What Is Love?

The moment Mu En finished speaking, the entire Sea God Pavilion fell deathly silent.

The ever-carefree expression vanished from Xuan Zi's face. His pupils contracted sharply, and he sprang to his feet.

He had lived for more than two hundred years. Though he had always known that Mu En was advanced in age and that his life force was gradually fading, he had never imagined the end would come so soon.

His throat bobbed, but for a moment, he couldn't make a sound.

Yan Shaozhe's hands trembled. His usually mild, refined face had turned deathly pale as he stammered, "Tea... Teacher, you..."

Xian Lin'er and Qian Duoduo furrowed their brows. The three elders—Elder Song, Elder Zhuang, and Elder Lin—sat in silence. The only sound in the hall was the faintly labored breathing of those present.

After a long while, Xuan Zi finally spoke in a hoarse voice. "Mu En, have things truly... reached this point? Can't the life force of the Golden Ancient Tree delay it a little longer?"

Mu En gently shook his head, his gaze still fixed on the academy outside the window.

"The Golden Ancient Tree can stabilize my divine soul, but it cannot hold back the years slipping away."

"Over two hundred years have passed. My life force was damaged in that battle with Du Bisou. Though swallowing the Dragon Pill saved my life, it has also been constantly devouring my remaining years."

"Though I broke through to the Limit Douluo realm, I was left with a hidden ailment..."

The elders and academy heads sat there, their hearts heavy.

Mu En's lifespan was nearly at an end, while the Evil Soul Master organization behind him threatened the entire continent.

Either one alone was a grave burden pressing down on Shrek. Together, they were enough to shake everyone to their core.

Though Mu En had spent years recuperating and his condition had declined, he had never bluntly said that his lifespan was nearly over.

He slowly turned around, his gaze sweeping over everyone seated along both sides of the long table.

"It is precisely because I have so little time left that I must tell you the truth in advance."

"The organization behind the Evil Soul Masters cannot be uprooted in a day. Before I completely run out of life, we must make every preparation."

Mu En slowly closed his eyes and walked toward the rocking chair.

"I can't hold on much longer. While I was still here, with a Limit Douluo like me standing guard, those people in the shadows didn't dare cause trouble openly. They could only hide away and bide their time."

"But once I fall, Shrek's shield will collapse. That Evil Soul organization, which has been lurking for years, will surely emerge in full and plunge the entire continent into chaos."

Xian Lin'er's breath caught. She asked in a solemn voice, "You mean that all the Evil Soul Masters who have caused trouble sporadically across the continent in recent years belong to the same faction?"

"Exactly."

Mu En nodded, his tone grave. "The Fifth Elder... a Titled Douluo. Their existence was merely a lure. This boy being especially outstanding wouldn't have been enough to draw their attention."

"But if there's something beyond that..."

Cai Mei'er's scalp prickled.

Beyond that?

Then they might have already reached the Super Douluo realm. There might even be a Limit Douluo among them... But what could they be after?

Cai Mei'er couldn't figure it out.

The elders couldn't figure it out either, because so far, they had only seen the surface.

Yan Shaozhe took a deep breath, suppressing the turmoil in his heart, then asked solemnly, "No wonder the Evil Soul Masters have been deliberately hunting talented Spirit Masters and harassing academies in recent years. We used to think it was just rogue Evil Soul Masters running amok. So someone has been plotting behind the scenes all along."

Qian Duoduo clicked his tongue. For once, he wasn't grinning; his expression was grave.

"This is a lot of trouble."

Mu En turned around and lay back in the rocking chair, letting out a breath. His gaze returned to the center of the hall, and his tone grew utterly solemn. "That is why I insisted on protecting Yue Ling."

"The Remnant Soul of an Evil Soul Master inside him is a hidden danger, but it is also the most direct clue we have. The fact that a Titled Douluo set his sights on him proves that the organization fears his talent—and covets it."

