Xuan Zi: ???
Wasn't it supposed to go like this: he offers to resign from all positions, then the elders of the Sea God Pavilion present repeatedly urge him to stay, and finally, he reluctantly agrees to remain?
This script isn't right...
For a moment, everyone present looked at each other in dismay. What did Old Mu just say? Is he really firing Elder Xuan?
Yan Shaozhe looked at the bewildered Elder Xuan, hesitating for a long time before slowly asking, "Teacher, this is a matter of great importance. Should we discuss it further..."
Mu En waved his hand sternly. "There is nothing to discuss! It's settled!"
The Dean of the Soul Tool Department, Xian Lin'er, looked at Xuan Zi, then at Mu En's ashen face, exchanging glances with her mother, Elder Song. They all knew Old Mu only had a few years left, and Shrek Academy still needed Elder Xuan to deter petty provocateurs. To strip Elder Xuan of all positions now—wasn't that like destroying one's own Great Wall?
Mu En knew all of this, but he had no choice. Some people are more lethal as teammates than as enemies.
Mu En was well aware of Shrek's current predicament; it could be described as being surrounded on all sides by enemies. These difficulties didn't appear overnight; they were the accumulation of ten thousand years of warped educational views and a domineering style of conduct. He felt he was an old man with one foot in the grave, so he had chosen to trust the wisdom of his successors.
But things had gone against his wishes. Thus, Mu En decided that before he died, he would launch one final charge! As for what would happen to Shrek later, only heaven knew.
"As for you, Xuan Zi..." Mu En looked at the brain-dead Xuan Zi, who had yet to react. "Can't you control your own mouth? Fine, I'll help you control it!"
Two yellow, one purple, three black, and three red—nine complete soul rings slowly emerged from his body. A resonant dragon roar suddenly erupted, and the entire meeting room was instantly bathed in an ocean of light. Augmented by the Golden Tree, everyone present, including Xuan Zi, was suppressed in place by the powerful soul power aura unique to a Limit Douluo, unable to move.
How many years had it been since they last saw the Dragon God Douluo take action?
Mu En, like a streak of golden lightning, arrived before Xuan Zi in an instant and struck a palm onto Xuan Zi's head. Golden light surged into Xuan Zi's body. Xuan Zi wanted to wail, but he was suppressed by that massive soul power, unable to speak or move. Mu En was... sealing Xuan Zi's soul power!
"Teacher..."
Mu En remained unmoved, instead increasing the output of soul power. A minute later, he withdrew his martial soul.
In just that short time, Xuan Zi's powerful Level 98 soul power and mental power were sealed by Mu En. The current Xuan Zi was merely an ordinary person with the physique of a Super Douluo.
Everyone present was horrified; the power of a Limit Douluo was fully on display. Of course, the main reason was that Xuan Zi himself didn't have time to resist and was honestly too incompetent; had it been Du Busi with the same cultivation, Mu En certainly wouldn't have achieved it so effortlessly—it might even have been a question of whether he could win.
Mu En casually opened an underground space within the Golden Tree and kicked Xuan Zi inside. "With an empty stomach, your head might think a bit more. Reflect on yourself in there!"
"..."
The Sea God Pavilion meeting room became so quiet one could hear a pin drop. The elders exchanged glances and held private mini-meetings, all of which Mu En saw. Dropping his usual gentle demeanor, Mu En's words were full of a leader's toughness: "Discuss your thoughts after the meeting. What I say today concerns the problems of our Shrek!"
"You aren't blind or deaf; you know what kind of situation our Shrek Academy is in on the Douluo Continent. I'm telling you, whether you want to admit it or not, the ones who host the most hostility toward us are actually the three great empires!"
"Therefore, if the academy wants to survive, it must reform!"
Then, Mu En looked at the four deans and vice-deans of the Martial Soul and Soul Tool departments—his four students. "I heard there's a teacher in the Outer Court named Zhou Yi who expelled several hundred students, right?"
The four deans instinctively exchanged glances. Even Xian Lin'er and Cai Mei'er, who usually didn't get along, were somewhat at a loss. As deans, they naturally knew about Zhou Yi's reckless expulsion of students, but since her classes had the highest promotion rate—and more importantly, she was needed to keep Fan Yu, the man closest to being a Class 9 Soul Tool Engineer—they had looked the other way.
Though they looked down on her methods, no major problems had arisen, and she had already been disciplined once. Over time, the four deans had forgotten about her. For Old Mu to ask now, could it be...
