Xian Lin"er said, "It"s not that simple either. One or two months is a very short time. After everyone discovers a suitable category of soul tool, they will need time to study and understand it. They will also need to learn how to use soul tools without affecting their own abilities. This is very important."
Elder Xuan said, "Yuhao and Shaozhe are already responsible for the research of Spirits. Lin"er, you shall be in charge of this matter. You can test it out in the inner courtyard first. The extra two lessons that Shaozhe mentioned can be directly implemented in the outer courtyard."
Xian Lin"er answered unhappily, "Elder Xuan, this is a little unfair."
"Oh?" Elder Xuan was a little puzzled as he looked at her and asked, "What"s so unfair?"
Xian Lin"er replied, "Yuhao is also one of us. I can tell you for sure that no one in the Soul Tool Department can make this human-shaped soul tool like him. I can"t, either. This proposition was also made by him. We can leave the matter about Spirits and let him help me first."
"We can"t do that." Yan Shaozhe replied without hesitation. "Lin"er, you should know how important Spirits are to the future world of soul masters. There are different degrees of importance. We need you to helm things over at the Soul Tool Department!"
Xian Lin"er snorted and replied, "Didn"t you hear Huo Yuhao? What"s the future development trend? Spirits are a new discovery, but we don"t know if they can really replace soul rings in the future. We still need to carry out more experiments. Allowing our inner courtyard students to use soul tools and increasing their fighting strength is more important.
"You… can"t put it this way. Spirits are the future." Yan Shaozhe"s expression turned gloomy.
Elder Xuan furrowed his brow and said, "Alright, the two of you squabble every time you meet. We shall leave it like that temporarily. Lin"er, you can find Yuhao if you need help in the area of soul tools. Furthermore, isn"t He Caitou here too? According to Fan Yu, He Caitou"s research ability in terms of soul tools is not inferior to Yuhao."
Xian Lin"er and Yan Shaozhe finally quieted down after Elder Xuan persuaded them both.
Huo Yuhao"s expression turned gloomy. He had found more problems for himself! There was another matter that he had to monitor now… there were too many things he had to settle right now!
"Elder Xuan, what do we do about the two Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear cubs I brought back?" Huo Yuhao asked.
Elder Xuan replied, "They are your private property and have nothing to do with the academy. You can decide yourself."
"What?" Huo Yuhao was shocked as he looked at Elder Xuan. What was going on? Did Elder Xuan"s words mean that the academy didn"t want the two cubs? They were Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bears!
Elder Xuan was amused and said, "What? Is there a problem? They really are your private property. Take good care of them. As one of the top soul beasts, they can grow very quickly in the future with sufficient nutrition. They might be very helpful to you in the future."
"Also, I heard from Mei"er that you obtained three soul bones. Those three soul bones were obtained by you and w.a.n.g Qiu"er, so they naturally belong to the two of you. You can decide how you want to divide them. However, tell me how you feel about w.a.n.g Qiu"er."
Undoubtedly, Elder Xuan was slightly biased towards him. Theoretically speaking, he couldn"t have achieved such gains without the entire team following him deep into the forest. But at this point, Elder Xuan deviated from the topic.
Huo Yuhao didn"t reject his offer either. After pondering for a while, he said, "w.a.n.g Qiu"er is indeed very strong. Her Golden Dragon is one of the strongest martial souls I"ve ever seen. I already think that I"m very strong and have an advantage in terms of my twin martial souls. However, I don"t have any confidence of beating her in a duel."
"In terms of personality, she"s a lady who"s cold on the outside, but warm on the inside, even though she"s unwilling to get close to anyone. Without her help, I would"ve been gravely injured even if I survived. She has unlimited potential."
Elder Xuan squinted and said, "This means you think she"s credible even though she"s just entered the inner courtyard?"
Huo Yuhao nodded without any hesitation.
Elder Xuan nodded slightly and appeared pensive. "Alright, we"ll end things here today. All of you can return. Lin"er, return and prepare for what was proposed today. Tomorrow, we"ll confirm things during the Sea G.o.d"s Pavilion conference. Yuhao, call the rest of Shrek"s Seven Monsters. I have something to tell all of you."
"Yes." Huo Yuhao acknowledged his words respectfully.
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Shrek"s Seven Monsters were usually in the inner courtyard. Even though their cultivations weren"t low, the inner courtyard was responsible for nurturing elite students like them. There were things to learn at every level. That"s why they only gathered at the Tang Sect on the weekends.
