News of Shrek Academy's defeat spread across the entire Douluo Continent like wildfire.
And they had lost despite fighting seven against two.
The defeat itself was explosive enough, but both the Skysea Alliance and hostile forces like the Spirit Pagoda, which didn't want to see Shrek prosper, were also trumpeting it far and wide.
Under the circumstances, Shrek Academy couldn't suppress the news, even if it wanted to.
At the same time, Gu Yue and Shen Nanxun's names spread throughout the Soul Master World. It wasn't hard for high-ranking Soul Masters to learn that one was the direct disciple of the Heavenly Phoenix Douluo, a Spirit Pagoda vice tower master who had long been famous, and the other was the eldest young master of the Shen Family, a prominent family in the Ming Capital's military.
In stark contrast to the commotion outside, the atmosphere among the Shrek Academy group in Tianhai Hotel was gloomy.
Shen Yi stood before them with her hands clasped behind her back. She didn't sternly reprimand them as she usually did, nor did she rush to review the tactical details. She simply stood there in silence, watching the group of youths before her.
Her gaze swept from Yu Chen to Xu Lizhi, from Ning Yu to Nan Muchen and Mo Li, then finally settled on Zhou Min, who was receiving treatment in the corner. Everyone she looked at lowered their head in shame, no longer brimming with the confidence and high spirits they'd shown before the match.
"Why are you all hanging your heads? Look up." Shen Yi's voice finally rang out. "Shrek Academy can take a loss. On your first day here, your teachers taught you that it's all right to lose a match, but not to be afraid of losing. I won't discuss tactics with you today. We'll review those back at the academy. I want to talk about one thing: your attitude."
"Zhou Min. I put you in as the starting agility attacker, and you used your Wind-Chasing Falcon to charge straight into a Power Attack System Battle Soul Master? What are the traits of the Wind-Chasing Falcon Martial Soul? Extreme speed, flanking attacks, and striking once before retreating. Where was your flank attack? Where was your retreat? Is Shrek's pride more important than tactical discipline? When arrogance follows you onto the battlefield, you don't need Shen Nanxun to deal with you. That flame was made to burn self-important geniuses like you."
Zhou Min's lips moved, but he didn't dare say a word.
"Yu Chen, you're the captain. But I didn't see a shred of leadership or responsibility from you on the field. We were under pressure from start to finish."
Yu Chen lowered his head, his expression as dark as water.
"Mo Li, Nan Muchen. The Nether Star Realm is your trump card, and I don't need to tell you how severe the backlash is when you use it before level fifty. If you chose this path, then bear the burden. Don't cry outside the arena."
Shen Yi's voice held no warmth, but every word cut deep. "Every one of you has the same problem at its root. You didn't just lose because of a gap in strength. You lost because of your arrogance, your laxity, and your belief that because you're Shrek students, every opponent under the sun should fear you. Aside from Ye Xinglan, did any of you keep training hard and preparing for the match beforehand?"
No, of course not.
They'd gone out to experience the local customs of Skysea City. How could they have kept training like Ye Xinglan?
Just then, Ye Xinglan, who had been silent all along, suddenly stood up. "Teacher Shen, I'm going to find him!"
As soon as she finished speaking, she turned and left the room without hesitation.
"Elder Sister Xing Lan!" Xu Lizhi called out, but by the time he chased after her, she was already gone.
Shen Yi sighed, but didn't stop her. She knew exactly what Ye Xinglan wanted. Right after the match, she'd had the same thought.
But after learning about Shen Nanxun's background, she knew it was impossible. It wasn't just a political issue. The interests involved ran too deep and would be difficult to resolve.
Knock, knock, knock!
There was a knock at the door. When Shen Nanxun opened it, he found a golden-haired girl standing before him, looking utterly exhausted.
"What is it?"
Shen Nanxun raised an eyebrow slightly, somewhat surprised to see her at that moment.
"Would you join Shrek Academy?" Ye Xinglan went straight to the point, offering no preamble as she stated her purpose.
Shen Nanxun leaned there with his arms crossed, his expression mild. "Why?"
Ye Xinglan took a deep breath and laid out, one by one, the words she'd carefully considered again and again on the way over.
