Zhang Lexuan

The girl looked at Xia Linyuan in astonishment, while the young man's jaw nearly hit the floor.

The young man stammered, "S-senior, you... you aren't here to sign up for the Shrek Academy inner court?"

Xia Linyuan shrugged his shoulders. "I don't recall ever saying I was here to sign up for the Shrek Academy inner court, did I?"

"B-but you..."

"Please, little brother, I've been trying to tell you the whole time that I'm here to apply for a teaching position at Shrek Academy. It's just that you kept insisting you knew exactly why I was here, and every time I tried to explain my purpose, you were too busy gushing over the glorious history of your idolized inner court senior, dragging me off-track in the process."

Through their exchange, the girl finally realized that this had all been a massive misunderstanding.

Nyarlathotep was here to apply for a teaching position at Shrek Academy, while the young man had assumed he was there to enroll as an inner court student.

Recalling everything that had happened on the way, it was exactly as Xia Linyuan had described. The young man's face flushed a mix of red and pale with embarrassment. Having lost face in front of the inner court senior he admired most, he wished he could crawl into a hole and disappear.

"I-I'm sorry, Senior! This was my oversight! I'm sorry for bothering you!" the young man hurriedly apologized.

The girl shook her head. "It's fine. Not many people came to sign up for the inner court this year anyway."

Seeing that the senior was as gentle as ever, the young man felt his heart melt; her image in his mind grew even more statuesque.

"So," Xia Linyuan interjected at an inopportune moment, gesturing helplessly. "Could you tell me which way to go for the faculty recruitment?"

The young man, eager to make amends and salvage his image in front of the senior, said, "I'll take you there myself. I won't make a mistake this time."

Xia Linyuan looked at the girl and asked, "Do I have the right to choose?"

The girl was stunned.

Xia Linyuan continued, "Could you get someone a bit more professional, perhaps?"

The girl sighed, helpless, and turned to the young man. "I'll take him to the Academic Affairs Office to find Director Du Weilun. You should head back now, Junior."

"Alright." The young man left the freshman reception area, looking utterly dejected.

After leaving the reception area, the girl said, "Nyarlathotep, you..."

"Don't you know that it's very impolite to ask someone questions without introducing yourself first?"

"My apologies, that was rude of me. My name is Zhang Lexuan. I am an inner court disciple, and I am in charge of the inner court freshman registration this time."

Zhang Lexuan?

Xia Linyuan raised an eyebrow, barely noticeably.

He should have guessed. Among dozens of inner court disciples, who else but Zhang Lexuan would be involved in Shrek Academy's administrative affairs right now?

"Just call me Nyar."

"Nya... Nyar, are you really here to apply as a teacher at our Shrek Academy?"

Xia Linyuan turned his head to look at Zhang Lexuan. "Does it not look like it? Is it written in bold black ink on my face that I'm here to cause trouble for Shrek Academy?"

Zhang Lexuan: "..." It didn't look like it before, but now that you mention it, it suddenly feels like it.

"No, it's just that in all my time at Shrek Academy, this is the first time I've seen an outsider apply for a teaching position. Shrek Academy usually relies on its own graduates to stay on and teach."

"Given the system you have here at Shrek Academy, I doubt anyone else would come anyway."

Zhang Lexuan, whose thoughts had been drifting, snapped back to reality at Xia Linyuan's words. "What did you say?"

"Heh, nothing."

Zhang Lexuan said, "Because no one has ever applied for a teaching position in so many years, you will have to see Dean Yan. Only he can make a decision on this matter."

"Fine, lead the way."

As Zhang Lexuan led Xia Linyuan past the student dormitory buildings, Mu En, who had been rocking back and forth in his recliner, opened his eyes. Though his gaze was filled with the weariness of ages, it still shone with a piercing light.

Watching the two walk side by side, Mu En felt that the aura radiating from Xia Linyuan was as vast as an abyss, like a bottomless vortex constantly drawing in his soul.

Even more, in every movement, there was a terrifying, unforced majesty, like that of a king who had long sat upon a throne. It caused his heart—which had long since become calm and indifferent after witnessing the rise and fall of the world—to tremble violently.

However, this aura was restrained perfectly by Xia Linyuan, reaching a state of returning to the basics. If it weren't for the connection Mu En had built with the Golden Tree over his years as the Sea God Pavilion Master, which made his perception of life far superior to that of an average Limit Douluo, he might have simply mistaken Xia Linyuan for an ordinary Spirit Master.

Mu En gathered all his spiritual power toward Xia Linyuan, attempting to gauge the latter's depth.

Little did he expect that the moment his spiritual power touched Xia Linyuan, it was crushed by an indescribable, terrifying aura. Cold, sinister, violent, desperate... a multitude of horrific energies erupted all at once.

The martial soul hidden deep within his body let out a shrill, mournful cry! Even his soul trembled from the very marrow of his bones! His hunched frame gave a violent jolt.

Perhaps it wasn't an illusion, but as if sensing his probing, Xia Linyuan turned back and smiled at him.

He smiled very gently, like a refined gentleman, but behind this seemingly warm smile, Mu En felt a bone-chilling terror.

A wave of cold surged up his spine, and he felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar. The freezing sensation spread to every corner of his body, and even his legs, which had lost all sensation due to the poison, could feel the chill spreading inch by inch.

It was unknown how much time had passed before Mu En finally recovered, muttering with lingering fear, "I haven't been out in so long, yet I didn't know that Douluo Continent had produced such a powerhouse. Even I, with a cultivation at the ninety-ninth level Limit Douluo realm, felt my heart tremble."

"Could it be that he has reached the level of the legendary ancestor Tang San? But at that level, shouldn't he have left for that legendary place? I wonder why he has come to Shrek Academy. Whether it is a blessing or a curse, I only hope it is not the latter..."

Zhang Lexuan led Xia Linyuan through the outer court building complex of Shrek Academy to the shores of the Sea God Lake, then skimmed across the vast surface of the lake to arrive at Sea God Island.

The offices of both Yan Shaozhe, the Dean of the outer court Martial Soul Department, and Qian Duoduo, the Vice Dean of the outer court Soul Guidance Department, were located on Sea God Island.

Outsiders would go to great lengths to catch a glimpse of Sea God Island, only to fail in the end. It was unexpected that Xia Linyuan, on a whim to apply for a teaching position, would accidentally set foot on Sea God Island. It was truly a case of planting a willow that grew into shade; one wonders if those who desperately wanted to infiltrate Shrek Academy would die of anger if they knew.