Being lectured by the little rascal Bai Hong to the point of losing face, Xuan Zi was indeed unconvinced in his heart. But when he thought about how Elder Mu had already returned to his peak with Bai Hong's help, Xuan Zi could only endure it.
Don't get angry, don't get angry. If he really got angry, he'd be rubbed into the ground by Elder Mu, so what was the point of getting upset with Bai Hong? ... Xuan Zi, endure!
However, he still had ambition. He was already a Rank 98 Super Douluo; it would be a lie to say he didn't want to advance further.
If that little rascal Bai Hong's method worked... Xuan Zi clutched the wine gourd that Bai Hong had returned to him, tightening his grip, as if he had made some kind of decision.
As for Bai Hong, who had already been pulled away by Zhang Lexuan for dinner, he was surrounded by several inner court students, including Zhang Lexuan.
They were all victims who had almost been wiped out by that 100,000-year Spirit Beast due to Elder Xuan's screw-up. Seeing that Bai Hong was actually dining in the Shrek inner court, they naturally enthusiastically gathered at the same table to eat with Bai Hong.
How to describe it... it was pretty awkward, like returning home for the New Year and meeting all your aunts and uncles.
"Little Bai Hong has grown so big! Come, let Sister have a good look..." Wu Ming, nicknamed Golden Crow Holy Maiden, casually slung her arm over Bai Hong's shoulder.
"Ming'er, stop scaring him. Little Bai Hong still needs to eat," Han Ruoruo said with a smile from the side.
"How could Brother Bai Hong be so easily scared? He was lecturing Elder Xuan with such vigor just now..." said an inner court male student who, thanks to Bai Hong joining the battle midway, had not died tragically as in the original story.
Zhang Lexuan looked at Bai Hong, who was surrounded by many people and seemed a bit at a loss, and couldn't help but smile, her pretty face beaming.
Even when she first met Bai Hong more than three years ago, his demeanor had always been like a little adult, like a grown-up. Whether facing a 100,000-year Spirit Beast or the elders of Shrek Academy, he was always calm and at ease.
Now that he had grown up, he was being teased by inner court students like herself, which broke his composure and revealed the personality he should have at his age. Looking at it this way... he really did resemble Bei Bei, Zhang Lexuan thought.
Bai Hong just raised the chopsticks in his hand and awkwardly replied, "Big brothers and sisters, can you let me finish eating first? We can catch up properly after I'm done..."
Awkwardness aside, and feeling at a loss aside, since he was already here, Bai Hong couldn't possibly not utilize the good karma he had established through that rescue.
These inner court students, with whom he had good relations, basically all had the potential to become Spirit Douluo or even Titled Douluo. Whether directly recruiting them into the Church or simply strengthening their friendship, it could bring tangible benefits to his Unfettered Church.
The secret agreement of cooperation with Mu En included provisions allowing the Unfettered Church to recruit on campus at Shrek Academy.
If the Holy Spirit Church could import Holy Maidens from Shrek Academy, Bai Hong could also import high-quality human resources for the Unfettered Church from Shrek Academy.
After getting familiar with the inner court, Bai Hong left Sea God Island and strolled in the direction of his Unfettered Merchant Guild to digest his food.
Zhang Lexuan also followed closely, walking from the outer court towards the back gate that led into Shrek City.
Her gaze lingered frequently on Bai Hong, and her pretty face always wore a sunny smile.
Due to Elder Mu's previous meddling in matchmaking, the original Zhang Lexuan had only intended to keep her promise and become Bei Bei's wife when he grew up.
However, that unexpected incident more than three years ago had caused her to receive Bai Hong's life-saving grace and his grace of promotion. The divine gift of extraordinary characteristics from the Unfettered Church also gave her the ability to deeply analyze her own heart.
Zhang Lexuan asked herself, did she truly want to follow the steps and wait for Bei Bei to grow up before marrying him?
