Douluo Continent: Starting with a Heavenly Fire Judgment

Chapter 288 Success and failure both stemmed from Ji Lin

Because Di Tian led the ferocious beasts to join the Liyue Merchant Guild and was willing to provide them with soul beast genes, the relationship between humans and soul beasts has eased considerably. The three great empires, Shrek Academy, and even the Body Sect have all reached agreements with the ferocious beasts. As long as the ferocious beasts are willing to provide the genetic information of 100,000-year-old soul beasts to help them create 100,000-year-old holy marks, then humans will not hunt 100,000-year-old soul beasts without authorization.

At this meeting, the strength of Di Tian and the ferocious beast shocked the three great empires and the Body Sect. Even Dragon God Douluo Mu En said that his strength was inferior to Di Tian's. Currently, among humans, only Chi Yuan is stronger than Di Tian.

The ferocious beasts revealed their strength, and the existence of the 100,000-year-old Sacred Mark can also replace the 100,000-year-old soul beast to provide a 100,000-year-old soul ring for a soul master who breaks through to the Title Douluo level. It can even provide an additional Sacred Mark skill. Although 100,000-year-old soul beasts can drop soul bones, hunting them is too dangerous. Both methods have their advantages and disadvantages, but choosing the 100,000-year-old Sacred Mark is much safer than hunting 100,000-year-old soul beasts.

Shrek Academy, Poseidon Island, Poseidon Pavilion.

For ten thousand years, Poseidon Island has been nurtured by the radiant power of the ancient golden tree. The island is lush with vegetation, spring-like all year round, shrouded in mist, and exudes an ethereal charm.

However, this very place, the holy land of soul masters in the hearts of countless people on the Douluo Continent, is now shrouded in sorrow.

Inside the Sea God Pavilion, Elder Mu lay quietly in a recliner with his eyes closed. Nearly three and a half years had passed, yet Elder Mu's life seemed to be nearing its end. The rapid loss of his life force had caused his hair to fall out completely, and his entire body exuded an aura of decline.

No one could have guessed that this seemingly dying old man, who appeared to be on his last breath, was actually the Limit Douluo, the Sea God Pavilion Master, and the Dragon God Douluo who had dominated the continent for over two hundred years.

The Gluttonous Douluo Xuan Lao stood beside Elder Mu, his cloudy eyes filled with sorrow. The four deans of Shrek Academy—Yan Shaozhe, Cai Meier, Xian Lin'er, and Qian Duoduo—along with other elders, also wore expressions of profound grief. This group of Super Douluos and Title Douluos undoubtedly held a pivotal position on the continent. Yet, before Elder Mu, their eyes revealed a deep sense of filial piety and sorrow.

Elder Mu is the pillar of Shrek Academy. As long as he has a breath left, everyone has a source of support.

Once the pillar of the academy collapses, will Shrek Academy be able to maintain its status as the number one academy on the continent and safeguard its glory for millennia?

No one dared to speak out.

Yan Shaozhe and Qian Duoduo were barely able to control their emotions, while Xian Lin'er and Cai Mei'er were sobbing uncontrollably.

Outside the Sea God Pavilion, the inner disciples sat cross-legged in front of the door. At the very front sat a woman who looked to be around twenty-five or twenty-six years old. Her long, smooth black hair cascaded down to her waist, and her exquisite face was flawless. She possessed a tranquil and gentle temperament, as if she were born with an innate sense of approachability.

Zhang Lexuan, the senior disciple of the inner courtyard.

Behind Zhang Lexuan were two more women: the Golden Fairy Han Ruoruo and the Evil Fire Phoenix Ma Xiaotao.

Among the inner disciples of Shrek Academy, the three of them are arguably the highest in status. Zhang Lexuan is a Soul Douluo and has been selected as a candidate for the Sea God Pavilion Master. Han Ruoruo is the head of the Inner Academy's Supervisory Pavilion and also serves as one of the Seven Stars of Liyue, Yao Guangxing. She has been internally designated as a member of the Sea God Pavilion. Ma Xiaotao has also been selected by Yan Shaozhe as the successor of the Shrek Academy Martial Soul Department Dean and even has the opportunity to compete for the position of Sea God Pavilion Master.

