Everyone entered the Sea God Pavilion. Dense yet gentle golden light descended from above, enveloping everyone present within it—except for the few who possessed dark attributes.
Mu En took hold of Su Yunlin's hand and led him deeper into the Sea God Pavilion.
Cai Mei'er addressed the group, saying, "Children, welcome back. This is the Sea God Pavilion…"
After briefly introducing the Sea God Pavilion to everyone, the gentleness on her face gradually turned stern.
"Next, I will announce the rewards and punishments. Ma Xiaotao, Dai Yueheng, Ling Luochen, Chen Zifeng!
"As inner court disciples, you were reckless in your pursuit of merit during the Inspector mission and failed to carefully distinguish the traits of Evil Spirit Masters, resulting in your teammates suffering severe injuries.
"If Su Yunlin had not forcibly equipped you with soul tools, your outcomes would have been far worse. Therefore, the four of you will each receive a major demerit!"
The few inner court disciples lowered their heads in silence. If not for the defensive soul tools Su Yunlin had forced them to equip, they would either have died or been crippled.
Cai Mei'er's tone softened slightly.
"However, during the subsequent tournament, you obeyed orders, fulfilled your respective roles, and realized in time that blindly adhering to old methods would not lead to victory. Your merits offset your faults, and the demerit will not be entered into your records."
"Thank you, Vice Dean."
The four of them finally let out sighs of relief. After all, a major demerit would affect the academy's allocation of resources toward them.
"Alright, you may all leave now. Go and rest well. Visit your teammates—their injuries should have mostly recovered by now.
"Remember to learn properly from this lesson. Soul tools have already become the trend of the era. Do not lose your lives because of arrogance and disdain.
"Dai Yueheng, your Inspector mission has been completed. You may now prepare for your inner court graduation assessment."
"Yes!"
The four inner court disciples then departed. Of course, Ma Xiaotao remained behind. As a direct descendant of Shrek Academy's lineage, she was permitted to stay and listen.
Next came the rewards for the reserve team.
First was their leader, Wang Yan. His gilded assignment had finally been completed perfectly, and he was promoted to a Shrek Special-Class Teacher as well as an assistant instructor of the inner court.
Aside from the promotion in status, Wang Yan also obtained qualification to enter the Sea God Pavilion's library archives for one year.
To Wang Yan, this was the greatest reward possible.
As for the remaining reserve team members, every single one of them had performed exceptionally well. Even Xiao Xiao and Huo Yuhao, whose cultivation ranks were the weakest, both possessed twin Martial Souls and were worthy of focused nurturing.
Thus, after deliberation by the Sea God Pavilion assembly, it was decided that each member of the Shrek Seven Monsters reserve team would receive a suitable Spirit Bone, as well as the lifelong title of "Shrek Seven Monsters."
At the side, Ma Xiaotao was utterly stunned.
A lifelong Shrek Seven Monsters title meant that as long as even one of the seven remained alive, no one else could inherit the title of Shrek Seven Monsters.
In other words, Ma Xiaotao's own temporary title as one of the Shrek Seven Monsters had come to an end at this very moment.
Mu En then spoke once more.
"Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, Jiang Nannan—your cultivation has already reached the rank of Spirit Ancestor. I hereby grant special approval for the three of you to participate in the inner court assessment after this semester ends.
"Xiao Xiao, Huo Yuhao, Su Yunlin, Wang Dong—you four will cultivate by this old man's side for a period of time. Once Xiao Xiao and Huo Yuhao meet my requirements, you may return to the outer court to continue your studies.
"As for Su Yunlin and Wang Dong, the two of you will directly participate in the inner court assessment afterward."
"Yes!"
"Meeting adjourned. Su Yunlin, the four of you stay behind," Mu En said with a smile.
Mu En walked over to the four of them. Su Yunlin and Wang Dong were already quite familiar with him, but only now did Huo Yuhao and Xiao Xiao realize that the person standing before them—the true authority of Shrek Academy—was actually the elderly dorm supervisor.
Mu En walked over to Su Yunlin, intending to pat him on the shoulder, but his back could no longer straighten fully. Understanding this, Su Yunlin immediately dropped to one knee.
"Child, you've done very well—better than I ever imagined. Even against the thoroughly prepared Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy, you were still able to achieve victory.
"Furthermore, when faced with uncertainty, you chose to seek help from the academy and equipped the competing team members with soul tools to ensure their safety.
