Chapter 167: Bei Bei
A suffocating stillness choked the Sea God Pavilion office. The air itself seemed to turn to lead, pressing down on the shoulders of every Elder present. Hovering in the center of the room, the glowing projection of a Soul Tool communication slowly fractured into motes of fading light. Huo Yuhao's secret letter had struck them like an invisible hammer, shattering their fragile sense of security.
Elder Xuan stood rigid. His bloodshot eyes remained locked on the dissipating golden text. A chaotic storm of emotions raged within his gaze—a bitter cocktail of jealousy, raw fear, and the helpless fury of an old man realizing the new era had thoroughly abandoned him.
"A red fifth ring..." Xian Lin'er murmured, her voice barely above a whisper. Her eyes were wide, completely devoid of their usual sharp confidence. As the Dean of the Soul Tool Department, she understood the sheer terror behind those words better than anyone else in the room. "A five-ring Soul King... instantly killing a Class 8 Soul Engineer..."
A Class 8 Soul Engineer, fully equipped with a customized suit of heavy Soul Tool armor, was a walking fortress. On a chaotic battlefield, such a figure possessed enough destructive firepower to face a Title Douluo head-on. To bypass those defenses and secure an instant kill defied all known logic of the cultivation world.
If Liu Yuan truly possessed this level of monstrous strength, it meant the absolute dominance of the Body Sect was no longer a distant possibility. It was an impending reality.
"Impossible! This old man refuses to believe a word of it!"
Elder Xuan suddenly whirled around, his hoarse voice shattering the heavy silence. He flicked his wide sleeves with excessive force, generating a sharp gust of wind in a desperate attempt to physically blow away the suffocating pressure gripping the room.
"Everyone, do not let yourselves be frightened by Huo Yuhao's one-sided claims," Elder Xuan said, his chest heaving as he forced a tone of absolute authority. "Although that child possesses decent talent, he is still young and inexperienced. In the middle of a chaotic, blood-soaked battlefield, misidentifying a target or hallucinating under pressure is a common occurrence."
He paced a few steps, his voice growing louder as if trying to convince himself. "Do not forget what the Body Sect excels at. They use their Body Martial Souls to manipulate blood vitality and create grand illusions. Perhaps this entire spectacle was nothing more than a deceptive trick, a theatrical performance deliberately concocted by Du Busi to scare the Sun Moon Empire!"
Despite his firm words, his breathing was ragged. Anyone with ears could hear the hollow, trembling lack of confidence hiding just beneath his bluster.
"As for those research materials and core blueprints that were supposedly swept away from Mingde Hall..." A cold, mocking sneer curled the corners of Elder Xuan's mouth, twisting his features into a mask of deep-seated prejudice. "Even if it truly was the Body Sect's doing, so what? Those arrogant lunatics under Du Busi have spent their entire miserable lives worshipping nothing but their own flesh and blood. They look down on Soul Tools with absolute disgust. Those highly complex blueprints falling into their hands are nothing more than a pile of waste paper."
He scoffed, waving a hand dismissively. "It is entirely useless for them to take such things. The Body Sect will never lower themselves to study what they consider unorthodox paths."
Hearing Elder Xuan's rationalization, the heavy expressions on the faces of Yan Shaozhe, Xian Lin'er, and Qian Duoduo eased by a fraction. In their deeply ingrained worldview, the Body Sect was indeed a gathering of martial lunatics who violently rejected external technology. This shared cognitive bias provided them with a convenient, temporary harbor to hide from the terrifying truth.
"Elder Xuan makes a fair point. Those muscle-brained brutes from the Body Sect certainly lack the intellect and patience to study advanced Soul Tools," Qian Duoduo said, forcing a dry, hollow laugh to ease the lingering tension.
"Enough. Everyone is dismissed," Elder Xuan commanded, turning his back to them. "This old man has only recently recovered from his injuries and requires quiet rest. Regarding the situation at Mingde Hall, keep the scouts on high alert. Report back to me only when you have verified, definite information."
Seeing his rigid posture, the other Elders found it impossible to voice their remaining doubts. A heavy stone still weighed on their hearts, but looking at Elder Xuan's face—which was so dark and gloomy it looked ready to drip water—they wisely chose silence. One by one, they bowed respectfully and filed out of the office.
With a prolonged creak, the heavy wooden doors swung shut, sealing the room.
The instant the latch clicked into place, the room fell back into a deathly silence. And in that same instant, Elder Xuan's straight, authoritative posture completely collapsed.
He stumbled backward, his knees buckling as he slumped onto the soft cushions of the couch. He looked as though his bones had been removed, utterly drained of the righteous, unyielding aura he had projected just moments ago. His breathing came in short, ragged gasps. Reaching out with a trembling hand, he tried to grab the empty teacup resting on the side table. His fingers shook so violently that they merely rattled against the porcelain, entirely unable to close around the cup.
"Liu Yuan... Liu Yuan..."
Elder Xuan muttered the name, his voice a broken rasp. Each syllable sounded as if it were being forcefully squeezed through his grinding teeth.
On the entire Douluo Continent, the entity he now feared above all else was no longer the Hallmaster of Mingde Hall, Jing Hongchen. It was not even the Sun Moon Empire's legendary Kong Deming. It was the very youth he had once personally, arrogantly expelled from Shrek Academy.