She said Shrek Academy had the finest teachers on the continent and could provide him with a customized Soul Skill development plan. She said Shrek's resources—including a training program designed specifically for Twin Martial Souls users and a Mimicry Cultivation Environment covering every element—were impossible to find anywhere else. She said the Sea God Pavilion's library held original copies of nearly every text from the past ten thousand years. She said that at Shrek, he could fight alongside the finest Soul Masters of his generation, challenge the strong, hone himself through competition, and break through limits he could never surpass elsewhere.
"You're strong, but you could be even stronger. Shrek can help you..." Ye Xinglan's words trailed off as she met Shen Nanxun's calm, almost cold black eyes. Her voice stopped of its own accord.
Leaning against the doorframe without changing his posture, Shen Nanxun spoke mildly. "Finished?"
Ye Xinglan's fingers curled slightly at her sides.
"Then let me ask you something," Shen Nanxun said, his tone flat. "You rushed over here to ask me to join Shrek. Is it because you truly believe I need Shrek, or because if I joined, your loss in a seven-against-two match could be changed from 'Shrek's humiliation' into 'losing to a future member of our own'?"
"Am I right?"
"I..." Ye Xinglan instinctively wanted to deny it, but she couldn't find any reason to. After all, that really was what she'd been thinking.
"I'm sorry, but for the sake of Shrek's ten-thousand-year glory, I had no choice but to..."
"What does Shrek's ten-thousand-year glory have to do with you?"
That one sentence cut her off completely.
Shen Nanxun asked, a little impatiently, "How long have you been at Shrek?"
"Just over three months." Ye Xinglan didn't know why he was asking, but answered honestly.
"Just over three months, and you're already like this?"
Shen Nanxun was genuinely shocked. This brainwashing was worse than a pyramid scheme. He almost wondered if Shrek Academy's first lesson was a lecture on Shrek's history.
"Do they have something on you?"
Ye Xinglan looked bewildered and shook her head blankly.
Shen Nanxun narrowed his eyes, as if he'd figured something out. He led Ye Xinglan to the end of the corridor and pointed through the window at the sun shining brightly outside.
"What's that?"
Ye Xinglan immediately grew solemn and answered with great seriousness, "That's the sun of our Shrek, our founder, Tang San!"
Shen Nanxun: "..."
There was no hope for her.
Shen Nanxun fell silent for a long while, then turned and walked away.
"Wait!" Ye Xinglan hurried after him, a note of urgency in her voice. "You still haven't answered me. Are you willing to join Shrek or not?"
Shen Nanxun kept walking and tossed back over his shoulder, "When you can look at the sun without calling it Tang San, and instead think it's too bright, come ask me again."
Ye Xinglan stood in the corridor, sunlight streaming in through the window and falling across her face. She instinctively looked up at the dazzling sun, and two thoughts flashed through her mind almost at the same time.
One was the idea repeatedly instilled in her at the academy: "Shrek's radiance shines eternal as the sun." The other was what he'd just said as he walked away without looking back. She didn't chase after him again, but both her hands curled slightly into fists.
When Shen Nanxun returned to the room and had just closed the door, Na'er poked half her head up from the bed. A silver cowlick stuck straight up, and half a toffee was still in her mouth. "Did that Shrek girl leave? What did she want?"
"To recruit me. I told her off, so she left." Shen Nanxun kept it brief, walked over to the table, poured himself a glass of water, and drank more than half of it in one go.
Na'er crunched her toffee and mumbled, "What's so great about Shrek? Their uniforms are so ugly."
Shen Nanxun nodded in complete agreement.
"You've got taste!"
"Elder Cai! What brings you here?"
Shen Yi opened the door and was surprised to see an old woman standing there. It was Silver Moon Douluo Cai Yue'er, a Sea God Pavilion Elder of Shrek Academy.
"How could I not come when something this serious has happened?" Cai Yue'er carried an imposing air without showing anger, and the temperature in the room seemed to drop several degrees at once.
"This was my fault." Shen Yi stepped forward and took the blame. "Elder Cai, all of this happened because I failed to lead the team properly. Please punish me on the academy's behalf."
Cai Yue'er waved a hand. Her face, lined with the marks of time, betrayed little emotion.
"The academy will decide what to do about you when we return. First, I'll deal with matters here."
Before you continue