That same evening, in Ming Capital.
The Great Saint Spirit sent someone to deliver a sealed envelope to Gu Mingyuan's residence. Gu Mingyuan broke the seal and tipped out an anonymous black-and-gold savings card, along with the deed to a large workshop in Ming Capital's western district.
Beneath the deed was a note Feng Ling had sent along. It contained only one line:
"You can start recruiting for your sect."
Shrek Academy.
Mu En took the copy of the proposal and scanned the row of seals at the bottom. He recognized several sects that had maintained close ties with Shrek for years, and his expression darkened.
"They all agreed willingly?"
Yan Shaozhe sighed, sounding somewhat helpless.
"Before the proposal arrived, I sent people to ask. The two sect masters who once studied in the Outer Court have already replied. They said outright that the Sun Moon Empire's supply terms for standardized soul tools were extremely generous this time. They really couldn't turn them down."
"However, they also mentioned in their letters that they hoped the academy would take part and help keep this assembly in check."
Bang!
Seated at the far end of the table, Xuan Zi suddenly raised his hand and slammed his purplish-red wine gourd onto the tabletop.
Several elders in the pavilion turned to look at him at once.
Xuan Zi's face was grim. "The Inspection Corps had barely withdrawn its assignments and recalled its people before the Sun Moon Empire started contacting the continent's sects with great fanfare."
"This whole affair reeks of something strange, from beginning to end. No matter how you look at it, it seems they're paving the way for the Holy Spirit Cult. Just how deeply have those Evil Soul Masters colluded with the Sun Moon Imperial Family?"
At his words,