Sea God Pavilion meeting room.
When Yan Jingzhe pushed the door open and entered, several pavilion elders were already seated.
In the center of the wide hall stood a long table. Mu En sat at the head in the main seat, his pitch-black hair neatly combed, and the teacup in front of him still emitted wisps of heat.
Xuan Zi sat on his right side, holding a chicken drumstick in his hand and continuously feeding it to his mouth.
Elder Song sat on the left, her eyes slightly closed to rest her mind, and her fingertips tapped gently on the table, indicating that she was not truly resting.
Elder Lin and Elder Zhuang, the remaining two, also sat quietly in their seats waiting.
Yan Jingzhe walked over to his own seat and sat down. Xian Lin'er, Feng Ling, and Yan Shaozhe took their seats beside him in turn.
After receiving the message, Vice Master of the Martial Soul Department Cai Meier hurried over from the Inner Court and sat next to Yan Shaozhe.
Once everyone was present, the heavy doors behind them were gently pulled shut.
"Jingzhe, you called for a Sea God Pavilion meeting the moment you returned. Could it be that something happened along the way?" Mu En spoke first from the main seat.
"Yes, Teacher." Without pausing, Yan Jingzhe spoke directly, "It was Dragon Emperor Douluo Long Xiaoyao. He intercepted me on our return journey."
As soon as these words were spoken, the atmosphere inside the room instantly quieted down, and Xuan Zi and the others looked at each other in dismay.
In their generation, who didn't know the sheer weight of this name?
Long Xiaoyao—a ninety-ninth-rank Limit Douluo, with the Dark Sacred Dragon martial soul. He was a top-tier powerhouse of the same renown as Mu En back in the day, who had vanished from the continent without a trace for decades. Yet now he suddenly popped up, so the matter was definitely not simple.
"Was he targeting you? Or was he after the soul beast embryo?" Mu En spoke with a complicated expression regarding Long Xiaoyao, his good brother from their youth.
"He was targeting me," Yan Jingzhe replied, "He said he was entrusted by someone to come and test the strength of a newly advanced Limit Douluo like me, and he had no intention of fighting to the death. After I exchanged blows with him head-on twice and confirmed my strength, he simply slipped away."
"So Jingzhe, do you mean that there is a powerful force behind him?" Lin Huiqun, Elder Lin at the side, spoke with a solemn expression. As the Pavilion Master of the Treasure-Gathering Pavilion of Shrek Academy, with Treasure-Gathering Pavilion branches spread across the entire continent, he was personally responsible for Shrek's external intelligence work. Now, for such a powerful force to have gone undiscovered—this was indeed a dereliction of duty on his part.
"Yes, Elder Lin, and this faction is called the Holy Spirit Cult, an organization formed by a group of Evil Soul Masters." Yan Jingzhe said something startling.
He didn't hide it and stated the information in his mind regarding the Evil Soul Master organization.
"An Evil Soul Master organization? Impossible! The moment Evil Soul Masters appear on the continent, they are wiped out by our Shrek Inspection Corps. How could they possibly form a massive organization?" Xuan Zi stopped even eating the chicken drumstick in his hand, stood up, and argued with a flushed face and anxious eyes.
It was no wonder Xuan Zi was anxious; as the commander of the Shrek Inspection Corps, his very duty was to eradicate Evil Soul Masters. Yet now someone was telling him that Evil Soul Masters had organized themselves into a massive collective right under his nose—who wouldn't panic upon hearing that?
"Alright, Xuan Zi, sit down first." Mu En frowned slightly and spoke.
Seeing Mu En speak, Xuan Zi reluctantly sat back down with a disgruntled expression.
"In that case, Huiqun, leave this matter to you to investigate. Focus your efforts on the Sun Moon Empire side; I suspect the Holy Spirit Cult is hiding within it." Mu En said in a deep voice to Elder Lin.
