Chapter 128: The Sea God's Wrath and Shrek's Fall
This time, Moon En was truly enraged by Xuan Zi's actions.
Zhang Lexuan's incident had been painful, but at least it was somewhat justifiable. Though several gifted students were lost, Zhang Lexuan herself survived and even obtained a 100,000-year soul ring and soul bone. While Shrek paid a heavy price, it also gained an eighth soul ring—a rare and powerful 100,000-year soul ring—for one of its top talents.
A soul ring of that age was a necessary foundation for attempting a breakthrough to Limit Douluo. With her eighth ring now being a 100,000-year one, as long as she could secure one more of the same level, Zhang Lexuan would have a real chance to break through. Shrek could accept this outcome.
Even the tragic deaths of the young geniuses during the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Competition, while heartbreaking, were not viewed as critically by the elders of the Sea God Pavilion. After all, they were merely 20-year-old Soul Kings with five rings. If not for the crushing defeat in that tournament, the deaths of those four Soul Kings wouldn't have even warranted a serious discussion among the Pavilion's elders.
So, all that, Moon En could bear.
But this time—this time was different!
This incident involved Elder Xuan, who had been personally entrusted with Shrek's protection by Moon En himself before his departure. And the disaster occurred immediately after Moon En left. Because of Elder Xuan's reckless drinking, Shrek suffered devastating losses. The inner courtyard had been attacked, and even the golden tree at the heart of the Sea God Pavilion had sustained damage. Moon En was left wondering how he would ever explain this disgrace to the former Sea God Pavilion Masters when he inevitably met them in the afterlife.
"I'm sorry, Elder Mu. I've failed your trust. I request to be expelled from the Sea God Pavilion," Elder Xuan said solemnly.
"Stop right there! Who gave you permission to leave like that? You made a grave mistake—so stay and reflect on it within the Pavilion!" Moon En shouted, his voice trembling with fury.
He felt deeply betrayed by Elder Xuan's negligence. If it weren't for Elder Xuan's long-standing bond with Long Xiaoyao—a relationship as close as that between Beibei and Xu Sanshi—Moon En might have believed Xuan Zi was secretly one of the Holy Spirit Church's Supreme Elders.
But he wasn't.
Long Xiaoyao had personally confirmed that Elder Xuan had no connection to the Holy Spirit Church. Which meant—this disaster had happened purely because of Elder Xuan's personal unreliability. He had no ill intent, no betrayal—just gross negligence.
Still, Elder Xuan was a Rank 98 powerhouse and the second most powerful person in all of Shrek Academy. With that kind of strength, and no actual treachery, Moon En had no choice but to suppress his anger and forgive him—for now.
What else could he do? Moon En knew he didn't have many years left to live.
"We'll discuss your punishment later. For now, convene the Sea God Pavilion meeting. I want to hear everything that has happened in my absence."
With Moon En's return, the Sea God Pavilion finally had its backbone again. The meeting was quickly assembled inside the golden tree. Mu Lao took the central seat, flanked by Elder Xuan and Elder Song. The rest of Shrek's Sea God Pavilion members filled the seats on both sides of the long table.
"Report. Tell me everything that has happened at the academy while I was gone."
Following Mu En's command, Yan Shaozhe stepped forward to explain.
"Teacher, it happened like this. At first, everything at Shrek was peaceful. But then, for some unknown reason, Xiaotao's condition was discovered by an evil soul master from the Holy Spirit Church."
"Their team leader this time was Feng Ling, the Deputy Leader of the Holy Spirit Church. I originally thought that after so many years, my cultivation should have surpassed hers. But she showed up with three purple, five black, and one red soul rings—her soul power had already reached Level 96. I was no match for her."
"Fortunately, Elder Song intervened. But as Elder Song attacked Feng Ling, one of the enemy's Titled Douluo soul masters burned his soul ring and life force to block her. He self-detonated, attempting to drag Elder Song down with him."
"Although Elder Song's martial soul, the Green Shadow Divine Eagle, is an elite agile-type beast soul, she was still injured despite retreating at the fastest speed. With her injured, our forces were at a disadvantage. The situation was still manageable, though—until over 30 evil soul masters at the Soul Saint level appeared."
"They began to burn their martial souls and soul rings, launching suicidal charges against our inner courtyard students. Chu Qingtian, Ye Fan, and many others were killed in the chaos. Wu Ming and Han Ruoruo were captured alive by Feng Ling. She said she would take them back to become saints of the Holy Spirit Church."
"I couldn't allow that… so I acted out of anger—"
"You 'acted out of anger'?!" Xian Lin'er sneered sharply. "If it weren't for your past relationship with Feng Ling and your failure to eliminate her years ago, my mother, Elder Song, wouldn't be so seriously injured today!"
"It wasn't just about emotions…" Yan Shaozhe said bitterly. "The enemy was mixed among our students—I couldn't use my full strength without risking friendly fire."
"Hmph!" Xian Lin'er snorted and turned away, refusing to look at him.
"You said the Holy Spirit Church came for Ma Xiaotao. So—where is Xiaotao now?" Moon En asked, his expression darkening.
"Uh…" Yan Shaozhe hesitated, ashamed. "Halfway through the battle, we realized Feng Ling's assault was actually a decoy. Their real goal was to lure us—and Elder Xuan—away. But Elder Xuan wasn't even present. So, what started as a feint turned into a full-scale attack."
"The thirty Soul Saints, the Titled Douluo who self-detonated, and another who burned his life force—they were all used just to cover the real operation."
He paused, unable to finish. Shrek had not only suffered major casualties, but also failed to protect its students. In the end, Wu Ming, Han Ruoruo, and Ma Xiaotao were all taken away by the Holy Spirit Church.
Fortunately, the Church had not aimed to destroy Shrek outright. After their retreat, Elder Xuan returned as quickly as possible, calming the panic and helping stabilize the situation—just enough to prevent it from spiraling into complete chaos.
Now, with Moon En back, the Sea God Pavilion was reconvened.
"So, not only did Shrek suffer heavy losses," Moon En summarized coldly, "but three of our inner courtyard students—Ma Xiaotao, Wu Ming, and Han Ruoruo—were captured. And you expect they'll now become saints of the Holy Spirit Church?"
"Yes, teacher. Shrek took a major hit this time," Yan Shaozhe admitted. "But now that you've returned, Shrek has hope again. With you here, Shrek's skies have cleared."
"Also, with Lexuan's growth, it won't be long before we're back on our feet." He hesitated again.
"Wait… teacher… speaking of Lexuan… why hasn't she returned yet?"
"Alas, it's a long story," Moon En sighed heavily. "And I don't want to explain too much. Just know this—there is a soul tool in the Mingde Hall of the Sun Moon Empire that made me feel like death was imminent."
"That sense of impending doom… I even thought I was being targeted by a 700,000-year-old soul beast."