Shrek Academy.
Sea God's Pavilion.
Mu En and Elder Zhuang were sitting together, leisurely chatting while watching the tide rise and fall outside the Sea God's Pavilion.
"Elder Mu, what place do you think our Shrek Academy kids can achieve in this Soul Master competition?"
Elder Zhuang asked nonchalantly.
Mu En looked deeply at Elder Zhuang, smiled faintly, "At our ages, is the desire to win still that strong?"
Elder Zhuang stroked his beard and laughed heartily, "Hahaha, this is called being young at heart, spirited even in old age. Besides, Shrek Academy has been champions for so many years. If we say we can't get a very good place this time, I would indeed find it somewhat hard to accept."
"You..."
Mu En shook his head helplessly, "I actually have a different opinion. I think as long as these kids dare to fight and step into the arena, and aren't cowards, that's enough.
After all, competition is about participation. Why must we achieve first place?
I actually think this is a great opportunity for these kids. It will stimulate their potential and allow them to grow quickly.
I believe these seven children will be the founders of Shrek's glory for the next millennium. One should look further, momentary gains and losses mean little. It takes ten years to sharpen a sword. We need at least ten years to make these seven children the future of Shrek. Decades later, those sitting in the Sea God's Pavilion will be them."
"Later, you go and tell Shao Zhe to start preparing the celebration banquet. Regardless of the final place these children obtain, after they return from the Xingluo Empire, all department heads of Shrek Academy must personally celebrate their return."
After listening to Mu En, Elder Zhuang was lost in thought for a long while.
After some time, he spoke with genuine respect, "Elder Mu truly is Elder Mu, whether it's breadth of mind, vision, or the way you behave, I'm nowhere close."
"If Xuan Zi had half of your abilities, Shrek Academy might shine even brighter."
In fact, what he wanted to say was that if Xuan Zi had half of Mu En's abilities, Mu En could rest in peace.
But on second thought, that seemed improper.
It was as if he was cursing Mu En to death, so he changed tactics.
Mu En was amused by Elder Zhuang's words, "I think you aren't hard to match, you're just flattering me. Little Zhuang, your cultivation level hasn't increased over the years, but your skill at flattery has improved quite a bit. If there were a realm for flattery, I reckon you would be at least a Titled Douluo-level Expert, right?"
"Ah, this..."
Elder Zhuang was suddenly a little embarrassed, pretending to be annoyed he said, "If you talk like that, I don't think there will be anyone in the Sea God's Pavilion to keep you company while drinking tea and chatting tomorrow."
"Isn't that just perfect? This premium tea that costs 1,000 golden soul coins per tael, I barely have enough for myself... It saves me some if you don't come."
Elder Zhuang: "..."
It seemed his suggestion was exactly what Mu En desired.
This punishment seemed to be less about punishing Mu En and more about punishing himself.
This won't do.
I need to come up with something else to leverage against him.
While Elder Zhuang was racking his brain,
Someone hurried into the Sea God's Pavilion.
Mu En smiled slightly, "Shao Zhe, your timing is perfect. There are some things I wanted Elder Zhuang to pass on for me, but now there's no need."
Yan Shaozhe's expression changed, "May I know what Elder Mu would like me to do?"
Mu En said, "Actually, it's nothing much. I just wanted to tell you that after those kids return from the Soul Master competition, we must organize a grand celebration banquet for them. We should gather all the students of the academy, and the heads of the Martial Soul Department, Soul Guide Department, and other departments must all attend on time."
"But..." Yan Shaozhe's expression suddenly changed.
A celebration banquet? What a joke.
He had just received news from the Xingluo Empire and already knew what Xuan Zi and the Shrek Academy team had done.
They staged fake fights, ambushed other academies, and wiped out the competition.
Look at this, is this what Shrek Academy should do?
Can this even be done by Shrek Academy?
And such shady tactics had been exposed.
Now, Shrek Academy's good name is tarnished.
The reputation of The Number One Academy Under Heaven has been sullied by these people.
It wouldn't be long before members of Shrek Academy might be ridiculed behind their backs when they go out.
And still hold a celebration banquet?
Are we promoting such underhanded and inferior tactics?
Or do we just not think we've embarrassed ourselves enough?
"Hey, Shao Zhe, there's no 'but'... I know you're worried that these kids might not achieve very good places. But I want to tell you that it's not important. By stepping into the arena, these children have already won," Mu En interrupted before Yan Shaozhe could finish.
Hearing Mu En say this, Yan Shaozhe's face was full of bitterness, "Elder Mu, I understand what you're saying, however..."
"However, you can't bear to lose face, right?" Mu En joked, "Don't take your celebrity status so seriously..."
