"You little brat, now you're trying to lecture me!"
Xuan Zi spat a chicken bone to the side, then picked up his wine gourd and lightly tapped Mu Guiyun on the head a few times.
"How's life in the outer court? With your talent and looks, I bet you've attracted quite a few girls."
Xuan Zi's eyes were full of teasing, and he even let out a "geigeigei" laugh.
"You'd better worry about yourself, old man."
Mu Guiyun's eye twitched. Showing no mercy, he shot back, "Speaking of which, with such a powerful Martial Soul as the Godly Taotie Bull, when are you planning to pass it on?"
At Mu Guiyun's words, Xuan Zi's face turned bright red. He stood there stammering for a long time, unsure what to do.
"You're getting more and more boring, kid."
Leaving those words behind, Xuan Zi moved, transforming into a streak of ochre light that vanished in an instant.
Heh, that'll teach you to tease me, you old geezer! Let's see how you like getting a taste of your own medicine!
Mu Guiyun had mixed feelings about Xuan Zi. If he were like everyone else and did everything for his own benefit, that would be one thing. But this old geezer just had to be utterly loyal to Shrek Academy.
Mu Guiyun would bet that if the Academy were attacked by a Fixed Soul Guidance Cannonball, the old geezer would be the first to leap forward and protect it.
"Looks like I'll have to visit my teacher."
Changing his mind, Mu Guiyun turned and headed toward Sea God Pavilion.
It was afternoon. The inner court students were either in class, cultivating, or away on Inspection Corps missions, leaving Sea God Island rather quiet.
"As expected of the continent's greatest treasure, the Golden Ancient Tree. I wonder if I'll be able to connect with it somehow after awakening the Wood Element?"
He gazed up at the towering Golden Ancient Tree. Even though he had seen it countless times, it still left Mu Guiyun deeply awestruck.
Come to think of it, Ah Yin should be sleeping at the roots of the Golden Ancient Tree right now, shouldn't she?
Mu Guiyun narrowed his eyes, then entered Sea God Pavilion.
Following the route he remembered, Mu Guiyun stopped in front of a wooden door. Just as he was about to knock, a warm, springlike voice sounded from within. "Come in, child."
At this, Mu Guiyun straightened his expression, gently pushed open the door, and bowed respectfully toward the room. "Teacher, your disciple has come to visit."
He entered the room and looked at the frail old man in the wheelchair, his body withered like a piece of deadwood. A complex mix of feelings rose in Mu Guiyun's heart, and an indescribable sadness swept over him.
Mu En, once a peerless powerhouse whose name had shaken the world, was now little more than a dry skeleton in his grave.
When Mu Guiyun had first transmigrated, he had been a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes when Mu En found him. Mu En had brought him back to Shrek Academy, where he was fostered in turn by Yan Shaozhe and Xian Lin'er.
"Child, you're still the same. Your emotions are easily affected by things around you."
Mu En smiled warmly, like a kindly old grandfather.
Glancing at the bright sunshine outside, Mu En beckoned to Mu Guiyun and said with a smile, "Push me outside for a walk. At my age, I should get more sunshine."
"Yes, Teacher."
Mu Guiyun stepped forward and pushed Mu En slowly out of Sea God Pavilion.
The beautiful scenery of Sea God Island stirred memories in Mu En's eyes. He sighed, "More than two hundred years have passed, yet the scenery of Sea God Island is still breathtaking."
Mu Guiyun smiled behind him but said nothing.
Mu En didn't have much time left. Rather than admiring the scenery of Sea God Island, it was more likely that he simply couldn't let go of the things weighing on his heart.
The three words "Shrek Academy" had defined Mu En's entire life.
Oh, perhaps Ye Xishui and Long Xiaoyao had, too.
One had toyed with Mu En like a puppet, while the other was even more outrageous—he'd gone and cuckolded Mu En.
Long Xiaoyao truly was the bane of Mu En's life. Even Mu En's current paralysis had a great deal to do with him.
A long time ago, Long Xiaoyao had somehow offended Du Bisou, the Body Sect's patriarch at the time.
As luck would have it, Long Xiaoyao was in seclusion then. After searching in vain for him, Du Bisou thought, If I can't find you, surely I can find your brother!
Then, in a fit of hotheadedness, he led his men straight to Shrek.
Mu En had just become Sea God Pavilion Master. No one knew what had gotten into him, but when he heard that Du Bisou was going after his good brother, he immediately took offense.
"Sure, Xiaoyao stole my woman and cuckolded me, but he's still my good brother for life!
"If you want to kill Xiaoyao, you'll have to step over my dead body!"
And so, two Super Douluo at level 98 fought. The result was that Du Bisou died for good this time, while Mu En was struck by his deadly poison and nearly died.
In the end, Mu En took the opportunity to absorb the Dragon Core, hoping to extend his life and break through to Limit Douluo. He succeeded, but the residual malevolent energy in the Dragon Core left him paralyzed...
When Long Xiaoyao learned what had happened, he was overcome with guilt and didn't dare see Mu En for decades.
After all, his good brother had nearly died for him. And what had Long Xiaoyao been doing in return? Living a shameless, lovey-dovey life with Mu En's wife...
Ye Xishui was an accident, but Long Xiaoyao and Mu En were true love.
The whole thing was so absurd that Mu Guiyun had assumed it was some kind of fabricated history. Then Yan Shaozhe had told him it was true...
When it came to being truly impressive, though, the real one was Old Ghost Zhongli. Who knew what kind of tricks he'd used on Ye Xishui to make two peerless geniuses so completely infatuated with her?
The old man and the young one wandered aimlessly around Sea God Island. Mu En spoke of the past, while Mu Guiyun listened quietly behind him.
It was nothing but stories of how he'd beaten up Long Xiaoyao and kicked Du Bisou around in his youth, then kept a whole flock of lovestruck fangirls well-fed...
Old people just loved reminiscing about the past.
Suddenly, Mu En changed the subject and asked, "Have you met that young girl from the Tang Sect?"
Mu En's question caught Mu Guiyun off guard, but he answered honestly, "I have, Teacher."
Mu En smiled. His cloudy eyes now shone with an unusual light. "What did you think of her?"
What did he think?
Mu Guiyun blinked, and the image of Tang Ya wolfing down food with a giant chicken drumstick in hand slowly surfaced in his mind.
"Um... She seems like a pretty innocent girl."
After thinking it over, Mu Guiyun finally settled on a fairly fair answer.
Put nicely, she was innocent. Put less nicely... she was adorably stupid.
After all, just how smart could someone be if all it took to win her over was a meal?
At this, Mu En smiled again and looked at the Golden Ancient Tree in the distance. His voice carried a hint of regret. "The continent's greatest sect in its day has fallen to this. Fate really does play cruel tricks."
"Guiyun, do you know why the Tang Sect declined?"
"Of course. Though people believe the Tang Sect, famed for its Hidden Weapons, fell into decline because Soul Tools appeared..."
Mu Guiyun's expression turned serious. His words carried a deeper meaning. "But when all is said and done, it was because those people blindly clung to their ancestral rules, causing the Tang Sect to miss one opportunity for reform after another."