Undercurrents Surge Among Various Factions

The atmosphere on the scene relaxed somewhat.

"I never expected that little fellow, while serving as the Star Luo Emperor, would also become the Master of the Sea God Pavilion at Shrek Academy!"

Shattered Star Douluo clicked his tongue, his face full of disbelief: "How did he manage that?"

Shrek Academy does not belong to any nation, and the Sea God Pavilion is its highest decision-making body.

Not to mention successive Masters of the Sea God Pavilion, even among ordinary members, few come from major powers.

This is precisely an important reflection of Shrek Academy's independence and neutrality.

The Master of the Sea God Pavilion is generally recommended through the internal mechanisms of Shrek Academy.

Peerless strength is the bare minimum requirement, followed by loyalty to Shrek.

Many Masters of the Sea God Pavilion grew up within Shrek Academy itself, talents nurtured by Shrek itself.

Not only them, but even the entire populace of the Star Luo Empire was shocked.

"Speaking of which, who is Gu Tian? I've never heard of him at all."

"I never expected that the future emperor of our Star Luo Empire would also serve as the Master of the Sea God Pavilion—this hasn't happened in thousands of years!"

"The new Lord of Soul Beasts, promoting peace between humans and soul beasts—what does that mean?"

"Idiot, can't you see it clearly?"

"It must mean that our Star Luo Empire, under His Majesty's leadership, has conquered all soul beasts!"

"I never thought the empire that would ultimately unify the entire continent would be Star Luo!"

Within the Star Luo Empire, countless people were discussing the emperor who would lead the empire to rise in the future.

As for whether he belonged to the current royal bloodline, most people didn't care much.

At Shrek Academy, atop the Golden Ancient Wood.

All the elders of the Sea God Pavilion gathered here.

"What do you all think of this matter?"

An old man with a gaunt frame sat in a wheelchair, looking as if he were on his last legs, save for his eyes, which were deep and kind.

"Let's not even talk about where that man came from, but just by virtue of being the Star Luo Emperor, he cannot become the Master of our Sea God Pavilion!"

A scholarly-looking middle-aged man with short graying hair and handsome features, Yan Shaozhe, shook his head in rejection.

"That's right, Elder Mu, I think so too."

A tall, beautiful woman with a single ponytail, Xian Lin'er, nodded in agreement: "Shrek has become the continent's number one academy with ten thousand years of heritage precisely because of its special status independent of all nations."

"That's not necessarily certain. The origin of that light screen sweeping across the entire continent may far exceed our imagination!"

Xuan Zi, lacking his usual carefree demeanor, showed rare seriousness on his face.

Just now, they had tried countless methods at Shrek, but whether with martial souls or soul tools, none could affect the sky curtain in the slightest.

And as Shrek's publicly acknowledged strongest fighter, Xuan Zi, bold and skilled, had even flown toward the sky curtain.

Yet that light screen seemed to be nothing more than an image—no resistance at all; passing through it was like passing through thin air.

"Unifying the entire continent, promoting peace between humans and soul beasts!"

Qian Duoduo's eyes gleamed with sharp light: "This is an unprecedented achievement!"

"Elder Mu, should we make contact with him in advance?"

Lin Huiyun, the Master of Shrek's Treasure Gathering Pavilion, looked toward Mu En.

"Just wait and see."

Mu En's voice sounded in everyone's ears.

With him, Shrek's stabilizing anchor, speaking, the others had to set aside their doubts for now and turn their gazes back to the sky curtain.

Within the Heaven Dou Empire, in a treacherous, easily defended natural stronghold, the Body Sect was located.

At the mountaintop deep within the mountain range, where no one dared to easily cross or fly over.

Eleven figures stood there.

They looked up at the sky, staring at the sky curtain above, their expressions gradually growing heavy.

These eleven figures were none other than the high-ranking members of the Body Sect, all Titled Douluo-level powerhouses.

"Star Luo Emperor, Master of the Sea God Pavilion, Lord of Soul Beasts—quite the grand titles!"

Du Busi's eyes flickered slightly.

Heavenly Dao Incarnation, inheritor of the Emperor Armor—Du Busi didn't know exactly what these represented, but instinct told him their weight likely far surpassed the other three titles.

Watching the figure on the sky curtain who stood as if ruling the world, Du Busi's thoughts were unreadable.

After a long moment, he slowly spoke: "How credible do you all think what's in the image is?"

Hearing this, the other ten exchanged glances.

Golden Body Douluo, an elder of the Body Sect second only to the Sect Master Du Busi, pondered for a moment before saying: "The current emperor of the Star Luo Empire, Xu Jiawei, has no heirs, and the person in the sky doesn't bear the surname Xu..."

"Usurping the throne, or the Xu clan willingly handing over power?"

Du Busi narrowed his eyes, a look of keen interest spreading across his face: "Interesting!"

At present, Vina, the princess of the Heaven Dou Empire, had not yet joined the Body Sect as a bond, so the Body Sect was naturally not the protectorate sect of the Heaven Dou Empire.

As long as it wasn't the Sun Moon Empire—a foreign empire not native to the continent—unifying the entire land, Du Busi didn't care which other country took over.

"Sect Master, the Heaven Dou Empire has already sent their people over. Should I accept or refuse?"

One of the elders stepped forward to inquire.

"Refuse outright. Whether that thing in the sky is real or fake, I have no interest in getting involved in the mess of power struggles."

Du Busi waved his hand without hesitation.

"Sect Master, that's not what you said before."

A burly elder scratched his head.

"I changed my mind, can't I?"

Du Busi shot a fierce glare at the tactless fellow.

"Sect Master, understood. I'll notify the Heaven Dou Empire shortly and have Princess Vina sent back."

The elder from before nodded.

"Since she's come to my Body Sect, she's a person of my Body Sect. How could there be any talk of sending her back!"

Hearing this, Du Busi burst into loud laughter, his green hair swaying wildly with the motion.

"The Sect Master is right. Joining our Body Sect is the honor of the Xue Clan!" a thin, small elder agreed with a nod.

"Exactly. If they have objections, let them swallow them," another elder spat as he spoke, showing no regard for the Heavenly Soul royal family. "Back in the day, we killed those Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest whenever we wanted. As if we'd fear some mere royalty!"

As one of the three top powers on the continent, the Body Sect had two records of large-scale hunts for Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest.

Two thousand years ago, nearly forty members of the Body Sect infiltrated the Star Dou Great Forest, killed seven Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts, triggered a beast tide, and were later suppressed by Shrek Academy, leading to an agreement banning the Body Sect from further hunts.

The second time was in recent years, when Du Busi led the Body Sect's elites to kill three Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts, causing the Beast God Di Tian to launch a beast tide.

Fortunately, Du Busi was a man of his word. He didn't just flee but led the Body Sect to assist Shrek Academy in repelling the beast tide, and promised to stop hunting Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts, only then did Di Tian relent.

These two events directly pushed the Body Sect's reputation to its peak.