"Kid, stop playing with words and muddying the waters here!"
Yan Shaozhe slammed a hand down on the table and stood up.
"The might of the Star Dou Great Forest isn't something you can gauge. You don't understand anything!"
"Oh, I really don't understand anything."
Lin Chen laughed, his laughter loud and clear.
"Yet wasn't there a powerhouse just recently who crushed Di Tian head-on?"
"Looking at how you all flocked around in a panic, this powerhouse certainly wasn't cultivated by you lot, right?"
"Since that's the case, why are you still alive? You might as well just drop dead."
"You might as well shut down Shrek Academy."
"I reckon inviting that person over to guard the Star Dou Great Forest would probably make them stronger than you."
"We wouldn't have to look at the soul beasts' faces anymore, nor would we need to worry about the threat of a beast tide."
Lin Chen's words were nothing short of a fatal blow.
They left Yan Shaozhe completely speechless and utterly silenced.
He had just been talking about how formidable the strength of the Star Dou Great Forest was.
Yet Lin Chen turned right around and brought up that mysterious entity they had been discussing the entire time.
Namely, Madara Uchiha.
Since there existed a presence among humans capable of heavily injuring and crushing Di Tian, and that person wasn't cultivated by Shrek, then Shrek truly lost its reason for being.
For a moment, the entire Sea God Pavilion fell deathly silent, everyone left lost for words.
Yan Shaozhe glared at Lin Chen, and apart from stewing in sullen rage, there was nothing else he could do.
The sight of him made Lin Chen think of a certain meme.
Go ahead, hit me!
Still playing the cheeky scamp teasing the venerable old man.
This Shrek was far too weak. They fell apart after just a few rounds of exchange-there was no challenge at all!
"Then direct inner court discipleship it is."
Mu En made the executive decision right then and there. His voice wasn't loud, yet it sent a jolt through everyone present.
"Starting now, Tang Ya will enter the inner court of Shrek's Sea God Pavilion directly and enjoy the core treatment of an inner court disciple."
"At the same time, the moment she qualifies to absorb a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring, we will immediately head to the Star Dou Great Forest to hunt a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast for her."
"Even if it's the Seventh Soul Ring she can absorb, we will hunt one for her right then."
"Furthermore, we will prioritize supplying her with powerful soul beasts to devour for their life force and flesh, helping her break through to the Titled Douluo level in the shortest time possible."
"Is that sincerity enough?"
Mu En made a direct executive ruling.
To demonstrate his sincerity, he was already prepared to make concessions.
As Mu En's words fell, all the Sea God Pavilion elders, including Yan Shaozhe, stared at him in utter shock.
"Elder Mu, you are..."
One elder couldn't help but speak up.
"It's worth it."
Mu En overrode all dissenting opinions, his tone resolute.
"Tang Ya is the Sect Master of the Tang Sect. The Tang Sect and our Shrek share deep historical ties; her identity and her background make her worthy of our vigorous cultivation."
"Moreover, her innate talent makes her worthy as well."
The abacus in Mu En's mind clicked away briskly.
Perhaps before he died, Shrek Academy could give birth to a powerhouse at the Limit Douluo level.
He could hold on for a few more years still, push himself hard-if he squeezed out one more breath, ten years wasn't out of the question.
That was assuming he wanted to.
If Tang Ya could truly pull it off, that would be wonderful.
After all, he had inspected her: the energy Tang Ya absorbed was exceptionally pure and entirely unfalconed, which was the most terrifying part.
She possessed the cultivation methods of an Evil Soul Master yet bore none of the negative side effects whatsoever.
Based on this point alone, her Martial Soul was an Ultimate Martial Soul.
It could even rival a god-grade martial soul.
Yet he had no idea that all of this stemmed from Lin Chen.
At this moment, even Mu En felt a burning resentment toward Lin Chen.
This little thorn in their side had caused Shrek to suffer massive losses, and on top of that, he had belittled Shrek to the point where not a single shred of dignity remained.
He knew his disciple Yan Shaozhe all too well. Once this little fellow enrolled, Yan Shaozhe would likely target Lin Chen with a vengeance.
Well, he could just sit back and watch the show.
