"Lexuan, Xiaotao, how is Xuan Zi?"
Yan Shaozhe looked at the dying Xuan Zi on the bed and asked worriedly.
Zhang Lexuan said solemnly, "The poison in his body has been cleared, but his internal injuries are extremely severe. If he doesn't make it through tonight, I'm afraid he may very well perish!"
"Alas, everything has its allotted fate. From here on, Xuan Zi can only rely on himself. Fortunately, you two were out on a mission today, otherwise..."
"For Xuan Zi to survive that destruction was already a blessing amid misfortune. Thankfully, he ran into you."
Yan Shaozhe offered words of comfort. He had only just confirmed that his teacher, Mu En, had passed away, and had never expected Zhang Lexuan and Ma Xiaotiao to return with a gravely wounded Xuan Zi.
A faint, barely discernible golden mark still lingered on Xuan Zi's forehead. His breath was as thin as a thread, as though he might pass away at any moment.
"Lexuan... Zhang Lexuan..."
Suddenly, the unconscious Xuan Zi opened his eyes wide. A little clarity seemed to return to his cloudy old eyes as he looked at Zhang Lexuan beside the bed and spoke indistinctly.
Startled, Yan Shaozhe hurriedly leaned closer, listening carefully to what Xuan Zi was saying.
Xuan Zi struggled to raise his hand, trembling as he reached toward Zhang Lexuan beside him. He opened his mouth. "Sea God Pavilion... Master... Zhang... Lexuan... is..."
After struggling to utter those few words, Xuan Zi fell unconscious again.
"Xuan Zi?... Xuan Zi!?"
Yan Shaozhe called to Xuan Zi and gently shook his body, but Xuan Zi no longer showed the slightest response. Only his barely audible breathing proved that he was still alive.
Zhang Lexuan and Ma Xiaotao watched everything silently without speaking. She did not understand why Shadow had told her to bring Xuan Zi back rather than kill him, either.
But since Lord Shadow had said so, all she needed to do was follow his instructions.
Seeing that Xuan Zi had completely lost consciousness, Yan Shaozhe could only give up and begin carefully pondering his words.
His mind raced. Xuan Zi was already on the brink of death, yet he had still clung to his last breath to convey a final message. This was especially important.
Zhang Lexuan gathered a loose strand of hair with her slender fingers and gently tucked it behind her ear, quietly watching the night outside the window.
Buzz!
A possibility occurred to Yan Shaozhe. Could Xuan Zi have been making arrangements for after his death? Yes, that had to be it!
"Sea God Pavilion? Zhang Lexuan? Sea God Pavilion Master? Zhang Lexuan!"
Xuan Zi was the next successor to the Sea God Pavilion, while Zhang Lexuan was the successor his teacher had designated to take over after the next generation.
Now that Xuan Zi was very likely to perish, he had just been telling him that Zhang Lexuan would hold the position of supreme leader of Shrek Academy and the Sea God Pavilion from now on!
Yan Shaozhe looked at Zhang Lexuan. Although she was only at the Soul Douluo realm now, as a core prospect of the inner court, she did indeed qualify.
Apart from her somewhat lacking cultivation, there was truly nothing to fault in Zhang Lexuan's other qualities.
Without a doubt, Xuan Zi's choice was correct.
Shrek now stood at the edge of a cliff. Someone had to step forward.
Although his own cultivation had already reached rank ninety-five and he had a complete set of Soul Bones, even if he staked everything, he would probably still need at least ten years to reach Limit Douluo.
Without high-level combat power, Shrek was nothing but fish on a chopping block. If people with ulterior motives joined forces to destroy Shrek, Shrek would have no power to resist at all!
Zhang Lexuan, however, was different. She was already rank eighty-nine, only one step away from becoming a Titled Douluo. Moreover, her Eighth Soul Ring was a hundred-thousand-year one, and she had only absorbed a single Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone.
With Zhang Lexuan's talent, if they poured everything the academy had into hunting another Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast for her and completing her set with the most suitable high-age Soul Bones, he could guarantee that she would reach the level of a Limit Douluo in less than five years!
A trace of ruthlessness flashed through Yan Shaozhe's eyes as he gritted his teeth and looked at Xuan Zi lying on the bed.
If... if Xuan Zi could wake up before he perished and pass all his cultivation to Zhang Lexuan, that time could probably be shortened by more than half!
Having made his decision, Yan Shaozhe spoke without hesitation. "Lexuan, listen carefully. If Xuan Zi doesn't make it through today, you will be the current Sea God Pavilion Master!"
No one in Shrek would object to the successor Xuan Zi had personally designated.
Zhang Lexuan pointed at herself in surprise, scarcely able to believe it. How had she suddenly become the Sea God Pavilion Master?!
Wait, could this be why Shadow told me to bring Xuan Zi back?
Was this part of Lord Shadow's plan, too?!
Zhang Lexuan looked at the dying Xuan Zi, then at Yan Shaozhe's determined gaze, and finally nodded.
"All right, Lexuan, you and Xiaotao stay here and watch Xuan Zi. If Xuan Zi really is about to give out, notify me immediately, understood? You must notify me immediately!" Yan Shaozhe stressed in particular.
"I'm going out for a while..."
With that, Yan Shaozhe left the room in a frantic hurry.
As he left, he took one last look at Xuan Zi lying there, and a trace of guilt crossed his face.
Xuan Zi, I'm sorry. For Shrek's sake, if it really comes to that, please don't blame me...
Ma Xiaotao gazed coldly at Xuan Zi, flames gathering in her hand. She truly wanted to strangle this old man to death.
But remembering what Shadow had told her, she extinguished the flames.
"'Sorrow,' to think you became the Sea God Pavilion Master so easily. It seems Lord Shadow planned all of this," Ma Xiaotao said.
Zhang Lexuan nodded, rose, and pushed open the window. The cool night breeze stirred her beautiful hair.
She stroked the purple gemstone ring on her hand, and a faint smile appeared on her face.
"Lord Shadow is omniscient and omnipotent. The moment I met him, I understood that I could trust him completely, and that I would be loyal to him alone..."
"'Sorrow,' you've become the Sea God Pavilion Master, haven't you..."
A familiar, deep voice abruptly sounded behind Zhang Lexuan.
Zhang Lexuan's pupils contracted sharply, and she turned around in shock. It was none other than the dark figure she had longed for day and night.
She smiled softly and slowly sank to one knee before him in salute. "Yes, Lord Shadow!"
"Shadow, I'm puzzled. Why did you spare him? 'Sorrow,' Lexuan, was already the successor after the next generation. He doesn't seem to be of much use."
'Nu,' Ma Xiaotao, brushed the dust from Huo Yuhao's robe as she asked.
"I need him. I need an identity I can show to everyone. Only then can Shrek Academy become entirely the property of our Garden..."
Huo Yuhao slowly laid his palm over Xuan Zi's aged face. Beneath his hood, the upturned corners of his mouth sent chills through the heart.
Intricate runes appeared one after another in his hand, slowly enveloping Xuan Zi's entire body. Mystical light continuously radiated through the cramped space.
Before long, the light dimmed and vanished.
Huo Yuhao was no longer in the room. Zhang Lexuan and Ma Xiaotao looked at Xuan Zi, whose complexion was beginning to grow rosy, and began acting according to Huo Yuhao's instructions.