"Your Holiness Taotie Douluo, there's no need for so many high-sounding reasons. I earned this Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring. That's beyond dispute. Tell me your aims and demands," Qian Chen said bluntly.
At Qian Chen's words, the speech Xuan Zi had spent so long preparing in his mind suddenly became useless. He could only steel himself and say, "Today, our Shrek Inner Court paid an enormous price to kill this Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast. Some students even died. Yet you took the benefits our students paid for with their lives at the very end."
Xuan Zi paused, then continued, "Since you took the benefits, shouldn't you also do your part to finish what those fallen students left unfinished? Such as ridding the continent of Evil Soul Masters and upholding Shrek Academy's ten-thousand-year glory."
Qian Chen sneered inwardly.
Rid the continent of Evil Soul Masters? Heh. Over the past ten years, countless Evil Soul Masters had died at his hands. Within a thousand li of Star Luo City, around the home of the four brothers, not even the shadow of an Evil Soul Master could be found anymore. How else could he have reached the Soul Douluo realm at sixteen? Those Evil Soul Masters had all become experience packs for Qian Chen's cultivation.
"Rest assured, Your Holiness. I kill every Evil Soul Master I see. Your academy's fame reaches far and wide, and I'm sure its ten-thousand-year glory will endure," Qian Chen said mildly.
"Not enough!" Xuan Zi's expression turned solemn. "I want you to fulfill those dead students' unfulfilled wishes. Join Shrek Academy's Inner Court, join the Shrek Inspection Corps, and wipe out Evil Soul Masters. When necessary, compete in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Elite Tournament in their place and fulfill their wishes."
"Xuan Zi, don't do this! Before Qian Chen helped us kill the Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, we never made any such agreement," Zhang Lexuan immediately spoke up in Qian Chen's defense.
"That's right, Xuan Zi!" The other students chimed in all at once.
Xuan Zi looked at Zhang Lexuan and the others, exasperated that iron would not become steel. The next moment, he used Sound Transmission to send a secret message into Zhang Lexuan's ears. "Lexuan, girl, don't be foolish. This Qian Chen is far too strong-a sixteen-year-old Soul Douluo! If he represents another academy in the Soul Master Tournament two years from now, you'll already be twenty-one, too old to compete. Think about it. Who at Shrek Academy would be his match then? If we lose, what will become of Shrek's ten-thousand-year glory?"
Hearing Xuan Zi's message, Zhang Lexuan fell silent.
Indeed, even with her, their senior sister, holding the fort, they were still no match for Qian Chen.
"Besides, I've asked. Qian Chen doesn't belong to any academy. Wouldn't coming to Shrek be perfect? It's good for Shrek and good for Qian Chen!" Xuan Zi's voice continued.
After hearing Xuan Zi's secret message, Zhang Lexuan stopped speaking altogether.
Qian Chen was also somewhat surprised. He had originally only wanted to show his face and earn some goodwill, taking the first step toward laying his plans in Shrek. He hadn't expected to take such a large step that he had trapped himself.
Qian Chen looked at Xuan Zi's solemn face, then at Zhang Lexuan's troubled expression, and knew Xuan Zi had made up his mind. He had no right to refuse now. He had only himself to blame for being unable to beat the man.
Suppressing his disgust and hostility, Qian Chen said against his true feelings, "All right. I've admired Shrek for a long time, too."
He knew he had no choice now. Besides, he already needed to lay his plans in Shrek ahead of time, so he might as well ride the current and maximize his gains.
As soon as Qian Chen said this, Xuan Zi, Zhang Lexuan, Wu Ming, and the other students all breathed a sigh of relief. Only Ning Ke'er's cheeks puffed up in anger. The successor of the Seven Kill Sword had to belong to their Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect! But there was nothing she could do now. She could only wait until they returned to the academy and hurry to send word back to her sect.
Feng Luan and Bing Ling looked at Qian Chen in confusion. Feng Luan asked, "Big brother, you're joining Shrek Academy?"
