But Elder Zhuang was not satisfied.
He knew about Ling Luochen, a seed player with exceptional talent within the inner court, who could become a Titled Douluo without any issues if he trained step by step.
And he could go far beyond the realm of a Titled Douluo...
It was not necessarily impossible for him to become an Elder like himself.
But now, Ling Luochen's progress could at most stop at the realm of a Titled Douluo...
How could he not feel regret?
In other words, at the Shrek Academy, there were still some geniuses who could become Titled Douluos.
Originally a genius among monsters, he suddenly fell to the mundane world.
"Alas."
"What a pity."
"A rising star of Shrek Academy has fallen before it could ascend."
"..."
Sighs echoed one after another in the Sea God's Pavilion.
"What about Dai Yueheng?" Mu En's expression became dazed for a moment before he asked again.
"Dai Yueheng... is even worse off."
Elder Zhuang shook his head, "At least Ling Luochen has the hope to become a Soul Douluo and a slim chance to become a Titled Douluo. But Dai Yueheng has no such possibility.
He will never be able to break through the Soul Emperor realm in his lifetime, that is the limit of what I can do."
"This..."
Although Elder Zhuang had given a heads-up before, many Elders were still stunned when they heard this news.
The talent of Dai Yueheng was even higher than that of Ling Luochen.
In this generation, he was considered second only to Ma Xiaotao.
The potential achievements were unimaginable.
And yet... such a genius had been ruined?
How regrettable that was.
"There must be a way, they can still be saved."
"If you can't save them, I believe someone else can!"
Xuan Zi's words suddenly shattered the silence.
Elder Zhuang frowned, "What can you do?"
He didn't believe in him as a person, but he couldn't question his medical skills.
After all, in the field of healing soul masters, he is an authority, and Xuan Zi's statement made him feel insulted.
Xuan Zi raised an eyebrow, "What if I say, the number one healing soul master in the world, the Deputy Hall Master of the Star Luo Empire's Worshipping Palace, Medical Sage Douluo, how would you respond?"
"This..."
Elder Zhuang opened his mouth but found himself at a loss for words.
The fame of Medical Sage Douluo was resounding, who didn't know it?
If Elder Zhuang was an authority among healing soul masters, then Medical Sage Douluo was the authority of authorities.
Legend has it, as long as one is still breathing, Medical Sage can pull him back from the gates of death.
In the original story, that was also the case.
Huo Yuhao was blasted apart by Di Tian, but didn't Medical Sage bring him back to life?
This is true power.
"But the Medical Sage has been in seclusion, and has not taken action for many years. We might not be able to get him to come out..."
"Why can't we invite him out? I, Xuan Zi, will personally go to the Star Luo Empire's Worshipping Palace to invite him. Wouldn't he show me a little courtesy?"
Xuan Zi said and then snorted coldly.
He sounded not so much inviting someone as he was about to hijack someone.
But given his cultivation level, it really wouldn't be a big problem.
So what if he's in seclusion?
If the Worship Hall gets torn down, would he still have a place to seclude himself?
"Xuan Zi, enough!"
Mu En, who only spoke occasionally, couldn't stand Xuan Zi any longer.
Wasn't this making trouble without reason?
"Elder Mu... we can't just watch those kids be wasted like this, can we? I can't bear it..."
"If you were so concerned about them, you should have paid more attention early on, so it wouldn't have come to this sorry state?"
Mu En replied sternly.
Xuan Zi was suddenly speechless.
Of course, it was Mu En who could suppress him so firmly; if it were someone else, the Gluttonous Sacred Bull would have made an appearance long ago.
Seeing this, Mu En's mood also calmed down quite a bit as he said with grave importance, "The Star Luo Empire is not a subsidiary force of Shrek Academy. Therefore, we should treat the Star Luo Empire with due respect and not order them around."
"So, should we just ignore these children?"
Xuan Zi appeared very unwilling.
Seeing his reaction, everyone internally shook their heads.
If you had such a realization earlier and paid more attention, how could such a tragedy have happened?
Now you want to make amends.
"Right, since you won't let me find Medical Sage, can I go and seek out the Hao Tian Clan? That should be okay, right?"
Xuan Zi suddenly thought of another lifesaving straw.
"What do you need from the Hao Tian Clan?"
"You have all read historical records, haven't you? Once, the Sea God had a remarkable encounter. In a place called Icefire Polarized Eyes, he found several Immortal Herbs. He then gave the Immortal Herbs to the first generation of Shrek Seven Monsters, which transformed them completely, and the Nine Treasures Glazed Pagoda was born, thus creating Shrek's glory."
