Elsewhere---
At the heart of Shrek Academy, silence filled the grand pavilion. Ten people sat around an oval conference table, while a reclining chair rocked at the head of the table, farthest inside.
Only a sliver of light reached the reclining chair, revealing little more than the vague outline of someone lying on it. Compared with the ten people seated around the table, this person immediately stood out.
Xian Lin'er and Qian Duoduo sat at the far end of the table's right side, while Yan Shaozhe and a woman who appeared to be around Xian Lin'er's age sat at the far end of the left. The two women briefly exchanged glances but said nothing, their expressions utterly cold. Seated below Yan Shaozhe and opposite Qian Duoduo, the woman was presumably the Vice Dean of the Martial Soul Department.
Apart from these four familiar faces, everyone else was elderly, each distinct in their own way. Yan Shaozhe and the other three wore solemn, serious expressions, but the elders' expressions varied.
Xuan Zi was there as well, seated first on the left, at the head of Yan Shaozhe's side of the table.
Then a gentle voice rang out. Everyone stirred, feeling as though their hearts had been washed clean. "Since everyone is here, let us begin. Shaozhe, you will chair the meeting."
Yan Shaozhe rose swiftly, not daring to delay for even a moment. He bowed toward the head of the table and said, "Yes, Teacher."
Anyone who had heard this would probably have received quite a fright. Yan Shaozhe was already over ninety years old. How terrifying must his teacher have been to still be alive?
When that voice sounded, even Xuan Zi, who had been casually gnawing on a chicken leg and drinking wine, put down his chicken leg and