The Invitation from Shrek, The Spirit Pagoda's Deal

Ever since Mu Han's "Beast Soul Weaponization" project succeeded, countless factions have been stirred into action.

Many wanted to pry into the matter, but they were all blocked by Mu Chen.

An eighth-rank Saint Craftsman shouldn't have been able to hold them off, but who could ignore the fact that Mu Chen's senior brother is the Divine Craftsman Zhen Hua?

Even those four-word Battle Armor Masters have to give him some face!

However, that was as far as it went; at the current stage, "Beast Soul Weaponization" can only be applied to soul masters below the seventh ring.

Once this technology is truly perfected, I fear certain major powers will go insane.

But right now, the one going most insane is probably Shrek Academy, isn't it?

Rather than calling it insanity, it would be more accurate to call it frustration.

They had originally assumed Mu Han would participate in the All-Federation Tournament, so they specifically made an exception to arrange a team for him to join.

Yet, Mu Han didn't participate at all?

They felt as though they had thrown a punch into a pile of cotton.

But at the same time, they still had to control the public narrative.

They spread rumors saying things like "Mu Han is afraid to fight."

They didn't want to suppress Mu Han; they just wanted to salvage the academy's reputation.

As it turned out, Mu Han quietly pulled off such a massive move.

It directly shook the entire soul master world.

And the "fear of fighting" that Shrek Academy spoke of turned entirely into a joke.

Consequently, Shrek Academy itself became a laughingstock.

Qiangu Dongfeng, the Spirit Pagoda master, played no small part in fueling these flames.

It could be said that the reason Mu Han has been elevated to the same level of fame as the Thousand-Hand Asura Tang San and the Spirit Ice Douluo Huo Yuhao, and even hailed as a "god who has not yet ascended,"

is largely due to Qiangu Dongfeng's efforts.

Otherwise, at most, Mu Han would only have the influence of a Divine Craftsman like Zhen Hua.

By propping Mu Han up, Shrek Academy naturally became the stepping stone.

And Shrek had offered their own feet to be stepped upon.

On the stage of the All-Federation Tournament!

Shrek Academy knew that this matter had nothing to do with Mu Han.

After all, a tall tree attracts the wind; while Qiangu Dongfeng was suppressing Shrek through public opinion, he was simultaneously setting Mu Han up for a "praise-kill."

Therefore, in the eyes of Shrek Academy's upper echelons, this entire affair was the work of Qiangu Dongfeng.

For this reason, Shrek Academy specifically sent Wu Zhangkong to negotiate with Mu Han.

He wasn't there to discuss the "Beast Soul Weaponization" project, but to bring him a gift.

"This is... the essence blood of a Three-Legged Golden Toad?" Mu Han was somewhat surprised.

Shrek actually possesses something like this?

One must know that even the fierce beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest couldn't find such a thing; after all, that is the essence blood of a divine beast.

He could be certain it was the essence blood of a Three-Legged Golden Toad.

Because his own soul spirit, the Dragon Phoenix Golden Toad, actually felt fear in the presence of this drop of blood.

"The academy hopes you will come to study at Shrek in two years," Wu Zhangkong said, his tone as cold as ever.

Although Shrek Academy is the holy land for soul masters, he always had a premonition that Mu Han would not go to Shrek Academy so easily.

It was just like when he had invited Mu Han to join the Tang Sect.

Although he had confidence in the Tang Sect, Mu Han had refused without a moment's hesitation.

So, when the Sea God Pavilion asked if they could specially recruit Mu Han into Shrek, he reported this matter as well.

The Sea God Pavilion inquired about further details.

Upon learning that Mu Han's soul spirit was likely a mutation of a Vermilion Clear Ice Toad, the proposal was made by the Sea God Pavilion's deputy master, the Holy Spirit Douluo Ya Li.

Mu Han was already a heaven-sent genius.

The fact that he could propose the "Beast Soul Weaponization" project and even bring it to fruition only further demonstrated his talent.

Spending some resources to build a relationship with him was a very worthwhile investment.