Upon hearing Xuan Zi's words, everyone's faces showed a dazed expression.
They had certainly heard of this before.
It was a true myth.
According to the legends, each of the Immortal Herbs had miraculous effects.
Unfortunately,
the existence of the Icefire Polarized Eyes was only in legend. Countless people had searched for it but never found any trace of Icefire Polarized Eyes.
"The Hao Tian Clan originates from the Sea God, and I suspect they may know some news about the Icefire Polarized Eyes."
"If we can find the Immortal Herbs from the Icefire Polarized Eyes, wouldn't that solve the children's problems at once?"
Xuan Zi became more and more excited as he spoke.
"That is possible..."
Even Mu En couldn't help but nod his head.
If anyone knew the location of the Icefire Polarized Eyes, it would likely be the Hao Tian Clan...
"But, even if they know, how would they be willing to tell you the location?"
Xuan Zi immediately answered, "Previously, someone from the Hao Tian Clan said that if Wang Dong joined the Shrek Reserve Team, it would be considered as owing us a favor."
Ah... Mu En sighed inwardly.
Xuan Zi had become desperate, clutching at straws.
A mere gesture of assistance, how could it possibly exchange for the secret of the Icefire Polarized Eyes?
It was too unrealistic.
"Xuan Zi, you need to calm down. Our favor is not that influential."
Mu En shook his head, "We need to save these children, and we have to invite the Medical Sage. However, we must do so gently. Shrek Academy is also willing to pay a price, but whether the Medical Sage is willing to come will depend on her own decision.
If she is unwilling, we cannot force her, understand?"
With these words, everyone nodded in agreement.
It still had to be Elder Mu making decisions on crucial matters.
Even Xuan Zi accepted this suggestion.
"Once the children's matter is settled, next I want to discuss my issue..."
After taking a deep breath, Xuan Zi raised his head, eyes fixed on Mu En, and slowly said, "Elder Mu, I cannot escape blame for this accident. My negligence resulted in such a heavy blow to Shrek Academy.
After much thought, I have decided to resign from all my positions and from now on, I will just be a normal member of Shrek."
What the heck?
This old guy wants to resign again?
Upon hearing Xuan Zi's words, memories of the past event surfaced in everyone's minds.
That time, 12 inner court disciples went into the Aquipeia Forest, and Xuan Zi only brought back 4.
At that time,
right here in this hall, Xuan Zi had proposed to resign, and everyone had tried to persuade him not to.
In the end,
Zhang Lexuan even knelt down in front of him, begging him to stay...
Only then did Xuan Zi change his mind.
But this time... should they try to persuade him again?
Some were pondering.
Others had already spoken.
"Elder Xuan, you must not do this, the academy still needs your leadership."
Yan Shaozhe was the first to stand up in opposition.
He resented Xuan Zi for his carelessness that led to such a tragedy.
But he also understood that Shrek Academy couldn't be without Xuan Zi.
Thinking of the bigger picture, he had to endeavour to retain Xuan Zi.
Following Yan Shaozhe's lead, others also began to speak up, urging Xuan Zi not to act rashly.
From the high seat,
Mu En's gaze flickered indecisively.
To be honest, he really wanted Xuan Zi to get lost as far as possible.
It would be better never to see him again.
Raising a genius is hard and takes decades of dedication. Ruining a genius, however, is quite easy; just let Xuan Zi take them out for a spin.
Yet,
rationality told him he shouldn't do that.
First of all, Xuan Zi was carefree.
Without the constraints, what could he become if left unchecked?
The sorrow of today could be forgotten with just a couple of drinks,
If that's not enough, then just drink a couple more.
Over time, he might even forget about Shrek Academy completely.
Beyond that, there was an even more important reason.
That was, he, Mu En, was about to die.
After the death of Dragon God Douluo Mu En,
everyone already had an answer in their hearts about who would succeed him.
Without needing to say much, it was clear that no one other than the Grade 98 Gluttonous Douluo Xuan Zi could take up the heavy responsibility of Shrek Academy.
That's also the reason why Xuan Zi could repeatedly make mistakes and still be forgiven again and again.
There was no helping it.
The future of Shrek depended on him.
When seeking help, one needs to have the proper attitude, doesn't one?
"Everyone, stop trying to persuade me. I am nothing but a sinner. Once could still be forgiven, but causing such a great loss to Shrek Academy again, I'm unworthy of everyone's trust in me.
I have made up my mind. From today on, I will not hold any positions within Shrek Academy."
At this moment, Xuan Zi shook his head as if he could no longer hear anyone's words, adamantly determined to resign.
