Shrek Academy.
Sea God Lake.
Inside a chamber within the ancient Golden Tree.
Golden light bathed the room, radiating vitality and the power of light.
An elderly man with a withered appearance lay in a rocking chair, frowning as if deep in thought—or perhaps listening to something inaudible.
This man was none other than Bei Bei's grandmaster, the current Head of the Sea God Pavilion, a Level 99 Ultimate Douluo, the Dragon God Douluo—Mu En!
At last, the old man slowly opened his eyes, and a sharp gleam flashed within them.
Ever since Bei Bei had set off to look for Tang Ya, Mu En had been silently monitoring him with his spiritual power.
Because he knew that this incident would surely deal a heavy blow to Bei Bei.
With Tang Ya's disappearance, and considering Bei Bei's deep feelings for her, he might act irrationally.
But unexpectedly, Mu En's secret surveillance brought him a pleasant surprise.
He discovered a rare talent with an ultimate attribute!
Mu En had discovered Huo Yuhao!
Initially, Mu En hadn't paid Huo Yuhao any attention—until Huo Yuhao analyzed Tang Ya's injuries and spoke of his knowledge of ultimate spirits.
That's what caught Mu En's interest.
It wasn't just because Huo Yuhao understood ultimate attributes—but because what he said was true.
And Tang Ya's condition was far worse than what Bei Bei knew.
The one who had hurt Tang Ya was indeed Ma Xiaotao, as Huo Yuhao had guessed.
And the impact was more severe than even he imagined.
Three days ago, Ma Xiaotao lost control of her demonic fire, rampaged out of Sea God Lake, and severely injured both Bei Bei and Tang Ya. Bei Bei had to unleash the power of the Radiant Holy Dragon bloodline to barely escape with Tang Ya.
Mu En was furious when he learned of this, but he had to consider the bigger picture.
The first thing he did was to stop Zhang Lexuan from confronting Ma Xiaotao. Regardless of Zhang Lexuan's feelings toward Bei Bei, she clearly cared about him deeply.
And Mu En was quite satisfied with that.
Because of Bei Bei's injury, Zhang Lexuan had developed distrust toward both Yan Shaozhe and Ma Xiaotao.
That was a minor issue.
Ma Xiaotao's situation was far more critical.
She hadn't hurt them intentionally, and she was still Yan Shaozhe's disciple, so punishing her wasn't an option.
More importantly, Ma Xiaotao was still unconscious, her demonic fire still out of control. Her cultivation could collapse at any moment.
Yan Shaozhe was now fully focused on trying to save her.
He hadn't even come forward to apologize to Bei Bei or Tang Ya.
Bei Bei, due to overexertion, had fallen into a deep coma—but ironically, this triggered further awakening of his Radiant Holy Dragon bloodline.
A blessing in disguise, the only silver lining.
Tang Ya, under the healing power of the Golden Tree, regained consciousness a day earlier than expected. Without it, she might not have survived—or at best, she would've been crippled.
But even with the Golden Tree's power healing her, the demonic fire left deep damage to her potential. Don't forget, Tang Ya's spirit was Blue Silver Grass—naturally weak to fire.
Worse still, the evil aura from the demonic fire had invaded her body, like a terminal curse. For a soul master, such malevolent energy constantly eroded their vitality.
Mu En had examined her personally—unless a miracle occurred, Tang Ya would never break past Rank 40 in her lifetime.
Her Blue Silver Grass spirit, even with minor mutations, couldn't withstand both fire and evil energy.
To make matters worse, she was also disfigured. The fire left unhealable wounds on her face and body. The only way to remove them would be to literally carve out the affected flesh—yet even that wouldn't restore her beauty or potential.
The evil energy had burrowed into her very bones, clinging like maggots to decay.
Bei Bei, on the other hand, had no lingering demonic fire or evil energy, thanks to the protection of his Radiant Holy Dragon bloodline.
If someone on Mu En's or Xuan Zi's level were to intervene personally, they could expel the fire and evil energy from Tang Ya.
But why would they?
Mu En wasn't going to waste one of his limited shots on Tang Ya. As for Xuan Zi—he wouldn't even look at her, let alone help.
These truths, of course, were never told to Tang Ya.
So the official diagnosis from Shrek Academy was simply: "There's nothing we can do. Prepare for the worst—and start the withdrawal process."
That's right—Shrek Academy had expelled Tang Ya.
And warned her not to speak about things she shouldn't.
What? You think this is unfair?
Tang Ya, upon learning everything, remained surprisingly calm.
She left a letter and walked out of Shrek Academy alone.
No one was sent to escort her.
To this day, Mu En didn't know where she had gone.
When Bei Bei woke up earlier today, he immediately went looking for her—only to find her gone. Her roommate passed him her letter.
Mu En had secretly read the letter—it didn't mention Shrek Academy at all.
Tang Ya merely told Bei Bei to forget her.
Mu En couldn't help but feel admiration. Tang Ya truly was a considerate and kind girl. If not for this incident, letting her and Bei Bei stay together would've been acceptable.
Even if her talent was a bit lacking—it didn't matter.
As long as Bei Bei was happy.
Zhang Lexuan would protect them.
After all, with the powerful Radiant Holy Dragon bloodline, their descendants would at least be Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragons.
No way Blue Silver Grass could ride on the head of a Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, right?
When it came to Bei Bei—his last blood relative—Mu En was full of love and indulgence.
As Mu En continued to observe, he saw Bei Bei wandering the streets of Shrek City after failing to find Tang Ya—where he happened to encounter Huo Yuhao.
Mu En kept watching their conversation in secret.
He didn't care much for Huo Yuhao's suggestion of cosmetic surgery.
But his knowledge of ultimate attributes sparked Mu En's curiosity.
And Huo Yuhao possessed an incomplete ultimate ice spirit…
Mu En: This boy has a connection with my Shrek!
An orphan. An ultimate spirit. Ice attribute.
Absolutely perfect!
If they could help Huo Yuhao awaken his full spirit—then even Ma Xiaotao could be saved!
As for Huo Yuhao's current strength? Not a concern. Once his ultimate ice awakens, he's destined to become a Titled Douluo!
At that point, Shrek's glory could be extended another two hundred years!
"Is this Bei Bei's turning point?" Mu En thought. "In the midst of back-to-back misfortunes, his potential increased—and he befriended such a prodigious talent."
If Mu En had read webnovels, he might have suspected Bei Bei was the protagonist of one.
Now, the only remaining issue was—how to help Huo Yuhao fully awaken his ultimate ice spirit!
This was also why Mu En hadn't stopped Bei Bei from running away.
Even Shrek Academy had never dealt with such a rare case.
So they could only let Bei Bei and Huo Yuhao venture into the Extreme North and give it a try. If that didn't work, they'd bring him back to Shrek Academy for research.
"This matter must be treated with the utmost seriousness," Mu En murmured. "The Extreme North is perilous. We must ensure their safety. A Soul Emperor isn't enough anymore to protect Bei Bei…"
Mu En muttered to himself.
And finally made his decision.
"Xuan Zi, I have a task for you…"
Mu En's spiritual voice reached Xuan Zi's mind.
The Drumstick Douluo, chewing on a chicken leg:
"Huh? You want me to go protect someone? No way! …What? An incomplete ultimate ice attribute?! …Don't worry—even if Bei Bei fails to bring him back, I'll make sure that boy returns with me!"
Mu En: "…"
I know you're just trying to show your loyalty, but could you please work on your phrasing?