Chapter 50: Elder Xuan: So What If They Are Body Sect Disciples? Snatch Them Away!
At this exact moment, inside the academy walls.
Elder Xuan stared at Ling Luochen. The young woman stood before him, her usual icy composure replaced by a hesitant, helpless stiffness. The burning anticipation that had previously surged through the old man's chest instantly chilled.
As a veteran Elder of the Sea God Pavilion, his temper might have been notoriously explosive, but his emotional perception remained razor-sharp. This defeated posture was absolutely not the reaction of a student returning from a successful recruitment mission.
His weathered face darkened. The large, calloused hand resting on Ling Luochen's shoulder unconsciously tightened like a vice.
"Could it be that you didn't bring the person back?" His voice dropped, carrying a heavy, oppressive weight.
Ling Luochen winced slightly against the mounting pressure on her collarbone and offered a bitter shake of her head.
She hid nothing. In concise, measured tones, she recounted the entire sequence of events outside Yaluo City. She described the sheer visual shock of watching the young man named Liu Yuan slaughter a five-ring Evil Soul Master with brutal efficiency. Then, she detailed her subsequent attempt to extend an olive branch, only to be met with a wall of hostility from the Body Sect disciples and a stern, uncompromising rejection from Elder Chen.
As the report concluded, Elder Xuan's expression twisted into something exceedingly ugly. The messy tufts of his white hair seemed to vibrate with barely suppressed fury.
"What?" He barked, his voice echoing off the walls. "He is actually someone from the Body Sect?"
He released her shoulder and began pacing the room like a caged beast, his heavy footsteps thudding against the floorboards as he muttered rapid-fire to himself.
"Come to think of it, it makes perfect sense. Yaluo City sits squarely within the territory of the Heavenly Soul Empire. And that kid uses his eyes as a martial soul... a top-tier Body Martial Soul."
He slammed a fist into his open palm. "Damn it! To think those muscle-brained lunatics got to him first!"
Ling Luochen remained standing to the side. She let out a soft sigh, her tone low and cautious. "Elder Xuan, the other party is already a Personal Disciple of the Body Sect's Sect Master. Their sect values him to an extreme degree, going so far as to dispatch a high-ranking Elder to protect him in secret. I think we have completely lost our window of opportunity."
"Who says there is no chance?"
Elder Xuan stopped dead in his tracks. He whipped around to glare at Ling Luochen, his eyes burning with a fierce, uncompromising determination that utterly refused to accept defeat.
"Even if he has already joined the Body Sect, he can still quit!"
He took a step forward, his voice rising with absolute conviction. "Who in the entire continent does not know that a wise bird chooses the best tree to perch on? What future does a genius have rotting away in the Body Sect? It is nothing but a gathering place for a bunch of reclusive, arrogant freaks."
Ling Luochen frowned, her delicate eyebrows knitting together. "But the Body Sect Elder was entirely unyielding. He declared that the boy is the future of their sect and their core cultivation target. also, looking at that young man's demeanor, he seems to possess a very strong sense of belonging to them."
"So what?" Elder Xuan sneered, a cold, dismissive sound that carried the deep-seated, unshakable arrogance of Shrek Academy.
"Can the meager chips the Body Sect offers possibly compare to the ten thousand years of supreme accumulation within our Shrek Academy?"
He waved a hand dismissively through the air. "As long as this child's talent is high enough, we can directly offer conditions he cannot possibly refuse. No matter what resources the Body Sect gives him, we at Shrek will double it! I refuse to believe there is a single talent in this world that cannot be bought and snatched away."
Ling Luochen bit her lower lip, still harboring deep reservations. This was no longer just about recruiting a student; this was a direct provocation that could ignite severe friction between two apex factions.
After a moment of heavy silence, she voiced her concern. "Elder Xuan, if we push this too far, will it not trigger massive retaliation from the Body Sect? I have heard rumors about their Sect Master, Du Busi. He is not someone to be trifled with. He is notoriously crazy and fiercely protective of his own."
"Do I look like I am afraid of him?" Elder Xuan flicked his large sleeve with a scoff.
"When has our Shrek Academy ever feared his Body Sect? Elder Mu still presides over us. The foundation of the Sea God Pavilion is not just for show."
He narrowed his eyes, a dangerous glint flashing within them. "For a peerless prodigy capable of slaughtering a five-ring Evil Soul Master across ranks... so what if I have to exchange blows with Du Busi?"
Elder Xuan leveled a commanding stare at Ling Luochen, issuing his absolute directive. "Luochen, rest for two days. After that, you will return to the Heavenly Soul Empire and resume your wandering."
