Zhang Lexuan

Mu En was deep in thought.

He was thinking about something he should have considered long ago, yet had always been afraid to consider.

After a long time, he slowly opened his eyes. His cloudy gaze flickered uncertainly in the candlelight.

He sent someone to summon Zhang Lexuan.

Before long, light footsteps sounded outside the door.

"Mu En, you sent for me?"

A woman walked in.

She looked to be just over twenty. Her long black hair cascaded to her waist, its ends slightly curled and gleaming softly beneath the candlelight.

Her face was delicate and fair. Her features combined to give her a tranquil, gentle air. Her black eyes were bright and wise.

Yet there was always a faint trace of sorrow between her brows.

Like the lingering misty rain of Jiangnan in March, impossible to disperse.

Zhang Lexuan.

"Sit." Mu En pointed to the chair beside him, his voice gentle.

Zhang Lexuan sat as instructed, her back perfectly straight and her hands folded over her knees. Her posture was as dignified as a painting.

"How has your cultivation been lately?" Mu En asked casually, as though chatting with his granddaughter.

"Level seventy-eight. I'm not far from a breakthrough," Zhang Lexuan answered. Her voice was soft but clear.

Mu En nodded, satisfaction appearing in his eyes.

Level seventy-eight.

At her age, such cultivation was among the best on the entire continent.

"Good, good." Mu En said the word twice before falling silent.

Zhang Lexuan waited quietly.

She knew Mu En had not called her here merely to ask about her cultivation progress.

The candle flame danced, casting shifting shadows across their faces.

Mu En remained silent for a long while before finally speaking.

"Lexuan," his voice was lower than usual, "I did many things in my youth. Some were right, and some were wrong."

"I believe many of the decisions I made back then were far less calm and clear-headed than I am now."

Mu En's gaze fell upon her. Complex emotions churned within those clouded old eyes. "Now, I regret them."

Zhang Lexuan's heart tightened slightly. She vaguely sensed that what Mu En was about to say concerned her.

"Lexuan, you are a good child." Mu En's voice was soft, so soft that it seemed he feared disturbing something. "You no longer need to keep that oath. From now on, live for yourself."

Zhang Lexuan's body suddenly stiffened.

Her eyes widened at once.

"Mu En!" Her voice abruptly grew agitated as she rose from her chair. "Did Bei Bei say something again?"

Mu En shook his head.

"It has nothing to do with Bei Bei."

"Then why would you say something like that?"

Zhang Lexuan's voice trembled, though she did not notice it herself. "I made an oath long ago. No matter what Bei Bei chose in the future, I would be his child bride. If he did not like me, then I would remain alone for the rest of my life and dedicate everything I had to Shrek, repaying the kindness you showed me back then."

Mu En closed his eyes in pain.

"Foolish child, foolish child!"

His voice was full of heartache and self-reproach.

"Do you know what I least wanted to see was you treating these matters as the pillar holding up your life?"

Thud.

Zhang Lexuan stubbornly dropped to her knees before Mu En.

Her knees struck the cold floor with a dull sound. Two streams of clear tears slid down her face, sparkling in the candlelight.

"Mu En, I could never repay your kindness in this lifetime!" Her voice choked with emotion, yet every word rang with conviction. "This has nothing to do with anyone else. This is my own choice!"

Mu En looked at Zhang Lexuan kneeling before him, at her stubborn gaze, at the tear tracks on her face. It felt as if something had fiercely clenched his heart.

He had raised this child himself.

He had watched her grow from a frail little girl into the graceful young woman she was now. He had taught her how to cultivate, how to conduct herself, and how to safeguard Shrek's honor.

And he had personally placed shackles upon her.

"Fine." Mu En's voice was hoarse. "Since you say you wish to repay the kindness I showed you back then, then I will have you willingly tear up and amend that old oath."

Zhang Lexuan raised her head and looked at him through tear-blurred eyes.