Huo Yuhao found them very easily. When he finally approached w.a.n.g Dong"er"s door anxiously, her door directly opened on its own.
w.a.n.g Dong"er, who was decked in the inner courtyard"s red uniform, looked fiery. She was stunned when she saw Huo Yuhao in front of her door, and almost punched him.
"Surely you haven"t been standing here all this while?"
Huo Yuhao said honestly, "Yes! I"ve been standing here as a punishment so that I can earn your forgiveness."
w.a.n.g Dong"er snapped, "Nonsense. I heard Dean Cai dragging you away. Your lies are not good enough."
Huo Yuhao chortled and said, "Let"s go. Elder Xuan is looking for us. He seems to have something important to tell us."
"Alright." w.a.n.g Dong"er acknowledged his words before she closed the door to her room. After that, she followed Huo Yuhao to the first level of the Sea G.o.d"s Pavilion.
As they walked, Huo Yuhao said softly, "Dong"er."
"What?"
"Are you still angry?"
"Yes"
"How angry?"
"Very angry!"
"What can I do to appease you?"
"Hmph!"
"Can two wrongs make a right?"
"……"
w.a.n.g Dong"er stared furiously at him as she stopped. However, she was greeted with Huo Yuhao"s burning gaze. He was even looking at her lips!
"You…" w.a.n.g Dong"er placed her hands on her hips and was about to erupt.
Huo Yuhao hurriedly twisted his head and said, "Let"s go. Elder Xuan is waiting for us." After he finished speaking, he quickened his footsteps as they proceeded downstairs.
w.a.n.g Dong"er mimicked a whacking action as she looked at him before following after him. She even pinched his waist a few times.
Bei Bei, He Caitou, Xu Sans.h.i.+, Jiang Nannan, Xiao Xiao, Huo Yuhao, and w.a.n.g Dong"er had all arrived. However, they were not qualified to sit at the table. They lined up in a row and stood in front of Elder Xuan.
As a member of the Sea G.o.d"s Pavilion, Huo Yuhao could sit. However, how could he sit when the rest of them were standing?
Elder Xuan complimented them in his heart as he looked at these vibrant youths. They had grown much faster than he had expected. Undoubtedly, they were going to be the future pillars of Shrek Academy. This future was coming quickly, too.
"Alright, all of you are present. I called all of you here because I have something important to discuss with all of you." Elder Xuan lifted his wine gourd and took a sip. As long as it wasn"t some formal gathering, he would drink. Fortunately, he didn"t act like a beggar now.
Bei Bei said respectfully, "Elder Xuan, please enlighten us."
Elder Xuan replied, "It"s less than three months to the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament. I believe all of you should be quite ready?"
Bei Bei answered, "Yes. We were going to report to you too. After Yuhao and Caitou returned, we practiced many times together. When are you free? You can check out our progress."
Elder Xuan observed the seven of them. When Bei Bei said this, all seven of them revealed their self-confidence. Their confidence naturally originated from their abilities.
"I don"t need to check on the seven of you yet. I called all of you here today because I wanted to brief all of you regarding the tournament. Not long ago, we received news that"s not good for the academy… however, it"s an opportunity for all of you. The new edition of the tournament will be held in the Sun Moon Empire. Undoubtedly, all of you will be under great pressure, since you will be competing on the home ground of our main compet.i.tor. The Sun Moon Empire discussed some changes to the tournament system with the three empires earlier. They sought the opinion of the various academies and sects regarding their proposed changes."
"Change to the system?" Bei Bei"s gaze turned cold. As competing members of the top academy on the continent, changes in the system were likely to neutralize some of Shrek Academy"s advantages. No wonder Elder Xuan said that this wasn"t a good thing for the academy.
Elder Xuan, "Yes, changing the tournament system. First, they want to change the qualification requirements. The age restriction doesn"t change, the upper limit will still be twenty years old. However, they"ve expanded it to include all sects. This means that the tournament will now be renamed to the Continental Soul Master Youth Tournament. The number of teams will greatly increase. If this change is approved, there will be twice the number of competing teams."
Attracting sects to partic.i.p.ate? What was the purpose of doing so? All seven of them were stunned, but they couldn"t tell what the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy"s goal was.
Huo Yuhao asked, "Elder Xuan, is it likely for it to be approved?"
Elder Xuan said without any hesitation, "Very likely! When this change was suggested, it received the support of many sects, especially the stronger sects. The tournament is a good way to showcase themselves to the ma.s.ses. To these sects, it"s a good way to advertise themselves, so they were quite willing. For example, the Body Sect is confident in becoming champions."