23: Chapter 23: Di Tian, ​​who doesn't play by the rules, and Shrek Academy in despair.

The night was thick, like ink that could not be dissolved.

Dragon God Douluo Mu En and his group stumbled out of the boundaries of the Star Dou Great Forest. Cold rain drenched their clothes, mixing with the bloodstains on their bodies and dragging shocking trails across the muddy ground.

No one spoke; only heavy breathing echoed in the silent night. Every step felt like treading on the tip of a knife, heavy enough to make one's scalp tighten.

Qian Duoduo had hollow eyes, and it was impossible to tell if it was rain or tears on his face.

This deputy dean of the spirit tool department was, at this moment, like a soul-less statue, with only the slight trembling of his body exposing his emotions that had yet to collapse.

Although Xian Liner and he only had the name of husband and wife without the reality, in his heart, he had already regarded Xian Liner as his wife.

Now, seeing his wife killed by a Spirit Beast before his very eyes, how could his heart bear it?

Yan Shaozhe and Cai Meier supported each other, their wounds still oozing blood. Every breath tugged at sharp pain, yet they did not even have the strength to frown—compared to the physical injuries, the despair in their hearts was even more suffocating.

Xuan Zi walked at the very front. The powerful physique brought by his Taotie Divine Ox Spirit made his injuries slightly lighter, but his tightly pursed lips and ashen face revealed his suppressed, extreme anger and grief.

Elder Lin, Elder Song... those old friends who had worked together for a lifetime had just remained in that dark forest forever.

Dragon God Douluo Mu En was half-supported by Xuan Zi. His already hunched back was bent even more now, as if carrying a burden of a thousand catties. His face was paler than paper, and dried blood hung from the corners of his mouth. Those eyes that once flickered with wisdom and majesty now held only dead, gray defeat. He gritted his teeth tightly, letting the cold rain smash against his face, but he did not even have the strength to raise a hand to wipe it away.

He could not figure it out no matter how he tried.

He thought he had come with the prestige of Shrek Academy; even if Di Tian were arrogant, considering the centuries-long checks and balances between the two great powers, he would at least give some face. He had even prepared his words, intending to use the academy's foundation and potential threats to force the other side to concede; even feigning help to find Bei Bei would have bought them a chance at survival.

But reality gave him the harshest slap in the face.

Di Tian did not play by the rules at all. No negotiation, no probing, not even an extra question; it was a direct confrontation of life and death. That overwhelming dark power, that merciless slaughter, was like a heavy hammer, smashing all his calculations to pieces, and also smashing the arrogant pride of Shrek Academy.

"We... lost."

I do not know who said it in a low voice at the back of the team. The voice was as light as a sigh, but it was like a needle, piercing the facade everyone was desperately maintaining.

Yes, they had lost. They had lost completely, at a heavy price.

Returning to Shrek Academy, the familiar campus seemed exceptionally bleak in the night. The dormitory buildings, usually bright with lights, were pitch black. Only the direction of the Sea God Pavilion still shone with a faint light, like a lonely eye, silently watching their return.

No one suggested treating their wounds, and no one wanted to rest. Everyone stood dejectedly in the square in front of the Sea God Pavilion. Rainwater dripped down their hair and clothes, gathering into small puddles at their feet, reflecting their haggard figures.

The heavy atmosphere was almost suffocating.

"T-Teacher,"

Yan Shaozhe was the first to break the silence. His voice carried uncontrollable trembling, every word seeming to be squeezed from his throat as he asked: "W-what should we do next?"

This question was like a giant boulder, pressing on everyone's heart. Elder Lin, Elder Song, and Xian Liner had fallen, and Dragon God Douluo Mu En was severely injured. How were the remaining people to face the teachers and students in the academy? How to face the hostile forces outside? How to face that nightmarish Star Dou Great Forest?

Dragon God Douluo Mu En did not answer.

He just stared blankly in the direction of the top floor of the Sea God Pavilion, where the memorial tablets of the sages of Shrek Academy through the ages were enshrined. He could feel the Soul Power in his body draining away crazily, and the old and new wounds on his chest erupting together, hurting so much he almost fainted. But compared to the physical pain, the remorse and powerlessness in his heart were even harder for him to bear.

