Mu En looked at the tightly closed door, his heart filled with a complex mix of emotions. He turned his head, his gaze falling upon Long Yeyue.
Although this old woman had a full head of silver hair, her spine was held straight, and she radiated an aura that warned others to keep their distance. That earth-shattering slap from earlier was still echoing in Mu En's mind.
To slightly ease the awkward atmosphere from just a moment ago, Mu En slightly cupped his hands and asked in a polite tone:
"Thank you, Your Excellency, for showing mercy just now. May I ask your esteemed name?"
Then, as she passed by Mu En, Long Yeyue did not even glance at him, ignoring him completely. She didn't give him any face at all and simply walked away.
Seeing this, Elder Lin, who was standing behind Mu En, instantly furrowed her brows, her face turning as dark as the bottom of a pot.
"How utterly rude!"
"This is simply too bullying!"
Hitting Xuan Zi was one thing; after all, Xuan Zi had a foul mouth first. But now, Pavilion Master Mu himself had personally asked for her name—how much face was that? How high of a courtesy was that?
Yet this old woman had actually walked away without even turning her head?
Where did this put the face of the Sea God Pavilion Master of Shrek Academy?
"This..."
"Enough. We were the ones in the wrong first."
Just as Elder Lin was about to flare up, Mu En stepped in to stop her, his face showing no excessive dissatisfaction.
After all, the situation was unfavorable, and besides... this whole matter was their academy's fault from start to finish.
Xuan Zi, Yan Shaozhe, and Qian Duoduo had taken the initiative to provoke the others; that was the first mistake.
Just now, Xuan Zi had even made wild claims right to their faces about stealing their secret techniques; that was compounding the error.
The fact that they hadn't crippled Xuan Zi on the spot was indeed already showing mercy.
Under these circumstances, expecting them to welcome you with a smiling face? That would be wishful thinking.
Mu En composed his mood and turned his gaze to Bei Xin, who had been standing on the side with a smile on his face.
"Brother Bei Xin."
"I wonder what exactly are the compensation terms offered by your academy's Dean Lin Feng?"
"Could you explain them in detail? It would help me have a rough idea."
"Of course."
Bei Xin nodded, not giving a direct oral description.
He flipped his wrist, and a rectangular, black object that looked like a thin crystal plate appeared in his hand.
"This is..."
Mu En, Elder Lin, and Bei Bei all widened their eyes simultaneously, looking at this never-before-seen object with curiosity.
There was no Spirit Power fluctuation.
It looked just like a brick that had been polished extremely smooth.
It should be some kind of new Spirit Tool.
Under the trio's puzzled gazes, Bei Xin extended a finger and lightly tapped the black board.
"Beep."
That board, which had been pitch black, suddenly lit up!
"This is our academy's tablet computer."
"The requested items are all written on this."
"Take a look for yourselves."
Saying this, Bei Xin handed the tablet computer in his hand to Mu En.
Mu En cautiously took this so-called tablet computer, feeling that it was cool and delicate to the touch, and unbelievably thin and light.
Mu En steadied his mind and focused his gaze on the text on the screen.
Elder Lin and Bei Bei also hurriedly crowded over, their three heads squeezed together, staring intently at the list on it.
[Compensation Term 1: Mental distress fees, lost wages, facility repair fees, fright fees, etc., totaling — 100 million gold coins.]
"Hiss—!!!"
Seeing the long string of zeros following that '1', Elder Lin felt the world go black before her eyes, and she nearly fainted from lack of air.
Her complexion changed instantly, and she jerked her head up, looking at Bei Xin in disbelief, her voice changing pitch:
"One... one hundred million?!"
"Aren't you asking for a bit too much?!"
Elder Lin's chest heaved violently; she was clearly angered by this number.
"One hundred million gold coins! Why don't you just go rob someone?!"
"You must know, even for our Shrek City, which manages the most prosperous commercial center on the continent, the total annual income is only a few hundred million gold coins!"
"And that has to exclude various maintenance costs, teacher salaries, student benefits... there's hardly any net profit left!"
"And you open your mouths and ask for even more than our annual net profit?!"
Elder Lin was truly anxious.
If this money were taken out, Shrek Academy would probably really have to tighten its belt to get by for the coming year.
Bei Bei, standing to the side, was also completely stunned; he had never seen so much money before either.
"Is it a lot?"
