FE—Chapter 153: Mu En: Xuan Zi Can Split Shrek
The elders saw Elder Xuan's grief-stricken expression. His large hand condensed a terrifying, dazzling khaki light and slapped his chest.
"Huh? When did the meeting of the Sea God Pavilion, proposed by Elder Xuan, include a part where he performs death to apologize?"
The elders were stunned and somewhat confused.
Just moments ago, they cooperated with Elder Xuan to perform the act of "voluntarily withdrawing from the Sea God Pavilion" three times and finally agreed to let him stay as an elder. What was the situation now? Why was there another part—Elder Xuan "willing to die to apologize"?
Were they supposed to continue cooperating with Elder Xuan to complete this performance? If so, how? There was no prior notice...
The elders exchanged looks, and in their eyes, doubts flickered. They were all caught off guard by the sudden change. Faced with Elder Xuan's self-sacrificial apology, they were momentarily at a loss.
"Elder Mu, this, this..." Yan Shaozhe was anxious. Seeing Elder Xuan's resolute act of severing his heart veins, the elders looked to Elder Mu.
Has the routine of the Sea God Pavilion meeting been upgraded?
Didn't Elder Xuan previously lead the team back with a look of "I am guilty!" and quickly call a Sea God Pavilion meeting to admit his mistakes and voluntarily withdraw?
The elders took turns persuading him, and the sorrowful Xuan Zi lived up to everyone's expectations, continuing to be the elder of the Sea God Pavilion, and the process was completed.
But this time, Elder Xuan started by attempting to commit suicide, which caught everyone completely off guard.
Wow—
Elder Mu's pupils suddenly emitted a golden light, and the pressure characteristic of the Light Holy Dragon martial soul was released. The brightness was dazzling, blinding the elders. Xuan Zi trembled under this pressure as if slapped physically.
"Idiot! Can your death bring back the lives of the children? If you feel so guilty, then atone for your sins in Shrek Academy!"
Elder Mu's voice was filled with anger as he rebuked Xuan Zi's foolish behavior, and he slapped him with overwhelming pressure.
Elder Xuan was flung off his seat, flying several meters away.
He spun mid-air and landed with a loud bang.
Yan Shaozhe and Elder Lin reacted immediately, attacking together, releasing their soul powers to pin Elder Xuan to the ground.
"Elder Mu, why... why won't you let me die!"
Xuan Zi looked miserable, tears streaming down his face: "Gong Yangmo, Chen Zifeng, Yao Haoxuan—they all had bright futures. I ruined them. How can I live with dignity in this world?"
The other elders understood. Seeing Elder Mu's furious slap, it was clear he was truly angry. It seemed that Xuan Zi's addition of "willing to die to apologize" was a temporary measure.
Most of the elders could only remain silent. Xuan Zi's act of suicide was a complex matter, not something easily involved in, and could only be left for Elder Mu and the senior elders to handle.
Xian Lin'er, the dean of the Soul Guidance Department, thought for a moment, then stood up and said: "Elder Xuan, the Soul Guidance Department of our Shrek Academy was founded after the Holy War between Douluo Continent and Sun Moon Continent many years ago."
"In war, armies are often ambushed and annihilated."
Xian Lin'er's eyes narrowed slightly. "So, think about it—how many leaders would commit suicide over a few small failures? The right approach is to take responsibility, learn lessons, and achieve greater victory in the end."
Xian Lin'er had also participated in several Sea God Pavilion meetings proposed by Xuan Zi.
She believed that Elder Xuan's attitude of admitting mistakes was positive, but his biggest problem was that he never corrected his errors.
Xuan Zi listened to her words and shook his head foolishly.
"No, it's different. That Death God Envoy is only a five-ring Soul King, and I..."
"Shut up!"
In anger, Elder Mu exerted pressure again on Xuan Zi, his internal hatred for him growing stronger: "A coward who made a huge mistake and just wants to die! As my nephew, when will you make some progress?"
