Huo Yuhao, weary from his journey, had barely stepped through the gates of Shrek Academy when a bolt from the blue greeted him instead of cheers of welcome.
The atmosphere inside the Sea God Pavilion was so oppressive it was suffocating.
Mu En lay on a recliner. His already aged face was now ashen, like a candle guttering in the wind, liable to go out at any moment. Around him, all the elders were injured, their expressions grave.
"Yuhao, you're back." Mu En's voice was terribly weak, filled with deep weariness and remorse. "I've let you down, and I've let Xiaotao down..."
Huo Yuhao's heart lurched as a sense of foreboding welled up inside him. "Elder Mu, what happened? Where's Sister Xiaotao?"
"Evil Soul Masters... attacked the academy." Yan Shaozhe's voice was hoarse. "There were eleven in all, including four Titled Douluo. One of them was even above level ninety-five. Elder Mu and the other elders fought to the death and killed six of them, but... Xiaotao was kidnapped in the chaos."
"What?!"
Huo Yuhao felt as though he'd been struck by lightning, and his body swayed violently.
He'd clearly warned the academy to watch out for the Evil Soul Masters' movements. Before leaving, he'd even specifically asked the academy to strengthen security around Ma Xiaotao. And yet, the tragedy had still happened.
"Elder Mu exhausted his essence to drive off the enemy..." Yan Shaozhe choked out. "Elder Mu's condition now..."
Looking at Mu En's withered face, Huo Yuhao was overcome by conflicting emotions.
Was he disappointed? Perhaps a little. For the continent's foremost academy to be caught off guard by Evil Soul Masters and have one of its core disciples kidnapped was an undeniable humiliation.
But more than anything, he felt utterly powerless.
In this world of the fittest