"You?"
Xuan Zi raised an eyebrow, his gaze icy.
"I admit you're an extraordinary talent. A Level 47 Soul Ancestor with a physique and spiritual power comparable to a Soul Saint's, even capable of fighting a Soul Saint above your level."
"But I am a Level 98 Super Douluo. Before absolute strength, any genius is nothing but a joke."
He took a step forward, and the pressure grew heavier.
"For example, if I killed you right here and now, how would you evade my attack?"
He stared into Lu Ren's eyes, hoping to find fear, panic, or even a trace of wavering.
But there was nothing.
Those eyes were as calm as a pool of stagnant water.
At the sight, Xuan Zi frowned.
"Oh, I understand what gives you the confidence to face me so calmly."
His gaze fell on the bulging pocket at Lu Ren's waist.
"It's that Soul Tool in your pocket, isn't it? The kind connected to the entire academy's alarm system. Pour Soul Power into it, and every alarm will sound."
Xuan Zi extended his hand, his tone brooking no argument:
"Take it out."
Lu Ren remained unmoved.
Xuan Zi snorted. His arm crossed the distance of less than an arm's length between them, reached into Lu Ren's pocket, and plucked out the silvery-white spherical Soul Tool.
Its surface was smooth, with fine traces of Soul Guidance Arrays faintly visible.
He turned the sphere over and discovered a drop of red blood on it.
The blood had already dried, yet it still gave off faint fluctuations of Soul Power, as though it had been deliberately preserved.
Xuan Zi froze for a moment. He was about to bring it closer for a careful look when Lu Ren's voice came from opposite him, carrying a hint of nonchalance:
"You seem very confident in Shrek Academy. Aren't you afraid of losing the tournament?"
Lu Ren instantly drew Xuan Zi's attention back. He casually tossed the spherical Soul Tool aside. It rolled across the floor a few times before stopping in the shadows of a corner.
"Shrek Academy is the foremost academy on the continent." Xuan Zi's tone became languid again. "Naturally, we're very confident. No one can end Shrek's championship reign."
"That's exactly why," Lu Ren said, "I'm unwilling to choose Shrek."
"Oh?"
"You've already won too many championships. You don't need my strength, much less another championship. The Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy is different. To win this championship, they're willing to give me a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone once it's done."
Xuan Zi's pupils abruptly contracted.
"A Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone?!"
His voice rose, his cloudy eyes widening into circles.
He looked at Lu Ren, trying to find some sign of a joke on that young face.
Yet Lu Ren's expression was as serious as if he were signing a life-and-death agreement at a negotiating table, without the slightest sign of a lie.
"The Sun Moon Empire is that generous?" Xuan Zi's voice sank. "They'll give you a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone just for leading them to victory over Shrek? They really are staking a fortune on this."
He drew a deep breath, his chest heaving several times.
"Bastards..."
He cursed, suppressed anger in his voice:
"Do you have any idea how tense the situation on the continent is? Once the Sun Moon Empire defeats the original Three Great Empires and Shrek Academy in the tournament, what will they do next?"
"They'll launch a war, trample the entire continent flat, and unite everything under their rule!"
His finger jabbed toward Lu Ren's chest.
"If the Sun Moon Empire wants to dominate the continent, the first opponent it needs to deal with isn't the Star Luo Empire, Heavenly Soul, or even Dou Ling."
"It's our Shrek Academy they need to deal with, because only we can bring the three nations together to resist the Sun Moon Empire with united hearts and strength."
"Only we have enough high-level strength to contend with their top Soul Engineers."
"The Sun Moon Empire doesn't dare test our strength with a full-scale war, but they've been probing us all along. And the best way to probe us is through the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Fighting Tournament."
Xuan Zi paused, his eyes fixed firmly on Lu Ren.
"So, boy, I can see you have nothing whatsoever to do with the Sun Moon Empire, yet you want to help them? What are your intentions?"
Lu Ren's expression did not change at all.
"I'm an orphan. What does the situation on the continent have to do with me? All I need is to gain something from it. That's enough."
Hearing this, Xuan Zi clenched his teeth:
"In that case, our Shrek Academy is also willing to offer you a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone! As long as you agree to join us."
His voice was low, each word deliberate:
"Besides, do those Soul Engineers even have experience dealing with Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts?"
"If we're talking about which faction has the most Hundred Thousand Year Soul Rings, it's naturally our Shrek Academy."
He took a step forward. The pressure eased slightly, replaced by an almost earnest seriousness.
