You're Still Alive, Xuan Zi?

"Respect? You have to earn that yourself."

"Yan Shaozhe, how do you have the nerve to say that? Tell me, if Tian and the others weren't disciples of my Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, but ordinary students, how would you have treated them?"

The Illusion Douluo snorted. Her words left Yan Shaozhe speechless, his aging face twitching despite himself.

He knew that from today on, his authority as dean of Shrek Academy's Martial Soul Department would take a serious hit.

But he also knew he had no one else to blame. From beginning to end, they had been in the wrong.

"Senior, I admit I handled yesterday's matter poorly. Shrek Academy and I are willing to take responsibility."

"But this isn't the place to talk. Please come to the Sea God Pavilion so we can discuss it."

After a pause, Yan Shaozhe added,

"Rest assured, there's no ambush."

The Illusion Douluo snorted but did not refuse.

After all, who discussed the exact amount of compensation while hovering in midair?

Meanwhile, someone knocked on the door of the room where Jiang Yu and the other two were staying.

When they opened it, Zhang Lexuan stood outside in green robes, looking almost otherworldly. She smiled.

"You three, would you like to visit the Sea God Pavilion?"

The Sea God Pavilion?

The three of them froze, then nodded without hesitation.

They followed a bluestone path uphill. Ancient trees over a century old rose on every side, their sprawling crowns blocking most of the sunlight. Yet beneath them, the path did not feel dim.

Near the mountaintop, a three-story building about ten meters tall came into view.

The building was brown and made entirely of wood, plain and weathered with age. On closer inspection, its timber had an almost oily sheen.

A black plaque hung above the entrance, bearing three gilded characters: Sea God Pavilion.

Surprise appeared in Ning Tian's and Wu Feng's eyes.

It was not that the Sea God Pavilion looked impressive. It looked far too plain.

Without someone to point it out, even the mightiest experts on the continent would struggle to imagine that the renowned Sea God Pavilion looked like this.

Inside, every furnishing was wooden. The place felt just as simple and old-fashioned as it had from outside.

Before Jiang Yu and the others even reached the spacious first-floor hall, they heard the Illusion Douluo's displeased voice.

"Yan Shaozhe, is Shrek Academy a gathering place for beggars? You think a few measly pills will settle something this serious? Do you think I'm as brainless as those fools you strung along like dogs back then?"

"Oh? What do you mean, you just didn't hide it well enough and got caught?"

"Useless. You couldn't even manage your time properly. No wonder you're nearly a hundred and still only at level ninety-five. You're an embarrassment to Mu En."

As soon as the four entered the hall, the first thing they noticed was Yan Shaozhe's face shifting between pale and livid.

Zhang Lexuan shook her head helplessly.

She had asked around the previous night and discovered that the Illusion Douluo had once studied at Shrek Academy. She had even been one of that generation's Shrek Seven Devils.

What did that mean?

It meant the Illusion Douluo knew Shrek Academy's senior figures even better than they did. After all, her contemporaries included Elder Song of the Azure Shadow Divine Eagle and Elder Zhuang of the Tree of Life, both now elders of Shrek Academy.

If the Illusion Douluo had chosen to stay at the academy, one of the first four seats on the Sea God Pavilion council would certainly be hers today.

Outmatched in seniority, strength, and cultivation, Dean Yan Shaozhe might as well have been a raw recruit.

When the Illusion Douluo spotted Jiang Yu and the other two, she beckoned them over. They obediently approached and let her examine them from head to toe.

Once she was certain none of them was hurt, she turned back to Yan Shaozhe and said coldly,

"The compensation will be exactly as I said. Each child gets one premium Soul Bone at least ten thousand years old. If even one is missing, you'll answer to me. And those pills you just mentioned? I'll take twenty of each to start."

"Three premium Soul Bones over ten thousand years old?" Before Yan Shaozhe could process that demand, her next words hit him even harder.

"Twenty of every kind of pill? Do you plan to eat those priceless pills like they're meals?"

"No. Absolutely not."

Yan Shaozhe refused at once.

Shrek Academy had a long history and a stockpile of Soul Bones. Producing three Ten Thousand Year Soul Bones would not be difficult. The problem was the word premium.

Only complete Soul Bones from Soul Beasts with powerful bloodlines qualified as premium. They accounted for less than a fifth of all Soul Bones.

Even with Shrek Academy's deep reserves, handing over three such Soul Bones at once would be a tremendous loss.

And that was before the twenty of each kind of precious pill.

At Yan Shaozhe's refusal, the Illusion Douluo slammed her palm on the table and roared,

"Yan Shaozhe, I'm telling you what you owe us, not negotiating. If you don't hand over the compensation I demanded today, you'll answer to me!"

"Senior, you have to be reasonable..."

Yan Shaozhe's face twisted. Resentment churned inside him, but he did not dare show a trace of it.

He knew the woman before him would start a fight the moment talks broke down.

"Reasonable?" The Illusion Douluo laughed in fury. "Yan Shaozhe, you ###."

Yan Shaozhe: "..."

Just as Yan Shaozhe was about to buckle, a voice came from a corridor beside the hall.

"Ning, stop picking on a youngster like Yan Shaozhe. If you've got something to say, come talk to me."

An old man appeared in the hall as the voice faded.

Against the bright, spacious hall, he looked decidedly shabby. What had once been a white robe was so filthy it had turned grayish brown, and it was torn in several places. His hair was a tangled mess.

Strangely, though he looked disheveled and old, his eyes were exceptionally bright. They were crimson, and while not as startling as Wu Feng's red eyes, they still had a piercing intensity.

Yan Shaozhe, who had been close to buckling under the Illusion Douluo's pressure, breathed a sigh of relief at the old man's arrival. He stood.

"Xuan Zi."

Xuan Zi nodded and looked at the Illusion Douluo. She met his gaze without the slightest fear and immediately said,

"Xuan Zi, you're still alive?"

Xuan Zi: "..."

"Go on, get out of here. I'll still be alive after you're dead. All these years, and your tongue's as sharp as ever."

Xuan Zi grumbled, then pulled out the first chair to the left of the main seat and sat down.

He set his oversized gourd aside and continued,

"Ning, Yan Shaozhe and the academy were at fault. But isn't the compensation you're demanding a little greedy? Your three youngsters are fine, aren't they?"

"How about we each give a little? The academy will give you one premium Soul Bone, plus a Soul Ascension Pill and a Soul Refining Pill for each of the three youngsters. In six years, all three can enter the Inner Court without conditions. Will that settle this?"