Su Yunlin returned to the waiting room, where Wang Dong had already been waiting for quite some time.
"Yunlin, you were so cool! Was that move Elder Mu taught you? You mastered it that quickly?"
Wang Dong had naturally witnessed Su Yunlin's spirit battle. Seeing him disperse the Netherworld White Tiger with a single palm strike—if she hadn't seen it with her own eyes, she would never have believed anyone could accomplish such a thing.
"Mhm. It was indeed Sovereign's Descent, the technique Elder Mu taught me. But I modified it a little, so the result differed somewhat from what I expected. Sovereign's Descent is extremely useful, but it's still Elder Mu's combat technique."
Su Yunlin leaned against the wall as he explained calmly.
"If I only imitate him, I'll never step out from under his shadow. So I want to walk a different path. In theory, what I want is for this palm strike to combine Spirit Power and spiritual power while also carrying the properties of my third Spirit Ability, Night Demon Sphere."
"But I haven't succeeded yet. Once I can fully fuse those three forces together, a single punch will be enough to shatter an opponent's Martial Soul possession state and dispel all of their enhancements at the same time. That's when my Sovereign's Descent will truly be complete."
After hearing his explanation, Wang Dong felt like her brain was starting to hurt from trying to process it all.
"Then can you teach me too?" Wang Dong hugged his arm and acted coquettishly.
"Of course. Once I perfect it, I'll teach you. Or you could ask Elder Mu to teach you the original version."
Wang Dong immediately shook her head.
"Nope. I want you to teach me."
Su Yunlin chuckled softly. "Alright. I'll teach you."
...
The spirit battle with Dai Huabin was nothing more than a small incident at the beginning of the new school year. Su Yunlin continued attending classes with Wang Dong as usual.
As for the promotion assessment, it posed no difficulty for Su Yunlin at all. With his current strength, even dealing with ten-thousand-year soul beasts was effortless. To be precise, he was already qualified to apply for the Inner Court assessment ahead of schedule.
But Su Yunlin wasn't in a hurry. Since this was still a time of peace, he preferred to enjoy himself a bit longer and continue accumulating strength. Once he entered the Inner Court, there would be far more responsibilities waiting for him.
Meanwhile, during the promotion assessment, Wang Dong continued using the Clear Sky Hammer. Ever since returning from vacation, she seemed to favor using it more and more.
As for Huo Yuhao, things proceeded just like in the original storyline. By revealing his second Martial Soul, he shocked everyone and triggered a tug-of-war between the Martial Soul Department and the Soul Tool Department over this twin Martial Soul genius.
...
Below the dormitory building, Mu En listened quietly to the latest reports.
"An ultimate Martial Soul, huh? The Ice Jade Scorpion? Heh... it's probably not that simple."
He slowly opened his eyes.
"First Su Yunlin and Wang Dong, and now Huo Yuhao too. Couldn't these little monsters have appeared earlier?"
"They just had to show up when this old man's lifespan is nearly exhausted. Sigh... truly exhausting."
"Ultimate Martial Souls are powerful, but they take far too long to mature. Huo Yuhao is only a Grand Spirit Master right now, while Su Yunlin is already close to becoming a Spirit King."
"Su Yunlin and Wang Dong possess a Martial Soul Fusion Skill. Their cultivation speed is astonishing, and their growth is even faster. It's better to prioritize nurturing Su Yunlin."
Mu En slowly rose from his reclining chair.
The Martial Soul Department and Soul Tool Department were convening a Sea God Pavilion meeting, and he needed to keep an eye on those disappointing disciples of his.
Thinking about it made him tired.
Su Yunlin was far better. A single explanation was enough for the boy to understand. Su Yunlin's mastery of Sovereign's Descent had already reached minor accomplishment, and he was even trying to forge his own path from it.
Compared to him, what kind of useless troublemakers were those other disciples of his?
...
Sea God Pavilion.
Mu En sat there helplessly as Yan Shaozhe and Xian Lin'er argued fiercely over Huo Yuhao.
"Enough."
Mu En finally spoke.
"I have a suggestion. Since Huo Yuhao has talent in soul tools and also possesses an ultimate Martial Soul without neglecting the Martial Soul Department's curriculum, why not let him cultivate both paths simultaneously?"
The four deans of the Martial Soul Department and Soul Tool Department were all stunned. None of them had expected Mu En to propose such an idea.
Mu En's gentle voice rang out once more.
"There's already a precedent in the academy for dual cultivation of Martial Souls and soul tools. Isn't Su Yunlin exactly that?"
"Lin'er, Duoduo—what rank Soul Engineer is Su Yunlin now? Has he ever taken an official assessment with you?"
