Loyalty!

Yan Shaozhe had been about to seek out Mu En on some business when he suddenly discovered that Sea God Island had been sealed off. In a panic, he attacked the barrier.

Well, that had gone brilliantly.

Yan Shaozhe's attack failed to shatter the barrier. Instead, it rebounded straight at him, even stronger than before.

Caught off guard, Yan Shaozhe was injured by his own attack.

Mu En was speechless. It was bad enough that Xuan Zi was impatient all day long, but at least he had a flaw in his Martial Soul. Yan Shaozhe had the Bright Phoenix, yet he was still so rash. His temperament needed work.

"Once this is settled, go into seclusion for a month and reflect on your temperament."

"Ah, teacher!"

Yan Shaozhe was reluctant. A month in seclusion would leave so much work undone. How was he supposed to develop the Martial Soul department?

"Two months."

At the icy reply, Yan Shaozhe finally agreed with a long face. "As you command, teacher."

Once Mu En had finished questioning him, Xuan Zi wiped the grease from the corner of his mouth and hurriedly asked what had happened on Sea God Island.

Mu En swept his gaze over the people surrounding him. They all belonged directly to Shrek Academy. There were things they needed to know.

"The Child of the Sea God has descended. And just now, I spoke with our ancestor Tang San in person."

Mu En did not speak loudly, but to these Titled Douluo, his words were enough to split the heavens and shake the earth.

The Child of the Sea God!

Did he mean the Sea God of their Shrek Academy?

And Mu En had actually spoken with Lord Sea God?

Disbelief filled their eyes. No divine miracle had appeared in ten thousand years. But they had seen Mu En regain his youthful appearance with their own eyes, and his reputation over the years spoke for itself. Their doubts instantly turned to fervor.

Shrek Academy had been founded by Flender and had produced seven gods, but its leadership worshipped only the Sea God. Even Mu En, the most rebellious among them, had never considered renaming the Sea God Pavilion the Shrek Pavilion, not even at the height of his power.

Now that Mu En had said the Sea God had appeared, they wished they could drag him aside and go meet the god themselves.

"Mu En, was it really Lord Sea God?"

Xuan Zi's voice trembled. The chicken leg slipped from his fingers and fell to the ground.

"Yes. For certain reasons, Lord Sea God's child has descended upon Douluo Continent. Lord Sea God instructed me to lead Shrek Academy in protecting him and helping him grow."

Mu En briefly explained the situation. That alone was enough to send everyone into a frenzy.

Why had the Child of the Sea God come to Shrek Academy? Because Lord Sea God trusted them! Otherwise, why had he come here instead of the real Sea God Island, and even given them the chance to care for his child?

"Ohohoho! Heaven favors Shrek!"

Cheers erupted. Pride practically overflowed from their eyes.

"Quiet down. Lord Sea God has given us instructions."

The sight of them cavorting like a horde of demons gave Mu En a headache. He spoke irritably.

"What instructions?"

They straightened at once, standing rigidly and ready to hear the Sea God's divine decree.

"The Child of the Sea God needs certain Spirit Treasures to gain power. Shrek must mobilize every resource we have and gather them as quickly as possible."

Mu En recalled the Spirit Treasures Tang San had named and relayed them to the group.

"Whatever the Spirit Treasures are, wherever they may be, we'll bring them back."

Xuan Zi tossed aside his chicken leg. His sinister voice carried the promise of a blood-soaked storm.

For once, Mu En did not stop him. Some matters called for decisive action. If others did not suffer a little misfortune, Shrek Academy would. He could only hope the things they needed could be found within Shrek City.

When the others finally learned which Spirit Treasures were needed, strange looks crossed their faces. They had expected priceless treasures, yet these were only hundred-year and thousand-year Spirit Treasures. Wasn't that rather beneath a god's child?

"Little Gong, I remember you still have a few Earth Dragons in your beast pens."

Xuan Zi appeared beside Gong Changlong in an instant and slung an arm around his shoulders, his tone full of meaning.

"I'll go kill them and take their blood essence in a moment. A god's child ought to have fresh blood essence, at the very least."

It pained Gong Changlong, but those would hardly be the first Soul Beasts to die in his pens. For Shrek's rise, so be it.

"That's more like it."

Xuan Zi patted Gong Changlong's shoulder and nodded in satisfaction. That was how Shrek people behaved. He had done them proud.

"Go search for the Spirit Treasures immediately. I want you to bring them back yourselves, as fast as possible. Do you hear me?"

Mu En surveyed the Titled Douluo of Shrek before him and gave his solemn instructions.

"Loyalty!"

They saluted, fervor blazing in their eyes, then scattered like startled birds and beasts.

Shrek City's many factions now witnessed Shrek Academy's might firsthand. More than a dozen Titled Douluo flew back and forth overhead; not one faction's informants could help panicking. Some had also seen the strange phenomenon on the horizon in Shrek Academy's direction. They could only keep guessing what momentous event had taken place there.

An ordinary nation's royal family could command no more than ten Titled Douluo. Add those belonging to other factions within its borders, and some nations might barely surpass Shrek Academy—but that was the strength of an entire country. Shrek was only an academy.

And when Shrek Academy called, many answered. If it truly rallied its allies, who knew how many more Titled Douluo would appear?

That was why the imperial families had gradually begun sending fewer of their members to Shrek Academy, choosing instead to cultivate their own imperial academies.

Amid the chaos, the spies passed on the intelligence they had gathered. None of them knew what waves it would send across the continent.

Nor did anyone know that Shrek Academy was about to raise another god.

Within an hour, the Shrek Titled Douluo, having turned Shrek City upside down, returned to Sea God Island with their finds. The barrier surrounding the island had vanished. The Golden Ancient Tree had regained its former appearance, though it still looked somewhat listless.

Yet they lingered outside Sea God Island, yearning to approach the god but not daring to.

Soon, Mu En carried all the Spirit Treasures into the Sea God Pavilion.

"Wulin, the Spirit Treasures are here. Now we can break your seal."

Tang San ended his instruction and let Tang Wulin's consciousness return to the outside world.

"Wulin, you'll need patience, strength, courage, and resolve. Only by enduring terrible pain can you absorb this power. I'm sorry. It's my fault you have to suffer."

Pain filled Tang San's eyes in the mental space. He had long since paved a path for his daughter. Tang Wulin, by contrast, had nearly been destroyed just after he was born.

But Tang Wulin did not hear those heartfelt words. He had a rough idea of what absorbing this power would entail, but to find his mom and dad again, he had to keep growing stronger!

If his mom and dad had not come to this era, he would give everything he had to become strong enough to cross time itself and find them ten thousand years in the future.

Mom, Dad, wait for me!

Resolve shone in Tang Wulin's eyes as he made the vow in his heart.