Mental State Shattered

"Cough." Seeing that Xuan Zi had been left speechless, Minghui felt that was enough. He would still have to attend Shrek Academy in the future. Though he was not afraid, offending them too deeply would not be good either. So he gave a light cough, putting on the air of a peacemaker.

"Teacher, I think Senior Xuan Zi already knows he was wrong. There's no need for you to criticize him too harshly."

Xuan Zi's face flushed even redder. He wanted nothing more than to find a crack in the ground and crawl into it.

Kid, do you really not know how to talk? Is this supposed to be peacemaking? You're clearly rubbing salt into my wounds!

Minghui immediately continued, saying, "Teacher, don't you always say that our Body Sect punishes evil to protect life, not for personal gain? Just like when the elders and Senior Brothers dealt with the Iron Blood Sect, they did not demand that Miss Tang Ya, the sole survivor, return to the sect with them and marry a sect disciple in repayment. You even said that would be moral coercion."

"Such conduct is truly unbecoming of a gentleman!" he said solemnly.

Kid, I suspect you're taking a jab at Elder Mu, but I have no proof. Xuan Zi swept his gaze over them, a retort lodged in his throat.

"..." Zhang Lexuan, the person involved, opened her mouth but remained silent.

"I think we cannot use this favor to make demands of Sister Lexuan either." Minghui wore a grave expression.

"Of course!" Du Busi straightened his back. "Isn't Teacher merely taking this opportunity to knock some sense into this Old Fellow?"

As he spoke, he did not forget to shoot Xuan Zi a disdainful glance. "Just as Teacher said last night, being a little careless yesterday was fine, and being a little careless today was understandable. But what about next time? If this Old Fellow does not correct his bad habit of letting his gluttony interfere with important matters, it really will get people killed."

"And Teacher is saving lives!"

"Disciple, sometimes saving people does not necessarily require force. Waking someone up with words, helping them return from a misguided path, and preventing trouble before it happens are all ways of saving people."

"Old Poison, that's enough." Xuan Zi ground his teeth.

Being so thoroughly humiliated in front of all these children and used as a negative example truly infuriated him!

"Look, he still hasn't changed!" Du Busi straightened his back, speaking with righteous conviction. "This is enough, that is enough."

"No wonder he's always just a little short. In the end, he even managed to lose an entire twelve-person team!"

You can drag that into this too? Xuan Zi's eyes widened, and his mental state began to crumble.

"What? Was I wrong?" Seeing the strange look in Xuan Zi's eyes, Du Busi turned to glance at him.

Xuan Zi jolted and almost instinctively replied, "Right, right, right. This was indeed my fault. I drank and neglected my duty, nearly getting academy students killed and causing the academy irreparable losses."

"Once we return to the academy, I'll certainly reflect on myself properly!"

He was genuinely afraid. This Old Bastard's mouth was practically blessed; whenever he caught a flaw in someone's words, he would drill straight into it and keep rambling without end. If this Old Bastard continued following that line of conversation, Xuan Zi suspected even the things he had done in his youth would be dug up and criticized. Damn it, talking to this Old Fellow for one minute felt more exhausting than fighting a Fierce Beast.

He was mentally exhausted. Better end this quickly!

I just want to go home already!

Had his mental state really been talked into collapse? The students stared in shock at Teacher Xuan Zi, who had always been exceptionally arrogant.

Du Busi was also slightly surprised before blurting out—

"Old Fellow, I actually prefer the way you used to be, wild and unruly!"

A vein bulged on Xuan Zi's forehead. He then took a deep breath and said coldly, "Is there anything else? If not, you can get lost!"

Seeing this, Du Busi found it rather dull and stopped pressing the issue. Instead, he said calmly, "Old Fellow, now that we've said this much, I won't hide it from you. My disciple's Body Martial Soul has the Spirit Attribute. As for the Soul Bone, go back and discuss it properly with those old fellows. I'll say it again: exchange it if you can; forget it if you can't. It's not as if there are no hundred-thousand-year Spirit Attribute Soul Beasts in this world."

