allendalepharm Chapter 5: Either nothing at all, or the best of everything.
Chapter 5: Either nothing at all, or the best of everything.
Jiang Che glanced at the school uniforms worn by the three students, which bore the insignia of first-year students from the Foreign Languages Department. Given that today was recruitment day, it meant that they had only been enrolled for less than a day.
With such strength, they dared to venture deep into the outer reaches of the Star Dou Great Forest. In the past, this would have been considered suicidal.
The girl with the ponytail was the first to react. She put away her spear and bowed respectfully to Jiang Che: "Thank you so much for saving my life, senior! We are students from Class 7, Year 1 of the Outer Academy. My name is Ling Shuang, and they are my classmates. We came to check it out after hearing that there were suitable hundred-year-old soul beasts lurking in the outer areas, but we didn't expect to encounter a thousand-year-old Shadow Leopard..."
As she spoke, her face turned red, clearly realizing that she had been rash.
Jiang Che waved his hand, not saying anything more. This kind of youthful recklessness happens every year; lecturing is useless. They'll learn their lesson after one lesson.
"Hurry back, the smell of blood here will attract even stronger soul beasts," Jiang Che said calmly, turning to leave.
"Senior!" The round-faced girl suddenly called out to him, her eyes sparkling. "You...you're a senior from the inner court? You're amazing! You slapped the Thousand-Year Shadow Leopard with one slap...no, you froze it with one finger! What level of Soul Master are you? Soul King? Or Soul Emperor?"
Jiang Che paused, turned back to look at her, and said with a half-smile, "Guess."
After saying that, he vanished into the dense forest, leaving the three boys and girls looking at each other in bewilderment.
"So handsome..." The round-faced girl cupped her face in her hands.
"Stop daydreaming and let's go!" Ling Shuang grabbed her and ran outside, but in her heart she was thinking that she had only sensed the aura of that senior in a few elders of the clan who were at the Soul Saint level or above, and that senior was even stronger.
When Jiang Che returned to Shrek City, it was already getting dark.
Instead of using the main gate, he entered the inner courtyard directly through the private passageway of Poseidon Island.
Poseidon Island is located on the east side of Shrek City and is the core area of Shrek Academy. It is connected to the outer and inner academies by a long bridge, and ordinary students are not allowed to set foot on it.
The island is shaded by lush trees, with pavilions nestled among the trees, and the air is filled with a rich spiritual energy, at least 30% denser than the outside world. It is home to the elders of the Sea God Pavilion and the most outstanding students of the inner academy, representing the true foundation of Shrek Academy.
As soon as Jiang Che stepped onto the island, he saw Bei Bei squatting on the stone steps at the entrance of Poseidon Island, holding a bowl of hot meat soup in her hands and drinking it happily.
Upon seeing Jiang Che, Bei Bei nearly dropped her bowl, hurriedly standing up: "Brother Che! You're back!"
"Hmm." Jiang Che glanced at him, noticing the oil still on his lips. "Are you squatting by the door drinking soup?"
"That's why I've been waiting for you!" Bei Bei chuckled, wiping her mouth. "Elder Mu told me to wait for you here, saying that once you're back, you should go to the Sea God Pavilion to discuss something important."
Jiang Che raised an eyebrow slightly: "Important matter? Did Elder Mu say what it is?"
Beibei shook her head, her expression becoming more serious: "No, but Elder Mu called Elder Xuan, Dean Yan, and Dean Cai over, and it seems that several elders from the Sea God Pavilion were also there."
He didn't finish his sentence, but his meaning was clear: the Sea God Pavilion meetings have always been attended only by senior experts and the academy's top decision-makers.
If Jiang Che is invited to attend, it means that Elder Mu has officially regarded him as a core pillar for Shrek's future.
Jiang Che understood and nodded, "Okay, I'll be right there."
After taking a couple of steps, he turned back to look at Beibei, a slight smile playing on his lips: "By the way, how long have you been squatting by the door drinking your soup?"
Beibei was taken aback, then turned her face away guiltily: "It wasn't long... just... just an hour."
"Remember to bring a stool next time." Jiang Che said this and turned to walk towards the Sea God Pavilion.
