The tournament was over. The name of Shrek shook the whole continent, but Leng Xue quietly took his leave when the celebrations ended. Tang San and the others tried to persuade him, but he smiled faintly.
"My path is not the same as yours. Your steps aim for the heavens. My roots belong to the soil. I must return north, where frost still waits."
They understood. Tang San gripped his shoulder tightly. "Brother, though you are not counted as a Devil, in my heart you are part of us. Without your frost wall, we wouldn't even have reached the finals."
Those words warmed the coldest of hearts. Leng Xue left, Yan and Huan following at his side, while the stories of his quiet defense spread south and north.
Back in Frostpine Stronghold, he was no longer an ordinary youth. He was Patriarch, Teacher, and Legend. His clan knelt in awe when he returned, but he told them plainly: "Do not call me hero. Call me frost. Frost is patient, silent, but eternal. These are the roots you must hold."
From then onward, life in the Leng Clan was never the same. Children grew up hearing of their ancestor who fought beside the Shrek Seven Devils during the greatest tournament of the empire.
And so, the Frostpine Leng Clan entered a new age.