When Mu En questioned him, Yan Shaozhe lowered his gaze respectfully and said, "I don't believe I did anything wrong. Your safety is paramount."
"But by doing this, did you consider Shrek's responsibility?"
Mu En's eyes were filled with anger and sorrow. He had only been gone for a little over a month, and Shrek had fallen to such a state in such a short time?
While his soul was nourishing within the Golden Tree, Mu En had heard all the changes happening in the Sea God Pavilion. A large number of experts had fallen, the younger generation had either died, been injured, or been captured and taken away.
When Poison Undying arrived today, brazenly attempting to snatch students, Mu En knew he had no choice but to appear.
But he never expected that Poison Undying's temperament was even more arrogant than his brother's, and his strength was astonishing, far surpassing Xuan Zi. Even when Mu En was alive, he might not have been able to gain an advantage.
If Xuan Zi hadn't been crippled, Mu En could have given him strength, forcibly manifesting Gluttony Power, which could even resist Di Tian's invasion.
However, Old Song's cultivation was insufficient, and his Martial Soul had no connection to the Dragon Clan, so he couldn't accept Mu En's and the Golden Tree's energy.
He deeply regretted not having been stricter with Yan Shaozhe and Xian Lin'er in their early years. If they had been Level Ninety-Seven in cultivation now, one accepting his Light Soul Power and the other accepting the Dragon Clan's power, they wouldn't have been so passive.
Yan Shaozhe showed no remorse on his face. He said, word for word, "I believe that preserving you and Shrek is more important than anything."
He had come to a realization during this time. Students could be recruited again, but if Shrek's own strength was lost, it would take decades, even centuries, or longer to recover.
As long as Shrek's golden reputation remained, countless geniuses on the continent would flock to it. Perhaps some might even think that Shrek's current predicament would lead to relaxed admission standards, making it a good opportunity to study there.
Moreover, Poison Undying had also said he would speak on their behalf. This choice was incredibly worthwhile. They were sending Huo Yuhao to the Body Sect, a renowned top Sect on the continent, not to Evil Soul Masters.
"You—!"
Mu En perceived Yan Shaozhe's thoughts, and all those emotions transformed into a furious rage. He suddenly raised his dragon claw and swatted Yan Shaozhe, sending him flying like a cannonball, slamming heavily into the deep earth.
*Bang!*
Dust flew, and the earth cracked. In his hazy state, Yan Shaozhe felt a familiar sensation.
The last time... when Long Xiaoyao sent him flying... it seemed to have been like this too.
The powerful individuals of Shrek in mid-air were shocked, their faces changing drastically. Old Song quickly led Old Zhuang and Old Dong to comfort Mu En. Xian Lin'er transformed into a streak of azure light and descended, digging Yan Shaozhe out of the dust.
"Yan Shaozhe, your injuries don't seem serious?" Xian Lin'er placed her fingertips on Yan Shaozhe's wrist, sensing his pulse. She found that most of Yan Shaozhe's injuries were superficial, with some internal organ tremors, but nothing serious.
Yan Shaozhe looked as if he was barely breathing, but his voice, transmitted telepathically, was rapid:
"Lin'er, don't say anything. Master absolutely had to hit me with that palm! Quick, slap me a few more times. Make it loud, but don't use too much force. And it would be best if you scold me a bit too."
"Alright!"
Xian Lin'er's eyes lit up. She readily raised her right hand and slapped Yan Shaozhe's dusty old face, then started slapping with both hands.
*Slap! Slap! Slap!*
"Yan Shaozhe, you heartless, inhuman old bastard! To throw out my Soul Tool Department's Core Disciple to take the brunt of danger in a time of crisis! Are you still fit to be Shrek's Dean?..."
*Slap! Slap! Slap!—*
"Abandoning others at critical moments, have you, this well-dressed old thing, made a habit of abandoning people? Tell me, huh? You beastly scoundrel, I'm going to skin you alive today!"
Xian Lin'er slapped and cursed, her slaps crisp and resounding, her angry shouts filled with passion. Everyone except Yan Shaozhe felt that Xian Lin'er was truly expressing her feelings.
At first, Yan Shaozhe thought he had never realized Xian Lin'er's acting was so superb, but he soon discovered something was off—Xian Lin'er's slaps were getting harder and harder, making his ears ring, and a sweet, metallic taste rose in his throat.
