Return to Shrek

Lin Yun buried Chu Zhengzhang. He gazed at the newly raised grave, lost in thought for a long while.

The aura that had hung over Flying Star City had long since dissipated after Lin Yun absorbed the amber Holy Spirit Source Crystal, but the crystal had also lost its original vitality.

It simply circled quietly in the Sea of Consciousness, as if its earlier battle against the Skeletal Bone Dragon had never happened.

Lin Yun looked at the little thing in his Sea of Consciousness. When it had first entered, it had said once that its name was the "Holy Spirit Source Crystal."

According to Lin Yun's guess, it was most likely an existence similar to an Extraterrestrial Demon.

For some reason, it had descended upon this world; for some reason, it had willingly shattered itself here.

This Holy Spirit Source Crystal was one of its corpse fragments, much like Electrolux's soul fragments.

Douluo Continent really was the center of the universe, with all nations coming to pay tribute. There was the Evil Eye, Buddha Ancestor Tang—who knew which wuxia or xianxia world he had come from—Electrolux's soul fragments from the Divine Seal World, and Lin Yun himself, reincarnated from Blue Star.

For the first time, Lin Yun's worldview had been remade on Douluo Continent. He drew a deep breath and looked at the grave before him.

His thoughts returned to Chu Zhengzhang's introduction. He turned and walked out of Flying Star City.

Strangely enough, although Lin Yun had taken the Holy Spirit Source Crystal that sustained the city, the people—or rather, the souls—who had depended on it did not vanish from the world.

It was as if the Holy Spirit Source Crystal had granted them a gift, giving those caught up in its wake a second life of their own.

For the first time, Lin Yun saw the Holy Spirit Cult in a different light. Perhaps this so-called "Holy Spirit" had not been evil at the beginning. It had merely taken the wrong path.

Lin Yun spoke to himself: If that's the case, then one day, I'll use my own way to let the holy light truly shine across the land.

When he left Flying Star City, the Shrek students sent to meet him had already arrived. At their head stood a woman in her twenties, with black hair cascading to her waist and a delicate, fair face. She looked dignified and composed.

"You're Lin Yun?" The woman at the front had a hint of unnatural pallor on her face as she looked him over.

Lin Yun was in a rather sorry state. First he had climbed a mountain, then passed through a tunnel, nearly been offered up as a sacrifice to the Holy Spirit, and finally carried two corpses out. One had been buried on a hill in Flying Star City.

The other still had to be carried to the city gate and handed over to the Shrek people. At the moment, he was covered in dust and looked as though he had put in a great deal of work on this matter.

Lin Yun tamped down his displeasure at being scrutinized and said calmly,

"I am Lin Yun, a captive and new student who's only recently arrived at Shrek Academy."

After Lin Yun finished speaking, the woman said,

"I know a little about what happened to you. Don't hold such a grudge against the Academy. My name is Zhang Lexuan, and I'm the senior sister of the Inner Court. Now, tell me what happened."

Lin Yun did not reveal anything about Chu Zhengzhang. He simply said in general terms that the senior sister had been killed by an Evil Soul Master.

In Lin Yun's account, he had merely been the one who found the body.

His story did not arouse Zhang Lexuan's suspicion. Lin Yun also roughly understood why Mu En had been so quick to reward him this time. The senior sister's family belonged to a sect that was neither especially powerful nor particularly poor. The reward they had given Mu En, converted into value, was worth at least as much as a Soul Bone.

After the official report was finished, Zhang Lexuan seemed to get stuck for a moment. She coughed twice at Lin Yun, then said,

"Um, when we get to the post station, go wash up and change. Then ride back with me in the same carriage."

Lin Yun narrowed his eyes and said to Zhang Lexuan,

"If you think your junior brother looks too filthy, Senior Sister, you don't have to travel with me. Most of what I own is at Shrek Academy anyway. I can't run off."

"No!"

A sharp, commanding shout burst from Zhang Lexuan's throat, making Lin Yun jump. It wasn't that he was a coward. It was like an ordinary person talking to Tyson in his previous life—anyone would be stunned if the other person suddenly roared.

Wiping the dust from his face, Lin Yun raised both hands in front of his chest, as if trying to calm a mother leopard.

"I'll do whatever you say. You're the boss. I'll run straight to the nearest bathhouse and make sure I'm squeaky clean. We're in the same Academy, so there's no need to get physical."

Zhang Lexuan laughed, seemingly amused by the sight of Lin Yun. She waved a hand and said,

"Enough. Hurry along. I'll wait for you at the post station up ahead."

After Lin Yun left, Zhang Lexuan sat in the carriage and leaned back, thinking about Mu En's words.

Bei Bei had already made it clear that he did not like her. So, as Mu En put it, he had swallowed his pride and begged Zhang Lexuan to change their agreement.

As a result, Mu En would no longer pursue the matter involving Xuan Zi. What he had in mind was to see if Zhang Lexuan and Lin Yun could spend some time together.

At the end of the day, Mu En could not bear to lose someone with a Martial Soul so powerful that even his own trembled before it, along with the aptitude of Innate Full Soul Power.

So, after threats and inducements had failed, he had decided to start using a beauty trap.

Lin Yun had considered this possibility while bathing, but he truly could not imagine that Mu En would go that far for him.

Mu En might have become more open-minded over the past two years, but Zhang Lexuan was a card he had saved for Bei Bei.

Would he really throw her out to recruit him? Him, someone who had only just reached level thirty—and only after merging with the Holy Spirit Source Crystal?

It was no wonder Lin Yun found it impossible. The whole thing was absurd.

Lin Yun pondered for a while. After bathing, he changed clothes. There was nothing else he could do. He had two great energy-devouring beasts in his head, and unless they squeezed some benefits out of Shrek, Lin Yun couldn't afford to keep them fed even if he sold himself by the pound.

People would die for wealth, just as birds would die for food. If this really was some so-called beauty trap, Lin Yun could play along with them slowly. There was no credit system here, after all. As long as he didn't swear on his Martial Soul, whether his words amounted to hot air was ultimately up to him.

He climbed into the carriage. Seeing Zhang Lexuan sitting there with an apparently elegant air while secretly gripping the hem of her clothes, Lin Yun felt even more certain of his guess.

After a while, as if simply trying to make conversation, Lin Yun said to Zhang Lexuan,

"Senior Sister, you look a little pale. Is something wrong?"

Zhang Lexuan paused, then replied,

"Something happened before, and I still haven't fully recovered from my serious injuries."

Lin Yun nodded and said to Zhang Lexuan,

"No wonder I didn't see you when they brought me back to the Academy last time. The one who went with Dean Yan was a senior sister with red hair."

Zhang Lexuan nodded, then said to Lin Yun,

"That's right. The senior sisters made a mistake while out Soul Hunting around that time..."