his personal name. After all, between them there wasn't just this connection—especially regarding the soul spirit matter, Shrek Academy's active concession had greatly helped him.
As for the sect...he refused on the grounds that he couldn't make decisions for the sect.
And to this, Mu En accepted with a smile on his face.
This made Chen Junting realize—what Mu En valued wasn't the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, but his personal promise.
"Roar..."
"You think that Elder Mu has good eyesight?"
In the sea of consciousness, Mad King suddenly spoke. But after hearing Chen Junting's polished version, he snorted disdainfully.
He had clearly said "that old man isn't completely blind."
"Hehe."
Chen Junting chuckled lightly, not caring about Mad King's expression. "I'm not even a Titled Douluo yet—the path to godhood is still long. Now is not the time for arrogance."
Just as Chen Junting completely descended from the hill where the Sea God Pavilion stood, a black shadow suddenly shot toward him.
Chen Junting focused his eyes—"Senior sister."
His voice immediately caught Zhang Lexuan's attention, causing her to descend from the air and land before Chen Junting.
She glanced at Chen Junting, her tone gentle.
"You just came out of the Sea God Pavilion?"
Chen Junting nodded, then curiously asked: "Senior sister, what's so urgent that you're in such a hurry?"
"This."
Zhang Lexuan didn't hide anything, directly waving the documents in her hand, her expression serious. "I've been away from the academy these past days for this matter. Tian Ling Empire has sent word that a lone evil soul master has kidnapped many children. Tian Ling Empire has already sent people to capture him, but discovered this evil soul master is extremely powerful—actually possessing Soul King cultivation."
Evil soul master?
Hearing this, Chen Junting's expression instantly sharpened.
Zhang Lexuan continued at this moment: "Junting, do you have time these days? If you're available, I'll have Yueheng follow you, and you'll lead the team. Choose two people from Bei Bei and the others to capture this evil soul master. They just joined the inner court—except for that time before the tournament, they haven't officially executed any inspection team missions yet."
"If that's the case, I accept."
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