As his voice fell, Xuan Zi's eyes were filled with an unquestionable expectation.
His cloudy old eyes were now incredibly bright, as if they had already pierced through the dome of the Sea Gods Pavilion and seen the image of that youth waiting outside with excitement and reverence under Dai Yueheng's lead.
Xuan Zi had never imagined that the outcome of Dai Yueheng's invitation to that "mysterious youth" would end in failure.
In his view,
How could this possibly fail?
Who was he? He was the Gluttonous Douluo of Shrek Academy, a Venerable Elder of the Sea Gods Pavilion! The number two powerhouse of Shrek Academy!
An invitation personally issued by him—looking across the entire continent, let alone the younger generation, even the middle-aged generation could absolutely not refuse!
And what kind of place was Shrek Academy?
That was the supreme Holy Land in the hearts of all Spirit Masters!
Compared to their Shrek Academy, a mere Sun Moon Royal Academy was simply nothing!
Their Shrek Academy was a top-tier academy where countless Geniuses fought tooth and nail, longing their entire lives just to obtain the status of an Auditing Student!
And what he offered was not just the qualification to join Shrek Academy, but the "Core Disciple" status that countless Shrek students dreamed of!
Not to mention, he also promised personal guidance and a resource tilt equivalent to that of a successor to the Sea Gods Pavilion.
Such conditions were practically a divine favor from the heavens!
In Xuan Zi's eyes, upon hearing these conditions, that youth should have been moved to tears of gratitude and ecstatic, then packed his bags without hesitation, followed Dai Yueheng back non-stop, prostrated before him, and sworn loyalty to Shrek Academy.
That was the reaction a normal person should have.
If he refused...
Then Xuan Zi would truly have to wonder if there was something wrong with the other party's brain.
So he wasn't asking about the result at all, but rather why the person hadn't arrived yet.
However, Xuan Zi's confident and sure-of-victory appearance caused a layer of fine cold sweat to instantly break out on Dai Yueheng's forehead as he stood before him with his head bowed.
Reality was worlds apart from Elder Xuan's imagination.
He hadn't brought the person back.
Looking at the incredibly expectant gaze in Elder Xuan's eyes, Dai Yueheng only felt his throat go dry, as if a ball of cotton had been stuffed into his mouth, unable to say a single word.
How should he speak?
How should he tell this old man, who had single-handedly helped build Shrek's glory and valued the academy's honor more than his own life, that the olive branch—which was enough to drive any Genius mad—had been tossed aside like trash?
The so-called glory of Shrek Academy couldn't move the other party in the slightest.
The other party saw it as something completely worthless?
Therefore, Dai Yueheng truly didn't dare to speak directly at this moment.
Because Dai Yueheng could almost foresee how huge a blow Elder Xuan would receive the moment he told the truth.
That blow might even instantly transform into a towering rage sufficient to crush him into powder.
The Scout on the side was even more silent out of fear, not even daring to breathe loudly at this moment.
Time passed in a suffocating silence, and the atmosphere on the top floor of the Sea Gods Pavilion became increasingly oppressive.
The expectation on Xuan Zi's face finally faded slowly, replaced by a trace of impatience and confusion.
He frowned slightly and questioned again: "Why aren't you speaking? Where is the person?"
Dai Yueheng's body trembled, knowing he could no longer escape.
He took a deep breath, as if using all his strength, buried his head even lower, and squeezed out a few words with a strained voice: "Reporting to Elder Xuan... we... failed. He... he refused."
"Buzz—"
It was as if thunder had exploded in Xuan Zi's head, and his whole body froze in place.
All expressions on his face instantly froze. In those bright old eyes, the light of expectation was like a candle flame blown out by a gale, extinguished in an instant, leaving only endless shock, distress, and a thick, inseparable disbelief.
"What did you say?" His voice was dry and hoarse, as if he couldn't believe his ears.
"Impossible!" Xuan Zi suddenly stood up, a terrifying Aura instantly erupting, making the entire Sea Gods Pavilion tremble, "This is absolutely impossible! Is he a fool? Or is he crazy?!"
He stared fixedly at Dai Yueheng, his gaze sharp as a knife: "Did you really tell him all the conditions I gave, word for word? Core Disciple! Sea Gods Pavilion resources! This old man's personal guidance! Did you say all of these?!"
In his understanding, the only explanation was that Dai Yueheng and the others were incompetent and had failed to convey his sincerity properly!
Facing Elder Xuan's gaze that seemed ready to devour someone, although Dai Yueheng was terrified, he still gritted his teeth, nodded forcefully, and said in a deep voice: "Elder Xuan, we said it. Every one of your conditions, we relayed to him exactly as they were."
He paused, recalling Liu Yuan's calm and indifferent expression at the time, and added a sentence that made him feel incredibly humiliated: "But... the other party completely looked down on it."
"Looked... down... on it?!"
These words were like three of the loudest slaps, fiercely striking Xuan Zi's face.
His anger reached its peak at this moment. That terrifying Aura was no longer an unconscious eruption but had turned into a physical pressure, heavily weighing down on Dai Yueheng and the Scout, making their faces pale and almost forcing them to their knees.
"Good! A fine 'looked down on it'!" Xuan Zi laughed out of extreme anger, but his voice was cold without a trace of warmth.
"I want to hear exactly why he looked down on it!"
"Dai Yueheng, tell me everything from when you found him to your entire conversation, word for word! If there is even the slightest omission, go to the Hall of Punishment yourself to receive your punishment!"
"Yes!"
Dai Yueheng didn't dare to hide anything and immediately recounted the sequence of events exactly as they happened.
From how they searched near the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy through the Scout's intelligence...
To going to the Extreme North Land, meeting Xi Xi on the way, and finally finding that youth.
And on Xuan Zi's side...
After hearing Dai Yueheng describe how they negotiated with the other party after finding him, how they showed off their Shrek Academy identity with a full sense of superiority, and relayed Elder Xuan's "grace."
Then, after he repeated Liu Yuan's reaction and response in an almost humiliated tone...
The temperature in the room seemed to drop to the freezing point.
Xuan Zi's expression also underwent drastic changes during this process.
From initial disbelief, to anger, to being filled with a towering killing intent.
His face was ashen, his lips tightly pursed into a line, and his fists clenched inside his sleeves, making a cracking sound.
Xuan Zi's expression became more and more unsightly.
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