Douluo Continent: My name is Lu Mingfei, and my martial soul is Lu Mingze.

Everyone fell silent.

Xixi's eyes reddened, she bit her lip and turned her face away.

Several female trainees supported each other, sobbing softly.

The male trainees also hung their heads and remained silent. Some clenched their fists, while others squatted on the ground, pulling at their hair.

When we were running away, everyone's minds were blank; they were only focused on running.

Now that they've escaped, the fear has subsided, replaced by waves of sorrow.

A living, breathing companion is gone in the blink of an eye, without even a goodbye.

Just then, a whooshing sound came from afar.

A gray shadow streaked through the woods, moving as fast as a cannonball, snapping branches along its path.

When the gray figure landed, it left two deep footprints on the ground.

Elder Xuan stood before the crowd, his robes stained with grass clippings and mud, his hair disheveled, and his face still bearing the marks of lingering drunkenness and burning anger.

The gourd in his hand had been crushed at some point, and the liquor dripped down his fingers.

"Where is she? Where is that beast?" Elder Xuan's gaze swept across everyone's faces, and when he saw the wound on Zhang Lexuan's arm, his pupils suddenly contracted.

"You're injured? That beast hurt you?"

He grew increasingly agitated, his voice rising louder and louder: "Where did that 100,000-year-old beast go? I'm going to deal with it! Anyone who dares to touch Shrek Academy, I'll tear it to pieces!"

He said he was about to rush into the depths of the forest.

"Elder Xuan." Zhang Lexuan's voice sounded tired.

"No need to go."

Elder Xuan stopped in his tracks.

"Don't you need to go?"

He turned his head, his brows furrowed: "Le Xuan, what did you say? That beast ran away? Where did it go?"

"He's dead," Zhang Lexuan said.

Elder Xuan was stunned.

"A 100,000-year-old soul beast, dead?"

Zhang Lexuan nodded.

She didn't mention Hyotei or Yuki-tei.

Elder Xuan's lips moved, as if he wanted to ask something but didn't.

Zhang Lexuan never lies, and everyone in the inner courtyard knows that.

Moreover, he said he was going to find something to brew wine. On the way, he suddenly felt that he was too far away from those little brats. The further he went, the more uneasy he felt. Just as he turned back, he met a group of students who had fled. From them, he learned that a 100,000-year-old soul beast had suddenly appeared.

"Alright, it's fine as long as he's dead." Elder Xuan didn't press further, but simply nodded heavily.

Lu Mingfei took a step forward and smiled.

The smile looked very polite and courteous, and the curve of the corners of the mouth was flawless, but for some reason, Elder Xuan felt uneasy looking at that smile.

"Elder Xuan," Lu Mingfei spoke, his tone as gentle as if he were asking what was served in the cafeteria today.

"How did your search for brewing ingredients go?"

Elder Xuan's expression froze for a moment.

"I heard from Old Song that the wine made from wild fruits in the Xingdou Great Forest is especially fragrant."

Lu Mingfei continued, speaking at a moderate pace: "However, wild fruits grow best where there are spirit beasts, so you might have to travel a bit further to find them."

"I--"

"Also, Elder Xuan, your hand is bleeding. Remember to bandage it when you get back, since you'll need it to protect your students in the future."

Every word was polite and impeccable.

But Master Xuan felt as if he were being stabbed with a soft knife, each stab hitting the most painful spot.

He opened his mouth as if to explain something, but swallowed the words back down.

This is indeed his problem.

The academy sent him out to protect the students' lives, not to brew wine.

During the time he left the group without permission, several trainees died, and this was not the first time he had made this mistake.

He was also drunk during his last mission, which resulted in even greater casualties, with eight inner court disciples lost.

Although Mu had not removed him from his position, the position of head of the Shrek Supervisory Group was already teetering on the brink of collapse.

This time, another incident occurred. Although the death toll was lower than last time, the nature of the problem was the same—it was all because he abandoned his post.

Lu Mingfei had a smile on his face as he said these words. After he finished speaking, he turned around and walked away, following Zhang Lexuan's steps, without even glancing at him again.

Elder Xuan stood silently for a long time, watching Lu Mingfei's retreating figure.

Then he lowered his head, threw the broken pieces of the gourd in his hand on the ground, lifted his foot, and stepped into the mud one foot at a time.