"I want you to replace Bei Bei with someone else."

Zhang Lexuan froze.

"Are you... still willing?"

The meeting hall was so quiet that the faint crackling of the candlewick could be heard.

Mu En's gaze rested on her face. There was something almost pleading in his cloudy old eyes.

He had not looked at anyone like that in many years.

He did not have much time left.

He did not say those words aloud, but Zhang Lexuan read their meaning in his eyes.

Mu En's health worsened by the day. Everyone in the Sea God Pavilion knew it.

Though he still occupied the chief seat of the Sea God Pavilion, though he could still scrutinize every decision of the academy with those cloudy eyes, his strength was fading and his life was slipping away.

Before he left, he had to leave something behind for Shrek.

Yan Shaozhe, his direct disciple, possessed the Bright Phoenix Martial Soul and was a level ninety-five Titled Douluo.

His talent was extraordinary, but he was calculating and deeply scheming. The threshold to level ninety-six lay before him, yet he had been unable to cross it for a long time.

Mu En knew Yan Shaozhe's thoughts were too tangled, too tangled to let go of that pure obsession.

Xuan Zi was a level ninety-eight Super Douluo with the Godly Taotie Bull Martial Soul and limitless potential.

But he was gluttonous and lacking in strategy, acting as he pleased. He was not someone capable of supporting Shrek.

Level ninety-nine? Mu En did not dare hope for it.

Bei Bei's talent was decent, but his future accomplishments were limited. He could become a qualified Soul Master, but he could not become Shrek's pillar.

Zhang Lexuan was the best.

Talent, character, perseverance, loyalty—she lacked nothing.

But she alone could not support all of Shrek.

Mu En needed someone who could bear Shrek's future for centuries to come.

Lin Yaoyang.

Twelve years old, a four-ring Soul Ancestor, three purple and one black soul rings, with Ultimate Fire and Ultimate Light.

With such talent and such natural gifts, as long as he did not die prematurely, his future achievements would be no less than Mu En's.

If Lin Yaoyang could be kept in Shrek, truly integrated into Shrek, and made to regard Shrek's honor as his own...

Mu En was willing to pay any price.

Including having Zhang Lexuan approach him.

Zhang Lexuan remained kneeling, processing Mu En's words.

Replace him with someone else.

Replace the oath between her and Bei Bei with another person.

Her mind went blank in that instant. Then all kinds of thoughts surged in like a tide.

"Mu En," her voice trembled slightly, "who do you want me to be with...?"

"His name is Lin Yaoyang," Mu En said. "One of this year's new students."

Zhang Lexuan's pupils contracted slightly.

A new student?

Mu En wanted her to approach a new student?

"He possesses a Martial Soul with dual Ultimate Attributes," Mu En added calmly, as if stating a fact. "Ultimate Fire and Ultimate Light."

Zhang Lexuan's heart jolted violently.

Dual Ultimate Attributes?

She finally understood why Mu En was doing this.

A genius with dual Ultimate Attributes—if he could integrate into Shrek and become part of its core—would indeed be enough to change the academy's future.

"Lexuan."

Leaning on his cane, Mu En slowly rose from his recliner.

His movements were slow, each one filled with exhaustion and strain.

Zhang Lexuan instinctively wanted to step forward to support him, but he waved his hand and stopped her.

"The choice is yours."

He looked at Zhang Lexuan, an unusual gentleness in his gaze. "Whether you are willing or not, you and Bei Bei are no longer bound. You may live for yourself."

After saying that, he leaned on his cane and walked toward the door, one step at a time.

His footsteps echoed through the empty meeting hall, one after another, like a pendulum.

Zhang Lexuan remained kneeling where she was, watching Mu En's hunched back disappear beyond the doorway.

She opened her mouth, wanting to call out to him, only to realize she could not make a sound.

"Mu En..."

Her voice was so soft that even she could barely hear it.

She remained there on her knees, utterly still.

Tear tracks still marked her face.