The next day, morning light spilled across all of Skysea, bathing the entire city in a soft halo.
Shen Yi sat in a chair, having gone an entire night without sleep, dark circles ringing his eyes.
Cai Yue'er really knew how to put people through the wringer. She wanted her to persuade Leng Yaoyu—why didn't she go herself?
But rank could crush a person to death. What could she do when Cai Yue'er was her superior?
This hellish assignment also concerned her teaching credentials, weighing on her shoulders like a thousand-pound burden and forcing her to spend the entire night teaching herself negotiation techniques.
Things like "Three sentences to make the Vice Spirit Pagoda Master let them go." Hopefully, she really was a negotiating genius.
On one side was her superior, Cai Yue'er. If she failed to invite Xiao Chen and the other two to enroll, she might really lose her Shrek teaching license.
On the other was Heavenly Phoenix Douluo, Leng Yaoyu, an even more formidable figure. As the Spirit Transferring Pagoda's vice master, how could she be someone a mere team-leading teacher like her could easily speak to?
"Ugh, what rotten luck..."
"You can dodge the first day, but not the fifteenth. Here goes."
Shen Yi let out a long sigh, then rose and straightened his Shrek teacher's uniform, smoothing out every crease. She was representing Shrek Academy in meeting the Vice Spirit Pagoda Master, and she couldn't lose face.
She went over her prepared words again and again in her mind, afraid of leaving out something crucial, and even more afraid of angering Leng Yaoyu with a poor choice of words.
Before leaving, she deliberately took several deep breaths, forcing herself to calm down. Before long, she arrived at the hotel where Leng Yaoyu was staying.
The closer Shen Yi got, the faster his heart raced. His fingers unconsciously clenched the hem of his clothes, and a thin sheen of sweat had already broken out across his back.
Upon reaching Leng Yaoyu's door, Shen Yi stopped, exhaled deeply, and silently gave himself some encouragement before raising his hand to knock softly.
The crisp knocking sounded especially clear in the silent corridor, sending her heart straight into her throat. Every second of waiting felt unbearably long.
A moment later, a cool, steady voice came from inside. "Enter."
Hearing this, Shen Yi pushed open the door and went in, meeting Leng Yaozhu.
Leng Yaoyu sat on the sofa in a fiery-red dress, her posture straight and her face cool, her long hair falling over her shoulders.
A pair of sharp eyes surveyed Shen Yi with apparent nonchalance. Her gaze was like a blade, making Shen Yi feel an invisible pressure. He instinctively lowered his head, not daring to meet her eyes.
"Greetings, Your Excellency Heavenly Phoenix. I am Shen Yi, a teacher at Shrek Academy. I have come on the academy's behalf today to discuss an important matter."
Shen Yi spoke with utmost respect, his tone carrying nervousness he could not conceal, his voice trembling slightly.
At his words, a trace of surprise flashed through Leng Yaoyu's eyes, and she wondered inwardly.
A Shrek teacher actually came to see me of her own accord, and on Shrek's behalf to discuss something important?
Then realization dawned on her. Most likely, Xiao Chen and the other two's crushing defeat of the Shrek Team at yesterday's Tianhai Grand Competition had shattered Shrek's myth of ten thousand years of invincibility, making it the laughingstock of the entire Federation.
As a result, Shrek Academy's pavilion elders could no longer sit still and wanted to salvage Shrek's reputation.
Sending someone now was most likely a means of saving face. She wanted to see what tricks Shrek could come up with.
Without betraying anything, she slowly picked up the teacup on the table and took a small sip. "What important matter? Speak plainly. There's no need to beat around the bush."
Shen Yi took a deep breath, suppressed his nervousness, and slowly delivered the words he had prepared, his tone respectful and sincere, afraid of displeasing Leng Yaoyu:
"It's like this, Your Excellency Heavenly Phoenix. Our Shrek Academy's pavilion elders also watched yesterday's Tianhai Grand Competition. After witnessing those three young men's talent, they were deeply astonished."
