The Sea God Pavilion meeting

The Sea God Pavilion meeting was being held who knew how much earlier than in previous years.

None of the elders who received the notice dared take it lightly.

If that sea-steadying pillar had summoned them ahead of schedule, something major had to be happening.

At that moment, Mu En, the one who called the shots at Shrek, occupied the seat of honor.

She wore a moon-white robe, her white hair like flowing silk, her expression as still as an ancient well, betraying not the slightest fluctuation of emotion.

The elders taking their seats below her were all figures who could shake half the heavens with a stamp of their feet outside, yet now they were like students playing on their phones in the corridor who suddenly caught sight of their homeroom teacher behind them, instinctively straightening their backs a little.

For no other reason than that Mu En was too powerful.

Just from the way she sat there, anyone could tell she was terrifyingly strong.

Everyone had arrived, but the meeting had not officially begun.

During the lull, gazes quietly shifted toward Yan Shaozhe one after another.

A man standing straight as a javelin stood neither too close nor too far away, his gaze resting on Yan Shaozhe as his lips unconsciously pulled into a smile he tried to make as composed as possible.

The smile tugged at the creases at the corners of his eyes.

"Hi, Shao Zhe," he said, keeping his voice very low, as though afraid of disturbing the woman in the seat of honor.

Yan Shaozhe barely lifted her eyelids, merely responding coolly, "Oh, it's you, Vice Dean Cai Gang."

Cai Gang.

Vice dean of the Martial Soul Department, second only to Yan Shaozhe in standing.

He was just about to seize this rare opportunity to talk to her and press his "chance encounter offensive" when a booming voice came from off to one side, cutting him off with perfect timing.

"Hahaha, Cai Gang, oh, Cai Gang, I don't even know what to say to you..." The newcomer had an imposing build and an air of authority even without anger, but wore a cheerful expression that said he was watching the show and did not care how much bigger the trouble got. At the end, he even let out a long sigh.

That "ah" trailed off meaningfully, displaying quite the mastery of veiled mockery.

Cai Gang's ears reddened on the spot, his eyes turning slightly bloodshot as he gritted his teeth and shot back, "Quit your yammering! If you've got the guts, let's have a round in the arena. Let me weigh your strength and see how much you've improved!"

"You? You want to weigh my strength?" The man snorted, folding his arms and lifting his chin slightly. "Laughable."

Beside him was a woman with short silver hair and straight-cut bangs, whose expression was already beginning to crack.

She glanced at her husband beside her and reminded him in a lowered voice, "Enough. Stop arguing, both of you."

Xian Lin glanced sideways at her and said nothing more, simply picking a seat at random and sitting down with a casually brisk movement.

But the look on his wife Qian Duoduo's face did not improve.

Because she could see perfectly well that the seat Xian Lin had chosen gave him a completely unobstructed view of Yan Shaozhe.

A chill crept through her heart: she had known it. Her husband's feelings for Yan Shaozhe had never once died away.

His mockery of Cai Gang just now had clearly been nothing more than his inability to stand seeing Cai Gang court Yan Shaozhe's favor.

She cast an unobtrusive glance at Yan Shaozhe, then looked down at herself before finally walking over beside Xian Lin without a word.

Before Xian Lin could adjust his posture, an elderly woman seated farther up had already spoken coldly, her voice quiet. "Since you've married Duoduo, rein in those thoughts."

"Understood," Xian Lin replied offhandedly, his attitude neither respectful nor defiant, merely carrying the perfunctory tone of someone who wanted this topic ended quickly.

Yan Shaozhe had taken no part in these undercurrents of confrontation, simply taking her seat and waiting expressionlessly for the meeting to begin.

Cai Gang, however, seemed entirely unable to read the room, still sidling over to strike up a conversation in his one-sided enthusiasm, casting about for something to say.

Yan Shaozhe finally turned her head and gave him a direct look. Then she dropped a flat remark on him. "You really love talking, don't you? Such endless prattle."

Cai Gang fell silent on the spot, wearing the wounded expression of someone whose beloved had publicly doused him with cold water. He silently retreated half a step, even softening his breathing.

Just then, a little girl with silver twin ponytails ambled in through the doorway, holding a skewer of candied hawthorn berries and chewing with her cheeks puffed out.

Looking straight ahead, she walked to her own seat and sat down.

Once everyone was settled, Mu En finally spoke from the seat of honor.

She did not even offer any unnecessary opening remarks, and her tone was as calm as ever, yet the entire room instantly fell silent.

"The main purpose of today's meeting is to announce something. I have already found a suitable candidate to succeed me as master of the Sea God Pavilion. Today, I am formally informing you all."

As her words fell, the entire room was silent.

A few breaths later, all sorts of expressions burst across the elders' faces.

Even a joke ought to have its limits, shouldn't it?

That was the thought most universally shared among them at that moment.

But Mu En was not someone who would joke about serious business.

So... she was serious.

The elders wore differing expressions, their gazes crossing and colliding in the air.

Yet Yan Shaozhe, seated below, looked as though nothing had happened, her eyes perfectly calm, as if she had known about this long ago.

Cai Gang, who had been secretly watching Yan Shaozhe all along, felt a stir in his heart. Could Shao Zhe have already discussed this with Pavilion Master Mu?

Her composure means this is already nailed down.

Then as long as I'm the first to show my loyalty, she'll surely see me in a different light!

He promptly made his decision and spoke first, his voice booming. "Your wisdom is unmatched, Pavilion Master Mu! I, Cai Gang, will naturally follow your decision with all my strength!"

After speaking, he even secretly sent Yan Shaozhe a look that said, "See how I'm doing?"

Xian Lin, on the other side, would not be outdone either, speaking almost immediately after him. "I approve with both hands!"

The little silver-haired girl with twin ponytails in the corner freed the hand holding her candied hawthorn skewer and raised it symbolically to indicate that she had no objections either.

The other elders exchanged glances for a moment before nodding their agreement as well.

They had to be joking. This was a candidate Pavilion Master Mu had personally designated. Who would dare sing a different tune at a time like this?

Besides-they did not want to be "slain."

Being an elder of the Sea God Pavilion came with high pay, lofty standing, and little work.

If they lost it, where else could they find such a fine job?

But the elderly woman seated farther up still spoke, her tone steady and carrying a measure of cautious concern. "Might I ask, Pavilion Master, just what sort of person is this successor, for you to have chosen him so decisively?"

Mu En's expression did not change. She uttered only two words. "Ultimate Attribute."

At those words, the elderly woman fell silent. The other elders fell silent as well.

Then-then everyone nodded, their expressions saying, "So that's why," "Then there's certainly no problem," and "Understood, understood."

Not a single person present was unaware of the weight an Ultimate Attribute carried.

Mu En choosing a promising youngster with an Ultimate Attribute as her successor was entirely reasonable and beyond reproach.

"Since everyone knows now-meeting adjourned." Mu En had no intention of delivering a lengthy speech. Once she finished speaking, her figure quietly faded from the seat of honor, as though she had never appeared at all.

With Mu En gone, the atmosphere in the meeting room abruptly relaxed.

The elders rose one after another and headed for the door in twos and threes.

Cai Gang still wanted to say something to Yan Shaozhe, but she had already stood up ahead of him and walked out without looking back, leaving him only the sight of her briskly departing figure.

Xian Lin stood up as well, his gaze involuntarily following Yan Shaozhe's retreating figure for a moment. Only when his wife beside him discreetly tugged his sleeve did he come back to himself. He lowered his eyes and fell silent for a moment, then followed the crowd out of the Sea God Pavilion.