Zhu Ziyang wandered alone through the jade-scaled flower fields outside the Icefire Yin Yang Well. With every step he took, swaths of jade-scaled blossoms withered and crumbled, returning to the earth as fertile compost to nourish the land that had once sustained them.
Ever since Xian Lin'er, Cai Mei'er, and Ma Xiaotao had left, Zhu Ziyang had begun the painstaking process of increasing the years of his spirit rings. It was a dull and time-consuming task, one that demanded the patience of a monk. Step by slow step, he moved through the fields. Fortunately, with the company of his three soul spirits—Electrolux, Xue Bing Shuang—he never truly felt lonely.
Days slipped by, each one subtly changing the nature of Zhu Ziyang's spirit rings.
One day, at Shrek Academy's Sea God Pavilion.
Mu En was lying in his usual spot—the rocking chair in the main hall—while outside, Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao were diligently practicing Sovereign's Descent.
With Zhu Ziyang away undergoing his godhood trial, Mu En had personally taken over their training. Fortunately, before leaving, Zhu Ziyang had already explained all the key points in detail. All Mu En had to do now was supervise their practice, occasionally correcting minor mistakes.
It's worth noting that Shrek Academy and the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy had recently reached an exchange agreement. Each side would send students and teachers to the other's institution for two years of study.
Naturally, Shrek would send soul engineers—headed by Fan Yu, with Huo Yuhao, He Caitou, and two other students from the Soul Tool Department—since the only real advantage the Sun Moon Academy held was in soul tool technology.
From the Sun Moon Academy's side, the key participants were the Hongchen siblings. Their intent was clear—they sought to use Shrek's superiority in soul master cultivation to compensate for the siblings' weaknesses and strengthen them overall.
However, this matter had little to do with Zhu Ziyang; for the next few years, he would seldom be at the academy.
Mu En seemed relaxed in his chair. His mood had been good lately—so good that the kindly smile on his face gave everyone who saw him a sense of grandfatherly warmth.
Suddenly—
"Hmm?" Mu En's body stiffened, followed by a muffled groan. His posture relaxed again, but no one noticed that his soul had slipped free of his body.
"Where is this…?" Mu En's soul appeared in a mysterious, endless blue space. His expression turned solemn, his heart unsettled in a way he hadn't felt in decades. Still, as a two-hundred-year-old old fox, he quickly steadied his mind and began observing his surroundings.
The space shimmered entirely in shades of blue, suffused with a soft glow, like gentle ripples across a calm sea. The tranquil beauty could almost lull the heart into joy.
"Mu En!" A voice—neither male nor female—echoed through the space, calling his name.
"Who dares put on such airs before me?" Mu En's tone was sharp, though inside he was already wary.
The moment he entered this place, he realized he might have encountered an existence beyond his knowledge. The fact that someone could silently seize his soul—something even he, a Limit Douluo, could not do—was terrifying. But his long years as the Pavilion Master kept his voice firm.
"Heh. Who I am is unimportant," the voice said coldly. "What matters is that you, Mu En, as the leader of Shrek Academy, are sheltering the inheritor of an Evil God. For that, you deserve death."
"Hmph!" Mu En snorted. "I have lived my life openly and honorably. I have never done as you claim. You, hiding your head and showing your tail—your ways seem far more like those of an Evil God."
A faint chuckle. "I am the Sea God. If I were an Evil God, what would that make the people of Shrek Academy?"
"What? You're the Sea God? Sea God Tang San?" Mu En's composure cracked, disbelief flashing in his eyes.
"That's right. I am Tang San, the Sea God, one of the original Shrek Seven Devils," the voice said without a hint of emotion. "I have come because Shrek Academy now harbors an Evil God's inheritor. To prevent the Academy's millennia-old legacy from being destroyed, I have descended a wisp of my divine sense to awaken you."
Mu En remained doubtful, but he had heard whispers of god-level secrets in his long life. He was now seventy percent convinced. "In that case, Sea God, tell me—who is this inheritor? I will see to it myself."
"Of course." There was a note of satisfaction in the voice. "The inheritor is your disciple, Zhu Ziyang."
"What?!" Mu En froze, then let out a cold laugh. "You say my disciple, Zhu Ziyang, is an Evil God's inheritor? Do you even know he wields the Ultimate Light martial soul? What Evil God would choose someone of Ultimate Light?"
"That… is beyond your mortal understanding. I say he is an Evil God's inheritor, and so he is—there is no mistake."
"Hmph!" Mu En scoffed again. "Even if you truly are the Sea God, you have no right to order me to kill my own disciple."
"So, you still refuse to believe?" the voice grew colder. "I had hoped to speak reasonably, but since you won't listen, I'll use force!"
Before Mu En could react, the blue light surged like seawater, locking him in place. Chains of blue energy shot from the void, binding his eyes, ears, mouth, and nose before coiling around his head.
His five senses sealed, Mu En felt himself falling into endless darkness. Only a faint light remained, pulling at what little consciousness he had left. Though the message it carried repelled him, his instinct to survive forced him to accept it.
"Hmph! Even a single wisp of my divine sense is more than enough to handle a mere Title Douluo," the Sea God's voice gloated. "All who obstruct my plans will die!"
But just as he reveled in triumph, a strange tremor swept through the space. A bizarre ripple crossed the void and slammed into the blue world, instantly breaking the chains binding Mu En.
"Damn it—you again! Always ruining my plans!" the Sea God's voice roared in frustration. "I don't have time for you now!"
Mu En was already gone, slipping through a crack torn open by the ripple.
"Damn it! I was so close! So close!" the Sea God's wrath echoed through the collapsing space, even as new ripples tore it further apart, drawing him into a clash unseen by mortal eyes.
Back in the Sea God Pavilion, Mu En's soul returned to his body. His eyes snapped open, a faint grayness in his gaze. A trickle of black blood ran from the corner of his mouth.
He gave a bitter, wry smile. "Well… it seems my time really is short."
"Sea God…" he murmured, his expression a mix of grim resolve and deep despair. "Ziyang… the future will be hard for you."
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