Shrek Academy's inner court always had fewer than a hundred students. Losing twelve at once was a heavy blow, even for the continent's top academy—an unbearable pain. But Lu Jingming knew very well that even with such a grave mistake, Xuan Zi would never be punished by Shrek.
After all, besides Dragon God Douluo Mu En, who at Shrek had higher status than Xuan Zi?
Punishing the Pavilion's number two, and future number one, was pure fantasy.
Mu En might be angry, but for the academy's future, he wouldn't punish Xuan Zi harshly.
Mu En's days were numbered, and Xuan Zi was the only one who could take up Shrek's banner after him.
"Your team leader… he's here."
Sensing the heavy atmosphere, Jingliu, who had been leaning against a tree with her arms crossed, suddenly spoke.
At her words, Han Ruoruo and Wu Ming jolted, complex emotions flickering in their eyes.
In that instant, an earthy yellow light streaked across the sky like a meteor with a piercing sound, stopping before Han Ruoruo and Wu Ming.
The intense light made them involuntarily squint.
"Ruoruo, Wu Ming, I finally found you! Where are the others!?"
An old, anxious voice rang out.
As the yellow light faded, an old man with black-and-white hair appeared before them.
His hair was messy, his clothes wrinkled and shabby.
At that moment, he gripped a wine gourd in his left hand and a greasy chicken leg in his right. Oil dripped slowly from his fingers.
This was none other than Taotie Douluo Xuan Zi.
Clearly, upon returning to camp and sensing something wrong, he had no time to eat even his beloved chicken leg before rushing to find Han Ruoruo and Wu Ming.
"Elder Xuan, you're finally back!" Han Ruoruo's voice was unusually calm—so calm it was almost unnatural.
She addressed him respectfully, but for some reason, Xuan Zi felt a bone-chilling cold in her words that made him shudder.
"Ruoruo, what happened? Where are Yuxin, Feng Mo, Li Qing and the others?" A sense of foreboding rose in Xuan Zi's heart.
Suppressing his anxiety, he glanced at Lu Jingming, Zhang Lexuan, and Jingliu.
He had never met Lu Jingming, but he recognized Zhang Lexuan and had seen her several times at the Golden Tree in Shrek. As for Jingliu, though they'd never met, he'd heard of her from Yan Shaozhe and seen her soul tool footage.
But now, he had no time to worry about Jingliu, a suspected Ultimate Douluo.
His gaze was drawn to the massive frozen beast—a terrifying thought forming in his mind.
He had just returned to Shrek's temporary camp to find it in ruins, the air thick with death.
Along the way, he'd seen signs of fierce battles—traces matching the Silvermoon Flood Dragon King's aura. Xuan Zi already had his suspicions.
But he couldn't believe it. He was unwilling to accept such a cruel reality, still clinging to a sliver of hope. "Elder Xuan, where exactly did you go? We were attacked by a hundred-thousand-year soul beast. The younger students were all killed. If not for Her Excellency Ice Moon Sword Douluo's help, Sister Ruoruo and I would be dead too. You—!"
Han Ruoruo managed to stay composed, but Wu Ming couldn't hold back.
Her eyes reddened, voice choking with tears and full of resentment as she questioned Xuan Zi.
If not for Han Ruoruo's quick intervention, she might have said even harsher things.
"How could this be?" Xuanzi's face turned deathly pale as if all his strength had been drained.
The chicken leg and wine gourd fell to the ground with a crash, wine spilling everywhere.
He staggered back two steps, eyes full of terror and disbelief.
"No! Where are their bodies? I didn't see a single body along the way!" Suddenly, Xuan Zi clung to a last shred of hope, eyes lighting up as he looked desperately at Wu Ming and Han Ruoruo.
At the word "bodies," Han Ruoruo could no longer suppress her emotions.
Her eyes instantly turned red, tears brimming, as she shouted in anger, "Elder Xuan, do you think there'd be any bodies left after an attack from a hundred-thousand-year Silvermoon Flood Dragon King?"
Her voice, suddenly raised, was full of endless disappointment and fury, piercing Xuan Zi's heart like a sharp knife.
Xuan Zi was left speechless, his lips trembling but unable to utter a word.
He simply couldn't accept such a cruel reality. He knew all too well the Silvermoon Flood Dragon King's power.
With its moon and spatial attributes, its moonlight was bizarre and could assimilate enemies—turning them into pure moonlight and dispersing them into the world.
Recalling the traces of battle along the way—many caused by his students' soul skills—but not a single body left behind.
He'd held onto hope, but the moment he saw the Silvermoon Flood Dragon King, he knew everything was lost.
His self-deception was ruthlessly exposed by Han Ruoruo, and he felt as if struck by a heavy blow, his spirit shattered.
The mighty rank 98 Super Douluo now looked like a helpless ordinary man, collapsing to the ground in despair.
Seeing this, Lu Jingming shook his head inwardly.
Perhaps Xuan Zi hadn't meant any harm to his students, but his overconfidence and the flaw brought by his martial soul had led to this tragedy.
Any other Super Douluo, even if confident, would never stray too far while leading a team. If anything happened, they could return at once.
But Xuan Zi was different. His martial soul's side effect made him obsessed with food. Once he started eating, it was hard to stop.
Combined with the dulling effect of alcohol, his senses dulled, and he failed to sense the Silvermoon Flood Dragon King's attack on the camp.
In hindsight, it was reckless of Shrek Academy to have a clearly flawed Super Douluo lead a team into the Star Dou Forest's core area.
They probably never imagined that a rank 98 Super Douluo—one of the strongest on the continent—would be unable to protect even a dozen students, nearly resulting in total annihilation.