The elder who had been reclining in his chair all this time—Elder Mu—slowly sat up straight. Finally, everyone could clearly see his appearance.
Elder Mu's appearance was quite ordinary. He wasn't tall or imposing; in fact, he even looked a bit frail and worn, as if he was already nearing the end of his life.
Yes, this was Elder Mu—the very man who had once dominated the continent. Now over 250 years old, he was the Dragon God Douluo Mu En, whose title was Dragon God. He had already made a name for himself more than two centuries ago.
In the present day, perhaps many in the outside world had already forgotten him. Most people believed that the strongest figure in Shrek Academy was the Gluttonous Douluo Xuan Zi, but in truth, Mu En, the Dragon God, was undoubtedly Shrek's true number one.
Who would have thought that such an unassuming old man was actually the most powerful being in Shrek Academy?
For once, Elder Mu's usually gentle gaze turned sharp and cold. He said sternly,"You're over two hundred years old—how can you still be so impulsive? If everyone ran away from their mistakes like you do, we might as well shut down Shrek Academy."
Elder Xuan grew anxious. "Elder Mu, please let me step down. My heart feels unbearably heavy. I don't even know how I could face the families of those children…"
Elder Mu replied flatly,"You want to leave? Fine—go find a woman, get married, and pass down your Gluttonous Divine Ox martial soul through bloodline inheritance. Do that, and I'll let you go. Otherwise, forget it. Say one more word, and I'll discipline you on behalf of our departed senior brother."
"I…"
Hearing Elder Mu's blunt demand, all the elders present wore odd expressions. Elder Lin, who sat across from them, outright burst into laughter.
Elder Xuan, both embarrassed and angry, shouted,"Lin Huiqun, what are you laughing at?"
But Elder Lin wasn't the least bit intimidated. Smiling, he said,"Of course I'm laughing at whether you even have the function left to pass down your bloodline."
"Hahaha!"
The group of elders erupted into laughter. Even the four deans couldn't hold it in. Xian Lin'er even covered her face with her hand.
Elder Xuan's old face flushed deep red with embarrassment. Slamming the table, he shouted,"Stop laughing! Stop it!"
But that only made everyone laugh harder. Even Elder Mu allowed a trace of a smile to show on his usually composed face.
"All right."
Elder Mu tapped his finger lightly on the table, and the elders finally quieted down—though the strange looks they cast at Elder Xuan didn't go away.
Elder Mu continued in a calm voice,"The deaths of eight inner court students pained me deeply as well. But the dead are gone. What you should be thinking about now isn't how to escape responsibility—but how to learn from this, how to make sure such a tragedy never happens again. Then, think about how to compensate the families of the deceased, and how to earn the forgiveness of the three critically injured students and Lexuan. Until Lexuan returns and the others wake up, this matter is closed."
"But…"
"That's enough. We'll speak again once Lexuan is back."
Elder Mu waved his hand, cutting Elder Xuan off mid-sentence. Elder Xuan could only lower his head in defeat, nodding silently without saying another word.
Elder Mu suddenly asked,"You said Chi Yuan Douluo happened to encounter Lexuan and the others while taking her disciple to hunt soul rings in the mixed zone of the Star Dou Forest. Is that the same child you mentioned three years ago—the one with the ultimate fire martial soul?"
"Yes, Elder Mu. That's the same child," Elder Xuan nodded.
"I heard that child wanted to enroll in Shrek Academy. When the time comes, take good care of him. Do whatever you can to meet his needs. After all, we owe him and Chi Yuan Douluo a massive favor this time," Elder Mu said seriously.
"Shaozhe, make sure he's treated well. Don't let him suffer any grievance while at Shrek."
Elder Mu turned his gaze toward Yan Shaozhe.
Yan Shaozhe stepped forward and nodded."Don't worry, teacher. Even setting aside his life-saving grace toward Lexuan and the others, I would still give my all to cultivate someone with an ultimate attribute martial soul.
Even though his background makes it unlikely he'll ever formally join Shrek Academy, helping a soul master friendly to us grow stronger is of immense benefit—not just for the Douluo Continent, but for Shrek Academy as well."
Though Yan Shaozhe was often criticized for being narrow-minded—frequently suppressing the Soul Tool Department and being too Shrek-centric—this time, Mu En was quite satisfied with his answer.
At least he hadn't spoken of stealing a talent from the Star Luo imperial family, but rather focused on forming an alliance.
What Elder Mu didn't know was that Yan Shaozhe had definitely thought about stealing him.
Ever since he first heard about Ji Lin from Ma Xiaotao, Yan Shaozhe had been making plans. When Ji Lin arrived at Shrek Academy, he intended to use certain "methods" to bring Ji Lin under Shrek's banner—even going as far as to plan for Ji Lin to become Elder Mu's successor and the next Sea God Pavilion Master. He simply didn't believe Ji Lin would walk away from that.
Now, however, things were different. The Sun-Moon Empire was growing stronger by the day, while Shrek Academy was showing signs of decline.
Elder Mu's body had been weakening ever since his deadly battle with the Body Sect's Du Bisi, and he didn't have many years left. Elder Xuan's martial soul was flawed, and now this incident had shaken everyone's confidence in him. As for Yan Shaozhe himself, he knew he lacked the vision and temperament of a true leader. His heart belonged only to Shrek, and his chances of becoming an Ultimate Douluo were slim.
Zhang Lexuan had outstanding talent, but whether she could ever break through to Ultimate Douluo was uncertain. His own disciple, Ma Xiaotao, was even more talented, but her future had been marred by the influence of her Evil Fire, leaving her prospects dim.
But Ji Lin was different.
Ultimate attribute soul masters, once they passed level 70, progressed at astonishing speed. With no major bottlenecks, they had a high chance of reaching level 99 and becoming Ultimate Douluo.
With Shrek's resources, they could easily offset the early slow progression from level 30 to 70 that ultimate soul masters usually faced. Yan Shaozhe was confident he could ensure Ji Lin's cultivation speed matched any other genius of the same age.
As long as Ji Lin reached level 99, he would be a Ultimate Fire Ultimate Douluo, a contender for strongest in the world—capable of extending Shrek Academy's legacy for another three centuries.
After all, the three previous Sea God Pavilion Masters with ultimate attributes had dazzling records in history—especially the one with ultimate fire, who had led the original Douluo Three Nations to defeat the Sun-Moon Empire, forcing them to cede territory and even rename the Sun-Moon Continent to the Douluo Continent.
Now Ji Lin also had ultimate fire. How could Yan Shaozhe not be tempted?
However, circumstances had changed. Chi Yuan, now a Worship Hall Douluo of the Star Luo imperial family, had saved the next Sea God Pavilion Master and several inner court students. Shrek owed them a debt of gratitude.
Trying to poach Ji Lin now would be downright immoral.
Unbeknownst to Shrek Academy, Chi Yuan, though part of the Star Luo Worship Hall, did not take orders from the empire. In truth, only Ji Lin could truly summon her.
Of course, Yan Shaozhe hadn't completely given up. In light of this debt, he decided not to resort to any shady tactics.
He would win Ji Lin over with sincerity. If Ji Lin willingly joined Shrek, then even the Star Luo Empire would have no grounds to object.
Just like Mu En himself—born from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan—had once left his clan behind and joined Shrek Academy, eventually becoming the Sea God Pavilion Master.