"How many futures of good students has this one piece of rat excrement ruined..." Mu En murmured, his voice then turning firm. "Kill her. Publicly execute her next Sunday in the central square of Shrek City!"
"!!!"
The killing intent in Mu En's voice was genuine. Qian Duoduo hesitated for a moment and whispered, "What if... someone pleads for mercy?"
"Not allowed."
Yan Shaozhe still wanted to salvage the situation. "Teacher, should we reconsider? After all, she is an old teacher who has taught for many years. More importantly, the impact would be bad... and then there's Fan Yu's side..."
Mu En opened his eyes and looked at Yan Shaozhe. There was an indescribable deterrence in his dim golden eyes. "I believe I just said the words 'not allowed.' Can you not understand human speech?"
Yan Shaozhe was embarrassed. "...N-No."
"Lin'er," Mu En said with authority, "After the Sea God Pavilion meeting ends, all Inner Court disciples must go to your side to have at least one flying soul tool and one defensive soul tool custom-made. It's best if they are also equipped with soul tool armor of the same rank. Whoever objects—don't tell me, just tell them to get lost."
"Yes!" A hint of joy appeared on Xian Lin'er's face, and Qian Duoduo beside her couldn't help but show a triumphant smile.
Yan Shaozhe hesitated, tentatively asking, "Teacher, should we discuss this... doing this so abruptly might be difficult in the Martial Soul Department..."
Mu En ignored him and turned to Qian Duoduo. "Duoduo, after the meeting, go and dismantle all the soul tools in Yan Shaozhe's office and room."
"If Yan Shaozhe dares to use any soul tool, including storage soul tools, just beat him up. You don't need to ask me for permission. If Yan Shaozhe dares to fight back, use your Stationary Soul Cannon shells to blast him!"
Yan Shaozhe: "...??" I... I haven't even said anything yet...
Qian Duoduo was stunned for a moment, then gave Yan Shaozhe a malicious look and grinned. "Yes, Teacher!"
Mu En looked at Yan Shaozhe with cold eyes and said indifferently, "You don't need to be the Dean of the Martial Soul Department anymore either. Mei'er, you are promoted to Dean. Later, promote Lexuan to Vice-Dean."
"..."
Yan Shaozhe was completely numb. Just like that, he was dismissed? Treated the same as Xuan Zi?
"This is my attitude. Now that I've crippled one Xuan Zi, I don't mind crippling another Yan Shaozhe. This is the most critical moment. Whoever dares to play games, I will kill them personally!"
All the elders present couldn't help but straighten their backs. "Yes!"
"Now, every one of you, remember this!"
"Our Shrek is not invincible. We are humans too; we can lose, and we can make mistakes!"
"If we don't want to perish, we must reform!"
Then Mu En listed a series of reform measures, including compensation for the families of those who died in the recent inspection mission and students previously expelled by Zhou Yi, as well as the vigorous promotion of soul tools. Mu En knew this would cause a massive blow to Shrek's prestige, but losing prestige was better than being completely annihilated in the river of history.
He knew very well that a war between the three original countries of the Douluo Continent and the Sun Moon Empire would soon break out. No matter which side won, they would no longer tolerate the existence of an independent kingdom like Shrek. It was either assimilate or stand alone; there was no other choice.
Finally, the discussion turned to the Continental Elite Tournament about to take place in Star Net City. After all, this concerned the glory Shrek cared about most. Ten thousand years of glory—it would be a lie to say they didn't care.
On one hand, he spoke of reform; on the other, he held onto glory with a death grip. Mu En couldn't quite bring himself to make the decision to give it up, as glory was something etched into the bones of every Shrek person.
At that moment, Elder Zhuang walked in from outside the meeting room.
"Old Mu, Xu Sanshi and Bei Bei have woken up. Although Xu Sanshi's martial soul was shattered, luckily his bloodline is powerful and his foundation is solid. With medicinal treatment, he should return to normal in about a week. Bei Bei's internal organs were injured, but with your Light power nourishing him, he has recovered more than half."
Mu En's expression didn't change on the surface, but he felt a sigh of relief in his heart. Frankly speaking, the reason he had resolved to punish Xuan Zi so severely was largely because he saw his only great-great-grandson turned into that state at Xuan Zi's hands.
"It's just..." Elder Zhuang said with some difficulty, "Bei Bei is begging me to let him participate in this soul fighting tournament, but I'm worried his old injuries haven't healed and he might add new ones..."
Mu En said deeply, "Then let him go!"