It was his wrong decision, his arrogance, that had caused the academy to suffer such heavy losses.

He had failed his old friends who had died, failed the teachers and students of the academy who trusted him, and even more so, failed Bei Bei, whose whereabouts were unknown...

"Cough... cough cough..."

Dragon God Douluo Mu En began to cough violently, his body shaking intensely. His already aged face was now a mass of wrinkles, as if he had aged another few decades in an instant, and his bent waist was almost touching the ground.

"Elder Mu!" Xuan Zi noticed something was wrong and hurriedly reached out to support him.

But it was a step too late.

"Pfft—"

A mouthful of bright red blood sprayed from Dragon God Douluo Mu En's mouth, splashing onto the cold ground like a desolate, beautiful flower. His body swayed, his eyes rolled back, and he completely lost consciousness.

"Elder Mu!"

"Teacher!"

Everyone's expressions changed drastically, and they rushed over in shock. Qian Duoduo also snapped back to reality and rushed over to check on Dragon God Douluo Mu En's condition.

"Quick! Carry him into the Sea God Pavilion!" Xuan Zi made a prompt decision, carefully picking up Dragon God Douluo Mu En and rushing into the Sea God Pavilion.

Yan Shaozhe and Cai Meier, along with Elder Zhuang and Qian Duoduo, followed closely behind.

In a secret room on the top floor of the Sea God Pavilion.

"Elder Zhuang, I leave it to you." Xuan Zi said in a hoarse voice, his eyes full of worry.

Elder Zhuang nodded solemnly: "Rest assured, I will do my best."

If there was anyone whose injuries were the lightest, almost non-existent, it was only him as a healing type.

Xuan Zi turned around, took Yan Shaozhe, Cai Meier, and Qian Duoduo out of the secret room, and gently closed the door.

The four stood in the corridor, looking at each other's wretched appearance, and fell into silence again.

"This matter... cannot be spoken of."

Xuan Zi was the first to speak, his voice low and firm, warning: "The deaths of Elder Lin, Elder Song, and Xian Liner, as well as the news of Elder Mu's coma, must be kept strictly confidential."

Yan Shaozhe's face turned pale: "But..."

"No buts!"

Xuan Zi interrupted him, his eyes scanning the crowd sharply, saying: "Once the news leaks, the academy will inevitably be in panic. Outside forces, especially the Sun Moon Empire and the Holy Spirit Cult, if they know we have lost so many elders and that Elder Mu is in a coma, they will definitely take advantage of the situation! At that time, Shrek Academy will really be in danger; that is a life-and-death crisis!"

Qian Duoduo clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white: "I understand."

He could not let the academy that Xian Liner guarded with her life collapse at this time.

Cai Meier also nodded: "Elder Xuan is right, now is not the time to announce it."

Yan Shaozhe took a deep breath, suppressing the bitterness in his heart: "I understand. It is just... what about the spirit tool department?"

He looked at Qian Duoduo, his eyes full of worry, and said: "Xian Liner is the backbone of the spirit tool department. If she does not show up, those researchers and students in the spirit tool department will definitely be suspicious."

The spirit tool department was an important part of Shrek Academy; once trouble broke out there, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Xuan Zi frowned, a flash of helplessness in his eyes: "We can only hide it for now. Just say that Xian Liner, Elder Lin, and Elder Song have gone out to perform a secret mission and need to go into seclusion for a long time. We will hide it for as long as we can."

He paused, his tone carrying a hint of expectation: "Hopefully... we can hold on until those two girls, Xiaotao and Le Xuan, grow up. They are the most talented juniors in the inner court, perhaps... only when they can truly stand on their own can we catch our breath."

Xiaotao and Le Xuan, one was Yan Shaozhe's proud student, the other was a genius girl from the inner court; they were the future hope of Shrek Academy.

But now, this hope seemed so slim.

The four fell into silence again. The candle flames in the corridor flickered, stretching their shadows long and casting them on the cold stone walls, full of heaviness and confusion.

This crushing defeat was like an invisible shackle, firmly locked onto them. They did not know how to walk the path of the future. They only knew that they had to hold on, for Dragon God Douluo Mu En, for their dead old friends, and even more so for the glory that Shrek Academy had continued for tens of thousands of years.