Although he had vehemently denied the report in front of the other Elders, he was a Rank 98 Super Douluo. Deep down, his sharp instincts knew the truth. A child with Huo Yuhao's steady, careful character would never dare send such a groundless, exaggerated lie in a top-secret letter to the Sea God Pavilion.
If that terrifying figure on the battlefield truly was Liu Yuan, it meant the boy had already grown to a monstrous level—a level that made even a Super Douluo like him feel a cold tremor of absolute dread.
'Such a freak of nature must not be allowed to live.'Elder Xuan's gaze suddenly sharpened, turning extremely sinister. A thick, suffocating wave of killing intent erupted from his body, rampaging through the enclosed office and causing the ambient temperature to plummet. Frost began to form on the edges of the windows.'As long as he draws breath for a single day, he serves as the greatest humiliation to me, Xuanzi. He is a walking, breathing stain on Shrek Academy's ten-thousand-year reputation of absolute glory. If he is truly allowed to mature and reach his peak, the Body Sect will eventually step directly onto the roof of the Sea God Pavilion and crush us beneath their heels.'
Elder Xuan subconsciously raised a hand, pressing it hard against his chest. Beneath his robes, the old, festering injury left by the violent backlash of the Dragon Pill throbbed with a searing, agonizing pain.
He desperately wanted to march out and slaughter Liu Yuan. He wanted to wipe the Body Sect from the face of the continent. But cold reality anchored him. To kill Liu Yuan meant he first had to step over the corpse of Du Busi.
That old freak possessed a cultivation base and raw strength that currently eclipsed his own. Because of the tyrannical, unique nature of the Body Martial Soul, Xuanzi knew he was simply no match for him in a direct, one-on-one deathmatch. Without absolute, overwhelming certainty, Shrek Academy simply could not afford the catastrophic price of sparking a full-scale war.
'Breakthrough... this old man must hurry and break through to the Rank 99 Limit Douluo realm!'Elder Xuan slowly turned his head, his bloodshot eyes locking onto the direction of the Golden Tree outside his window. His gaze reflected a dark, nearly pathological obsession.'Elder Mu is dead. Now, I alone reign supreme over the Sea God Pavilion. Once I successfully step across that final threshold and enter the Limit Douluo realm, a mere Body Sect can be wiped from existence with a single flip of my hand. When that day comes, Du Busi will not be able to stop me. And that little beast, Liu Yuan... I will personally ensure his body is shattered and his soul extinguished before the front gates of Shrek Academy! I will use his blood to console the Ancestral Master's spirit in heaven!'
This twisted thirst for absolute power, fueled by a paranoid, consuming hatred, acted as a crutch for his broken body. It forcibly stabilized his wavering heart, refilling his empty veins with a dark, venomous desire.
Meanwhile, outside the Sea God Pavilion, beneath the sprawling, radiant canopy of the Golden Tree.
Bei Bei stood quietly at the very bottom of the wooden steps. His once-pristine white Shrek Academy uniform was washed thin and faded at the cuffs. His face had lost its youthful fullness, appearing gaunt and much thinner than before. Yet, beneath his slightly sunken brow, his eyes burned brighter and more determined than they ever had.
He had come today for one specific reason: the radiant Dragon Pill.
The last time he had come to the Pavilion to inquire about it, he had been turned away. It had coincidentally been the exact time Elder Xuan was lying unconscious, supposedly suffering from heavy internal injuries. The other Elders had firmly blocked his path at the door, leaving him with no choice but to retreat in helpless frustration.
But he had not been idle. Over the past three months, Bei Bei had painstakingly combed through every single remaining note, journal, and record left behind by Elder Mu. He had stayed awake for countless nights, recalling every word, every subtle detail of his great-grandfather's final days.
Elder Mu had stated his intentions with absolute clarity. The Dragon Pill, an artifact that condensed the absolute essence of his life's blood, cultivation, and painstaking effort, was meant for one person. It was designated to be given to Liu Yuan, meant to ease the fractured relationship between him and the academy, serving as a deep gesture of compensation.
Yet, months had passed, and Elder Xuan had taken absolutely no action to deliver it. Instead, he had mysteriously suffered a sudden 'breakthrough failure'and sustained heavy injuries during his secluded meditation.'Such things are far too coincidental.'Bei Bei muttered the words under his breath. His arms hung stiffly at his sides, his hands clenched so tightly into fists that his fingernails dug deep, painful crescents into his palms.'Elder Xuan... where exactly did you send the Dragon Pill?'His jaw tightened as a dark, sickening thought clawed its way to the forefront of his mind.'Could it be that you truly embezzled the Dragon Pill for your own selfish gain?'A cold wind rustled the glowing leaves of the Golden Tree above him, casting shifting shadows over his pale face.'If you really committed such a despicable act... Ancestral Grandfather will never forgive you in the afterlife. And neither will I.'
Bei Bei closed his eyes, taking a long, deep breath. The cool, vital energy of the Golden Tree flowed into his lungs, helping to forcibly suppress the turbulent, angry emotions threatening to boil over in his chest. When he opened his eyes again, his gaze was locked onto the towering, silent structure of the Sea God Pavilion.
He stepped forward, his voice ringing out sharp and clear, cutting through the tranquil silence of the courtyard.
"Bei Bei requests an audience with Elder Xuan! I have a matter of utmost importance to ask. I pray Elder Xuan will spare a moment of his time to see me!"
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