"At worst, I'll personally lead a team to the Evil Eye Forest in the Sun Moon Empire and take down the Evil Eye Tyrant."

"You win!" Xuan Zi, who had originally hoped they could still negotiate, gritted his teeth. "After I return, I will convene a Sea God Pavilion meeting to discuss it."

"Then we'll be taking our leave." Du Busi gave a slight nod.

"This junior sees Senior off." Zhang Lexuan politely bowed.

Du Busi nodded faintly. After their earlier conversation, coupled with his formidable spiritual perception, he could see and sense that this girl had some concern deeply repressed in her heart. That was why he had deliberately said so much earlier to offer her guidance.

He truly had a favorable impression of her, so he smiled and said, "Little girl, remember this: the you from the past died last night."

"From now on, live well for yourself."

"Thank you for your guidance, Senior. This junior will remember it deeply!" Zhang Lexuan said respectfully.

At this point, if she still did not understand, she would be too foolish.

Everyone had selfish motives. What mattered was what they did; a gentleman was judged by his deeds, not his intentions.

Therefore, she did not blame Elder Mu. At that time, Elder Mu's body had already become paralyzed, while his great-grandson's wife and great-grandson had passed away one after another. After suffering such successive blows, it was inevitable that he would become somewhat sensitive. And Beibei, his great-grandson, had been Elder Mu's only remaining family at the time, so naturally he cherished him deeply and considered many things. For example, what if his great-grandson lacked maternal love as a child? What if he died midway through while his great-grandson was still unmarried?

With so many thoughts intertwined, it was understandable that he had proposed such conditions. Most importantly, Mu En had truly poured his affection into her since childhood, treating her like his own great-granddaughter, and he had truly taught her with care. As for their agreement, had he not eventually taken the initiative to say that she no longer needed to honor it?

No one was a saint; who could be without faults?

As for why he had not directly helped her take revenge, first, he believed in her talent and potential—she could completely rely on her own strength to take revenge in the future. Hatred could sometimes be a source of motivation. Second, he probably did not want her to be blinded by hatred. He wanted her to calm down first and think things through, to consider her own future more carefully. Even if she still wanted revenge later, she should not slaughter innocents because of it.

Even if she truly could not swallow her anger and wanted to wipe them all out, hadn't Elder Mu said it too? He would let her make her own choice.

Those words had actually already revealed his stance.

Of course, Senior Du Busi was not wrong either. Whether it was an academy or a sect, as a leader, one had to think about properly protecting the students or disciples below them. The difference was merely one of perspective.

Senior Du Busi was more focused on the Body Sect's long-term interests from the perspective of its leader. Elder Mu, meanwhile, was more focused on her personal future from the perspective of an elder.

As for the academy's problems, they had indeed existed both in the past and the present, but the students were innocent.

Since she had the ability, why not try to change things from now on? If she could change them and make the academy better, would that not help even more ordinary people?

As the saying went, many hands made light work.

Thinking of this, she suddenly saw the light, and even her spirit relaxed considerably.

Beibei surfaced in her mind, followed by Tang Ya at Beibei's side, and a faint smile curved her lips.

Letting go was sometimes a good choice, was it not? It was good for others and good for herself.

As Senior had said, she had been reborn.

The current her was Elder Mu's great-granddaughter, Beibei's elder sister, the academy's eldest senior sister, and Zhang Lexuan, who would live for herself from this day forward.

"It's good that you've thought it through." Seeing the tension leave her brows and her spirit ease, Du Busi could not help but smile faintly.

"Let's go. We're heading back." He turned to look at his good disciple.

"Yes, Teacher." Minghui nodded.

Du Busi and the two elders each carried one person on their backs, then took to the skies and departed. In the blink of an eye, they vanished from the sight of the Shrek Academy group.

They've finally left. Xuan Zi let out a huge sigh of relief, gathered his spirits, and turned around. "Let's head back too."

"Yes, Elder Xuan!"

"..."

PS: To celebrate National Day 2024, four chapters have been released. Wishing everyone a happy National Day!

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