Douluo Continent: Huo Yuhao obtains the Flame Emperor template

Chapter 153 Xuanzi Wants to Atone for His Sin with Death

As soon as Xuanzi entered the Sea God Pavilion, he said quite skillfully, "I voluntarily withdraw from the Sea God Pavilion."

It is evident that Xuanzi's voluntary proposal to withdraw from the Sea God Pavilion was a very skillful move, and there is no need to be surprised. He is very adept at this, and it is all based on experience.

After all, this isn't the first or second time.

However, the elders still looked shocked and took turns speaking to try to persuade Xuanzi to stay.

"Elder Xuan, I estimate that eight or nine out of ten Soul Masters on the entire continent would not bother to dispose of the corpse after killing an enemy."

"Since no one knew about the corpse explosion technique before, they naturally wouldn't bother with the futile effort of destroying the evidence."

"Moreover, the evil soul master's methods are so bizarre that they are beyond comprehension. A five-ring soul king controlling a corpse to explode, causing damage comparable to a soul saint's full-force attack, has exceeded the scope of what the soul master world can understand."

All the elders spoke up, telling Xuanzi not to blame himself too much.

Seeing everyone's cooperation, Xuanzi's expression of resignation became even more resolute, so as to make this Sea God Conference more meaningful.

From his voluntary resignation to his eventual decision to remain as an elder at the Sea God Pavilion after much persuasion, the process couldn't be too smooth; it certainly involved some twists and turns. Therefore, Xuanzi solemnly stated:

As early as the last time and the time before that, when he led the team to hunt for spirit rings and made a serious mistake, he wanted to resign. However, due to various unavoidable reasons, he kept delaying until now, which resulted in this tragedy.

Xuanzi's eyes were bloodshot, and his voice gradually became moist as he spoke: "Elder Mu, this time I led the team to wipe out the evil soul masters, which resulted in the deaths of three disciples from the regular team. With such a serious mistake, how can I still have the face to stay in the Sea God Pavilion?"

Yan Shaozhe was startled, thinking that Elder Xuan was going to ask him what face he had left to live on.

Fortunately, although Xuanzi felt extremely guilty, he did not have any thoughts of suicide. Yan Shaozhe breathed a sigh of relief. With Xuanzi's powerful martial arts skills, he would definitely be a strong pillar of the Martial Soul system in the future.

After hearing Xuanzi's speech, the entire Sea God Pavilion fell into an eerie silence for a moment.

Old Master Mu lay on the recliner at the head of the table, his eyes slightly closed, looking calm and serene. A few beams of light shone on his face in the dim light, adding to his mystery and making it impossible to guess his thoughts.

"Xuanzi, sit down and listen first." Mu En's voice was calm and even, revealing no emotion. "The fact that a fifth-ring evil soul master can achieve this level with the help of a soul tool also reflects a deeper flaw in the allocation of education in the academy."

All the elders watched in tacit agreement as Xuanzi took his seat.

However, the first thing Xuanzi did after sitting down was to stand up.

"Hmm?" Mu En's tone rose two octaves, his closed eyes slightly opening, his voice calm yet extremely authoritative: "Xuanzi, do you have any complaints about this Sea God Pavilion meeting?"

After Xuanzi stood up, his face was full of grief, and tears blurred his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Elder Mu. It was my fault that those three children died in battle. It's all my fault. I will personally visit their families and do my best to ease their grief."

"Everyone, farewell." After completing the entire procedure, Xuanzi silently walked slowly towards the exit of the Sea God Pavilion.

Upon witnessing this scene, Mu Lao's emotions, which had been dormant for decades, surged with anger at this moment.

"Come back! Did you come to resign, or to inform me? Did I agree to let you leave?"

Xuanzi's heart trembled upon hearing this, and he paused in his steps as he walked out of the Sea God Pavilion.

"Elder Mu, having committed such a colossal mistake, I have no face to remain in the Sea God Pavilion any longer." Xuanzi said, his back to the group of elders, his body trembling slightly.

Moon's eyes narrowed slightly, releasing a hint of pressure: "You coward who made a grave mistake and only thought about shirking responsibility, get back here now."

Watching the grand performance of the elders surrounding Xuanzi's "voluntary resignation to become a free man," Elder Mu couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness.

The previous two times Xuanzi led teams to hunt for soul rings, he returned with an expression of "I am guilty!" and immediately convened a meeting of the Sea God Pavilion.

It seems that this might lessen his sense of guilt.

Elder Mu's tone softened slightly: "Xuanzi, have you considered the children who will soon participate in the Soul Master Competition and compete, while you continue to desert your post?"

"Do you know how heavy the burden of Shrek Academy's 'eternal glory' is on the disciples? It's a heavy weight for them!"

