While Furina and her group were on their way back to Shrek Academy, undercurrents were surging within the Holy Spirit Cult.
They discovered that the Eighth Elder had gone missing.
They had tried every method of communication, but it was like a stone sinking into the ocean; no trace could be found. The people of the Holy Spirit Cult had begun a secret search early on, but they came up empty-handed.
Logically speaking, a Titled Douluo-level Evil Soul Master, and a spiritual control system powerhouse at that, could not vanish without reason. Even if they had fought a powerful enemy, they shouldn't have evaporated from the face of the earth without a sound, unless the opponent was a Limit Douluo like the Dragon God Douluo, Mu En.
But Mu En only stayed at Shrek Academy. According to their intelligence, that old Dragon God was plagued by hidden ailments and had long since gone into seclusion to recover; it was impossible for him to leave the academy and go to a place like Heaven Dou City to take out a Titled Douluo.
Even if Mu En really had nothing better to do, how would he know that the Holy Spirit Cult's people were there? Moreover, the Sleep Nightmare Titled Douluo was no fool; if he encountered a powerhouse like Mu En, he would have fled immediately upon sensing even a hint of his aura. How could he have been killed so silently?
The final clues pointed to Heaven Dou City. But there was nothing unusual in Heaven Dou City. The only thing worth mentioning was that an obscure small Sect had been wiped out. Strictly speaking, it wasn't even wiped out; the Sect Master had just died, and the Sect had disbanded.
In its place was an organization called the Tang Sect. The Tang Sect, which had once been famous throughout the continent, had long since fallen into decline. They did indeed have some grievances with that small Sect, so it made sense for them to have exterminated the other party.
After investigating to the end, the Holy Spirit Cult truly couldn't find any clues and could only choose to give up.
Losing an Elder wasn't a big deal to them; they could just replace him with someone else. Anyway, there was no real affection between Evil Soul Masters; it didn't matter who took the position.
Since they couldn't find the killer, the matter could only be dropped.
They just treated it as an act of heaven's wrath.
After all, they had done so many bad things that retribution was only to be expected. Although they didn't care about heaven's wrath—having killed so many people, if retribution were to come, it should have arrived long ago.
...
After returning to Shrek Academy, life resumed its usual rhythm.
Cultivating, attending classes, day after day.
The students to whom Furina had previously extended an olive branch all secretly spoke with her, expressing their willingness to join the Axis Cult. Furina naturally welcomed this warmly; after all, this was her original intention for coming to Shrek.
Next was the advancement examination.
The so-called advancement examination consisted of fighting Soul Beasts in the Colosseum Area. For Furina and the others, it was just a piece of cake, and they passed easily.
During the examination, Dai Huabin, just like in the original story, made another bet with Huo Yuhao.
The result, of course, was that he lost again and had to kowtow and apologize to Huo Yuhao according to the bet.
Furina watched from the side, shaking her head.
She really wondered if this guy had some sort of masochistic tendency. He had clearly seen the gap between them last time; did he really think that by switching to fighting Soul Beasts, he wouldn't lose? Sigh, still too naive.
...
Meanwhile, on Shrek Academy's Sea God Island, an important meeting was being held.
Inside the Sea Gods Pavilion's grand conference hall, there was total silence.
Nine people sat around an oval long table. At the head of the table, on a reclining chair, lay the person who was none other than the Dragon God Douluo, Mu En.
Qian Duoduo, the Vice Dean of the Soul Tool Department, sat at the end of the right side of the long table. Originally, the Dean of the Soul Tool Department, Xian Liner, should have been sitting with him, but since she had not yet returned from Cultivating in the Extreme North Land with Ma Xiaotao, that seat was vacant.
Yan Shaozhe, the Dean of the Martial Soul Department, and his wife, Cai Mei'er, the Vice Principal of the Martial Soul Department, sat at the end of the left side.
Aside from the three of them, those sitting in front were all white-haired Elders, each emitting an unfathomable aura. Elder Xuan was also among them, holding a chicken leg in his left hand and a wine gourd in his right, taking a bite of meat and a gulp of wine, his face greasy from eating, looking very leisurely.
