Mu En's Guidance

"Divine power... My junior disciple brother really was something else!"

Inside the Sea God Pavilion, Yan Shaozhe felt genuinely happy for his junior disciple brother after seeing Ye Xishui's conclusion on the Heavenly Curtain.

After all, the stronger his junior disciple brother was and the greater his potential, the better it was for all of Shrek Academy.

How am I supposed to face Teacher now? Yan Shaozhe withdrew his gaze and looked toward the stairs leading to the third floor of the Sea God Pavilion.

After Mu En emerged from seclusion, he, as his disciple, received word immediately.

So, even though he was still struggling with the fact that he was the descendant of Long Xiaoyao and Ye Xishui, Yan Shaozhe promptly returned to Shrek Academy and entered the Sea God Pavilion, intending to visit his teacher.

But after arriving on the second floor of the Sea God Pavilion, he became hesitant. Clearly, he still had not prepared himself to face his teacher.

How should he put it? Yan Shaozhe's emotions were incomparably complicated at that moment.

Of course, in such a situation, anyone else might not have been able to pull themselves together so quickly either.

Just imagine it. Since childhood, you had possessed exceptional talent, and your Martial Soul was the world's top-tier Bright Phoenix Martial Soul.

After coming to Shrek Academy to study, you were even accepted as a disciple by the current Sea God Pavilion Master, the Dragon God Douluo. You received the academy's full support and became the dean of the Martial Soul Department.

With a Martial Soul like his and a status like his, by all rights, he should have stood against every Evil Soul Master in the world and protected the continent's peace.

Yet, at nearly a hundred years old, he suddenly learned that his background was far from ordinary—he was the descendant of the Evil Soul Master King!

And that Evil Soul Master King would, in the future, join forces with the Sun Moon Empire to wage war against the original Douluo Three Kingdoms.

Anyone in his place would have been shaken to the core.

Perhaps, to rational outsiders, such a matter did not seem like much. But the problem was that irrational people still made up the majority of this world.

And if you were not the person involved, it was difficult to experience that feeling—the conflict between one's beliefs and worldly notions was not something one could easily overcome.

What was more, Yan Shaozhe had never been the calm, exceedingly rational sort of person, so it was even harder for him to move past it.

"Shao Zhe is here? Why aren't you coming up?"

Just as Yan Shaozhe hesitated, an extremely familiar voice sounded by his ear.

"Teacher..." Yan Shaozhe murmured. Though he stood close to the stairs, he still did not take a step forward.

"Lin'er has already told me everything."

"It is nothing serious. No matter whose blood runs through your veins, as long as you keep goodness in your heart and never waver, you are still yourself."

"You are still the dean of Shrek Academy's Martial Soul Department, my eldest disciple, and a role model to Shrek Academy's many students..."

After learning the full sequence of events from Xian Lin'er, how could Mu En not have noticed the changes in his eldest disciple's emotions?

Thus, while having Xian Lin'er remain behind to continue discussing the Heavenly Curtain's contents, he also reminded Qian Duoduo to spread the news of his emergence from seclusion.

Was his purpose not simply to draw his disciple Yan Shaozhe back?

To make their heart-to-heart talk easier and better guide Yan Shaozhe, Mu En had even specifically asked Qian Duoduo to pass an additional message to the other Elders: for the time being, they were not to come to the Sea God Pavilion.

"Come up, child. It has been a long time since we master and disciple had a proper talk and spoke from the heart. Right now, we truly need a suitable conversation—not only for you, but for the entire continent." From the third floor of the Sea God Pavilion, Mu En continued speaking to Yan Shaozhe through voice transmission.

From Xian Lin'er, he had naturally learned the true identity of the woman he had once deeply loved, as well as the old friend who had already gone astray and aided evil.

Even someone like Mu En could not help but feel conflicted over this.

But very quickly, he stopped dwelling on and overthinking these matters.

Because there were more important things at hand.

Namely, how to deal with the Sun Moon Empire's ambitions, and how to find the best way to eliminate the great scourge that was the Holy Spirit Cult.

Those were the highest priorities! They concerned the entire continent!

But his most urgent task was still to help his eldest disciple, Yan Shaozhe, untie the knot in his heart.

Did the empires not have a saying? One must first settle internal matters before confronting external threats.

That saying was equally applicable to Shrek Academy now.

Only by putting their internal affairs in order could they stand united against their enemies and do everything possible to deal with the Holy Spirit Cult, or even foes like the Sun Moon Empire.

From the broader perspective, and for the sake of the people, if possible, Mu En still hoped to avoid a war with the Sun Moon Empire.

After all, if the Sun Moon Empire went to war with the original Douluo Three Kingdoms, it would inevitably leave devastation in its wake, and ordinary people would suffer the most.

Therefore, if this future war could be prevented, it should be prevented as much as possible.

The best course was to deal only with Evil Soul Master forces such as the Holy Spirit Cult.

That would remove such a calamity from the continent while effectively curbing the Sun Moon Empire's ambitions to invade the original Douluo Three Kingdoms.

"Yes, Teacher." Hearing his teacher's earnest guidance, Yan Shaozhe no longer hesitated and stepped onto the stairs leading to the third floor of the Sea God Pavilion.

At last, he was determined to face this matter head-on!

Seeing Yan Shaozhe come upstairs, Xian Lin'er unusually did not treat him as she normally would.

She naturally understood just how devastating the matter exposed earlier by the Heavenly Curtain had been to Yan Shaozhe.

Thus, with great tact, Xian Lin'er left the place and went outside with Qian Duoduo to watch the Heavenly Curtain's contents.

"You finally came." Mu En looked at his disciple and spoke with relief.

Since he had chosen to come upstairs, it meant that Shao Zhe would eventually face this matter.

The first step was always the hardest. Once there was a first step, there would be a second.

Mu En believed in his own ability. He would surely help his eldest disciple see things clearly.

However, before they formally began their heart-to-heart talk, Mu En was exceedingly thoughtful and even considerately used Soul Power to create a soundproof barrier.

That way, only Mu En and Yan Shaozhe, master and disciple, would take part in the conversation to come.

No third person would know what they discussed next.

"Teacher is still Teacher..." On the balcony, Xian Lin'er could not help sighing emotionally.

Qian Duoduo beside her echoed, "Yes. There is still a great gap between us and Teacher."

Inside the room, Yan Shaozhe looked at his teacher with deep emotion. "Teacher..."

Mu En said calmly, "Now, let us master and disciple have a true heart-to-heart exchange."

"Yes, Teacher." Yan Shaozhe nodded without objection.