To ensure Bei Bei's safety, the Shadow Guard did not chase after them.
Naturally, they had no idea what transpired between Tang Ya and Lin Chen.
Mu En could now be said to be bursting with questions.
How on earth did Tang Ya break through to the Soul Emperor tier in such a short span of time?
Even Evil Soul Masters couldn't pull off something like that; he needed an explanation.
And no matter what, it was necessary to hold a Sea God Pavilion Meeting today.
Because if Tang Ya carried the aura of an Evil Soul Master, Mu En would have struck her down as one long ago.
Yet, despite Mu En probing repeatedly, he detected no evil aura whatsoever on Tang Ya, which meant her strength hadn't been acquired through wicked means-making it all the more heaven-defying.
As for Tang Ya's identity, she was the Tang Sect Master. If she wasn't an Evil Soul Master, she could be utilized by Shrek.
The old Tang Ya had merely been a pretty face, but the current Tang Ya... if there were no issues, she deserved to be heavily nurtured by Shrek. Such a talent could not be buried, and only Shrek could nurture talent to the maximum extent.
At the Sea God Pavilion Meeting, Mu En sat in the main seat. It was an antique rosewood chair, its back carved with a coiled giant dragon.
Two pale-golden soul crystals were embedded where the dragon's eyes should be, casting a faint glow under the golden lights.
Mu En's body was hunched over, making him look like a decrepit old man on the verge of death, but his eyes were brighter than anyone else's present, as if they could see right through a person's heart.
The other Sea God Pavilion elders-Elder Zhuang, Elder Song, and Elder Lin-successively took their seats.
Elder Zhuang was a tall, thin old man in gray robes, sitting in the first seat to Mu En's left, his fingers tapping absentmindedly on the armrest.
Elder Song was a benevolent-looking elder with mixed-white hair and a ruddy complexion. His eyes were narrowed into slits, and it was impossible to tell what he was thinking.
Elder Lin was the youngest of the three, looking to be just over fifty years old, and exuded an aura of supreme elegance-truly worthy of someone who managed the Hundred Treasures Pavilion.
Yan Shaozhe, Cai Mei'er, and the others sat in the secondary seats.
Yan Shaozhe wore a solemn expression, glancing from time to time at Tang Ya and Lin Chen, who stood in the center of the hall.
Cai Mei'er frowned, her gaze sweeping back and forth over Tang Ya.
The entire Sea God Pavilion Meeting was exceedingly solemn; an oppressive atmosphere filled the air, and no one spoke.
Finally, everyone cast their gazes toward Tang Ya and Lin Chen.
"Explain."
Mu En spoke. His voice wasn't loud, but every word felt like it was hammering against people's hearts.
"That night."
"What did the two of you do?"
"You first."
Mu En looked at Lin Chen.
"You're an employee of Everywhere Express in the Star Luo Empire, and your recommendation letter came from Everywhere Express as well, but you're not just an ordinary escort. Tang Ya's changes started after she met you. What did you two do that night?"
When Mu En uttered those words, Bei Bei's fists clenched tightly. Like an impotent husband, his eyes were bloodshot and he breathed like an enraged bull.
He stared fixedly at Lin Chen, as if he wanted to tear him apart and swallow him alive.
"And Tang Ya."
Mu En's gaze shifted to Tang Ya.
"What on earth happened to you that night?"
"In the span of a single day, you broke through from the thirty-level Soul Elder to the sixty-level Soul Emperor-jumping three major ranks in a single night."
"Also, who hunted your soul ring for you?"
"There are too many questions. Let's take them one by one. I'll go first."
Lin Chen stepped forward, his tone casual.
"Even though I have no particular obligation to tell you these things, since I might be studying at your academy for three years in the future-"
"What an arrogant tone."
An elder sitting in a secondary seat let out a cold snort.
"It's still uncertain whether you can even pass our academy's entrance assessment."
"If a twelve-year-old Four-Ring Soul Ancestor can't even break through-"
Lin Chen said indifferently.
"Then your Shrek might as well stop recruiting people."
As soon as Lin Chen said those words, gasps echoed through the entire hall.
They had all reviewed Lin Chen's file beforehand and only knew he was a Soul Elder; how did he turn into a Soul Ancestor in the blink of an eye?
A twelve-year-old Soul Ancestor was truly something to be proud of-this was an absolute freak of nature.
Right now, however, the most important thing was Tang Ya's transformation. Compared to Lin Chen, Tang Ya, the Tang Sect Master, commanded much more of their attention, especially Mu En's.
"I can tell you, too."
Lin Chen shrugged.
"You've got to offer some benefits, though."
"If you're not going to give me any benefits at all, why should I tell you?"
"You're actually making demands?"
Yan Shaozhe was instantly speechless.
What kind of occasion was this?
Such a solemn and sacred occasion?
This was the Sea God Pavilion Meeting, yet this kid actually dared to bargain with them.
"What's wrong with making demands?"
Lin Chen wore a matter-of-fact expression.
"Was it I who wanted to come?"
"Wasn't it you people who forced me to come?"
"No matter how awesome your Shrek is, you don't have the qualification to interrogate good people, do you?"
"Are Tang Ya and I Evil Soul Masters?"
"Do we have any evil aura on us?"
"Are we Evil Martial Souls?"
Yan Shaozhe muttered inwardly:
"If you had an evil aura on you, and if you were an Evil Martial Soul, would we even need to hold a Sea God Pavilion Meeting?"
"We would've taken you down directly."
"Then what do you want?"
Mu En spoke indifferently.
"A bottle of Mystic Water Pill, and three Spirit-Raising Pills."
The moment Lin Chen said this, the entire hall was stunned, and everyone drew in a sharp breath of cold air.
"You kid are outright robbing us!"
Elder Zhuang couldn't hold back.
"I am robbing you."
Lin Chen looked at Mu En.
"Want to know the truth?"
"Then cough up a reward that makes my heart flutter."
"Give it to him."
Mu En didn't hesitate for even a fraction of a second.
Seeing this, Yan Shaozhe had no choice but to retrieve a bottle of Mystic Water Pill and three Spirit-Raising Pills from his Storage Soul Tool, handing them over to Lin Chen.
"Are you satisfied now?"
Yan Shaozhe said irritably.
"What on earth happened that night?"
"What did you do to Tang Ya?"
"Why did Tang Ya become like this?"
"Tell us everything, detail by detail."
"Actually, it's very simple."
Lin Chen stowed the medicinal pills into his Storage Soul Tool.
"Tang Ya and I were complete strangers; that day was our very first meeting."
As soon as Lin Chen said this, everyone was shocked, especially Bei Bei.
Someone he hadn't been able to warm up to in an entire year had been snatched away by Lin Chen in a single day. This was simply too despair-inducing.
"My martial soul,"
Lin Chen continued.
"can detect Evil Soul Masters. I sensed strange soul power fluctuations on Tang Ya and noticed anomalies in her martial soul, so I suspected she was an Evil Soul Master."
"That night, I brought her out of the camp, but after a careful check, I discovered she wasn't an Evil Soul Master at all-her martial soul simply possessed the function of absorbing life energy, which is worlds apart from an Evil Soul Master."
"What?"
Elder Song abruptly stood up.
"Tang Ya's Blue Silver Grass can devour life?"
"Isn't that just an Evil Soul Master?"
When Lin Chen dropped these words, everyone cast their gazes toward Tang Ya.
This was a direct self-exposure.
Before you continue