Ji Siyuan and the other two walked side by side.
Wang Dong'er: "Tsk, the quality of this year's freshmen really is high. We've already got three people with Twin Martial Souls."
Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong'er, and Xiao Xiao all had Twin Martial Souls. He Caitou, however, wasn't part of their year.
Wang Dong'er turned to Ji Siyuan. "Say, you wouldn't happen to have Twin Martial Souls too, would you?"
How was he supposed to answer that directly?
"Do you think I need them?"
Wang Dong'er and Huo Yuhao studied Ji Siyuan closely, then thought about his earlier performance. "Actually, you really might not."
Not needing them didn't mean he didn't have them. Ji Siyuan let them draw their own conclusions, while subtly steering them in the wrong direction.
When it came to Twin Martial Souls, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong'er were remarkably in sync. Neither asked the other about it; both simply treated it as an established fact.
Huo Yuhao: "Come to think of it, what are we doing now? Didn't you say we had a lot to do today?"
Ji Siyuan replied, "We do. We have a Soul Fight with Bei Bei and the others, then we'll celebrate your return. But we still haven't exchanged our rewards, so that may have to wait until tomorrow."
They'd received the million Gold Soul Coins, but hadn't yet exchanged them for the corresponding items.
The stored-value card could only be used for purchases in Shrek City, so they should cash it in as soon as possible.
Wang Dong'er: "Speaking of rewards, it's kind of strange. You didn't get a gift for taking her as your master today."
?
Huo Yuhao asked in confusion, "We're supposed to give our teacher a gift?"
"No, she means Mu En didn't give either of you a gift." Ji Siyuan immediately understood what Wang Dong'er meant. "Could it be that nothing's changed after all? Your teacher left so early because he went to secure some benefits for you."
After the apprenticeship ceremony, Mu En had chosen to leave. He also had a Sea God Pavilion Meeting to convene, to keep the Martial Soul Department and the Soul Tool Department from fighting until blood flowed.
In the Sea God Pavilion, all the Elders, along with Yan Shaozhe and Xian Lin'er, were present.
Mu En: "I called this Sea God Pavilion Meeting to announce something. I've taken two new disciples."
At that moment, the normal response would have been to congratulate Mu En and ask who his two new disciples were.
But the others were already quite sure that Ji Siyuan was one of them.
Yan Shaozhe spoke first. "Teacher, who could possibly compare with Ji Siyuan's talent? Is it Xiao Xiao, the one with Twin Martial Souls?"
They couldn't find anyone with a single Martial Soul who could compare to Ji Siyuan, so perhaps someone with an extra Martial Soul could. As far as they knew, Xiao Xiao was the only one with Twin Martial Souls.
Mu En shook his head. "Shaozhe, your guess rests on an assumption. I didn't take Ji Siyuan as my disciple."
The moment he said that, the others could barely sit still. Lin Huiqun asked, "Why, Elder Mu? We can all see Ji Siyuan's talent. Do you really not think highly of him?"
"Why couldn't it be that he doesn't think highly of me?" Mu En countered. "Just because I want someone as my disciple doesn't mean they'll agree. Everyone has a different path to walk. I'm not all-powerful."
Xian Lin'er asked, "Then who did you take as your disciples, Teacher?"
"Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong'er."
For a moment, no one could recall who those two were. Qian Duoduo remembered Huo Yuhao's background. "Huo Yuhao is the Soul Engineer disciple I took in earlier. His Martial Soul is the Body Martial Soul, Spirit Eye. He's quite talented with Soul Tools; in just a few months, he's already become a Level 1 Soul Engineer. He was also on the same team as Ji Siyuan during the Freshman Assessment."
At that, Yan Shaozhe remembered Wang Dong'er. "Is Wang Dong'er the one from the Clear Sky Sect? I remember her Martial Soul is the Light Goddess Butterfly, and her Second Soul Ring is a Thousand-Year Soul Ring."
Xuan Zi also remembered. "That Huo Yuhao? Wang Yan took me to see him before. His Body Martial Soul showed no signs of a Second Awakening."
In short, they seemed rather ordinary. At least, they were nowhere near Ji Siyuan. Everyone waited for Mu En to explain why he'd taken them as disciples.