As long as the rapport is established, when future breakthroughs in his research occur, it would be impossible for Shrek Academy to be left out.

Thus, they took out a drop of Three-Legged Golden Toad essence blood, a treasure kept in the Sea God Pavilion, as a gift.

He chose to adopt a gentle approach to cultivate their relationship.

A single drop of Three-Legged Golden Toad essence blood was enough to allow a Vermilion Clear Ice Toad spirit soul to break through the ten-thousand-year threshold.

It even laid the foundation for the Vermilion Clear Ice Toad spirit soul to eventually reach one hundred thousand years.

This gift was heavy enough; in any case, Mu Han truly could not refuse.

Moreover, it was not as if he were being asked to join Shrek Academy.

If he were a specially recruited student, Mu Han would have to consider it.

After all, special recruits were basically earmarked for the inner court and would mostly be expected to stay in the future.

But what did it matter if he was just attending classes?

He originally wanted to be like the Divine Craftsman Zhen Hua, maintaining good relations with all major factions.

Not joining Shrek Academy was one thing, but refusing to attend Shrek Academy was another matter entirely.

Joining Shrek Academy meant taking a side with Shrek Academy.

But if he refused to attend Shrek Academy, that would be tantamount to becoming an enemy of Shrek Academy!

Although it was not to say that any genius who did not join Shrek Academy was an enemy of Shrek Academy.

It would, however, inevitably leave some resentment between the two parties.

Shrek had already come to invite him personally, even preparing such a heavy gift.

To refuse under these circumstances would be failing to appreciate the favor.

Furthermore, he not only had a certain level of cooperation agreement with Shrek Academy.

He also had a cooperation agreement with the Spirit Pagoda.

For instance, he had contracted a Spirit Ascension Platform.

Nowadays, the Spirit Ascension Platform in Eastsea City was no longer open to the public; it served entirely as his experimental zone.

In truth, those people from Shrek Academy were mistaken.

Mu Han and Qiangu Dongfeng could also be considered half-allies.

The previous incident where Qiangu Dongfeng used praise to set Mu Han up in order to suppress Shrek was also tacitly approved by Mu Han.

However, their true cooperation was not about such matters.

And the outsourcing of the Eastsea City Spirit Ascension Platform was merely a gesture of sincerity from Qiangu Dongfeng.

Mu Han had contracted it for two years, and two years later would be the time to go to Shrek Academy.

By then, he would also be able to leave Eastsea City.

Besides that, the test subjects under his command also needed spirit souls.

A first spirit soul of a thousand years could only provide the first three spirit rings.

But because of their martial soul secondary awakening, these guys had jumped directly from level twenty-nine to level forty.

Therefore, they needed a second spirit soul.

And according to the plan for the Beast Soul Weaponization project, there were no requirements for the age of the second spirit soul.

The most important thing was compatibility.

So, Mu Han had approached the Spirit Pagoda, wanting to acquire the technology for artificial spirit souls.

Of course, it could not be the core technology, but rather a technology that had already been phased out.

Artificial spirit souls also had to rely on spirit beast genes.

But due to the gradual extinction of spirit beasts, spirit beast genes were also constantly being lost.

Therefore, researchers at the Spirit Pagoda had once attempted to extract genes from ordinary animals to create spirit souls.

The experiment was successful, but the spirit souls created from animal genes were pitifully weak, and they were defined by the Spirit Pagoda as defective products.

Normally, no one would ever purchase them.

They only appeared during random draws.

Nowadays, the Spirit Pagoda had already abandoned this technology.

Since Mu Han was willing to buy it, the Spirit Pagoda was naturally happy to see it happen.

Qiangu Dongfeng did not even charge a fee, simply gifting it to Mu Han just like that.

After all, the man had contracted the Spirit Ascension Platform at the Eastsea City Spirit Pagoda for two years; he was considered a major client of the Spirit Pagoda.

But while the Spirit Pagoda did not value this technology, Mu Han, as a transmigrator, was clear on its value.

In the original work, wasn't Tang Wulin's first spirit soul that defective Little Grass Snake?