Wang Dong Had No Backing

Gu Mingyuan reached out with his left hand and gently pressed two jade-like fingers against the tip of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda.

Ning Tian glanced at Wu Feng, whose face was full of frustration beyond the arena, then at Nanmen Yun'er, who was being held off in midair by Cao Jinxuan and the Earth Bear. She slowly lowered her hand and withdrew her martial soul.

"No need to keep fighting. We've lost this match."

Mu Jin walked to the center of the arena and announced, "Gu Mingyuan's team wins!"

Only then did the watching freshmen recover from the clash. Every gaze fell on the great crater Gu Mingyuan had punched into the center of the arena.

Quite a few of them swallowed.

If that punch had struck Wu Feng instead of the ground, she might have been laid up until the freshman assessment three months later.

Now they had truly seen what their temporary class monitor could do.

Mu Jin looked at the three winners, but she had no intention of showering them with praise. "You three are strong. Practice working together more often! Come to me whenever you need the arena, and I'll approve it!"

She paused, her gaze sweeping over Zhou Sichen and Cao Jinxuan.

"Don't celebrate too soon. You didn't win that match through teamwork. You won because Gu Mingyuan was overwhelmingly strong and because he caught Wu Feng rushing in for glory. Against a strong team with real coordination, that formation of yours was so full of holes you'd have been eliminated already!"

Late that night, on the western shore of Sea God Lake.

Gu Mingyuan sat cross-legged with his eyes closed, guiding the last wisp of cool moonlight into the space between his brows to balance the Purple Qi he had absorbed that morning. Cultivating the Purple Emperor Eyes was a matter of steady persistence, built on effort day after day.

He slowly opened his eyes as a breeze swept across the lake.

It was time to deal with the Holy Spirit Cult's lists.

He had to hand them over, but how he did it and what he put on them were entirely up to him.

Back in Dormitory 118, Zhou Sichen lay sprawled across his bed, snoring like thunder.

Gu Mingyuan sat at his desk and laid out paper and a brush by the moonlight streaming through the window.

For now, he could only write the first two lists.

The first: geniuses truly worth Shrek's investment.

That one was easy. He could write down people everyone already knew about.

He wrote Ning Tian and Wu Feng. After a moment's thought, he added Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu. His brush paused briefly before he added Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong as well.

The second: talented individuals without the protection of family or teachers.

Gu Mingyuan looked at the page and smiled silently. Without hesitation, he wrote down Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong again.

The Holy Spirit Cult wanted unaffiliated cultivators with no backing, people who would be easy to control.

As for the two he was handing over, he genuinely knew nothing about their backgrounds. He would leave the rest for the Holy Spirit Cult to investigate.

The Clear Sky Sect stood behind Wang Dong, and beyond that, the Divine Realm. Huo Yuhao was, at least for now, still a child of destiny. Whether the Holy Spirit Cult could swallow this generous gift was another matter.

Gu Mingyuan folded the lists, tucked them into his clothes, and turned off the Soul Tool Desk Lamp.

The next day, at the You Hour.

Gu Mingyuan arrived at South City Spring Return Pharmacy right on time.

The same gray-clad attendant from the day before yesterday opened the door. This time, he asked nothing. He shut the door, hung up the closed sign, and led Gu Mingyuan down to the secret chamber on the third underground level.

Gu Mingyuan felt he would have to get rid of the man sooner or later. Otherwise, there would always be a risk of his identity being exposed.

In the chamber, the attendant deftly cut his finger and let blood drip into the statue's groove. Red light flared, and the cold female voice descended once more with a phantom formed of spiritual power.

"You finished in just three days." The phantom's voice echoed through the room.

"I hope you really are that efficient."

Gu Mingyuan wasted no words and handed over the two sheets.

"These are the first two lists," Gu Mingyuan said.

"As for the third, the list of those expelled, only Freshman Class One has dismissed a few students so far. I haven't been able to learn their circumstances yet."

"Anyone who passed Shrek's entrance examination cannot be entirely without value," the phantom said coldly.

"I want their names, their martial souls, why they were expelled, and—who they hate most."

Gu Mingyuan nodded.

The phantom's gaze moved over the pages, pausing at one name.

"Huo Yuhao? Why would someone with such meager Soul Power be worth cultivating?"

"His Soul Power is low, but his spiritual power is extraordinary," Gu Mingyuan said without a change of expression. "And he harbors a great deal of hatred. People like him are the easiest to control."

The phantom fell silent for a moment, apparently accepting his reasoning, then asked, "So, of those worth cultivating who have no faction behind them, you've found only Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong?"

"Yes," Gu Mingyuan answered without hesitation. "I've heard of no backing for either of them, and no one at the academy looks after them."

The phantom nodded slowly, seeming reasonably satisfied with the lists.

"What reward do you want?"

"Gold Soul Coins," Gu Mingyuan said without hesitation.

No sooner had he spoken than the statue's base clicked and a hidden compartment sprang open. A gray Storage Ring lay inside.

"Two thousand are payment for the preliminary list. The remaining eight thousand are expenses for making contact with the people on the third list." The phantom's voice grew faint, carrying a warning. "Next time, I expect more than names. Submit the lists again after the freshman assessment."

The red light dimmed, and the phantom vanished completely.

Gu Mingyuan stepped forward and picked up the Storage Ring. A sweep of his spiritual power revealed ten thousand Gold Soul Coins stacked neatly inside. The Holy Spirit Cult was certainly generous when it came to money.

He had asked only for Gold Soul Coins because, of the items he had received in advance last time, the coins alone had been clean. Soul Tools were too easy to tamper with.

Gu Mingyuan took out all ten thousand Gold Soul Coins and transferred them to the storage belt he wore. Then he put the empty Storage Ring back into the hidden compartment exactly as he had found it.

As he left the pharmacy, Electrolux's aged voice sounded in his mind.

"There's nothing wrong with the coins, but a spiritual imprint is hidden in that ring. If you take it back to the academy, they'll be able to determine roughly where you are."

Gu Mingyuan kept walking and joined the flow of people on the main street.

"I expected as much."

That was how Evil Soul Masters operated. He had already destroyed the Soul Tool they had given him last time.

"How do you intend to use those ten thousand Gold Soul Coins?" Electrolux asked.

Gu Mingyuan stopped and looked up at the brightly lit Shrek City. Most of the freshmen expelled by Zhou Yi, Freshman Class One's homeroom teacher, on all manner of harsh grounds had yet to leave the city. They could hardly be feeling good about it.

"They're paying me to choose recruits for the Holy Spirit Cult." Gu Mingyuan patted the heavy coins at his waist, his eyes bright in the night.

"As for whether those people end up joining the Holy Spirit Cult or my Tang Sect—"

"That won't be up to them."