Xuan Zi knelt on the ground and slammed his forehead down in a heavy kowtow.
His actions left all the elders present dumbfounded.
Xuan Zi had admitted his mistake so readily this time. He'd even thrown away his pride in front of everyone, kneeling and kowtowing as he confessed.
As Xuan Zi's staunch supporter, Yan Shaozhe saw that Mu En still hadn't said a word and immediately got to his feet, intending to help Xuan Zi up.
"Elder Xuan, there's no need for this. You weren't the only one responsible this time. When all's said and done, we're all to blame."
"Those children failed to give proper warning. They're far too inexperienced. Sigh, they can't manage without their teachers' protection."
Yan Shaozhe hurried over to Xuan Zi. Not only did he try to help him up, he even had the audacity to say all that.
"Now that this has happened, none of us can feel good about it. But since it's already happened, we have to face it bravely, learn from it, and deal with the problems it's caused."
"Elder Xuan, the academy still needs you. You can't just give up on yourself like this."
But no matter how Yan Shaozhe sweet-talked him or tried to make excuses for him,
Xuan Zi refused to stand. He simply faced Mu En in silence.
He didn't look like he was sincerely admitting his mistake. Instead, he seemed to be staging a palace coup, forcing Mu En to say he forgave him.
But this time Mu En wasn't going to let him off. When he saw Yan Shaozhe trying to help Xuan Zi up, Mu En flew into an even greater rage. He swept his hand out, sending Yan Shaozhe tumbling backward.
Then, his face dark with fury, he shouted, "If he wants to kneel, then let him kneel! No one is to help him up."
"And don't kneel in my Sea God Pavilion. I won't have a pig like you defiling the eyes of our forebears!"
"Get out of here right now! Go kneel in front of those children's bodies. Kneel until their families are satisfied, until you truly understand what you did wrong, until you can promise never to make the same mistake again. Only then may you come back and face me!"
Mu En's face flushed red as he unleashed this string of heart-piercing words under the horrified gazes of everyone present. And when he finished, he didn't even give Xuan Zi a chance to speak.
Mu En swept out one hand. A surge of dazzling light power welled up from him, transforming into a gigantic dragon claw that seized Xuan Zi and tossed him outside the Sea God Pavilion.
After Xuan Zi was thrown out, the Sea God Pavilion fell into utter silence.
Yan Shaozhe knew that Mu En had struck him down because his earlier words had touched a nerve.
When he returned, he didn't dare say another word. He could only stand with his head lowered beside Cai Mei'er, waiting for his teacher to reprimand him.
After berating Xuan Zi and throwing him out, Mu En seemed to feel a little better.
He then instructed Yan Shaozhe and Qian Duoduo to handle the deceased children's affairs properly and make sure their families understood how seriously Shrek Academy took the tragedy and how deeply it regretted what had happened.
Once that matter was settled, there was also the arrival of the Sun Moon Empire exchange students, who would be setting out for Shrek Academy in a month.
This was the biggest event Shrek had faced in some time.
Mu En knew what Yan Shaozhe and Xuan Zi were like. They couldn't control their tempers and were petty-minded; they weren't fit to handle anything important. If he let them host the Sun Moon Empire students, who knew what kind of trouble they might stir up?
So he assigned the task to Qian Duoduo.
He arranged for all the Sun Moon Empire exchange students to stay in the Soul Tool dormitories. That would not only prevent a lot of trouble, but also help students from both sides have friendlier, deeper exchanges about Soul Tools.
As for the Martial Soul Department, he would open it to the Sun Moon Empire students as well and let them choose for themselves. Shrek Academy had to show its generosity.
After taking care of these matters, he waved for everyone to leave, keeping Zhang Lexuan behind by herself.
All these years, the academy's affairs, both great and small, had still weighed on his shoulders.
He had spent so much effort cultivating Xuan Zi, yet not only could Xuan Zi not ease his burden, the problems caused by the flaws in his Martial Soul had already left Mu En in a constant scramble.
And the next generation at Shrek Academy had no true leader who could satisfy him completely.
So, in Mu En's eyes, Zhang Lexuan was practically the heir apparent to the Sea God Pavilion Master's position.
"Lexuan, you've been through a lot this time because of Xuan Zi. You've been wronged."
"On behalf of the academy, I apologize to you."
Mu En looked at Zhang Lexuan behind him, whose face was still full of shock, and apologized despite his status.
This terrified Zhang Lexuan. Whatever happened, she couldn't let Elder Mu lower himself to apologize to her. She hurriedly waved her hands.
"Elder Mu, you're making too much of it. Lexuan was the team leader this time, as well as the senior sister of the inner court. I failed to protect my junior brothers and sisters, so I bear a great deal of responsibility too."
Seeing that Lexuan was still the same Lexuan as before, Mu En couldn't help but feel relieved. But an apology alone wouldn't do; he had to offer her some compensation.
Especially for an old hand like Mu En, who had spent who knew how many years manipulating human nature. A flash of silver light passed over his hand, and an ancient jade box appeared in it.
He opened the box. Inside lay a crystalline leg Soul Bone that shimmered with seven brilliant colors.
"Lexuan, you escaped danger and turned misfortune into fortune this time. In the end, you even absorbed that Silver Moon Divine Wolf's Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring and Soul Bone. You could say you came out of disaster with a blessing."
Mu En smiled as he spoke. "And that Silver Moon Divine Wolf happened to give you a hundred-thousand-year left leg bone. As for me, I happen to have a right leg bone with a cultivation age of eighty thousand years and excellent quality. Most importantly, it also has spatial attributes."
"I think it suits you very well. Consider this Soul Bone the academy's compensation."
Before Zhang Lexuan could refuse, Mu En took the Soul Bone out and placed it in her hands.
Seeing how insistent Mu En was, Zhang Lexuan couldn't refuse again. The right leg bone was indeed excellent in quality and extremely compatible with her. It was a rare treasure.
So she had no choice but to accept it. Her lingering resentment toward Xuan Zi for abandoning his post also faded considerably.
"Thank you, Elder Mu!"
Mu En nodded, signaling her to wheel him outside. As they went, he asked Zhang Lexuan for the details of what had happened.
When he learned that a mysterious expert, who possessed the same Silver Moon Martial Soul as Zhang Lexuan, had rescued her, his brow furrowed.
The expert was at least a Super Douluo. With a casual wave of his hand, he had crippled a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast. Even though the beast had already been badly wounded, that still showed how powerful the expert was.
More importantly, there was the Silver Moon Martial Soul. If Mu En remembered correctly, it was the unique inherited Martial Soul of the Sun Moon Empire's imperial family.
That meant the expert was most likely from the Sun Moon Empire. And he had gone out of his way to save Zhang Lexuan, leaving that precious Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring and Soul Bone for her. Could it be that he wanted to...
A possibility occurred to Mu En, and he thought it highly likely. After all, a child as outstanding as Lexuan could be raised as an heir by any faction.
It seemed he would have to strengthen his efforts to guide and cultivate Lexuan.
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