Cai Yue'er's expression softened somewhat, but she seemed to recall something. Her gaze shifted to Zhuo Shi, who sat to one side with a gloomy face, and she spoke.
"I remember that disciple of yours, Elder Zhuo Shi, is teaching at Eastsea Academy now, isn't he?"
"That brat..."
"He also seemed to be a student of Eastsea Academy."
Zhuo Shi's face darkened further as he replied stiffly.
"Don't mention that unfilial disciple to me!"
"Since he chose to leave, we have nothing to do with each other anymore!"
"His affairs have nothing to do with me!"
The Senior Elders clearly all knew about that old incident, and the atmosphere in the conference room became somewhat awkward.
An Elder who was on good terms with Zhuo Shi sighed and tried to persuade him.
"Enough, Old Zhuo. Everyone knows what happened back then."
"Chang Kong may be stubborn and dead-set on his principles, but as his teacher, don't you understand him?"
"Why must you..."
"What do I understand?"
"I understand nothing!"
Zhuo Shi interrupted with his neck stiffly raised, yet the flash of complicated emotion in his eyes betrayed him.
How could he not miss the disciple he had valued most?
It was simply that, as a teacher, his pride...
Made it difficult for him to lower his head.
"Stubborn old fool!"
Seeing that further words would be useless, the Elder shook his head and said no more.
At that moment, another Senior Elder raised a new question.
"I looked over Wang Chuan's records. He is already a Reserve Spirit Envoy of the Spirit Pagoda and Deputy Pagoda Master Leng Yaozhu's personal disciple."
"Leng Yaozhu's relationship with Shrek..."
"Is known to everyone."
"Are you sure that child will truly come to Shrek in the future?"
"Will Leng Yaozhu let him go?"
As soon as those words were spoken, everyone's gaze unconsciously drifted toward Yun Ming at the head of the table, their expressions turning somewhat strange.
Yun Ming's past with Leng Yaozhu and Ya Li was no secret among the upper ranks of the Sea God Pavilion.
Facing their gazes, Yun Ming merely smiled helplessly, a trace of openness and nostalgia in his smile.
"Don't worry. Yao Ju..."
"She isn't that kind of person."
"She understands better than anyone what kind of environment benefits that child's growth the most."
"The resources, platform, and competitive atmosphere Shrek can offer cannot be fully replaced by the Spirit Pagoda."
"For that child's future, she will make the right choice."
His tone was full of certainty.
Upon hearing this, the Senior Elders nodded one after another, accepting the explanation.
Given Leng Yaozhu's status and vision, she truly would not delay an unparalleled genius's future over personal feelings or factional allegiance.
Just as the atmosphere of the meeting gradually eased, Feng Wuyu, who had barely spoken all along, suddenly had a blazing light in his eyes. He rubbed his hands together, his face full of anticipation.
"Hehe, I've heard that the brat isn't merely gifted as a Soul Master. His talent in forging is downright astonishing!"
"A ten-year-old Level 5 Forging Grandmaster!"
"That old Zhen really stepped in dog shit!"
"When he comes to Shrek, no matter what I have to do, I'll lure him into my Blacksmith Association!"
"Zhen Hua can't keep such a disciple all to himself, can he?"
"I should get to enjoy being a teacher too!"
Seeing Feng Wuyu's eager expression, as if an incomparably precious jade were already right before him, the Senior Elders could not help but smile.
The heavy atmosphere within the Sea God Pavilion finally dispersed completely.
The gloom brought by their defeat was replaced by plans and expectations for the future.
No matter what, a star destined to illuminate the era had risen, and Shrek Academy...
Was confident it would ultimately become that star's most suitable home.
After the exhibition match ended, the drawing of lots began in full swing.
Whether it was the individual matches or the team matches, the first round was a brutal elimination round. A loss meant immediate elimination.
Yet Wang Chuan's placement in the individual tournament was a direct bye all the way to the finals...
No one raised any objection to this, as though it were only natural.
Thus, Wang Chuan could place all his focus on the forging competition.
And with his status as a Level 5 Blacksmith, the youth division championship was practically already in his pocket.
Some sharp-nosed media outlets had even published articles in advance, declaring that Wang Chuan would claim both the individual tournament and forging competition titles.
At first, many assumed it was merely clickbait sensationalism. But once they clicked in and saw the accompanying video footage...
Four Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Rings, deep and black as ink, circling the young man, along with a close-up of the Level 5 badge certified by the Blacksmith Association...
All doubts instantly turned into stunned silence.
For a time, the words "Phoenix Wang Chuan" once again shot to the top of the Soul Guidance Network's trending list, sparking a tidal wave of discussion.
Somewhere in the Sun Moon Federation, within a hall shrouded in dim light and shadow.
A slender figure with exquisite curves reclined against a lavish chair. An alluring yet contradictory air of strange beauty seemed to linger around her.
At that moment, she stared at the trending search terms constantly scrolling and refreshing across the light screen before her, her attention fixed on the image of the black-haired youth.
The corners of her lips slowly curved upward, but her gaze gradually deepened, revealing a trace of nearly manic excitement.
"Elder sister..."
"Is this the little disciple you hid away?!"
She murmured softly, her voice sweet and cloying yet carrying a bone-chilling coldness.
"Interesting. How very interesting..."
"Why?"
"Why do you still get to pretend that nothing in the past ever happened and peacefully enjoy your tranquil life now!"
Her emotions abruptly surged, and with a boom, pitch-black flames erupted around her.
Those flames were not scorching hot. Instead, they radiated a coldness that devoured light, making the terrifying gleam in her eyes appear even more vicious.
She was Leng Yulai, the Dark Phoenix Douluo, one of the Holy Spirit Cult's Four Heavenly Kings, with Soul Power as high as Rank 97.
At that moment, killing intent boiled within her heart...
She wanted to personally destroy the youth called Wang Chuan.
Then she would watch her "dear elder sister" suffer unbearable grief and weep bitter tears!
The days of competition passed one after another.
During that time, Tang Wulin encountered the formidable Ye Xinglan in the individual tournament. He was ultimately defeated and his journey ended there.
However, Tang Wulin did not become discouraged by this. After a brief period of disappointment, he quickly adjusted his mindset.
If his strength fell short of others, then he would cultivate twice as hard and catch up head-on.
Wang Chuan, who had been watching him, found this calm and driven mentality quite gratifying.
Compared to the boy in his memories, who had initially been somewhat timid and needed more tempering, Tang Wulin was now indeed far more confident and composed, and much steadier in the face of setbacks.
In the blink of an eye, it was the day Tang Wulin, Gu Yue, and Xie Xie represented the Eastsea Academy Team against the Hailu Academy Team.
The Hailu Academy Team had a pair of beautiful sisters, Zhou Hanyou and Zhou Tian'er, rare Soul Masters capable of performing a Martial Soul Fusion Skill.
Of course, on Douluo Continent, it was not unusual for twin Soul Masters to be capable of performing Martial Soul Fusion Skills.
More than ninety percent of twins, due to their bloodline connection, awakened Martial Souls that were usually identical or highly complementary, giving them naturally exceptional Martial Soul compatibility...
And thus the foundation to perform a Martial Soul Fusion Skill.
Before you continue