Facing the cold and hostile gazes of the Sea God Pavilion elders, Mu En's heart turned to ashes.
He had truly never imagined that over a hundred years of guarding the academy would be worth less than a few specious books. The reputation he had built over most of his life was so easily shattered in the eyes of these people.
"Do you... truly not believe in this old man?" Even with a cold heart, Mu En still asked this question, a question that perplexed him.
As the Sea God Pavilion Master, was there truly no one who supported and believed in him?
And just as Mu En asked this, Elder Song had finished building up her power...
"Heh!" Elder Song sneered and slapped the table, rising to her feet. "Silence! You shameless old scoundrel! Do you not know that everyone in the world wishes they could eat your flesh? How dare you still flap your gums here!"
"Shameless... old scoundrel?!"
Mu En's face turned from pale to green and back again. His blood boiled and his anger soared. As a Limit Douluo, when had he ever been cursed like this?!
"Song Yunzhi, how dare you!" Mu En glared at Elder Song. He no longer called her "Little Song," but used her full name.
"What is there to dare?" Elder Song had a cold smile on her face. She stood up and faced everyone. "I have something to say. Please listen!"
The other Sea God Pavilion members who had been won over by Elder Song gave her face and watched her quietly, waiting for her to continue. Although Cai Mei'er wanted to say something, under Elder Song's powerful and sharp gaze, the words were caught in her throat.
"Today, Heaven has not abandoned our Shrek. It continues our ten-thousand-year glory. In these ten thousand years, hundreds of generations of Shrek's ancestors poured their heart and soul into the academy and dedicated their lives, which led to the glory we have today." Elder Song's expression was solemn, and her voice was powerful and resonant.
The other Sea God Pavilion members nodded in agreement. If it weren't for this, they wouldn't have stayed to defend Shrek and its brilliant glory.
After the opening remarks, Elder Song's tone changed, becoming much sharper and fiercer. "Our Shrek has, for generations, followed the command of our ancestor Tang San, to hunt down enemies. We have been sworn enemies with Evil Soul Masters for generations, with the mission of eradicating Evil Soul Masters and the goal of protecting the peace of the Douluo Continent."
"But now!" Elder Song's voice suddenly rose, filled with intense anger. "Our current Sea God Pavilion Master, disregarding our ancestor's command and the hundreds of millions of lives on the Douluo Continent, has willingly fallen to consort with Evil Soul Masters, viewing Shrek's spirit and glory as nothing!"
"You, Mu En, as a hound of the dark Evil Soul Masters, are only fit to skulk in a sewer, never to see the light of day. How dare you try to cover the heavens with one hand in front of our Shrek?!"
Elder Song's tone was passionate. She waved her sleeve and, with her back to the others, looked directly at Mu En with undisguised contempt and mockery.
Elder Song's speech successfully ignited the passion in the other Sea God Pavilion elders. If the occasion had been different, they would have been cheering and applauding.
In contrast, Mu En, with anger caught in his throat, had a face that was turning red, like a steamed duck. A faint, almost inaudible, narration-like voice seemed to sound in the air.
"Warning! Warning! Overheating warning!"
"You... you!!!" Mu En almost spat out a mouthful of old blood. He clutched his chest with one hand and pointed a trembling finger at Elder Song with the other. His eyes looked as though he wanted to kill her on the spot.
But he truly had no way to refute Elder Song's words.
If he had never had any connection to Evil Soul Masters, he would have countless ways to clear his name. But since he was not clean to begin with, he could only swallow the bitter pill that Lin Yun had forced him to take.
Suddenly, in this public setting, being publicly executed by Elder Song, Mu En was so furious that he was fuming. He was so close to dying from sheer rage.
Where could he find the energy to form a rebuttal?
Besides, this was Elder Song's long-prepared ultimate move!
"Shut up!" Elder Song slapped the table again, shouting in a commanding voice. "White-headed old fool, grizzled old scoundrel! You are on the verge of returning to the underworld! At that time, this old woman will see what face you have to meet the hundreds of generations of Shrek's ancestors and what face you have to meet the old Pavilion Master who has already returned to the Sea God's embrace!"
"You... you!!!" Mu En's breathing became ragged. It was clear to everyone that he was at his breaking point.