"As long as you're willing to join Shrek Academy, we're willing to hunt two Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts for you. The Soul Rings and Soul Bones will all be yours."
"We'll also help you gather a full set of Soul Bones, every single one at least eighty thousand years old."
He extended two fingers and waved them before Lu Ren.
"What do you think of those terms?"
Lu Ren shook his head.
"I've already made a contract with the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy." His tone was calm. "One sworn on my Martial Soul. I can't break it."
Although the deal previously agreed upon with Jing Hongchen had not been sworn on his Martial Soul, it was a mutual Binding Vow established between Lu Ren and Jing Hongchen. Unlike a self-imposed Binding Vow, the party who broke it would pay an even more terrifying price.
He could not bear that price, and naturally, neither could Jing Hongchen.
"Besides..." Lu Ren paused. "If I went with you today because you offered better terms, then if someone else offered even better terms tomorrow, wouldn't I have to go with them too?"
"Would you dare take someone like that?"
Xuan Zi opened his mouth, but for a moment, he could find no rebuttal.
He fell silent briefly and drew a deep breath.
"Impossible. No other faction can offer better terms than ours."
He stared at Lu Ren, a hint of irritation entering his gaze.
"What exactly would it take for you to join Shrek Academy? Do you intend to spend your whole life at this lousy Soul Engineer academy?"
"I'm only staying until graduation," Lu Ren said. "As for where I go afterward, that's not certain."
"Then come to Shrek!" Xuan Zi blurted out almost without thinking. "We'll give you the highest level of treatment!"
Lu Ren looked at him and suddenly smiled.
It was a faint smile, like a thin layer of winter sunlight, offering no warmth, yet carrying something impossible to put into words.
"Why don't we make a wager?"
Xuan Zi raised an eyebrow.
A wager?
At a time like this?
What was that supposed to mean?
"In the continental tournament a few months from now, if I lead the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy to victory over your Shrek Academy, you'll hand me a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone unconditionally."
"And if you lose?" Xuan Zi countered.
"If I lose." Lu Ren's tone did not fluctuate at all. "I'll join Shrek Academy outright and work for you for the rest of my life."
"Whatever you tell me to do, I'll do. You can even order me around like a dog."
"Not only that, I won't want the set of Soul Bones Shrek would gather for me. Instead, I'll help you hunt Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts and put all their Soul Bones into your treasury."
At those terms, the corridor instantly fell silent.
Xuan Zi frowned, the wrinkles on his face bunching into deep furrows.
After a long silence, he spoke:
"You're taking it that far?"
A faint, elusive hint of provocation entered Lu Ren's tone:
"What? Don't dare? Or is Shrek Academy so pathetic that you're afraid of a single Four-Ring Soul Ancestor like me?"
"Is your Shrek Academy's glory so afraid of being brought to an end by a single Four-Ring Soul Ancestor like me?"
"As long as you win, I'll have no grievances against Shrek Academy and will admire you from the bottom of my heart. Once the tournament ends, I'll immediately withdraw from the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy and join Shrek Academy."
Xuan Zi's expression changed. He stared at Lu Ren for a long time, so long that even the Soul Guidance Lamps in the corridor dimmed a shade.
"Fine."
Xuan Zi finally uttered the word, his voice hoarse:
"I'll take that wager!"
With a victory this certain, and a top-tier genius to gain for Shrek afterward, what reason did he have to refuse?
As for this boy's arrogance, he did not mind crushing it either.
It was only a wager.
Xuan Zi regarded it with utter disdain.
"A verbal agreement doesn't count," Lu Ren said. "You have to swear on your Martial Soul."
Xuan Zi froze.
Why was he so confident?
Could Shrek Academy actually lose?
He could not imagine such a scene. With the strength of the academy's contestants this year and the accumulated legacy of generations of the Shrek Seven Devils, how could they lose to a group of Soul Engineers who only knew how to hide behind Soul Tools?
Even with Lu Ren joining them, he was merely a Four-Ring Soul Ancestor.
At that thought, Xuan Zi sneered. Soul Power gathered in his palm, forming a pale golden flame of light. Within it emerged the phantom of a Taotie, its enormous maw gaping as though it would devour heaven and earth.
"I, Xuan Zi, swear upon my Martial Soul, Taotie."
His voice was low and solemn, echoing through the corridor.
"If Lu Ren leads the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy to victory over Shrek Academy in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Fighting Tournament, I pledge a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone as my stake and will never go back on my word."
Before you continue