Zhang Lexuan

"A Titled... Douluo?! No, this aura far surpasses an ordinary Titled Douluo!"

Immobilized by Mu En's soul power, Demon Wolf stared in terror at the seemingly unremarkable old man, stooped and bowed beneath the weight of his years.

The old man clearly gave off no aura at all, yet facing Mu En, Demon Wolf felt as though he were facing the entire world.

Perhaps it was no illusion.

How could an unaffiliated Soul Douluo Evil Soul Master possibly imagine the might of a Limit Douluo? Before a supreme powerhouse of rank ninety-nine, a Soul Douluo who had grown through slaughter and devouring was truly no different from an ant confronting the world.

Mu En could not even be bothered to spare him another glance. Upon detecting signs of life in the Zhang Family's ruins, he simply tossed Demon Wolf aside.

Before finding Demon Wolf, pinpointing one person hiding somewhere on the vast Douluo Continent had been nearly impossible even for Mu En. Once he had found him, however, it was another matter entirely.

This ant, whom he could crush at a whim, stirred him less than the Zhang Family's sole remaining survivor.

Mu En casually extended his hand, and vast soul power surged from it. The ruins before him suddenly burst apart, sending rubble and dust flying in every direction. Yet upon coming within three meters of him, they split to either side as though striking an invisible wall.

Under Demon Wolf's stunned gaze, Mu En casually pressed his palm downward. The dust and rubble dancing through the air drifted gently to the ground, like sand and silt sinking through water.

All that remained above the shattered ruins was a floating bubble formed from soul power.

Within the bubble, sheltered by it, was a girl who looked no older than eleven or twelve.

The girl's little face, stained with dust and tears, had looked pitiful, but the moment she saw Demon Wolf immobilized by Mu En, her delicate features twisted. Great drops of tears fell, and her expression brimmed with hatred and fury so intense they seemed almost tangible.

"..."

Upon seeing the little girl, Demon Wolf suddenly fell silent. His fear of Mu En vanished, replaced by profound bewilderment.

The little girl's expression had suddenly struck at memories he thought long dead.

Those memories lay buried deep in his heart, a past he was least willing to revisit. Back then, he had been so utterly weak that, just like this little girl, he could only watch helplessly as that noble slaughtered every last one of his loved ones.

"I... why did I become like this?"

Demon Wolf lowered his head and stared blankly at his hands. Only now did he abruptly awaken to the truth: he had long since become the very sort of person he had once hated most.

His hysterical madness gradually subsided into calm, and he silently surveyed the devastation around him.

How closely this scene resembled his childhood memories.

Right and wrong aside-for in this world, there was no right or wrong, only strength or weakness-a person's heart, in the end, would never lie to them.

The girl was clever. Seeing the utterly composed Mu En and Demon Wolf suspended helplessly in midair, blood still trickling from the corners of his mouth-the blood of her Zhang Family-she dropped to her knees before Mu En with a thud.

"Senior, please avenge our Zhang Family!" The girl's voice choked with sobs, yet overflowed with anger and hatred. "I have nothing with which to repay you, but if you're willing to avenge my family, I'll do anything."

Demon Wolf smiled soundlessly, a trace of bitterness in his eyes.

Such familiar emotions.

Had he himself not been exactly the same back then?

After hearing Zhang Lexuan's words, Mu En's expression briefly froze, and a few thoughts arose in his mind.

Bei Bei's parents are already gone, and I cannot give him a happy childhood. If this little girl could become his child bride, perhaps his childhood would be a little happier?

Yet the moment this thought appeared, guilt welled up in Mu En's heart.

Leaving aside the fact that he had come to seek vengeance against Demon Wolf himself, as the Sea God Pavilion Master and Shrek Academy's highest leader, exterminating Evil Soul Masters was already his duty.

What right did he have to use the killing of an Evil Soul Master-something he was duty-bound to do-as grounds to demand that a little girl whose family had been destroyed become his great-great-grandson's child bride?

But Bei Bei...

Mu En struggled inwardly.

Everyone had double standards, and even Mu En was no exception. Even an upright official could hardly untangle family affairs; outsiders could never be as dear as one's own kin. With anyone else, he could be impartial, fair, and just, but once his sole remaining blood descendant was involved, even he could not remain wholly upright and incorruptible.

Very well. With that little fellow Ye Qing around, Bei Bei should no longer be so withdrawn. I'll simply bring this girl back to look after the two of them until they enroll at twelve.

"I don't need you to do anything. This Evil Soul Master is someone I would kill regardless." Mu En gave Demon Wolf no chance to say anything more. With a single slap, he smashed him into pulp.

What Mu En failed to notice, however, was that Demon Wolf felt no fear before his death, only a trace of acceptance and release.

And a strange glimmer of scarlet light quietly vanished, its destination unknown.

After Demon Wolf's death, Zhang Lexuan, her vengeance fulfilled, knelt before the Zhang Family's ruins and wailed, pouring out the profound grief in her heart.

Mu En simply stood quietly behind her. Only when her sobs had nearly subsided did he reach out and gently stroke her head, asking softly, "Little girl, is your name Lexuan?"

Zhang Lexuan wiped her tears and nodded to Mu En.

"Hehe, Lexuan. What a lovely name." Mu En smiled faintly. "I am from Shrek Academy. Since you no longer have a home to return to, would you be willing to come to Shrek Academy with me?"

"Shrek Academy..." Zhang Lexuan murmured, but her gaze soon grew resolute. "Senior, I'm willing to go to Shrek Academy with you!"

"You avenged my family. From now on, my life belongs to you!"

Mu En smiled kindly and gently shook his head. "No. Remember this: your life belongs to no one else. It is your own."

"Come. I'll take you back to Shrek. I'll take you home!"

Back... home...

Those words brought tears to Zhang Lexuan's eyes once more.

She had already lost one home. Now, Mu En said he would take her to a new one.

I never want to be as helpless as I was today again. I'll become strong. I'll protect everything I cherish!

The morning sun slowly rose.

An old man with a severely hunched back walked across the Zhang Family's ruins, holding a grubby little girl by the hand.

The morning sun stretched their shadows far behind them...