Sea God Pavilion's Successor Across Generations

After accepting the storage Soul Tool Ye Pi'an handed him, Xue Mingqing did not open it to see what was inside. That would have been far too rude.

He put it away in his own storage Soul Tool, then thanked him again.

"Thank you, Uncle Ye."

Ye Pi'an chuckled, but did not linger on the subject. He gently patted Xue Mingqing's head.

"Alright, I came this time to discuss some other matters with your teacher. Could I trouble you to keep my Yu Rong company?"

Hearing that, Xue Mingqing glanced at Ning Yurong beside Ye Pi'an. After considering it briefly, he agreed.

After all, Ning Yurong truly suited his tastes. She was exceptionally beautiful and quiet in temperament. Though she had been raised as a young lady of a great family, she lacked the spoiled arrogance of one. Xue Mingqing did not dislike spending time with her.

Seeing Xue Mingqing agree, Ye Pi'an smiled faintly. Leaving his daughter here with Xue Mingqing, he clasped his hands behind his back and headed toward the Golden Tree and Sea God Pavilion at the center of Sea God Island.

Xue Mingqing said nothing at the sight. He turned and looked toward Ning Yurong at his side.

"Come on, Sister Yu Rong. I'll take you to find a pavilion where we can sit."

Ning Yurong pointed in a certain direction. "Um, I'm fine, but... what about him? Aren't you going to do something?"

Raising a brow, Xue Mingqing looked where she pointed—Bei Bei was still sprawled on the Soul Fighting Platform, sleeping soundly.

Xue Mingqing merely gave a light laugh, grabbed Ning Yurong's soft hand, and quickly led her away.

"Don't know him, not my problem, none of my business. Come on, let's go."

"..."

Since Xue Mingqing did not want to deal with Bei Bei, what else could Ning Yurong say? She could only silently follow him away at a quick pace.

But honestly, although Ye Pi'an had asked Xue Mingqing to show Ning Yurong around, Xue Mingqing had no idea what they were supposed to do.

After all, he had only just arrived on Sea God Island. Before he had even had time to familiarize himself with the surroundings, his grandson had dragged him out for a spar.

He had barely finished coaxing his grandson to sleep when Ye Pi'an and Ning Yurong arrived. So, Xue Mingqing truly did not know what he should take Ning Yurong to do.

Sitting in the pavilion, the two stared at each other in silence for a long while.

In the end, Xue Mingqing could no longer endure the silence and spoke up.

"Sister Yu Rong, um... would you like to hear a story?"

Ning Yurong, who had been lowering her head and playing with a lock of her long hair, froze.

She raised her eyes without saying anything, but her crimson eyes had already conveyed what she wanted to ask.

You can tell stories too?

Seeing the meaning in Ning Yurong's eyes, Xue Mingqing smiled calmly and cleared his throat.

"The story I'm going to tell you is called Magpie Bridge Immortal. Are you ready? The story begins."

"Once upon a time..."

On Xue Mingqing's side, time passed amid the immersion of his story and the quiet companionship of Ning Yurong.

Yet he did not know that, at the same time, a meeting centered around him was unfolding in Sea God Pavilion at the heart of Sea God Island...

Half an hour earlier—

Yan Shaozhe, Qian Duoduo, Cai Mei'er, and Xian Lin'er, who had been urgently summoned back from the outer academy for a meeting, arrived before Sea God Pavilion.

At that moment, all four wore strange, baffled expressions.

On the way, they had already asked one another about it, hoping to learn from each other why this Sea God Pavilion meeting had been convened.

Yet no one could explain it clearly. What else could they do?

They could only exchange glances before entering Sea God Pavilion together.

But—

The moment they entered Sea God Pavilion this time, they keenly sensed that something was off.

The reason was that the elders, who usually wore gentle and calm expressions, now looked utterly solemn.

Even Mu En, who had long since stepped behind the scenes, was unusually not reclining in a lounge chair as a mere observer. Instead, he sat upright in the chief seat of Sea God Pavilion.

Even Xuan Zi, who was usually always late and unreliable, was sitting properly in his own seat.

Seeing this formation, how could Yan Shaozhe and the other three fail to understand? Something major was likely about to be announced.

Exchanging looks, the four tacitly refrained from asking questions. Each went to their own seat and sat down.

Once everyone had arrived, silence reigned for a moment. Then Mu En's aged yet powerful voice rang out.

"This Sea God Pavilion meeting was called by this old man."

Mu En paused, then raised his eyes and swept his gaze around the room before continuing.

"You all know that this old man has recently taken on two disciples, correct?"

Everyone nodded in unison. Mu En was Shrek's strongest figure; an event as significant as him taking disciples could not possibly be concealed, and everyone present had long known of it.

Seeing that they all knew, Mu En nodded faintly. "Since you know, let us get straight to the point."

"My younger disciple, Xue Mingqing, possesses talent and character that are the finest this old man has seen in his life. Even this old man's own talent at his age was inferior to his."

"Therefore, this old man wishes for Shrek's resources to be allocated to him as a priority and to establish him as Sea God Pavilion's successor across generations. Once he reaches seven rings and becomes a Soul Saint, he may inherit the position of Sea God Pavilion Master. Who agrees? Who objects?"

The moment those words came out, Yan Shaozhe and the others who had never seen Xue Mingqing reveal his soul rings changed expressions.

Yan Shaozhe frowned. Looking into Mu En's eyes, he asked uncertainly.

"Teacher, isn't this a little too hasty?"

Cai Mei'er, Xian Lin'er, and the others beside him did not speak, but their eyes held the same question as they looked at Mu En.

Feeling the weight of five questioning gazes resting on him, Mu En calmly lifted his cup and took a sip of tea.

"He is six and a half years old, and he is currently at the peak of Rank 14."

Xuan Zi, seated below Mu En, raised a brow.

"His talent is indeed not bad, but which one of us here did not come up that way?"

"If that is all, prioritizing him for resources would not be difficult, but making him Sea God Pavilion's successor across generations..."

"His first soul ring is a thousand-year one. Purple."

The latter half of Xuan Zi's words caught in his throat and came to an abrupt stop...

After taking another sip of tea and judging that the timing was about right, Mu En raised his head again to observe everyone's expressions.

Aside from the three old companions who had witnessed that scene with him earlier, everyone else—

Had their eyes wide and mouths agape, their jaws nearly dropping to the floor in shock.

Seeing this, the corners of Mu En's lips curved upward. For some reason, he felt an inexplicable sense of satisfaction.

Mu En believed that everyone present absolutely understood the significance of a single martial soul with a thousand-year first ring. If they did not understand, they would not be sitting here.

After all, for a soul master to absorb a soul ring, both physical constitution and martial soul quality were crucial.

Whether Xue Mingqing's physique had met the requirement, his martial soul quality had met it, or he had encountered some fortuitous opportunity that forged his thousand-year first ring—

He had done it, and that meant he qualified!

With his first ring laying the foundation, no matter how poorly things went in the future, his second ring would absolutely begin at two thousand years.

With such talent, so long as he did not die young and was willing to cultivate, Mu En dared to guarantee that Xue Mingqing's future would at minimum be that of a Limit Douluo!