"Enough, Lin'er, you're hitting too hard! Go easy, ow! Why are you choking me? We didn't agree to this—"
Yan Shaozhe telepathically reminded Xian Lin'er that she was overacting, but Xian Lin'er seemed to think her performance wasn't intense enough. She actually grabbed Yan Shaozhe by his collar while hitting him and began to choke him.
"What we didn't agree to, we agree to now. For Shrek's image, you'll just have to endure it! When I see your old face now, I can't help but remember all the despicable things you did back then. You've angered me my entire life, so today, I'm going to get this out of my system!"
Xian Lin'er's eyes were wide with fury, staring coldly at Yan Shaozhe. In Star Luo City, she had discovered Yan Shaozhe's old flame, Feng Ling, whose cultivation was higher than hers. At that time, she had planned to confront Yan Shaozhe about it after returning, but various unforeseen events had delayed her.
As she cursed, she inadvertently spoke her true feelings. Memories of Yan Shaozhe's past actions flooded her mind. Slapping him was no longer enough to vent Xian Lin'er's hatred. She squeezed Yan Shaozhe's neck with all her might, a look of satisfying revenge and relief on her face.
Yan Shaozhe, who hadn't expected Xian Lin'er to settle old scores, immediately felt miserable. His face turned crimson, and he couldn't even breathe for a moment. He thought, Today is truly an unlucky day. Lin'er, just get it out of your system already. Suddenly, Yan Shaozhe found himself airborne, lifted by Xian Lin'er. His terrified eyes instantly widened.
"Lin'er, what are you doing? Stop it!"
"Teaching you a lesson, you scoundrel!"
*Thud! Thud! Thud!—*
Xian Lin'er grabbed Yan Shaozhe and slammed him violently onto the ground, slamming him on the left, then the right, then the front, then the back. After slamming him from all directions, she moved to a new spot and continued slamming him. The earth-shattering commotion was no less than an earthquake, even causing the enraged Mu En to look on with surprise.
Perhaps this isn't just a beating, but also bringing out the hatred for Yan Shaozhe's faithlessness all those years ago? After all these years, Lin'er still can't let it go.
Remembering Yan Shaozhe's past romantic entanglements, Mu En couldn't help but feel a headache. The women this fellow had provoked back then were all formidable. If they ever got a chance, he would surely be stripped bare.
"Sigh—if I had known you two would bicker for so many years, back when you were still a couple, I, your teacher, should have settled things between you. Otherwise, Lin'er's cultivation would be far more advanced..."
Shaking his head and sighing repeatedly, Mu En told Old Song and the others, "Quickly, go break them up," then swayed and descended back into the Golden Tree.
Poison Undying was right; his current state was dire. Originally, his plan was to seal a portion of his Soul Power and his complete soul into the Golden Tree upon his natural demise. However, the battle with Xu Xiaoyun had exhausted his strength, leaving him with no choice but to seal only his remaining fragmented soul into the Golden Tree.
As he had predicted, this remnant of his soul could at most endure one more strenuous battle before likely dissipating with the wind.
Old Song and the other two flew to the scene and saw Xian Lin'er using Yan Shaozhe as a human battering ram, striking with incredible force and her mouth ceaselessly spewing insults.
"I'll smash you, you ungrateful wretch! I'll smash you, you hateful old bastard! I'll smash you, you—"
Yan Shaozhe's face was bleeding profusely from the blows. Fortunately, he had activated his Light Soul Power to protect himself, preventing Xian Lin'er's brutal assault from taking his life.
Of course, that was assuming someone intervened, otherwise, the consequences would be hard to predict.
"Lin'er, stop it now!"
Old Song flashed forward, pushing Xian Lin'er away with one hand and saving Yan Shaozhe with the other.
Old Zhuang instinctively unleashed his Martial Soul to heal Yan Shaozhe, whose body was bruised and battered, secretly marveling at the sight.
Xian Lin'er's attack seemed intent on killing him. Just how badly did Yan Shaozhe hurt her back then for her to hate him this much?
At this moment, Bei Bei, who had come out to meet Mu En, and Wang Dong, who harbored resentment, also rushed over. They looked at the bloodied Yan Shaozhe, speechless.
Wang Dong had originally wanted to beat Yan Shaozhe herself, but seeing him already in such a state, it seemed inappropriate to hit him again. "Sigh—Xiao Xiao isn't back, and Yuhao was taken away. It seems like I, your humble servant, can't find any joy staying at Shrek Academy anymore. What am I going to do from now on—"
Wang Dong glanced in the direction where Body Sect had disappeared, then looked at Yan Shaozhe, feeling a momentary sense of confusion.
