Douluo Continent: The Ruler of Time, Reigning Supreme

Chapter 168 Moon's Regret

'They all overlooked, or rather, they simply couldn't comprehend, just how terrifying Yin Chen's original time-attribute martial soul—the Rule of Time—truly was.'

'No matter how powerful the Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion Martial Soul is, or how rare the ultimate ice is, it is still within the realm of common sense.'

'But, Yin Chen's causal soul skill...'

That's a forbidden realm that even gods cannot easily touch.

Zhang Lexuan recalled Yin Chen's fourth soul skill, which still made her heart pound to this day.

—At this moment and then.

Effect first, cause later.

Just thinking about it makes her feel like she's dreaming.

That's no longer a soul skill; it's a distortion of the world's rules.

Perhaps it's because she didn't tell the elders the specific effects of Yin Chen's soul skill...

Throughout the long history of Douluo Continent, conceptual soul skills have appeared before, and even soul skills such as resurrection of the dead have been recorded in history.

However, those extraordinary soul skills all come with huge limitations and costs.

And Yin Chen's soul skill...

Zhang Lexuan thought back carefully and realized that Yin Chen didn't seem to be subject to many restrictions when using it.

The only drawback seems to be the huge consumption of soul power.

A soul skill with almost no limitations, capable of altering cause and effect... What does this mean? She dared not think too deeply about it.

'Never mind... let him decide for himself whether or not to tell the academy in the future.'

Thinking of this, she swallowed all her words and bowed deeply to Mu En.

"Elder Mu, if there are no other instructions, Le Xuan will take her leave now."

After saying that, she turned around and slowly walked out of the Sea God Pavilion.

Moon didn't say anything more, just quietly watched her departing figure.

Until that heavy wooden door was closed again, separating the inside from the outside.

His eyes, which had been half-closed, finally opened fully, and his brows furrowed slightly.

Inside the attic, he was all alone, with only the night breeze carrying the dampness of the lake blowing in from the window.

'This girl...'

Moon let out a long sigh in his heart.

He could clearly sense that Zhang Lexuan had undergone a significant change since her return.

She was no longer the composed yet still somewhat sharp-witted head of the inner courtyard.

There was something about her that he couldn't quite understand.

'Especially... her concern for that kid Yin Chen is... a little too much.'

In Mu En's mind, the image of Zhang Lexuan, who seemed to be struggling with something she wanted to say, flashed before his eyes.

He could clearly see the hesitation, worry, and eventual silence in those eyes.

That expression, that unconscious, instinctive urge to protect someone…

It's so familiar.

In the past, the only one who could make her show this expression was Beibei...

Thinking of Beibei, a bitter ripple stirred in Mu En's usually calm heart.

He slowly raised his hand, looking at his palm, which resembled a withered tree branch, a deep sense of helplessness and regret flashing in his eyes.

"Ugh……"

"I...maybe I really did make a mistake back then."

He remembered a girl who stood here many years ago, with clear and determined eyes.

He remembered the promise he had made with Zhang Lexuan. That promise, like an invisible shackle, had firmly bound her most beautiful years and purest emotions.

He recalled how, for the last glimmer of hope of that long-declining sect, he had personally arranged for Beibei to approach and help a girl named Tang Ya.

He had thought this was just a learning experience.

Unexpectedly, the emotions of young boys and girls are the most unpredictable and uncontrollable things in the world.

Beibei fell in love with Tang Ya.

The agreement he personally made put his most favored heir, Zhang Lexuan, in an extremely awkward and painful situation.

Moon closed his eyes, his wrinkled face etched with exhaustion.

He thought he had planned everything perfectly, that he had paved the way for Shrek's future and for his great-grandson.

In the end, however, he hurt the younger generation he loved most with his own hands.

Now, it seems that Zhang Lexuan has transferred that misplaced concern to another, more mysterious and unpredictable boy.

Moon felt a mix of emotions.

He didn't know whether this was a blessing or a curse for Zhang Lexuan and Shrek Academy.

Outside the window, the leaves of the golden tree rustled in the night wind, as if they too were sighing along with the old man's heart.

The wooden door of the Sea God Pavilion slowly closed behind us, shutting out the quiet yet somber atmosphere inside.

Yan Shaozhe stood on the thick branches of the golden tree. The night breeze, carrying the moist, life-filled air of Poseidon Lake, brushed against his face, but it could not extinguish the fire in his heart.

It was a flame woven from shock, ecstasy, longing, and resentment.

His fists were clenched tightly beneath the wide sleeves of his robe.

Old Master Mu's words were still echoing in his ears.

"let it go."

Let nature take its course?

Yan Shaozhe bitterly pondered these four words in his heart.

How could we just let things take their natural course?

'Old Mu...he's too old.'

This disrespectful thought uncontrollably arose from the depths of his mind.

He had stood at the pinnacle of the continent for far too long; he was accustomed to viewing problems from a ten- or hundred-year perspective. He had enough patience to wait for a genius to slowly mature, to wait for the so-called sense of belonging to gradually take root.

"But we can't wait, Shrek, we can't wait."

Involuntarily, the image of Old Master Mu, hunched over as if he might collapse at any moment, appeared in his mind.

The academy's pillar of strength is already teetering on the brink of collapse.

Although Elder Xuan is powerful, the flaw in his martial soul is a natural barrier to reaching the Limit Douluo realm.

And in their generation, there isn't a single person who can truly shoulder the responsibility.

Whenever he thought of this, Yan Shaozhe's heart was filled with anxiety and heavy pressure.

Shrek Academy is like a magnificent ship on the outside, but with many rotten parts inside.

Old Master Mu is the ballast that holds the world together.

Once the magic needle breaks, how long can this giant ship sail smoothly in the turbulent continental landscape?
And now, an unprecedented hope, a hope that could become the new pillar of stability, has emerged.

Silver dust.

Twin Martial Souls.

One is based on the mysterious and unpredictable nature of time, while the other is an extreme form of ice capable of ushering in a new era.

He became a four-ring Soul Master before he was even twelve years old.

With such talent and such opportunities, throughout Shrek Academy's ten-thousand-year history, apart from the ancestor Tang San who created the myth, who can compare with him?

(End of this chapter)