As Bei Dexun stopped, Mu Huang also reined in his fighting spirit. But when Bei Dexun removed his Battle Armor faceplate, revealing his livid face, he said, "You can have the Secret of the Body back."
Mu Huang was in no hurry. He dusted off his fist and drawled, "Pavilion Master Bei, one thing is one thing. Before we fought, I only wanted the Secret of the Body. But since you're the one asking for a truce now, we need to discuss some additional compensation."
"Compensation?" Bei Dexun's eyelid twitched. "Sect Master Mu, I have already agreed to return the Secret of the Body. What more do you have to say?"
"Pavilion Master Bei, that's not right." Mu Huang raised a finger and slowly wagged it. "That thing was mine to begin with. You people held onto it for ten thousand years, studied it and copied it in the meantime, and now you think one word of 'returning' it is enough to dismiss me? Is my Body Sect's dignity really that cheap?"
The corner of Bei Dexun's eye twitched. He had a feeling he knew what bullshit Mu Huang was about to spew.
Sure enough—
"The principal must be returned, and the interest must be settled too." Mu Huang smiled amiably. "Three Soul Bones: one Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone and two Superior Ten Thousand Year Soul Bones. Consider them Shrek Academy's 'storage fee' for the past ten thousand years."
The entire place fell silent.
Elder Mu nearly failed to catch his breath and almost keeled over on the spot. "Mu Huang! This is extortion!"
"Extortion? How unpleasant." Mu Huang corrected him with a chuckle. "This is called war reparations."
Bei Dexun's temples throbbed wildly. He had lived for more than a hundred years. What storms had he not weathered?