Yan Shaozhe's Attention

While Jiang Nannan was secretly observing Yang Jian, Yang Jian was also sizing her up.

Just as described in the original work, although Jiang Nannan was only twelve years old, her figure was already slender and well-proportioned. Her long, golden hair cascaded down her back in large waves, her skin was fairer than snow, and her eyes were as clear as a pool of water. She possessed an elegant and delicate temperament that easily stirred a man's desire to protect her.

"It was just a small favor."

Yang Jian shook his head, not saying anything like "no need to pay me back."

After all, even if he had brought it up, Jiang Nannan's self-esteem and personality would certainly not have allowed her to agree.

"What's your name? Which class are you in? Shall we head to the dorms together?"

Seemingly noticing Jiang Nannan's unease, Tang Ya grabbed her hand with practiced familiarity and said enthusiastically, "We're all classmates, and we'll be cultivating at Shrek Academy together in the future. It's only natural to help each other out when we can, so don't take it to heart."

"Even if he hadn't paid your tuition, I would have paid it for you."

That was a lie.

Yang Jian glanced at Tang Ya but did not expose her.

In reality, Tang Ya was not wealthy either.

Although Tang Ya was the Sect Master of the Tang Sect, the sect was effectively just an empty shell; her parents had long since perished in a past battle. Furthermore, since the Tang Sect's hidden weapons rarely attracted customers anymore, Tang Ya's financial situation was likely on par with Jiang Nannan's.

Even if she were better off, it wouldn't be by much.

After exchanging names, Ye Qingyuan, Tang Ya, and Jiang Nannan walked in the lead, while Yang Jian and Bei Bei trailed a few steps behind.

Meanwhile.

The Sea God Pavilion welcomed an honored guest.

Yan Shaozhe, the Dean of the Martial Soul Department at Shrek Academy, led a woman who looked excessively young into the Sea God Pavilion.

"The last time I saw you, you were still just a little girl. I never expected that over a decade would pass in the blink of an eye, and you would have already attained the title of Titled Douluo."

Yan Shaozhe looked back at her from time to time, his tone filled with indescribable amazement and regret.

To achieve the Titled Douluo rank at this age was a rare talent, even by the standards of Shrek Academy. The only pity was that she was not a graduate of Shrek Academy and had no connection to the institution.

"Dean Yan's memory is truly excellent."

"Haha, one gets old, and indeed, it becomes harder to remember things. But you gave me quite a shock back then; at the Soul Master Tournament, Shrek Academy was almost eliminated by you. Naturally, I remember you vividly."

Yan Shaozhe laughed heartily, then turned his head to look at this newly ascended Titled Douluo of the continent.

Bai Yu did not pick up the conversation; she merely curled the corners of her mouth slightly before taking several dozen jade bottles from her storage Soul Tool and placing them on the table in front of her.

"Dean Yan, these are the Xuanqing Pill that your Shrek Academy requested. They were all refined by my teacher personally, totaling fifty bottles. Since you are a long-time customer, I'll give you a ten percent discount. You only need to pay me four million five hundred thousand Gold Soul Coin."

Hearing Bai Yu's words, Yan Shaozhe's attention immediately shifted to the fifty bottles of Xuanqing Pill before him.

"They were all refined by Medicine Immortal Douluo herself?"

Yan Shaozhe couldn't help but exclaim.

The Xuanqing Pill was produced by the Star Luo Empire Offering Hall. In the entire soul master world, only the Deputy Hall Master of the Offering Hall, Medicine Immortal Douluo Wang Xian'er, and the soul masters under her command were capable of refining them.

This pill, which combined healing, physical enhancement, soul power recovery, and even the ability to increase a small amount of soul power, had such heaven-defying efficacy that even Elder Zhuang, a Sea God Pavilion elder who possessed the Tree of Life martial soul, had sighed in admiration of it many times.

However, the production of these pills had always been extremely small; in previous years, they could order at most twenty bottles. Why so many this time?

Seemingly noticing Yan Shaozhe's confusion, Bai Yu offered an additional explanation:

"My teacher recently picked up a promising seedling, so she refined a few more."

"Oh?"

Yan Shaozhe let out a soft sound of surprise, a thoughtful expression appearing on his face.

Medicine Immortal Douluo Wang Xian'er was hailed as the continent's number one healing-type soul master, and her standards had always been incredibly high; until now, she had only taken Bai Yu as a disciple. Who would have thought that after several decades, she had actually found another promising seedling?

"Rest assured, Dean Yan, you don't need to worry about your Shrek Academy team losing this time, because he has already enrolled at Shrek Academy and become a student. Come to think of it, my mission is to be responsible for protecting him; delivering the pills is just a side task."

Before Yan Shaozhe could deny the concern about Shrek Academy losing that Bai Yu mentioned in the first half of her sentence, his attention was captured by the latter half:

"So, you mean Shrek Academy has recruited another promising seedling this year?"

"To be precise, there is more than one. Elder Ye's great-granddaughter has also arrived at Shrek Academy."

Upon hearing this, Yan Shaozhe was slightly startled.

Elder Ye's great-granddaughter?

Mentioning this Elder Ye, Yan Shaozhe's expression became significantly more serious.

Azure Luan Douluo Ye Yu, the Hall Master of the Star Luo Empire Offering Hall, was a rank 97 power-attack type Super Douluo. He was the person with the highest seniority and greatest strength in the Star Luo Empire, a top-tier powerhouse from the same era as Shrek Academy's Elder Xuan and the Body Sect leader Du Busi.

Even for Yan Shaozhe, he was merely a junior in front of him.

Of course, a more important point was that with Medicine Immortal Douluo Wang Xian'er present, Elder Ye's health remained very robust, and there might even be a possibility for him to advance further in the future.

"No wonder they sent a Titled Douluo like you to protect him in secret."

Yan Shaozhe became more intrigued, a look of interest appearing in his eyes: "What are the names of these two little ones?"

Bai Yu remained silent, merely keeping her head bowed.

Seeing this, several black lines immediately appeared on Yan Shaozhe's forehead.

I'm asking you a question; what's the meaning of you keeping your head down and staring at your Xuanqing Pill?

As the dignified Dean of the Martial Soul Department of Shrek Academy, do you really think I would welsh on paying you?

"It's just four and a half million Gold Soul Coins, isn't it? I'll give it to you right now! Now, can you finally tell me the names of those two little ones?"

After taking the card from Yan Shaozhe's hand, Bai Yu finally nodded: "The child Teacher picked up from outside is named Yang Jian, and Elder Ye's great-granddaughter is named Ye Qingyuan."

"Yang Jian and Ye Qingyuan, huh... I will pay extra attention to these two little ones. To have someone like the Medicine Immortal Douluo value them so highly, I'm truly quite curious."

"There is one other matter."

As she spoke, Bai Yu's expression grew a bit more serious: "Teacher has scoured all sorts of ancient texts, attempting to find a way to treat Mu En. It is a pity... she is still powerless. The best-case scenario is merely to nourish his condition; a complete cure is impossible."

Hearing this, a look of sorrow instantly appeared on Yan Shaozhe's face.

Although he hadn't held much hope in his heart that Mu En could be completely cured, hearing it from the continent's number one healing-type Soul Master still left Yan Shaozhe feeling unavoidably bitter and sad.