Xuanzi turned around, trembling, and sat back down. He took a deep breath, his lips quivering uncontrollably. "Elder Mu, this extermination of the evil soul masters has been met with a sudden and drastic change. I know this Soul Master Competition will be difficult, but..."

As he spoke, Xuanzi wiped his eyes and spoke with conviction.

"If our children fail in the Soul Master Competition, causing the end of Shrek Academy's 'eternal glory,' I, Xuanzi, will bear this responsibility, this failure, and this shame alone!"

Old Master Mu took a deep breath, his eyes revealing an indescribable sternness.

"The kids are forcing themselves to compete, and if they lose, the label of 'losing the Shrek Academy's eternal crown' will follow them for life! Xuanzi, how will you bear this responsibility?"

Upon hearing this, Xuanzi's lips trembled slightly, but he remained silent.

Even though other academy teams defeated Shrek Academy's reserve team in the Soul Master Competition, breaking Shrek's so-called ten-thousand-year glory, it was still considered an unfair victory.

What if the Sun and Moon Team, which considers Shrek Team their only rival, also sends out a reserve team with members under the age of fifteen, whose overall combat strength is comparable to or even surpasses theirs? How will Shrek Team respond?

Moon sighed deeply. Many times... one's own people are far more deadly than the enemy.

"Xuanzi, the children in the reserve team are still young. You resigned so easily, but those little guys suffered defeat, lost their eternal glory, and had their confidence completely shattered... Can you bear to see them bear the stigma and pressure of losing the championship in the future?"

Shrek Academy's perennial crown is indeed an unparalleled honor. However, in Moon's view, isn't it also a kind of shackle?

Upon hearing Elder Mu's words, Xuanzi's previous confident demeanor vanished completely. His body trembled uncontrollably once again, and he wept silently, overcome with grief.

Old Master Mu, exasperated, rebuked him: "If you don't want your children to be nailed to the pillar of shame, then listen to me carefully."

Seeing Xuanzi straighten his greasy, tattered clothes, seemingly straightening his posture and looking as if he had learned a painful lesson, Mu En felt an unprecedented heaviness in his heart.

Xuanzi is not up to the task, but now that Elder Mu is old and frail, after he passes away, Xuanzi will be the number one cultivator in Shrek Academy. Ultimately, it will be Xuanzi's martial prowess that will deter those treacherous villains.

If there are no other reasonable ways to rely on and utilize Xuanzi's martial power, it is obviously unrealistic to remove Xuanzi from his position.

It was Xuanzi's first time leading a team, and they had encountered a 100,000-year-old soul beast. Most of his disciples were no match for it. Given that they were accidentally separated from Xuanzi, it was understandable that there were too many casualties.

However, this time, the team led by the two Soul Emperors and five Soul Kings are all the most outstanding students of the academy. Any one of them could absolutely crush others of the same level.

These are the Shrek Seven Devils! How could they be so miserably tormented by a mere fifth-ring evil soul master, reduced to such a state?

Elder Mu sighed sadly and said, "We will discuss the punishment for Xuanzi later. There is indeed no record of the Corpse Explosion soul skill before, but we must take this as a warning in the future."

"Regardless, Xuanzi is a pillar of our Shrek Academy. His level 98 cultivation is enough to deter most people with ulterior motives. It's a shame he couldn't capture that evil soul master in time..."

Mu En raised his hand slightly towards Elder Zhuang, but did not continue talking about Xuanzi. Perhaps Xuanzi could turn the tide if the academy encountered a major crisis in the future.

Elder Zhuang immediately understood Elder Mu's meaning and said in a calm and unhurried tone, "The toxins that invaded Dai Yueheng's severed arm have been completely cleared, and he is out of danger."

"Afterwards, the Soul Guidance Department can use a rare metal with high strength and high toughness to make a prosthetic limb. If the Star Luo Royal Family's Immortal Doctor Douluo takes action, he may be able to return to the battlefield after a period of recuperation."

With Dai Yueheng's talent, he had a great chance of becoming a titled Douluo or even a Super Douluo. Now, it all depends on how many rare treasures the White Tiger Duke is willing to spend on his eldest son and whether he can get a high-quality soul tool prosthetic limb.

Upon hearing this, Xuanzi felt a sharp pain in his heart, and a surge of intense grief and guilt welled up within him once again.

Elder Zhuang pondered for a moment: "As for Xu Sanshi, according to Elder Xuan, he was captured by an evil soul master and had some kind of countdown soul tool installed on his waist, which Elder Xuan was unable to remove immediately."

"Although Xu Sanshi's current situation is far from as bad as Dai Yueheng's, but..." Old Zhuang didn't know how to start.

Elder Mu slightly closed his eyes and then opened them again: "Let's get straight to the point. Our three disciples sacrificed themselves for the glory of Shrek Academy during this mission. Compared to that, what is there that we cannot accept?"

