There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone.
Long Yeyue's voice rang out again.
"Hmph, I knew it."
"An ungrateful wretch who can't be tamed!"
She paused for a moment.
"It's alright. When he comes back, I have plenty of ways to make him come to Shrek willingly."
"Don't touch him yet, keep a close eye on him."
"Yun Ming values him highly now."
"Let's see what the Spirit Pagoda wants him to do here."
"If there are any benefits, Shrek wouldn't mind getting a share."
Zhuo Shi responded with a sound:
"Okay, received."
Long Yeyue's voice faded.
"I trust you to handle things. Go ahead."
The call ended, Zhuo Shi put down the Soul Guidance Communicator.
Standing in the corridor, he sighed.
Who told you to be so talented and not stand on Shrek's side?
If the result is still the same, then don't blame me.
I hope you'll be more sensible.
He put away his Soul Guidance Communicator and walked back along the corridor.
A few days later.
There are still two days until the opening of the Soul Master Tournament.
Today is the day that Star Luo Empire is hosting a banquet to entertain the delegation. The guests will be received in the evening and will be dressed in their finest attire.
Bai Yuan leaned against the window, looking at the courtyard outside where lights were beginning to come on, and said helplessly:
"Another banquet."
"Why do they seem to particularly like to throw a banquet first?"
Gu Yuena sat on a chair on the other side of the room, holding a small bag of snacks that she had opened from somewhere.
"That place is no better than staying in my room and watching the Tang Sect TV series again."
She paused.
"But out of politeness, I still have to go."
She took a bite of her snack and added in a low voice.
"Humans are the most troublesome thing."
"Boring."
Tang Wulin, Yue Zhengyu, and the others saw Bai Yuan approaching and their gazes lingered on him for a moment.
He was dressed simply and neatly, just like usual, as if he didn't consider this dinner party anything special.
Tang Wulin then leaned closer and asked:
"Big Brother Bai, why aren't you dressed up?"
"Wasn't it supposed to be a dinner party?"
Bai Yuan casually replied:
"I don't have anything special to dress up for, I'll just stroll around and then head back to cultivate."
Upon hearing this, Tang Wulin silently praised in his heart:
As expected of Big Brother Bai, he's still thinking about cultivation even at a time like this.
He was already planning in his mind to leave early so he could go back and practice a little more.
Yue Zhengyu was secretly pleased to hear that Bai Yuan didn't plan to dress up.
He was undoubtedly the most handsome man at this banquet!
Who can stop me!
He had just straightened his collar a little more when he heard the words "still need to cultivate" from the back, and the smile on his face faltered for a moment.
The edge of that newly rising sense of satisfaction seemed to be gently touched by something.
It started to sway slightly before it had fully settled.
He instinctively turned his head to the side.
He actually wants to cultivate?
This thought suddenly left him feeling somewhat empty.
It seems that what he still cares about, the other person no longer cares about.
He paused for a moment, then took a deep breath and adjusted the position of his collar.
"Fine, since we're already here, let's make a splash first."
He started walking towards the banquet hall.
The banquet hall was brightly lit.
The crowd suddenly parted to the sides, making way for a young girl who slowly walked out, surrounded by the crowd.
She looked to be about fifteen or sixteen years old, with extremely beautiful features and long, flowing hair.
A pale yellow dress accentuated her snow-white skin, while gold thread embroidered elegant auspicious cloud patterns on the collar and cuffs.
Her pace was neither hurried nor slow, as if she were surveying her own territory, and she paused for a moment when the light selected her.
Gu Yuena was standing next to Bai Yuan, holding a plate of snacks that she had somehow gotten her hands on.
While putting it in her mouth, she turned her head and nudged Bai Yuan with her arm:
"Who is this? Making such a grand entrance."
Bai Yuan's gaze shifted from the pale yellow figure in the crowd.
"I guess she's some kind of princess."
Gu Yuena took another bite of the pastry:
"Princess?"
"It's quite a rare find."
"Let's see what tricks she has up her sleeve."
Bai Yuan didn't reply, but simply stood quietly in the corner, watching the figure move through the crowd.
At this moment, someone nearby whispered to the princess:
"Your Highness, these are all outstanding young talents from the Douluo Continent Exchange Delegation. His Majesty has instructed you to interact with them frequently."
The princess turned her head slightly, her gaze sweeping over the young faces, her tone carrying just the right amount of politeness and a hint of disdain.
"Okay, okay, I got it."
"Father is so long-winded."
"I hadn't even had enough fun before they dragged me into this social activity!"
After she finished speaking, her gaze calmly swept across the crowd, only a few steps away from concluding.
The princess gave a soft hum and shook her head as she walked towards the center of the banquet.
The princess's name was Dai Yun'er, the only beloved daughter of the Star Luo Empire.
Zhuo Shi stepped forward, bowed slightly, and introduced everyone to her one by one.
"Senior Red Dragon, this junior pays his respects to you."
"Hahaha, great!"
She responded in turn, her gaze lingering for varying lengths on the faces of Tang Wulin, Yue Zhengyu, Xie Xie, Ye Xinglan, Yuanen Yehui, and others.
When it was Xu Lizhi's turn, she looked up at his round face.
She looked down at what he was holding, hesitated, and finally just nodded.
"This person's Martial Soul is quite interesting."
Yuanen Yehui stood a little distance away, her gaze calm and cautious, neither intimate nor distant.
Ye Xinglan stood at the edge of the crowd, her gaze lingering briefly on the princess before shifting away.
"What about these two?"
"Senior."
The princess's gaze fell on the empty space behind Zhuo Shi.
Zhuo Shi followed her gaze and glanced at her:
"These two?"
"Bai Yuan and Gu Yue may have something to attend to and are not here for the time being."
The princess nodded slightly:
"Fine."
"Welcome everyone! I hope you all have a relaxing evening at the dinner."
"To conserve energy for the upcoming matches and achieve excellent results!"
After she finished speaking, the entire audience burst into loud applause, and her gaze lingered on that empty seat for a moment.
Then it naturally turned in another direction.
The sounds of conversation began to flow again in the banquet hall.
Her gaze swept casually across the crowd on both sides—then stopped.
In a corner on the other side of the banquet hall, a person was standing quietly.
He wore a white robe, was tall and slender, handsome, and had hair as white as moonlight.
He didn't deliberately stand in a conspicuous position, nor did he participate in the surrounding commotion.
But that composure that emanated from his very bones, like a sword yet to be drawn, made that figure, who should have been lost in the crowd, stand out.
It was precisely in this interplay of light and shadow that her gaze captured it with pinpoint accuracy.
"It's him!?"
An indescribable surge of excitement rushed to Dai Yun'er's head.
She recognized the person.
The top genius on the Shrek Exchange Delegation's Genius Ranking Bai Yuan, the Core Flame.
She watched the video after the Star Luo Delegation sent his battle recording back to the Star Luo Empire.
A sentence that Long Yue had said after watching the entire recording echoed in her ears again:
"This person is a true genius; his talent might even surpass mine."
She clearly remembered the unusual seriousness in Long Yue's eyes when he said those words.
She knew his strength and pride all too well.
There isn't another person on the entire Star Luo Continent who could make him say such a thing.