Xuan Zi: Such a Genius Must Belong to Shrek! Go Recruit Him at Once!

Shrek Academy, Sea God Island.

At that moment, Xuan Zi truly felt his heart pounding violently from extreme shock.

He had even forgotten to pick up the wine gourd that had rolled onto the ground. His mind was filled with the scene Ling Luochen had just described.

A two-ring Soul Grandmaster had taken a devastating blow from a five-ring Soul King head-on, been severed at the waist, yet regenerated his limbs within a minute. Even while critically wounded and on the brink of death, he had fired a beam that pierced through his opponent's wings?

Such a thing had never appeared even in the vast records of Shrek Academy's ancient texts.

"This young man has limitless potential!" Xuan Zi took a deep breath, and an unprecedented gleam flashed through his clouded eyes.

He suddenly turned and stared fixedly at Ling Luochen, his tone so urgent it was nearly an interrogation. "Where is he now? Did you bring him back to the academy?"

Ling Luochen staggered half a step back under Xuan Zi's sudden pressure and shook her head somewhat uneasily. "Elder Xuan, after that... we parted ways. I don't know where he went."

"What?!"

Xuan Zi completely lost his composure this time. He slammed his palm onto the stone table beside him, his beard trembling wildly with rage. "You parted ways? You just let him leave like that?"

"Luochen, do you know what you did? That freak could injure a five-ring Soul King while only having two rings and possesses an undying body, yet you didn't recruit him for Shrek?!"

Ling Luochen froze, biting her lip in grievance. "But... Elder Xuan, the situation was urgent at the time, and the Inspection Team had strict orders that we absolutely could not reveal our identities while carrying out a mission."

"Besides, that young man and his companion were dressed exceptionally and carried themselves with refinement. They clearly already had a sect's inheritance. If I had rashly brought it up..."

"Rules are dead, but people are alive! Why didn't you know how to adapt?!"

Xuan Zi waved his arms in anguish, as though he had lost some peerless treasure. "So what if he has a sect? On Douluo Continent, what sect could possibly surpass Shrek Academy?"

"You only had to show him the Shrek name. Just tell him that if he was willing to come, the academy could provide him with the finest simulated cultivation environment and even directly admit him into the Inner Court. How could he not be tempted?"

"Once he heard that Shrek Academy wanted to recruit him, that boy would definitely come crying and begging!"

Ling Luochen fell silent, though she was somewhat unconvinced.

The determination with which that young man had risked his life to save his companion, as well as the heartfelt concern his companion had shown upon seeing him injured, did not make them seem like people who would be easily swayed by a mere name.

Xuan Zi let out a long breath, trying to calm the frustration in his heart. He waved his hand. "Enough. Don't just stand around here."

"Immediately take some people back to the place where you carried out your last mission. Search every inch within a hundred li of Yaluo City and see whether you can find any trace of him."

"This time, even if you have to talk yourself hoarse, bring him back to me! A student with such extraordinary talent was born to belong to Shrek. He must not be left out there!"

Ling Luochen lowered her head and accepted the order. "Yes, Elder Xuan."

With that, she turned and quickly departed.

Watching Ling Luochen's figure vanish into the mist, Xuan Zi was still unable to let it go. He bent down to pick up the wine gourd and grumbled, "That girl usually seems quite clever. Why is she so inflexible at a critical moment?"

"If someone else snatches away a talent like that, I'll be furious to death."

Just as Xuan Zi was about to find somewhere to continue drinking away his frustrations, hurried footsteps sounded.

"Elder Xuan! Is Elder Xuan here?"

The newcomer was Wang Yan.

His face was brimming with excitement, and he tightly clutched several reports recording Soul Power fluctuations.

Xuan Zi shot him a sideways glance and impatiently dug at his ear. "Wang Yan, what are you here for now? I'm already annoyed, so don't bother me with your strange research."

