Inside Shrek Academy's inner court, beneath the massive Golden Tree on Sea God's Island, Zhang Lexuan stood with her head slightly bowed, gazing at the figure lying on the recliner who appeared to be completely asleep. Complex emotions flickered continuously in her eyes.
Suddenly, the old man on the recliner abruptly opened his eyes. In an instant, his pupils were filled with a brilliant golden hue.
"Lexuan, Shrek is about to face a crisis. The Academy... is now entrusted to you..."
As his words fell, beams of light shot from Mu En's eyes, instantly enveloping his entire body. His hunched figure slowly rose from the recliner and floated upward.
"Predecessors of Shrek Academy, your unworthy junior Mu En has arrived!"
With a resounding dragon roar, Mu En's form transformed into a massive golden dragon that soared into the sky. Accompanied by dazzling radiance, he merged into the Golden Tree.
The entire Shrek Academy witnessed this brilliant beam of light. Many who knew the truth lowered their heads slightly at that moment.
Beneath the Golden Tree, Zhang Lexuan's somewhat frail figure knelt to the ground, seeing off this elder of complicated attitude, her own teacher, on his final journey.
Outside Heaven Dou City, Zhongli Wu was momentarily unaware of what had happened. But upon realizing he could no longer sense the pressure from Mu En, he suddenly turned and fled, speeding toward the rear of the Sun Moon Empire's forces.
"Leader!"
Several Worshippers glanced at Zhongli Wu, then turned back to see Xuan Zi's gaze filled with fury. They immediately felt a twinge of guilt.
"The outcome of this contest is already clear, isn't it? Does your Sun Moon Empire intend to break the agreement in front of everyone?"
Xuan Zi gritted his teeth, forcefully suppressing the grief in his heart as he spoke in a low voice.
Seeing Zhongli Wu flee, Feng Ling, the Vice Cult Master, glanced at the captive Ye Xishaozhe in her hand, then abruptly tossed him out. "Hmph, I'll naturally release him. But as a descendant of the Holy Spirit Cult, whether he is willing to return to Shrek Academy is no longer something I can decide."
"As for those sect members, you can contact the Sun Moon Empire yourselves." With that, Feng Ling turned to look at the group of Worshippers. "We're leaving!"
Saying so, she turned and flew in the direction Zhongli Wu had gone.
Xuan Zi frowned, pondering whether to pursue further. But upon glancing at the Sun Moon Empire's army standing ready, he ultimately held back.
On top of the city wall, Xian Lin'er and Cai Meier saw Ye Xishaozhe falling toward the ground and immediately flew out to catch him.
"Shaozhe!"
"Are you alright?"
However, when Xian Lin'er and Cai Meier lifted Ye Xishaozhe, they realized that although he appeared weak, he had not suffered any real restrictions. His eyes were only filled with a dull gray, as if he hadn't heard their voices at all.
"Shaozhe, the Holy Spirit Cult is spouting nonsense. Don't take those words to heart."
Hearing Cai Meier's words, Ye Xishaozhe slightly raised his head to look at her, but only shook his head.
"Let's return to the Academy first."
Xian Lin'er and Cai Meier exchanged a glance, helpless, and could only bring Ye Xishaozhe back into Heaven Dou City for the time being.
"Report to the Marshal: Shrek Academy has sent word requesting we release the captives."
In the central command, the old man beside Ju Zi had already disappeared. Hearing the messenger's report, she suddenly smiled. "Hmph, release them."
To her side, the Fire Phoenix Douluo slightly turned his body. "Marshal, once those soul masters are released, they will inevitably become reinforcements for the three great empires. Should we take some precautionary measures in advance?"
"No need." Ju Zi shook her head instead. "The sect disciples have always been free; they are not completely aligned with the three great empires."
"Moreover, during their time in the Sun Moon Empire, those disciples have grown accustomed to the convenience of soul tools. In the end, it's uncertain which side their hearts will lean toward."
As she spoke, Ju Zi lowered her voice slightly. "However, after they leave, remember to secretly contact them. As long as these sects can preserve their status, they don't truly care what happens to the three great empires."
"Understood."
To the west of Heaven Dou City, where the outline of the city was almost no longer visible, Zhongli Wu finally slowed his pace and let out a slight sigh of relief.
"Leader!"
Behind him, Feng Ling and the other Worshippers had caught up together.
"Leader, what do we do now?"
Zhongli Wu pondered for a moment. The panic from earlier had already vanished from his face. "For the sake of the Sun Moon Empire, our Holy Cult has already sacrificed a great deal. I'm afraid we can no longer serve the Empire with full loyalty."
Zhongli Wu spoke meaningfully, and the Worshippers instantly understood.
Just as previously arranged, the outcome of the war was no longer their main focus. It was time to think about how to extract sufficient benefits for the Holy Spirit Cult from this war.
However, just as Zhongli Wu finished speaking, another voice came from far away.
"Since you can no longer serve the Empire with full loyalty, there's no use keeping you around."
As the words fell, Zhongli Wu abruptly turned to look. In the sky, at some unknown point, a bright moon had appeared. Streams of black shadows flew toward them from afar. Upon closer inspection, every one of those figures was equipped with a complete set of humanoid soul tools.
"You... you're from the Mingde Hall..."
"Oh? It seems Cult Master Zhongli Wu has heard of me." Kong Deming narrowed his eyes slightly. He hadn't expected that people from the Holy Spirit Cult would even know of him. It seemed they truly could not be spared.
In Ming City, squads of guards continuously patrolled the streets. From the patterns on their armor, it was clear that all these soldiers belonged to the Imperial Palace Forbidden Guard. Though they were not as strong as the Protect-the-Nation Soul Engineer Legion, their combat power far surpassed that of ordinary troops.
At this moment, these Forbidden Guards, who rarely appeared in the past, were constantly entering and exiting various buildings throughout Ming City, escorting numerous figures clad in black cloaks toward the underground prison.
Inside one building, a person peeked through the curtains at the Forbidden Guards coming and going on the street, then turned back to the other figures in the room. "It seems the imperial family is arresting people from the Holy Spirit Cult. What should we do?"
"The Third Elder and Eighth Elder aren't here. Should we return to headquarters and report this?"
As the voice fell, silence enveloped the room. No one responded.
"You all..." After a long silence, someone finally ventured to ask, "Do you still want to go back?"
At those words, everyone's expressions changed. Ever since the end of the elite competition, their missions had long been completed. They should have returned to their respective sub-branches to report in.
But as if by prior agreement, no one had left, and no one had taken the initiative to mention it. Perhaps each of them harbored the same thought in their hearts, but past experiences had prevented anyone from daring to speak it aloud.
They could have endured if they had never experienced the heartfelt applause and cheers arranged by Lin Xiao, if they had never tasted normal life under the sunlight.
"Although I don't know what happened, it seems the imperial family has fallen out with the Holy Cult. We... can just pretend we were captured too..."
No one knew who spoke first, but as that voice fell, everyone in the room silently made the same decision in wordless agreement.
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