Qian Duoduo, the dean of the Soul Guidance Department, also spoke with some emotion.
"Elder Xuan, we can't be so despondent. The death of three inner courtyard disciples of the Martial Soul Department is already a huge loss for our academy."
He sighed deeply and persuaded earnestly: "If you commit suicide over this task of exterminating the evil soul master, it would be the greatest loss of all."
Elder Mu glared at Xuan Zi, who collapsed on the ground under his pressure and snorted angrily. The anger radiating from him silenced the entire Sea God Pavilion.
"Xuan Zi, if you do such cowardly, foolish things again, I will destroy you myself—without you needing to lift a finger."
Mu En then withdrew his pressure, though the anger still lingered in his eyes.
Xuan Zi finally stopped attempting to kill himself. Hearing Elder Mu's words, he wiped his eyes, stood up dejectedly, and sat back in his seat, with messy hair hanging over his face.
Elder Mu's expression hardened with severity: "You are over 200 years old. Why are you still so impetuous? If every elder makes mistakes and becomes a deserter like you, then what's the purpose of the Sea God Pavilion?"
He then said seriously:
"Xuan Zi, you can die if you want to, if you have the ability, you can pass on the family line and pass on your Taotie Divine Bull martial soul with your bloodline, and then you can commit suicide at will, I will never stop him, otherwise, forget it."
As we all know, the relationships within Shrek Academy are complicated.
In a way, Xuan Zi has a significant advantage—though he looks sloppy, he is relatively clean... Well, because of his limited ability, he is somewhat weak in some aspects.
Xuan Zi's face flushed red. After hearing Elder Mu's recent words, the elders present showed varied expressions. At this moment, they thought Xuan Zi was also quite sinful—the mighty Taotie Divine Bull had many flaws, just because it was too weak in this aspect.
"Okay." Elder Mu tapped the table lightly, and the elders quieted down.
His face returned to calm as he said sternly: "Xuan Zi, I know your Taotie Divine Bull martial soul has the characteristic of greed, but you must never make such a mistake again."
"You often cause your disciples to feel a sense of crisis. This isn't entirely wrong, but you must ensure that you can save your students from danger."
Elder Mu sighed. The Soul King had killed three people under the Super Douluo. Such a thing had never happened before.
"Lin'er."
"Yes." Xian Lin'er hurriedly stood and responded respectfully.
Elder Mu's tone was unquestionable: "I have made the decision today. After the Sea God Pavilion meeting, a portion of the resources will go to the Soul Guidance Department to craft at least one flying soul guidance device and one defensive soul guidance device for all inner courtyard students. Anyone who objects, don't bother telling me—just ask them to leave the academy."
"Yes!"
Xian Lin'er's face showed a hint of joy, and Qian Duoduo, beside her, couldn't help but laugh.
Yan Shaozhe saw Qian Duoduo's proud expression and wanted to argue.
For a long time, the Martial Soul Department and the Soul Guidance Department had been rivals, even antagonistic— the Martial Soul Department always had the upper hand.
Inner courtyard students prided themselves on their strong martial souls, believing that truly powerful soul masters did not need external objects like soul guidance devices to enhance their strength.
Yan Shaozhe looked at Elder Mu, tentatively: "Teacher, should we reconsider? This could shake the foundation of our long-standing beliefs."
Elder Mu glared sharply: "Must we wait for more inner courtyard disciples to die before we change? The times are progressing, and soul guidance devices are a product of that progress."
"Even if the martial soul is top-tier and personal strength is formidable, it can be further enhanced with a high-level soul guidance device. Don't you understand such a simple truth?"
Elder Mu shared the wisdom he'd realized in his later years, with an earnest tone.
"Shaozhe, the biggest difference between humans and monkeys is that humans can use tools. Soul guidance devices are powerful tools to strengthen oneself. Do you resist this? Are you a monkey?"
