Coming Clean

[Just waiting for tomorrow's Martial Soul Awakening!]

"Phew..."

Shen Yichen's little face was solemn as he murmured the same words to himself. Just waiting for tomorrow's Martial Soul Awakening!

At this moment, in three different places on Douluo Continent, the three holders of the diary copies each had their own thoughts.

The events recorded in the diary had no bearing on Sun Moon Continent or Jing Hongchen, so Jing Hongchen treated it as a little story to pass the time between making Soul Tools.

Although he had yet to figure out the diary's mysteries, there was no doubt that it was a fortuitous opportunity. Even if it had not brought him much benefit yet, he was unwilling to share this extraordinary encounter with anyone else.

Huo Yun'er felt the same way. She knew full well that if she revealed the slightest thing out of the ordinary, the Duke's Mansion would mercilessly purge her!

Unlike the other two, Zhang Lexuan was torn.

Should I... tell the elders of the Sea God Pavilion about this?

Ever since her family had been wiped out by Evil Soul Masters when she was a child and she had come to Shrek Academy, Zhang Lexuan had regarded Shrek as her home.

She also believed she would never leave Shrek for somewhere else in the future.

Zhang Lexuan gently bit her red lip. After wrestling with the matter for a long while, she finally made up her mind and headed purposefully toward a certain place in the Sea God Pavilion.

Sea God Island

Beneath the shade of a tree, a hunched old man lay in a reclining chair, which swayed gently as a breeze blew past. Sunlight fell upon him, but it could not conceal the air of approaching death about him.

As though sensing something, Mu En half-opened his eyes and frowned slightly. "Hm? Lexuan?"

"Elder Mu!" Zhang Lexuan bowed to Mu En with composure.

If there was anyone at Shrek Academy whom Zhang Lexuan could trust without reservation, the old man before her was the only one!

But when she reached Elder Mu with her thoughts in a tangle, Zhang Lexuan did not know whether she should speak, much less where to begin.

"What brings you to visit this old codger?" Elder Mu asked with a kindly smile. "Did Elder Lin come looking for you just now?"

"Uh, yes!"

"What's wrong? Could it be that you don't want to help that little fellow awaken his Martial Soul, but were too embarrassed to refuse Elder Lin?"

"No, no!"

"Hmm..." Elder Mu's smile remained as it always was. He knew that could not be the reason.

He could also tell that something was bothering Zhang Lexuan. He was merely trying to help her relax by making casual conversation.

"Elder Mu, today I... came across something strange."

Once she had said it, Zhang Lexuan felt the great stone weighing on her heart suddenly vanish.

"Something strange?" Mu En sat up a little straighter and studied Zhang Lexuan. "Will it have any effect on Shrek?"

Would it have any effect?

Zhang Lexuan thought for a while.

"I don't know."

Although the diary described events from ten thousand years ago, it occasionally mentioned things from the era "ten thousand years later." No one knew whether it would affect the present-day Shrek.

She didn't know?

Mu En's heart tightened. Zhang Lexuan might only be the inner courtyard's senior sister at present, but in his heart, even the Level 98 Xuan Zi was not as important as her!

Shrek might still appear to be flourishing, but in truth, it faced troubles within and threats without.

Xuan Zi's flaws were too great. He was fine as a fighter, but there was no chance of him holding up the main beam!

Yan Shaozhe's character was cause for concern. Just dealing with the romantic entanglements he had gotten himself into in his youth had left him exhausted.

Mu En knew he was old. He had placed all of Shrek's hopes on the next generation.

Zhang Lexuan, Bei Bei, and Yichen. It was hard to say what heights the three of them would reach in the future, but their character was certainly ten thousand times better than that of Yan Shaozhe and Xuan Zi!

As long as it weathered a low period of ten or twenty years, Shrek would eventually soar again.

But Lexuan had actually said she didn't know?

That meant the matter was so great that even she dared not shoulder the responsibility!

"Tell this old man about it in detail."

Zhang Lexuan nodded and told Mu En everything, from beginning to end, leaving nothing out.

She even opened the diary on the spot and read its contents aloud, word for word.

"Ten thousand years ago... Spirit Hall..."

They, the descendants of that era, were not entirely ignorant of whether Spirit Hall had been good or bad. But they had to be clear about where they stood!

To put it simply, where your butt sat determined which side you spoke for.

Elder Mu picked up his palm-leaf fan and gently waved it as he rocked in his chair, his mind racing.

"Lexuan, who else knows about this?"

"Other than you and me, Elder Mu, no one."

"Mm. For now, don't tell the other elders about this!" Mu En made his decision almost instantly.

He knew full well that even if they told the others, they could not hope to pool their wisdom. In the end, there would be nothing but wrangling, criticism, and people dragging their feet!

Of course, Mu En also understood that the copy in Zhang Lexuan's hands was probably not the only diary.

But they had little information for now, so this was all they could do.

"Relax." Mu En cheerfully patted Zhang Lexuan on the shoulder. "This old man is here."

Those words were like the divine needle that calmed the sea. Zhang Lexuan's heart instantly settled.

"From now on, if there's anything new in the diary, you can share it with me. I'm very curious about the story written in there."

"Yes, Elder Mu."

"All right, go and rest. If you awaken a good Martial Soul for that little fellow Yichen tomorrow, Elder Lin probably won't be able to stop smiling."

Zhang Lexuan smiled a little shyly, then took her leave.

After Zhang Lexuan left, Mu En hunched over and lay back down in his chair. "Troubled times, troubled times..."

Shen Yichen knew nothing about Zhang Lexuan's conversation with Elder Mu.

He did not even know whose hands his three diary copies had fallen into.

Of course, he had no intention of looking for clues right now, either.

What Shen Yichen feared now was that one of the diaries had ended up in the Divine Realm and been caught by Third Gege on the spot.

So...

Keeping a low profile was his first priority!

Once his diary rewards had stacked up, he could even whip Third Gege like a spinning top.

For now, the most important thing was tomorrow's Martial Soul Awakening!

As a Shrek celestial dragon, Shen Yichen had a grandmother, Lin Huiqun, who was a Level 97 support and control system Super Douluo.

Her Martial Soul was the Jade Ruyi.

The Jade Ruyi not only had support abilities comparable to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, but also retained a degree of offensive power.

In a game, its role would have been a damage-amplifying support that buffed teammates and debuffed opponents.

His father had inherited his grandmother's Jade Ruyi Martial Soul as well.

His mother's Martial Soul, on the other hand, was the Power Attack System Sky Pillar. Its attacks were wide and sweeping, and he had heard that fighting with it was like swinging a utility pole at people.

As far as Shen Yichen was concerned, whichever of his parents' Martial Souls he awakened, its potential would not be too low after Martial Soul Evolution.

Shen Yichen rubbed his little hands together and grinned. Perhaps... he might even have Twin Martial Souls: a mutated Jade Ruyi with the Mental Attribute added to it, and a mutated Sky Pillar with the Ultimate Ice attribute. Now that would be cashing in on the current meta!

When the time came, should he cultivate the Power Attack System first, or the support system?

As he reveled in the thought, the day passed in the blink of an eye!