"Everyone is here," Mu En's voice was calm and aged. "Then let the meeting begin."
Everyone sat up straight, their gazes fixed on the old man in the head seat.
"I have called you all here for only one purpose," Mu En spoke slowly. "For the future of Shrek Academy."
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone present felt a chill in their hearts.
These words carried immense weight.
To put it seriously, it meant that Elder Mu might be stepping down, or even... might be about to pass away. To put it lightly, it was a major plan for the academy's future development. Regardless of the possibility, for Elder Mu to personally raise this topic, the matter was certainly not simple.
Profound Ancestor slightly raised his hand and called out, "Bei Bei, come out."
Bei Bei emerged from a side door at the call, walked to the long table, and bowed respectfully. "Yes, Mu En."
Everyone's gaze instantly shifted from Elder Mu to Bei Bei, filled with scrutiny and curiosity.
Those who could attend the Sea Gods Pavilion meeting were either Deans, Vice Deans, or the Elders of the Sea Gods Pavilion. Ordinary people had no right to step foot here, not even their Personal Disciples.
"Ahem..." Mu En coughed twice. "Bei Bei, you tell them. Detail everything you saw and heard at the Axis Cult for the Elders and Deans."
Bei Bei nodded, took a deep breath, and began to recount his experiences over the break.
He eloquently described what he had seen and heard at the Axis Cult, balancing detail and brevity.
About the massive organizational structure, the astonishing financial resources, the miraculous Cultivation Techniques, and that unique Jianan Academy.
But regarding core secrets like artificial soul bones and Artificial Soul Rings, he did not reveal everything, only touching upon them briefly. He had only told the full intelligence to Elder Mu alone.
Even so, the content of his narration was enough to shock everyone present.
"A Limit Douluo presiding?!" one Elder couldn't help but exclaim. "No wonder they could develop so quickly and even have the Star Luo Imperial Family designate them as the national religion, even though they haven't acknowledged it."
Qian Duoduo frowned, his fingers lightly tapping the table. "The development in spirit tools sounds faster and more aggressive than ours..."
Although Shrek supported the Soul Tool Department, that support was far from enough compared to the Sun Moon Empire. Now, it seemed even the Axis Cult was about to overtake them.
"Researching spirit rings and Spirit Bones?" An incredible light flashed in Qian Duoduo's eyes. "This is something unprecedented! If they can really research it, it will certainly change the landscape between Spirit Masters and Soul Beasts, and even drive the development of the entire Spirit Master world!"
Yan Shaozhe also frowned, his tone solemn. "They even have Cultivation Techniques better than the Mysterious Heaven Skill, which can even allow ordinary people to Cultivate... This is simply unheard of."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over the seated Elders. "If these Cultivation Techniques truly become widespread, the boundary between Spirit Masters and ordinary people will be completely shattered."
Several Elders whispered among themselves, discussing in low voices.
"Jianan Academy is also extraordinary; those little Geniuses will surely achieve great things in time. It's just that time has been too short, otherwise, they would truly become our formidable rivals."
"The four great protectors only have the strength of a Spirit Saint? That's quite a gap... but it's understandable. After all, for a newly born Sect, it's not about quantity but quality and loyalty. Besides, their Spirit Ability Fusion technique can even contend with a Titled Douluo, so they do have strength..."
"The financial power of the Axis Cult cannot be underestimated. Although talent is still scarce, if they continue to develop at this momentum, surpassing our Shrek... seems to be just around the corner."
Elder Xuan put down the chicken leg in his hand and spoke with rare seriousness. "I've seen that little girl Furina, and Shaozhe has too. Aside from everything else, just looking at her talent, you know she's truly extraordinary."
He took a gulp of wine and added, "I don't know where that Limit Douluo came from either; I've never heard of anyone named Neuvillette."
A brief silence fell over the conference hall.
Mu En spoke slowly, his voice still calm. "So, what do you think... how should we, Shrek, respond?"
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