"That was the correct decision. Yunlin, this old man will ask you once more—are you interested in taking my position?"
Su Yunlin pondered for a moment before nodding.
"I am willing."
"Good! From this day onward, you are the successor of I, Mu En, as well as my final direct disciple! Of course, I'll take in the little girl beside you as well. She shares the same light attribute as this old man, making it easier for me to guide her.
"As for you, the guidance I can provide may not be extensive, but I will still impart everything I know to teach you. Are you willing?"
Su Yunlin fell silent briefly, then nodded once more.
"This disciple is willing. Disciple Su Yunlin greets Teacher."
Wang Dong froze for a moment before hurriedly bowing together with Su Yunlin.
"This disciple Tang Wutong greets Teacher."
A warm smile appeared on Mu En's aged face as he gently rubbed the heads of the two youngsters.
"Good, good, good. I never expected that at the end of my life, I would still receive two such good children.
"Wutong, head down the first corridor on the right. About ten meters in, there will be a room. Open the door, enter, and cultivate while seated on the meditation cushion inside.
"Xiao Xiao, take the third corridor on the left and enter the second room. Cultivate there as well. Once you awaken from your meditative state, you may return to the outer court.
"Huo Yuhao, take the first corridor on the right and walk to the very end. There will be a door there. Enter and begin meditating inside. Once you come out, you will naturally have your answer."
The three of them successively entered the rooms within the Sea God Pavilion, while Mu En kept Su Yunlin behind.
Mu En looked at Su Yunlin with a smile.
"The Golden Tree possesses pure life and light attributes. There are also rooms within that are suitable for dark attributes, but there's no rush. This old man happens to have something good for you. I spent quite a long time choosing it. Take it."
A pitch-black Spirit Bone appeared in Mu En's hand, radiating dense dark energy. Judging from its shape, it was a right arm bone.
Mu En smiled as he introduced it.
"This is a one hundred thousand year Spirit Bone known as the Dark Desolation Right Arm Bone. It originated from a one hundred thousand year Dark Prison Thousand-Foot Dragon. Originally, it was a centipede Spirit Beast possessing an extremely dense true dragon bloodline. Upon reaching one hundred thousand years of cultivation, it successfully transformed into a dragon.
"Four hundred years ago, when the academy sought a ninth Spirit Ring for an inner court disciple, six Titled Douluo were dispatched, among them two Super Douluo, before they were finally able to kill it.
"After that disciple broke through to become a Titled Douluo, his rise was unstoppable, and he eventually became the Pavilion Master of the Sea God Pavilion. Speaking of seniority, that person would actually be my grandmaster's junior brother.
"Hah, seems I've drifted off topic a little. This Dark Desolation Right Arm Bone possesses two characteristics: one is an extremely dense dark attribute, while the other is the power of desolation.
"These two attributes suit you quite well. Since it originated from a dragon-type Spirit Beast, the enhancement it provides to your physical body is also immense. As for the Spirit Bone abilities, you can comprehend them yourself after absorbing it."
Looking at the one hundred thousand year Spirit Bone before him, Su Yunlin could clearly feel just how compatible it was with him.
"Thank you, Teacher."
Mu En patted Su Yunlin on the shoulder.
"This is what you deserve. Whether it was breaking the academy's prejudice against soul tools, providing the academy with battle armor designs, or leading the academy in preserving its so-called glory—you are fully qualified to receive it.
"In truth, your contributions are enough to merit even more Spirit Bones. However, this old man believes that would instead harm you. You already possess twin Martial Souls, so there is no need to complete your Spirit Bone set too early.
"In the future, when you require Spirit Rings, this old man will personally accompany you to hunt them. Spirit Rings and Spirit Bones dropped from the same one hundred thousand year Spirit Beast are the most compatible with one another and provide the greatest enhancement to your body."
"Yes. Thank you, Teacher."
Mu En smiled faintly.
"Do we, as master and disciple, still need to say thanks to each other? If anything, it should be this old man thanking you. You've given my days something to look forward to again and allowed me to cling to life for a little longer.
"For the next period of time, remain in the academy and cultivate. You may only leave to gain experience once this old man is satisfied with your progress. Right now, your sharpness is far too dazzling, and your twin Martial Souls have already been exposed. There are quite a few people who would want your life.
"Wait until your cultivation is sufficient before venturing out into the world."
"Alright!"
...
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