Buy it! We must buy it!

The blood-red Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring floated before Chen Tianyuan, its immense power seeming to warp the space around it.

The spectator stands fell silent. Everyone stared wide-eyed at that red soul ring.

Above the imperial city, Star Luo Emperor Xu Jiawei was equally incredulous, his gaze locked firmly on the blood-red Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring.

Dressed in sumptuous robes, Xu Jiujiu whispered a few words in his ear. Xu Jiawei breathed a sigh of relief, then looked intrigued.

On the Soul Fighting Arena, under the eyes of the entire crowd, all six soul rings around Chen Tianyuan blazed in unison. Soul power fluctuations at the level of a high-ranking Soul Emperor surged forth, and his true dragon might erupted in an instant.

Facing that dragon might head-on, the martial souls within the seven members of Tianling Soul Master Academy trembled wildly. Their soul power stopped circulating, and even breathing became difficult.

The next second, all seven members of Tianling Soul Master Academy toppled backward together.

Immediately afterward, the referee's voice rang out. "The Shrek Academy team wins!"

Amid the crowd's cheers, Chen Tianyuan and his two companions turned and walked off the stage without looking back.

In the preparation area, inside the lounge facing Shrek Academy's from afar, the pupils of a white-haired boy dressed in white shook violently. He gripped the railing before him so hard that he nearly bent it out of shape, his voice ringing through the lounge through gritted teeth.

"Impossible!"

"How old is that guy? How could he possibly have become a Soul Emperor?!"

Behind him, a beautiful white-haired girl stared at the Soul Fighting Arena in equal shock.

The two were the Hongchen Siblings, hailed as the Sun Moon Empire's foremost geniuses.

Xiao Hongchen's breathing quickened as he turned toward the white-haired old man behind him. "Elder Ma, this is fake, right?"

The old man called Elder Ma knitted his brows tightly. As both a Soul Douluo and a Level 8 Soul Engineer, he could naturally sense the soul power fluctuations on the Soul Fighting Arena clearly.

Frowning, he said slowly, "Those are indeed Soul Emperor-level soul power fluctuations..."

Inside Shrek Academy's lounge, Wang Yan threw his arms around the three in excitement.

"Well done! This battle not only demonstrated Shrek Academy's dominance, but also left no openings whatsoever. Now it's the other competing academies' turn to worry."

Xu Sanshi, however, was utterly baffled. "How did Tianling Soul Master Academy lose? I didn't understand it at all."

Jiang Nannan sneered. "With that brain of yours, it would be a miracle if you understood."

Wang Yan looked at Huo Yuhao. "Yuhao, why don't you explain?"

Huo Yuhao nodded and broke down the reasons behind their victory.

"First, Brother Chen's martial soul was already very powerful. The pressure of his true dragon bloodline intimidated our opponents. Then, with Senior Gongyang Mo's enhancement, Brother Chen's soul power reached the Soul Emperor level. After that, I used my Simulation Soul Skill to fabricate his final two soul rings."

"Suppression through soul power, martial soul, and soul rings, combined with psychological pressure, completely shattered the mental defenses of Tianling Soul Master Academy's seven members. Then I unleashed a Spiritual Shock, and that produced the scene you saw."

A day earlier, after receiving the letter delivered by Nebula Douluo, Mu En had convened another Sea God Pavilion Meeting.

Inside the Sea God Pavilion, Mu En sat upright rather than reclining in his chair as usual, looking at the elders and the four deans and vice deans.

Mu En spread the letter on the long table and said slowly, "Eighty-five million Gold Soul Coins for a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast Embryo. What do you think?"

Yan Shaozhe spoke first. "I think we should do it. After all, aside from sea soul beasts, there are truly too few hundred-thousand-year soul beasts left on the continent."

Lin Huiqun, who oversaw the academy's finances, sighed. "Elder Mu, the academy's annual tax revenue is less than a hundred and thirty million Gold Soul Coins. The Soul Tool Department and Martial Soul Department's annual teaching expenses amount to around a hundred million Gold Soul Coins. We currently have only a hundred and twenty million Gold Soul Coins in the academy's accounts, and this year's tax revenue hasn't come in yet. We'll have to wait until the end of the year at the earliest."

"After deducting those eighty-five million, we'll have only twenty million Gold Soul Coins left. There are still three months until the end of the year. You also said earlier that we should equip the Inspection Corps members with Flying Soul Tools and Soul Tool Shields of Level 5 or higher. That's another considerable expense."

"I just ran the numbers. If we implement all of that, the academy's accounts will have fewer than three million Gold Soul Coins left. That doesn't even include the Inner Court teachers' salaries or the dining hall's expenses..."

Mu En tapped the letter twice with his withered fingers. Then a wisp of soul power enveloped it and carried it before Lin Huiqun.

After reading the letter, even the normally unflappable Lin Huiqun widened her eyes. She set it down with trembling hands, then looked at Mu En. "Can this be confirmed?"

Seeing this, the four deans and vice deans were all puzzled, while also curious about what exactly the letter contained.

"Have a look, all of you," Mu En said.

As soon as he finished speaking, Yan Shaozhe drew the letter into his hand. After reading its contents, his expression changed as well.

Once the letter had been passed around, the entire Sea God Pavilion fell silent.

After a long while, Yan Shaozhe slammed his palm onto the long table. "Buy it! Even if we have to cut the Martial Soul Department's teaching budget, we must buy it!"

Immediately afterward, Xian Lin'er voiced the same sentiment. "That's right, we must buy it! That sealing shell is a Level 9 Soul Tool..."

The Star Emperor Hotel.

Since the elimination round had taken place the day before yesterday, they did not need to compete for the following two days.

While Chen Tianyuan was still lost in sleep, someone knocked on his hotel room door.

Chen Tianyuan woke at once, dressed, and opened the door. The visitors were none other than Xuan Zi, a Level 98 Super Douluo, and Yan Shaozhe, dean of the Martial Soul Department.

Once they entered, Yan Shaozhe immediately locked the door, while Xuan Zi released his soul power to isolate the room.

Yan Shaozhe looked at Chen Tianyuan and said, "Tianyuan, are you truly certain that it's the Ice Empress, Third of the Ten Great Ferocious Beasts?"

Chen Tianyuan nodded. "Yes, I'm one hundred percent certain. If the academy doesn't believe me, you can have Xuan Zi make a trip to the Far North to confirm it."

For once, Xuan Zi was serious. "I've already been there. Of the Three Great Heavenly Kings of the Far North, only the Titan Snow Demon King remains..."

Yan Shaozhe took a deep breath and asked, "You haven't told anyone else about this, have you?"

Chen Tianyuan shook his head. "Aside from you, absolutely no one else will know about this."

The Star Luo Imperial Palace.

Using the token Xu Jiujiu had given him, Chen Tianyuan led Yan Shaozhe and Xuan Zi into the princess's residence without obstruction.

In the reception room, Xu Jiujiu bowed to the two. "Greetings, Exalted Taotie, Exalted Mingfeng."

Even now, ten thousand years later, Titled Douluo were still honored guests of every major power. What was more, Yan Shaozhe and Xuan Zi were both Super Douluo. Across the entire Star Luo Empire, there was probably no one who could match Xuan Zi in a fight.

Yan Shaozhe, however, went straight to the point. "Your Highness, we've brought the money. When can we make the exchange?"