Qian Duoduo suddenly spoke up.
"If you hadn't mentioned it, I would've forgotten. Su Yunlin is currently a Class 6 Soul Engineer. He can already manufacture Class 6 soul tools with ease. Personally, I suspect he already possesses the ability to create Class 7 soul tools."
"His spiritual power is incredibly strong. However, our standards for Class 7 Soul Engineers differ from those of the Sun Moon Empire, so I still only awarded him a Class 6 Soul Engineer badge."
The moment those words were spoken, the Sea God Pavilion elders were all shocked.
Even Yan Shaozhe was stunned.
However, he didn't dare harbor any schemes toward Su Yunlin. If word somehow reached Su Yunlin's mother, there was a good chance he'd get beaten half to death again.
As a result, Yan Shaozhe had always taken a hands-off approach toward Su Yunlin. Any matters regarding him were generally handled by Director Du Weilun or Vice Dean Cai Meier.
Mu En smiled faintly.
"Since there's already a successful example, let Huo Yuhao do the same."
"Our academy nurtures monsters—not ordinary people. Since Huo Yuhao is a little monster, then give him enough pressure."
"If he cannot manage dual cultivation like Su Yunlin, then let him choose whichever path he prefers afterward. We provide students with roads to walk, not chains forcing them down a single road. Understand?"
Then Mu En's expression became serious.
"There is another matter I wish to discuss with all of you."
"I intend to make Su Yunlin the next-generation successor to the position of Sea God Pavilion Master."
"What?!"
This time, it wasn't just the four deans who were shocked—even the elderly pavilion elders were stunned.
Only Elder Xuan continued gnawing on his chicken leg calmly. He had already been mentally prepared. Mu En had spoken to him about this before, and he had no objections whatsoever.
Whatever Mu En decided, he would support unconditionally.
Yan Shaozhe stood up, his expression somewhat complicated.
"Teacher, isn't this a little too hasty? After all, he's the primary heir of the Black Night Ducal Estate. Moreover, his sense of belonging toward the academy may not be very strong."
The other pavilion elders shared the same concern.
After all, the incident Yan Shaozhe caused back then had been enormous. It was unlikely Su Yunlin truly felt attached to Shrek Academy.
Mu En snorted coldly.
"And whose fault was that?"
"Back then, this old man paid an enormous price to suppress that matter. Otherwise, you would've become a sinner of the entire Douluo Continent!"
Yan Shaozhe's expression darkened.
Back then, he had been defeated by a mere Soul Douluo, and he had also deeply hated the evil aura surrounding Xu Yunyu. Theoretically speaking, someone like Xu Yunyu had an extremely high possibility of falling into becoming an evil Spirit Master.
But who could have predicted that the evil within Xu Yunyu's Martial Soul would actually inflict terrifying damage upon evil Spirit Masters? Against them, she was even more effective than his Bright Phoenix.
Mu En had once said that Xu Yunyu possessed an extremely evil Tool Martial Soul. Its evil nature existed on an extraordinarily high level. Her evil aura could suppress the vast majority of evil Spirit Masters, yet she herself remained unaffected by it. Therefore, she could not be considered an evil Spirit Master.
It was only after meeting Scorpion Tiger Douluo Zhang Peng that Mu En truly understood.
Some people possessed evil Martial Souls, but their willpower was powerful enough to restrain that evil.
Could such people truly be called evil Spirit Masters?
Whenever Mu En thought about this, he felt somewhat guilty toward Zhang Peng. If given the opportunity, he genuinely wanted to apologize to him.
Mu En looked toward the Sea God Pavilion elders.
"A sense of belonging toward the academy can be cultivated over time. I've observed Su Yunlin for a long time now. He's not a bad person, and his insight is exceptional. He also doesn't harbor any ill will toward our academy."
"Of course, Shaozhe, you're the exception. Unless necessary, don't wander around in front of Su Yunlin anymore."
"From now on, Du Weilun and Cai Meier will handle Su Yunlin's development in the Outer Court."
"This is merely my personal proposal for now. I wanted to inform all of you first. I do have this intention, but we'll make the final decision after this Spirit Master Tournament."
Then Mu En looked toward Elder Xuan.
"Xuan Zi."
Elder Xuan immediately stood up.
"I'm here."
"Add Su Yunlin and Wang Dong to the list of candidates for the new generation of the Shrek Seven Monsters. At present, the new generation already has four candidates."
"Beibei, Xu Sanshi, along with Su Yunlin and Wang Dong."
"As for the remaining three positions, we'll see who proves worthy enough to take them."
...
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