Young Sect Master?
Had he run away from home?
Vina listened to Du Busi.
She finally learned that the person before her was the Young Sect Master everyone in the sect often mentioned—Chen Mo.
A moment later.
The three arrived at a pavilion.
Chen Mo and Du Busi stared at each other, neither willing to blink.
Vina quietly brewed tea beside them.
"Not bad. Three months away, and your soul power level has already reached thirty."
"Might I ask where our Young Sect Master has found such distinguished employment?"
"Why not ask that distinguished establishment to help you hunt for a soul ring?"
"Why come back to the sect instead?"
Du Busi's words dripped with sarcasm.
Chen Mo rubbed his nose and said, "Didn't I leave a note saying I'd come back to visit you during the holidays?"
"Besides, I've told you several times. I went to school, not to find distinguished employment."
"Then where did you go to school?" Du Busi asked, lifting his teacup to take a sip.
"The Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy."
"Ah... Sun Moon Royal..." Du Busi had just brought the cup to his lips when the academy's name stopped him cold. Once it registered, he shouted, "Where did you say? The Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy?!"
Vina froze as well.
Chen Mo calmly nodded. "That's right."
"Of all the places you could have gone—even Shrek Academy would have been acceptable."
"Why would you go to the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy?"
"What could a place that teaches people to fiddle with scrap metal possibly teach you?"
At this point, Du Busi was just like the people of the Douluo Three Kingdoms and Shrek: his thinking had failed to keep pace with the times.
He had immense confidence in his own strength and the Body Sect, to the point of obstinate arrogance.
He believed soul masters should cultivate their martial souls. Soul tools were nothing but scrap metal, utterly useless against powerful soul masters.
He had assumed that even if Chen Mo went to school, he would attend Shrek Academy.
After all, in his eyes, his disciple possessed two ultimate martial souls.
Although the Body Sect held absolute authority on body martial souls.
It knew nothing about ultimate martial souls.
That was because cultivation with an ultimate martial soul became exceptionally slow after level thirty.
He had thought that if Chen Mo attended Shrek Academy, perhaps he could solve the problem of his ultimate martial souls' slow cultivation in the later stages.
But never in his wildest dreams had he imagined.
That this brat had actually gone to the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy.
Wasn't that a complete waste of time?
"Do you really need to react so strongly?"
"Besides, can't you take a longer view? And you're still talking about Shrek? That lousy place is backward in every way—its thinking, education, and ideas."
"Even a dog wouldn't go there if you offered."
Chen Mo delivered his assessment of Shrek without the slightest restraint.
Before Du Busi could speak.
Vina spoke up first.
"Young Sect Master, aren't you the one whose horizons are too limited?"
"Do you understand Shrek Academy's history? Do you understand its past glory?"
"Do you know that Shrek Academy is the strongest academy on the continent, a sacred ground in the hearts of all soul masters, with countless powerful experts?"
"In contrast, the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy is merely a place for fiddling with scrap metal. Its entire country barely has any Titled Douluos."
"In terms of combat strength, the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy cannot compare to Shrek Academy at all."
"Moreover, you're someone from the Heaven Dou Empire."
"How could you attend school in an enemy country? How is that any different from betraying your country?"
The Douluo Three Kingdoms had always viewed Shrek Academy through rose-tinted glasses.
And as a princess of the Heaven Dou Empire.
Vina was no different.
Immersed in such beliefs since childhood, she considered Shrek Academy the greatest academy in the world.
By contrast, the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy was completely beneath notice.
After hearing the princess's words.
Chen Mo couldn't help letting out a cold snort.
He had never imagined.
That just days ago, he had been slapping the label of traitor on someone else, only to have someone slap it on him today.
Heaven's wheel truly did come full circle.
But he said nothing.
Instead, he looked at his master, Du Busi. "Master, do you think the same?"
"Uh... half and half," Du Busi said.
He only agreed with the first half of Vina's remarks, her assessment of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy.
As for the latter half, accusing Chen Mo of treason, that really went too far.
If merely attending school counted as treason, where would that leave them?
Chen Mo turned his gaze back to Vina. "You say my horizons are limited? As I see it, Princess, you're the one gazing at the sky from the bottom of a well. Your view is far too narrow!"
Upon hearing that.
Du Busi and Vina spoke in unison. "How did you know she was a princess?" "How did you know I was a princess?"
"Is it that hard to guess? I could tell from her martial soul."
"The Heaven Dou Empire's hereditary martial soul is the Snow Lotus."
"And her martial soul happens to be a Snow Lotus."
"But since she was able to join the Body Sect, she presumably has another martial soul, and that one must be a body martial soul."
At this point, Chen Mo looked at Du Busi.
He gave a mysterious smile.
"I heard that when you were young, Master, you had a romance with a certain princess of the Heaven Dou Empire. But later, for various reasons, you and that princess parted ways."
"And this princess has not only the Heaven Dou Empire's hereditary martial soul, but also a body martial soul."
"It isn't hard to guess that you must be her grandfather."
"Master, you womanizing jerk."
Hearing his disciple's words, Du Busi hurriedly clamped a hand over his mouth.
"All right, all right. Stop talking."
"Where did you learn all this?"
Chen Mo pulled free of the large hand. "It was written in your elder brother's diary."
"A diary?"
"Your martial uncle kept a diary?"
Du Busi looked astonished. His older brother, Du Bisou, had kept a diary?
How had he not known?
More importantly, why would that diary record things about him?
Just as Du Busi was about to ask where the diary was and what other embarrassing incidents it recorded about him.
Vina looked at Chen Mo defiantly and said, "Young Sect Master, what gives you the right to say my horizons are narrow? If you can't give me a proper explanation, I ask that you apologize."
"Sure. We have plenty of time anyway."
"I'll explain just how narrow your horizons are, Princess."
"But before that, I'm going to turn your own questions back on you."
"Do you understand soul tools? Do you understand the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy? Do you understand how advanced the Sun Moon Empire is today?"
"I... wouldn't stoop to learning about them."
Vina had been about to argue, only to discover that she seemed to have nothing to say.
Because she truly knew nothing about the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy.
Her claims that soul tools were scrap metal and that the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy was inferior to Shrek Academy.
Had all come from what other people said.
"If you don't understand soul tools, why do you call them scrap metal?"
"If you don't understand soul tools, why do you say the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy can't compare to Shrek Academy?"
Chen Mo challenged her loudly.
Vina clenched her fists and stood up. "Where was I wrong? Cultivating martial souls is the proper path for soul masters. Soul tools are nothing but little tricks. What use could they possibly have in battle?"
Before you continue