Saving Elder Mu

After bidding Feng Ling farewell, Yan Jingzhe left alone.

A bluestone path ran along the shore of Sea God Lake, winding northward directly to Sea God Pavilion. He had walked this path for more than a decade; he would not take a wrong turn even with his eyes closed.

Yan Jingzhe did not walk quickly, as though he were taking a stroll.

He was thinking.

After fusing with the Life Gold, his vitality had greatly increased, but his soul power level remained stuck at the bottleneck of rank ninety-eight. The difference between rank ninety-eight and rank ninety-nine seemed to be only one level, yet it was the difference between heaven and earth. Limit Douluo were called "Limit" because that was the peak a human body could bear. Beyond that lay God Rank.

He needed to find an opportunity.

And that opportunity might lie in Sunset Forest.

Mu En, master of Sea God Pavilion, a rank ninety-nine Limit Douluo, possessed the Radiant Holy Dragon Martial Soul. Across the entire Douluo Continent, fewer than two people could stand on equal footing with him.

But his teacher had grown old.

Not because of his age—Soul Masters naturally lived far longer than ordinary people. Although Mu En was already over a hundred years old, compared to the more than three-hundred-year lifespan of a Limit Douluo, he was nowhere near the end of his life.

What had truly aged him was the battle against Du Bish, the Body Sect Master, all those years ago. That battle had injured the very source of his life force.

Yan Jingzhe still remembered that forty years ago, when Mu En had taken him as a disciple, his teacher could stand atop the highest floor of Sea God Pavilion and split the clouds over the lake with a single palm strike. But now, his teacher rarely left Sea God Pavilion.

It was not because he did not want to. It was because he could no longer walk far.

At that thought, Yan Jingzhe quickened his pace.

Sea God Pavilion stood beside the Golden Ancient Tree, a three-story wooden building.

Yan Jingzhe climbed the steps and pushed open the door.

"Back?"

An old yet gentle voice came from upstairs.

Yan Jingzhe looked up and walked along the stairs to the second floor.

Mu En sat in a rattan chair by the window, a thin blanket covering his knees and a yellowed ancient book in his hands. He looked like an ordinary man in his seventies or eighties, with graying hair and a face full of wrinkles. Only those eyes still retained their old sharpness.

But Yan Jingzhe knew that his teacher was only one hundred and twenty this year. For a Limit Douluo, this was the prime of life. If not for that battle long ago, his teacher should still have a head full of black hair and the vigor of a dragon and tiger.

"Teacher." Yan Jingzhe stepped before Mu En and bowed respectfully.

Mu En set down his book and looked up at him. A glimmer of light flashed through his cloudy eyes.

"You're back? Sit."

Yan Jingzhe sat in the chair opposite Mu En. Sunlight streamed through the window and fell between them, while motes of dust drifted slowly through the beam.

"I heard you went to the Great Star Dou Forest?" Mu En asked casually, as though making ordinary conversation.

"Yes. I handled a few matters and took in a disciple," Yan Jingzhe said.

Mu En nodded slightly. "I heard. Shao Zhe told me. Spirit Eyes Martial Soul, a spiritual-type body Martial Soul. Not bad."

"That is because I have excellent judgment. When has it ever been poor?" Yan Jingzhe said rather smugly.

Master and disciple exchanged a glance and both laughed.

After the laughter faded, Mu En's gaze turned serious. He looked Yan Jingzhe over from head to toe before suddenly asking, "Rank ninety-eight?"

"Yes."

"Have you felt the bottleneck?"

"I have." Yan Jingzhe did not hide it. "I'm just a little short, but I can't pierce through that layer of paper."

Mu En was silent for a moment, then sighed softly.

"From ninety-eight to ninety-nine, what matters is one's understanding of the Martial Soul," he said slowly. "For you to have reached this point, I am already very satisfied. Since Shrek Academy was founded, fewer than five people have reached rank ninety-eight at your age."

