(P.S. From this point onward, Su Yunlin might act a little impulsively. He really can't stand Shrek Academy's way of doing things and is about to openly criticize it.)
Su Yunlin had successfully gained control over both teams. Whether they truly accepted him or were only pretending didn't matter. The result was what counted.
After the sparring matches in the spirit arena ended, Su Yunlin brought Wang Dong with him to the Soul Tool Department.
The moment he entered, he spotted Fan Yu.
"Teacher Fan Yu, I'm looking for the two deans."
Fan Yu was surprised to see this rare visitor. Without delay, he personally led Su Yunlin over to them.
Xian Lin'er and Qian Duoduo were both curious.
Su Yunlin, this little genius who rarely ever visited the Soul Tool Department, had suddenly shown up today. What exactly did he want?
"Deans, I'm here to order a batch of soul tools. Do you have any defensive soul tools in stock? Preferably Class 6 or higher. I'll need fifteen of them."
"And do you have those simple offensive-type soul tools? The kind even an idiot could learn to use. If you do, prepare a full set."
The moment he arrived, Su Yunlin immediately stated his purpose.
"Hold it, hold it!" Qian Duoduo interrupted. "What do you think this place is, a wholesale market? Why do you need so many?"
"Equip the tournament team with them," Su Yunlin replied immediately. "Ideally, every inner court disciple carrying out missions should be required to carry them too."
Xian Lin'er and Qian Duoduo exchanged glances.
This was something they had always wanted to implement, but the conservative faction within the academy had consistently opposed it.
"You're not afraid those old fossils will object?" Xian Lin'er asked.
"Afraid of them?" Su Yunlin snorted. "If there's a problem, they can take it up with Elder Mu. Elder Mu will definitely support me."
"I'll say this plainly: aren't the students' lives worth something?"
"Shouldn't the academy provide some level of protection for their safety?"
"We're an academy. We're responsible for our students. What, are we treating them like disposable slaves?"
"No matter what those old fools think, if anyone dares oppose this, I'll just have my grandfather come over and 'talk' with them."
Su Yunlin crossed his arms.
In all of Shrek Academy, only Elder Mu and Elder Xuan could defeat his grandfather. Elder Song was already a supporter of the Soul Tool Department, and the rest of those old geezers combined still wouldn't be his grandfather's match.
Xian Lin'er inhaled sharply.
"What happened? This is the first time I've seen you this angry."
"Nothing much." Su Yunlin's expression darkened. "I just beat Ma Xiaotao up earlier and realized the inner court students seriously discriminate against soul tools."
"I think the academy is blindly promoting the wrong philosophy."
"Soul tools are necessary."
"You don't have to study them, but you absolutely need to know how to use them."
"Life-saving tools are something everyone should know how to operate. After all, you only get one life."
"You two know Li Muchen from the inner court, right? He's one of my close friends."
Xian Lin'er and Qian Duoduo thought for a moment before immediately recalling him.
A talented inner court disciple. His Dragon Pattern Staff techniques were exceptional, and unlike many others, he didn't dislike soul tools. Unfortunately, he lacked talent as a soul engineer.
"My brother nearly died during his last supervision mission," Su Yunlin said coldly. "If not for the inner court senior sister saving them, the entire team would've been wiped out."
"How many times can people rely on that kind of luck?"
"Shrek Academy never lacks resources."
"The inner court disciples shed blood and risk their lives for the academy. Shouldn't the academy at least provide them with some basic safety measures?"
"We can't predict the future, but we can at least do what should be done."
"Are we really going to keep letting geniuses die before their talent can even flourish?"
His tone was earnest and heavy.
"Heh, little Su is right."
A calm voice suddenly echoed through the office.
Elder Mu appeared silently within the room.
"Elder Mu!"
"Elder Mu."
Elder Mu slowly approached and patted Su Yunlin's arm gently.
"Little Su, I truly didn't misjudge you."
"I watched your match earlier as well. Soul tools really do need to be developed vigorously."
"Especially that battle armor of yours. If enemies begin mass-producing and equipping such things, it would be disastrous for us."
