Chapter 153: Exchange of Futures
Moon quietly contemplated the three students—Lan Susu, Lan Luoluo, and Ning Tian. Among them, Ning Tian was undoubtedly the most promising. Despite the limitations of the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda, which inherently prevented cultivators from advancing beyond the eighth ring and becoming Soul Douluo, her personal talent stood out.
As for Lan Susu and Lan Luoluo, their advantage lay solely in their martial soul fusion skill. Their combined strength could rival stronger foes, but without that fusion, they lacked individual distinction.
Hair's martial soul, by comparison, was merely average. At lower levels, this wasn't an issue; cultivation speed was manageable. But past the seventh ring, deficiencies in martial soul quality would become more evident. Unless Hair could absorb higher-level soul rings to compensate, progress would stagnate. Yet, only those who had truly absorbed high-level soul rings knew just how difficult it was. Moon himself would never have attempted it if not for his early acquisition of soul bones.
For most soul masters, if one couldn't absorb high-quality spirit rings in the early stages, progress past the fifth ring became heavily reliant on family background. While small and medium noble families could manage optimal soul ring combinations for the first four rings, the fifth ring required at least middle noble status. Maintaining high-quality combinations for the sixth ring necessitated near-great noble standing. As for the seventh spirit ring—typically surpassing 50,000 years in age—even great nobles struggled. Achieving the ideal combination of two yellow, two purple, and three black rings was feasible, but the quality of those black rings could vary widely.
With a better martial soul, obtaining a seventh ring at 10,000 or even 20,000 years wasn't too hard. But if the soul rings were lower in age and the martial soul itself was lacking, even a textbook combination of two yellow, two purple, and three black rings might result in stagnation at level 79.
"Let them go," Moon finally said, voice resolute. "The Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda Sect is still rooted in the Douluo Continent. If Lan Susu and Lan Luoluo truly wish to become soul masters, they can't stray far. Only Shrek can offer them soul rings good enough to advance to the eighth ring. With their fusion skills, they might then contend with Titled Douluo. The Sun-Moon Empire doesn't even have quality soul rings to begin with—let alone high-level ones for two cultivators unlikely to ever reach the ninth level."
"Yes, teacher. I'll let them go as scheduled," the student answered. "Also, the three of them are geniuses. If we send them to the Douluo side, should we reduce the number of other geniuses going to the Sun-Moon Empire?"
Moon En turned his attention to the list of candidates for the exchange competition. Names like Beibei, Xiao Xiao, and Ling Luochen stood out. The exchange between Shrek Academy and the Sun-Moon Empire had originally been initiated by the Sun-Moon Royal Soul Instructor Academy. Jing Hongchen had long admired Shrek and had hoped to collaborate. Failing to do so personally, he planned to send his grandchildren over for firsthand experience.
That had been the plan—until Shrek's disastrous performance in the All-Continental High-Level Soul Master Competition shattered Jing Hongchen's idealized image of the academy. The flawless "Bai Yueguang" (White Moonlight) turned out to be more like a burly man with hairy legs in a dress. The fantasy crumbled, and so did Jing's enthusiasm for exchange.
Still, the invitation had been sent prior to the tournament. Despite the embarrassing defeat, Shrek proceeded with its exchange plans, reaching out to the Sun-Moon Royal Soul Instructor Academy. Although Moon's own visit to the Sun-Moon Academy had ended poorly, both sides eventually agreed to carry on with the arrangement.
Initially, Jing Hongchen only planned to send a handful of soul engineers to go through the motions. From his perspective, the whole thing was now just a formality.
But Shrek refused to let it end that way. If it were merely perfunctory, the entire initiative would be meaningless. So negotiations resumed.
Jing Hongchen had been stubborn at first. After all, Shrek had not just lost—their defeat was humiliating.
Yet Shrek posed one simple, piercing question: If Shrek had fielded Xiao Qiang, and the Sun-Moon Royal Soul Instructor Academy had refrained from excluding him, could the Sun-Moon side have truly won?
Jing Hongchen had no immediate answer.
He knew the truth. Xiao Qiang, though barely past his 50s, had more ten-thousand-year soul rings than some Titled Douluo. His rare, high-end soul skills could no longer be chalked up to mere talent.
Without Xiao Qiang, the Sun-Moon side was not Shrek's match. Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen were exceptional, but compared to Ma Xiaotao, Jing doubted they could win. And while Dai Yueheng was confident in his victory over Xiao and Meng, students of his caliber appeared every generation at Shrek. The Sun-Moon Empire simply couldn't nurture a Soul Emperor like Ma Rulong.
Whether it was Huo Gua's persuasive words or Jing Hongchen's own lingering desire for a meaningful exchange, he eventually relented. He agreed to let Xiao Hongchen enroll at Shrek Academy for the exchange.
But there was a condition.
For Xiao Hongchen to attend, Shrek had to send someone of equal talent and status to the Sun-Moon side to ensure his safety.
In terms of status, Beibei—great-great-grandson of the Sea God Pavilion's master—was equal to Xiao Hongchen. But in talent, Beibei fell short. To close that gap, Shrek added Xiao Xiao, a twin martial soul user.
One student for two. On the surface, it looked like the Sun-Moon Empire had the better deal. But since Beibei represented status and Xiao Xiao represented talent, sending both ensured balance. To round things out, Shrek also added Ling Luochen—one of the Shrek Seven Devils—as a companion.
Yan Shaozhe had protested the idea of trading one student for three of their own top talents. But it was Shrek that needed the exchange, not the Sun-Moon Academy. Ultimately, even he had to concede. The terms were set in stone.
"Let it be," Moon En sighed after reviewing the exchange list again. "We can't afford unnecessary conflict now."
Compared to the original vision for Shrek's future, the academy currently lacked initiative and had grown too passive.
"Summon Beibei, Ling Luochen, Xiao Xiao, Huo Yuhao, and He Caitou," Moon ordered.
"Yes, teacher."
As Yan Shaozhe left to carry out his task, Moon En turned his gaze toward the golden tree at the center of the courtyard.
"Ancestors of Shrek," he whispered, "please bless me in this endeavor… May they never forget the grace Shrek has shown them."