He paused, his gaze resting on Yan Jingzhe with the particular pride of an elder.

"With your talent and temperament, breaking through to Limit Douluo is only a matter of time. Your teacher can wait."

Hearing that, Yan Jingzhe's heart suddenly ached.

His teacher had said, "I can wait," rather than, "I can see it."

Because he knew his life was slipping away. Even he himself had no certainty whether he could live to see his disciple break through to Limit Douluo.

Yan Jingzhe did not continue that topic. Instead, he took a small box from his storage ring.

The box was not large, only the size of a palm. It was carved from white jade, its surface engraved with intricate soul guidance formations. Before fusing with the Life Gold, he had deliberately cut off this small portion.

He had not used all of the Life Gold. He had kept a small piece.

"Teacher," he said, placing the box on the tea table before Mu En, "this is something I found in the Great Star Dou Forest. Please take a look."

Mu En glanced at him and reached for the box. His movements were somewhat slow, and his fingers trembled slightly—not from old age, but from the decline in control caused by his internal injuries.

The instant the box opened, an incomparably dense life aura, nearly tangible, surged out.

Mu En's hand froze.

He lowered his head to look at the thumb-sized green crystal within the box, and his pupils abruptly contracted.

"This is..."

"Life Gold," Yan Jingzhe said. "A crystal of pure life energy. It has miraculous effects in repairing hidden injuries and restoring vitality."

Mu En said nothing. He merely stared at the crystal, light flickering in his cloudy eyes.

He had lived for more than a hundred years and seen countless heavenly treasures, yet he had never seen anything with such pure life energy. The vitality contained in that small crystal exceeded the total amount he had lost over the past thirty years.

"Keep this for yourself." Mu En closed the box and pushed it back before Yan Jingzhe. "You will need a great deal of life energy when you challenge the Limit Douluo realm. This will be more useful to you."

Yan Jingzhe did not take it.

He pushed the box back again.

"Teacher, I still have more," he said, his tone calm but firm. "This piece was saved specifically for you."

Mu En looked at him. His lips moved as though he wished to say something, but in the end, no words came out.

Yan Jingzhe stood, walked before Mu En, crouched down, and met his teacher's eyes.

"Teacher, I'm afraid you'll have to remain Pavilion Master for a few more decades." He smiled. "When you grow tired of it, it still won't be too late to pass it on to me."

Mu En stared at him for a long time before finally closing his eyes slowly.

He did not refuse again.

"Fine." The old man's voice was somewhat hoarse. "Then your teacher will help guard things for you for a few more decades."

Yan Jingzhe said nothing more. He reached out, gently picked up the white jade box, opened it, took out the Life Gold within, and pressed it against Mu En's forehead.

"Teacher, relax. Do not resist."

Mu En relaxed as instructed. Yan Jingzhe's spiritual power entered the Life Gold like a fine thread, carefully guiding that life energy as it slowly flowed into Mu En's body.

This was not an easy task.

Mu En's physical condition was far worse than Yan Jingzhe had imagined. Thirty years of hidden injuries had seeped deep into his bones. Many places in his meridians were blocked, and his vitality was like water leaking from a bottomless bucket, constantly draining away. If the Life Gold's energy were poured directly into him, it would not only fail to heal him, but might even cause his old injuries to flare up from the energy impact.

Yan Jingzhe had no choice but to slow down, guiding the life energy bit by bit. Starting with the most vital meridians, he repaired them inch by inch.

Fine beads of sweat seeped from his forehead.

Mu En kept his eyes closed, his face expressionless, but his faintly trembling fingers revealed the turmoil in his heart. He could feel that warm energy slowly flowing through his meridians. Everywhere it passed, the hidden injuries that had tormented him for thirty years were healing little by little.

Like spring sunlight melting winter ice and snow.

After an unknown amount of time, Yan Jingzhe finally withdrew his hand.

He let out a long breath, feeling that more than half of his spiritual power had been consumed. The Life Gold had shrunk by a full circle. The remaining portion was embedded in Mu En's forehead, emitting a faint green glow that would gradually be absorbed over time.

