Although Bei Bei did not have a concrete concept of the total inventory of the Sea Gods Pavilion, he knew very well what the words "one-quarter of Shrek Academy's inventory" meant.
It meant ten thousand years of accumulation, it meant the precious treasures brought back by countless generations of Shrek people who had braved death to retrieve them from various dangerous lands.
If the first two conditions were like cutting off flesh, then this one was like pulling out tendons and sucking marrow!
Mu En was silent for a long time.
His cloudy old eyes stared at the screen, his fingers tapping lightly on the armrest of his wheelchair, as if he were undergoing an intense internal struggle.
Finally, he slowly raised his head, looked at Bei Xin, and said in a tone that carried a hint of negotiation:
"Brother Bei Xin."
"A proportion of one-quarter is indeed too massive."
"This will shake the foundation of Shrek Academy."
"Could it... be reduced a little? For example, one-tenth?"
Mu En attempted to bargain.
However, facing Mu En's request, Bei Xin just smiled faintly, and in that smile, there was not the slightest intention of backing down.
"Pavilion Master Mu, I think you have misunderstood one thing."
Bei Xin reached out and pointed to the tablet in Mu En's hand:
"This list is for reference only."
"What do you mean?" Mu En was stunned.
"It means..." The smile on the corners of Bei Xin's mouth grew deeper.
"You only need to refer to the numbers on it to make the payment."
"Bargaining is not accepted."
"Either give it all, or... leave the people behind."
"You—!" Hearing this, Elder Lin could not hold back again.
She stepped forward abruptly, the fluctuations of her Spirit Power instantly becoming violent, and her well-maintained old face was flushed with anger.
"This is too much!"
"You are simply bullying us too much!"
Elder Lin pointed at Bei Xin, her fingers trembling:
"This is clearly open robbery! You are trying to force Shrek Academy to its death!"
"You open your mouths and demand our ten-thousand-year foundation; aren't you afraid of choking to death?!"
Facing Elder Lin's questioning, Bei Xin still stood with his hands behind his back, not even lifting an eyelid.
That high-and-mighty posture, that arrogance of completely disregarding the Shrek elders, made Elder Lin feel as if she had punched cotton; it was suffocatingly frustrating. This kind of posture was clearly something only people from Shrek Academy had ever displayed to others; when was it ever someone else's turn to display it to them?
"You can accept this condition, or you can choose not to," Bei Xin said slowly:
"We never force sales."
"However..." His gaze swept over the closed door of the Confinement Room, his tone eerie:
"If you don't accept it, then these few might have to stay here for a long time."
A threat! A naked threat!
Elder Lin clenched her fists tightly, her nails digging deep into her palms.
What did he mean by "you can accept or not accept"? This was clearly holding a knife to their throats and forcing them to accept!
If they didn't accept, and the news that Shrek Academy's high-level combatants were locked in the Confinement Room got out, it would be a huge blow to Shrek Academy's reputation!
"Pavilion Master Mu!" Elder Lin turned to look at Mu En, her eyes filled with unwillingness:
"We cannot agree! If we agree, how will we answer to the other elders in the academy? How will we answer to our ancestors?"
Mu En closed his eyes. In that moment, this Limit Douluo, who had once stirred up wind and clouds, seemed to age ten years.
"Sigh..." A long sigh, filled with endless desolation.
Mu En opened his eyes again and then slowly spoke. "We... accept."
"What?!" Elder Lin looked at Mu En in disbelief and shouted, "Pavilion Master Mu?! You..."
She truly could not believe it. Pavilion Master Mu had actually agreed?
Mu En waved his hand, stopping Elder Lin's dissuasion. "Huiqun, no need to say more."
"There is no other way." Mu En looked at Elder Lin, his eyes flashing with a helpless light:
"Things are dead, but people are alive."
"Those herbs in the warehouse, while precious, are just dead objects."
"But Shao Zhe, Xuan Zi, and the others are living people, they are Titled Douluo, they are the academy's future and its current pillars."
"For Shrek, their value is far more precious than those dead objects."
"As long as the people are still here, resources... can be earned back one day."
Hearing these words from Mu En, Bei Bei was shocked. He looked at the old man in the wheelchair, and a sense of admiration welled up in his heart.
