Chapter 135: Three, Two, One—Everyone on Board!
"Alright, fine! I can join Shrek Academy if that's what you want!"
Ling Zichen didn't even look up from her experiment. Even though the man before her was clearly trying to poach her for Shrek Academy, she didn't care much.
"Really? Sister Zichen!"
Yi Zichen—like her, came from an ordinary family. The two had known each other since childhood.
Unfortunately, when he was six years old, Yi Zichen awakened his martial soul—"Dust."
He was born with innate full soul power and possessed the rare Elemental Earth attribute. By sheer luck, a Shrek Academy teacher happened to witness his awakening and took him away on the spot.
Otherwise, a civilian talent like him, normally under the Spirit Transmission Tower's control, would never have ended up in Shrek.
As her childhood friend, Yi Zichen's success had once left Ling Zichen in his shadow. No one expected the powerless girl who never awakened a martial soul to rise purely through intellect.
But now the title of "Genius Girl" echoed across the entire Federation.
Hearing that Ling Zichen was even considering the offer, Yi Zichen's heart leaped.
He could finally be with her again!
Then Ling Zichen casually said, "I want one of Di Tian's scales."
Yi Zichen blinked. "...What?"
A scale?
From Di Tian, the Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King—the first of the Ten Great Ferocious Beasts, and rival in strength to Yun Ming, the Continent's mightiest being?
"S-sister Zichen, please tell me you're joking."
She tilted her head innocently. "A Di Tian scale. You know—the Spirit Transmission Tower's Vice Master. The Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King, current head of the Ten Great Beasts."
"I—I know that, but…"
Yi Zichen, despite being part of the Outer Court, had nearly one foot into Shrek's Inner Court and even apprenticed under an Elder of the Sea God Pavilion for evaluation.
He knew Shrek's thousand-year foundation was immense, but how in the world was he supposed to acquire that?
Who could even hurt Di Tian, much less take a scale off his body?
"So?"
"If you don't have it, then forget it," Ling Zichen said lightly. "I don't care about Douluo University itself. I'm here because they have materials I need. If Shrek can supply them, then sure—I can join Shrek Academy."
Though the Federation had treated her well, she was a pure researcher. She would go wherever offered the best facilities.
Yi Zichen deflated immediately.
Maybe if he sold out the Sea God Pavilion's master, he could trade for a few scales.
No—definitely not.
He couldn't exactly show up saying, "Three, two, one—everyone on board!"
That would be absurd.
"Really? Isn't there any room for negotiation?" he pleaded, unwilling to give up.
He desperately wanted to be near her again—to see her every day if possible.
"No Di Tian scales, huh?" she asked. "Then what about access to divine weapons? A hundred-thousand-year soul bone? Heavenly forging materials? Or maybe—"
Her rapid-fire demands left him frozen, expression blank.
Ling Zichen frowned.
"This you don't have, that you don't have—what does Shrek Academy actually have?"
"W-we have… have…" His voice shrank until he blurted, "We have Shrek's ten-thousand-year honor!"
That statement almost made her laugh out loud.
"Yi Zichen, just because we knew each other as kids doesn't mean you can waste my time."
"My time is extremely valuable!"
"So are you leaving on your own, or should I call someone to escort you out?"
If not for their long friendship, that last line alone would've earned him a beating.
Shrek's honor? What use was that? You couldn't eat it, trade it, or use it to fund research!
Ridiculous.
She shook her head, returning to work at her lab table while her mind simultaneously calculated the fastest way to accumulate credits for redeeming Di Tian's scale before anyone else got to it.
"Sister Zichen…"
"Hmm?"
Her cold gaze made Yi Zichen freeze immediately.
He knew right then—she wasn't coming.
Forget the Tang Sect inheritance offer. She clearly had no interest.
"Sigh…"
Someday, Sister Zichen would regret not joining Shrek Academy.
Douluo University had no future!
She wasn't the only one to receive an invitation. Many Douluo University professors had too—accompanied by lavish promises.
Yet few accepted.
Firstly, it required relocating overseas, and most professors already had families. Moving them across continents wasn't simple.
Secondly, though Shrek Academy was hailed as "the greatest academy under heaven," that title meant little to scientists.
To researchers, Shrek represented stagnation.
Ten thousand years ago, while Shrek lagged behind, the Sun–Moon Empire's soul technology had dominated the three empires completely.
In a desperate response, Shrek had once founded a Soul Tool Department.
But eventually, that too was scrapped, its remnants handed over to the Tang Sect.
Though Shrek and Tang Sect maintained close ties, they were still separate forces.
For researchers, Shrek's rejection of technology was a blatant insult.
They weren't as strong as soul masters, perhaps, but that didn't mean they wanted to live under their boots.
To them, Shrek Academy was a place even dogs wouldn't go!
Bang!
In the Sea God Pavilion, Yun Ming slammed his hand on the table, face dark with fury.
Another meeting was underway—this time filled with tension.
Two days earlier, he'd witnessed Douluo University's opening ceremony.
What he saw there terrified him to the core—the Federation's technological might, displayed so openly… and that was probably only what they'd allowed the world to see. The rest—hidden, waiting.
Even as the continent's strongest man, Yun Ming understood true fear.
What did strength mean, really?
An era of invincibility lasted maybe a century or two before crumbling to time.
He couldn't ascend to godhood. His strength had a ceiling.
But technology—technology had none.
The Federation had already developed Level Twelve Fixed Soul Cannons capable of slaying gods.
Didn't that say it all?
Soul masters were no longer invincible.
Even gods couldn't block one blast—let alone a hundred, a thousand, or ten thousand.
"Pavilion Master, aren't you overreacting?" an elder scoffed.
"Shrek's pride lies in cultivating soul masters. We've trained nine gods already!"
"Reestablishing a Soul Engineering Division is redundant!"
"Even if we did—the Federation's far beyond our reach. It's hopeless."
(END CHAPTER)
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