Shrek Academy. Zhang Lexuan quietly landed in front of the Sea God's Pavilion. The nearby golden tree swayed gently, as if helping to dispel the chill from her body.
"Lexuan?"
"Cai Dean, why are you here?"
Zhang Lexuan was slightly surprised. Just as she spoke, Cai Mei'er's concerned voice rang out at the same time, "I see your complexion has improved quite a bit. Have you found traces of Ye Xishui?"
"Mm… Ye Xishui is already dead." Zhang Lexuan paused for a moment and did not mention Lin Xia. "Back then, after her battle with Mu Lao, she was already severely injured. Not long after, she died in the Extreme North."
"Then…" Cai Mei'er opened her mouth but did not continue asking. "Perfect timing that you're here. Come with me to the Sea God's Pavilion."
"Has something happened to the academy again?"
"No." Cai Mei'er shook her head and stepped toward the Sea God's Pavilion. "But for the academy, it is still a rather serious matter."
As she spoke, Cai Mei'er had already led Zhang Lexuan into the meeting hall of the Sea God's Pavilion. This was the place where Sea God's Pavilion meetings had always been held. When Zhang Lexuan entered, several figures were already seated.
The main seat was empty. Apart from the two deans of the Soul Guidance Department, the only attending elder was Elder Zhuang from the Healing Department. There was also Huo Yuhao, who was not a Titled Douluo.
Cai Mei'er glanced around. Although many seats were still vacant, she knew these were all the people Shrek Academy could currently gather for a Sea God's Pavilion meeting.
"Lexuan is back?"
Xian Lin'er saw the figure following behind Cai Mei'er and asked a question, though her expression did not improve much.
"Mm." Zhang Lexuan nodded, then took a seat. Her gaze turned toward Cai Mei'er, who had still not sat down.
"Elder Zhuang, have Elder Xuan and Elder Song's injuries not recovered yet?"
Elder Zhuang sighed softly upon hearing this. "Elder Song's injuries are recovering quite well, but Elder Xuan's wounds are not only from the attacks of the Sun Moon Empire, there is also the backlash from overusing that power within his martial soul."
After looking around, Elder Zhuang no longer hid the truth during this Sea God's Pavilion meeting. "Elder Xuan… I'm afraid it will be very difficult for him to break through again."
As his words fell, the meeting hall of the Sea God's Pavilion instantly became quiet. A heavy atmosphere pressed down on everyone's hearts until Xian Lin'er finally broke the silence.
"How is Shaozhe's condition?"
Cai Mei'er shook her head. "After he came back, he hasn't been willing to see even me. Perhaps he feels that Mu Lao sacrificed himself to save him… and with the recent rumors…"
"What does that have to do with Shaozhe?" Xian Lin'er complained discontentedly. Qian Duoduo nudged her arm beside her, and only then did she stop speaking.
"Cai Dean, let's first talk about the purpose of this Sea God's Pavilion meeting," Qian Duoduo said, looking up at Cai Mei'er.
"Alright, then I'll begin." Cai Mei'er nodded. "The two deans should have also seen the academy's report. The number of applicants to Shrek Academy this time is much lower than before."
Xian Lin'er and Qian Duoduo exchanged a glance and nodded slightly. "Indeed. Perhaps due to the influence of the Continental War, it's not just us, almost all academies have seen a certain decline in new student numbers."
"But compared to before, our new students are not even one-third of previous years. Moreover, among the new applicants, far fewer come from noble families."
As soon as Cai Mei'er said this, almost everyone present, except Huo Yuhao, roughly guessed the reason.
Although Shrek Academy was known as the number one soul master academy on the Douluo Continent, for some nobles, the resources they could provide their own children were hardly inferior to Shrek Academy, and in some cases even surpassed it.
Enrolling in Shrek Academy was mostly to give their children a layer of prestige.
However, with the current Shrek Academy still not having clearly explained the matter of the evil soul masters, some cautious nobles naturally did not dare send their clan's descendants here anymore.
Although this might cause some dissatisfaction from Shrek Academy, they were even less willing to get involved in trouble. Once the rumors were confirmed, their status in the three great empires could be implicated.
For those nobles, when Shrek Academy was in power, they would naturally come to build relations. But once there was any sign of trouble, they would run faster than anyone else.
It was no wonder Cai Mei'er said this matter was quite serious for Shrek Academy. In the end, Shrek was only an academy.
Bang—
Xian Lin'er slammed the table. "Isn't this all because of those evil soul masters!"
Qian Duoduo nudged Xian Lin'er's arm again.
Elder Zhuang waved his hand. "You've all been tired during this time. It's understandable for Lin'er to be like this."
"But she is indeed right. Shrek Academy has fallen into such a predicament, and all of it stems from the evil soul masters. We cannot block the mouths of the world. Only by letting the clear remain clear."
"Elder Zhuang is correct." Xian Lin'er restrained some of her temper and nodded. "Although the attitudes of the three great empires toward us are no longer what they were before, the work of the Shrek Supervisory Corps cannot be dropped. We have protected the continent for so many years; eventually, some people will see it."
"I actually think…"
Just as everyone was deep in thought, Zhang Lexuan suddenly spoke, drawing all eyes toward her.
Seeing the gazes of the deans turn to her, Zhang Lexuan paused for a moment before completing her sentence. "I think the academy's previous attitude toward evil soul masters was not quite appropriate."
"Lexuan!"
Cai Mei'er's expression suddenly turned stern. "Do you know what you're saying?"
"I know, Cai Dean." Zhang Lexuan nodded and simply stood up. "What I want to say is that our previous judgments of evil soul masters were too arbitrary."
"After Xiaotao was brought back by Elder Xuan, she has remained unconscious. Everyone is also unwilling to talk about Xiaotao's matter, but in the end, she did do many things for the Holy Spirit Cult."
"Xiaotao was coerced by the Holy Spirit Cult; how can they be lumped together?"
"Then how do you know that some of the things done by evil soul masters were not under coercion?" Zhang Lexuan turned to look at Cai Mei'er. "Perhaps they did not want to become evil soul masters; they simply lacked an opportunity to make a choice."
"You—"
Cai Mei'er was momentarily speechless. For some reason, she suddenly thought of Yan Shaozhe, who still refused to see anyone. Another reason he was unwilling to meet people was probably the evil soul master bloodline in his body as well. In the past, they had carried out "supervision" on too many such soul masters.
"Lexuan, people like Xiaotao are ultimately in the minority…" Xian Lin'er also spoke up to persuade her.
"But they do exist."
The meeting hall of the Sea God's Pavilion instantly fell silent. No one had expected Zhang Lexuan to suddenly raise such a topic, almost denying everything Shrek Academy had done before.
For a moment, almost everyone's gaze focused on the only elder present, Elder Zhuang.
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Here are the chapters for today (づ￣3￣)づ╭～
"Don't forget there are chapters available on Patreon."
"From Douluo to Godhood by Defy 30 Advance chapters."
"Douluo: Far North Invincibledo 30 Advance chapters."
"Douluo Peerless: Living as an Evil Soul Master 40 Advance chapters."
"Douluo Dalu 2:Peerless Tang Sect Dawn of Sun and Moon 40 Advance chapters."
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