The Three Days Are Up, the Meeting Begins

At a tea stall not far ahead, several young people in the standard fitted uniforms of the Inquisitorial Legion sat gathered around a table.

They all looked to be in their early twenties, still carrying a trace of travel-worn dust about them. Clearly, they had only recently returned from outside as well.

Chen Xuan did not approach them. Instead, he stopped beside a small stall selling sugar figurines, pretending to pick one out while pricking up his ears.

"Brother Dao Ming, I never expected you to be back too."

A round-faced young man set down his tea bowl, sounding somewhat emotional.

"You were carrying out a mission as far away as the Dou Ling Empire, yet you still made it back."

The young man called Brother Dao Ming sighed and gave a bitter smile.

"What else could I do? The Titled Elder in charge over there personally led us back.

He said it was Elder Xuan Zi's order: all Inquisitorial Legion members stationed outside had to return immediately. How could I disobey?"

Another person beside him chimed in, "Not just you. Before we left, that marshal tried his hardest to keep us there."

"Heh." Dao Ming sneered. "That was not the face he showed when we first arrived.

He could not have made us feel less welcome. He practically said outright that we were interfering with their military affairs.

They guarded against us all day like we were thieves. Then when we were really leaving, he put on that reluctant act. What a joke."

"Exactly." The round-faced young man snorted as well. "It was the same on our side. We helped them put down their mess, and we did not even get a proper word of thanks.

When the higher-ups questioned them, they even said we were meddling too much. Well, now we are all back. They can manage things however they like."

Dao Ming lifted his tea bowl, then set it down again and let out a heavy sigh. "Even coming back is a headache. I never thought we would have to learn Soul Tools."

"Just learn them." A slightly younger youth beside him seemed quite easygoing. With a sugar figurine in his mouth, he spoke indistinctly.

"Anyway, we do not have to pay for it ourselves. The academy covers everything, and we get equipment for free. Might as well learn it."

"You really do take things in stride." Dao Ming shook his head. "I have dealt with martial souls since I was little. Now you want me to fiddle with those lumps of iron? Just thinking about it gives me a headache."

"Headache or not, you still have to learn. Haven't you heard? If you do not pass the Soul Tool exams in the future, you will not be allowed to graduate, much less take missions."

"Then I will not take missions. I can rest for a couple of years."

"Is this just about resting for two years? You will not be allowed to graduate. We already made it into the Inner Court. If we really cannot graduate in the end, how humiliating would that be?"

Chen Xuan listened from the side without changing his expression, though inwardly, he nodded.

These children might be complaining, but they still understood what mattered.

Those saying they could just rest were not truly unambitious. They had simply suffered too much pent-up frustration outside and were unhappy about it.

He slowly walked away from the sugar-figurine stall without letting those young people notice him.

"Take it slowly," he murmured. "Once you have tasted the benefits, you will stop complaining about headaches."

He wandered around for more than an hour before the sky had darkened. Lanterns had begun to light up along the streets, making the whole city even noisier and more prosperous beneath their glow.

Standing on a small bridge, he looked at the lights on both sides of the river and suddenly felt very calm.

Ever since coming to this world, he had constantly been calculating, making arrangements, scolding people, and changing rules. The string in his mind had never loosened.

But only now, standing amid the living warmth of this world, did he truly feel that he was really standing here, alive.

Every blade of grass and every tree here was real.

The children on the streets, the flowing water beneath the bridge, and the fragrance of wine from the shops were all real.

The people he wanted to protect were real as well.

He tipped back his head and took another sip of peach wine. The sweetness traveled down his throat, warming his stomach.

"Take it slowly." Looking at the distant lights, he said softly, "This old man will still be around to see this world for many years."

The night breeze blew across the river, stirring his grizzled hair.

He hung the wine gourd back at his waist, turned, descended the bridge, and slowly headed toward Shrek Academy.

Two days passed in the blink of an eye.

Chen Xuan went nowhere during those two days. Other than eating and sleeping, he stayed in the quiet room poring over that old account book. The more he read, the colder his expression became.

On the morning of the third day, he washed his face, changed into a clean elder's robe, gathered the scattered documents on the table, and strode out.

The meeting he had initiated was about to begin. The things he wanted had to be brought into the open today.

When Chen Xuan arrived at the entrance to the Sea God Pavilion's meeting hall, he happened to see Elder Song approaching from the corridor on the other side.

Elder Song was still dressed simply. Her gray-white hair was combed flawlessly, and she leaned on an unremarkable old wooden cane.

When she saw Chen Xuan, her steps paused slightly, and a rare trace of surprise appeared in her eyes.

"Xuanzi?" Elder Song looked him over. "You organized today's meeting?"

Chen Xuan grinned. "What, does it not look like me?"

Elder Song shook her head. "Whether it looks like you is another matter. In all my years, this is the first time I have seen you take the initiative to call a Sea God Pavilion meeting.

Has the sun risen in the west?"

Chen Xuan laughed heartily. "Sometimes I have to do some proper work too."

Elder Song said no more and walked inside.

Chen Xuan followed her in, only to find that the meeting hall was far more crowded than usual today.

Because all Inquisitorial Legion members stationed throughout the Douluo Three Kingdoms had been forcibly recalled over the past few days, quite a few elders stationed outside had returned as well.

Other than those still maintaining the balance in the three original kingdoms, as well as those far away in the Sun Moon Empire, nearly all the other elders had arrived.

Beyond the Sea God Pavilion's nine core elders, more than twenty external elders had also come, filling the hall in a dense mass.

Chen Xuan swept his gaze over them and secretly clicked his tongue.

Shrek was still terrifying.

Even without everyone present, more than thirty Titled-level powerhouses had gathered in the hall.

If they all truly came together, the number might approach fifty.

This was high-level combat power displayed openly before them, not even counting the hidden operatives and stationed experts remaining in the three original kingdoms and the Sun Moon Empire.

If I were the ruler of one of the three original kingdoms, I would be afraid too, Chen Xuan muttered inwardly. Too bad I am not.

No wonder the three original kingdoms both respected and feared Shrek, unable to do without it while guarding against it so closely.

With such strength, whoever sat on the throne would have to sleep with one eye open.

Mu En was already seated at the head of the hall, his eyes half-closed as though resting.

Elder Song sat below Mu En, leaning her old wooden cane against her side, her expression calm.

Elder Lin sat by the window with a cup of tea in hand. Seeing Chen Xuan enter, she raised her cup toward him from afar in greeting.

Chen Xuan nodded to her. Just as he was about to go over and speak with her, another gray-robed figure strolled in through the side door.

It was Elder Zhuang.

Elder Zhuang rarely attended discussions of this sort. His presence today was already a tremendous show of respect to Mu En and Chen Xuan.

After entering, he first cupped his hands toward Mu En, then glanced at Chen Xuan. With a humorless smile, he snorted.

"I was wondering who had turned the Sea God Pavilion upside down. So it was you, you old bastard."