Mu En could now confirm one thing beyond doubt:
The Golden Tree had its own consciousness — and that consciousness was not formed from the souls of Shrek's seniors who had merged into it over the millennia.
If it were, the Golden Tree wouldn't have turned a blind eye to the Holy Spirit Sect's invasion.Nor would it only restore its body back to peak condition after Niu Tian mentioned the existence of a god-level being within the Sun–Moon Empire.
And when Mu En brought the Sea God Pavilion members to plead, it first refused.Only after seeing Mu En's unshakeable resolve did it finally agree to heal Bei Bei — who had been barely clinging to life.
To Mu En, the Golden Tree was nothing less than a colossal conspiracy aimed at Shrek.
Had none of this happened, Mu En would've died naturally years ago, and like every Shrek predecessor, his soul would've merged with the Golden Tree after death.
Except — this wasn't "merging" at all.
It was devouring.His soul would've been eaten by the Golden Tree.
But even knowing that… what could he do?
The Golden Tree was capable of restoring his broken, decaying body to peak form with ease.Taking everything from him would be just as effortless.
Against something this powerful, Mu En had no choice but to play dumb.
Once he accepted that truth, the gloom in his eyes vanished.He immediately checked Bei Bei's condition.
Bei Bei's body had indeed been healed — but his shattered martial soul had not.He would never become a soul master again.
Mu En whipped his head toward the Golden Tree, but before he could ask anything, a wave rippled through the tree's surroundings.
Its voice echoed directly into his mind.
It claimed Bei Bei's martial soul had been extracted by someone else and couldn't be restored.Mu En sneered inwardly — he didn't believe a word of that.
The truth was obvious:To the Golden Tree, Bei Bei simply wasn't worth the effort.
A martial soul that could be ripped out and used as nourishment for someone else…What value did such a person have to an existence like the Golden Tree?
Mu En suppressed his rage.Bei Bei being alive was already the best outcome possible.At least his bloodline would continue — the Light Holy Dragon still had a future.
Breathing deeply, Mu En finally spoke to the Golden Tree.
"If you ever need something from me, I won't refuse. But before that… I have to go to the Sun–Moon Empire and clean up the aftermath of this incident."
The Golden Tree grew quiet again.If not for Bei Bei's recovery, it would seem as if nothing had ever happened.
Mu En no longer wasted thought on the Golden Tree's intentions.Right now, what mattered was cutting Shrek Academy off from Xuan Zi, that worthless waste who should've died long ago.
No matter what, they couldn't allow Xuan Zi's actions to drag Shrek any deeper into public hatred.The academy could no longer withstand that level of backlash.
In truth, Mu En blamed himself as well.
If he had crippled Xuan Zi immediately after the Star Dou Forest incident, Shrek would still have been attacked by other powers — but it wouldn't have fallen so quickly.
After sternly warning the Sea God Pavilion members not to leave Shrek Academy before he returned, Mu En departed for the Sun–Moon Empire without hesitation.
He was frightened.The famed Dragon God Douluo — not slain by an enemy, but effectively taken down by one of their own.
What a wretched, humiliating fate.
While Mu En traveled, Xuan Zi was still wandering the streets of Mingdu in a drunken haze, buying alcohol every day and paying no attention whatsoever to the ongoing semifinals of the Continental Soul Master Tournament.
Before that, Zhongli Wu had secretly avoided Jing Hongchen and met with Xuan Zi.
He told him that Tang Ya killing Xu Sanshi and leaving Bei Bei on the brink of death had been "an accident".
That "accident" wouldn't affect their cooperation — they would still strike together and kill Huo Yuhao after the tournament.
Xuan Zi scoffed at the explanation.He wasn't stupid enough to believe such nonsense.
But he didn't expose Zhongli Wu — instead he pretended to accept it and agreed to continue cooperating.
Yet his goal was not only Huo Yuhao.
He had already decided his ending:
After killing Yuhao, he would kill Tang Ya, even if it cost him his life, and finally self-destruct — ending everything in one glorious explosion.
Whoever he could kill — evil soul masters, Sun–Moon Empire people — it would be worth it.
As for innocent bystanders?Bad luck for them.They shouldn't have been living in Mingdu.
Meanwhile, the semifinals of the tournament were drawing the entire city's attention.
The Sun–Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy was facing the Holy Spirit Sect — the Haotian Sect, which had hidden itself for thousands of years, even nearly ten thousand, against the Body Sect, which had become the state religion of the Star Luo Empire.
Poison Unkillable had originally believed the Body Sect would surely challenge the Sun–Moon Academy for the championship.Neither the Holy Spirit Sect nor the Haotian Sect should've been their match.
But to his shock, after so many battles, the Haotian Sect still hadn't revealed their true strength.
Among their participants were five Soul Saints,each one proficient in Chaotic Wind Hammer Technique and the Ring Detonation Absolute Skill.
Even with Long Aotian, Weina, and the others giving everything they had, the Body Sect still suffered a crushing defeat.
The Haotian Sect's victory shook every academy and sect present.
Only now did everyone fully understand:
The Haotian Sect didn't hide from the world because they were outdated or afraid of losing face.They hid because they were too strong — showing their true power openly would only attract fear and hostility from countless forces.
Titan was very satisfied with their performance.His gaze drifted toward the Sun–Moon Academy's prep area, filled with amusement.
He wanted to see whether, without Gu Yuena's tricks or interference, the Sun–Moon Academy could stand against the Haotian Sect's true might.
But Gu Yuena, Huo Yuhao, and Wang Dong'er ignored Titan entirely.
They stepped onto the stage, ready to face the infamous Holy Spirit Sect.
Before the Holy Spirit Sect's members entered, Zhongli Wu warned them:
"See if you can eliminate a few of them. If possible, kill them outright. Don't worry — with me here, even if you kill someone, your safety is guaranteed."
Tang Ya sneered inside.
Kill them?Facing her "master," she wanted nothing more than to cling to him — how could she possibly bring herself to kill him?
..............
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