Less than an hour after the storm Du Busi had stirred up subsided, Shrek Academy received another heavyweight uninvited guest: Jing Hongchen, the master of the Sun Moon Empire's Virtue Hall.
Unlike the Body Sect's domineering recklessness, Jing Hongchen's visit was steeped in a politician's finesse and calculation.
His objectives were clear. First, he wanted to recover the Sword of Judgment, the Level 8 Soul Tool Xuan Zi had confiscated during the tournament. Second, he wanted to discuss the previously proposed exchange student program.
Mu En demanded that Jing Hongchen cure Ma Xiaotao before he would return the Sword of Judgment. But Jing Hongchen was equally helpless against her evil fire. In the end, not only did he fail to retrieve the Sword of Judgment, he also gave Huo Yuhao a Level 9 Soul Tool, Red Dust Protection, as the price of admission to the Sea God Pavilion.
Jing Hongchen silently cursed the old fox, but had no choice but to swallow his displeasure and move on to his second objective: an exchange between the academies.
To his surprise, Mu En and the elders of the Sea God Pavilion did not make things particularly difficult on this issue. Shrek also needed to understand the Sun Moon Empire's latest advances in soul tools. Shutting its doors to the outside world would only leave it behind.
Both sides harbored their own schemes, yet their objectives aligned, and the negotiations over exchanging students went remarkably smoothly.
Ultimately, they agreed that, two years later, each side would send its finest students to the other academy for two and a half years of study and exchange.
To Dai Youheng, however, these negotiations and transactions, significant enough to shape the continent's future, were like watching a fire from across the river. They stirred not the slightest