Is this the demeanor of the Sea God Pavilion Master? Is this the vision of Progenitor Xuan?
To be able to calmly weigh the pros and cons, stabilize his mindset, and not be swayed by emotions when facing such huge humiliation and loss.
If it were Xuan Zi and the others, they would probably have already started fighting and then been locked up, but... one-quarter, plus the previous two conditions, was truly a bone-deep injury for Shrek Academy.
Mu En's analysis was not wrong; although Shrek Academy's resources were quite abundant, they were not actually used much, and most were just stored.
Actually... Mu En did not want any calm weighing of pros and cons; if this incident hadn't happened, Shrek Academy wouldn't have needed to bleed so much. Bleeding like this, even he felt ashamed before the ancestors of Shrek Academy.
Hopefully, after paying such a huge price to get Xuan Zi and the others out, they will be able to act more steadily in the future.
"..." Since Mu En, the highest decision-maker, had already said this much, although Elder Lin was bleeding inside, she had nothing more to say.
However, after the anger, Elder Lin's brain began to spin rapidly.
"Hmph, I agreed." "But..." Elder Lin's eyeballs turned slightly, and a sly thought flashed through her mind:
"These guys are outsiders after all."
"How could they possibly know exactly how much inventory Shrek Academy has?"
"The so-called one-quarter, isn't that for us to decide?"
"When the time comes..." Elder Lin calculated in her heart: "I will just have people cobble together a batch of herbs that look like a lot and are very precious, and send them over, pretending this is one-quarter."
"In reality, it might not even be one-tenth!" "Anyway, they can't verify it!"
Thinking of this, Elder Lin's expression softened slightly. Fortunately, there was still room to maneuver.
Although she would definitely still have to bleed, as long as she operated it properly, it would definitely not go so far as to truly empty their family foundation. This was called: all is fair in war!
However, just when Elder Lin was still feeling smug about her own cleverness.
"Since you agreed, then it's easy to handle." Bei Xin seemed to see through Elder Lin's thoughts, and a curve appeared at the corner of his mouth.
"In order to ensure the fairness of the transaction, and also to prevent some unnecessary errors..."
"We will use a special machine to detect and calculate the inventory quantity of Shrek Academy's medical herbs."
"What?!" Hearing this, Elder Lin's face instantly turned deathly pale, even worse than before.
Bei Xin flipped his palm, and a fist-sized, silver-white metal sphere appeared in his palm.
"This is a fully automatic resource audit drone."
"It possesses the most advanced spatial scanning and material analysis technology."
"As long as you bring it into your warehouse, even if it is hidden in a secret compartment deep underground, even if it is a secret room sealed by a spirit tool array, it can scan it clearly in an instant."
"Accurate to every single herb." "Absolutely no omissions."
"..." Elder Lin was completely desperate. It was over. Her last fantasy had also been shattered.
Their technical means completely crushed her little tricks.
"Pavilion Master Mu." Bei Xin tossed the metal ball in his hand and looked at Mu En:
"If you want to ransom the people, please have this lady go back for a trip now."
"Let her take this little guy back to your esteemed academy, and after the materials are counted and someone is sent to transport them over..."
"We will naturally release the few in the Confinement Room."
Mu En glanced at the little ball, and couldn't help but feel a myriad of emotions in his heart. Is this also the power of spirit tool technology?
He turned his head, looked at the ashen-faced Elder Lin, and sighed:
"Huiqun, go." "According to Brother Bei Xin's requirements, prepare the things." "This matter should be done sooner rather than later."
"Pavilion Master Mu..." Elder Lin opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but in the end, it could only turn into a powerless sigh. "Yes, I understand."
She took the metal ball that was floating in the air that Bei Xin handed over.
"Hmph!" Elder Lin snorted coldly, glared fiercely at Bei Xin, and then turned to look at Mu En, her eyes filled with worry.
"Pavilion Master Mu, then you and Bei Bei..."
"It is fine." Mu En waved his hand. "Bei Bei and I will just stay in this school for now and wander around a bit."
After speaking, Mu En turned his head to look at Bei Xin and asked with a smile: "Brother Bei Xin, we are going to look around the academy, that should be no problem, right?"
Bei Xin said generously: "Of course."
"Then thank you." Mu En bowed in thanks.
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A/N:
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.