Damn celebrity status.
The celebrity status of Shrek Academy had long been smashed to pieces on the ground.
Celebrity, my foot...
Yan Shaozhe was nearly on the verge of a breakdown internally.
"Shao Zhe, I have to say a few words to you," Elder Zhuang, noticing Yan Shaozhe's face changing and his hesitance to agree to Mu En's suggestion, immediately felt somewhat displeased.
"I don't think there's anything wrong with what Elder Mu has done. Perhaps our academy won't achieve a very good place, but it's for a reason. I think making the hardships of these children known to the public and promoting it is a good way to motivate them. Also, this loss can become a driving force for the children's next success."
```
"What, is it because you, Headmaster Yan, have such a fragile heart that you can't bear this single failure, or are you afraid it will affect next year's enrollment?"
Yan Shaozhe: "..."
You all are so high and mighty, so pure, only I am not human, is that it?
F*ck, even if I don't spread the word about this incident, Shrek Academy's recruitment next year is definitely going to take a hit.
Yan Shaozhe felt like he was being targeted.
The two old fellows didn't give him a chance to speak at all.
Forget it, since they love talking so much, let them talk. I'll speak after they've finished...
If I can't resist, then I'll just have to accept it, right?
Yan Shaozhe chose to slack off.
However.
Mu En and Elder Zhuang weren't very happy to see Yan Shaozhe keeping his head down and staying silent.
"Humph, Headmaster Yan, what great authority you have. Now you can't even take a few words of criticism? Playing the silent card with us?"
Elder Zhuang asked with an unhappy expression, not needing Mu En to say anything.
Yan Shaozhe: "..."
I'm really getting shot while lying down here.
It's wrong to speak, and it's wrong not to speak, can't we just get along?
"Elder Zhuang, it's not like that at all. You've really misunderstood me..."
Yan Shaozhe helplessly spread his hands.
"How have I misunderstood you?"
"Elder Mu, may I speak?" Yan Shaozhe didn't immediately answer Zhuang's question, but instead looked up at Mu En.
Mu En said indifferently, "Who's stopping you?"
He didn't know what had gotten into Yan Shaozhe today, being so unreasonable.
Seeing the expressions of Mu En and Elder Zhuang, Yan Shaozhe lost all desire to speak, "Forget it, I'd rather not say anything. You all see for yourselves."
With that, he handed a letter over to Mu En.
"Where did this secret letter come from?"
Elder Zhuang said, curling his lip from the side.
This kid has a big problem today.
Yan Shaozhe didn't care to explain anymore; speaking more was too tiring.
Mu En took the letter and didn't pay much attention at first, just glancing carelessly. However, after a moment, his expression suddenly turned serious, extremely earnest.
It was just a piece of paper with a few hundred words on it.
But Mu En read it for a long time, as if there were not just a few hundred words but tens of thousands.
Elder Zhuang also noticed that Mu En's expression turned from serious to grimly somber.
He had the premonition that something big had happened.
Time passed.
Mu En gripped his fist with one hand and turned to Yan Shaozhe, his right hand trembling as he held up the letter and asked in a deep voice, "Is the content of the letter true? Have you investigated it?"
Yan Shaozhe nodded emphatically, "The Medical Sage Douluo agreed to Shrek Academy's request and arrived at the academy today to treat the injured Dai Yueheng and Ling Luochen."
"This letter was personally written by Xu Jiawei, the Star Luo Emperor, and handed to the Medical Sage Douluo to bring to our Shrek Academy. And it was the Medical Sage Douluo who personally taught me."
"When I first saw the content of the letter, I was shocked too, and even made a fool of myself in front of the Medical Sage Douluo, denying that this was Shrek Academy's doing."
"But the Medical Sage Douluo just sneered and told me, if you don't believe it, you can send someone to the Xingluo Empire to check if it's common knowledge. She also said, you should check the news early; if it's too late, you don't need to check, as the news will have reached Shrek by then."
"Well... it's probably true then. Xuan Zi, that guy..."
When Mu En mentioned his decision, his voice was almost squeezed out through clenched teeth.
It was not hard to hear the suppressed anger in his voice.
"You two, what the hell are you talking about in secret? Let me see!"
Elder Zhuang couldn't hold back any longer.
Are these two treating him like he's invisible, playing riddles?
Mu En, with great heartbreak, threw the letter to Elder Zhuang without a word.
"Let me see what exactly is written here?"
After taking the letter, Elder Zhuang focused his gaze on it.
The result was that his expression was much more exaggerated than Mu En's.
"What? Xuan Zi actually went directly to Xu Jiawei, demanding that Shrek Academy must enter the top four?"