Elder Mu was her benefactor, and Bai Hong was also her benefactor. They represented Shrek Academy and the Unfettered Church, respectively... these were all objects of her gratitude.
Just as Zhang Lexuan was hesitating, she saw Bei Bei, who was only fourteen years old at the time and completely unaware of the child bride matter, flirting by Sea God Lake with the little girlfriend he had found while studying in the outer court.
Zhang Lexuan no longer hesitated and reported the matter to Elder Mu.
Given Elder Mu's character, after learning about Bei Bei and Tang Ya, he would not act to break them apart.
"My decision back then was too selfish. I shouldn't have used my kindness to force you into such a vow. After all, you are much older than Bei Bei. Although Spirit Masters don't age easily, it's still easy for a generation gap to form between you... Lexuan, since Bei Bei has found the person he truly loves, you don't need to be bound by the promise of being a child bride. As long as you are still willing to be a part of Shrek Academy, it won't be considered a violation of your original vow."
From then on, that "child bride" agreement was simultaneously canceled by Elder Mu and Zhang Lexuan.
Bei Bei didn't even know about it.
And now, Bai Hong had directly approached Elder Mu, successfully negotiated a collaboration, and even healed Elder Mu... In this way, Shrek Academy, represented by Elder Mu, and the Unfettered Church, represented by Bai Hong, became closely related. The difficult single-choice question previously facing Zhang Lexuan now became a multiple-choice question.
She could continue to dedicate her life to Shrek Academy to repay Mu En's kindness, and she could also become the bishop of the Unfettered Church established within Shrek Academy to repay Bai Hong's kindness. Two joys overlapped... Zhang Lexuan looked at Bai Hong, who had brought about all these wonderful changes, and a warmth welled up in her heart.
"Sister Lexuan, you can stop here."
Bai Hong smiled and said, "I'm leaving Shrek City tomorrow. At that time, I'll have to trouble you with the matter of establishing an Unfettered Church and spreading its teachings in Shrek Academy. The Unfettered Merchant Guild branch in the city will fully cooperate with you."
"Leaving so soon? Aren't you staying in Shrek for a few more days?" Zhang Lexuan was a bit puzzled.
Bai Hong had only just reached a cooperation agreement with Elder Mu on behalf of the Unfettered Church. Zhang Lexuan had thought he would stay in Shrek City for at least a few more days, waiting until Elder Mu had properly arranged the cooperation matters within Shrek Academy before departing.
"I'm very confident in Elder Mu's handling of things."
Bai Hong continued, "Moreover, my spirit power is almost at Rank 40, and I still need to find a suitable Spirit Beast for a spirit ring. You also know that mental force Spirit Beasts are quite difficult to find. I happen to be sending a little guy to study in the Sun Moon Empire, so I plan to try my luck there."
Currently, Bai Hong's three spirit rings were: the first spirit ring obtained from hunting a three-thousand-year-old Dream-Eating Tapir; the second spirit ring condensed by observing and studying how a twenty-thousand-year-old Blood Roar Earth Dragon utilized its vital energy through the "Insight" authority; and the third spirit ring similarly condensed by observing a thirty-thousand-year-old Silver Elite Beast's method of imprinting Spirit Abilities with mental force.
These granted him "Pure Dream Seeking Truth," which prematurely unlocked some mid-to-high sequence abilities of the Audience Pathway; "Everyone as a Dragon," which developed the blood refinement and explosive blood abilities of the Mind Dragon Spirit; and "Primordial Control," inspired by the mental force manipulation of elemental power derived from imprinting Spirit Abilities.
Leaving aside the temporary powerful cheats like Fantasist, Quill, and Golden Finger, with Bai Hong's current peak Spirit Abyss Realm mental force cultivation and the inherent Spirit Abilities of these spirit rings, along with various derived self-created Spirit Abilities developed on that basis, Bai Hong was virtually unmatched among those below the Spirit Saint rank.