"Understood, Elder Mu. I will investigate this matter personally." Lin Huiqun also replied with a solemn expression.
"Mm." Mu En nodded and asked again, "Jingzhe, what was the outcome of your exchange with him?"
Hearing Mu En's question, the others likewise cast curious gazes toward Yan Jingzhe.
Yan Jingzhe smiled faintly at the corner of his mouth: "By a stroke of luck, I won by a hair."
Xuan Zi, Elder Song, and the others moved their lips, wanting to say something, but swallowed it back, and in the end could only nod. After all, the impact of this matter on them was simply too immense—a long-famed Limit Douluo couldn't beat someone who had just recently advanced...
Xian Lin'er and Feng Ling also looked at Yan Jingzhe with eyes full of adoration.
Yan Shaozhe likewise wore an expression of undisguised pride.
"There is one more matter," Yan Jingzhe continued, "When I was fighting Long Xiaoyao, he wasn't the only one at the scene."
"Who else?" Mu En asked.
"Jin Peng, Great Elder of the Body Sect," Yan Jingzhe said flatly. "He had been hiding in the dark watching the battle, and only came out after I called him out. He said he had no hostility and was just passing by, but I doubt it. They should have been interested in my disciple Huo Yuhao and the soul beast embryo, and also wanted to come and see what my strength was like."
"That should be the case, but there's no need to worry. The Body Sect is nothing to be feared for now." Mu En affirmed. "Right, Jingzhe, how do you plan to handle that soul beast embryo?"
"Teacher, esteemed pavilion elders, I need this embryo." Yan Jingzhe hesitated for a moment before speaking truthfully. "I am currently researching something that can change the entire soul master system—a method to obtain soul rings without hunting soul beasts, while allowing soul beasts to survive in another way without affecting their lifespan and strength. I call it the Soul Spirit Method, and this embryo is a crucial link in it."
As soon as these words were spoken, the meeting room fell silent for a long time.
Not having to hunt soul beasts, not affecting the lifespan and growth of soul beasts, and soul masters still being able to obtain soul rings—if this matter could truly be accomplished, the foundation of the soul master world across the entire Douluo Continent would be rewritten.
The pavilion elders, including Mu En, looked at Yan Jingzhe in shock. No one rushed to speak, as if they were digesting information weighty enough to change the entire Douluo world.
"Yan Jingzhe, are you certain that the research you speak of is real? And that you have a certain degree of certainty?" Mu En took the lead, speaking in a stern tone. "If you simply want this soul beast embryo, you don't need to tell such lies. I can make the executive decision to hand it over to you for disposal."
Looking at Mu En's stern expression, warmth welled up in Yan Jingzhe's heart, knowing that his teacher was doing this to protect his reputation. He said in a deep voice, "Teacher, my research is real, and I have a certain degree of confidence of success. Please rest assured."
"Good." Mu En smiled with gratification, pondered for a moment, and said, "This matter has too great an impact on the continent. If manpower and resources are needed, Shrek Academy can lend its full support. The pavilion elders have no objections, right?"
"None." The pavilion elders were no fools; they knew this matter would have a tremendous impact on the continent, and their Shrek Academy had to stand at the very forefront of the storm to seize the world's first share of the spoils.
Next, the pavilion elders began to discuss in low voices how to head to the Sun Moon Empire to investigate the Holy Spirit Cult. Some said to directly dispatch Titled Douluos to investigate, while others suggested first sending ordinary people to scout the winds.
Listening to these discussions without interrupting, Yan Jingzhe calculated his upcoming arrangements inwardly. Electrolux's deductions regarding advancing the Soul Spirit Method should be nearly finished by now; it was time to persuade the Snow Empress to become my second martial soul and soul spirit. When the time comes, I'll call Yuhao over and let the Ice Empress persuade her from the side.
Once successful, he could bring out the Spirit Pagoda and begin gathering the power of faith from the soul beasts of the Great Star Dou Forest.
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