With Xuan Zi Leading the Team, the Death of a Shrek Seven Devils Member Would Never Happen Again!

"Teacher, I've failed you! I'm a sinner against Shrek. I deserve to die!"

When Yan Shaozhe returned to the Sea God Pavilion at Shrek Academy, he dropped to his knees before Mu En with a thud.

"Shaozhe, what happened? Get up and tell me slowly."

"Teacher, Shrek lost this Continental Advanced Soul Master Tournament. Shrek lost! Shrek's ten thousand years of glory have been ruined in my hands! I have no face to stand before you!"

Yan Shaozhe lowered his head, not daring to look Mu En in the eyes, much less face him directly.

Mu En remained silent. Rather than respond immediately, he gave Yan Shaozhe some time to calm down.

Only after a long while did Mu En speak. "Shaozhe, I thought that as my disciple, you would understand that as long as a person is alive, there is no hurdle they cannot cross."

Yan Shaozhe's heart trembled. Hearing his teacher's consolation only deepened his guilt.

Mu En did not press him, however. Instead, he asked what had happened, diverting Yan Shaozhe's attention.

"Tell me, then. What exactly happened? How did Shrek Academy lose? What sort of genius did the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy produce? What about Lexuan? Is she all right?"

"Teacher, here's what happened. Shortly after this Continental Advanced Soul Master Tournament began, the emperor of the Dou Ling Empire gave me the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy's roster of contestants."

"At first, I didn't pay it much mind, until Du Weilun reminded me that the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy's team captain this time was a Five-Ring Soul King, and they also had a Six-Ring Soul Emperor."

"A Soul King as captain and a Soul Emperor as vice-captain surprised me, but the situation was still manageable then. Even if the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy's captain was a Soul King with a Soul Ring configuration of two yellow, one purple, and two black, the situation was still under our Shrek's control."

At the mention of a Soul King with two yellow, one purple, and two black rings, Mu En's motionless hand trembled slightly. Having possessed that very Soul Ring configuration when he was a Soul King, he knew all too well what sort of strength it represented.

But then Mu En frowned. "With Lexuan's strength, even a Soul King with two yellow, one purple, and two black rings should be no match for him. A genius is a genius, but even geniuses need time to grow. Besides, Lexuan is a genius herself."

"Indeed, she did lose to Lexuan, but she also depleted most of Lexuan's Soul Power. What happened afterward was something no one expected."

"The captain of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy's reserve team, who was also the younger brother of their main team's captain, actually stepped onto the competition stage."

Mu En's voice held a note of disbelief. "Lexuan lost?"

"Yes. She lost to that reserve team captain. Not only that, but he captured Lexuan alive and demanded that we hand over a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone before he would release her."

"..."

After a brief silence, Mu En spoke slowly. "Who did the Sun Moon Empire send? The master of the Illustrious Virtue Hall?"

Yan Shaozhe nodded, prompting a sigh from Mu En.

"This isn't your fault. You truly are no match for Jing Hongchen. In all of Shrek Academy, only Xuan Zi, Xiao Song, and I can fight him."

"Even Xiao Song wouldn't have much chance of defeating Jing Hongchen. You needn't blame yourself."

"As for that Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone, so be it. Shrek can still just about afford one Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone."

After Mu En finished, the corners of Yan Shaozhe's mouth twitched, but he said nothing.

"Speak. Do we need all this empty pretense between master and disciple? What else happened? Tell me!"

"Teacher, here's the thing. That reserve team captain from the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy defeated Lexuan, but Lexuan was in very poor condition at the time. She only stayed on the stage because the reserve team captain was so young-so young that Lexuan felt he posed no threat at all, and so she let her guard down."

Knowing his disciple's character, Mu En immediately understood what had happened next.

"That vice-captain from the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy didn't leave the stage, so you wanted to send a main team member from Shrek Academy to capture him and exchange him for Lexuan?"

Yan Shaozhe nodded.

"You failed?"

"We failed. And after Qiangu Liefeng was captured, they demanded an External Soul Bone. After that, I thought those two fights must have taken quite a toll on him, so..."

Yan Shaozhe's voice grew quieter and quieter, until it was almost inaudible. "So I sent a third student, but he still couldn't win. Instead, he was killed."

Silence fell inside the Golden Tree. Kneeling there, Yan Shaozhe felt each second drag on like a year. In the end, Mu En broke the stillness.

"How much will it take in total to get the students back?"

"One Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone for Lexuan, and one External Soul Bone for Qiangu Liefeng. Feng Tianyang is dead. I didn't let the others go to their deaths."

"But Teacher, we only need to exchange one Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone for Lexuan. Qiangu Liefeng isn't one of Shrek's own core members, after all, and his talent is nothing special. Back then, in front of that crowd, I had no choice but to ransom our Shrek student. Besides, at the time, as long as Feng Tianyang captured..."

"Nonsense!"

Before Yan Shaozhe could finish, Mu En's furious voice cut him off.

"Shaozhe! Look at yourself. Do you still resemble someone who possesses the Bright Phoenix Martial Soul? If this is your mindset, Level 95 will be your limit for the rest of your life!"

"Qiangu Liefeng is a student of our Shrek Academy, after all. If something happened to him at Shrek Academy and we couldn't save him, that would be one thing. But since we can save him, how could Shrek Academy disregard a student's life over a single Soul Bone?"

"Shaozhe, you have disappointed me deeply."

Mu En's rebuke nearly made Yan Shaozhe curl in on himself. He wished he could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.

"Shaozhe, learn to be more magnanimous. An External Soul Bone may be precious, but it isn't as though Shrek Academy cannot afford one at all."

"The Treasure Appreciation Pavilion has an External Soul Bone, a left-hand bone produced by a Great Strength Gorilla over eight hundred and sixty years old. In a moment, you..."

Halfway through his sentence, Mu En suddenly paused.

"Forget it. Xuan Zi isn't at Shrek right now. Let Xiao Song go negotiate with Jing Hongchen instead. As for you..."

"Go tell Xiao Song where you and Jing Hongchen agreed to make the exchange. Then notify everyone that we're convening a Sea God Pavilion Meeting. Once the meeting is over, you will seclude yourself and reflect on your mistakes for the time being. Hand over the affairs of Shrek Academy's Outer Academy to Mei'er for now."

"Yes, Teacher."

With that, Yan Shaozhe went without another word to find Song Yunzhi, currently the Sea God Pavilion's third-ranking figure.

Mu En sat alone inside the Golden Tree in the Sea God Pavilion, sighing from time to time.

"Jing Hongchen, I failed to consider everything. I never expected you to go there, costing Shrek Academy a member of the Shrek Seven Devils."

"But I will not make such a mistake again. At the next Continental Advanced Soul Master Tournament, Xuan Zi will lead Shrek's team. A member of the Shrek Seven Devils will never be killed again!"

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