Su Yunlin and Wang Dong had no idea that the two of them had already been internally chosen as candidates for the Shrek Seven Monsters.
At this moment, they had just received invitations to the Treasure Appraisal Gathering and were preparing to head over to see if there were any worthwhile treasures.
This year's Treasure Appraisal Gathering had been specially organized for core disciples. There were quite a few hidden dealings involved behind the scenes. To put it simply, the various merchant associations were trying to flatter Shrek Academy while also building goodwill for themselves.
After all, having more connections meant having more paths available in the future.
Su Yunlin, however, didn't care much about such things. Right now, he was thinking about the future of the Dark Night Duke's Estate.
The Dark Night Duke's Estate was indeed one of the foremost ducal houses of the Heavenly Soul Empire.
But that was in the past.
Su Tianxuan's military achievements belonged to the previous era as well. As the imperial power of the Heavenly Soul Empire changed hands over generations, the current emperor no longer treated the Su Family as favorably as the previous rulers had.
The current emperor favored the Body Sect because his daughter, Wei Na, possessed a Body Martial Soul. He wanted the Body Sect to become the Heavenly Soul Empire's guardian sect, which naturally caused the Su Family to be pushed aside.
The emperor had even stripped Su Yunlin's father, Su Jinming, of his military authority.
Originally, Su Jinming commanded one of the Heavenly Soul Empire's elite armies and had planned to integrate soul tools into the military. However, that touched the nerves of the emperor, who was a staunch conservative.
As a result, Su Jinming's military authority was revoked.
Even his trusted subordinates were demoted, and some had even lost their lives because of it.
That was also why Su Jinming harbored such intense anger toward the imperial family.
He had fought and bled for the Heavenly Soul Empire, wanting only to strengthen its military forces, yet the emperor acted like an idiot—not only stripping him of authority but also targeting his men.
It had infuriated Su Jinming so much that he had nearly stormed the imperial palace.
Now, Su Jinming no longer intended to risk his life for the Heavenly Soul Empire.
It simply wasn't worth sacrificing himself for fools.
He had gathered his former trusted subordinates into the ducal estate and was secretly raising a private army.
Naturally, some officials reported this matter to the emperor.
As for the result?
The official who spread the accusations was beaten to death on the spot by Su Jinming.
After all, Su Jinming wasn't merely a duke—he was also a Titled Douluo.
He was one of the Heavenly Soul Empire's guardian Titled Douluo, and his father was the empire's chief royal worshiper.
Provoking him without using one's brain was practically suicidal.
Even the emperor of the Heavenly Soul Empire didn't dare push Su Jinming too far.
First, Su Jinming carried half of the imperial bloodline within him.
Second, the Dark Night Duke's Estate had earned its position through battle. From Su Tianxuan to Su Jinming, every generation had been hot-tempered and ruthless people.
They might remain still under normal circumstances, but once they moved, blood would inevitably be shed.
Even the imperial family didn't dare force the Dark Night Duke's Estate too hard.
If they truly pushed them into rebellion, the Heavenly Soul Empire would descend into chaos.
In any case, the Heavenly Soul Empire was no longer worthy of loyalty.
To put it bluntly, loyalty to the empire merely meant sacrificing oneself for imperial power.
Su Yunlin had no interest in risking his life for someone else's benefit.
He was currently considering whether he should fully join Shrek Academy and bring his entire family into Shrek's sphere of influence.
Although Shrek would suffer a massive disaster in the future, overall it would still fare far better than the Heavenly Soul Empire being destroyed outright.
Besides, in the later era, the strongest figure in Shrek Academy would be Elder Xuan—a Rank 98 Super Douluo.
His own grandfather was also Rank 98.
Even if his grandfather couldn't defeat Elder Xuan now, once higher-level battle armor was developed, his grandfather would definitely be able to kick Elder Xuan around like a ball.
Su Yunlin felt that gradually taking over influence within Shrek Academy probably wouldn't be too difficult.
As for Tang San—his future father-in-law—he probably wouldn't make things difficult for him.
After all, Su Yunlin wasn't as troublesome as Huo Yuhao.
And if Tang San really irritated him someday...
Then he'd just make him a grandfather ahead of schedule.
Hold the grandson hostage to command Tang San.
(In the Divine Realm, Tang San—currently on duty at the Divine Realm Committee—suddenly felt a chill run down his spine, as though something terrible was about to happen.)
...
"Yunlin, what kind of interesting things do you think will be at this Treasure Appraisal Gathering?"
Wang Dong stroked her chin thoughtfully.
Shopping was practically instinctive for girls, and Wang Dong was no exception. She especially loved browsing around.
