Sea God Pavilion.
Inside the meeting hall, the Pavilion Elders sat in heavy silence. The atmosphere was gloomy.
"I didn't expect their reaction to be this fast..." Elder Zhuang said with a headache, breaking the silence first.
"Those damned beasts only know how to kick us when we're down!" Elder Song said through gritted teeth, still holding a grudge after being seriously injured by Di Tian's palm earlier. And now, the Star Dou Great Forest had issued a ban.
Wasn't this clearly targeting Shrek Academy?
"We were too hasty," Elder Bai shook his head. "Recently, due to the new student season, Shrek Academy has been frequently taking students into the Star Dou Great Forest to hunt soul beasts—as if afraid it would close its gates. Now it's backfired."
"Enough. Let's think of a solution." Xuanzi finally spoke.
To be honest, he was still thinking about Tang San, the disciple who was rescued by the Clear Sky Sect. After all this time since the battle in Mingdu, they still hadn't returned the kid?
Of course, he'd never admit it was because of his drinking habits that he completely forgot about his own personal disciple.
"Elder Bai, can the Soul Beast Arena cultivate soul beasts?" Xian Lin'er looked over at Elder Bai.
The latter shook his head, already understanding what she meant.
"No. Cultivating soul beasts requires the use of heavenly treasures to increase their age. But that's extremely wasteful. Otherwise, a regular hundred-year-old soul beast alone would take a full century to grow. It also requires enormous manpower and resources to nurture."
"Then can the current arena support Shrek Academy..."
"Xian Lin'er, aren't you going too far?" Cai Mei'er couldn't help but cut in.
She could accept her husband being forced away, but as Vice Dean of the Martial Soul Department, she couldn't resign—even if she continued in the position, resentment still brewed in her heart.
Originally, the Martial Soul Department was already strained by the Soul Tool Department. Even Elder Gong, who was in charge of the Soul Beast Arena, had been forced into retirement. And now, due to the Star Dou situation, the Soul Tool Department wanted to take over the Martial Soul Department's arena too. Even with her good temper, Cai Mei'er was furious.
"We're in an exceptional situation. Isn't it only natural the academy prioritizes the Soul Tool Department?" Xian Lin'er said coldly.
Her meaning was clear: she would fight for that arena.
"Enough! Everyone quiet down!"
Elder Song shot a glare at her daughter, but treated Cai Mei'er with a noticeably softer tone—trying to ease the tension.
"You're fighting over an arena? You're damaging the unity between the two departments!"
Internal competition was fine when Shrek Academy was in its golden age. Struggle brought strength. But now, the only hope was unity and standing together.
"I'm afraid the Clear Sky Sect will send a message soon…" Elder Lin said mildly.
"It's already here."
Elder Song sighed and placed a letter on the table.
The meaning was clear.
There was only so much cake to go around. Now, Shrek, the Heavenly Soul Empire, the Dou Ling Empire, and even the Body Sect would have to fight for a share…
But ultimately, only a few major forces would get to slice the cake.
Those were none other than Shrek Academy and the Clear Sky Sect. The Body Sect didn't even qualify anymore.
"But it's still far from enough!" Xian Lin'er said indignantly.
Even if Shrek got the largest share, it still wasn't one-third of what they used to have!
Just yesterday, three ten-thousand-year soul rings were needed for inner court students applying to hunt in the Star Dou Great Forest!
"And the worst part is—they banned hunting 100,000-year soul beasts… Why?! Without 100,000-year beasts, what about Beibei...?"
Everyone paused, then their faces darkened.
Beibei was one of their greatest hopes to reach Limit Douluo. And soul beasts had a big impact on a person's potential. If his ninth soul skill was only a ten-thousand-year one, the chances of becoming a Limit Douluo would drop significantly.
Not to mention, limits on the number of soul rings also meant a drop in the overall quality of Shrek students and teachers.
Think about a Soul Sage advancing to Soul Douluo—what level should their eighth ring be?
For ordinary Soul Douluo, they could handle soul rings of 50–60 thousand years. But Shrek Academy was different. These were geniuses! Even if the new generation wasn't as good, the inner court elites were still the real deal. Maybe they didn't all get 100,000-year rings like the senior sister, but 70–80 thousand years was still very common.
But now?
With the Star Dou Great Forest imposing control—
Only one soul ring every six months!? And they still had to fight for it against the Body and Clear Sky Sects!
It really was: Easy to go from frugal to lavish, but hard to return to frugality.
The more luxurious Shrek had been, the more painful it was now.
"There's no other way?!!" an irritable elder shouted.
"Going to war with the Star Dou Great Forest? Impossible. They're backed by the Star Luo Empire. And now that the Sun Moon Empire has stationed its two national guardian hands—the Fire Phoenix and Royal Dragon—on the Star Luo border, linking up near the forest… Even if we could defeat the soul beasts, the Sun Moon Empire would intervene immediately..." Elder Lin shook his head.
"However, there is one option."
Xuanzi spoke after some thought.
"What is it?!" Everyone looked at him.
They didn't expect the Sea God Pavilion Master to speak up at such a critical moment.
"The Sun Moon Empire's artificial soul rings," Xuanzi said.
Everyone: "..."
"Bullshit!" Elder Song snapped.
"Then if you've got a better idea, let's hear it!" Xuanzi retorted coldly.
"I…" Elder Song was at a loss for words.
The room fell into awkward silence.
Even though Xuanzi's suggestion seemed outrageous at first glance, when they really thought about it—it might be the only realistic solution...
Because they truly had no other options.
"If we go down this road, then we'll be completely at the Sun Moon Empire's mercy." Elder Lin sighed heavily.
"Buzz…"
A low hum echoed.
Outside the window, a flash of lightning streaked past.
With a wave of his hand, Xuanzi caught a small thunderbird on his shoulder. He untied a strap from its leg and took the letter.
"The latest information on artificial soul rings from the Sun Moon Empire."
He read it aloud.
"In response to the Star Dou Great Forest, this round of artificial soul ring services will not provide any 100,000-year rings. All rings below 100,000 years are available for customization. Pricing as follows..."
Reading the figures, Xuanzi's mouth twitched.
90,000-year ring – 9 million Gold Soul Coins!
80,000-year ring – 8 million!
(and so on...)
10,000-year ring – 1 million!
1,000-year ring – 100,000!
100-year ring – 10,000!
"Damn it, daylight robbery!!"
As his words ended, the room fell deathly silent.
Elder Song and Xian Lin'er were seething with rage.
Elders Zhuang and Lin could only shake their heads helplessly.
The Sun Moon Empire had found Shrek's weak spot and aimed right at it.
Was it expensive?
Absolutely.
But it was just within Shrek Academy's limits of affordability.
It might seem like just 10,000 or 100,000 Gold Soul Coins, but that was for a single 100- or 1,000-year soul ring!
How much did those used to cost Shrek Academy?
Nothing. They used to pluck them straight from the Star Dou Great Forest.
But now...
When you had to multiply that by one, two, hundreds, even thousands, the total cost was utterly terrifying.
(End of Chapter)