"Our academy believes that all three possess extraordinary talent, and their future achievements are limitless. If they could pursue further studies at Shrek Academy, then with the academy's instruction and resources, they would certainly be able to better realize their talents and become top experts on the continent."
"Therefore, the academy sent me here to extend an invitation to them on Shrek's behalf. We hope Your Excellency Heavenly Phoenix will allow the three of them to enroll at Shrek Academy three years from now."
After finishing, Shen Yi immediately felt as though a great weight had been lifted, his taut nerves relaxing.
Finally, it's all said. She had said everything she ought to say and done everything she ought to do. As for whether she could succeed, she could only leave it to fate.
In any case, she had done everything she could. If it failed, there was nothing she could do. Her abilities were limited; let Cai Yue'er and the academy's higher-ups deal with the headache.
After hearing him out, Leng Yaoyu sneered inwardly, a hint of disdain and mockery flashing through her eyes.
She immediately saw through Shrek's calculations. They had simply suffered a miserable defeat yesterday and lost all standing, so they wanted Xiao Chen and the other two to enroll at Shrek, repackaging that crushing defeat to salvage Shrek's prestige. They certainly knew how to work an abacus.
It was a good plan. Unfortunately, she wasn't a bot.
Who came up with this plan? Do they really think I'm thin air? Why would I so easily hand my disciples over to Shrek?
What's more, Xiao Chen and the other two already had deep ties to the Spirit Transferring Pagoda. With the Spirit Transferring Pagoda backing them, neither their resources nor their training would fall short of Shrek's in the slightest. They had no need for Shrek as a platform.
It seemed Shrek was not merely trying to salvage its reputation, but also poach the Spirit Transferring Pagoda's geniuses. What a flight of fancy.
Leng Yaoyu's expression remained unchanged as she set down her teacup with a crisp clink. Her tone instantly turned icy, showing no mercy:
"There's no need for Shrek to trouble itself over the three of them. I can teach my own disciples."
Then Leng Yaozhu directly dismissed him, leaving Shen Yi no room to maneuver. "You may leave. Xiao Chen and the other two belong to the Spirit Transferring Pagoda. They will not enroll at Shrek."
Hearing Leng Yaoyu's merciless refusal, Shen Yi's heart immediately sank, and he smiled bitterly.
It still failed. What she had feared most had happened after all.
It's over. She could already picture Cai Yue'er scolding her like a dog once she returned.
At the thought that she might lose her position at Shrek, a pang of bitterness filled Shen Yi's heart.
Shen Yi opened his mouth, wanting to say a little more and try to salvage the situation. But faced with Leng Yaoyu's icy expression and unquestionable tone, he swallowed the words on the tip of his tongue.
This is bad. It looks hopeless.
Dean Cai Yue'er, Pavilion Master Yun Ming, she had done her best.
Just as Shen Yi was close to giving up, a soul-powered aircraft slowly landed at Skysea City's airport, its roaring engines shattering the airport's quiet.
The cabin door slowly opened, and a figure in white brocade robes strode down, her eyes sharp. An unquestionable majesty radiated from her, her powerful presence keeping others from approaching lightly.
It was none other than Shrek Academy's outer court dean, Silver Moon Douluo-Cai Yue'er.
Cai Yue'er's personal arrival at this moment was precisely part of her plan.
She knew Shen Yi's capabilities, so she had sent him in first to probe Leng Yaoyu's attitude. Naturally, success would be a good thing; if he failed, the negotiations would most likely remain deadlocked.
When that happened, it would be her turn to appear and break the deadlock. While both sides were at an impasse, she would suddenly arrive, turn back the raging tide, and shore up the towering building on the verge of collapse.
Once I make my move, won't Leng Yaoyu have to obediently let Xiao Chen and the other two enroll at Shrek?
I'm truly a genius.
In short, no matter what methods she used, she would get Xiao Chen and the other two into Shrek Academy and restore the academy's prestige.
At the thought of herself swooping in to save the day with commanding force, and the new respect in Yun Ming's eyes after her success, Cai Yue'er couldn't help humming softly as she quickened her pace toward Leng Yaoyu's lodgings.
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