Lin Huiqun asked, "That Wang Dong'er is from the Clear Sky Sect. Could she have Twin Martial Souls, with the Clear Sky Hammer as her Second Martial Soul?"
Mu En nodded. "Not just Wang Dong'er. Huo Yuhao also has Twin Martial Souls. His Second Martial Soul is the Ice Jade Scorpion—that is, Ultimate Ice!"
As soon as he finished, the others understood.
One had a Body Martial Soul paired with an Ultimate Martial Soul, while the other was a disciple of the Clear Sky Sect. It was only natural to take them as disciples.
The Elders felt relieved, but Yan Shaozhe was already beginning to lose his composure.
Qian Duoduo had specifically emphasized that Huo Yuhao was his disciple, which meant Huo Yuhao would join the Soul Tool Department.
What was this? Handing an Ultimate Martial Soul over to the Soul Tool Department? He couldn't accept it!
He sprang to his feet. "Teacher, although you've already taken Huo Yuhao as your disciple and I shouldn't say anything, I want him to return to the Martial Soul Department. This concerns the future glory of Shrek. We can't let him waste his time on Soul Tools."
Xian Lin'er leapt up as soon as he finished. "If you have something to say, just say it. What do you mean, wasting his time on Soul Tools? Do you even understand the significance of becoming a Level 1 Soul Engineer in two or three months? Kong Deming and Jing Hongchen of the Sun Moon Empire are no better. Huo Yuhao will be Shrek's number one Soul Engineer in the future! Don't forget, none of the three empires or Shrek has a Level Nine Soul Engineer right now!"
Could they really give him up? He was already in their hands. Handing him over now would be admitting they were incapable.
Xian Lin'er and Qian Duoduo would never give up. Yan Shaozhe wouldn't either.
"Do you think your teaching could be better than Teacher's?" Yan Shaozhe played his biggest card.
For a moment, Xian Lin'er didn't know what to say, but she still gritted her teeth and retorted, "Even Teacher can't teach Huo Yuhao anything about Soul Tools. Only by staying in the Soul Tool Department and continuing to study them can we get a Level Nine Soul Tool."
The two sides launched into a fierce verbal battle.
Yan Shaozhe brought out one trump card after another.
Dual cultivation with Ma Xiaotao could potentially give him another Ultimate Martial Soul; he had a Martial Soul Fusion Skill with Ji Siyuan; and the Martial Soul Department could give Huo Yuhao a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring. These and other advantages were things the Soul Tool Department couldn't offer.
But Qian Duoduo had the claim of seniority. Yan Shaozhe had recommended Huo Yuhao to him, and Qian Duoduo had genuinely taken him as a disciple.
Mu En said, "Shaozhe, are you really so blind, or are you pretending? Soul Tools are the future. He's become a Level 1 Soul Engineer in just over two months. Are you going to close your eyes to what that means? When will you truly realize that we're already falling behind?"
"Teacher." Yan Shaozhe lowered his head. He was only trying to secure a bright future for Shrek—and an opportunity for Ma Xiaotao.
Hearing this, Xian Lin'er was overjoyed. Huo Yuhao was theirs.
"Lin'er, Duoduo." Mu En's voice rang out again. "It's not that I want to fight you over him. Shaozhe said so much, but did neither of you notice a very important point?"
The two looked at Mu En in confusion.
"Everyone close to Huo Yuhao—Bei Bei and Tang Ya—is in the Martial Soul Department. Even his roommate, Ji Siyuan, is there. Do you think Shaozhe could keep Huo Yuhao in the Soul Tool Department if he approached those people?"
Keeping someone required more than benefits. It also required affection.
When it came to bonds of affection, Ji Siyuan stood above them all.
"But the Martial Soul Department already has someone with an Ultimate Martial Soul."
Mu En shook his head. "Why are you so narrow-minded? Why assume he can't study in both departments? Has it affected his studies in either one?"
Those words finally put an end to the argument.
"It was this old man's fault. I convened this meeting only to secure some benefits for my students." He was only saying that, of course; that couldn't really have been the whole story. Mu En had also used the opportunity to redistribute resources. As a result, the Soul Tool Department received more resources.
Huo Yuhao also received the resources Ji Siyuan enjoyed, while Wang Dong'er got a little less.
Xuan Zi seemed like a bystander. "Looks like I'll have to go check on those kids again."