Chapter 53.3: Irrefutable Benefits?
Yan Shaozhe’s attitude changed as he faced Fan Yu. He said indifferently, “Fan Yu, you should already know that Huo Yuhao has an Ultimate element. Do you think your Soul Tool Department can nurture an Ultimate element better than our Martial Soul Department? Do you know what an Ultimate soul master means to our academy? During the past ten thousand years, our Shrek Academy has become the continent’s number one academy by taking one step at a time. Other than the extreme leap we experienced under the leadership of Ancestor Tang San and the original Shrek’s Seven Monsters, our academy has had three glorious batches. Those three batches were all created through the leadership of an Ultimate Douluo. This was how we solidified our status. Thus, Huo Yuhao’s Ultimate element has great significance to us. Under ordinary circumstances, I wouldn’t have used a method like this to request that he return to the Martial Soul Department. However, this matter is no longer negotiable. I’d rather not be so thick-skinned but we have to make him stay in the Martial Soul Department for the sake of the academy’s glory.”
Fan Yu tightly furrowed his brows. He didn’t think that Yan Shaozhe would be this stubborn and troublesome.
“Yan Shaozhe, shouldn’t you ask me first before stealing one of my students?” A clear and melodious voice rang out as another person walked into the room, making Wang Yan’s office much more congested.
The rage on Qian Duoduo’s face immediately dissipated the moment he saw this person. “Lin’er, I’m glad you finally came. Otherwise, I’d die from anger due to this old bastard.”
The newcomer was a woman, about 1.7m tall. She looked like she was in her early fifties. Her skin was white, her black hair was neatly bundled up, and her gilded clothes made her look extremely experienced. Though she was aged, one could still tell that she was definitely an absolute beauty in her youth.
Fan Yu bent down to Huo Yuhao’s ear and whispered, “This is our Dean, Xian Lin’er.”
Huo Yuhao had calmed down much more with Fan Yu by his side. He knew that remaining silent at this moment was for the best. When the gods were fighting, it was better for a lowly student like him to stay out of the way.
Yan Shaozhe furrowed his brows upon seeing Xian Lin’er, “Lin’er, you’re…”
Xian Lin’er said icily, “When we were young, you never kept your word. Now that we’re over eighty years old, you’re still the same. You’re bullying my men to their breaking point. Didn’t you say that you were very good at fighting? Come on, I’ll duel you right now. Let’s go to the Soul Duelling Arena.”
Yan Shaozhe, who previously had a clear advantage over Qian Duoduo and Fan Yu, had an embarrassed look on his face now. “Lin’er,” he said, “why are you doing this? I truly regret what I’ve done regarding this matter. However, you should understand what an Ultimate soul master means for the future of our academy. This isn’t something that a simple bet can change. I’ve already talked it over with the teachers from the inner courtyard; Huo Yuhao must stay in my Martial Soul Department.”
Xian Lin’er said icily, “And what are you relying on in order to pull this off? Is it just because your Martial Soul Department is the top-ranked one in the continent? Does that mean that our Soul Tool Department has to give you our core disciples? How do you know that this child won’t become someone outstanding by staying in our Soul Tool Department? I admit that what you’ve said isn’t wrong; if your Martial Soul Department nurtures him well, it’s very likely that he’ll become your department’s future pillar, and in turn will allow you to maintain your position as the number one martial soul department on the continent. However, you haven’t thought about what happens if our Soul Tool Department manages to nurture him well, he might be able to bring our Soul Tool Department to the number one spot in the entire continent, allowing us to be free from the suppression of the Sun Moon Empire? I’ve explicitly stated that you won’t be able to snatch any student from my department. You don’t need to force this child either; he belongs to my Soul Tool Department. You were talking about a hundred thousand year soul beast? When the time comes, I’ll help him hunt one. If worst comes to worst, I’ll just hand my life over to the Great Star Dou Forest. Then, I’ll have been forced to death by you.”
Qian Duoduo’s expression became somewhat strange. He was slightly embarrassed and yet not. However, the anger on his face had completely vanished.
This time around, Yan Shaozhe’s face alternated betweens shades green and white. He had a myriad of forms of sophistry, yet he couldn’t use any of them in front of Xian Lin’er. He had a guilty conscience regarding her, due to certain things he’d done during his youth. However, an Ultimate twin-souled soul master was something that might not even occur once in a millennium for the Martial Soul Department. Thus, as the Dean of the Martial Soul Department, he couldn’t simply give up because of his personal feelings.
Yan Shaozhe took a deep breath. “Lin’er, here’s how I see it. This matter has already reached the point where we can’t settle it through a simple conversation. Why don’t we decide it with a meeting in the Sea God’s Pavilion? What do you think?”
Xian Lin’er didn’t hesitate to reply, “Fine. A meeting at the Sea God’s Pavilion it is. I’m just afraid that you won’t show up. No matter what way you word it, our side’s more logical. Come, we’ll go and gather the elders from the Hall of Consecration and start the meeting. I want to see how why you think you can steal my student.”
Yan Shaozhe furrowed his brows tightly, then turned to Huo Yuhao and revealed a warm smile. “Huo Yuhao, this matter is also related to your own interests. You should consider it carefully. As for us, we’ll have to discuss the matter first.” With that, he turned around and left.
Xian Lin’er’s expression turned grave as she turned to face Huo Yuhao. “Child, ignore him. You don’t need to pay this matter too much attention. Continue to cultivate diligently; the academy will make everything clear soon.” With that, she left as well. Qian Duoduo hurriedly chased after her, leaving Fan Yu and Wang Yan in the office.
