"Du Weilun," Yan Shaozhe rose to his feet, his voice carrying a solemnity rarely seen on his face. "Listen carefully to how we'll handle this. First, the Academy will not punish Lin Shuo in any way. Zhou Yi was the one who released her Martial Soul to intimidate the students, and she agreed to Soul Fighting with Lin Shuo. By any measure, Lin Shuo was not at fault. I'll speak with Fan Yu myself. Have Wang Yan take over as homeroom teacher of Freshman Class One. Second, Zhou Yi has expelled so many students over the years to boost her class's rate of advancement to the inner court, damaging the Academy's reputation. We'll deal with all of it now. Third, seal off the information. Tell the outside world that Zhou Yi's hidden illness flared up during class and caused her Martial Soul to shatter."
He paused, his tone growing heavier.
"Finally, seal Lin Shuo's file. Anyone who's seen it must keep quiet. No one is to look into it without my permission."
Du Weilun's heart jolted as he grasped the importance of the matter. He nodded solemnly, turned, and hurried away.
After giving Du Weilun his orders, Yan Shaozhe left the office and headed toward the Sea God Pavilion. This concerned the Academy's future, and he had to convene a Sea God Pavilion Meeting at once.
The Sea God Pavilion was the tallest building on Sea God Island and the most important place in all of Shrek Academy. The elders of Shrek lived there. Whenever something important happened at the Academy, a meeting was held there. It was the highest council of Shrek Academy.
At that moment, several people sat around a long table in the Sea God Pavilion's main conference hall. A reclining chair stood at the head of the table, where the current Sea God Pavilion Master lay back: Mu En, a Level 99 Limit Douluo whose Martial Soul was the Bright Sacred Dragon, and the Dragon God Douluo. At the far left sat the Martial Soul Department's dean and vice-dean, Yan Shaozhe and Cai Mei'er. At the far right sat the Soul Guidance Department's dean and vice-dean, Xian Lin'er and Qian Duoduo.
"Shaozhe, everyone's here. You called this meeting, so you can chair it," Mu En said gently from his reclining chair.
"Yes, Teacher." Yan Shaozhe rose and bowed to Mu En before speaking.
"Teacher, honored elders, I've called this Sea God Pavilion Meeting because I discovered a student at the Academy who could determine whether Shrek Academy continues to prosper in the future." As soon as he finished, several elders exchanged glances. An opening like that from Yan Shaozhe meant the student was no ordinary person.
"Today, Zhou Yi, the homeroom teacher of Freshman Class One, got into a conflict with a student in class. She then challenged him to Soul Fighting." Yan Shaozhe's mouth twitched as he spoke. It was bad enough for a teacher to use force to make a student obey. The most humiliating part was that she'd lost.
"But the moment that new student released his Martial Soul, even just a trace of its aura, Zhou Yi's Red Dragon Martial Soul was instantly suppressed. She was pinned to the ground, unable to move, and in the end, her Martial Soul shattered on the spot. According to the enrollment records, the new student listed his Martial Soul as the Seven-Colored Dragon King. It has never appeared in Shrek's records. The Red Dragon may not be a top-tier Martial Soul, but it's still quite powerful. Yet Zhou Yi, a Six-Ring Soul Emperor, couldn't fight back at all against a Level 35 Soul Elder."
"So, although we've never heard of the Seven-Colored Dragon King Martial Soul, it must be a Super Martial Soul, perhaps even superior in quality to Teacher's Bright Sacred Dragon! He's only twelve and already Level 35. If he becomes a Super Douluo in the future, he'll surely dominate an entire era!"
The conference hall fell so silent you could hear a pin drop. Mu En was the most powerful Sea God Pavilion Master in Shrek Academy's history of nearly a thousand years. His Martial Soul was the Bright Sacred Dragon, a top-tier Beast Martial Soul. It was Mu En who had kept Shrek Academy standing firm through storm and upheaval. If Yan Shaozhe's assessment was right, then this certainly warranted a Sea God Pavilion Meeting.
"I haven't found detailed information about the boy's family background yet," Yan Shaozhe continued frankly. "But I'm certain of one thing: he didn't come from the Sun Moon Empire. No faction would send a genius like him out as a spy. So I believe we must keep him at Shrek and cultivate him."
The elders present nodded one after another. Indeed, no one would use a genius like that as a disposable pawn to test the waters. Any faction would carefully groom him as its future successor. After all, the motto of geniuses was: first come, first served!
Xuan Zi, the Level 98 Titled Douluo beside Mu En, set down his wine gourd and chicken leg. His Martial Soul was the Godly Taotie Bull, and his title was Taotie Douluo. "Shaozhe makes sense. I happen to need more people. He can come straight to me."
Just as the elders began discussing how to win Lin Shuo over and cultivate him, an old, gentle voice rang out from the reclining chair at the head of the table.
"I've heard everything Shaozhe said."
Mu En spoke. Since the meeting began, the Sea God Pavilion Master had lain with his eyes closed, seeming almost asleep. But now, the moment he spoke, the entire conference hall fell silent. Everyone's gaze converged on the old man in the chair.
"But I have a few things to add." Mu En slowly opened his eyes. A glint that could not be ignored shone in his cloudy gaze. "The boy's Soul Ring Configuration includes three Ten Thousand Year Soul Rings." The Sea God Pavilion erupted in an uproar. Everyone knew the First Soul Ring was usually a yellow Hundred-Year Soul Ring. Some people, such as Wang Dong'er, could absorb a Thousand-Year Soul Ring for their Second Soul Ring by consuming Whale Rubber, while others, like Mu En, could absorb a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring for their Fourth Soul Ring thanks to their powerful physiques. But a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring as the First Soul Ring? How was that possible?
"The boy's Martial Soul is indeed extraordinary. When Bei Bei met him in the Star Dou Great Forest, Bei Bei said that if his Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul fought against the boy, it would probably only be able to bring out three or four tenths of its strength. I never saw the boy's Martial Soul directly, but even sensing it was enough to make my Bright Sacred Dragon feel fear. Its quality must far exceed what we expected." Mu En spoke unhurriedly, yet the air in the entire conference hall seemed to freeze.
Bei Bei was Mu En's great-grandson, and his Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul carried the bloodline of the Bright Sacred Dragon. If Mu En himself hadn't said this, they would have thought him mad. Even the 800,000-year-old Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King, Beast God Di Tian, couldn't make Mu En feel fear through bloodline alone, could he?
The conference hall sank into deathly silence.
"Teacher, this..." Yan Shaozhe stood frozen, his expression shifting from shock to contemplation, then to an excitement he could hardly put into words. He had thought he already took Lin Shuo seriously enough. But now he realized he'd seen only the tip of the iceberg. Three Ten Thousand Year Soul Rings and such a powerful dragon-type Martial Soul—Lin Shuo was destined to bestride an entire era, with no equal in sight.