Qian Chen raised a hand to cut Feng Luan off, then looked at Xuan Zi. "But while I'm willing to join Shrek and even represent Shrek in the Soul Master Tournament, I have a few conditions."
Xuan Zi's face immediately lit up with joy. "Go on, go on! As long as your demands are reasonable, I'll agree to all of them!"
"First, I'll only join Shrek as an ordinary student. This won't be a lifelong bond like joining a sect. If I no longer want to stay in the future, I can leave at any time, and the academy must not stop me."
"Agreed!" Xuan Zi immediately accepted, but thought to himself, Once you've seen Shrek's strength and experienced its glory, you won't have the heart to leave even if you want to.
"Second, from now on, the Shrek Inspection Corps must assign its missions to wipe out Evil Soul Masters to me alone."
Qian Chen had slaughtered the Evil Soul Masters in the Star Luo Empire so ruthlessly that even finding one took considerable time. With Shrek Academy providing information on Evil Soul Masters in the future, his cultivation would only advance faster.
"Third, the academy must place no restrictions on my cultivation resources during my time there and provide all of them free of charge. All prizes from the Soul Master Tournament will belong to me personally. Also, once I reach the Titled Douluo realm, the academy must help me hunt a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, and the Soul Bone it produces will belong to me as well."
Everyone froze after hearing Qian Chen's three conditions. No one had expected this distinguished sixteen-year-old Soul Douluo, the greatest genius on the entire Douluo Continent, to be so pragmatic and place such importance on tangible benefits.
"Agreed! With the authority I have, I accept all your demands!" Xuan Zi agreed to everything with commanding confidence.
Inwardly, flowers were practically blooming in his heart. With a genius like Qian Chen won over, the little loss his gluttony had caused today was not worth mentioning in comparison. Those fallen students he had just used as an excuse had already been flung beyond the ninth heaven.
Immediately afterward, Xuan Zi looked greedily at Feng Luan and Bing Ling as well. "These two children seem exceptionally talented, too. Why don't they join Shrek as well? We're the number one academy in the world!"
But Feng Luan and Bing Ling did not look at Xuan Zi at all. Both turned to Qian Chen in unison.
Qian Chen said without hesitation, "Bing Ling will stay at Shrek with me, with the same treatment as me. As for anything else, don't even think about it, Your Holiness Taotie."
Xuan Zi chuckled. "Qian Chen, stop calling me Your Holiness Taotie. Just call me Xuan Zi, like Lexuan and the others."
"Yes, Xuan Zi." Qian Chen nodded.
"Good! There were some twists and turns today, but the academy gained a genius like Qian Chen. It was worth it! Let's head back to the academy first." Xuan Zi looked around at the injured students. Knowing the Soul Hunting Operation could not continue, he planned to take them back to Shrek to recover first.
With that, Xuan Zi turned to look at Qian Chen. This was his greatest gain today, and his mind was filled with thoughts of quickly introducing Qian Chen to the academy's senior leadership.
"Xuan Zi, I won't be returning to Shrek with you just yet. I still have some personal matters to handle. I'll report to the academy in half a year."
Xuan Zi immediately hesitated. Qian Chen had agreed so readily earlier, and all his conditions had been reasonable, so he had felt quite reassured. Now that Qian Chen suddenly said he was leaving, a drum immediately began beating in Xuan Zi's heart. He strongly suspected the boy was deceiving him.
Just as Xuan Zi hesitated, Zhang Lexuan spoke. "Xuan Zi, I trust Qian Chen."
"All right." Xuan Zi could only let the matter drop.
After leaving Shrek's group, Qian Chen found Pan Long, and the four gathered together. Bing Ling asked, "Big brother, where are we going now?"
"Back to Star Luo City first," Qian Chen said.
Without the slightest hesitation, the three followed Qian Chen straight toward Star Luo City.
According to the Plane Consciousness, that child of destiny is already six years old now. It's time for him to awaken his Martial Soul. It's time to find him, Qian Chen thought.