Ignoring Xuan Zi's cold attitude, Wang Yan urgently said, "Elder Xuan, this is a major discovery! Regarding the new student Huo Yuhao, I observed his recent cultivation and combat performance, and I suspect... that his Martial Soul may have undergone a rare Second Awakening!"

"This mutation of a Body Martial Soul is extraordinarily precious. Please lower yourself and take a look in person. If it is true..."

"Enough, enough!" Xuan Zi waved his hand and cut him off, his face filled with disdain.

"Second Awakening? Wang Yan, have you studied yourself stupid? That piece of trash had only one level of Innate Soul Power. If he hadn't pulled strings back then, he wouldn't even have crossed the threshold."

"Even if his Spirit Eye truly underwent some Second Awakening, his crippled innate talent of one level is right there. How high could his limit possibly be?"

"At best, he would only become a Soul King. You want me to waste my time inspecting an inferior student who only wastes food? Do you think I'm that idle?"

Wang Yan opened his mouth, still wanting to argue. "But Elder Xuan, even with innate level one, if the improvement in quality brought by the Second Awakening is great enough..."

"Get lost, get lost! Hurry up and get lost!" Xuan Zi directly released a gentle yet unquestionable wave of Soul Power, pushing Wang Yan out of the pavilion.

"Don't disgust me with that useless trash. I have no mood to deal with him right now."

"If you dare bother me again, I'll throw you into Sea God Lake to clear your head!"

Wang Yan sighed helplessly and could only turn away in dejection.

Xuan Zi snorted, dropped back onto the stone stool, and tilted his head back to gulp down a mouthful of strong liquor.

At the same time, within Sea God Pavilion.

The entire pavilion emitted a faint golden glow, while an ancient yet gentle aura flowed through the room.

Mu En lay quietly in a broad rocking chair, his eyes slightly closed, as though he had become one with the space around him.

"Still no news of Liu Yuan?" Mu En slowly asked. His voice was soft, yet it carried a majesty that seemed to pierce directly into the soul.

Before him, two Shrek Academy staff members specifically responsible for searching stood with their heads respectfully lowered.

"Reporting to Elder Mu, we still have not found him."

"Following your instructions, we have investigated every surrounding province. We even specially sent people to infiltrate the area around the Heaven Dou Empire's Imperial City, yet we have found no trace of him."

"It is as though he vanished from the face of the earth."

Mu En let out a long sigh.

Liu Yuan was the only bloodline left by those two teachers and an orphan of Shrek. Having been driven away right under his watch left an indelible guilt in Mu En's heart.

After hesitating briefly, the other staff member suddenly said, "Elder Mu, although we did not find Liu Yuan, we heard something strange while gathering information. It seems to be connected to Ling Luochen of the Inspection Team."

Mu En slightly opened his eyes. "Speak."

"A few days ago, while carrying out a mission near Yaluo City, Ling Luochen encountered a young man with an eye-type Martial Soul."

"According to Luochen, the young man appeared to be only around twelve years old, about the same age as Liu Yuan. Yet his cultivation had already reached level twenty-seven."

Mu En's gaze narrowed slightly. That level at such an age was already enough to draw his attention.

The staff member continued, "Moreover, his strength was extremely strange. His First Soul Skill could directly fire high-energy beams from his eyes. Not only was it immensely powerful, but it even severely injured a five-ring Evil Soul Master during battle."

"Most astonishing of all... Luochen personally saw him get severed at the waist by that Evil Soul Master, only for him to use his Second Soul Skill to achieve Limb Regeneration in an instant and heal himself on the spot."

"What did you say?!"

Mu En, who had been lying motionless in the rocking chair, abruptly sat upright. In his long-silent eyes, two clusters of golden light burst forth, brilliant as blazing suns.

"A two-ring Soul Grandmaster injured a five-ring Soul King? Limb Regeneration after being severed at the waist?"

"Can a human truly do such a thing?"

"This is indeed far too unbelievable."