"You shameless wretch! You have lived for over two hundred years in vain, achieving nothing. All you do is act two-faced and assist evil! You are a dog with a broken spine, yet you dare to bark and prattle in the Sea God Pavilion in front of us who are truly righteous and glorious!"
"I, Song Yunzhi, have never seen such a!"
"Shameless person!!!"
A complete slaughter!
The scene was silent. The only sound was Mu En's increasingly rapid breathing, like a bellows.
All the Sea God Pavilion members stared dumbfounded at the fiercely attacking Elder Song. At this moment, the MVP of the Sea God Pavilion was unquestionably Elder Song. Her smooth combo of attacks had left even the Limit Douluo Mu En dizzy and disoriented.
Lin Huiqun, in particular, looked at Elder Song with the admiration one would have for a majestic mountain.
"Elder Song is a god, now and forever!"
"She truly is the big sister of the Sea God Pavilion. No wonder Elder Song could become the leader of the Sea God Pavilion while I, Lin Huiqun, can only be a humble innkeeper. Her style is so magnificent that even with one foot in the grave, I still want to use my remaining life to learn from her!"
"She, Song Yunzhi, has easily done what I, Lin Huiqun, could not. It is truly inspiring and makes me completely submit!"
The other Sea God Pavilion members also looked at Elder Song with respect and admiration, making her shine like a star under a spotlight, utterly brilliant!
Even Cai Mei'er, who should have stood firmly by Mu En's side, lowered her head in shame after hearing Elder Song's speech. Although Elder Song had only cursed Mu En from beginning to end and had nothing to do with her, who could blame her? Her husband was Yan Shaozhe.
People say a wife should follow her husband, and a husband and wife should be in sync. But now, both her husband and her husband's teacher had been confirmed to have inseparable ties to Evil Soul Masters. Even if she knew she was innocent and had no knowledge of Yan Shaozhe's and Mu En's affairs, who would believe her? Who could guarantee that she, Cai Mei'er, would not be held accountable?
"I have to protect myself! I must!"
To avoid being held accountable, she could only hold others accountable!
Although the ancients said, "A wife follows her husband," the ancients also said, "A couple is like birds in the same forest. When disaster strikes, they fly their separate ways!"
"Shao-zhe! I'm so, so sorry!"
"Well, I've already apologized. So if I stab you in the back to save my own life and status, you won't blame me, right? A day as a couple is a hundred days of grace. We've been married for almost a century! You will definitely understand!"
"Right?!"
Thinking this, Cai Mei'er, who had been lowering her head in shame, suddenly looked up. Her beautiful eyes were sparkling as she looked at Elder Song with admiration.
"That's right, Elder Song, we support you!"
Who would have thought that Cai Mei'er, who should have been the most steadfast in supporting Mu En, would be the first to publicly support Elder Song, dealing a vicious blow to Mu En's heart?
Elder Song turned her head and, seeing Cai Mei'er's fan-girl expression, nodded in satisfaction. She had originally planned to teach Cai Mei'er a lesson after dealing with Mu En, but since her little sister was so understanding, she, Song Yunzhi, was not a petty person.
"I will let you off the hook!"
"After all, you're a good sister!"
"Ugh... Ah!!!"
Puff!!!
Mu En looked up to the sky and spat out a mouthful of fresh blood. His life force rapidly faded. His old, cloudy eyes were filled with confusion, unwillingness, and unconcealed anger.
"Heh... hehe..." Mu En's gaze swept over the Sea God Pavilion members, a sarcastic and bitter laugh escaping his lips. His eyes finally rested on Cai Mei'er.
And this young girl whom he had watched grow up was now looking at him with the same expression as the other Sea God Pavilion members—full of contempt and disdain, her face screaming, "I'm ashamed to be associated with you."
"I should have known..." Mu En's eyes slowly closed. The thick aura of death made the light in his eyes grow dimmer and dimmer until it was completely gone.
Immediately after, Mu En's old body, which was leaning against the chair, began to emit a bright, warm light. Finally, it turned into countless starlights and dissipated into the air. Only an empty linen robe was left on the chair. The Dragon God Mu En, who had once dominated the world, was no more.
A Limit Douluo had met a humiliating end.
He had been away for over a month, and the old injuries on his body could no longer be suppressed. If he hadn't been so worried about Shrek, the first thing he would have done upon returning to the Sea God Pavilion would have been to use the power of the Golden Tree to suppress his injuries and allow his body to last a little longer.