Clear Sky Sect was dreary and boring, and Shrek was repeatedly being trampled. It seemed pointless for her to stay at Shrek anymore; besides Dai Huabin, there was no one else worth her attention.
What a useless, trashy 'number one academy in the world'! Any top power on the continent can step all over it. Bah!
What a bunch of spineless cowards!
In the airspace of the Heavenly Soul Empire, Poison Undying personally took Huo Yuhao for a ride, letting him experience the thrill of soaring through the clouds, and said with no small amount of pride:
"Yuhao, for a Body Martial Soul genius like you to be at Shrek is truly a waste of your talent. They know nothing about Body Martial Soul cultivation. Only here, in our Body Sect, can your talent be fully realized."
"You're currently at Level Twenty-something cultivation. I can guarantee that once you join our Body Sect, as long as you're willing to work hard, you'll reach Five Ring Soul King within five years! If you can complete your Second Awakening, even Shrek's Six Ring Soul Emperor might not be your match!"
Huo Yuhao recalled Shrek's situation at the Star Luo City competition venue and sighed with a melancholic expression.
"It's a shame that even then, I won't have a chance to compete."
Body Sect was a Sect, and Sects were not allowed to participate in the Pan-continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Fighting Tournament.
"Nonsense, what's that supposed to mean? Let me tell you, our Body Sect has a good relationship with the Heavenly Soul Empire. If you want to compete, five years from now, you can change your identity and just register at Dio Academy."
Poison Undying treated Huo Yuhao as one of their own, indicating that Body Sect had extensive connections and powerful influence even within the Heavenly Soul Empire.
"I hear the younger generation masters of the Sun Moon Empire are as numerous as clouds. Coincidentally, our Body Sect also has top-tier geniuses. When the time comes, we'll switch to Dio Academy and compete to see who's superior!"
According to Poison Undying's intelligence, the three "Millennial First Geniuses" from the Sun Moon Empire were indeed formidable, but he was still confident in his own disciples. Even if they couldn't win, they could at least get second place, right?
As his words fell, Huo Yuhao excitedly hummed in agreement. Behind him, Golden Body Douluo Jin Peng seemed to remember something and quietly approached Poison Undying, his expression becoming quite peculiar.
He transmitted his voice: "Sect Master, a few days ago, the Heavenly Soul Empire sent us a message that I forgot to tell you about."
"What message?" Poison Undying curled the corner of his lips, turning back with a smile in his eyes.
Jin Peng glanced at Huo Yuhao and said with a strange expression:
"Someone heard a piercing, unpleasant laugh high above Heaven Dou City, and someone shouted, 'Old Xuan is truly the greatest contributor to our Holy Spirit Church! He knew our Holy Spirit Church lost three Super Douluo, so he led his people to surrender to us!'"
This incident alarmed the Tianhun Imperial Family. They sent Titled Douluo to investigate and found that a small Sect had been wiped out. There were multiple traces of powerful Evil Soul Masters in the vicinity, as well as a Soul Power trace left by a fire-attribute Dragon Martial Soul Titled Douluo, whose strength was close to a Super Douluo.
"The Tianhun Imperial Family investigated the Soul Power characteristics of famous masters on the continent and believed that the Soul Power likely originated from Shrek's Beast King Gong Changlong. He engaged in battle with the Evil Soul Masters, was outnumbered, and was captured."
Poison Undying's pupils suddenly contracted, and he frowned, saying coldly, "Those bastards, the Evil Soul Masters, appeared in Heaven Dou City and captured Shrek's Gong Changlong?"
Jin Peng nodded, his expression still strange, and said, "And those Evil Soul Masters called Old Xuan the Holy Spirit Church's greatest contributor, saying he led his people to surrender when the Holy Spirit Church was in peril. This subordinate has racked his brains for the past few days, and the only top-tier expert on the continent with that title is Shrek's Gluttony Douluo. There's no one else."
Poison Undying's face immediately turned as black as charcoal, and even Huo Yuhao's expression became very peculiar.
"That damned Xuan Zi! I knew there was something wrong with him leading the team every time and something always going wrong! So he really was an undercover agent! Brother Xu's disciple and great-grandson were both harmed by him, and that old geezer still isn't at peace, even on his deathbed he has to help the Evil Soul Masters!"
"Don't let me see him, or I'll tear him apart alive!"
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Translation by: randomtranslator.com
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