Shrek's Honor

Stillness.

The forest fell silent once more in the dead of night.

Unlike the deathly hush the Eclipse Moon Shadow Leopard had brought, this silence was thick with awkwardness and grief.

Seeing Xuan Zi lower his head without a word, Zhu Song thought he had said something wrong. At a loss, he awkwardly lowered his hand.

Han Ruoruo tried to smooth things over. "Xiao Jie and the others... they did well!"

"Yes, they were Shrek's pride!"

"Luckily, Xuan Zi arrived in time. Otherwise, today might have..."

But halfway through, the speaker swallowed the rest of the sentence.

Everyone there knew Xuan Zi had not arrived in time. As students, though, they could not bring themselves to blame him outright.

When the mood turned awkward again, Bei Bei volunteered to take Lu Yi, Huo Yuhao, and Tang Ya to deal with the Soul Beast's corpse.

Every senior present was badly injured and in no condition to move around.

Xuan Zi held an exalted position. Even if he was at fault, they could hardly order him to do such work.

Only the four of them were still in decent shape. They might as well take the initiative.

Xuan Zi gave a slight nod, then took up his wine gourd and went off to drown his sorrows.

Bei Bei led the others over to the Soul Beast.

"Brother Bei, how do we do this?" Lu Yi had never done this kind of work before and was more curious than anything. He glanced at Zhang Lexuan, who was absorbing her Soul Ring a few steps away, and asked.

Huo Yuhao had no complaints either. Hearing Lu Yi's question, he nodded in agreement.

Bei Bei took out a dagger and circled the Shadow Leopard's corpse, studying it with a growing sense of difficulty.

He had been pampered since childhood. Fighting was one thing, but he had no experience butchering anything.

He had volunteered to handle the corpse because it belonged to a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast.

Apart from the incomparably precious Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone, its organs, flesh, bones, and fur were all excellent materials.

Given his status, letting his own people eat a little more Soul Beast meat was something he ought to do as their big brother. Xuan Zi surely would not object.

Tang Ya, standing behind him, could not bear watching Bei Bei hesitate and wave the dagger around without making a cut. She pushed forward.

"Move. I'll do it!"

She had never handled the corpse of a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, but she had seen plenty of sheep and pigs butchered. The principles were similar. At least she would not be as helpless as Bei Bei.

The Shadow Leopard had been dead for a while, so there was no chance of draining all its blood.

But when it came to eating Soul Beast meat, texture and flavor were hardly the point.

Tang Ya pressed the dagger's tip against the softest part of its belly and put her strength into it. Only then did she barely manage to open a small cut.

After more work, she had cut open the skin across the Shadow Leopard's entire belly.

Tang Ya wiped the sweat from her forehead and turned to find Bei Bei watching with keen interest. "What are you standing there watching for? Give me a hand!"

"Oh!"

Bei Bei belatedly stepped forward and helped Tang Ya remove the Soul Beast's organs.

The four of them worked together. After a long while, they finally peeled off the hide, exposing the intact carcass to everyone.

They cut large chunks of meat from the Shadow Leopard's hind leg and gave them to Huo Yuhao to roast, along with the heart, a powerful tonic.

The heart of a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast was precious in its own right. With so many wounded among them, it was the best nourishment they could ask for.

Meanwhile, faint energy fluctuations came from beneath the flesh of the Shadow Leopard's hind leg.

"A left leg Soul Bone!"

Tang Ya's cry drew the other team members' attention. Despite their injuries, they quickly gathered around.

This was a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone. Many Soul Masters would never even get a glimpse of one from afar in their entire lives. Now one lay right before them; of course they were curious.

Under everyone's gaze, Bei Bei removed the Soul Bone from the Shadow Leopard's left hind leg.

A complete, blood-drenched, ink-dark bone appeared before them, radiating strange energy. It was as deep and dark as obsidian.

"Wow, this... this really is a rare treasure!"

Zhu Song could not resist reaching out to touch it, but a teammate beside him pulled him back. "Hey, don't get any funny ideas!"

Zhu Song bristled. "We all fought for this. Can't I even touch it?"

"Yeah, with this many people watching, what funny ideas could anyone have?"

Faced with the others' protests, the teammate did not argue. Instead, he said with a triumphant grin, "Then I want to touch it too!"

And so the Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone was passed around for everyone present to examine.

Deep down, they all knew the Soul Bone would never go to any of them. Most likely, it would belong to Sister Lexuan.

That did not stop them from vying for a chance to feel it.

A female team member brushed her fingers over the bone's finely textured surface and sighed. "How wonderful! If all the Soul Bones I get in my lifetime add up to a hundred thousand years, I'll be satisfied!"

As her words faded, a heavy reek of alcohol drifted over from behind them.

Everyone turned and saw Xuan Zi staggering toward them.

Once Soul Masters reached a certain level, they could normally drink any amount without getting drunk.

Yet Xuan Zi, a rank 98 Super Douluo, looked like a drunken vagrant by the roadside. His eyes were unfocused and his face flushed red.

He tipped back his head and drained his wine gourd. Glancing at the pitch-black Soul Bone, he slurred, "On this Soul Hunting trip, every one of you defended Shrek's honor and fought to the death without retreating!"

Xuan Zi swayed. After a long pause, his gaze swept over the crowd. "The academy will record a merit for each of you. Rewards like Soul Bones won't be lacking. Remember, the academy stands behind every one of you!"

Xuan Zi knew full well how damaging his failure as team leader had been. If word got out, it would be a slap in the face not only to him, but to the academy.

Shrek's honor, built over ten thousand years, could not be ruined on his watch!

As the second-ranking figure in the Sea God Pavilion—and, in practice, its leading public figure—he had to minimize the fallout from this incident.

To many of those listening, his words were like a flame, reigniting their fighting spirit.

"Shrek doesn't live lying down—it dies standing tall!"

Supported by others, the one-armed student shouted the slogan with all his strength. The rest echoed him, as though that alone could drive the gloom from their hearts.

Xuan Zi nodded in satisfaction.

Just what I'd expect of kids raised by Shrek!

He had just turned to find somewhere to keep drinking when a voice called out, "Xuan Zi!"

Sensing Xuan Zi's sharp gaze and the eyes of everyone around him, Zhu Song lowered his head, not daring to meet their eyes. Still, he forced himself to speak. "Bei Bei and little brother Lu did a lot this time too. What rewards will they get?"

Zhu Song considered himself a rough man who did not understand all the twists and turns of dealing with people. But someone had saved his life, and he had to fight for that person's reward.

He also remembered Zhang Lexuan's instructions, so he mentioned Bei Bei first. All he wanted was for little brother Lu to receive something tangible.

Xuan Zi glanced at Bei Bei and the others, who were still busy working. He had no intention of dampening everyone's spirits. "Don't worry! The academy will decide on suitable rewards for them!"

With that, he said no more and walked away without looking back.

Watching Xuan Zi's retreating figure, Zhu Song sighed. He could not shake the feeling that Xuan Zi's words had been meant more to brush him off than to promise anything.

Just then, a hand landed on his shoulder. It was Lu Yi.

"The meat's ready. Come try some!"