Return to Shrek?
The academy was rubble. Wait for the teachers and students to come back?
They were trapped in an unknown spacetime channel—life or death uncertain.
Return to her family?
The thought crossed her mind, but whenever she thought of the teachers and classmates whose fates were unknown, Xiao Xiao hesitated.
In the end, at Jiang Nannan's invitation and with Zhang Lexuan's kind plea, Xiao Xiao decided to stay temporarily in Haiyuan City and await the return of familiar figures like Ma Xiaotao and Xuan Zi. That faint hope became her support.
Suddenly, a gentle knock sounded at the door, breaking Qingque's story and the room's temporary calm.
Jiang Nannan stood, composed herself, and opened the door.
Outside stood a Gold-Warden in standard Haiyuan City equipment, respectful in demeanor. Behind him were several travel-worn young soul masters whose faces could not hide deep grief and fatigue.
They were plainly dressed, eyes full of confusion and sorrow.
At their head was Wu Ming—the straightforward, fiery inner-court disciple of Shrek Academy.
But now even her signature flame-bright hair seemed to have lost its luster, tied back carelessly. Her face was pale, her eyes dim, lips pressed tight as if suppressing a great pain.
"Senior Wu Wing?"
Jiang Nannan blinked, surprise and conflicted joy flashing across her face. She quickly stepped aside to let them in.
"Please, come in!"
Xiao Xiao rose at once. Seeing the familiar senior, her eyes immediately welled up. "Senior Wu Ming, you… you're alive!"
"Nannan, Xiao Xiao… and… Miss Qingque."
Seeing the familiar juniors and Qingque—whom she had met at the academy—Wu Ming's hard shell of strength suddenly cracked. Her voice trembled with a sob she could not suppress.
Behind her, the surviving inner-court disciples—Chu Qingtian among them—lowered their heads, shoulders shaking, eyes reddening. The room's warmth was instantly replaced by a crushing grief.
Xiao Xiao and Jiang Nannan were swept up in the sorrow, noses stinging, tears brimming, at a loss for words.
"Senior Wu Ming, about the academy… we… we already heard."
In the end, Jiang Nannan forced herself to calm first. She kept her voice as steady as she could and gently supported Wu Ming's arm.
"Seeing you safe… that's a blessing amid misfortune."
"Senior, this is wonderful—you're still here."
Xiao Xiao couldn't hold back. She threw herself into Wu Ming's arms, as if to release the fear, confusion, and sadness of these days.
In that moment, regardless of past closeness, a familiar face from Shrek was solace itself.
"Yes, we're still here—but the academy… the academy is gone. Dean Yan, Vice Dean, so many teachers, and so many classmates… they're all gone."
Wu Ming hugged Xiao Xiao tightly. Her tears fell like beads from a broken string. She shut her eyes in pain and haltingly described the nightmare.
The sky-blotting, seemingly endless beast tide. The beast leaders so powerful they induced despair. How Shrek's strong walls collapsed like paper under the furious assault. And finally that apocalyptic meteor that tore the sky.
She choked up as she spoke of how Dean Yan Shaozhe, Vice Dean Xian Liner, and many revered Sea God Pavilion elders chose to cover the retreat at the last moment, buying the young students a sliver of life—dying gloriously with the academy.
"Dean Yan and the others sent us away. They said the spark of Shrek must not go out."
Wu Ming's words, torn by sobs, cut like the coldest knives into every heart that had once taken pride in Shrek.
"Originally, we followed Lord Skyhawk to Star Luo City and received the Star Luo Empire's protection. We kept waiting—waiting for Elder Xuan and Sister Xiaotao to return from Mingdu, waiting for hope of rebuilding—but…"
Seeing Wu Ming close to breaking down, Chu Qingtian forced himself to take over, his voice hoarse and weary.
But he trailed into a long sigh.
All knew what he hadn't said: the next news they received was Mingdu's calamity and the disappearance of Elder Xuan's party.
Blow after blow had nearly crushed these young soul masters' faith.
Chu Qingtian paused, worked to steady his breath, then continued:
"Until… until Princess Xu Jiujiu returned from Haiyuan City to Star Luo City, and we learned that you, Xiao Xiao and Nannan, were alive—here. So we begged His Majesty's leave to come."
Amid their barrage of bad news, the two girls' survival was the only good news.
"Don't worry."
A warm, steady voice came from the doorway, breaking the room's pall of grief and helplessness.
They looked and saw Zhang Lexuan standing there, no one knowing when she had arrived. In a plain, elegant dress, serene of face and gentle of eye, she carried a calming grace.
She stepped into the room, gaze sweeping over Wu Ming, Chu Qingtian, and each familiar face, all marked by exhaustion and pain.
"Lexuan!"
At the sight of her, a spark lit in their dim eyes.
They had once been opponents and fellow participants in the same Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament—friends made after friendly war.
With Zhang Lexuan's moonlight-gentle nature, even the fiery tempers of Wu Ming and Ma Xiaotao had gotten along well with her.
Of course, the closest to her had been Han Ruoruo.
Inter-academy barriers had not stopped genuine friendship among these outstanding young women.
"Lexuan, is what you said true? Xiaotao and the others… they might really be okay?"
Wu Ming couldn't spare the time for pleasantries. She took two urgent steps forward and grasped Zhang Lexuan's wrist like a drowning person clutching a straw.
The burden of rebuilding weighed on her to the point of suffocation, and the safety of Ma Xiaotao and the others was her deepest worry.
