For Her, I Would Do Anything...

"I couldn't ask for more."

The black-robed man chuckled and raised his hand. A dense mass of dark light emerged, but something unexpected suddenly happened.

His pupils abruptly contracted.

"You..."

"Let her go, or... you won't get either of us." Lu Cheng cast a gentle glance at the unconscious girl in his arms, then slowly raised his head and stared coldly at the man in black.

"Boy, surely you're joking?" The black-robed man's expression froze. Towering waves of shock surged through his heart, but he feigned amusement and burst into laughter.

Hum...

Lu Cheng's expression remained indifferent. A blazing arrow condensed in his palm, and he held it against his neck. "You can't stop me from killing myself. Right now, I'm speaking to whoever is behind your Holy Spirit Cult."

"Long Xiaoyao, or perhaps... Mu En."

"..."

Silence filled the night.

The black-robed man turned deathly pale, his expression shifting uncertainly. It seemed they had botched the assignment from above.

"Hahahaha, what a clever boy."

Laughter came from every direction.

Lu Cheng narrowed his eyes slightly.

His gamble had paid off, though he did not know whether the newcomer was Mu En... or Long Xiaoyao.

It was most likely the latter. According to his conjecture, Mu En should have been the mastermind behind this grand performance, while the so-called Holy Spirit Cult was merely playing the villain, borrowed for the occasion thanks to Mu En's good relationship with Long Xiaoyao.

Thus, Mu En, presiding over the Sea God Pavilion, probably would not go so far as to act personally. He only needed to wait by the stump for the rabbit.

Long Xiaoyao, however... might come over to take a look.

To keep his subordinates from mishandling things and causing trouble for his close friend.

Footsteps rustled through the leaves. At some unknown moment, a dark figure appeared behind the black-robed man, and an aged voice sounded leisurely. "Go back. You aren't to blame for this. This boy is simply too monstrous..."

"Yes!" The black-robed man wiped the sweat from his forehead, lowered his head, and retreated several steps before vanishing.

"Why bring this upon yourself...? Had you seen through it without exposing it, I could have left you a way to live. But now..."

The dark figure took only a single step, yet seemed to shrink the ground to an inch, appearing before Lu Cheng.

The old man was tall, his face round and smooth as a baby's, his long silver hair falling to his shoulders. He looked down at the indifferent youth, a trace of pity and regret flashing through his eyes.

Of the two, only one could be left alive.

Had the boy seen through it without exposing it, Mu En would naturally have treated him as Shrek Academy's successor, with an exceedingly bright future ahead of him. But now that the boy had laid everything bare...

It meant that, no matter how monstrous his talent, that old friend of his could never let him live.

Shrek wanted a successor without ties or burdens, not a time bomb harboring resentment. The more terrifying his talent, the more necessary it was to crush him before he rose.

He gently waved his hand.

The crimson arrow clenched tightly in Lu Cheng's hand instantly shattered, becoming a cloud of fiery mist that dispersed in the forest breeze.

"Boy, do you have any last words? Considering that you're a genius rarely seen even in centuries, even I feel reluctant to waste your talent. You might as well tell me your final wishes..." Long Xiaoyao looked at the still-expressionless youth, who held the girl in his arms ever tighter, and gently shook his head, speaking wistfully.

[Side quest]

[Join the Holy Spirit Cult]

[Reward: Twin Martial Souls (Blood Pupils), failure: Simulation ends.]

Sure enough, this second chapter had a quest as well.

It also happened to coincide with his future plans.

"Is Pavilion Master Mu here?"

Lu Cheng let out a long, stale breath and looked calmly at Long Xiaoyao.

"..." Long Xiaoyao froze. He was about to speak when a voice interrupted him.

"Child, did you need something from me?"

A kindly old man with a stooped figure, graying temples, and a withered face slowly appeared, leaning on a wooden cane. He studied Lu Cheng with a complicated expression.

For Shrek Academy's sake, he had no choice...

Regardless of whether he bore an evil name in the future, he had to do it.

Shrek Academy's gap between generations was far too severe, and its decline was becoming increasingly apparent. After Yan Shaozhe, nearly a hundred years had passed without a genius capable of shouldering the burden.

Their only hope in recent years, Ma Xiaotao, barely qualified in talent, but her temperament still made her unsuitable. His allotted lifespan was nearing its end; holding on for another twenty or thirty years was his limit. If he still could not find a successor, the whole of Shrek might...

"After I die, you intend to bring Lexuan into Shrek Academy and have her become the Sea God Pavilion's successor after the next generation. Am I right?" Neither joy nor anger showed on Lu Cheng's face as he spoke softly.

"Yes." Mu En nodded.

"Aren't you afraid she'll discover all this and take revenge on Shrek Academy?" Lu Cheng revealed a faint smile.

"There will always be spider threads and horse tracks... As she grows up, she'll think back more and more on the flaws in what happened today."

Mu En fell silent. Indeed, what he wanted was someone absolutely loyal to Shrek Academy, with a "clean family background."

Now that Zhang Lexuan had witnessed all this, she was ultimately a hidden danger.

Although he had countless ways to make the girl devote herself to cultivation and join Shrek Academy once she awoke... that hidden danger would remain in the end.

"Let me live. I'll soothe her."

Lu Cheng spoke calmly.

"Hahahaha..." Mu En smiled and shook his head, clearly somewhat disappointed.

"Of everyone here, I'm the one least willing to see her die," Lu Cheng continued.

"I'll take all the blame for tonight upon myself and have her turn all her hatred and attention toward me. Only then will all the flaws in tonight's events make sense."

"If I join the Holy Spirit Cult..."

"..." Mu En narrowed his eyes and actually began considering it seriously.

Had the boy not treasured the girl, he would not have abandoned his only chance of survival and chosen to stake his life.

And if all the blame were placed on Lu Cheng, why the girl had survived in the hands of Evil Soul Masters, why the two had fled Heaven Dou City... those things seemed explainable as well.

"Give me a reason." Mu En stared fixedly at Lu Cheng. If everything before had been mere play, since he had only been dealing with someone certain to die, then now... he had to reassess this almost unnaturally shrewd boy.

"I don't want her to learn of this, come to hate Shrek Academy, and then seek revenge..." Lu Cheng said softly. "That would be no different from striking a rock with an egg. I only hope she can forget all hatred and live out her life safe and sound. After all, the dead cannot return to life."

Mu En tightened his grip on his staff, revealing his inner struggle.

Everything was indeed as the boy had said. Even though he had been observing from behind the scenes all along, he could discern no flaw, yet an indescribable feeling lingered in his heart...

If this boy joined the Holy Spirit Cult and stained his hands with blood, then no matter how flowery his words, Zhang Lexuan would never trust him in the future. She might even turn against him and become his enemy.

He would also certainly destroy every last piece of evidence from tonight, leaving nothing that could be held against him...

That meant this boy, who clearly had a bright future ahead of him, was willingly breaking his own wings and falling into the abyss.

Just for the girl in his arms?

"For her, I would do anything..." Lu Cheng lowered his gaze to the sleeping girl's face in his arms, revealing a gentle expression for the first time.