Huo Tian looked at Xuan Zi lying flat on top of the conference table. Pinching the bridge of his nose, Huo Tian shook his head, speechless.
When Xuan Zi had led Zhang Lexuan's cohort into the Star Dou Great Forest to hunt for Soul Rings, his own negligence had left eight of their twelve-person team dead and the other four injured, so he lived in pain every day.
After drinking, Xuan Zi acted like a fucking idiot, but he was loyal to Shrek Academy. When something happened, he really did dare to step up.
Mu En had also scolded Xuan Zi and told him to drink less, but Xuan Zi never listened. Over time, Mu En could no longer be bothered with him. In the future, Xuan Zi would also get this generation of the Shrek Seven Devils killed.
Xuan Zi truly deserved to be called the Holy Spirit Cult's grand elder and Shrek Academy's genius harvester.
Huo Yutong hid behind Huo Tian, looking in confusion at Xuan Zi on the conference table, her face showing disgust.
Huo Yutong had never met anyone so filthy.
"Xuan Zi! Aren't you going to patrol Shrek City?"
Speechless, Huo Tian knocked on the conference table. The knocking stood out especially sharply on the quiet first floor of the Sea God Pavilion, and its crisp sound startled Xuan Zi awake.
"Oh! Xiaotian's back! I'll go in a bit."
Xuan Zi lazily got up and tossed the chicken bone in his hand into the trash can, then swayed his way over to Huo Tian.
"Not bad! A year out gaining experience, and your cultivation's almost at Soul Fighting. You even brought a little girl back!"
"Heh heh, you little rascal!"
Xuan Zi clapped Huo Tian hard on the shoulder. A large black handprint instantly appeared on Huo Tian's clean red robe, leaving him speechless once again.
"Enough talk!"
Xuan Zi shook the wine flask in his hand and strode out of the Sea God Pavilion. Although he was sometimes rather unreliable, he and Huo Tian were quite close.
"Drink less, Xuan Zi!"
Huo Tian called out through the doorway.
"Got it, you brat!"
Xuan Zi's steady reply echoed through the first floor of the Sea God Pavilion.
"Master, who was that old grandpa?"
Huo Yutong asked Huo Tian with an innocent, puzzled expression. In her opinion, anyone who could sleep here in the Sea God Pavilion had to be someone important.
"Call him Xuan Zi from now on. He's Shrek Academy's second-in-command, the rank 98 Taotie Douluo!"
Huo Tian took Huo Yutong's hand, and the two walked toward the Sea God Pavilion's stairs. As they walked, he explained Shrek to her.
Huo Yutong listened quietly, nodding without a word.
Huo Yutong learned that Yan Shaozhe was his junior martial brother and that the red-haired girl from that morning was named Ma Xiaotao.
When Huo Yutong heard that Huo Tian treated Ma Xiaotao as a younger sister, her eyes instantly lit up, and a brilliant smile spread across her face.
So Huo Tian and Ma Xiaotao had a brother-and-sister relationship. The tension in Huo Yutong's heart eased, and in an instant, she felt much more relaxed.
When they reached the Sea God Pavilion's second floor, Huo Yutong saw that it was filled with bookshelves. This floor was Shrek Academy's inner court library.
Over its ten thousand years of development, Shrek Academy had recorded many things from across the continent, and naturally, its most important materials were all collected in this library.
Huo Yutong resolved to read all these books in the future.
The two continued up the stairs and soon reached the top floor of the Sea God Pavilion, where successive Sea God Pavilion Masters had lived.
The top floor of the Sea God Pavilion had two rooms in total. Mu En lived in one, while the other held photographs of the successive Sea God Pavilion Masters from the past ten thousand years.
Huo Tian raised his hand and knocked on the door. Under the influence of Soul Power, it slowly swung inward, and a ray of sunlight shone into the room.
Mu En lay flat on the bed, holding a yellowed book and reading it intently as sunlight spilled over him.
"You're here!"
Mu En lifted his head, and the book in his hands fell onto the bed. He turned to look silently at Huo Tian as Huo Tian and Huo Yutong approached the bedside.
Huo Tian crouched until his eyes were level with Mu En's. Mu En raised his aged hand and played with Huo Tian's long red hair.
"Xiaotian, you've grown up! You're no longer that sniveling little boy!"
A kindly smile appeared on Mu En's deeply wrinkled face. He had practically raised Huo Tian single-handedly and had long since regarded him as his own great-great-grandson.
"Teacher, I plan to enter secluded cultivation to break through to Soul Douluo. I'll have to leave Little Yutong in your care for a while."
Huo Tian held Mu En's hand, their hands clasped tightly together. Mu En was the person Huo Tian trusted most.
Huo Tian would not feel at ease leaving Huo Yutong in anyone else's care.
"Of course. Go into seclusion with your mind at ease!"
Mu En released his tight hold on Huo Tian's hand and turned his gaze toward the pretty little girl beside him. Huo Yutong immediately stepped up to the bedside.
"Hello, Grandmaster."
Huo Yutong looked at Mu En with her bright, watery eyes. Her voice was very weak, stirring pity in those who heard it.
Huo Yutong rubbed her hands together behind her back.
"Little Yutong, your Martial Soul possesses Ultimate Light. Stay here with your grandmaster and cultivate!"
Mu En rose from the bed and approached them with his cane. His large, warm hand stroked the top of Huo Yutong's head.
Mu En did not ask too many questions about where Huo Tian had managed to bring back so many talented disciples from, because Huo Tian was far from ordinary himself.
Mu En was also utterly shocked that the academy had suddenly gained two students with Ultimate Attributes.
In ten thousand years, Shrek Academy had only produced a handful of Soul Masters with Ultimate Attributes. It had never been like this, with Ultimate Attribute Soul Masters popping up as though they cost nothing.
As long as Huo Tian wanted to, everyone in Shrek Academy could become an Ultimate Attribute Soul Master, provided he had enough system points.
"Little Yutong, be good and listen to your grandmaster. Your master is going into seclusion now!"
Huo Tian pinched Huo Yutong's little cheek, stood up, and turned toward the doorway, all in one fluid motion.
Huo Yutong watched Huo Tian leave and nodded silently. Mu En looked at the ceiling, smiling as he thought.
Within his lifetime, Mu En had managed to nurture a successor capable of taking over as Sea God Pavilion Master. Before long, he would be able to leave this world with peace of mind.
At first, Mu En had intended to groom Zhang Lexuan as the Sea God Pavilion's successor, but Huo Tian's appearance had completely changed his mind.
The main reason was that Huo Tian's cultivation talent was absurdly strong. At eighteen, he had already reached Soul Douluo, and with another two or three years, he could fully mature into a Titled Douluo.
Once Huo Tian became a Titled Douluo, he could fully shoulder the heavy responsibility of revitalizing Shrek Academy. Shrek was currently the continent's foremost power on the surface, but behind the scenes, the three great empires still exerted pressure on Shrek Academy.
In earlier years, Mu En had also built several Martial Soul chambers around Shrek City where commoners could awaken their Martial Souls for free.
This measure had harmed the interests of the three great empires' upper echelons, enraging them. Their leaders had joined forces to pressure Shrek.
In the end, Shrek Academy could only let the matter drop.
On the surface, Shrek Academy had only Xuan Zi, a rank 98 Super Douluo, holding it up. The three great empires did not know that Mu En was still alive.
Because his soul had been damaged in his earlier years, Mu En had remained hidden behind the scenes. Unless Shrek Academy's survival was threatened, he would not act.
Every time Mu En acted, his lifespan would be shortened.