Subdue Lin Chen

"As expected, talent and hard work are nowhere near as reliable as the Deep Blue."

Lin Chen opened his eyes, the corners of his mouth curling upward involuntarily.

In his Spirit Master realm, it had taken him two full years just to make up seven levels of spirit power.

Yet, how long had it been since he obtained his first Spirit Ring?

His spirit power level had already reached level twenty-five.

In less than half a month, a full three levels of spirit power.

If the system were any more powerful, he would probably have to apply for early graduation.

Once he broke through to become a Great Spirit Master, he would have to head to Heaven Dou City.

After all, if he wanted to withstand a ten-thousand-year Spirit Ring for his fourth ring, the Wangchuan Autumn Dew within the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well was indispensable.

Don't be fooled by the original story where Tang San just entered a password to gain access to the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well.

That was only because he had Tang Hao backing him.

Without a background, running straight to Dugu Bo to enter a password would be no different from seeking death.

The likelihood of being captured and tortured by Dugu Bo would be far greater.

Cruel torture was, after all, the specialty of a poison master.

Therefore, Lin Chen had to go to Heaven Dou City in advance to plan his approach to the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well based on the situation.

The location of the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well shouldn't be hard to find.

After all, Dugu Bo had set up his poison array years ago; it was impossible for no one to know about it.

The key lay in how thick that poison zone was.

If the poison zone wasn't too thick, he might be able to teleport directly inside.

Silent Shadow Kill was not just rapid movement, but true teleportation.

It was a space-type ultimate skill.

As long as the poison zone was within his teleportation range, he wouldn't have to worry about being eroded by toxins at all.

If the poison zone was too thick...

Then he would likely have to approach it slowly by getting close to Dugu Yan.

With a plan in mind, Lin Chen continued his cultivation.

Rewards were nice, but they weren't constant; he still had to work hard himself.

Over the next few days.

Lin Chen lived a routine life, moving between three points every day.

Cultivating, eating, and using Disaster Curse.

The arrival of Flender and the others didn't cause any ripples for him.

At least, not yet.

It was worth mentioning that Dai Mubai and the other two had joined Nuoding Academy as students.

Furthermore, Dai Mubai had paid to help Tang San and Xiao Wu shed their status as working students, and they had moved into single rooms on the second floor, becoming Lin Chen's neighbors.

Since they had come to receive guidance from Yu Xiaogang, they didn't attend regular classes.

This actually made things convenient for Lin Chen.

Whenever he went out to eat, Lin Chen could almost always run into them.

Unknowingly.

A deep darkness had also begun to stain the foreheads of Dai Mubai and the others.

Moreover, their luck seemed to be quite poor.

Six instances of bad luck had accumulated without erupting, as if they were brewing something massive.

Tang San was even unluckier.

He had already accumulated a full nine instances, scaring Lin Chen so much that he didn't dare to call out to him anymore, fearing that one careless shout might cause him to drop dead on the spot.

What Lin Chen didn't know was that a scheme against him was currently brewing.

Dormitory 201.

Flender, Zhao Wuji, and Dai Mubai were gathered there.

Flender's expression was grave.

"I'm giving you a task. Whether you force a confrontation or use some other method, it doesn't matter—by any means necessary, beat that Lin Chen into submission."

The reason geniuses are arrogant is because of the confidence their talent brings them.

Flender's current goal was to properly dampen Lin Chen's sharp edge.

He wanted to make Lin Chen understand that there is always someone better, and a mountain beyond a mountain.

Once his arrogance was ground away, it would naturally be easy to recruit him.

"Leave it to me!"

A confident, wicked smile spread across Dai Mubai's face.

After observing for the past few days, he had discovered that Tang San was nothing but a pure sycophant.

Xiao Wu had absolutely no romantic feelings for him.

On the contrary, that Lin Chen seemed to be highly favored by Xiao Wu.

Every day, Xiao Wu would find ways to get close to him.

Originally, he had thought that since this wasn't Shrek Academy, he should exercise some restraint.

But now that Dean Flender had spoken, there was nothing left to worry about.

He would take this opportunity to let Xiao Wu know who the real man was.

Flender nodded; he was quite at ease when it came to Dai Mubai.

After all, Dai Mubai was already a Great Spirit Master.

No matter how much of a genius Lin Chen was, he was at most level seventeen or eighteen.

"There is one point you need to pay attention to."

"Fighting is one thing, but don't go for the kill, and don't let him harbor hatred."

Flender instructed sternly.

His ultimate goal was to recruit Lin Chen, and if Dai Mubai couldn't control the intensity, he might accidentally achieve the opposite result.

And if it truly came to that, he would likely have no choice but to kill him to prevent the boy from seeking revenge on Shrek after growing stronger.

To kill such a genius would be a great pity.

Dai Mubai smiled slightly.

"Dean Flender, rest assured, I understand what you mean."

Although he said this, his thoughts were entirely different.

He would never give Lin Chen the chance to join Shrek and compete with him for Xiao Wu.

Killing him outright might not be a bad solution.

If that didn't work, crippling him wasn't out of the question either.

Flender didn't think much of it; after giving a few more detailed instructions, he left with Zhao Wuji.

Ma Hongjun looked at Dai Mubai.

"Boss Dai, what's the plan?"

He looked eager to jump in, clearly wanting to take the lead.

He couldn't help it; that was an innate full spirit power.

Setting aside Oscar, who was a support-type, he had never truly fought a genius Spirit Master with innate full spirit power.

Xiao Wu didn't count.

After all, neither of them had activated their spirits back then; it had just been a simple clash.

Dai Mubai smiled.

"What's the rush?"

"When we have lunch later, we'll try inviting him formally first."

"If he doesn't agree, it won't be too late to use force."

If possible, he still wanted to have a fair and square 'spar' with Lin Chen.

After all, if he wanted to woo Xiao Wu, he had to be mindful of his image.

Of course, if Lin Chen didn't know what was good for him, he would have no one to blame but himself.

Upon hearing this, Ma Hongjun felt slightly disappointed.

Oscar patted him on the shoulder and said with a wicked grin: "Can't you tell Boss Dai wants to woo that Xiao Wu?"

"How could he possibly let you have this moment to show off?"

Ma Hongjun looked at Dai Mubai, completely bewildered; he really hadn't noticed.

Wasn't Xiao Wu with Tang San...

Good grief, is this guy even trying to poach from his own side?

That's just beastly, isn't it?

"I'm not close with that Tang San at all, and Xiao Wu has zero interest in him. To put it bluntly, even if it came down to a gang-up, it wouldn't be his turn."

Dai Mubai shook his head.

He had only just arrived at Shrek and had no real bond with Flender or the others, let alone Tang San, whom he had barely met.

Besides, coming from an imperial family, he didn't know the first thing about sentiment.

Ma Hongjun: "..."

Oscar: "..."

Wasn't that a bit too crude?

Still, judging by their observations over the past few days, Xiao Wu really didn't seem interested in Tang San; it was just Tang San clinging to her unilaterally.

Dai Mubai hammered the final nail in the coffin.

"This matter has nothing to do with you lot. If there's any trouble, I'll shoulder it myself. At worst, I'll just quit Shrek Academy."