But Elder Song's attack was too fierce. It caused him to lose control of his mind. In short, he was completely "broken."
Cai Mei'er's words and attitude were the final straw that broke Mu En's spirit. He never would have thought that Cai Mei'er, whom he had watched grow up and was almost a half-disciple, would stab him in the back in this situation.
Cai Mei'er should have been the one to believe in Mu En the most!
But she dealt a heavy blow to him, making him completely lose the will to live. His internal injuries and the vengeful spirit of the Dragon Pill that was wrapped around his soul erupted at the same time, and the Limit Douluo ascended in this way.
Well... whether he ascended or not was hard to say. He was definitely "immortalized." Besides the mouthful of blood he had just spat out, which still stained the table in the Sea God Pavilion a striking red, he didn't leave any other trace.
What Elder Song said was not wrong.
If he, Mu En, hadn't made that mistake, hadn't held on to his old feelings and stopped his teacher from killing Ye Xishui, which led to Old Ghoul Zhong Li attacking Shrek and his teacher's death from his injuries, his teacher would not have died so early.
If Ye Xishui had truly been killed, the Holy Spirit Cult would not have two terrifying enemies at the Limit Douluo level today.
He, Mu En... would not have been stained by this, which gave the person in the shadows an opportunity to launch a massive attack on Shrek, ruining its reputation and making it an object of public scorn on the Douluo Continent, like a stinking stray dog walking down the street.
In the end... Elder Song's attack was not wrong.
All of this was caused by him, Mu En.
Combined with Elder Song's words, "What face do you have to meet the hundreds of generations of Shrek's ancestors?", Mu En didn't even have the thought of attaching his soul to the Golden Tree to protect Shrek Academy for a little longer.
And at the same time.
After Mu En's words, "I should have known," there was another phrase he didn't say out loud.
"I shouldn't have had any expectations of you."
Sea God Pavilion Master, Dragon God Douluo Mu En.
Fallen.
...
Perhaps even Mu En himself never expected that his brilliant life would end in such a humiliating way, not leaving a glorious name in history, but instead leaving a name that would be infamous for ten thousand years, bearing countless curses, and being labeled as a loyal dog to Evil Soul Masters.
But no matter what, Mu En was dead. Even if he still had a way to prolong his life, he didn't do it. Instead, he let his injuries erupt and fell with unwillingness and confusion.
He didn't attack Elder Song. Otherwise, even though he was close to death, he could have killed Elder Song with a single palm strike. Don't underestimate a Limit Douluo, even one who is on the verge of death.
Long Xiaoyao and Ye Xishui from the original novel are the best examples. It would have been very simple for Mu En to kill Elder Song before he died.
But he didn't.
Mu En still cared about Shrek. Shrek had nurtured him, which led to the famous Sea God Pavilion Master, Dragon God Douluo Mu En. He could have killed Elder Song with a single slap to vent his anger, but then what?
Yan Shaozhe and Xuan Zi were already not up to the task, and now they were "sewing" at the bottom of the Golden Tree.
Elder Song was the person with the highest prestige in the Sea God Pavilion now. After his death, she could naturally take over as the Sea God Pavilion Master, preventing Shrek Academy from having to face the double blow of a precarious situation and a lack of leadership.
So even if Mu En was furious with Elder Song, he didn't kill her. Instead, he hoped she could lead Shrek well and allow it to continue. If his death could quell the Evil Soul Master controversy and allow Shrek to slowly regain its former reputation, then Mu En would be even more satisfied.
Of course, this was all a dying wish of Mu En's.
Although he didn't say the last sentence, the thought was always there. The current leaders of Shrek Academy were truly not worthy of his trust or his expectations.
It was very complex, but it made sense.
In the end, he was Mu En—a far-sighted old man, a calm and wise old man. Even in his anger and disappointment, he still hoped that Shrek could be passed on well.
If it had been Xuan Zi, he would probably have thought, "Since you're slandering me, if I can't live, then no one should live."
Boom!
The Rank 98 Super Douluo's self-destruction would level the entire Shrek Academy.
This was also the reason why Mu En didn't release Xuan Zi and Yan Shaozhe before he died. They were both too impulsive. If he had released them, Shrek would truly be torn apart by a civil war and be destroyed.
"Shrek..."
"Ancestors, Mu En... is ashamed to face you all!"
(End of Chapter)
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