As the deputy head of the inspection team, Xuanzi silently took out the inspection team's special roster and solemnly wrote the names of Chen Zifeng, Yao Haoxuan, and Gongyang Mo on the roster with tears in his eyes.

After a moment's thought, Elder Zhuang said, "The miniature soul-guided bombs used by evil soul masters are also quite special. One of Xu Sanshi's kidneys was almost completely blown up... There's probably no hope of recovery. Fortunately, the other problem isn't too serious."

During the meeting, several elders looked at each other with strange expressions. After thinking for a moment, they sighed inwardly, "Xu Sanshi is such a troublemaker."

This kind of injury won't significantly weaken a Soul Master's actual combat power, but it will have a considerable impact on certain functions. However, being rescued from the evil Soul Master is already a stroke of good luck amidst misfortune.

Yan Shaozhe pursed his lips and said, "Elder Mu, three of our regular team members have been killed in action. The competition hasn't even really started yet, so we need to select three suitable disciples to fill the gaps."

"The Soul Guidance Department disciple who was replaced by Xiao Tao before is one of them."

Upon hearing this, Qian Duoduo, the vice dean of the Soul Guidance Department, sneered indignantly, "Look at your Martial Soul Department, you're truly incapable of shouldering great responsibilities."

"Some classes in the lower grades of the outer academy are running around aimlessly on the playground all day long. Even I, Qian Duoduo, can't stand it anymore. It's simply a waste of a Soul Master's precious time."

Qian Duoduo felt that it was fine to start by training the body through running to improve the physical fitness of a Soul Master, but running all the time was not the right thing to do.

Instead of wasting this time, you might as well come to their Soul Guidance Department and spend two more hours learning how to inscribe core magic arrays.

Yan Shaozhe frowned slightly, and asked with displeasure, "Qian Duoduo, have you forgotten who passed down this training method?"

You dare question the training methods passed down from our ancestors? I'll see what you're made of...

Qian Duoduo chuckled and said, "I'm not against this training method, but as a Soul Master and Soul Instructor, I hope that the training of Soul Masters can be more scientific."

He took out the list of the main team members and pointed to the two columns: Martial Spirit and Cultivation.

"Yan Shaozhe, take a closer look. The disciples who went on this mission with Elder Xuan are all top-tier martial soul disciples under the age of twenty from Shrek Academy. You have no objections to that, right?"

Yan Shaozhe snorted coldly and remained silent. Among the disciples in the inner courtyard who met the requirements for the competition, Ma Xiaotao's talent was indeed the strongest.

Qian Duoduo slammed the list on the table: "But look at the result! The starting players are in such a sorry state."

"If it weren't for our Soul Guidance Department disciple He Caitou stepping forward and using the Soul Guidance Shield to withstand the shockwaves from several rounds of exploding corpses, the reserve team members might have also been seriously injured."

In fact, Elder Mu had always had the idea of ​​developing the Soul Guidance Department, but the Martial Soul Department of the academy had always been strong.

The lack of opportunity to develop the Soul Guidance Department has resulted in it being constantly suppressed by the Martial Soul Department, which has greatly displeased the deans and vice deans of the Soul Guidance Department.

It was obviously inappropriate for the Dean of the Soul Guidance Department, Xian Lin'er, to say some of the rough things, but resources were something that had to be fought for.

It was very appropriate for Qian Duoduo to make this request.

"That mere fifth-ring Soul King was able to escape so quickly that even Elder Xuan couldn't capture him in a short time."

"A large part of the reason is that the Sun Moon Empire's flying soul tools are very advanced, while the flying soul tools of our Shrek Academy and the Star Luo Empire can be said to be knock-offs in comparison."

Upon hearing these words, Yan Shaozhe's expression changed. Fearing that he might provoke Elder Xuan, he immediately stood up to refute them.

"Shut up. If it weren't for the disciples of the Martial Soul Department, who stood at the forefront and withstood the corpse explosion with their own strong physical abilities, the casualties would have been even more severe."

Qian Duoduo chuckled mockingly, "Are you stupid? If all the disciples in the main team had level five or even level six soul-guided protective shields, would Chen Zifeng, Yao Haoxuan, and Gongyang Mo still have died in battle?"

The two were used to bickering, but every word they said was like a sharp blade piercing Xuanzi's heart, causing Xuanzi's body to tremble uncontrollably.

Xuanzi's emotions became increasingly unstable as she listened, her voice rose, and her eyes filled with tears.

"It's all my fault! I've ruined the children! They were the future of the academy, yet I caused their deaths in the Mingdou Mountains. How can I have the face to live in this world? I... I'm willing to atone with my death!"

Xuanzi became more and more agitated as he spoke, large tears streaming down his face, looking like he was having an emotional breakdown.

Suddenly, he raised his large hand, and a surging, terrifying earth-yellow soul power condensed in his palm. He then slammed it down on his heart.

(End of this chapter)