"If we let him be, there's a risk he could lose control. But if we abandon him, we'll only lose a future top fighter capable of standing against the Evil Soul organization."

Xuan Zi immediately understood Mu En's deeper meaning, his expression shaken. "You mean..."

Mu En gave a slight nod. His voice was quiet, yet utterly resolute.

"Shrek's legacy has endured for ten thousand years. It has never relied on clinging to peace and security, but on generation after generation of geniuses standing against the tide and holding up this world."

"I have little time left. The storms of the future will ultimately have to be weathered by you—and by these children."

The waters of Sea God Lake shimmered, their currents nourishing every blade of grass and every tree at Shrek, as well as every inch of its land.

Xuan Zi sat there in earnest, but his thoughts had long since drifted far away. He felt somewhat lost.

His disciple had the Remnant Soul of an Evil Soul Master inside him. There was the enormous Evil Soul Master organization. There was Mu En's dwindling lifespan. One matter after another weighed on his nerves like a massive boulder.

"Xuan Zi? Xuan Zi?"

Only when Elder Song patted him on the shoulder did he come back to his senses.

"What is it, Mu En?"

Mu En waved a hand. "Go on. Bring Yue Ling here. I'll use the Golden Ancient Tree to place a seal on him."

"Understood." Xuan Zi didn't hesitate. He went to the entrance of the Sea God Pavilion, then shot off toward his courtyard with a whoosh.

At Xuan Zi's little courtyard.

Yue Ling had returned to the place where he had lived for four years.

Only this time, he hadn't woken up.

He lay on the bed with his eyes closed. The midday sunlight fell on his orange hair, illuminating his young face, which bore a trace of determination.

Outside the window, the chrysanthemums swayed in the breeze. Gust after gust carried their unique fragrance, as if they were expressing their grief from afar.

As soon as Zhang Lexuan heard the news, she hurried to Yue Ling's quarters.

Looking at the pale, peaceful face of the boy on the bed, her heart sank a little. A sour ache and helplessness rose within her, impossible to put into words.

Just a few short months ago, the child had been bright-eyed and full of spirit. How had he become like this in the blink of an eye?

She quietly stepped forward and instinctively lifted a hand, wanting to smooth away the lingering furrow between the boy's brows.

But just as her fingertips were about to reach him, she abruptly froze and quickly drew her hand back.

A faint blush crept onto her cheeks. Zhang Lexuan closed her eyes slightly, took a deep breath, and forced down the tumult of tangled emotions rising within her.

Thinking of how long Yue Ling had slept in her quilt... she decided to keep the matter secret for the rest of her life.

Once she saw him, the strange feeling in her heart faded.

During her morning cultivation, she had, for some reason, suddenly felt a sharp pang in her heart.

That inexplicable unease had lingered within her, making it impossible to settle down. Faced with this sudden turn of events, she had been at a loss.

It wasn't until near noon, when Xuan Zi returned with the gravely injured, unconscious Yue Ling, that she learned what had happened.

Zhang Lexuan lowered her gaze to the unconscious boy, emotions surging in layers within her eyes, too complicated to put into words.

Was this a case of hearts sensing one another?

Her thoughts drifted, and a sense of guilt welled up inside her.

No. I can't.

She was the senior sister of Shrek Inner Court.

In the future, she would bear the responsibility of protecting the academy and sheltering those who came after her. She had to uphold her duties in every word and deed.

More importantly, she had been Bei Bei's child bride since childhood.

She had agreed to it for the sake of revenge. It was a promise she could not break.

These tangled emotions weighed Zhang Lexuan's heart down as two sides of a balance struggled against each other.

On one side was a promise made in her youth, one she could never betray in this life.

On the other was a bond and a fate that had quietly entered her heart, yet could never be touched.

The road ahead was fraught with impossible choices. Every step, forward or back, was wrong.

She stood quietly beside the bed, her heart filled with nothing but confusion.

How should she deal with this entanglement?

Follow her heart? Keep her promise? Be herself again?

What on earth should she do?