Sea God Pavilion Meeting

Sea God Island.

Yan Shaozhe reined in the soul power he had used for flight and set Xia Ming down, his movements exceptionally gentle.

It was as if he were placing down not a child, but a fragile, peerless treasure.

He leaned over slightly, his voice even softer than usual, carrying a tone that was almost consultative:

"Child, the Academy needs to make a prudent plan for your future.

I must convene a meeting immediately to discuss this matter. Can you wait here for a moment?"

"Mm." Xia Ming met his gaze and nodded firmly.

His expression was calm and composed, devoid of the unease one might expect from arriving in a strange place, or the impatience typical of a child.

He even found a nearby reef, smoothed by the wind, and sat down quietly.

He truly felt not a shred of worry.

On the contrary, a strange, grounded feeling began to permeate his heart.

The more seriously he was treated, the more it proved that his value was fully recognized.

Xia Ming was very clear about his own worth.

A Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff, a legendary top-tier soul beast, possessed an innate domain and power that far exceeded the norm.

Innate Full Soul Power, one in ten thousand, meant he possessed the highest level of cultivation talent in this world.

The chemical reaction produced by combining the two was by no means a simple one plus one.

Shrek Academy had a ten-thousand-year legacy, producing countless talents and gathering monsters.

But Xia Ming had absolute confidence.

At the very least, in terms of talent, he was unique, a presence worthy of being recorded in the annals of history.

At a time when Shrek was currently facing a generational gap and desperately needed fresh, top-tier blood.

They would never, and dared not, miss out on him.

"Very good."

Seeing Xia Ming's composure, which far exceeded his age, the last trace of concern in Yan Shaozhe's eyes vanished.

He took one last deep look at Xia Ming, then said no more.

His figure flickered slightly, transforming into a faint white light, and he vanished from the spot in an instant.

Soon, following his notification.

All the Sea God Pavilion elders, regardless of what they were doing at the time, set aside their tasks and were summoned with the utmost speed.

Inside the Sea God Pavilion.

Around an oval long table sat ten figures whose auras were either as deep as the sea or as sharp as swords.

Apart from the four deans and vice-deans—Yan Shaozhe and Cai Mei'er of the Martial Soul Department, and Xian Lin'er and Qian Duoduo of the Soul Guidance Department—

The remaining six were all white-haired, elderly figures with ancient countenances.

Just by sitting there, the obscure auras circulating around them seemed to be subtly connected to the vitality of the entire Sea God Island.

The seat at the head of the long table was slightly unique; a simple recliner was placed there.

At this moment, an elderly man with a slightly hunched back, dressed in grey cloth, was lying quietly upon it.

His eyes were slightly closed, his face covered in deep wrinkles, looking just like an ordinary old man in the twilight of his years.

He was the pillar of Shrek Academy, the Limit Douluo, the Dragon God Douluo, Mu En.

The elder sitting at the head of the left side had white hair and a beard, yet a ruddy complexion.

He held a large, glistening chicken leg in one hand and a wine gourd in the other.

He was eating until his mouth was slick with grease and drinking with great delight, appearing completely out of place with the solemn atmosphere—this was the Taotie Douluo, Xuan Zi.

Confirming that everyone had taken their seats, invisible gazes intersected in the silence.

Mu En, on the recliner at the head of the table, did not open his eyes, but his lips moved slightly, and his gentle yet clear voice rang out equally in everyone's ears:

"Since everyone is here, let us begin the meeting. Shaozhe, since this matter originated with you, you shall preside over it."

"Yes, Teacher."

Yan Shaozhe immediately stood up, bowed solemnly toward the head of the table, his attitude one of utmost respect.

Afterward, he turned to the elders on both sides of the long table, bowing and greeting them with equal meticulousness.

After the formalities, he did not sit down.

Instead, he stood directly before his seat, his gaze sweeping across every elder in the room.

Taking a deep breath, his voice steady yet filled with irrepressible excitement, he got straight to the point:

"Teacher, esteemed elders, I have rashly requested this Sea God Pavilion meeting today.

It is because, during today's Martial Soul Awakening ceremony, I discovered a peerless genius capable of overturning our current understanding."

"Oh? A peerless genius?"

Xian Lin'er, Dean of the Soul Guidance Department, raised her brows sharply, her piercing gaze fixed directly on Yan Shaozhe.

She had always been upright and hot-tempered, and she held long-standing disagreements with Yan Shaozhe regarding both philosophy and their shared past.

Hearing such an exaggerated assessment, she instinctively responded with a hint of skepticism:

"Dean Yan, a Sea God Pavilion meeting is no trivial matter.

What kind of genius is worthy of you using the word 'peerless'? Enough to warrant an emergency summons for all of us?

You must know that even in the case of Le Xuan back then, or looking further back at those predecessors who shook the continent, none of them caused the entire Sea God Pavilion to convene a meeting to discuss their cultivation plans when they first entered the academy."

Her words voiced the inner thoughts of several elders present.

Which one of those seated here had not seen their fair share of monstrous geniuses?

The one thing Shrek lacked the least was talent.

Why was there a need for such a massive mobilization?

Yan Shaozhe was not surprised by Xian Lin'er's questioning; he had been prepared, and he immediately threw out the most impactful fact:

"This child is named Xia Ming, his Martial Soul is the Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff, and he possesses Innate Full Soul Power.

This might still fall within the category of top-tier geniuses you are all familiar with. But—"

He paused deliberately for a moment, then spoke clearly, enunciating every word:

"I tested him personally, and in a state where he had yet to obtain a single Soul Ring, relying solely on his Martial Soul's physical form and the innate domain power awakened alongside it, his full-force strike possessed power comparable to a high-level Power Attack Soul Elder, and even touched the threshold of a Soul Ancestor!"

"What?!"

"That's impossible!"

"Without a single Soul Ring? Touching the threshold of a Soul Ancestor? Yan Shaozhe, do you know what you are saying?!"

Xian Lin'er stood up abruptly from her seat, her beautiful eyes wide, her face etched with shock and disbelief.

It was not just her; the elders on both sides of the long table, who were at least a generation or two older than her and had seen all manner of storms, were also moved, wearing expressions of utter incredulity.

Low exclamations and murmurs of doubt instantly shattered the solemnity of the Sea God Pavilion.

Xuan Zi slammed his half-eaten chicken leg and wine gourd onto the table with a loud "thwack."

He wiped his greasy palms casually on his clothes, his previously bleary, drunken eyes turning incredibly sharp, his voice low and grave:

"Shaoze! This is the Sea God Pavilion!

A child who has just awakened, without the reinforcement of Soul Rings, possesses power comparable to a Soul Ancestor? Do you know what this implies?

It means that existing Soul Master theory has encountered a fundamental exception in him!

Do you dare to take responsibility for the words you have just spoken?"

The astonishing fact brought about a violent shock and wave of suspicion.

This was not a lack of trust in Yan Shaozhe, but rather that the matter was so contrary to common sense that it exceeded the framework of their lifelong understanding.

Just then—

"Quiet."

The same gentle voice, which seemed to contain endless power and wisdom, rang out once more.

It was not loud, yet it instantly smoothed over all the commotion and doubt, returning the entire Sea God Pavilion to silence.

Everyone's gaze, including the agitated Xian Lin'er and the grave Xuan Zi, immediately turned toward the recliner at the head of the table.