Faced with Xuan Zi's "extremely sincere" offer of compensation, Illusion Douluo refused to give him any face.
"Elder Xuan, with that little pittance you're offering, are you trying to fob off a beggar?"
Jiang Yu: "..."
As someone with six years of professional begging experience, Jiang Yu could tell you that fobbing off a beggar required no treasures like Soul Bones—just a few scraps of food. In fact, if you were willing to offer three big, fluffy steamed buns, they might even kowtow to you a few times.
At that, Xuan Zi leisurely took a sip of wine before replying:
"Little Ning, back when you were studying at the academy, I told you that you needed to learn to be content. Insatiable greed is hardly a good habit."
"I'm insatiably greedy?" Illusion Douluo pointed at herself, once again laughing in anger.
"Elder Xuan, have a conscience. Of all the things you mentioned, aside from the Soul Bone, what would actually benefit this child?"
As she spoke, Illusion Douluo pointed at Jiang Yu and the two girls, then continued:
"Of these three, aside from little Feng, who's only at rank twenty-eight because her talent is a bit lacking, her temperament is a bit lacking, and her dedication to cultivation is a bit lacking, aren't little Yu and little Tian both Soul Elders with solid foundations? Is getting into the Inner Court supposed to be difficult for them?"
"The Soul Ascension Pill would only be of some use to little Feng. As for that Soul Refining Pill, I've never even heard of the damn thing. How good could it possibly be?"
Wu Feng, who had innocently taken three verbal stabs in a row: ...
Was my devotion misplaced after all?
Xuan Zi looked a little embarrassed at her words, but before he could speak again, Illusion Douluo continued:
"Also, Elder Xuan, something you just said really pissed me off. What do you mean, 'Aren't all three of them fine?'"
"Let me tell you, Elder Xuan. Little Tian and the other two are the hope for our Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's revival. I'm sure you understand our sect's situation. If anything really had happened to them, I wouldn't be sitting here having a civil conversation with you."
By this point, Illusion Douluo's expression had actually calmed.
Yet the calmer she became, the more uneasy Xuan Zi and Yan Shaozhe felt.
They knew Illusion Douluo's fiery temper all too well. They weren't particularly afraid of her losing control and flying into a rage, but seeing someone so hot-tempered suddenly become eerily calm was rather frightening.
"Little Ning, we can negotiate the compensation. You..."
"Elder Xuan, do you know what I was thinking before I came here?"
Illusion Douluo interrupted Xuan Zi, then suddenly asked a question that seemed to have nothing to do with the negotiations.
Confusion crossed Xuan Zi's and Yan Shaozhe's faces, but her next words sent a chill down both their backs, teaching them once again what true madness meant.
"I was thinking that if something really had happened to little Tian and the other two, our Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect would have no successors. Another decline would be inevitable."
"If our Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect has to suffer, why should Shrek Academy, the culprit behind it all, continue to enjoy the reverence of everyone on the continent?"
As she spoke, a trace of madness crept into Illusion Douluo's expression.
That madness sent a tremor of fear through Jiang Yu and the two girls, let alone Xuan Zi and Yan Shaozhe, who already felt that something was wrong.
Seeing their reactions, Illusion Douluo gave them no chance to speak and continued:
"Before our ancestors Ning Rongrong and Oscar ascended, they left the sect a supreme treasure, passed down only from one Sect Master to the next. Their intention was for their descendants to use it to preserve our legacy should the sect face annihilation again. But if even our legacy couldn't be saved, we could also use it to take our enemies down with us."
"If I use that treasure, I can rise to the level of an Ultimate Douluo for a short time. Of course, an Ultimate Douluo forcibly elevated through outside power would be no match for Elder Mu."
"But if an Ultimate Douluo detonated herself along with a Divine Artifact containing the divine power of two gods and the Origin Soul Power that countless ancestors of the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect poured into it before their deaths, together with the hundreds of Fixed Soul Cannon Shells I brought, collected by our sect over thousands of years, I'm confident I could flatten all of Shrek Academy and most of Shrek City."