"But Old Mu, his injuries require at least a month of quiet rest to be safe..."
"Don't worry about him! Consider it a lesson learned through hardship!"
"...Yes."
Qian Duoduo suggested, "Teacher, there are only three official team members in Star Net City. Should we send reinforcements? There is at least one student in the Soul Tool Department of the Inner Court whose age and ability meet the criteria, maybe..."
Mu En took a deep breath and said solemnly, "No need. Let them perform on their own!"
At this point, Mu En didn't have any better options. If they lost this time and it made all Shrek students realize that glory wasn't just about winning games, that would be fine too.
As for winning... Mu En didn't dare count on it, unless that little fellow was willing to fight to the death for Shrek...
But his attitude... Mu En had a bit of a headache. If he had known, he would have had a heart-to-heart with that little fellow earlier.
"This..." The newly promoted Cai Mei'er said uneasily, "Teacher, this concerns the academy's glory... Why not let Shaozhe take that student and Bei Bei to Star Net City?"
She named Yan Shaozhe, naturally wanting to fight for another chance for her husband. Mu En was well aware of this small scheme. This "reform" of his wasn't just moving the Martial Soul Department's cake; it was flipping the Martial Soul Department's table... So as a former beneficiary, Cai Mei'er still wanted to push back.
"No need! Lin'er, after the meeting, you and Old Zhuang go to Star Net City personally. Remember, do not be rash. Be careful not to let more lives be lost on the field, and protect the children's safety along with Le Xuan."
Xian Lin'er stood up and replied respectfully, "Yes, Teacher."
"Also, after the Continental Elite Young Soul Master Tournament ends, issue a letter in the name of the Soul Tool Department to the Sun Moon Royal Soul Tool Academy to propose an exchange. Send our soul tool students there to learn. As long as they agree to let us visit first, allow them to send ten students to our side for exchange as well."
"This... Old Mu, even if they agree, our students might..."
A trace of solemnity flashed in Mu En's dim eyes. "The era is advancing, and our thoughts must also move forward and overtake on the curve. When that time comes, our students will know what they need to do."
Xian Lin'er and Qian Duoduo naturally caught the underlying meaning. "...Yes, Teacher."
...
Tang Ya sat in her dormitory, scanning Shrek Academy outside the window with resentful eyes, her face pale.
Why... why are both the forces left by the ancestor Tang San, yet they didn't step in to help the Tang Sect in its direst moment?! If you had helped even a little back then, Mom and Dad wouldn't have... wouldn't have...
It had been a year since she broke through to the three-ring stage, but her soul power progress was getting slower and slower, only at Level 33 now. She was in the fifth grade now; whether she could graduate in the sixth grade was a question. The fourth ring seemed even more distant...
The Tang Sect was still in that half-dead state—calling it a sect was a stretch; it was really just a small club of two or three people. Who knew how long it would take to revive it into a sect...
Tears slid down Tang Ya's lovely face. She was only a fifteen-year-old girl, yet so many burdens were already resting on her shoulders.
"I'm sorry, Bei Bei... I'm sorry, Mom and Dad..." Tang Ya wiped away her tears, her fists clenched.
"I... I want..."
Power. The thirst for power made Tang Ya activate that part of her talent she had always hidden... but she didn't dare tell Bei Bei, because that was no different from an Evil Soul Master!
...
After the Sea God Pavilion meeting ended and all the elders had left, only Yan Shaozhe and Mu En remained. Despite being nearly a hundred years old, Yan Shaozhe still acted a bit coy, walking uneasily to Mu En.
"Teacher, perhaps you should withdraw your order..."
Mu En looked at Yan Shaozhe seriously. "Do you think I was joking with you? Didn't you look down on soul tools? Then don't use them from now on."
Yan Shaozhe's old face turned red with embarrassment. "At least... I need to carry things. Using a storage soul tool should be okay, right?"
"Once your cultivation reaches Limit Douluo, you can open a small space for storage."
"Don't you feel that soul masters are inherently stronger than soul tools? Then aim for that in your cultivation."
Yan Shaozhe was speechless. Limit Douluo? In thirty years, he had only gained one level. How long would it take to reach Limit Douluo...
Mu En glared and flicked his sleeve. "Get out!"
A completely irresistible force was thrown out, crudely blowing Yan Shaozhe heavily out of the Sea God Pavilion and into the Sea God Lake.
Finally, peace returned. Mu En seemed to lose all his strength, shifting his posture on the lounge chair. His dim eyes were lifeless, as if all vitality had vanished.