"You lot only ever look at the surface of things."
Mu En smiled and pointed at the Soul Ring beneath Xue Chen's feet.
"This child does indeed possess the Ultimate Ice attribute, but a large portion of that Ultimate Ice attribute is emanating from this Soul Ring beneath his feet."
Everyone's gaze immediately returned to the Soul Ring beneath Xue Chen's feet.
Xue Chen was startled.
Mu En truly deserved his standing as Shrek Academy's strongest expert. He had seen through the truth of Xue Chen's Ultimate Ice attribute at a glance.
"Child, what Soul Beast did your first Soul Ring come from?"
Yan Shaozhe hurriedly asked.
"A Snow Spirit from the Far North."
Xue Chen pressed his lips together before saying:
"I don't know what the Ultimate Ice attribute is, but after I absorbed this Snow Spirit Soul Ring, I gained the ability to control the ice and snow attributes."
"A Snow Spirit?"
The Elders exchanged glances, each seeing a trace of surprise in the others' eyes.
Snow Spirits were a relatively common type of spirit-type Soul Beast deep within the Far North, formed from the condensation of the ice attribute.
They had never imagined that such an ordinary Soul Beast could bestow the Ultimate Ice attribute on a Soul Master.
"Even throughout the entire history of the Douluo Continent, the Five Elements Qilin Martial Soul has only appeared a handful of times. It is only natural that it has some secrets we don't know about."
Mu En waved a hand, interrupting their contemplation, and gave a meaningful smile.
"But supposedly, with proper nurturing, the Five Elements Qilin Martial Soul can master five Ultimate Attributes."
At those words, every Sea God Pavilion Elder's eyes went red.
Five Ultimate Attributes!
Those were five Ultimate Attributes!
The inner court's Ma Xiaotao had Evil Fire that merely approached Ultimate Fire, yet that was enough to make her the inner court's strongest expert.
Five Ultimate Attributes-the Sea God Pavilion Elders could not even imagine how earth-shaking that would be.
"Mu En!"
After a brief silence, Yan Shaozhe abruptly rose and bowed to Mu En.
"The Five Elements Qilin is a top-tier Martial Soul. This child concerns the future of our Shrek Academy. Let him join our Martial Soul Department!"
"I can take him as my personal disciple, and the Martial Soul Department can direct all its resources toward him!"
Before Mu En could say anything, Xian Lin'er slammed a hand on the table upon hearing this and stood up as well.
"Chen'er is my disciple! What kind of ability is stealing someone else's disciple?"
Beside her, Xue Chen froze for a moment.
When had I become Xian Lin'er's disciple? Why didn't I know about it?
Cai Mei'er, who had been watching Xue Chen's expression all along, naturally noticed his bewilderment too, and raised her eyebrows slightly.
"Lin'er, calm down."
Cai Mei'er gave a lilting laugh and said unhurriedly:
"You say this child is your disciple, but does the child himself know that?"
"What do you mean?"
Xian Lin'er was startled inwardly, but her expression remained unchanged as she stared coldly at Cai Mei'er.
"Nothing. Exactly what I said."
Cai Mei'er uncrossed her long legs, rose from her chair, and appeared before Xue Chen in a flash.
Crouching slightly, Cai Mei'er leaned close to Xue Chen and could not resist giving his cheek a gentle pinch.
She really was a little too close.
Close enough for Xue Chen to see the faint beauty mark at the corner of her eye.
Close enough that Cai Mei'er's breath brushed his face, carrying an indescribable, delicate fragrance.
Cai Mei'er's beauty differed from Xian Lin'er's.
Xian Lin'er was mature yet dignified, whereas Cai Mei'er exuded a thoroughly ripened allure from head to toe, like a piece of overripe fruit.
That cloying sweetness washed over Xue Chen's face in waves, carrying the fragrance of her flesh.
"Cai Mei'er, what are you doing?!"
Xian Lin'er's expression was exceptionally ugly as she shouted the question at Cai Mei'er.
Ignoring Xian Lin'er, Cai Mei'er gazed straight at Xue Chen with her beautiful eyes, her words carrying an extremely powerful mental suggestion.
"Good child, tell me, did you really take Dean Xian Lin'er as your master?"
Xue Chen felt his head grow muddled. Cai Mei'er's mental suggestion almost made him tell the truth.
But the instant he opened his mouth, a ghastly golden light suddenly flashed through Xue Chen's eyes.
"Ugh!"
The Five Elements Qilin Martial Soul vanished in an instant, and a ghastly golden saber taller than a person appeared in Xue Chen's left hand.
Razor-sharp saber Qi, bearing supreme pressure, instantly enveloped the entire Sea God Pavilion.
Mu En, Xian Lin'er, Qian Duoduo, and even Cai Mei'er-every Sea God Pavilion Elder whose Martial Soul was related to dragons felt a chill across their neck and their sphincter clench.
It was as though some supremely terrifying existence had set its sights on them, Soul Masters whose Martial Souls were related to dragons.
Cai Mei'er's expression changed drastically, and she flashed away from Xue Chen.
Her Martial Soul was the Break Evil Dragon Soul Spear, a top-tier tool Martial Soul that housed a dragon soul.
Dragon souls were inherently countered by the Dragon Slaying Saber, while spear-type tool Martial Souls were further suppressed by the Dragon Slaying Saber's divine artifact properties.
Under this twofold suppression, she could be said to be the one most affected by the Dragon Slaying Saber out of all the Elders!
"Twin Martial Souls! He actually has Twin Martial Souls too!"
Yan Shaozhe nearly jumped to his feet.
His Martial Soul was the Bright Phoenix, so the Dragon Slaying Saber affected him less, but that did not prevent him from recognizing how extraordinary the Dragon Slaying Saber Martial Soul was.
"Child, withdraw your Martial Soul."
Seemingly noticing that something was wrong with Xue Chen, Mu En ignored Yan Shaozhe and spoke gently to Xue Chen instead.
An indescribably gentle presence emanated from Mu En as well, slowly suppressing the Dragon Slaying Saber's ferocity.
"Ugh!"
A trace of clarity flashed through Xue Chen's eyes, and the Dragon Slaying Saber Martial Soul in his hand disappeared.
"This child's second Martial Soul is no lower in quality than the Five Elements Qilin, and it seems to have an extremely powerful suppressive effect on dragon-type Martial Souls."
Mu En glanced at Xue Chen, a thoughtful look appearing on his face.
"Mu En, this child has Twin Martial Souls, and both are so powerful! Putting him in the Soul Tool Department would be a waste!"
Yan Shaozhe studied Xue Chen with burning eyes, as though looking at some rare treasure.
"Yan Shaozhe, I told you, Chen'er has already taken me as his master!"
Xian Lin'er flashed in front of Xue Chen and pulled him straight into her protective embrace.
A warm, soft sensation instantly engulfed Xue Chen, and his nose filled with the enticing fragrance of her flesh, like orchids and musk.
Even with two lifetimes behind him, Xue Chen could not help losing himself in it.
"Mu En!"
Yan Shaozhe grew anxious and hurriedly looked toward Mu En.
"When it comes to taking a master, we must ultimately consider the child's own wishes."
A trace of helplessness appeared on Mu En's face as he said to Xian Lin'er:
"Lin'er, let the child go first!"
"Yes."
Xian Lin'er pressed her lips together and released Xue Chen somewhat reluctantly.
"Child, your talent is excellent!"
Mu En asked the somewhat dizzy Xue Chen:
"They all want to take you as their disciple. What about you?"
"What do you think?"