Douluo Dalu: Immortal Dragon Clan

At this moment, Zhang Lexuan was observing Jing Hongchen's changing gaze without making a sound. When she caught the strange look in his eyes, which went from anger to astonishment and then to sudden realization, the last trace of doubt in her heart vanished.

Sure enough, everyone in this room was one of our own!
Now that the truth has been revealed, things will be much easier from here on out.

"Master of the Red Dust Hall, since we've come this far, then tell me, what explanation do you think Shrek Academy should give you?" Zhang Lexuan leaned back in her chair, crossed her arms, and her tone was no longer polite, but rather more straightforward and decisive, not even bothering to try to cover it up.

Jing Hongchen had just recovered from the bewilderment of "everyone being one of us" when she suddenly heard this question. She was stunned for a moment, and then couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Good grief, so you're not even going to act anymore?
By simply handing him the power of discourse and choice, this is not negotiation; it's clearly an attempt to get him to openly set up a trap for Shrek Academy!
Jing Hongchen rubbed his hands together, and his body, which had been stiff from the cold, seemed to warm up a bit. He was no longer in a hurry to talk about compensation. Instead, he looked at Zhang Lexuan with a smile and changed the subject: "Zhang Lexuan, I remember that Elder Mu from Shrek Academy is probably the elder who trusts you the most, right?"

Since we're all on the same side, let's chat about some old stories first; we have plenty of time.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Lexuan nodded frankly, her tone filled with respect: "Elder Mu is indeed a senior worthy of everyone's respect. He dedicated his entire life to Shrek Academy and gave everything he had."

"Then tell me, if that old guy knew that his most trusted junior was standing against Shrek Academy right now, and even joining forces with outsiders to set a trap for Shrek Academy, what would he think?" Jing Hongchen raised an eyebrow and asked, his tone carrying a hint of amusement.

Before Zhang Lexuan could even speak, Mo Yan lazily chimed in, his voice light yet carrying an undeniable certainty: "That old guy won't know, or rather, he'll never know."

Jing Hongchen's curiosity was instantly piqued. He turned to look at the girl who was on par with Jin Tianming and possessed a powerful aura, and couldn't help but ask, "Mo Yan, what do you mean by that? Could it be that..."

He had a vague guess in his mind, but he wasn't sure.

“It’s very simple.” Mo Yan picked up the teacup on the table, took a sip, and spoke in a calm tone as if he were talking about a trivial matter. “That old guy’s soul has long been annihilated in the world, and he didn’t even have the chance to be reincarnated.”

"!" Jing Hongchen's pupils shrank sharply, and the smile on his face froze instantly. He sat up abruptly and asked urgently, "May I ask who did this? That old guy Mu En is a Limit Douluo, after all. Ordinary people can't even touch his soul!"

Mo Yan put down his teacup, looked up at him, and a meaningful smile appeared on his lips. He only said one sentence: "Their Shrek Academy idol is Tang San, the Sea God."

Mirror Red Dust: ???

He was completely stunned; it felt like a thunderclap had exploded in his mind, leaving it buzzing.

Tang San, the Sea God most revered by Shrek Academy, personally annihilated Mu En's soul.

Isn't this plot a bit too explosive?! Is this even possible?!
Just as Jing Hongchen was still immersed in the shocking news and couldn't quite process it, Wen Yu, who was sitting in the middle, finally couldn't hold back anymore.

She rubbed her throbbing temples and interrupted the increasingly rambling conversation with a curt tone: "Alright, alright, what's the point of all this nonsense? Let's get down to business!"

She wanted to finish the conversation as soon as possible and get some sleep. As for the trouble that followed... who cares? Let her future self worry about it! Right now, she just wanted to get away from these drama queens.

Reminded by Wen Yu, the group finally came to their senses, composed themselves, and turned their attention back to the negotiating table to discuss the specifics of compensation.

Zhang Lexuan was even more straightforward. She took out a blank sheet of paper and a pen from her soul tool and pushed them in front of Jing Hongchen. Her tone was incredibly generous: "Sect Leader Hongchen, don't be shy. Fill in whatever you want. If Shrek Academy's compensation isn't enough, I'll fill in whatever's missing!" "Alright!" Jing Hongchen didn't stand on ceremony either. He immediately picked up the pen and started scribbling.

Looking at the scene before him, he felt that this negotiation was simply too magical to be true—how could the party being sued voluntarily let the party making the claim fill in any amount?

Before long, Jing Hongchen finished filling out the form and handed it back to Zhang Lexuan, secretly pleased with himself: he was going to ask for an exorbitant amount!
Zhang Lexuan took the paper, glanced at it, and her hand holding the pen suddenly stopped, her lips twitching involuntarily.

Good heavens, Jing Hongchen isn't just asking for the moon; he's practically bringing over the entire inventory list of the Sun Moon Empire!

However, she felt there was no problem and she didn't need to fill in any more conditions for him.

Seeing her expression, Mo Yan curiously leaned over to take a look. After reading it, her brows furrowed immediately. She slammed the paper on the table with a "bang" and looked at Jing Hongchen with disdain: "Dean Hongchen, what kind of garbage is this?"

Jing Hongchen's heart tightened, and she quickly asked, "What's wrong? Is something amiss?"

Although they were all on the same side, Mo Yan's status was far above his own, on the same level as Jin Tianming, so he dared not be negligent.

"Inappropriate? Absolutely inappropriate!" Mo Yan said, arms crossed, annoyed. "You wrote so little? Are you looking down on Shrek Academy and thinking we can't afford to pay for it?"

She pointed to the contents of the paper, her tone tinged with exasperation: "I'm telling you, rewrite it! Write it as harshly as possible, write as much as you can! If we don't strip Shrek Academy of their wealth bare today, nobody's going home!"

She had thought Jing Hongchen was very courageous, but it turns out that's all he's after? It's so disappointing!
Mirror Red Dust: ?

Zhang Lexuan:?

Wen Yu:?
The three of them turned to look at Mo Yan, their eyes filled with astonishment.

Jing Hongchen picked up the piece of paper she had written on and read it again, feeling extremely aggrieved.

Three 100,000-year-old soul bones, countless rare metal materials, and mountains of cultivation resources—this was the most outrageous compensation list he could think of. How could it be "too little"?

Forget it, we're on the same side, listening to our own people is always the right thing to do.

Jing Hongchen sighed, resignedly picked up her pen again, and began to fill in the blanks again.

At that moment, he felt as if he had returned to his student days, like that unlucky student who was punished by the teacher to stay behind and rewrite his homework because he did not do it well.

Moreover, this feeling is even stranger and more absurd than it was back then.

...(End of chapter)