Shrek's pride was also a burden...

On the top floor of the Sea God Pavilion.

An old man reclined in a wheelchair, quietly listening as Yan Shaozhe stood beside him and reported what had just happened.

"That was how it happened..."

After finishing, Yan Shaozhe let out a long breath.

It was as though the pent-up weight in his heart had departed along with his report.

The old man slowly opened his eyes. Without moving his hands, he let the wooden wheelchair carry him slowly forward to the window, where the view opened up beyond its wooden frame.

A breeze brushed past, carrying the dampness of the lake.

This was the heart of Shrek Academy, situated on Sea God Island and surrounded by an endless expanse of emerald lake water.

Only after a long silence did Mu En speak unhurriedly.

"You're saying you drove away the Tang Sect's orphan?"

"...I..."

Yan Shaozhe opened his mouth, then lowered his head dejectedly.

"I acted rashly in this matter. Please punish me, Teacher."

"..."

Mu En said nothing, merely gazing quietly at the scenery outside.

He had looked upon this scenery for hundreds of years, yet had never tired of it. Only within this wooden house built by his predecessors could his heart find a trace of solace.

"It's not your fault..."

After a long while, Mu En sighed.

"Shrek has grown too arrogant." The old man's bright, gentle eyes turned toward Yan Shaozhe. "Shrek's ten thousand years of glory have, by now, become a burden. A kind of..."

Mu En shook his head without finishing.

Yan Shaozhe's expression was complicated.

He understood that his teacher was referring to far more than this incident. There were other implications as well.

For example... the academy's development of soul tools.

"But Teacher, if Tang Ya joins the Holy Spirit Cult, I'm afraid she'll become another Ye..." Yan Shaozhe said urgently.

"..." Mu En waved a hand.

"Don't tell me you're planning to storm their doorstep?"

"I..." Yan Shaozhe awkwardly fell silent.

As one of Shrek's senior figures, he knew better than anyone how powerful the other side was.

Even if the entire academy mobilized and every elder of the Sea God Pavilion took the field, the best they could hope for was mutual devastation, just like the Body Sect...

"When all is said and done, it was our Shrek Academy's inaction that allowed the Tang Sect's tragedy to happen. And what you did today pushed that girl completely into the Holy Spirit Cult's arms," Mu En said calmly.

"If she came to Shrek Academy, then her heart leaned toward us. Those children on duty at the entrance must have concealed something..."

"I'll go back and question them again!" Yan Shaozhe said with a frown.

"It's no use now." Mu En slowly closed his eyes.

"I suspect even more strongly that this was an overt scheme, one aimed at our Shrek Academy."

"You're saying Ye..."

"I don't know. But from the moment that little girl stepped through Shrek Academy's gates, everything played right into the hands of whoever stood behind her," Mu En said with a sigh.

"I always thought the Holy Spirit Cult was full of brainless fools. I never imagined..." Yan Shaozhe's expression was complicated.

Mu En glanced at him.

Shrek's ten thousand years of glory really did corrode people's hearts...

I should find an opportunity to teach these juniors a lesson.

"Ugh, my head hurts..."

Tang Ya opened her eyes, and a sharp pain suddenly shot through her head, making her instinctively clutch it with both hands and curl up.

Only after a long while did the pain slowly fade.

The girl opened her eyes.

To her surprise, she found herself inside a small house.

Through the window, she could see a lush green vegetable garden planted with greenery, mostly crops by the look of it. Beside it was a small flower garden in full bloom.

The atmosphere was warm and comfortable.

"I'm not dead?"

Tang Ya examined her body in disbelief.

She remembered provoking a powerful figure from Shrek Academy, and then that great palm descending...

"You're awake?"

A languid voice came from outside the door.

Tang Ya looked over warily.

At the doorway stood a tall, beautiful girl in a black robe, her exposed skin wheat-colored, looking Tang Ya up and down.

"You're... Nana?"

Tang Ya's pale blue pupils abruptly contracted.

Having spent a semester at the Sun Moon Imperial Academy and taken part in its final assessment, she naturally recognized this girl, who had also ranked in the top ten and wielded her twin blades with incredible skill.

In fact, they had even fought during the assessment. Nana had fallen one move short, and Tang Ya had narrowly won.

"Why are you here?"

Tang Ya's mind felt like a bowl of paste, unable to make sense of anything.

"Want to know? Then come with me." As languid as a little wildcat, Nana gently stretched her slender waist and beckoned to Tang Ya behind her.

"..."

Tang Ya swallowed.

She watched Nana disappear through the doorway.

After a long while, she finally gritted her teeth and hurried out of the room.

Then she froze.

Ahead, beyond sheer cliffs and drifting mist, towering mountains stretched on without end.

She seemed to be somewhere inside a valley.

All around her lay vast stretches of farmland.

Countless farmers were diligently fertilizing and watering the fields. She could clearly see the smiles on their faces. Though their work was hard, they were filled with hope for the future.

She walked farther along the path.

Ahead stood a cluster of tiled-roof houses. As she drew closer...

Through a window, she saw a crude classroom filled with children around seven or eight years old. Many wore coarse hemp clothing, clearly children from ordinary farming families. At the front stood a young teacher of about twenty, patiently explaining soul power, martial souls, and other things she considered the most basic knowledge.

Those pairs of eyes thirsting for knowledge left her dazed.

What surprised her even more was that almost all these children had awakened their martial souls. Although most had such faint soul power that she could barely sense it, this was already astonishing enough to someone who had once lived in Heaven Dou City.

Ordinary commoners simply had no means of awakening their martial souls.

Let alone these farmers' children.

Wait!

Tang Ya abruptly froze.

She suddenly noticed that the young teacher wore a pitch-black robe... She had seen it on Xu Cheng and Wu Yun before. It was the mark of the Holy Spirit Cult.

This place was...

"That's right. This is a Holy Spirit Cult Branch."

A voice sounded beside her.

Tang Ya whipped her head around.

Beside Nana stood a handsome boy-the very person who had changed the course of her fate, Xu Cheng.

"What are you trying to tell me...?"

Tang Ya's expression slowly turned cold, a hint of mockery curling her lips.

"I understand now. You actually noticed I was leaving long ago, but you never stopped me. You wanted me to go to Shrek Academy, provoke a conflict, sever ties with them completely, and expose my identity!"

"..."

Xu Cheng smiled faintly without answering.

Instead, he walked over to the window and watched the young man earnestly teaching inside.

"He was born a commoner too. Like Nana, he came from a farming family. But after completing his studies at the Sun Moon Imperial Academy, he gave up the chance to stay at the academy and chose to come here instead, awakening martial souls for commoners free of charge and teaching them..."

"..."

Tang Ya gently bit her red lip.

A hint of mockery lingered at the corners of her mouth.

"Just one classroom can't cost much, can it? Isn't this little show of yours rather shabby?"