Some Things Shrek Couldn't Provide

Some Things Shrek Couldn't Provide

At that moment, the best choice was to let Xiao Hongchen enjoy his moment of glory.

Huo Yuhao raised a finger. "Senior Meng, I used my first Soul Skill to assist Big Brother Xiao. I didn't expect him to be so strong that he ended the match just like that."

Meng Hongchen still looked unconvinced. "Come on. Do you think I don't know how hard my brother fights? I even know how many times he fell out of trees when he was little."

Xiao Hongchen shot Meng Hongchen a stern look. "Don't say another word!"

"Fine, fine." Meng Hongchen had clearly enjoyed taking her brother down a peg, but she laughed twice and let the subject drop. "Junior Yuhao, I'd like to see that Soul Skill of yours."

"Sure." Huo Yuhao nodded and linked Spiritual Detection Sharing to everyone present.

Meng Hongchen fell silent in shock for two seconds, then immediately turned to Chi Qiu and Wang Dong, who were trying to look elsewhere. "You two! You knew about this and didn't tell me?"

Chi Qiu and Wang Dong pretended not to hear her.

"Unbelievable. Even on the same team, you're still siding with Yuhao." Meng Hongchen teased them. "No wonder you both went straight for Huo Yuhao at the start!"

Then she turned to Xiao Hongchen and Huo Yuhao. "I approve of Yuhao's abilities. As for you, Brother... I just didn't use poison on either of you. Otherwise, it's hard to say who would've won."

Xiao Hongchen casually brushed back his silver bangs. "Of course I know you have poison. I even know the subtle changes you make when you use it. If you'd really used poison, I would've taken you out before the group attack."

"Poison?" Huo Yuhao blinked. "Senior Meng uses poison?"

"My Martial Soul is the Zhuqing Ice Toad. Its attributes are ice, fire, and poison. My brother's is the Three-Legged Golden Toad. He controls metal."

"Ice!" Huo Yuhao thought it over. "Then if I'd assisted Senior Meng, you could've won without using poison, just by using ice."

"Exactly. You have a good eye. With both of us using Ice Martial Souls, we could've frozen every one of them." Meng Hongchen praised him.

"Now you know how strong Huo is, right?" Wang Dong turned to Chi Qiu. "Honestly, I think if he assisted you, Miss Chi, you might still have beaten the rest of us."

"I'm confident I could." Chi Qiu nodded. "If Yuhao weren't our opponent, I could fight without holding back."

Wang Dong dramatically clutched her chest. "That sounds a little terrifying!"

While laughter and friendly sparring carried on here, Jing Hongchen stood outside the infirmary at the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy, watching the doctors inside anxiously perform surgery.

The woman on the operating table was no older than twenty. Her face was nearly unrecognizable, and her body was covered in countless cuts. Horrific claw marks raked across her chest, and almost all the flesh on her right arm had rotted away. Even the bone beneath glinted with a sinister black sheen.

"Is she the member of the Shrek Inspection Team the eastern army sent over?" he asked Lin Jiayi quietly.

"Yes," Lin Jiayi replied in a low voice. "According to our intelligence, the Shrek Inspection Team must have run into trouble during a mission and suffered casualties. The Evil Soul Master they were pursuing was killed near the Sun Moon border."

"Was that Evil Soul Master connected to those people?" Jing Hongchen felt a headache coming on and rubbed his temples.

"No. Those people are active in the Douluo Three Kingdoms too, but they wouldn't act like this. This was probably just an independent group that had grown powerful on its own."

"Then that's a relief." Jing Hongchen nodded, his expression easing. "Coordinate with the eastern army. If they catch any of the man's accomplices, don't wait for our approval—hand them over to Shrek so they can vent their anger. We need to show our sincerity."

"Understood." Lin Jiayi nodded, then hesitated before speaking again. "Hall Master..."

"What is it?" Jing Hongchen asked.

Lin Jiayi was Jing Hongchen's trusted subordinate at both Mingde Hall and the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy. Although Mingde Hall was an independent organization established at the royal family's behest, one that no royal faction was allowed to approach without permission, there were always ways around the rules. Those vying for the throne used every means imaginable to get close to Mingde Hall.

As a result, Jing Hongchen didn't dare make use of just anyone in many positions. When it mattered, he still had to rely on Lin Jiayi.

"Wouldn't it be better if we stopped getting involved in this matter?" Lin Jiayi ventured cautiously.

Jing Hongchen understood what he meant. "But this student is one of their official team members for the current tournament." He sighed. "If we just send her back, the trouble it could bring us would be considerable. I had her treated because I intend to keep her here for now."

"How are we going to explain that to Shrek?"

"Tell them we're still searching, and keep them waiting." Jing Hongchen flicked his sleeve. "They may be Shrek, but they wouldn't dare enter the Sun Moon Empire and search by force—not unless they intend to start a war right now. The people in the Sea God Pavilion can't all be fools. They must know this isn't the time to light the fuse. The Sun Moon Empire today is nothing like it was four thousand years ago, nor are the Douluo Three Kingdoms. And the people in power here are warmongers."

"But this girl is already a student of Shrek Inner Court. Convincing her to stay with us won't be easy." Lin Jiayi still seemed uneasy.

Jing Hongchen smiled. "Jiayi, look at her arm."

Lin Jiayi did as he said and immediately drew in a sharp breath. As the doctors cut away the blackened flesh, rotten through with corpse poison, they pulled out a maggot-like poisonous insect.

"With injuries like these, even a Titled Douluo with healing abilities couldn't do anything if we sent her back to Shrek now. Do you think Shrek's medical skills could restore her arm?"

"Impossible," Lin Jiayi said firmly. "The corpse poison has already reached the bone marrow and severed the arm's connection to her body. It's as good as dead. Healing can cure, but it can't bring the dead back to life. If they don't amputate it in time, once her Soul Power is exhausted and can no longer protect her, the corpse poison that's been building up will counterattack. It'll devour her life in an instant."

"But we can give her a new one." Jing Hongchen's eyes narrowed slightly.

"You mean..."

"Conveniently, that was a by-product of the first experimental subject."

"Hall Master, that thing is still very expensive to produce," Lin Jiayi exclaimed. "Isn't it a bit much to use it up for a Shrek student?"

"No, not at all." Jing Hongchen patted Lin Jiayi on the shoulder. "Jiayi, we're desperately short of good Soul Masters! Recruiting an outstanding Soul Master would be invaluable to the development of our country's Soul Master system. Just imagine: what would happen to the development of Shrek Academy's Soul Tool Department if someone took our Soul Tool blueprints there?"

After thinking it over, Lin Jiayi cupped his hands. "I understand, Hall Master. I'll make the arrangements now."