Yan Shaozhe felt ashamed and hurriedly said: "No, no. My ancestor Tang San used a storage soul guidance device, and I also use one... I do not resist."
Many elders supported Yan Shaozhe (whose grandmother was extraordinary), and the martial soul system had become deeply rooted in Shrek.
But now that Elder Mu had made his stance clear, opposing it would be unwise.
The elders then continued discussing supporting the participating teams.
Qian Duoduo sneered: "If we hadn't realized the importance of soul guidance devices in this matter, I'm afraid that in this Soul Master Competition after Xiao Tao squeezed out the quota, we wouldn't have a single regular player using a soul guidance device."
Yan Shaozhe looked at Elder Mu and proposed: "Mr. Mu, I've looked at the list of other talented young disciples in the inner courtyard."
"Including the soul guidance department disciple who was replaced by Xiao Tao, I selected two more students from among them. They are quite talented."
"Send these three together. Although they are not the best lineup, as long as Xiao Tao is there, our overall strength remains superior to most other academies."
The inner courtyard has many talented disciples beyond the Shrek Seven Devils.
Although some weren't selected as the Seven Devils, their talents and martial souls were outstanding in other academies.
Seeing Elder Mu deep in thought without giving an immediate answer, Yan Shaozhe added: "Elder Mu, the competition is imminent. Please send the three students I selected. Even if they are combined with the reserve team, their combat power is still strong enough."
"Once Xiao Tao's injuries recover, she can lead us into the top four or even the finals. Please decide quickly."
Elder Mu hesitated, considering the balance of honor and risk. If the ten-thousand-year crown was both an honor and a burden, then perhaps it was time to break free from it.
He sighed: "Send the disciple to Xiao Tao's team. He was originally a regular participant. Let him represent the academy."
"Forget the others I re-selected."
Elder Mu waved his hand: "No reinforcements. Since Heaven has allowed such tragedy, let it serve as a form of honing."
The elders were stunned.
"Mr. Mu, this concerns the academy's ten-thousand-year glory. Even if it's difficult to uphold, we can't give it up so easily."
Elder Mu smiled calmly: "Yes, honor. Don't you think we've been enslaved by this honor all these years?"
"Losing isn't terrible. What's terrible is our reluctance to give it up, and trying every means to cling to it—fame and reputation become our shackles."
An elder expressed concern: "But, Mr. Mu..."
"If we don't help, the reserve team will just play a few matches and go home. That doesn't sharpen them, only damages their confidence."
Elder Mu shook his head: "The key is that we must let the younger disciples learn from failure. If they lose, they will carry the stigma of losing the championship, but that's part of growth."
He paused, then added: "The ten-thousand-year crown is an honor, yes. But it can also be a shackle."
Elder Mu's tone grew serious: "We must be willing to accept change. If not, we will never break through the shackles."
He waved his hand again: "Alright, I've made my decision."
"Xuan Zi, after this meeting, send the disciple from the Soul Guidance Department. I believe the academy will protect its honor."
Elder Xuan was too ashamed to speak. Listening to the elders discuss matters related to the participating disciples, he felt deep shame—so much so that he couldn't dispel it for a long time.
After Elder Mu finalized the decision to send disciples, he finally exhaled.
"Xuan Zi, your failure to capture the evil soul master in time was inevitable. The enemy used Xu Sanshi's life as a bargaining chip, and you wasted time trying to save him."
"But it also shows that the Sun Moon Empire's soul guidance technology is far ahead of ours... I plan to exchange students."
This was Elder Mu's greatest concern. Once he let go, who would support the development of the Soul Guidance Department?
After Xuan Zi assumed leadership, he was no longer dependable. He was suitable as a gold medal fighter, but balancing the martial soul and the soul guidance departments was beyond his ability. Xuan Zi lacked that capability.
If things went wrong, it could split Shrek Academy.
(End of chapter)