"Once Shrek Academy is destroyed or crippled, the Douluo Continent will surely descend into chaos. Turbulent times mean death and disorder, but they also mean opportunity. Amid that chaos, our Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect might have another chance to rise."
As she spoke, Illusion Douluo's lips curled into a smile. She looked across at Xuan Zi and Yan Shaozhe, whose expressions had utterly changed, then asked softly:
"Elder Xuan, Yan Shaozhe, what do you think?"
A threat. An utterly naked threat.
Yet even with Illusion Douluo's intentions so blatant, neither Xuan Zi nor Yan Shaozhe dared provoke her again.
Just as the two sides reached a stalemate, a soft sigh suddenly sounded in the ears of everyone in the hall.
The next instant, a gentle voice rang out:
"After all these years, that habit of yours—threatening to drag everyone down with you at the slightest provocation—really hasn't changed at all."
The gentle voice seemed to have the power to cleanse people's hearts. As it faded, even the light in the hall seemed to brighten, and much of the tense atmosphere dissolved.
An ancient-looking old man appeared out of thin air in the seat of honor, his yellowed yet bright eyes resting on the gathering.
"Teacher!" "Elder Mu!"
At the sight of Mu En, Yan Shaozhe and Illusion Douluo hurriedly rose and bowed.
Behind them, Ning Tian's and Wu Feng's eyes went wide, disbelief flickering across their faces.
Wasn't he the old gatekeeper outside the dormitory?
Why was he sitting in the Sea God Pavilion Master's seat?
Their strong reactions were understandable. Jiang Yu had only told them that the old gatekeeper possessed extraordinary strength, at least at the Titled Douluo level, and advised them to mind their manners around him. He hadn't said anything else.
Although this had given them a greater respect for Mu En, neither had ever imagined he held such a position.
After all, who would have thought the Sea God Pavilion Master would work as a gatekeeper in the Outer Court...
Just thinking about it made the world feel a little unreal...
Only when Jiang Yu and Zhang Lexuan tugged at Ning Tian and Wu Feng respectively did the two girls come to their senses and hurriedly offer respectful bows.
Mu En merely smiled faintly.
He disliked such tedious formalities, but he did have some interest in the three of them—or rather, in Jiang Yu.
Turning his gaze to the perfectly deferential Illusion Douluo, Mu En said gently:
"You're nearly a hundred and ninety years old now. Why are you still so impatient and hotheaded? If you could calm your heart, you would probably have reached Xuan Zi's level long ago."
Before Mu En, Illusion Douluo didn't quite dare display the fierce, sharp-tongued attitude she had shown Xuan Zi and Yan Shaozhe.
"Elder Mu, it's a matter of timing and fate. It's not as though I never tried to cultivate a calmer disposition. But after suppressing myself for so long, I found that it actually hindered my breakthrough. I don't have that many decades left anyway. Rather than keep tormenting myself, I might as well live comfortably. Perhaps one day, the right insight will come, and I'll break through."
Mu En smiled. "You certainly take it in stride. But that's not a bad thing. Beyond rank ninety-five, accumulating Soul Power becomes less important. What matters most is insight."
Illusion Douluo nodded, then sighed again:
"Elder Mu, surely you haven't appeared just to bargain me down as well?"
"Am I that sort of person?"
Mu En shook his head, then said:
"The academy agrees to the compensation you requested. This was an extraordinarily serious failure on the academy's part in its teaching duties. We will shirk none of our responsibilities, and we will certainly give the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect a satisfactory accounting."
At those words, Yan Shaozhe's expression stiffened, and he silently lowered his head.
Xuan Zi's expression barely changed. He continued quietly eating his chicken and drinking wine from his flask.
Mu En ignored them and continued:
"In addition to the compensation you requested, I will give you three guarantees."
Before you continue