"Ah? I..."
Accused by the furious Mu En of being a spy sent by the Holy Spirit Cult, Xuan Zi's expression stiffened. Then he shook his head with a bitter smile.
"I've been at Shrek Academy since I was young. Shrek Academy has always been like my home. Never did I expect that one day, I would be suspected of not being from Shrek. Still, what normal Rank 98 Titled Douluo could possibly lose the students under his charge?"
"If I weren't a spy sent by the Holy Spirit Cult, how could Shrek's twelve most elite direct-line genius students have been lost all at once? I may not be a Holy Spirit Cult spy, but what I did was probably something even a spy they planted in Shrek couldn't have accomplished. Forget it, Elder Mu. I request to leave Sea God's Pavilion to atone for this sin."
"Let me spend the rest of my life in regret and bring this wretched existence to an end."
As Xuan Zi spoke, he turned to leave Sea God's Pavilion, his eyes filled with resolve.
"Wait! Xuan Zi!" Seeing Xuan Zi about to stride away, Mu En was immediately alarmed.
Shrek's younger generation was already dead. If something happened to the top experts of the older generation as well, then once he was gone, Shrek could not possibly hold things together with only Elder Song, a Rank 97 Titled Douluo.
There was currently no Rank 98 combatant openly known among the original three great empires, but the Dou Ling Empire did have a Rank 97 Titled Douluo. It was one thing for Shrek's high-end strength to be on par with the Body Sect, but if it were merely equal to the three great empires, how could Shrek continue to command the three nations and represent the entire Douluo Continent?
Therefore, Xuan Zi absolutely could not leave, especially now, when Shrek's younger generation had already suffered such devastating losses.
If he left, Shrek's losses would be completely maximized. In this era when Shrek was already battered by storms, Mu En could never agree to Xuan Zi's departure.
At Mu En's call, Xuan Zi slowly turned around. "What is it, Elder Mu?"
Mu En forcibly suppressed the turmoil in his heart and made his voice sound as gentle as possible. "I've thought it over carefully. It seems this matter isn't really your fault. You can't be blamed for all of it."
Hearing that, Xuan Zi was stunned. A Rank 98 teacher had led Shrek's students out to hunt soul rings, only to lose them by accident. They had been gone for so long that they were probably all dead. How could this not be his fault? If not his, then whose was it?
"Elder Mu, please don't make excuses for me. A Rank 98 teacher led students out and lost them. If that isn't my fault, whose fault is it? Are you saying it's those students' fault?" Xuan Zi shook his head with a bitter smile.
Yet Mu En nodded. "Mm, it was those students' fault to begin with. Twelve people, twelve students! They were supposedly Shrek's elites, yet they actually got separated from their teacher leading them. Such a major mistake would be enough to give them a serious demerit!"
Mu En spoke with righteous indignation, dumping all responsibility for the twelve students' accident onto the twelve students themselves.
It was only because they had not returned. If they had, Mu En would have made them kneel before Xuan Zi and apologize no matter what!
"This..." Xuan Zi felt that something seemed off, but his brain, which had not been used in far too long, could not think of exactly what was wrong.
Still, for him, merely sensing that something was wrong was enough. "No, I cannot escape blame for this matter. Elder Mu, say no more. Someone must take responsibility for something this serious, and clearly, that person is me!"
After saying that, Xuan Zi prepared to leave Sea God's Pavilion once more. But just as he was about to go, Mu En hurriedly shot Yan Shaozhe a meaningful look.
Yan Shaozhe understood what his teacher meant, and his face darkened. Still, he knew this was the best choice for Shrek. Seeing Xuan Zi about to turn and leave, Yan Shaozhe had no choice but to drop to his knees before him.
"Elder Xuan! You did nothing wrong! This is my fault!" Yan Shaozhe cried tearfully. To keep Xuan Zi from leaving, he even knocked his head against the ground several times at Mu En's signal.
Seeing Yan Shaozhe suddenly kneel, then kowtow several times to beg forgiveness, Xuan Zi was utterly baffled by the whole performance. "Ah? You were wrong? What did you do wrong?"
"I..." What did I do wrong? How the hell would I know what I did wrong? Does this have anything to do with me?
That was what Yan Shaozhe thought, but he could not say it aloud. Otherwise, Xuan Zi would definitely insist on resigning from his position as vice master of Sea God's Pavilion.
Thus, Yan Shaozhe's mind raced wildly, and he finally came up with an explanation that could shift some of Xuan Zi's responsibility away in a short time.
"Elder Xuan, this is my fault. If I had insisted back then, or if I had chosen to secretly follow those students, they wouldn't have gotten separated from you."
"I failed to persist. I failed to consider everything thoroughly, and those students were careless as well. How could you take all the responsibility upon yourself? This isn't your fault."
Hearing this, Xuan Zi's departing steps paused slightly, but he was still caught between leaving Shrek and staying.
Seeing that Xuan Zi still intended to leave Shrek, Mu En had no choice but to give him a reason to remain.
"Enough, Xuan Zi. Let this matter end here. Those students got separated from the teacher leading them. You cannot be blamed for it. Besides, Shrek still needs your strength. Stay."
"Elder Mu..."
With Yan Shaozhe kneeling and kowtowing, along with Mu En's careful persuasion, the twelve elite Shrek students were finally defined as having gotten separated from their teacher.
Xuan Zi prepared to return to his life of eating, sleeping, then eating again. Yet before leaving, he could not help but sigh.
"Elder Mu, do you think I can really do anything for Shrek? Is someone like me truly useful to Shrek?"
Mu En nodded. "Xuan Zi, don't belittle yourself. Your importance to Shrek is not beneath mine. It was only a case of students accidentally getting separated, something unavoidable. How about this? Go take a look at the outer academy first. Help Shrek select some promising talents and calm yourself down. More than a year from now, the teacher leading the team in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Tournament will still have to rely on you."
Mu En spoke slowly. It was not that Xuan Zi absolutely had to lead Shrek's team in the next Continental Advanced Soul Master Tournament; Mu En simply needed to give him a reason not to keep dwelling on this matter.
Hearing that, Xuan Zi looked into the distance. "The Continental Advanced Soul Master Tournament more than a year from now? Fine. Then I'll lead the team for this one. Elder Mu, rest assured. I'll definitely make sure the students set out safely."
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