"Du Weilun, you can head back first." After a long moment of thought, Yan Shaozhe decided to convene a Sea God Pavilion Meeting to make a decision.
Whether it was the awakening of a Second Martial Soul after birth or a True Dragon Martial Soul with an Ultimate Attribute, it was beyond the authority of a single Martial Soul Department dean to decide.
Having made up his mind, Yan Shaozhe flashed away toward the Sea God Pavilion.
"Shaozhe, tell us what happened." Mu En lay in the seat of honor and slowly opened his mouth.
In just one year, Yan Shaozhe had already proposed convening a Sea God Pavilion Meeting twice. The previous time had been to discuss the discovery of Lin Shuo, a once-in-ten-thousand-years genius. Some Sea God Pavilion members might go decades without proposing a meeting.
Yan Shaozhe rose respectfully. "Teacher, esteemed elders. Just now, Du Weilun, the Martial Soul Department's director of the outer court, reported that Huo Yu'er, an outer-court core disciple, suddenly awakened a Second Martial Soul during the break. Moreover, her Second Martial Soul is a True Dragon Martial Soul with an Ultimate Attribute called the Water Dragon King. I investigated before coming here, and the report is accurate. I didn't dare make a decision rashly, so I proposed this meeting."
The Sea God Pavilion fell abruptly silent for a moment. A True Dragon Martial Soul with an Ultimate Attribute. True Dragon Martial Souls were already exceedingly rare, let alone those with an Ultimate Attribute.
In the past ten thousand years, only three Soul Masters with Ultimate Attributes had appeared on the entire continent, and every one of them had been a formidable figure who ruled an era.
"According to Huo Yu'er, her Second Martial Soul awakened after being drawn out by Lin Shuo's aura. The Seven-Colored Dragon King and Water Dragon King are Martial Souls we've never heard of before. I suspect there's some connection between them."
As soon as Yan Shaozhe finished speaking, several elders present looked thoughtful. Xuan Zi in particular: before this, at Wang Yan's request, he had examined Huo Yu'er's Spirit Eye Martial Soul and concluded that it had no potential for a Second Awakening of her Body Martial Soul, and that she wasn't worth cultivating. He had never noticed any signs that Huo Yu'er might awaken a second Martial Soul.
Qian Duoduo, seated at the far end, hesitated before slowly getting to his feet.
"Esteemed elders, Huo Yu'er had already become Fan Yu's disciple before this. Not only did she become a Level 2 Soul Engineer in eight months, but the Soul Guidance Department also intends to implement the Ultimate Soldier Plan with her."
Originally, Huo Yu'er had only had one Martial Soul, the Spirit Eye, and her First Soul Ring was a Ten-Year Soul Ring. Although she was a core disciple of the Martial Soul Department, she hadn't been highly valued, so the Soul Guidance Department still had a chance to bring her over.
But now that Huo Yu'er had awakened such a powerful Second Martial Soul, if they didn't speak up now, they would never get another chance.
Yan Shaozhe looked at Qian Duoduo in shock. He wanted to curse him out, but remembering that they were at a Sea God Pavilion Meeting, he forced down his displeasure. "Dean Qian, that's not very honorable of you. Huo Yu'er is already a core disciple of the Martial Soul Department. How can you just snatch her away from us?"
Xian Lin'er, sitting beside Qian Duoduo, couldn't keep still. With her temper, she wouldn't swallow her anger. "Yan Shaozhe, stop making baseless accusations. Yu'er became Fan Yu's disciple before she was chosen as a core disciple of the Martial Soul Department."
"That doesn't matter. She's a core disciple of the Martial Soul Department, not the Soul Guidance Department," Yan Shaozhe said unhurriedly. The Martial Soul Department was already stronger than the Soul Guidance Department at Shrek Academy, and in this matter, the Martial Soul Department had every right to claim her.
Unable to stand Yan Shaozhe's attitude, Xian Lin'er immediately slammed the table and rose to her feet. "That's only because the Soul Guidance Department can't choose its core disciples until three years later. Pavilion Master, if the Ultimate Soldier Plan can't be carried out with Huo Yu'er, Dean Qian and I are willing to resign."
Elder Lin, Xian Lin'er's mother, frowned from her seat at the head of the right-hand row and stopped her. "Lin'er, don't be unreasonable."
Seeing her mother, Xian Lin'er obediently sat back down.
"There's no need to worry about the backgrounds of these two children. Though I don't know where these two little monsters appeared from, neither of them is wicked."
Hearing this, Yan Shaozhe and Qian Duoduo obediently sat down. Mu En continued, "As for Huo Yu'er's education, since she managed to keep up with both Martial Soul cultivation and Soul Tool studies over the past year, let her serve both departments. If she can't manage both later, she can choose for herself."
Yan Shaozhe wanted to say more, but then he thought of Lin Shuo being in the Martial Soul Department, and the corners of his mouth curled up. He had heard a few rumors about the relationship between those two children.
"Since no one has any objections, let's end the meeting."
Seeing that no one had any objections, Mu En ended the meeting at once.
"Seven-Colored Dragon King, Water Dragon King, Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King..." Left alone, Mu En lay back in his chair and sank into thought.
A True Dragon Martial Soul with an Ultimate Attribute—he could only think of Beast God Di Tian. Could there be a connection between them? And what connection did the Seven-Colored Dragon King, who could wield multiple elements, have with those two?
Mu En shook his head. At least he could be sure that both of them were human, and that was enough.
The notice that Huo Yu'er had become a core disciple of both the Martial Soul Department and the Soul Guidance Department was soon delivered to her. But nothing changed in the lives of Lin Shuo and the two girls.
After Huo Yu'er finished her Soul Guidance Department advancement assessment, Wang Dong'er came to Lin Shuo and Huo Yu'er carrying three sheets of gold-embossed red paper.
"Lin Shuo, Yu'er, look what I've got."
Lin Shuo took one of the red sheets and glanced at it.
"The Treasure Appreciation Fair?" Huo Yu'er looked at Wang Dong'er in confusion.
"It's a Treasure Appreciation Fair for core disciples. Shrek City is the continent's commercial center, so all sorts of rare treasures often make their way here." Wang Dong'er explained it to Huo Yu'er.
"Lin Shuo, Yu'er, this is tonight's Treasure Appreciation Fair. Do you want to go?" Wang Dong'er asked them both, but she was only looking at Lin Shuo.
From spending time with Lin Shuo, it was clear that the items at the academy's Treasure Appreciation Fair might not even be as valuable as the things he already had.
"Let's go take a look. If there's nothing good, we can just enjoy the show." Lin Shuo's lazy voice rang out. Hearing his answer, Huo Yu'er nodded in agreement.
After the three of them had dinner, they headed toward the Treasure Gathering Pavilion.
Four young women in long dresses stood on each side of the Treasure Gathering Pavilion's entrance. When Wang Dong'er saw them, she had wanted to cover Lin Shuo's eyes, but after noticing the difference in their heights, she silently lowered her hand.
Seeing this, Lin Shuo looked at Wang Dong'er with amusement. "You really are a little kid."
Wang Dong'er immediately jumped up at that. "Lin Shuo, who are you calling a little kid?"
"Whoever gets worked up is the little kid." Lin Shuo teased Wang Dong'er as usual.
When the three arrived at the Treasure Gathering Pavilion, one of the eight young women stepped forward. "Are you three Soul Masters here for the Treasure Gathering Pavilion?"
After the three handed over their invitations, the smile on the young woman's face grew gentler. "Please follow me, honored Soul Masters." As she spoke, she gestured for them to follow and walked ahead.