Lu Ren smiled and didn’t answer, instead changing the subject:
“Hall Master, the people from Shrek already know of my existence.”
“Given their style, it won’t be long before someone comes looking for me.”
“So, now that you know this, how do you plan to respond?”
Hall Master Jing Hongchen’s expression darkened slightly:
“It’s impossible for anyone to invade this place silently.
This is the Sun Moon Empire, not a place where they can act wildly.”
“Is that so?” Lu Ren said with a faint smile.
“Even if Xuan Zi himself sneaks in?”
Hall Master Jing Hongchen’s pupils contracted slightly.
Xuan Zi, a Level 98 Super Douluo, was one of Shrek Academy’s pillars of support.
For a powerhouse of that level, wanting to sneak into the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy was indeed not a difficult task.
“It seems everything is within your calculations.” Hall Master Jing Hongchen stared at him.
“You first caused trouble at Shrek, then escaped pursuit to come here, using your strength to force us to protect you.
Am I correct?”
“Otherwise, there’s no way to explain this series of events; they’re far too coincidental.”
Lu Ren neither denied nor admitted it.
He just looked at Hall Master Jing Hongchen with a beaming smile, waiting for him to continue.
Hall Master Jing Hongchen asked, “What do you want to do?”
“I naturally trust the Hall Master’s strength.” Lu Ren’s tone was light, as if he were discussing a trivial matter.
“But when facing a powerhouse of Xuan Zi’s level, it’s always right to make a few more preparations.”
He paused, his gaze falling on Hall Master Jing Hongchen’s face.
“Could you please give me a few spirit tools?
For instance, a means to contact you under any circumstances?”
Hall Master Jing Hongchen fell silent.
He stared at Lu Ren for a long time, as if re-evaluating the weight of this youth.
After a long while, he took out a fist-sized spherical object from his robe.
It was entirely silver-white, its surface covered with intricate spirit tool arrays.
“If something happens, place your hand on it and inject Soul Power.” He handed the sphere to Lu Ren.
“I will come.”
He paused and added, “This thing has positioning capabilities, but you can rest assured it won’t activate unless you inject Soul Power.
I have no need to monitor you, nor do I have the interest.
Otherwise, I wouldn’t have told you about it.”
Lu Ren took the sphere and weighed it in his hand.
Without checking it, he tucked it directly into his robe.
“My thanks, Hall Master.” He nodded.
“If there’s nothing else, I’ll head back to rest.”
“Go on.” Hall Master Jing Hongchen waved his hand.
“Rest well.
This old man is counting on you to help us teach Shrek a harsh lesson during the tournament.
I’ve agreed to the deal you proposed; I will find a hundred-thousand-year soul bone for you afterward.”
“Thank you for your trust, Hall Master.”
With that, Lu Ren turned and walked toward the dormitories.
Hall Master Jing Hongchen stood where he was, watching the boy’s back disappear at the end of the corridor.
He suddenly recalled that when he handed over the spirit tool just now, Lu Ren had accepted it without even looking.
This kid actually trusts him quite a bit.
He withdrew his gaze, a faint curve appearing at the corner of his mouth.
Trust.
To have such a temperament at this age, to be able to make such calculations, and to accept something without hesitation after receiving it…
He was either naive to the point of stupidity or shrewd to the extreme.
Lu Ren was clearly not the former.
Hall Master Jing Hongchen stood with his hands behind his back, looking out the window at the gradually darkening sky.
Shrek, Xuan Zi…
He narrowed his eyes.
It seemed there would be quite a bit of maneuvering ahead.
But most importantly, he was starting to suspect Lu Ren’s true identity.
A mere Spirit Ancestor was able to take a trip through Shrek and then, as if nothing had happened, travel thousands of miles to join them…
“Could it be that he really is a spy from Shrek Academy?”
Hall Master Jing Hongchen murmured to himself.
“But it doesn’t matter.
Even if he is a spy, whether Shrek feels the loss or not, I have ten thousand ways to make him stay in the Sun Moon Empire of his own free will!”
…
Dusk dyed the Shrek Academy buildings a dark gold, and the bustle in front of the freshman dormitory had faded with the end of the day.
An old man in gray sat on a bench.
The wrinkles on his face were as deep as if carved by a knife, his eyelids drooped over dim eyes, and his entire being exuded an aura of impending death.
No one passing by would give him a second glance.
No one would imagine that this frail old man was the top existence on the Douluo Continent today.
The Level 99 Limit Douluo, the Dragon God Douluo, Mu En.
He slowly stood up, preparing to leave.
A figure appeared before him.
The newcomer was covered in grease, his hair a tangled mess.
His long robe, which should have been white, had long since turned grayish-brown, with many tears at the cuffs and hem; his appearance was truly wretched.
This person was nicknamed the “Supreme Elder of the Holy Spirit Cult,” but in reality, he was one of Shrek Academy’s pillars of support, the Level 98 Super Douluo, Xuan Zi.
“Elder Mu.” Xuan Zi’s voice was low.
“Actually, you knew from the start that the child had entered Shrek, didn’t you?”
Mu En smiled.
“So many children live in the Outer Court every day; for a moment, I really don’t know which one you’re referring to.”
“Elder Mu!” Xuan Zi grew anxious.
“A month ago, it was that fellow who ruined the matter we secretly agreed upon with the Clear Sky Sect.
Wang Donger was supposed to experience life at the academy disguised as a boy, but he exposed her in public.
We naturally know the truth, but the students don’t!”
“Isn’t this quite good?” Mu En was still cheerful.
“A girl, and a princess of a Sect at that—why should she wrong herself by crowding in with boys?”
“That’s not the point!”
Xuan Zi’s voice rose a few notches.
“The point is that he displayed his spirit rings in public.
His first and second spirit rings were thousand-year ones, and his third and fourth spirit rings even reached the ten-thousand-year level!”
“He is the strongest genius we have ever seen; even Ancestor Tang San from ten thousand years ago can’t compare!”
The more he spoke, the more excited he became, a burning light bursting from his cloudy eyes.
“But Elder Mu, why didn’t you take the initiative to recruit him?
Why did you let him leave?”
“If you had acted to keep him that day, why would we have had to spend an entire month looking for him?”
On the day of freshman enrollment, his mind and those of several other top powerhouses weren’t focused on the Outer Court at all.
By the time the news reached their ears, quite some time had passed.
That period was enough for Lu Ren to run very far.
Shrek even dispatched the Inspection Team to track him across the World, but there was no news.
A month had passed, and they hadn’t even caught a glimpse of his shadow.
A Four-Ring Soul Ancestor’s ability to hide his tracks was actually this strong?
“It seems Shrek Academy has enjoyed peaceful days for too long.” Mu En smiled, his tone flat.
“So long that even when someone invaded the Outer Court, you failed to react in time.”
Xuan Zi caught the underlying meaning and immediately lowered his head, feeling somewhat ashamed.
That day, he was still elsewhere drinking wine and eating chicken legs, so drunk that the World was spinning; he hadn’t noticed the matter at all.
Elder Mu was giving them a warning.
Mu En walked away slowly with his hands behind his back, leaving only a sentence drifting in the evening breeze:
“He has a very poor impression of us; if he doesn’t want to join, then he won’t join.”
“Forcing a recruitment will only make the child hate Shrek even more; the loss would outweigh the gain.”
“If you want him to enter our doors, you must first solve this problem.”
Xuan Zi’s heart skipped a beat, and he hurriedly bowed in response:
“Yes, Elder Mu.”
*******************************
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