He knew in his heart that Lu Mingfei was mocking him, and he did indeed harbor resentment, but he had no grounds to refute it.

No one scolded him, no one blamed him, and no one even mentioned that he had made a mistake because of drinking. But the more they did this, the more uneasy Master Xuan felt.

He'd feel better if you scolded him a few times.

Zhang Lexuan walked at the front of the group, quickly bandaged her injured arm, and began counting heads, arranging formations, having the lightly injured trainees help the seriously injured, and ordering everyone to remain vigilant. Her voice was still gentle, but with an undeniable firmness beneath.

The journey back to Shrek Academy from the Star Dou Great Forest was not short, and the return trip was much slower than the journey there, as several students were injured and others were emotionally unstable.

The atmosphere was heavy throughout the journey.

No one joked, no one argued, and even Lu Mingfei didn't say anything more.

We didn't linger in the forest for long; after a short rest, we continued on our way.

At dusk on the second day, the group finally emerged from the Star Dou Great Forest and embarked on the official road leading to Shrek City.

Upon returning to Shrek City, Zhang Lexuan first sent the wounded to the infirmary for treatment, then told the other trainees to return to their dormitories to rest. She then went alone to the Inner Court Affairs Office to submit her mission report.

Lu Mingfei had planned to go back to his dormitory to take a shower and get some sleep, but he was spotted by Elder Xuan, who told him that Elder Mu had convened a meeting of the Sea God Pavilion and that he had to go immediately.

This was Lu Mingfei's first time visiting the main hall of the Sea God Pavilion.

The hall was very large, with a very high dome. Several dark stone pillars stood around it, with densely packed names engraved on their surfaces—all of them were the names of the titled Douluo of Shrek Academy throughout history.

In the very center is an extremely long oval conference table. The wood of the tabletop is a dark brown, almost black, with faint traces of dark gold veins.

Old Master Mu sat in the main recliner, his white hair flowing freely, his expression serene.

If it weren't for the solemn and dignified atmosphere, judging from his appearance at this moment, he would look more like someone taking a nap in the afternoon, except that there was a faint glint of shrewdness in his weathered eyes.

Old Song sat to Old Mu's left, his face so somber that Lu Mingfei's heart pounded.

Her hands were clasped together on the table, her knuckles slightly white.

Lu Mingfei had never seen Old Song look like this before.

Qian Duoduo and Xian Lin'er sat to Song Lao's left and right, and the couple's expressions were equally unpleasant.

Qian Duoduo crossed his arms, his brows furrowed into a deep frown. Xian Lin'er, usually gentle and refined, also pursed her lips and remained silent.

Yan Shaozhe sat opposite him, his eyes downcast and his mouth tightly shut, like a clam shell.

He knew all too well that saying even one extra word in this situation could backfire.

Cai Meier flipped through the casualty report slowly, page by page, her brows furrowing deeper and deeper. Several trainees had died, several others suffered psychological trauma requiring long-term intervention, and many others sustained injuries of varying degrees.

Old Lin and Old Zhuang sat at the very end, their expressions relatively calm, but that calmness was more like the surface of the sea before a storm, and no one could say for sure what was hidden beneath.

Elder Xuan stood alone in the center of the conference table, facing a table full of elders.

Lu Mingfei and Zhang Lexuan stood near the door. Zhang Lexuan's arm wound had been re-bandaged, and she looked tired and exhausted, but her posture was still straight.

"Xuanzi," Elder Mu spoke, his voice aged but still powerful.

"Tell me about it."

Elder Xuan raised his head and opened his mouth.

He knew he couldn't avoid it this time, but he still wanted to say something.

"I admit, this was my dereliction of duty," Elder Xuan said in a hoarse voice.

"I did leave the group to find alcohol, but I checked before I left to make sure there was nothing around—"

"No danger?" Old Song's voice boomed across the table.

The second half of Elder Xuan's words was cut off.

Old Song didn't stand up or slam his fist on the table, but every word he uttered floated in the air and finally struck the ears of all the elders at the table.

"Without you, a disciple of a senior elder of the Sea God Pavilion almost died; without you, how could Le Xuan protect the entire team by herself?"

"Tell me, how do I protect it?"

"Are you expecting everyone to die in the end, and then rely on your apology to protect them?"