"And Xu Jiawei's team, when playing against the Shrek squad, was suspected of throwing the match? The public has nothing but curses for both the Empire and the Shrek squad?"
Elder Zhuang grew more shocked as he read.
He finally understood why Mu En took so long to read that letter.
The information was just too overwhelming.
```
After reluctantly accepting the reality, Elder Zhuang continued to read on.
This time, he couldn't help but blurt out an expletive.
"Damn it, just because Yun Luo Academy was unwilling to throw a match, Xuan Zi this guy, actually went straight to their academy and massacred the entire 14 members of the main and reserve patrol squads? And the dean of Fallen Academy also died miserably!"
As he spoke, Elder Zhuang no longer knew how to describe the emotions in his heart.
Just kept on saying damn, damn...
"Okay, okay, just read it yourself, no need to read it out loud anymore, it's making me anxious again."
Mu En waved his hand impatiently.
Elder Zhuang nodded and then turned his gaze to Yan Shaozhe, his expression somewhat awkward, "That, Shao Zhe, just now Elder Mu and I were a bit impulsive, we misunderstood you... "
He rubbed his hands, not quite knowing how to start.
Now he understood the difficulty Yan Shaozhe faced.
Xuan Zi and those fellows from the Shrek squad had caused so much chaos in Xingluo City. Indeed, they had no right to publicize and encourage this behavior.
What's this, even holding a victory banquet?
It would have been good enough if they weren't put on trial.
Especially that guy Xuan Zi, he really is too flippant, severe punishment is warranted, otherwise, it would be hard for people to accept.
Even if Xuan Zi were to be punished severely, it might not be able to save Shrek Academy's reputation from damage.
After all.
How different were Xuan Zi's actions from those of an evil Soul Master?
If someone with an agenda were to exploit this, trouble for Shrek Academy would indeed be great.
"Elder Zhuang, you don't need to say any more, I understand your intentions. It's enough if you could understand me."
Finally, Yan Shaozhe felt somewhat relieved.
A reluctant smile of shame appeared on Elder Zhuang's face and quickly faded away.
He turned his gaze to Mu En, "Elder Mu, regarding this matter, what do you think should be done?
Should I go to Xingluo City myself and bring Xuan Zi back?"
He felt that the urgent matter was to bring back Xuan Zi, the troublemaker.
As for whether to deal with him or not...
That would depend on Elder Mu's decision later on.
In fact, this was also a form of protection.
Yan Shaozhe also eagerly looked at Mu En, waiting for an answer.
The matter involving Xuan Zi was no longer something he could decide on his own.
"No, you better stay peacefully at Sea God's Pavilion."
Mu En rejected Elder Zhuang's suggestion.
Upon hearing this, Elder Zhuang became anxious, "Are we just going to let Xuan Zi get away with... no, I should say rampage, spit, that's not right either... then that would be lawlessness... hmm, that doesn't seem quite right either..."
Elder Zhuang couldn't find any appropriate adjective to sugarcoat Xuan Zi's behavior at that moment.
On the side, Yan Shaozhe didn't think so.
He actually thought Elder Zhuang's description was quite accurate.
Wasn't Xuan Zi just rampaging, getting away with it, and being lawless?
"Little Zhuang, you don't need to describe it anymore. My intention for you to stay at the Sea God's Pavilion is not to turn a blind eye to Xuan Zi, to let him go unpunished for his unbridled actions, tarnishing Shrek Academy's reputation."
After listening to Mu En's words, Elder Zhuang's complexion changed, "Then what do you mean?"
Mu En stood up, "I plan to go to Xingluo City myself."
"What?"
"Elder Mu, you can't! Your health..."
Yan Shaozhe and Elder Zhuang were immediately shocked.
Mu En's decision greatly exceed their expectations.
Mu En gestured for them to not be alarmed, "Don't be so nervous, although I'm close to death, it's not like I'm going to die immediately. It's actually nice to move these old bones and go out for a walk before I die."
"Besides, I'm not afraid of dying with half of my body already in the grave, so what are you afraid of?"
In fact.
If possible, he wouldn't want to move either.
That way, he could hang on to life for a few more days.
But.
In the whole Shrek Academy, no, even across the entire Soul Land, there weren't many people who could suppress Xuan Zi, making him obey readily.
Moreover, Mu En also felt that he had indulged Xuan Zi too much; not punishing him for his mistakes only made Xuan Zi more arrogant and domineering.
A gemstone doesn't become polished without being cut and ground.
He thought it was time to discipline Xuan Zi, to teach him a lesson.
Otherwise, once he passed away, Xuan Zi might find it difficult to carry the weight of Shrek Academy on his shoulders.
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