Wang Yan was somewhat speechless. “It seems that this matter’s gotten noisy. Aih…”
Fan Yu patted Huo Yuhao on the shoulder. “Yuhao, head back and rest first. Dean Xian’s right; you don’t need to worry too much about this matter, nor should you feel any mental burdens over it. No matter what the Academy decides, in the end, it won’t be a bad thing for you. Work hard and continue cultivating. Increasing your cultivation is the most important thing for you right now.”
Once the Deans had left, the pressure that Huo Yuhao felt in his heart lessened by a large amount. He hurriedly nodded and replied, “Yes, teacher.” The smartest thing he’d done throughout the situation was to not show where he stood on the matter. Though his heart was naturally inclined towards the Soul Tool Department, it would be a lie if he said that Wang Yan and Dean Yan Shaozhe’s words hadn’t moved him.
The thing that had moved him most hadn’t been Yan Shaozhe’s promises, as he already had two extremely powerful and intelligent soul rings. He wasn’t worried about his chances of obtaining powerful soul rings and soul bones in the future either. What Wang Yan had said about the Martial Soul Department being best qualified to teach a student with an Ultimate martial soul, however, had moved him. Furthermore, Yan Shaozhe had apologised to him with his status as a Dean, and had even promised to allow Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao to directly enter the inner courtyard. Even if he didn’t think about himself, it wasn’t as if he could simply not care for his companions. For him to make such a decision right now was simply too difficult for him. As such, he’d simply decided to remain silent and allow the academy to make the decision for him. He’d already thought it through; no matter what the academy’s final decision was, he’d fully comply with it. In the deepest recesses of his heart however, he didn’t truly wish to give up on either side, nor was he able to.
When left the faculty building, he saw Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao waiting for him. They immediately rushed over to him the instant they saw him.
Wang Dong spoke in a low voice, “What’s the situation? What did Teacher Wang call you over for?”
Huo Yuhao didn’t conceal anything in front of them. He recounted the events that had occurred in Teacher Wang Yan’s office. Both Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao’s eyes went wide when they heard that the three Deans had fought over him.
Wang Dong was astonished as he said, “Truly capable! You’ve become so popular so quickly. Dean Yan seems really sincere, too! However, the Soul Tool Department’s treated you well. What do you think?”
Huo Yuhao smiled bitterly. “What’s there to think about? There’s nothing I can change; I’m merely a student. Do you really think that I get to decide anything? I’ll just comply with the academy’s arrangements. Dean Yan, Dean Xian, and Dean Qian have all left to have a meeting. I reckon that they’ll have a result shortly. However… I’d prefer to not give up on either side.”
Xiao Xiao was somewhat worried. “Wouldn’t you not get anything good from both parties then? Yuhao, you don’t have to worry about us. I’m confident that I’ll be able to enter the inner courtyard with my own hard work. It’s fine if you make your own choice.”
Huo Yuhao was greatly moved when he heard her words. He looked at her small, pretty face and sincerely said, “Thanks, Xiao Xiao.”
Wang Dong’s expression tensed up, but then quickly relaxed. “Let’s head back first. You’re right, it’d be best for the academy to make the decision.”
Huo Yuhao suddenly asked, “Right, Xiao Xiao. How’d you do in your test?”
Xiao Xiao giggled. “110 marks. I’m a control-type soul master, and I also chose a thousand year soul beast. Even though the soul beast and I fought for quite a while, it couldn’t do anything to me until my soul power had been fully drained. The judges gave me a high score when they saw this.”
Wang Dong said, “Right, that Dai Huabin lost to us again. When will we settle our bet?”
Wang Dong truly wasn’t in the mood to deal with Dai Huabin. Furthermore, he felt somewhat regretful. If it hadn’t been for their bet, he wouldn’t have had to reveal his abilities during their advancement test. If not for that, he naturally wouldn’t have to deal with the predicament he was currently in.
“We’ll ignore him for now,” Huo Yuhao replied, “let’s just head back to our dorm rooms and wait for the academy’s decision. It’d be best to simply be a bit more obedient for the time being.”
Wang Dong nodded. “That’s that then. Let’s head back and cultivate.”
“It’s rare for you to be this diligent!” Huo Yuhao replied jokingly.
Wang Dong snorted. “How could I not feel endangered now that you’ve become so popular? Speaking of which, that Ultimate martial soul of yours is really magical. Even a thousand year soul beast was scared to the point that it tried to flee from it.”
Huo Yuhao replied, “I was simply relying on my elemental advantage. If it were a true 1v1, you and Dai Huabin are much stronger than I am. I’m definitely not a match for you guys. Right, Xiao Xiao, what soul rank are you at now?”
Xiao Xiao said, “I’m at Rank 28 now! I reckon that I’ll be able to reach Rank 30 by the end of the year.” When she’d first entered the academy, her soul rank had been at around Wang Dong’s level. However, she didn’t have the Haodong Power that Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao had. As such, the difference in their cultivation speed was apparent now.
“Let’s head back,” Huo Yuhao said “the most important thing we have to do right now is to work hard and increase our strength. We’ll be considered to have established ourselves in the academy once we become disciples of the inner courtyard.”
————
Sea God’s Island.
Sea God’s Island had several buildings on it, but one among them was unquestionably the tallest and grandest. This building was the Sea God’s Pavilion, situated in the heart of the island.
Sea God’s Pavilion was six floors tall, and every floor was more than ten meters high, which resulted in an extremely grand structure. In turn, the mist that pervaded the island year-round made it so that Shrek Academy’s outer courtyard was unable to see it clearly.
Sea God’s Pavilion was the most important place within Shrek Academy, as the Hall of Consecration was located within it. The secret library that Yan Shaozhe had spoken to Wang Yan about was also located here. There were also a few secrets not known to anyone located here as well. Thus, there was no lack of extremely valuable treasures here.