Did they really think Shrek Academy was soft and easy to bully?
However, there was still one most crucial issue remaining.
Mu En looked toward Lin Chen and Tang Ya.
"Now that the questions have all been answered."
"Tang Ya, are you willing to become an inner court disciple of Shrek's Sea God Pavilion?"
Tang Ya looked at Lin Chen.
Lin Chen nodded.
Only then did Tang Ya give her consent.
"I agree. I'm willing to join the Sea God Pavilion."
"But I have a condition."
"There's still a condition?"
Yan Shaozhe was rendered speechless.
"Aren't the conditions Elder Mu proposed enough?"
Tang Ya simply looked at them with a calm expression.
"I want Shrek to unconditionally help me rebuild the Tang Sect."
"My lifelong goal is to restore the Tang Sect to its former glory and avenge my parents."
"Granted."
Mu En agreed to Tang Ya's condition without the slightest hesitation.
Only then did he look back at Lin Chen and Tang Ya, his gaze turning sharp.
"Then comes the most important part."
"Tang Ya, who on earth helped you acquire those two Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Rings?"
"Who is secretly helping the two of you behind the scenes?"
This was what Mu En was most curious about.
Could it be that mysterious powerhouse?
He guessed inwardly in his heart.
If there truly was that mysterious powerhouse standing behind Lin Chen or Tang Ya, then things would be troublesome.
Yet Lin Chen merely smiled in response.
"Are Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts really that strong?"
"Why don't you consider that those Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts were slain through the joint efforts of Tang Ya and myself?"
"Absurd!"
Yan Shaozhe let out a sneering laugh.
"A Four-Ring Soul Ancestor and a Three-Ring Soul Elder killed a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast?"
"Then why don't you take a look at my Soul Ring Configuration instead?"
As he spoke, Lin Chen summoned his soul rings out one by one.
"I've met many geniuses, but those geniuses all call me a genius. Later on I realized that being a genius is merely the threshold to meet me."
Lin Chen spoke with the utmost arrogance.
Yet the colors of his soul rings gave him the capital to be arrogant.
His first soul ring was purple.
After two purple ones, his third soul ring turned out to be a black Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Ring.
This instantly caused everyone in the Sea God Pavilion to tremble.
However, when Lin Chen's fourth soul ring emerged-
Everyone sprang to their feet, including Mu En.
The terrifying aura of a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring radiated outward, filling them with absolute shock.
A crimson soul ring slowly rotated beneath Lin Chen's feet, rich gouts of blood Qi intertwining with vital life energy. The temperature in the entire hall rose by several degrees in that instant.
"That's a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring!"
"How can this be?"
"A fourth soul ring that's a hundred thousand years old-what kind of monster are you exactly?"
An elder cried out in disbelief.
"First and second soul rings being millennium-level-that's something people can possibly achieve."
"But how could a third soul ring possibly absorb a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Ring?"
"A fourth soul ring that's a hundred thousand years old? That defies all logic, it's impossible!"
"Indeed..."
The crowd buzzed with discussion, their eyes filled with utter incredulity.
"Ordinary soul masters naturally wouldn't be able to absorb it."
Lin Chen shrugged, his tone casual.
"But what if it was a soul beast sacrifice?"
"You see, I've had great luck ever since I was a kid."
"That particular night, there happened to be a dying Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast that felt a affinity with me, so it sacrificed itself to me."
Soul beast sacrifice.
The moment Lin Chen uttered those words, the entire hall gasped in a sharp intake of breath, secretly thinking how terrifyingly monstrous this was.
At the same time, their first instinct was disbelief.
Yet it was the only possible explanation.
Aside from soul beast sacrifice, there was no other way.
Soul masters could absorb a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring, but absorbing one as a fourth soul ring was simply out of the question.
Sacrifice was the only reasonable explanation, and the only possible route.
And so, as everyone slowly came to terms with it, looks of deep envy toward Lin Chen welled up in their eyes.
They had all only gotten the chance to absorb a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring at their ninth and final soul ring.
Lin Chen had absorbed a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring at his fourth soul ring.
Truly, comparing oneself to others only invited anger, and comparing goods just made you want to throw yours in the trash.
Before you continue