"A soul tool capable of enhancing all attributes to that degree is simply astonishing."
He paused briefly before asking,
"Would you be willing to contribute the forging method of that battle armor to the academy?"
"In exchange, this old man can provide you with a suitable hundred-thousand-year Spirit Bone."
Su Yunlin nodded without hesitation.
"Of course."
"Battle armor is the inevitable future of soul tool development."
"Spirit Masters will always remain the decisive factor."
"The true endpoint of soul tools is finding ways to enhance a Spirit Master's power through them."
The moment he finished speaking, black armor instantly covered his body once more.
Su Yunlin's aura surged rapidly, climbing directly to the level of a Spirit Sage.
Even Fan Yu, an eight-ring Spirit Douluo, could feel a sense of danger from Su Yunlin's presence.
"My heavens! Is this the humanoid soul tool the Sun Moon Empire has been researching?" Xian Lin'er exclaimed in shock.
Qian Duoduo stood frozen in disbelief.
He immediately rushed over to Su Yunlin and began touching the armor all over. He even leaned down and licked it once.
"Thousand-refined first-grade Nether Iron."
Su Yunlin looked utterly disgusted.
This armor was basically ruined now.
Afterward, he removed the battle armor and left it for the two deans to study.
As expected of experts in soul tool research, the two quickly deciphered several concepts from the armor itself.
"This is practically a masterpiece!"
"If future Spirit Masters can all wear something like this, their combat strength would become unimaginable!"
"Exactly! This only uses thousand-refined metal, yet it already achieves this level. What about spirit-refined metal afterward? Soul-refined metal?"
"I can't even imagine it!"
Elder Mu didn't truly understand soul tools, but he understood one thing clearly—
This soul tool called battle armor would become a revolutionary creation.
"Elder Mu, there's actually something I wanted to discuss with you."
Su Yunlin rubbed his hands awkwardly.
"Oh?" Elder Mu smiled faintly. "So this child actually has worries too?"
"Well..." Su Yunlin hesitated slightly.
"My family's situation in the Heavenly Soul Empire hasn't been very good lately."
"So I was wondering... could the entire Dark Night Duke's Estate relocate to Shrek Academy?"
"And maybe let my grandfather become a Sea God Pavilion elder."
"My grandfather graduated from the inner court anyway. There shouldn't be any problem with that, right?"
Elder Mu looked at him quietly before quickly understanding the situation.
The internal struggles within the Heavenly Soul Empire had always been severe. Every imperial succession caused shifts in noble influence.
Back then, Dark Night Douluo had been an immensely influential powerhouse within the empire and had even married into the imperial family.
But after those two emperors passed away one after another, things changed.
The new emperor disliked Night Douluo's faction and favored his own supporters instead.
Naturally, the Dark Night Duke's Estate suffered suppression and exclusion.
At the time, Night Douluo's health had already deteriorated greatly. The entire estate had been supported solely by Su Jinming.
Later, they were even falsely accused of harboring "evil Spirit Masters," causing the Heavenly Soul Empire to apply further pressure.
In the end, Old Master Su had personally come to Shrek Academy and threatened self-destruction to force Shrek into clearing Xu Yuyue's name.
At the time, Elder Mu was already too old to fight seriously anymore, and Elder Xuan couldn't stop Su Tianxuan either.
Eventually, both sides could only compromise.
Truthfully speaking...
Shrek Academy owed the Dark Night Duke's Estate.
Recalling those past events, Elder Mu slowly nodded.
"That's fine."
"Tianxuan is someone I watched grow up. He's already over a hundred years old now."
"I heard his health isn't very good. We can have little Zhuang examine him."
Su Yunlin then looked toward the two deans still studying the battle armor.
"Deans, I'll leave the battle armor here for your research."
"The advanced versions are with my father. Once he comes to the academy, you can study them together."
"As for the soul tools I requested earlier, I'll come pick them up tomorrow."
"No problem," Qian Duoduo agreed immediately before instructing Fan Yu to begin preparations.
Elder Mu stroked his beard with a smile before looking toward Su Yunlin.
"Little Su, walk with me."
"Alright."
...
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