"Wait, brother, I'm not sure I understand."
When Bei Bei asked, there was no hint of an argument with Mu Yueye in his eyes. Instead, he looked as innocently bewildered as a child.
That bewildered look made Mu Yueye shake his head in exasperation. He pinched Bei Bei's cheek and said,
"Are we really blood brothers?"
The soul-searching question caught Bei Bei off guard. When he thought about the difference between their Martial Souls, the "of course" stuck in his throat.
Mu Yueye had only been teasing Bei Bei. Seeing him freeze up like that, he smiled and said,
"All right, all right, don't worry. We're definitely blood brothers. Besides, who would dare mix sand into our great-great-grandfather's bloodline? Wouldn't that be courting death?"
Mu Yueye flexed his arms as he spoke to Bei Bei.
"Just wear these clothes when you go negotiate with him. If the Iron Blood Sect's people have even half a brain, they'll do as you ask. If they really are that brainless, come back, and I'll have a way to stand up for you."
Bei Bei looked at the inner-court uniform, half convinced and half doubtful. Mu Yueye had already sat cross-legged and begun his second round of cultivation.
Bei Bei clearly had yet to realize what the uniform in his hands meant.
The number one academy on the continent was, in essence, the equivalent of a fifth empire on the Douluo Continent.
Never mind a mere Iron Blood Sect; even nobles from the three nations originally on the Douluo Continent were no exception.
Whenever Shrek Academy heard of their evil deeds, its inner-court disciples had been known to visit their estates to enforce justice.
At least in this era, no power dared raise any objection to Shrek Academy's actions.
Wearing Shrek Academy's uniform meant that the other party had to consider whether Shrek Academy would be angered on your account.
There were only a handful of powers on the continent capable of withstanding Shrek's wrath. Even if the Iron Blood Sect's power increased tenfold, it would certainly not be among them.
Out of trust in Mu Yueye, Bei Bei put the uniform away. He then bowed slightly to Mu Yueye, turned, and left.
On the morning of the third day, big news broke at Shrek Academy.
Bei Bei, an outer-court disciple, returned to Shrek Academy in a somewhat tattered uniform, looking thoroughly battered.
Bei Bei remembered what Mu Yueye had said and went to find him almost immediately.
Mu Yueye was a little stunned. He stared at Bei Bei in disbelief, and the first thing out of his mouth was,
"Are those injuries real?"
Bei Bei froze and stared at Mu Yueye in astonishment. Mu Yueye continued,
"Speak. Are those injuries real? How did you get them?"
Bei Bei scratched his head, then covered the wound on his face and said,
"As soon as I entered the Iron Blood Sect, their young sect master stopped me. After I told them what I wanted, they burst out laughing and surrounded me. They said if I wanted the memorial tablets, Tang Ya would have to come and beg on her knees... I got angry and fought them, but there were too many of them, and they threw me out."
"Pfft."
Mu Yueye burst out laughing. Bei Bei tilted his head and looked at him with a somewhat aggrieved expression.
"Brother, I've been beaten up like this, and you're laughing... isn't that a bit unfair?"
Mu Yueye showed no sign of suppressing his smile. Instead, it grew wider and wider until he roared with laughter and said,
"Good, good, good. Very good. Excellent. Now that the Iron Blood Sect has done this, things will be easy for us. Forget their lousy memorial tablets. We'll take their entire sect."
As Mu Yueye spoke the last sentence, his gaze visibly sharpened.
Bei Bei froze, then looked at Mu Yueye, who said to him,
"What are you standing there for? Lead the way. We're heading straight for the Iron Blood Sect."
Bei Bei looked at Mu Yueye hesitantly and said,
"Brother, they're a proper sect, after all, and the Heaven Dou City Defense Force is in cahoots with them. This..."
Mu Yueye smiled and said to Bei Bei,
"That's where you're wrong. Never mind a lousy Heaven Dou City Defense Force-even if you put all the worshippers of Heavenly Soul and the Dou Ling Empire together, they'd still be no match for us."
Mu Yueye had studied the balance of power on the continent. At this point, Du Busi and the Body Sect's elders were not yet openly worshippers of the Heavenly Soul Empire, so there was nothing wrong with what Mu Yueye had said.
Bei Bei looked at Mu Yueye in puzzlement, as though he had no idea where his confidence came from.
Mu Yueye flexed his wrists and said to Bei Bei,
"Lead the way. Today I'll show you exactly what standing our academy has on the continent."
Bei Bei finally nodded, then stepped forward and led the way.
In the Iron Blood Sect's ancestral hall, the young sect master who had beaten Bei Bei no longer looked so full of himself. He knelt there with his head lowered.
The Iron Blood Sect's master, the man who had led the sect in seizing the Tang Sect's foundation, was whipping his son.
"This is more than you asking for a beating. You dare hit anyone! You even hit someone wearing Shrek Academy's uniform. Do you have a death wish?!"
The young sect master had already been beaten until his skin split and his flesh tore. Somewhat less defiant now, he said to the Iron Blood Sect's master,
"Father, you can't put all the blame on me. They came in and told us to carry the memorial tablets in our hands all the way to Shrek City. How far is that? Making us carry the tablets of a few dead people who have nothing to do with us-isn't that humiliating?"
The Iron Blood Sect's master was so angry he nearly laughed. He roared at his son,
"Humiliating? Believe it or not, if you offered that chance to others, the people who wanted it would line up all the way from our sect to Heaven Dou Imperial City! Do you know what that place is? It's fucking Shrek Academy! The holy land in the hearts of every Soul Master on the continent!"
Just as the Iron Blood Sect's master was scolding his son, a sect sentry rushed in and shouted to him,
"Sect master, Sect Master, the people from Shrek are here again!"
The sect master hurriedly threw down his whip and immediately said,
"What are you all standing around for? Get the band and the horn players ready. Quickly, invite them in! Quickly!"
Bei Bei looked in astonishment at the scene before him, at the Iron Blood Sect's people and their attitude now.
It was completely different from how they had treated him at first.
It was as if he had come to an entirely different sect.
He could not help rubbing his eyes, while Mu Yueye walked into the Iron Blood Sect with his Soul Rings activated all the way.
The moment the Iron Blood Sect's master saw Mu Yueye, his heart skipped a beat.
Although he did not recognize Mu Yueye, he recognized the inner-court uniform he wore. He also saw the four Soul Rings at Mu Yueye's feet-one yellow, two purple, and one black-which did not match her age at all.
What that configuration meant went without saying.
A core disciple of Shrek Academy's inner court, unquestionably a future leader among the younger generation...