The three of them are now the leaders of the inner court disciples.

Behind the three girls were all the inner court students. The third row consisted of Wu Ming, Gu Fan, Hua Yao, and other outstanding inner court students with Soul Saint cultivation. Following them were Ling Luochen, Gongyang Mo, Xi Xi, Chen Zifeng, Chu Qingtian, and other inner court disciples with Soul Emperor cultivation. Behind them were Ji Lin, Wang Qiu'er, Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, Jiang Nannan, Wang Dong'er, Xiao Xiao, and others. At the very back were Dai Huabin, Ning Tian, ​​Zhou Sichen, Lan Susu, Lan Luoluo, and others who had entered the inner court after Ji Lin and the others.

They did not go out on surveillance missions, but instead went to see Elder Mu off on his final journey.

None of the exchange students from the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy came. They were not considered true disciples of Shrek Academy's inner court, so they were not allowed to come near the Sea God Pavilion.

Old Mu opened his eyes, and those eyes, which were originally extremely dark, became extremely clear at this moment, turning into a deep blue, like the endless depths of the sea.

Seeing this, the elders became even more sorrowful.

This is just a last gasp; Old Mu won't make it past today.

"Xuanzi, push me out," Old Master Mu said softly. "I'll give you a few last words and talk to the children for a while."

"Yes, Elder Mu."

With red eyes, Elder Xuan personally carried Elder Mu's reclining chair out of the Sea God Pavilion.

The inner disciples stood up in a rush and bowed deeply at a ninety-degree angle to express their respect to Elder Mu. Zhang Lexuan and Bei Bei, who had the deepest affection for Elder Mu, were already sobbing uncontrollably.

Ji Lin sighed as he looked at Elder Mu, whose life force was fading away in his final moments. In the original story, Elder Mu died less than two years later because of the attack on Shrek Academy by evil soul masters. If there hadn't been the attack, Elder Mu wouldn't have made a move, and Ji Lin thought he could have lasted at least another three to five years. However, last time, because of the Liyue Merchant Guild and the matter of the Holy Mark, Elder Mu ultimately fought against Du Busi and Di Tian, ​​the sect leaders of the Body Sect, to test the waters for Shrek's reputation. He only managed to hold on for another year and a half before his life came to an end.

In fact, the reason why Elder Mu was able to live for more than a year longer was because Ji Lin changed Ma Xiaotao's fate. However, Elder Mu is now dying because Ji Lin created the Stigmata and the Liyue Merchant Guild. It can be said that he was both made and broken by Ji Lin.

Elder Mu's gaze shifted to the inner courtyard disciples, starting with the eldest inner courtyard disciple, Zhang Lexuan, at the front, and slowly moving backward. He lingered on each face for a moment, spending the most time on Bei Bei's face, and finally looked at Ji Lin with a complex expression. He thought highly of Ji Lin, believing that Ji Lin had the ability to lead the Sea God Pavilion to the top, but Ji Lin did not belong to Shrek Academy, and he would eventually have to leave.

"Children..."

"Ancestor Xuanzu!"

Old Master Mu only said three words, and Bei Bei knelt down with a thud. Old Master Mu was his only blood relative in the world. His dearest relative was about to pass away, and the taut string finally broke.

Everyone turned their heads away, unable to bear the sight of a hero in his twilight years, a grandfather and grandson parting. The sentimental female disciples all had tears in their eyes, tears streaming down their faces, impossible to stop. The elders were also glistening with tears.

Although it was unexpected that Beibei was actually Mu Lao's great-grandson, the atmosphere at the scene had already quelled their surprise.

Not only Beibei, but also Yan Shaozhe, Cai Meier, Xian Liner and Qian Duoduo, who were standing behind Elder Mu, knelt down at the same time, their eyes filled with tears. They were also Elder Mu's juniors and had all been watched by Elder Mu grow up.

(End of this chapter)