Meanwhile, Su Yunlin was wondering whether he could pick up a hidden bargain.
He remembered that during this Treasure Appraisal Gathering, Wang Dong would obtain a Spirit Bone—if he recalled correctly, it was a left arm bone with excellent effects.
Su Yunlin still had a mystic Spirit Bone in his possession.
If Wang Dong could obtain two left arm bones with matching attributes and fuse them together, the gains would be enormous.
The two soon arrived at the Treasure Appraisal Gathering and entered the Treasure Gathering Pavilion.
Before long, several charming young women dressed in extremely revealing outfits approached to receive them.
However, Su Yunlin felt nothing at all.
And Wang Dong was a girl herself, so she naturally felt nothing either.
"Welcome, honored guests!"
The girls standing on either side bowed deeply—nearly a full ninety degrees—toward Su Yunlin and Wang Dong, revealing a large expanse of fair, delicate skin.
Yet Su Yunlin's expression remained completely indifferent.
The moment Wang Dong saw this scene, she became dissatisfied.
She was worried Su Yunlin might learn bad habits, but when she turned to look at him, she found him staring straight ahead with dead-fish eyes, not even glancing at those girls.
She poked him curiously.
"Yunlin, you're not looking at the pretty girls? They're all really beautiful, and they're dressed pretty... provocatively. Boys are supposed to like this kind of thing, right? So why are you—"
Su Yunlin shook his head.
"I don't know. I just don't feel anything."
Then he glanced at her and smiled faintly.
"But if you were willing to dress like that, I think I'd like it a lot. How about... wearing something like that for me someday?"
Wang Dong's pretty face instantly flushed red.
"Pervert!"
...
The two were brought to the second floor to have their credit limits assessed.
Suddenly, Wang Dong grabbed Su Yunlin's arm and pointed toward one of the display platforms.
Inside the display case floated a Spirit Bone.
The Spirit Bone was golden-red in color and hovered suspended in the air. It appeared to be an arm bone, with five slender finger bones extending upward. Each fingertip emitted a faint golden-red glow.
"Yunlin, coming to this Treasure Appraisal Gathering was definitely the right choice! That Spirit Bone suits me perfectly!"
Su Yunlin nodded.
"Looks like your luck's pretty good. It seems to be a left arm bone. Let's finish the paperwork first, then we'll check the price."
To obtain credit privileges at the Treasure Gathering Pavilion, one had to fill out a form.
The contents were simple:
Name, gender, age, Spirit Power rank, Martial Soul, and achievements earned.
Su Yunlin quickly finished filling out his form before glancing at Wang Dong beside him.
The information she wrote was:
Wang Dong / Tang Wutong
Female
12 years old
Rank 33 Spirit Power
Radiant Goddess Butterfly / Clear Sky Hammer
Freshman Tournament Champion
"You're really going full real-name registration now?" Su Yunlin asked while looking at what she had written.
Wang Dong sighed helplessly.
"Didn't you say it yourself? The academy higher-ups already figured out my identity long ago. Since that's the case, I might as well stop pretending and just use my real information."
Su Yunlin laughed.
"Fair enough. Though there'll probably be plenty of gossip afterward. A lone man and woman sharing a room for so many years and all."
Wang Dong snorted coldly.
Then a ball of black light condensed in her right hand.
"Anyone who dares gossip about it can have a taste of my Clear Sky Hammer!"
Before long, the assessment results came back.
Neither Su Yunlin nor Wang Dong had any credit limit restrictions.
They could spend as much as they wanted.
The two of them had been granted top-tier VIP status at the Treasure Gathering Pavilion.
With their level of privilege, they were entitled once per year to select any item from the Treasure Appraisal Gathering free of charge.
"No wonder. Looks like the academy really values our talent."
Su Yunlin glanced at Wang Dong.
"Though I didn't expect you to get top-tier VIP status too. You probably exposed the Clear Sky Hammer, and now that they know you're a twin Martial Soul user, your value to the academy increased again."
Wang Dong placed her hands on her hips and lifted her fair chin proudly.
The proud little swan was getting smug again.
"Hmph, of course! Do you even know who I am? Come on, let's go look at the good stuff!"
A staff member respectfully said,
"Mr. Su, Miss Tang, your top-tier VIP cards grant you a forty percent discount on all purchases within the Treasure Gathering Pavilion. Additionally, each year you may claim any one item from the Treasure Appraisal Gathering free of charge."
Wang Dong nodded before immediately dragging Su Yunlin toward the Spirit Bone display.
That golden-red Spirit Bone had already attracted the attention of many people.
Most of them were core disciples from the Outer Court.
Among them was Beibei as well.
...
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