Chapter 24: The Power of Connections
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Shrek City, Spirit Pagoda Headquarters.
At the top of a towering edifice wreathed in clouds, inside a spacious room, the tall red-haired woman Leng Yaozhu slammed her palm onto the table, making it vibrate with a deep hum.
Her voice, brimming with barely restrained fury, pierced through the communication screen before her.
“Vice Pagoda Master Yang! You know perfectly well what that external soul bone from the Evil Eye clan means to the Spirit Pagoda, don’t you?!”
On the screen was the black-robed old man who had selected a soul spirit for Xu Zhao at the Spirit Pagoda branch in Mingdu.
Faced with Leng Yaozhu’s accusation, he remained utterly composed. Spreading his hands casually, he spoke in a tone as indifferent as though they were discussing some trivial matter.
“I know. But so what?”
“He is the direct disciple of the Divine Craftsman Zhenhua,” the black-robed old man explained unhurriedly. “And he obtained the soul bone through his own ability. He broke none of the rules.”
“Even if we take a step back and assume he demanded it by relying on his status as the Divine Craftsman’s disciple, what could we do? Would you have us fall out with the only Divine Craftsman on the entire continent over a single external soul bone?”
He leaned forward slightly, the faintest trace of a smile playing at the corners of his mouth.
“The Spirit Pagoda would never do something so foolish. Rather than suffer humiliation passively, we might as well offer our goodwill and establish a relationship with this future Divine Craftsman in advance. However you calculate it, we lose nothing.”
The black-robed old man paused before continuing.
“Besides, as one of the three vice pagoda masters of the main tower, I may also serve as the master of the Mingdu branch, but I do possess the authority to issue orders directly to the Sky Dou City branch.”
“Emotionally speaking, this allows us to befriend the Divine Craftsman’s lineage. Logically speaking, it also falls within my authority. I have done nothing wrong.”
“Vice Pagoda Master Leng, you should calm down. If Pagoda Master Qiangu were to misunderstand and think that this old fool had bullied the woman he loves, then that would be…”
“You!”
His final remark struck precisely at Leng Yaozhu’s sorest spot. For a moment, she was rendered speechless, her face paling with rage.
Who among the older generation of soul masters did not know that her heart belonged to Yun Ming, and that she avoided Qiangu Dongfeng’s advances as though fleeing for her life?
He had deliberately poked at her deepest wound.
Only after several breaths did she manage to suppress the surging blood in her chest. Her trembling voice squeezed out through her throat.
“Fine… Even if what you say is reasonable, the Spirit Pagoda branch in Sky Dou City is the territory of my Leng family. Shouldn’t you have informed me before making a decision?”
“I did,” the black-robed old man replied, widening his eyes in feigned surprise. “Am I not informing you right now?”
“You only came to ‘inform’ me after the soul bone had already been given away?!” Leng Yaozhu finally lost control and shouted, “How is that any different from making excuses after the fact?!”
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“Ah, Vice Pagoda Master Leng, you are mistaken.” The black-robed old man shrugged, looking entirely justified. “Who among us has never had a situation requiring special handling? Rules are dead, but people are alive.”
“Tell you what.” He changed tack, a sly smile appearing on his face. “Swear that if anything similar ever happens to you in the future, you will remain utterly impartial, follow the procedures to the letter, and make no exceptions whatsoever.”
“I’ll swear—”
Leng Yaozhu nearly blurted out the answer, but just as the words reached her lips, she froze as though struck by an invisible bolt of lightning.
A powerful sense of unease made her stop herself in time.
She absolutely could not make that oath.
It was a woman’s intuition.
“…I can’t win an argument with you!”
In the end, all her anger and frustration were reduced to a resentful growl of surrender.
The moment she finished speaking, she cut off the communication without hesitation.
The screen went dark.
Meanwhile, at the Spirit Pagoda branch in Mingdu, the black-robed old man watched the image disappear. His lips twitched as he muttered under his breath,
“Tch. Single women of a certain age really are troublesome…”
…
Sky Dou City, Headquarters of the Blacksmiths’ Association.
“You actually defeated a millennium Evil Eye Tyrant with a purely spiritual attribute and obtained this external soul bone, the ‘Guardian’!”
Inside the room, Xu Zhao’s two teachers wore entirely different expressions.
The look on Zhenhua’s face was especially peculiar. Brimming with curiosity, he pressed on.
“But this soul bone is of extraordinary significance to the Spirit Pagoda and carries immense symbolic value. How could they have let you take it away so easily?”
“The news that I had accepted you as my disciple has not yet been made public, and the Spirit Pagoda has not sent any soul-guide communications to inquire about it.”
The implication was obvious.
How could the Spirit Pagoda have tacitly allowed Xu Zhao to take away such a significant soul bone without even knowing that he was Zhenhua’s disciple?
It simply did not make sense.
After all, merely being the heir of the current generation of the Xu family was not enough to make the Spirit Pagoda stand by and do nothing where this soul bone was concerned.
By comparison, Mu Ye’s thoughts were much simpler and more direct.
At first, his face had been filled with newfound recognition of and pride in his young disciple’s strength. Xu Zhao had actually managed to kill a millennium Evil Eye Tyrant with nothing more than the cultivation of a one-ring Soul Master.
It seemed that he had still underestimated the power of his disciple’s two martial souls.
However, after hearing Zhenhua’s question, Mu Ye’s interest was aroused as well. He turned an inquiring gaze toward Xu Zhao, eager to hear what had really happened.
Under the scrutiny of both his teachers, Xu Zhao answered calmly,
“That isn’t the case, Teacher. The Spirit Pagoda actually knew who I was.”
He paused before explaining,
“Before the incident occurred, my grandfather informed Pagoda Master Yang of the Mingdu branch that I was your direct disciple.”
“Afterward, Pagoda Master Yang used his authority as a vice pagoda master of the Spirit Pagoda’s main tower and personally handled all the subsequent arrangements for me. That was why everything was resolved so smoothly. It was very simple.”
“Listening to you, it really does sound simple and straightforward.” After hearing this, Zhenhua initially found the explanation reasonable. Merely a declaration from the Xu family?
But his brows soon drew together as he sensed something unusual.
“Wait…”
A thought stirred in Zhenhua’s mind, and he immediately grasped the crucial point.
“Merely a statement from your grandfather was enough to convince someone of the status of a vice pagoda master of the Spirit Pagoda’s main tower? And after learning that you were my disciple, he not only raised no doubts but even went out of his way to make things convenient for you?”
That was not something that could easily be accomplished through the status of “heir to the Xu family” alone.
For a senior figure of the Spirit Pagoda to so readily offer a favor where vital interests were concerned, the power and trust represented by such an action were anything but ordinary.
Zhenhua regarded this disciple of formidable background thoughtfully before finally sighing.
“I see… As expected of the Xu family, whose legacy has endured since the age of the Spirit Ice Douluo. The connections and reputation accumulated over ten thousand years truly run deep beyond measure. Impressive indeed.”
Before he had even finished speaking, his tone suddenly changed. He cast a teasing glance toward Mu Ye and sighed with faint disdain.
“Tch. Your organization is also an ancient power with a legacy spanning ten thousand years. How did it come to pass that, by the time it reached you, I was the only old friend you had left?”
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