Lin Yun heard Jing Hongchen's words and narrowed his eyes. Then he said,
"The Seed Project participants will take their places? Well, that makes things interesting."
Jing Hongchen looked at Lin Yun and said,
"That's exactly why I came to discuss this with you. You should know that my grandson, Xiao Hongchen, is also on this year's team."
Lin Yun replied as casually as before,
"I know. Isn't he on the reserve team? It doesn't matter. The seeds can take the spots this year, but I doubt they'll be allowed to do so again next year."
Jing Hongchen sighed.
"If he were an ordinary reserve team member, I wouldn't be worried. The problem is that I've spoiled my grandson. He's always been arrogant and domineering, convinced he's a genius."
"Now that he's out of my reach, who knows what he might do... Actually, there's no 'who knows' about it. He'll definitely use his strength and his relationship with me to get into the matches."
"He's not just anybody. The Hongchen Family name is far too conspicuous. These seed students, trained for war, might well go for the kill."
"So I want to ask you to keep an eye on him. I'm not asking you to stop him from competing altogether. I just hope that, whenever it isn't an individual match, you'll accompany him into the competition."
"Your Martial Soul is powerful. I believe that even those seed students would have a hard time taking you down."
"The tests confirmed as much, so I'm asking you to protect him."
Lin Yun took a sip of tea and said,
"Hall Master Jing, you're giving me too much credit. After all, I'm even younger than your grandson. I really can't make any promises about a request like that."
Jing Hongchen thought for a moment, then looked Lin Yun in the eye.
"I understand what you mean."
As he spoke, Jing Hongchen took out a gleaming golden carving knife, set it gently on the table, and pushed it toward Lin Yun.
A trace of a smile appeared on Lin Yun's face. Smiling at Jing Hongchen, he said,
"You really didn't have to be so polite. That's not what I meant at all. Don't do it again, okay? (Next time, just take it out faster. Don't be so stingy.)"
With that, Lin Yun picked up the soul tool carving knife and examined it closely.
Jing Hongchen didn't mind Lin Yun's behavior in the slightest. Instead, he began giving him a serious introduction.
"This is one of my treasured possessions, the ninth-ranked carving knife, Star Core Gold. It was forged from extraterrestrial meteorite iron, combined with the scales of a Night Star Dragon, the saliva of a Demon Dragon, the skull of a Demon Tiger... and various other materials, all melted together in one furnace."
Lin Yun rolled his eyes.
"That furnace must have been something else, too. If you stuffed that many materials into an ordinary furnace, it would grow legs and run off by itself."
Jing Hongchen didn't catch Lin Yun's joke. He only replied earnestly,
"That furnace ran off the next day."
Lin Yun laughed, twirling the golden carving knife in his hand.
"Hall Master Jing, you're offering quite a lot. You can't just be trying to keep your grandson alive, can you?"
Jing Hongchen said,
"Specifically, I have three requests."
"First, naturally, I want my grandson and granddaughter to come back in one piece."
"Second, I want them to have a few moments in the spotlight. They may be somewhat famous in the Sun Moon Empire, but on the world stage, they're still insignificant."
"Third, if the first two requests can be met, I'd also like them to realize just how far they are from being true geniuses."
Lin Yun toyed with the carving knife and said,
"To be fair, this knife is enough for the first two requests. But the last one is difficult, and it has to be done without interfering with the first two. Honestly, this knife isn't enough."
"Because for them to realize how insignificant they are, I'd have to demonstrate even greater strength. That would basically mean using me as a full-fledged team member, and I'm not doing a job at a loss."
Jing Hongchen took a deep breath, then added another condition.
"If you can pull this off and help the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy win this time, I'll let you enter Mingde Hall. I'll also build a laboratory just for you and allocate research funds at the highest level every year."
Lin Yun picked at a fingernail.
"That offer's a little more interesting. But what guarantee do I have that you'll honor it? I could bust my tail for you, and then you step down and your successor refuses to acknowledge the deal. What then?"
A classic sign of anger appeared on Jing Hongchen's forehead. Gritting his teeth, he said,
"Do I look like the kind of person who breaks his word?"
Lin Yun answered with a perfectly straight face,
"It's not a matter of looking like one. You look like exactly that kind of person."
Jing Hongchen nearly flew into a rage and cursed him as a bastard.
Lin Yun raised his hands with an innocent look.
"If you don't agree, I'll just give it back. I only touched it a couple of times. Don't try to pin anything on me. We can talk this out; there's no need to get worked up, is there?"
Jing Hongchen's forehead was covered in black lines.
"Which one of us is refusing to talk this out?"
The two glared at each other for a while. Then Jing Hongchen said,
"Fine, fine, you win. I'll sign a contract with you and give you part of the payment in advance, before we set out. Will that do?"
Lin Yun clapped.
"Then you can start writing as soon as we set off."
Jing Hongchen looked at Lin Yun in confusion.
"Writing? What am I supposed to write?"
Lin Yun stretched and walked to the door. Looking back, he said,
"Why, a proper victory speech for His Majesty the Emperor of the Sun Moon Empire, about our first comprehensive victory over Shrek Academy, of course."
Jing Hongchen's mouth twitched.
"You're that confident?"
Lin Yun narrowed his eyes.
"Hall Master Jing, you've already paid. How could I not put your mind at ease? You ever hear the saying: pay's on time, and I'll wreck the whole damn job for you?"
Jing Hongchen looked at Lin Yun.
"I hope you don't choke on your own boast. Otherwise, I'll take back every last coin, with interest."
Lin Yun nodded, then said,
"If that's how you want to talk, I'm even more interested. How about we sign an additional wager? If I lose, I'll pay you back a multiple of what you gave me. If you lose, you'll pay me even more."
At that moment, Jing Hongchen could only think of one thing: Alas, this old man is uneducated. One word—get out—serves for everything.
As Lin Yun walked out the door, he picked at his ear and said,
"If you can't play, just say so. Why get so worked up? Not very civilized."
When he walked out of Jing Hongchen's office building, Lin Yun saw a familiar white-haired figure.
It was the very Xiao Hongchen they had just been talking about. He had clearly been waiting there for a while...
Before you continue