In less than half an hour, the Sea God Pavilion Meeting officially began.
Silence filled the Sea God Pavilion's grand conference hall. Ten people sat around a long oval table, while a reclining chair stood at the head of the table, furthest inside. The light around the chair was so dim that they could only vaguely make out what seemed to be someone lying on it. Compared with the ten people seated around the table, however, he stood out as particularly unusual.
"If everyone is here, let us begin. Shaozhe, you preside over the meeting." A gentle voice rang out. Hearing it actually gave one a sense of having one's soul cleansed, yet there was no telling the speaker's age. The voice came from the reclining chair hidden in the shadows at the head of the table.
Dragon God Douluo Mu En. Had Lin Xi been here, he would certainly have been filled with reverence.
Thanks to a certain someone's law of "the more characterization, the worse the characterization," Mu En, an old senior who exited the story early, before the protagonist even entered his period of rapid development, naturally received relatively decent characterization.
In Shrek, where ox demons and snake spirits were everywhere, he could be considered one of the few relatively normal people.
As soon as that gentle voice rang out, even Xuan Zi put down his wine gourd and chicken drumstick, wiped his greasy palms on his clothes, and sat a little straighter. The other Shrek Academy elders also straightened slightly.
"Yes, Teacher." Yan Shaozhe stood and bowed toward the head of the table.
He bowed slightly in greeting to the elders before him and said:
"An accident was the root cause of my asking everyone here today, but that accident led us to an unexpected discovery. I believe that, so long as we seize this opportunity, the academy can continue to prosper for at least another three hundred years."
Bang! Xian Lin'er slammed the table. "Yan Shaozhe, stop making sensational claims. Get to the point."
Her slap on the table startled all the elders. An elderly woman seated in the principal seat on the right called out with a trace of displeasure.
"Lin'er."
Xian Lin'er bit her lower lip resentfully and said no more.
The elderly woman gave Yan Shaozhe a gentle smile. "Shaozhe, go on."
"Yes, Elder Lin." Yan Shaozhe glanced at Xian Lin'er. Though there was some apology in his eyes, there was far more resolve. As the dean of the Martial Soul Department, he would never allow personal feelings to affect his judgment.
Xian Lin'er turned her head away without so much as looking at him.
Yan Shaozhe said gravely, "This began this morning. You all know about Xiaotao's situation, correct? She lost control again this morning and flew all the way from the inner court to the outer court."
At those words, the elders' expressions immediately turned serious.
They all knew Xiaotao's situation. A Soul Emperor whose Martial Soul was infinitely close to an ultimate Martial Soul-the consequences of her running wild in the outer court were unimaginable.
In the worst case, she might even fall and become an Evil Soul Master. At that point, to keep her from harming others, they could only steel themselves and lock her up.
What they did not know was that this attitude of theirs was precisely what Lin Xi loathed most.
They could not bring themselves to strike even after someone had fallen into becoming an Evil Soul Master. On the surface, they were enforcers of justice who fought Evil Soul Masters, yet in reality, two Evil Soul Master holy maidens had emerged from their own ranks. This sanctimonious appearance was exactly like that of their ancestor.
Yan Shaozhe continued, "Fortunately, Xiaotao did not cause many casualties. Only two students suffered severe burns, and they have already received preliminary treatment. After being placated by the relevant department, they have agreed to let this matter rot in their bellies."
Only then did the elders breathe a sigh of relief.
As long as no one had died, everything could be worked out.
Yan Shaozhe narrowed his eyes slightly.
What came next was the key point.
"However, why were those two students merely injured rather than killed? You must understand that Xiaotao has no reason whatsoever when she loses control. Naturally, it was because someone stopped her. And the person who stopped her was actually a first-year freshman!"
The Sea God Pavilion fell utterly silent.
Even Xuan Zi put down his chicken drumstick, dumbfounded, and picked at his ear in astonishment.
Elder Lin asked somewhat skeptically:
"Shaozhe, are you certain the student did it himself, rather than a bodyguard protecting him from the shadows?"
Yan Shaozhe nodded firmly.
"Yes. Elder Zhang can testify to that."
Everyone's gazes immediately converged on an elderly man dressed in white.
He was the old man who had spoken to Lin Xi that morning.
Elder Zhang stroked his beard.
"Yes, I can testify. In terms of offensive power alone, he was definitely at the Soul Saint level. Suppressing Xiaotao was no problem."
An uproar immediately broke out.
A first-year freshman with Soul Saint-level offensive power? It was unheard of!
"Quiet." Seeing the situation getting somewhat out of hand, Mu En spoke. "Shaozhe, did something unexpected happen, then? If it was merely the emergence of such a genius, there would be no need to convene a separate Sea God Pavilion Meeting, would there?"
The elders immediately quieted down.
Indeed, such a genius was unprecedented, but if they had merely discovered him, could they not simply make every effort to win him over? Why hold a Sea God Pavilion Meeting?
Elder Song asked:
"Did something unexpected happen?"
Yan Shaozhe nodded.
"Yes. When I investigated, I discovered that, at some point, the Soul Tool Department had already found him and made him one of their core disciples. This clearly goes against the rules, so I would like the elders to judge the matter."
Hearing this, the elders immediately relaxed.
So that was it. They were fighting over a student.
Indeed, a student with such strength immediately upon enrollment even had the right to compete for the position of future Pavilion Master of the Sea God Pavilion. There was nothing unreasonable about convening a Sea God Pavilion Meeting specifically for him.
Still, this was ultimately an internal dispute within the academy, making it much easier to resolve than external affairs. There was no need to take it too seriously.
After finishing, Yan Shaozhe sat back down, and Qian Duoduo immediately stood.
"Elders, you do not understand Lin Xi's situation. He cannot be handed over to the Martial Soul Department."
"What is the Martial Soul Department's advantage? Nothing more than a more thorough understanding of Martial Souls."
"But what type of Martial Soul does Lin Xi have? A summoning type! The main fighting strength his Martial Soul provides comes from his summons. What can your Martial Soul Department teach him? Are you going to have a summoner step into the ring and throw punches?"
"So, in my view, it is precisely because Lin Xi is sufficiently gifted that we absolutely cannot hand him over to the Martial Soul Department. His talent is already enough for him to cultivate normally, with a great deal to spare. What we need to do is shore up his weaknesses. What is a summoner's weakness? Naturally, it is the summoner's own fighting ability."
"Then, elders, is it not obvious who should take him? Only our Soul Tool Department can quickly improve a summoner's own fighting strength. Our advantage in this respect is plain to see."
Hearing Qian Duoduo's words, the elders all looked thoughtful.
Indeed, what he said was not without reason.
By his reasoning, the Soul Tool Department was indeed the better match.
Yan Shaozhe inwardly cried out in alarm. If this continued, Lin Xi might really end up staying in the Soul Tool Department.
He hurriedly stood and countered him head-on:
"You are wrong, Old Qian. You do indeed have a way to quickly bolster his own fighting strength, but at what cost? It would force him to divert a portion of his time and effort to Soul Tools! His cultivation talent has already shown itself, but his talent for Soul Tools has not. On what basis can you claim that your Soul Tool Department is better suited to Lin Xi?"
At his words, many elders nodded to themselves again.
He had a point.
Ultimately, what the Soul Tool Department taught was still Soul Tools. If Lin Xi's talent in the field of Soul Tools was poor, then the Martial Soul Department was clearly the better fit.
Seeing the two deans locked in a stalemate, Xuan Zi spoke.
He put down his chicken drumstick and coughed, immediately drawing the eyes of everyone present.
"I understand what you are saying, but I think both of you have overlooked an extremely important point."