Sea God Pavilion Meeting

He picked up the Elucidator from the bed, drew it from its scabbard, and examined its matte-black blade.

"What a fine sword. But am I suited to fighting with a sword right now? The problem is, I don't know any swordsmanship."

"And what exactly is this [Douluo World]? I've never heard of Soul Guidance Technology being capable of anything like this. Uncle Baili really is impressive. I wonder how he managed it..."

A little troubled, he slid the sword back into its scabbard. He didn't slack off any longer, instead sitting cross-legged and preparing to meditate.

He was a level 36 Soul Elder—not especially strong, but not weak either. Still, he didn't intend to stay at the Soul Elder level for long. Raising his Soul Power by four levels in a year was admittedly unrealistic, even with an Ultimate Martial Soul, but Huo Yuhao still wanted to try. At the very least, he hoped to reach around level 38 before the holiday.

Shrek Inner Court, Sea God Island.

At the heart of Sea God Island stood a gigantic wooden building, constructed around the Golden Tree. This was the heart of Sea God Island, the heart of Shrek Academy, and even the heart of all Shrek City.

It was said that decisions made in the Sea God Pavilion could even change the balance of power between the nations of the continent...

At that moment, the Sea God Pavilion's large conference hall was silent.

Ten people sat around an oval table. At the head of the table, however, stood a recliner in a dimly lit spot. A person seemed to be lying on it, though only vaguely visible.

Seated near the front was Xuan Zi. He had a chicken in his left hand and a wine gourd in his right, eating and drinking at his leisure.

"Everyone's here, so let's begin. Lin'er, you go first."

At the sound of this voice, Xuan Zi made a token effort to set down his chicken leg and wine gourd. He wiped his hands on his grimy clothes and sat up a little straighter.

"Yes, Teacher."

A woman seated near the back stood up. She was about 1.7 meters tall and looked to be around fifty. Her fair skin and neatly pinned-up black hair, along with her white clothes trimmed in gold, gave her a sharp, capable appearance. Though she was advanced in years, it was still clear that she must have been a stunning beauty in her youth.

She was none other than Xian Lin'er, dean of Shrek Academy's Soul Guidance Department.

Though she was nearly a hundred years old and had seen all kinds of geniuses in her lifetime, Xian Lin'er still couldn't keep her voice from trembling slightly.

"Just as you expected, the student you took an interest in has a talent for Soul Tools so astonishing that it's unheard of."

Across from her, Yan Shaozhe, the Bright Phoenix Douluo and dean of the Martial Soul Department, listened with a little more attention. Qian Duoduo, vice dean of the Soul Guidance Department, seated beside Xian Lin'er, looked even more smug.

Xian Lin'er took a deep breath and spoke, word by word. "One day. He needed only one day to pass the Soul Engineer examinations for levels one, two, and three in succession!"

"What?!"

"That's unheard of even in the Sun Moon Empire!"

"The key point is," Xian Lin'er emphasized, "according to him, he had never systematically studied Soul Tool construction before. He'd only occasionally looked through some related books out of interest, then tried making core arrays himself once his Spiritual Power and Soul Power were up to the task."

"..."

Xian Lin'er said without hesitation, "Teacher, and respected elders, the Soul Guidance Department can't let a genius like this slip away! Duoduo and I have already discussed it. We'll make him an inner court disciple of the Soul Guidance Department right away, and the department will spare no effort in nurturing him. We'll also put the Ultimate Soldier Project into action with him."

After the silence came a quiet murmur of discussion among the elders. The world of geniuses really was impossible to understand.

Mu En, seated at the head of the table, raised a hand and pressed it down. The somewhat disorderly conference room fell silent at once.

His voice came from the shadows. "Mm, this is the same boy Lexuan recommended for direct admission to the inner court earlier. His name is Huo Yuhao. You should still remember him."

At the mention of Lexuan, Xuan Zi's expression shifted. He turned his gaze away, looking slightly uncomfortable.

Yan Shaozhe raised a hand. "I heard about him from Xiaotao. He's the one who helped suppress her Evil Fire, and she thinks highly of him. She also recommended that he be promoted directly to the inner court."

Mu En made no comment. Instead, he looked toward Xuan Zi, who was seated at the head of the table. "Xuan Zi, tell us what you think."

Xuan Zi coughed twice, then stood. "Everyone, I had my reasons for holding back this boy's inner court recommendation."

"First, his Martial Soul is the Spirit Eye—in other words, his eyes. It's a spiritual-type Martial Soul, and obtaining Soul Rings in the future will be extremely difficult. It'll be hard for him to achieve much. Although he's currently a three-ring Soul Elder, in my opinion, he must have eaten some rare treasure from heaven and earth, sacrificing part of his potential to reach his current level."

"Second, I remember that when this brat first joined the academy, he got into a fight with his roommate. I heard he beat the poor fellow pretty badly... On this point, Mu En and I share the same view. If we grant him the honor of entering the inner court, who knows what serious trouble might follow? So I hope we can rein him in first. Let him study in the outer court for now, and once his cultivation reaches the inner court's requirements, we can consider whether to let him in."

Xuan Zi's argument was well-structured, but Xian Lin'er and Qian Duoduo furrowed their brows as they listened and instinctively exchanged a glance.

This might not be fair to say, but why did it feel like Xuan Zi was trying to trip Zhang Lexuan up?

Ever since the major accident a year and a half ago, Zhang Lexuan had repeatedly asked the Sea God Pavilion to punish Xuan Zi, the teacher who had led the group. But Mu En had always suppressed her requests.

Mu En knew he didn't have much time left. Shrek's future development still needed a powerful guardian, so at this point, he could only protect Xuan Zi at Zhang Lexuan's expense.

Both Zhang Lexuan and Xuan Zi felt they had been wronged. So Zhang Lexuan had simply gone to teach in the outer court, where she wouldn't have to see Xuan Zi. Xuan Zi, for his part, seemed to resent her harsh treatment of him...

Just then, Mu En's voice interrupted their silent exchange of glances. "Let's leave it at that for now. Have him study in both the Martial Soul Department and the Soul Guidance Department. Don't give him the title of core disciple, but make sure he receives all the proper benefits."

Xian Lin'er couldn't help saying, "But, Teacher, whether it's the Martial Soul Department or our Soul Guidance Department, the more advanced the studies become, the more energy they demand. Studying both at once could hold that child back. Isn't being broad but shallow a waste of his talent?"

Mu En smiled faintly. "You just said that he learned to make Soul Tool core arrays by reading books in his spare time. That alone is enough to show how exceptional his talent is. Geniuses need to be cultivated in ways suited to geniuses. How do you know he can't succeed at cultivating in both departments?"

For Shrek Academy, an important Sea God Pavilion Meeting had come to an end. And it seemed that Huo Yuhao's fate had been decided as well.