Ever since Mu Han's "Beast Soul Weaponization" plan succeeded, countless factions had been stirred into action.
They wanted to learn more, but Mu Chen turned them all away.
A Level 8 Saint Craftsman should not have been enough to keep them at bay, but Mu Chen's senior was the Divine Craftsman Zhen Hua.
Even Four-Word Battle Armor Masters had to show him respect!
But that was as far as it went. At this stage, "Beast Soul Weaponization" could only be used by Soul Masters below the seven-ring level.
Once the technology was truly complete, certain powerful factions would probably go mad.
But wasn't Shrek Academy the one going most mad right now?
Rather than mad, they were more frustrated.
They had originally assumed Mu Han would compete in the All-Federation Tournament, so they had made an exception and arranged for a team to participate.
And yet Mu Han wasn't competing?
They felt as if they had thrown a punch into cotton.
At the same time, they still had to control public opinion.
They said things like, "Mu Han is afraid to fight."
They weren't trying to suppress Mu Han. They just wanted to salvage the academy's reputation.
Then Mu Han had quietly pulled off something this huge.
It sent shock waves through the entire Soul Master World.
And Shrek Academy's claim that he was "afraid to fight" had become a complete joke.
Shrek Academy had become a laughingstock along with it.
Qiangu Dongfeng, the Spirit Pagoda's master, had certainly helped fan the flames.
It could be said that Mu Han's rise to fame alongside Thousand-Hand Asura Tang San and Spirit Ice Douluo Huo Yuhao,
and even his being hailed as "a god who had not ascended,"
owed a great deal to Qiangu Dongfeng.
Otherwise, Mu Han's influence would have been limited to the level of Divine Craftsman Zhen Hua at most.
By raising Mu Han up, Qiangu Dongfeng had naturally turned Shrek Academy into a stepping stone.
And Shrek had practically laid itself down to be stepped on.
On the stage of the All-Federation Tournament!
The people at Shrek Academy knew that Mu Han had nothing to do with this.
A towering tree attracted the wind. While Qiangu Dongfeng was using public opinion to suppress Shrek, he was also praising Mu Han so extravagantly that it could become a curse.
So, in the eyes of Shrek Academy's leadership, Qiangu Dongfeng was entirely responsible.
For that reason, Shrek Academy specifically sent Wu Zhangkong to negotiate with Mu Han.
They weren't there to discuss the "Beast Soul Weaponization" plan. He had brought Mu Han a gift.
"This is... the essence blood of a Three-Legged Golden Toad?" Mu Han was a little surprised.
Shrek even had something like this?
Even the Ferocious Beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest couldn't find it. After all, this was the essence blood of a divine beast.
He was certain it was the essence blood of a Three-Legged Golden Toad.
His Soul Spirit, the Dragon Phoenix Golden Toad, actually felt fear in the presence of this single drop of essence blood.
"The academy hopes you'll come study at Shrek in two years," Wu Zhangkong said, still cold as ice.
Shrek Academy was the holy land of Soul Masters,
but he had a feeling that Mu Han wouldn't go to Shrek easily.
Just like when he had invited Mu Han to join the Tang Sect.
Wu Zhangkong had confidence in the Tang Sect, but Mu Han had rejected his offer without the slightest hesitation.
So when the Sea God Pavilion asked whether Mu Han could be specially admitted to Shrek, Wu Zhangkong had reported the matter to them.
The Sea God Pavilion asked for more details.
They learned that Mu Han's Soul Spirit was probably a mutated Vermilion Clear Ice Toad.
So the Sea God Pavilion's deputy pavilion master, Holy Spirit Douluo Ya Li, made a proposal.
Mu Han was already a peerless genius.
His ability to devise the "Beast Soul Weaponization" plan and even bring it to fruition was further proof of his talent.
It was well worth spending some resources to build a bond with him.
If they could establish a good relationship, then once his research made a breakthrough, Shrek Academy would surely benefit.
So they took a drop of Three-Legged Golden Toad essence blood from the Sea God Pavilion's collection and gave it to him as a gift.
They had chosen a gentle approach to build a relationship with him.
A single drop of Three-Legged Golden Toad essence blood was enough to help the Vermilion Clear Ice Toad Soul Spirit break through the ten-thousand-year mark.
It could even lay the foundation for the Vermilion Clear Ice Toad Soul Spirit to reach one hundred thousand years.
It was a generous gift, and Mu Han really had no reason to refuse.
Besides, they weren't asking him to join Shrek.
If they wanted him as a specially admitted student, Mu Han would have to think it over.
Specially admitted students were basically designated as direct descendants of the inner court, and most were expected to stay at the academy in the future.
But what did it matter if he merely went to study there?
He had always wanted to follow the example of Divine Craftsman Zhen Hua and build good relations with the various factions.
Not joining Shrek was one thing; refusing to study there was another.
Joining Shrek Academy meant taking Shrek's side.
But if he refused to study at Shrek, that would mean making an enemy of the academy!
It wasn't as if every genius who didn't join Shrek became its enemy.
Still, it would leave some hard feelings between them.
Shrek had come all the way to invite him and had even prepared a lavish gift.
Refusing under these circumstances would be downright ungracious.
What was more, he had already reached a certain level of cooperation with Shrek Academy.
He also had a cooperative arrangement with the Spirit Pagoda.
For instance, he had leased a Spirit Ascension Platform.
The Spirit Ascension Platform in Eastsea City was no longer open to the public. It had been turned entirely into his experimental zone.
In fact, the people at Shrek Academy had it wrong.
Mu Han and Qiangu Dongfeng could be considered half-allies.
Mu Han had even tacitly approved of Qiangu Dongfeng praising him to suppress Shrek.
But that wasn't what their real cooperation was about.
And the lease on Eastsea City's Spirit Ascension Platform was merely Qiangu Dongfeng's gesture of goodwill.
Mu Han had leased it for two years. After that, it would be time for him to go to Shrek Academy.
Then he could leave Eastsea City.
Besides, the test subjects under him needed Soul Spirits too.
A thousand-year first Soul Spirit could only provide the first three Soul Rings.
But because of their Martial Soul Second Awakening, these people had jumped straight from level twenty-nine to level forty.
So they needed a second Soul Spirit.
And according to the "Beast Soul Weaponization" plan, the second Soul Spirit's age didn't matter much.
What mattered most was compatibility.
So Mu Han had approached the Spirit Pagoda, hoping to obtain the technology for Artificial Soul Spirits.
Of course, he wasn't asking for their core technology, but for a technique that had already been phased out.
Artificial Soul Spirits also relied on Soul Beast genes,
but as Soul Beasts gradually went extinct, their genes were continually being lost.
So researchers at the Spirit Pagoda had once tried extracting genes from ordinary animals to create Soul Spirits.
The experiment had succeeded, but Soul Spirits made from animal genes were pitifully weak, and the Spirit Pagoda had classified them as defective products.
Under normal circumstances, no one would buy them.
They only appeared when people drew at random.
The Spirit Pagoda had already abandoned this technology.
Naturally, the Spirit Pagoda was happy to see Mu Han willing to buy it.
Qiangu Dongfeng hadn't even charged him. He'd simply handed the technology over to Mu Han.
After all, Mu Han had leased the Spirit Ascension Platform at the Eastsea City Spirit Pagoda for two years, making him a major customer.
But although the Spirit Pagoda didn't value the technology, Mu Han, a transmigrator, knew what it was worth.
Wasn't Tang Wulin's first Soul Spirit in the original story the defective Little Grass Snake?
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