And to make matters worse, they had been attacked by a group of Evil Soul Masters — this was no different from having Shrek Academy's face stomped into the dirt and rubbed hard, only to be slapped afterward for good measure.
You had to know, Shrek Academy had specifically formed the "Shrek Inspection Corps" to eradicate Evil Soul Masters — and now, Evil Soul Masters had come knocking right at their own gates.
Their face… was utterly lost.
"If the Golden Tree hadn't triggered its protection mechanism in the end, even the Sea God Pavilion might not have survived."
"Truly, it must have been the Sea God's blessing."
Mu En calmed himself, speaking softly. A trace of lingering fear flickered in his eyes.
If the Sea God Pavilion had been destroyed, he, Mu En, would have been nailed to the pillar of shame in Shrek Academy's history.
"Praise the Sea God!"
Xuan Zi added reverently.
In his view, the praise was well deserved — after all, according to the Academy's records, the Golden Tree could form a connection with the Sea God.
Every generation of Sea God Pavilion Masters would, upon death, transfer their spirit and life's cultivation into the Golden Tree to protect the future of Shrek Academy.
And now, the importance of that sacred tree had been made abundantly clear.
"The thing I feared most has happened — the Evil Soul Masters have become an organized force. They even have a group of their own now. The question is: who's behind it all?"
"Could Long Xiaoyao have joined them? And what about Xi Shui…?"
Complex emotions flashed in Mu En's eyes as he thought silently.
Xuan Zi frowned deeply, puzzled.
"But Evil Soul Masters are all violent, unruly people by nature — their very souls are corrupted. How could they possibly cooperate under one banner?"
From his understanding, Evil Soul Masters were lone wolves. They never banded together.
"It's meaningless to dwell on that now," Mu En said with a wave of his hand.
"So… were those Evil Soul Masters just here to cause chaos at our Academy? Did they leave after the destruction?"
Xuan Zi's expression was full of doubt.
"Xiao Tao has been taken…"
Mu En's eyes closed in pain, exhaustion covering his face.
"When I finally broke free from Long Xiaoyao's restraint, she was already gone."
He had been held down by Long Xiaoyao. By the time the bombardment from the Evil Soul Masters' soul-guided cannonfire had ended, Long Xiaoyao had already escaped openly with Ma Xiaotao — and only then could Mu En free himself.
He remembered clearly what Long Xiaoyao said before leaving:
"You're old now. Beef isn't something you can just choose not to eat."
And with that, Long Xiaoyao had casually speared two chunks of beef and shoved them into Mu En's mouth.
Thinking of it made Mu En's face flush again.
"What!? Xiao Tao was taken!?"
Xuan Zi's face turned pale in shock.
Ma Xiaotao was the future of Shrek Academy. Since her last mutation, she had remained unconscious, but everyone could feel that her martial soul was still evolving.
Once she awoke, Shrek Academy would possess two Ultimate Attribute Spirit Masters.
But now — that hope had been shattered.
"Then why are you injured, Elder Mu?"
Xuan Zi asked, noticing Mu En's graying hair and aged appearance.
If he hadn't participated directly in battle, how could he have lost so much of his life force?
"It was those damned Evil Soul Masters!"
The moment he mentioned them, fury surged in Mu En's chest. His face reddened with rage.
"Those bastards secretly buried a ninth-level fixed soul-guided bomb beneath Sea God Island!"
"When I returned to the island, it detonated. If I hadn't burned my own life force to block the explosion, Sea God Island would've sunk completely by now."
His clouded eyes burned with anger. His body, already frail, had worsened further — truly adding insult to injury.
If he hadn't resisted, the island would've first been blasted skyward, then sunk to the bottom of Sea God Lake.
"Ah… I see…"
Xuan Zi was stunned, but it did sound exactly like something Evil Soul Masters would do.
"These things have already happened. Let's not bring them up again."
"How did your trip with Huo Yuhao and the other two go? Were you able to obtain the spirit rings smoothly?"
Mu En's voice calmed again.
"Elder Mu, don't worry. I handled everything perfectly."
"Good."
Mu En nodded with relief.
"After going through these last two incidents, Xuan Zi… you've finally grown."
But as he looked at him more closely, Mu En frowned slightly.
"Xuan Zi… your cultivation seems to have risen quite a bit, hasn't it?"
Xuan Zi stiffened inside, but forced himself to stay calm.
"Elder Mu, after fighting with Du Busi last time — though I lost slightly — I learned a lot from the experience. My strength improved somewhat as a result."
Of course, that was a lie. In reality, Du Busi had sent him flying with just three punches.
"Is that so?"
Mu En stared silently at him, saying nothing.
Just then —
Knock, knock, knock!
"Teacher, I'm here."
Yan Shaozhe's voice came from outside.
"Come in, Shaozhe."
Mu En nodded slightly, finally shifting his gaze away from Xuan Zi.
"Phew… close call."
Xuan Zi let out a silent sigh of relief.
He had come well-prepared — to hide the fact that he had increased his strength by devouring spirit beast flesh and blood, he'd even changed out of his favorite old robe.
When he saw Yan Shaozhe walk in, a glimmer of relief crossed his eyes.
Indeed, his partner in the "Crouching Dragon and Young Phoenix" duo had saved him from disaster once again.
"Teacher, Elder Xuan."
Yan Shaozhe bowed to both upon entering.
"What's the matter, Shaozhe?"
Seeing his grim expression, Mu En's brow furrowed again.
"Teacher, Jing Hongchen of the Sun and Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy has expressed his willingness to initiate a student exchange program with Shrek Academy."
"Isn't that good news? Why do you look so upset?"
Mu En was puzzled — this was precisely what he had tasked Yan Shaozhe to arrange: sending Shrek students to 'study' (and secretly steal) the Sun and Moon Academy's advanced soul-guiding technologies.
"But… Jing Hongchen refuses to let his grandson and granddaughter come to Shrek for the exchange, and he's demanding that we pay tuition fees based on the number of students we send."
"What!? How outrageous!"
Xuan Zi's eyes bulged in fury.
When had Shrek Academy ever paid someone else tuition!? Others begged to pay them!
"Elder Mu, we can't agree to this!"
"Right! This is nothing but an unequal treaty!"
Both Xuan Zi and Yan Shaozhe turned toward Mu En, urging him to refuse.
But they had forgotten — in the past, when the Sun and Moon Royal Academy wanted exchanges, Shrek's own demands were far harsher.
Now, the tables had turned.
Mu En's eyes glinted as he pondered silently for a moment, then spoke slowly:
"Agree to it. Shrek Academy doesn't lack a bit of tuition money."
"Elder Mu!"
"My decision is final — no further discussion!"
Both Xuan Zi and Yan Shaozhe wanted to protest, but Mu En cut them off.
"You must understand — the weak will always be beaten. Didn't you see how a few soul-guided bombs nearly destroyed Sea God Island? What about when they invent something even stronger?"
"Soul-guiding technology must be learned. We cannot fall behind."
As his words fell, the room went silent.
"Then… who should we send to study? Just the Soul Tool Department students?"
Yan Shaozhe asked hesitantly.
"No — Huo Yuhao must go as well. I can already foresee that only there will he be able to unleash his full potential."
Mu En's deep voice carried a trace of certainty.
And at that, the last flicker of hope in Yan Shaozhe's heart was extinguished.
(End of Chapter)