Facing Elder Lin's roar, Bei Xin remained indifferent, his gaze shifting to Mu En:
"Pavilion Master Mu, do you think this is a lot?"
Mu En stared fixedly at the number on the screen.
His hands were also trembling slightly.
It hurt his heart.
It was truly painful.
But... compared to Yan Shaozhe and the others, it was worth it.
Mu En took a deep breath and slowly closed his eyes.
"No."
"It is not much."
"What?!"
Upon hearing Mu En's words, Elder Lin was completely dumbfounded.
"Elder Mu! Have you lost your mind?!"
"This is 100 million gold coins! Not one million, not ten million, it is 100 million!"
Mu En shook his head, looking at Elder Lin, his tone heavy.
"Huiqun, if money is gone, it can be earned again."
"Compared to Shao Zhe and the others, this money is nothing."
"They are all important pillars of our Shrek Academy. If they were to fall here, the loss to Shrek Academy could not be replaced even with one billion gold coins."
"This money..."
Mu En gritted his teeth:
"Must be spent!"
Hearing this, Elder Lin opened her mouth, wanting to refute, but she didn't know what to say.
Although she felt pained by the money, she also knew that Pavilion Master Mu was right.
Titled Douluo, especially Super Douluo, were strategic resources that could not be bought with money.
"Sigh..."
Elder Lin sighed heavily; she could only swallow her frustration and say nothing more.
Since Pavilion Master Mu had made the final decision, she could only accept it.
"Let's continue reading below."
[Compensation Term 2: 10,000-year Spirit Bones — 10 pieces.]
"..."
This time, Elder Lin did not roar.
Because she was already too shocked to speak.
She widened her eyes, staring fixedly at the number '10', feeling her heart twitching.
10,000-year Spirit Bones!
Those were hard currency in the Spirit Master's world! They were treasures that were priceless and hard to find!
Even for a colossal entity like Shrek Academy with a ten-thousand-year heritage, while there were some 10,000-year Spirit Bones in stock, they were definitely not cabbages!
Every single 10,000-year Spirit Bone had been brought back from the Star Dou Great Forest by generations of teachers and students risking their lives, and they were all reserved as rewards for the most outstanding disciples.
Now, the other party opened their mouth and asked for 10 pieces?
This was simply cutting the flesh of Shrek Academy!
"This... isn't this a bit too much?"
Elder Lin's voice was trembling. She looked at Mu En, her eyes full of pleading, hoping that Pavilion Master Mu could refuse this outrageous condition.
However, Mu En only remained silent for a moment, then nodded again.
"Acceptable."
Mu En's heart was also dripping with blood.
But he was very clear that just now, that idiot Xuan Zi had been shouting about stealing their secret techniques, which had offended the other party deeply. If they didn't bring out some real, solid goods, the other party would absolutely not let the matter rest.
"Give it to them."
Mu En squeezed the word out from between his teeth.
Elder Lin swayed, almost losing her footing.
Even this kind of condition was agreed to?
It seemed Pavilion Master Mu was truly determined to suffer a heavy loss this time.
She could only force herself to endure the severe pain in her heart and continue reading downwards.
Hoping there wouldn't be any more outrageous conditions later...
However, when her gaze fell on the third term, she instantly exploded.
[Compensation Term 3: Various rare herbs, healing medicines, top-grade pills... must pay 1/4 of your academy's current inventory.]
"Bang!"
Elder Lin could no longer hold back.
"Excessive! This is too excessive!"
"You are simply robbing us!"
"You want a quarter of our medicine inventory?!"
"Do you know how much that is?"
"That is the accumulation of Shrek Academy's ten thousand years! It was collected by countless ancestors who traveled the continent and ventured deep into dangerous places!"
"Some of the herbs in there have long been extinct on the continent now! They are one-of-a-kind items where every single one used is one less in existence!"
"And you actually open your mouths and ask for a quarter of it?!"
Elder Lin was so angry that her whole body was trembling, and her fingers were shaking:
"Why don't you just say you'll go directly to Sea God Island, uproot our Golden Tree, and take the whole thing away?!"
----------------------------------------------
A/N: For once, Shrek is the one being bullied lol.
5 Power Stones = 1 Extra Chapter
I hope all of you are enjoying this story so far. I would appreciate some Power Stones if you can spare any. Leave a review if you like the story. Thank you.