Beibei stood there, bowl in hand, stunned. It took her a while to react before her eyes widened. "Wait... Brother Che is concerned about me?"
He looked down at his legs, which had gone numb from squatting, then at the now-cold broth in his bowl, and couldn't help but chuckle, muttering to himself, "This guy, sometimes he's not so scary after all..."
The Poseidon Pavilion is located in the center of Poseidon Island. It is an ancient and sturdy three-story wooden building, without any gorgeous decorations, only a solemnity and majesty that has been accumulated over the years.
The pavilion doors were wide open, and when Jiang Che walked in, there were already quite a few people sitting inside.
In the main seat, Mu En still looked frail and old, half-reclining in his chair, his yellow eyelids drooping slightly as if he were dozing off. But everyone knew that this Dragon God Douluo had never truly let his guard down.
To Mu En's left sat a thin old man with white hair, sharp eyes like an eagle, and a calm and imposing aura. He was the number one person below Elder Mu of Shrek Academy, a level 98 Super Douluo Xuanzi, known as "Gluttonous Douluo," whose strength was unfathomable.
To his right sat Yan Shaozhe, the dean of the Spirit Department, and Qian Duoduo, the dean of the Soul Guidance Department. Below them were several elders of the inner court, each a titled Douluo of level ninety-one or above. Any one of them could be a figure who could shake the continent.
The moment Jiang Che entered, all eyes turned to him.
There was scrutiny, satisfaction, curiosity, and undisguised admiration.
"Xiao Che is here." Mu En opened his eyes, a smile appearing on his aged face. He pointed to the empty seat next to him and said, "Sit down."
That position originally belonged to the deputy head of the Sea God Pavilion. Mu En's meaning was self-evident.
Jiang Che did not refuse and walked over to sit down without hesitation. With his strength as a Title Douluo at the age of twenty-two, coupled with the potential of his two ultimate martial souls, he felt perfectly justified in taking this position.
"Gentlemen," Moon began slowly, his voice not loud, but clearly reaching everyone's ears, "I've called you all here today for two things."
"First, my junior disciple Jiang Che has officially broken through to the Title Douluo level today. A Title Douluo at the age of twenty-two is extremely rare in the history of Shrek Academy."
Upon hearing this, the elders, though they had heard of it before, still showed a hint of astonishment in their eyes. A titled Douluo at the age of twenty-two—they knew better than anyone what that meant.
"Secondly," Moon's gaze swept over everyone, his tone becoming more serious, "regarding Xiao Che's ninth spirit ring, I would like to hear your opinions. The ninth spirit ring is of great importance, relating to the future path to the limit, and must be handled with utmost care."
Elder Xuan put down the chicken leg in his hand—he had indeed been gnawing on it—wiped his hands, and looked at Jiang Che with his cloudy eyes, saying, "Kid, your ultimate ice martial soul is best suited for a top-tier ice-attribute soul beast as a soul ring. But at the 100,000-year level, ice-attribute soul beasts are extremely rare. They're either far away in the frigid northern border or belong to those old guys in the core area of the Star Dou Great Forest. What are your thoughts?"
Jiang Che remained silent for a moment, a thoughtful look flashing in his silver-blue eyes.
He already had a goal in mind.
"Elder Mu," Jiang Che stood up, looked at the Limit Douluo, his tone calm but revealing an undeniable firmness, "I want to go to the far north."
"The far north?" Yan Shaozhe frowned. "The environment there is harsh, teeming with ice-attribute soul beasts over ten thousand years old. It's said that the core area even has a seven-hundred-year-old ice-attribute king. While your ultimate ice is impervious to the cold, with your current strength..."
"Senior brother," Jiang Che interrupted him, a confident smile playing on his lips, "it's precisely because there's a king of ice attributes there that I'm going."
"My ninth spirit ring, it's either no, or it's the best."
As soon as he finished speaking, everyone in the room was astonished.
Elder Xuan stopped gnawing on his chicken leg, and Mu En slightly lifted his lowered eyelids, a glint of shrewdness flashing in his dim eyes. The elders exchanged glances, some looking worried, while others nodded secretly.
The one in the core of the far north is someone even Limit Douluo wouldn't easily provoke.