Demand an Explanation from Mu En!

"I think there must be some misunderstanding between us."

"This old man has never intended to harm this young friend. I only wished to bring him to Shrek because I could not bear to see such a brilliant gem buried in dust, and wanted to help him fully realize his talent!"

"This should be a good thing for both sides. Why take matters this far?"

Listening to Mu En's words, Xu Tianming sneered inwardly.

This old bastard had acted utterly arrogant when his uncle and second brother had not yet arrived, as though the entire Sun Moon Empire meant nothing to him.

Now that he saw the Sun Moon Empire had truly been enraged, Mu En could only take the initiative to offer an olive branch in order to quell its anger and prevent the conflict from escalating further.

Yet before Xu Tianran or Kong Deming could respond, Xu Tianming beside him spoke first.

"So now I'm supposed to thank an old bastard like you for your kindness?"

His tone remained utterly impolite, but this time, Mu En showed no displeasure. Instead, he asked gently, "It seems, young friend, that you harbor considerable dissatisfaction toward me, or perhaps toward Shrek Academy... Can you tell me why? If there is a misunderstanding, this old man can step in and help resolve it."

Yet Xu Tianming still wore a cold smile when he heard this.

"If you old man truly want to resolve this misunderstanding, shouldn't you first remove the soul power suppression you have on me?"

As an Ultimate Douluo, Mu En naturally knew what he should and should not do.

The reason he had continued suppressing Xu Tianming with his soul power was because he had already made up his mind to bring this boy back to Shrek Academy. He had not released his restraints because he feared Xu Tianming would hide under the protection of the Sun Moon Empire's powerful figures, making it more troublesome for him to take him back to Shrek Academy.

But upon careful thought, now that the Sun Moon Empire's experts had stepped in, his earlier idea of acting first and explaining later was no longer feasible.

He had to bring the boy back to Shrek Academy.

But the method could be adjusted somewhat.

Since force would not work, he could try a softer approach.

With that thought, Mu En stroked his long beard and smiled warmly. "Sigh, this old man is getting on in years. I actually forgot about that for a moment. I hope you will not take offense, young friend."

As soon as he finished speaking, Xu Tianming sensed the soul power pressure restraining his movements vanish.

He naturally knew Mu En was talking nonsense, but he could not be bothered to expose him.

Before one of the strongest people in the world, trivial matters would hardly have any effect. If he wanted to seize the initiative in negotiations, he first had to grasp the other man's weakness.

"Old man, are you absolutely determined to take me back to Shrek Academy? If you leave now, I can persuade my second brother not to pursue Shrek Academy's transgressions today. We can let this matter end here. How about it?"

Upon hearing Xu Tianming's words, Xu Tianran instinctively wanted to say something, but before he could open his mouth, Kong Deming beside him stopped him.

"Don't rush. Let's hear Tianming out first."

Xu Tianran naturally did not want to reconcile with Shrek Academy so easily. After being provoked like this, if they could not even obtain a satisfactory amount of resource compensation in the end, where would the Sun Moon Empire's dignity go?

But since Kong Deming had spoken, he could only comply for the moment.

Xu Tianming's words made Mu En fall silent for a moment.

Old and shrewd as he was, Mu En naturally understood what Xu Tianming was trying to do with those words.

If he openly admitted that he truly wanted to bring Xu Tianming back to Shrek Academy, then he would certainly lose the initiative in the negotiations that followed.

But after thinking it over, as long as he could bring this boy back to Shrek Academy, it did not matter if he had to give up some benefits.

After all, one had to think broadly and look far ahead. He could not ruin the bigger picture over temporary gains and losses!

"You really are a crafty little brat... Fine. This old man will be frank. I truly must bring you back to Shrek Academy. If you have any requests, feel free to name them. As long as they are not excessive, this old man will do everything in his power to satisfy them."

Mu En's words were equivalent to giving Xu Tianming a reassuring guarantee.

In fact, after calming down and thinking carefully about it,

going to Shrek Academy might not necessarily be a bad thing, provided he could secure enough benefits and privileges.

After all, some valuable things on this continent could only be obtained within the territory controlled by Shrek Academy. Since he now had a chance to go to Shrek Academy openly, Xu Tianming naturally had to secure ample benefits for himself in advance.

"As for what requests I have, let's put that aside for now. It is not impossible for me to go to Shrek Academy, but I have serious doubts about what sort of organization your Shrek Academy truly is. Could you, old man, first give me a satisfactory explanation?"

Seeing that Xu Tianming had not shut the door completely, Mu En let out a breath of relief.

As long as he had not directly refused, there was still room for negotiation. And as long as they could negotiate, everything could be discussed.

"Then speak plainly, young friend. What kind of explanation do you need this old man to give?"

Seeing Mu En's attitude, Xu Tianming grew more confident and directly looked toward his bedroom.

"Come out. Meet the elders of your academy."

Hearing this, Mu En curiously extended his spiritual power in the direction Xu Tianming was looking.

Mu En's appearance today had actually been nothing more than a coincidence.

He had originally intended to sneak into the Hall of Virtue and inspect how far the Sun Moon Empire's most advanced soul tools had developed.

But just after entering Mingdu, he happened to sense a familiar wave of soul power coming from the direction of Prince Yan's Palace.

Though the palace's defensive formation had been activated, it could not conceal itself from the perception of an Ultimate Douluo.

Thus, driven by curiosity, Mu En silently appeared high above the palace, just in time to witness the battle between Xu Tianming and Ma Xiaotao.

When he saw Ma Xiaotao take the initiative to embrace her evil fire, Mu En had wanted to stop her. But after considering it, he felt that since this was Ma Xiaotao's own choice, he might as well respect her fate. As the saying went, one could find life in the face of death. Perhaps this girl might even turn misfortune into fortune through this opportunity.

Yet he had never expected Xu Tianming to give him such an enormous surprise.

With only the strength of four rings, he had defeated Ma Xiaotao, whose strength was equivalent to six rings, by fighting above his level.

Such terrifying talent and combat power would have been a once-in-a-century, perhaps even once-in-a-millennium rarity even within Shrek Academy!

If this boy were allowed to grow freely in the Sun Moon Empire, he would absolutely become an extraordinary threat to the peace of the entire continent in the future.

It was precisely for this reason that Mu En insisted on bringing Xu Tianming back to Shrek Academy for training. In his view, this was also a contribution toward preserving peace on the continent.