"Focus your search strictly around the areas near Yaluo City and the outer perimeter of the Body Sect's mountain gate."
"The next time you locate his whereabouts, do absolutely nothing to alert the enemy. Immediately notify the Academy via carrier pigeon. I will travel there personally to speak with him. I refuse to believe I cannot take this kid down."
Watching the fanatical determination etched into Elder Xuan's weathered features, Ling Luochen knew further argument was pointless. Though she felt the chances of success were astronomically slim, she had no choice but to lower her head in compliance.
"Yes..."
Meanwhile, deep within the sacred, ancient confines of the Sea God Pavilion.
Elder Mu had already received the latest intelligence regarding the Double-Pupil Genius. Naturally, he was also fully aware of Elder Xuan's aggressive stance on the matter.
The ancient man, who had lived through two centuries of shifting eras, lay quietly on a wooden recliner. His eyes remained lightly closed, his breathing slow and rhythmic, blending perfectly with the quiet, ancient energy of the room.
Yet, regarding the approach to this unmatched genius, his perspective surprisingly aligned perfectly with Elder Xuan's.
"A talent that even Du Busi values to such a fanatical degree... is indeed worth our Shrek striving for." Elder Mu's voice was barely a whisper, a soft rustle of dry leaves, yet it carried an unquestionable, absolute authority.
The current Shrek Academy was facing a quiet but severe crisis. They were trapped in an awkward drought of true, generation-defining talent. When it came to leading figures capable of hoisting the banner of Shrek's glory for the next era, there were virtually no suitable candidates.
Ma Xiaotao possessed the raw power, but the volatile instability of her Evil Fire rendered her a ticking time bomb. She was, in truth, far too dangerous to rely upon as a stable foundation.
Therefore, Elder Mu's current mindset could only be described as a desperate, ravenous thirst for talent.
A senior staff member responsible for recording the pavilion's decrees stood respectfully to the side. He hesitated for a long moment before tentatively voicing his concern. "Elder Mu, if Elder Xuan truly attempts to forcibly poach this person, it will completely offend Du Busi. If this triggers an all-out war between our two great forces... is it really worth the cost?"
Elder Mu slowly opened his eyes. His ancient, deep gaze stared calmly into the distant horizon, piercing through the wooden walls of the pavilion. "If that child is truly as outstanding as Ling Luochen reported, then yes. It is worth it."
"A singular talent capable of changing the course of an entire era is worth ten thousand elite troops."
Having settled the matter of the Double-Pupil Genius, Elder Mu slowly turned his head, his tone shifting as he asked about another lingering issue. He asked about the boy named "Liu Yuan."
While Elder Xuan had completely dismissed the expelled student as worthless trash, Elder Mu possessed a far more humane perspective. He viewed the academy's actions from the lens of the overall situation and recognized the potential injustice that had occurred.
The staff member offered a heavy sigh and shook his head respectfully. "Elder Mu, we still have not found him. Ever since he walked out of the Shrek recruitment center, it is as if he has completely evaporated from the face of the world."
Elder Mu let out a long, weary sigh and waved a frail hand. "Keep looking. Even if there is only a one in ten thousand chance of finding him, we must keep looking."
The ancient Dragon God Douluo had absolutely no idea that the "Liu Yuan" he was so desperately searching for out of guilt and duty was the exact same "Double-Pupil Genius" that Elder Xuan was currently obsessing over snatching.
This absurd, monumental gap in information caused the highest echelons of Shrek Academy to plunge into an extremely bizarre, chaotic state of busyness.
Far away, the atmosphere within the Body Sect painted a completely different picture.
High above the mortal realm, nestled within the treacherous peaks.
Inside the Sect Master's grand main hall.
Du Busi stood tall and imposing, his hands clasped loosely behind his back. His sharp, dominant gaze swept over the vast, rolling sea of clouds churning outside the open hall doors.
"So many days have passed," he muttered to himself, his deep voice vibrating in the empty hall. "Calculating the time, they should be arriving back soon, right?"
Just as the thought crossed his mind, a series of hurried, heavy footsteps echoed from the stone corridor outside.
A sect disciple rushed to the threshold, bowing deeply. "Sect Master! Elder Chen has brought Liu Yuan and the others back. He is currently waiting outside the door, urgently requesting an audience!"
Hearing this, Du Busi's thick brows instantly knitted together in a deep frown.
"Why is Elder Chen returning with them?" His eyes narrowed, a dangerous aura beginning to leak from his massive frame. "Could it be that some unexpected accident occurred on the road, forcing him to step out of the shadows and intervene?"
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