Alas.
If it weren't for Shrek's need for your care in the future, do you think we would have stopped you?
Certainly not!
Even more so, had Xuan Zi made such a major mistake repeatedly, he would certainly have suffered severe punishment.
Resigning... was too light.
What a pity.
This kind of thought could only be pondered in their hearts.
They say they don't resent Xuan Zi, but that's false; for a time, no one could voice any accusations.
With this move, Xuan Zi reversed the situation against them.
If they really overwhelmed him with pressure, and he truly threw down his responsibilities and quit, that would be a major problem.
Therefore, everyone's words urgently shifted from accusations to earnest persuasion.
People kept persuading, and Xuan Zi kept refusing. Looking at this situation,
it seemed everyone was firmly grasped by Xuan Zi.
"Silence!"
After a while, Elder Mu's voice once again filled the hall, clearly reaching everyone's ears.
Everyone obediently closed their mouths and turned their eyes to Elder Mu.
They all understood.
Elder Mu was the ultimate decision-maker; at this moment, he must have made a decision on how to deal with Xuan Zi.
Everyone pricked up their ears, waiting for Elder Mu's judgment.
"The urgent matters at hand are numerous; we need to discuss how we will compensate for this Soul Master competition.
Next comes the aid for our injured students.
Then, there are the affairs of the students who unfortunately perished.
As for the punishment for Xuan Zi, that's not very urgent. We will set it aside for now and discuss it after all matters have been resolved."
Elder Mu's gaze swept over everyone, and his deep voice rose in the hall.
There were no fools present.
They could all hear that Elder Mu's earlier proposals were just smoke screens.
The important part was the last few key words: "set it aside" and "discuss later."
After hearing Elder Mu's words, Xuan Zi hung his head, seemingly deep in thought.
Yan Shaozhe, Elder Zhuang, and others all had good control over their expressions.
They all appeared quite calm.
Only their gazes unavoidably flickered a couple of times.
As for this outcome, what can one say?
It was expected and within reason.
Just as they had imagined, Elder Mu could not hand out substantial punishment to Xuan Zi.
In truth, Elder Mu could have gone straight to the last proposal; the preceding ones were just excuses, to spare everyone the embarrassment.
In summary, Elder Mu's strategic policy, in a nutshell, was to play for time.
Make big issues small and small issues disappear completely.
Time will dilute everything.
With time, this matter will naturally fade away.
Last time, when Xuan Zi led Zhang Lexuan and twelve other elite students of Shrek Academy into a mishap, it was handled the same way.
After all, Xuan Zi was a special existence; if the punishment was light, it would be inconsequential, and worse than no punishment at all.
If the punishment was harsh and his cultivation level was truly wasted, wouldn't that be akin to destroying their own wall?
Moreover, even if Xuan Zi's cultivation wasn't wasted, it could still likely cause his dissatisfaction and spoil his relationship with Shrek, which would be counterproductive.
So.
The best approach was to not punish him at all.
Alas, it's hard to know if after Elder Mu is gone, with Xuan Zi assuming the position of Sea God's Pavilion Master and the helm of Shrek Academy, it can still maintain its current glory.
Elder Zhuang, also a senior member of Sea God's Pavilion, silently sighed.
He was worried for the future of Shrek.
"Elder Mu, regarding the remedial actions for the return to the Master competition, I feel there's only one approach.
That is to send several more youths who meet the age requirement and have decent strength to compete.
As for the outcome of the competition, let's leave it to fate. After all, in competition, participation is what counts.
However, regarding the incidents that the Shrek Main Team experienced, I believe we should not cover it up. In fact, we should widely publicize it. Let everyone know that the reason Shrek Academy had to send substitute players and other team members was not due to a lack of strength, but rather due to an accident that happened while fighting against evil Soul Masters to protect civilians, leading to severe injuries and the loss of elite students."
Seeing the somewhat tense atmosphere in the hall, Yan Shaozhe took the initiative to break the ice.
"Shao Zhe is indeed fit to be the dean with such a great sense of the bigger picture."
"Indeed, it's a very good proposition. If Shrek Academy doesn't win the championship in the Soul Master competition, we'll have a good reason. Far from ridiculing Shrek's failure, people will admire Shrek for choosing righteousness over academic honor, and the academy will gain even more respect. In the off chance that we do secure the championship, not only will Shrek's honor be preserved, but we will also win the support and admiration of the people."
Upon Yan Shaozhe's suggestion, it immediately received praise from everyone.
They weren't fools; they instantly grasped the profound implications of this action.
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