Xu Yanli withdrew his hand and let his gaze pass over the elders, their faces deathly pale, before settling on a tall figure at the front of the crowd.
Yan Shaozhe.
The former dean of Shrek Academy's Martial Soul Department, bearer of the top-tier Beast Martial Soul, Radiant Phoenix.
At that moment, his clothes were rumpled and disheveled, his hair a mess, and clear wounds marked his face. Yet he still stood straight, his proud spirit unbroken.
There was no submission or fear toward Xu Yanli in his eyes, only the dignity of Shrek's last stand, carved into his very bones.
He would rather die than surrender.
Xu Yanli walked up to him and looked down.
"Dean Yan."
Compared with the indifference he had shown Xuan Zi, his voice was gentler.
"It's been a long time."
Yan Shaozhe raised his head and met his gaze. He neither begged for mercy nor cursed in anger. He simply remained silent.
"Seven years ago, you gave me access to the highest-level library in the inner courtyard. You took me to meditate and cultivate beneath the Golden Ancient Tree every week, and did everything you could to nurture me." Xu Yanli spoke softly. "I've always remembered your kindness."
Yan Shaozhe remained silent.
Of course he remembered.
Back then, he had taken Xu Yanli for a once-in-ten-thousand-years genius. He had wanted to nurture him with all due care, pouring the academy's resources into him and granting him every possible convenience.
Looking back now, how bitterly ironic it was.
The genius he had raised with all his heart had ultimately destroyed Shrek—the academy he had devoted his life to protecting—with his own hands.
"Aren't you afraid of dying?" Xu Yanli asked.
Yan Shaozhe finally spoke. His voice was hoarse, yet strangely calm. "I am."
He paused,