With a soft moan, Han Ruoruo slowly awoke from her coma, her eyes still slightly dazed.
When she fully opened her eyes, she saw Lu Jingming holding a white holy spear, with Zhang Lexuan and Wu Ming's faces full of concern.
"Where am I…?" Han Ruoruo murmured, confusion flashing in her gaze.
Suddenly, her pupils contracted sharply as she recalled something extremely important. "Right, where is the Silvermoon Flood Dragon King? What about Yuxin and the others?"
Her voice was full of anxiety and worry, rising involuntarily.
Originally, Wu Ming was beaming with happiness as Han Ruoruo's injuries recovered under Lu Jingming's healing. But upon hearing Han Ruoruo's questions, her smile froze instantly.
Immediately, the tragic scene replayed uncontrollably in her mind—silver moonlight falling from the sky, her companions' agonizing cries and desperate eyes. Tears welled up at the corners of her eyes.
Seeing Wu Ming's expression, Han Ruoruo's body stiffened instantly. In a flash, the memories of everything that happened surged in her mind like a tidal wave.
Her heart trembled as she realized that Yuxin, whom she'd mentioned, had died a tragic death right before her eyes trying to save her.
That horrific scene, and the expression on Yuxin's face before death, tore at her heart. The screams she'd heard before passing out now echoed in her ears.
Her voice trembling with fear and unease, Han Ruoruo asked, "Ming'er, what about the others?"
Wu Ming's expression grew even more sorrowful. She slowly shook her head and said sadly, "Sister Ruoruo, there's no one else… They're all…!"
"How could this happen!" Han Ruoruo cried out in pain, clutching her forehead, face full of despair, her body trembling as if bearing an unbearable pain.
Lu Jingming and Zhang Lexuan stood by in silence.
Though they hadn't experienced it firsthand, they could understand the pain of losing companions.
But what's done is done, and Han Ruoruo and Wu Ming could only face reality.
Han Ruoruo, as Shrek Academy's current senior sister, appeared gentle, but her heart was strong.
She quickly forced herself to suppress her grief and adjusted her mindset.
From Wu Ming, she learned that Jingliu had defeated the Silvermoon Flood Dragon King and rescued them from despair.
Her own previously fatal injuries had been healed by Lu Jingming.
Han Ruoruo mustered her strength, managed to stand up, and gratefully said to Lu Jingming and Zhang Lexuan, "Lexuan, Xiao Ming, thank you both. If not for you, Ming'er and I would probably be dead."
"Sister Ruoruo, it's all right. Sister Lexuan happens to need a soul ring, so the Silvermoon Flood Dragon King came just in time."
Lu Jingming's expression was calm. With Jingliu present, saving Han Ruoruo and Wu Ming was a simple matter for him.
What's more, he'd had good past interactions with them. In a life-or-death moment, Wu Ming hadn't tried to drag them down with her, so he had a good impression of the two and didn't regret lending a hand. "But where's your Shrek Academy teacher?"
At the mention of their "teacher," a flash of anger crossed Han Ruoruo's eyes, but she quickly suppressed her fury.
Unlike Han Ruoruo's restraint, Wu Ming's temper was much more fiery. At the mention of their teacher, she immediately cursed, "Who knows where that old bastard ran off to? All he does is eat all day—he's useless!"
Wu Ming's face flushed red as she vented her anger and frustration.
"Ming'er, watch your words," Han Ruoruo quickly admonished, face changing.
She was angry with Xuan Zi too, but she was well aware of his status in Shrek Academy—he was the designated next Sea God Pavilion Master.
If her curses reached Xuan Zi's ears, her life at Shrek would become very difficult.
Lu Jingming instantly understood.
So the team leader this time was the legendary Xuan Zi. No wonder they'd encountered a hundred-thousand-year soul beast and nearly suffered total annihilation.
Taotie Douluo Xuan Zi was a rank 98 Title Douluo whose martial soul was the Godly Taotie Bull, but he had the gluttony flaw—most of his time was spent seeking food, which was a side effect and a defect of his martial soul.
"Sister Ruoruo, no one knows where he went. Can't I just curse a bit to let off steam?" Wu Ming protested, but still listened to Han Ruoruo and stopped cursing Xuan Zi.
As an inner court disciple of Shrek, she naturally understood Xuan Zi's status and knew she couldn't afford to offend him.
Faced with power, no matter how much resentment and hatred there was, it could only be swallowed in silence.
Han Ruoruo was gentle by nature, but this incident had made her extremely angry.
Though she was the senior sister of Shrek's inner court, which sounded prestigious, in reality, she had little say and wasn't even a Sea God Pavilion member. How could she possibly shake the future Pavilion Master?
With Han Ruoruo and Wu Ming's detailed account, Lu Jingming and Zhang Lexuan finally understood what had happened.
Shrek Academy had assembled thirteen inner court disciples in need of soul rings, plus soul sage and team leader Han Ruoruo, and protector Taotie Douluo Xuan Zi—a total of fifteen people.
At first, everything went smoothly.
After entering the Star Dou Forest's core area, most students successfully obtained suitable soul rings. Wu Ming even hunted a fifty-thousand-year Blazing Sun Fire Dragon and obtained her seventh soul ring.
They thought everyone would get their soul rings and leave safely, but their temporary camp was suddenly attacked by the Silvermoon Flood Dragon King.
Unfortunately, just as things seemed to be going well and with two soul sages on guard, Taotie Douluo Xuan Zi was overtaken by his gluttony and left the camp to find food.
His departure brought disaster.
Facing the sudden appearance of the Silvermoon Flood Dragon King, Han Ruoruo charged forward without hesitation to buy time for her companions to escape.
However, the gap between a soul sage and a hundred-thousand-year soul beast was like a chasm. Even with all her strength, Han Ruoruo couldn't stop the Silvermoon Flood Dragon King and was seriously injured.
The outcome was predictable—of the fourteen Shrek inner court disciples, only Han Ruoruo and Wu Ming survived by chance, thanks to running into Lu Jingming's group. The rest all perished at the hands of the Silvermoon Flood Dragon King.
These were all Shrek's inner court elites, mostly candidates for their sixth soul ring and future Soul Douluos—some might even have become Title Douluo with a bit of luck.