Although Soul Bones could no longer be considered priceless treasures in this era,
they were still treasures that Soul Masters fought over in the outside world.
Yet such a precious item had been casually tossed to her by Mu Tianyi.
Her martial soul was ice, so there was no need to mention how compatible she was with this Soul Bone.
But Ling Luochen had her own pride. If she had made any contributions in the competition, she would naturally have chosen to fight for it.
But the problem was that this freshman assessment had practically been Mu Tianyi's battlefield alone. She even felt that Gongyang Mo had been more useful than her, since his support effects had been tangible.
As for whether Mu Tianyi was trying to court her?
Ling Luochen did not even dare think about it.
Although she was indeed quite pretty, and there were many people at Shrek Academy who liked her, she was certain that Mu Tianyi was absolutely not among them.
Because she had personally seen Mu Tianyi being intimate with an upperclassman. That senior student was far prettier than her, and she had also heard that the girl was Mu Tianyi's fiancée.
With all those factors combined, Ling Luochen truly did not know why she should accept this Soul Bone.
Mu Tianyi's expression remained calm.
"Student Ling Luochen, this Soul Bone is nothing special. Take it if I'm giving it to you."
"You may not know this, but I come from Sea God Island and am also a direct member of Shrek."
"This Soul Bone means little to me, but it suits you very well."
"You have good talent, so I formally invite you to join Shrek and become a true part of the academy in the future."
"As for this Soul Bone, consider it a gift for our first meeting."
Mu Tianyi formally extended his invitation to join his team.
A genius with at least Rank Eight Innate Soul Power, who could even become one of the Inner Court Shrek Seven Devils in the original work, had talent beyond question.
If he did not recruit her, he would truly be blind.
Ling Luochen clenched the icy Soul Bone, her fingertips turning slightly pale.
She looked at Mu Tianyi, waves of emotion rising one after another in her pale blue eyes.
"Mu Tianyi is from Sea God Island?!"
"He's inviting me to join Shrek Academy?!"
One piece of information after another swirled around the girl's ears, continuously shaking her heart.
Ling Luochen found it unbelievable.
She came from an ordinary village, not some prestigious family.
Rank Eight Innate Soul Power had made her an extraordinary genius in her village, but only after arriving at Shrek did she realize there was always someone stronger.
For three months, she had trained desperately and worked hard to perform well in practical combat classes, yet a stone had always hung over her heart:
No resources, no background, no patron. How far could talent alone take her?
Now Mu Tianyi was telling her that he came from Sea God Island, was a direct member of Shrek, and wanted to formally invite her to join.
She was not an idiot.
This meant resources, opportunities, and that she would no longer be an ordinary girl forced to struggle on alone.
She subconsciously turned her head to glance at Gongyang Mo.
Gongyang Mo smiled at her and nodded, his expression carrying a reassuring meaning.
Following her gaze, Mu Tianyi spoke calmly. "I've already spoken to Gongyang Mo. He chose to join, and I gave him a Soul Ascension Pill and a Ten Thousand Year Soul Bone as well, so you don't need to feel burdened."
Ling Luochen withdrew her gaze, lowered her head to look at the Soul Bone in her hand, and fell silent for several breaths.
Then she raised her head. A trace of fervor had appeared in her originally cool pale blue eyes.
She tucked the Soul Bone into her clothes and gave Mu Tianyi a slight bow. "All right. I'll join."
"Very good. You made the right choice. I guarantee you won't regret it."
Seeing Ling Luochen agree to join, Mu Tianyi was naturally delighted.
The three of them chatted as they walked, found a decent restaurant in Shrek City, and held a celebratory feast.
The next day.
When Mu Tianyi pushed open the door to Yan Shaozhe's office,
the dean of the Martial Soul Department was sitting with his legs crossed and drinking tea. Seeing Mu Tianyi enter, he set down his cup with a cheerful smile.
"You're here? Sit."
Mu Tianyi did not sit. Standing before the desk, he got straight to the point. "Gongyang Mo and Ling Luochen have already agreed."
Yan Shaozhe's hand paused as he held his teacup. He looked up at Mu Tianyi, surprise appearing in his eyes.
He set down the cup, leaned back in his chair, and slowly looked Mu Tianyi up and down, the corners of his mouth gradually curling upward.
"You moved that fast?" Yan Shaozhe's tone carried sincere praise. "It's only been a few days, and you've already secured both of them. Not bad."
Yan Shaozhe looked at him, suddenly narrowing his eyes as his tone shifted into something more suggestive.
"By the way, Ling Luochen is quite pretty. Tell me honestly, do you have something in mind?"
Mu Tianyi's brow twitched slightly.
Yan Shaozhe stood up, walked around the desk to Mu Tianyi's side, patted him on the shoulder, lowered his voice, and wore the knowing smile of a man who understood.
Looking at this old lecher, Mu Tianyi felt utterly speechless.
But Yan Shaozhe seemed to have opened the floodgates and continued on his own, his voice carrying a wistful air of reminiscing about the past. "Don't deny it. Your senior brother was once your age too."
"A man should have a few female confidantes around him. That's normal. Back in my younger days, Lin'er and Mei'er were quite the tale themselves."
"You still dare mention those two?"
Mu Tianyi was genuinely speechless.
Yan Shaozhe became more animated as he spoke. He even leaned closer, lowered his voice, and assumed the earnest expression of an experienced elder giving advice.
"If you really like her, your senior brother can teach you a few tricks. Girls, you have to..."
"Dean Yan." Mu Tianyi interrupted him in a calm tone. "I already have a fiancée."
Yan Shaozhe's words came to an abrupt halt.
He remembered that girl, gentle to the bone, yet with knives hidden in the way she looked at Mu Tianyi.
He had met that girl a few times.
Every time, she had been polite and gracious, her smile gentle and dignified.
But from Yan Shaozhe's experience, he always felt that a volcano ready to erupt at any moment was buried beneath that smile.
He could not afford to provoke her.
He truly could not afford to provoke her.
Yan Shaozhe fell silent for a while, withdrew the hand from Mu Tianyi's shoulder, and sat back down in his chair.
He gave Mu Tianyi a melancholy look, his eyes filled with sympathy that said, "You're going to suffer later, kid."
"All right." Yan Shaozhe sighed. "Take care of yourself."
Mu Tianyi could not be bothered to deal with him any longer and turned to leave the office.
A few months later, the first school year had completely ended.
Mu Tianyi had also finally welcomed a long-awaited break.
However, Mu Tianyi had quite a few plans for this vacation.
Both Zhang Lexuan and he had broken through to five rings and currently needed a Soul Ring.
But before that, he thought of a fortunate opportunity and planned to try obtaining it during this time.
As for the location of that opportunity, it was in the Star Luo Empire, where his gaze had been directed some time ago!
That was right. The opportunity Mu Tianyi wanted was the Spirit-Devouring Carving Knife.
No, more accurately, it was the Spirit-Devouring Carving Knife's second form, Gold of Life's Watch.
As for this hidden treasure, he had no intention of leaving it for Huo Yuhao.
Before you continue