Zhang Lexuan patted the back of her hand, signaling her to be at ease, and answered firmly:
"Yes. According to Haiyuan City's scans, the spacetime conduit that appeared in Mingdu is structurally very stable, not a destructive maelstrom. Although Xiaotao and the others were swept in and their destination is unknown, the likelihood they met misfortune is low."
She paused, then added stronger support:
"In fact, someone from Haiyuan City has voluntarily gone through that passage to explore the world on the other side. The preliminary feedback so far shows the conduit itself is safe—only that it's early and the explored range is limited, so they haven't yet established contact with Elder Xuan and Xiaotao."
She was referring, of course, to Lu Jingming.
She knew there was some distance-transcending link between him and Herta, so she wasn't overly worried about his crossing.
Nor was this the first time she had heard of such things. She knew more secrets about this world than she could share—and this wasn't the time to lay them bare before Wu Ming and the others.
"Really? That's wonderful. Thank you, Lexuan."
At her words, Wu Ming's taut heartstrings finally loosened a little. She let out a long breath.
Only heaven knew the pressure she had borne.
Shrek Academy's ten-thousand-year foundation destroyed overnight; Dean Yan and other mentors dying in glory; her surviving companions' futures uncertain; and the burden of rebuilding landing like a mountain on the shoulders of a fighter more adept at battle than planning.
If even Ma Xiaotao and Han Ruoruo were confirmed dead, she wasn't sure she'd have the courage and strength to face the future alone.
Zhang Lexuan's news eased her nerves.
Once Wu Ming's mood had steadied, Zhang Lexuan took a seat gracefully, poured a few cups of fragrant tea herself, slid one to Wu Ming, and gently asked:
"Ming'er, for the moment let's set aside news of Xiaotao. For the future—do you have a concrete plan?"
Wu Ming took the cup, feeling the porcelain's warmth on her fingertips, her face a picture of confusion.
She gave a bitter smile and shook her head, voice tinged with astringency:
"A plan? Lexuan, you know me. I can charge the front and fight, sure—but to plot something that decides the academy's survival and everyone's future… my head's a mess. I don't know what to do or where to begin. For now… we can only take one step at a time."
Behind her, Chu Qingtian and the others nodded, faces tight. They too lacked experience and the nerve to steer the overall situation.
Zhang Lexuan took it all in and understood.
She sipped her tea, pondered a moment, then offered a carefully considered proposal:
"In that case—and since Shrek's original site isn't suitable to return to—how about this: Haiyuan City will allocate a suitable area within the city and help you reestablish Shrek's foundation. After all, with Ruoruo and Xiaotao's return uncertain, you can't wait indefinitely. Shrek's spark needs someone to carry it forward."
This proposal aligned with part of Lu Jingming's broader plan for Haiyuan City, which Zhang Lexuan well knew.
Wu Ming, Chu Qingtian, and the others, as bona fide inner-court elites of Shrek, possessed the most legitimate claim to lead the rebuilding.
If they took point in reestablishing the academy in Haiyuan City, there would be no legal or emotional grounds to object.
Once Shrek took root in Haiyuan, the academy's ten-thousand-year prestige and its influence over the soul master world would naturally bind to the city, infusing it with immeasurable soft power.
If Elder Xuan and the Sea God Pavilion elders were still in charge, they would never agree to a plan that might weaken the academy's independence—but they were trapped in another world, their return uncertain.
For Wu Ming and the others mired in confusion, Zhang Lexuan's offer was like charcoal in the snow—meeting their most urgent need.
As expected, the moment she finished, joy flared in the eyes of Wu Ming and Chu Qingtian.
"Lexuan, is that true? Haiyuan City is really willing to help us rebuild Shrek?"
It was the best option they could imagine.
"Of course," Zhang Lexuan smiled. "Shrek's ten thousand years of heritage—if its spirit and glory broke here, it would be a loss to the entire soul master world."
"If you agree, Haiyuan won't just provide land and funding. We can also temporarily second a cadre of experienced administrators and core teachers from our Saint Freya Academy to assist—handling initial setup, drafting bylaws, even the subsequent student recruitment. Relying on just a few of you to build an academy from zero is simply too hard."
Her considerations were thorough, clearing nearly all practical obstacles for them.
She knew that for these youths—still students at heart—passion alone wouldn't realize the grand wish to rebuild.
Nor was she simply using them. From their perspective, in dire straits, keeping the Shrek name alive and securing a place to settle and inherit was fortune enough.
As for Shrek's deeper relationship with Haiyuan in the future—that wasn't for these exhausted youths to worry about now, nor was it the priority.
So long as the Shrek banner rose again, that was solace enough.
Having soothed them, and under their grateful, trusting gazes, Zhang Lexuan rose gracefully and said softly:
"All right, settle down in Haiyuan and rest. Recover your strength. I'll arrange for the rebuilding to begin at once. You've been through too much. Leave the rest to me."
Her words flowed like warm spring water over tired hearts.
Wu Ming, Hua Yao, and the others nodded repeatedly. In their eyes, Zhang Lexuan was not just an old friend, but a pillar in crisis.
Leaving space for the Shrek survivors to comfort each other, Zhang Lexuan quietly closed the door. The warmth on her face receded slightly, replaced by a cooler, deeper contemplation.
She did not go far, heading straight to a luxury hotel not far from where Xiao Xiao and the others were staying.
The hotel was one of Haiyuan City's landmarks, its top floor boasting private rooms with superb views.
She opened the ornate door; warm light and a faint, elegant fragrance greeted her.