"Teacher, how do you feel?"

Mu En opened his eyes.

His eyes had changed. They were no longer cloudy and dim, but had regained a sharp gleam. That was the light of Mu En, the Dragon God Douluo. The light of a Limit Douluo.

Mu En slowly rose to his feet.

A pressure unique to a Limit Douluo erupted with a boom, sweeping across all of Shrek City.

It was not an ordinary fluctuation of soul power, but a tremor from the depths of one's soul. Before that aura, the eternally unchanged Shrek City was like a lone boat in a raging storm.

Standing behind Mu En, Yan Jingzhe felt that familiar yet unfamiliar aura, and the corners of his lips curled upward.

This was his teacher.

This was the true strength of a Limit Douluo.

At the same time.

In the Martial Soul Department dean's office, Yan Shaozhe was reviewing documents. The instant that pressure descended, the pen in his hand clattered onto the desk.

He froze for a second, then suddenly sprang to his feet, knocking over his chair.

"This is... Teacher?"

He had no time to think. He pushed open the window, his body transforming into a streak of golden light as he shot toward Sea God Pavilion.

At the Soul Guidance Testing Grounds, Xian Lin'er was guiding several students in assembling Soul Guidance Devices. The instant that pressure arrived, her hands paused.

"Sister Lin'er?" Feng Ling beside her sensed it as well, and a flicker of shock passed through her dark eyes.

Xian Lin'er set down her tools and glanced out the window.

"It's coming from Sea God Pavilion," she said. "Elder Mu?"

The two women exchanged a look, set down their things at the same time, and turned to leave the testing grounds.

On the second floor of Sea God Pavilion, Mu En withdrew his pressure.

Mu En turned to look at Yan Jingzhe.

His hair had changed.

It was no longer a head of disheveled gray-white hair, but had returned to deep blue, thick and lustrous. The wrinkles on his face had not completely vanished, but they had at least faded by half. He looked thirty years younger overall.

His eyes were slightly red, but he was smiling.

Hurried footsteps sounded on the stairs.

Yan Shaozhe was the first to rush up to the second floor. He pushed open the door, swept his gaze around the room, and finally fixed it on Mu En. His entire body froze.

"Teacher?" His voice trembled. "You..."

Mu En looked at his other disciple and nodded slightly. "Shao Zhe, it has been a long time."

Yan Shaozhe opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but could not utter a single word. He turned to Yan Jingzhe, his eyes full of questions.

Yan Jingzhe smiled at him but offered no explanation.

Then more people arrived.

Shrek's Vice Pavilion Master, Elder Xuan, a rank ninety-eight Titled Douluo.

Elder Gong of the Shrek Beast Arena, a rank ninety-five Titled Douluo.

Then Elder Lin of the Treasure Appraisal Pavilion, a rank ninety-seven Titled Douluo.

Xian Lin'er and Feng Ling arrived as well. The two women stood at the doorway, looking at Mu En, who had recovered as before, their eyes filled with shock.

Soon, seven or eight people stood in the room on the second floor of Sea God Pavilion.

Every one of them was a Titled Douluo-level powerhouse.

Every one of them was a pillar of Shrek Academy.

They looked at Mu En, their shock turning to excitement, their excitement to emotion. Some had reddened eyes, some murmured softly to themselves, while others simply watched silently with smiles on their faces.

Mu En looked around and suddenly smiled.

That smile carried the relief of surviving a calamity, as well as the lofty pride of a Limit Douluo who looked down upon the world.

"Everyone, don't just stand there," he said. "Since you are all here, sit down and have some tea."

Laughter rose in the room. Some went to fetch chairs, some prepared tea, and some pulled Mu En aside to ask him questions.

Yan Jingzhe retreated to the window, watching the lively room full of people, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.

The sunlight over Sea God Lake was perfect.

It was time to make a trip to the Icefire Yin Yang Well.