Chapter 59 Xuan Zi: What Mistake Did I Make?_2

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"At the end of it all, I'm the one who turns out to be the wrongdoer."

"I haven't done anything wrong, why are you grounding me? I refuse to return to Shrek, I'm going for a drink."

However, Xuan Zi didn't head in the direction of Shrek City, nor did he choose to return to Xingluo City.

Instead, he took another road.

...

On the other side,

After returning to Xingluo City, Mu En made a beeline for the imperial palace.

"Halt! Forbidden ground of the imperial palace, no trespassers allowed."

At the main gate of the imperial palace, two solemn and imposing guards stopped Mu En.

But as soon as Mu En revealed the token that signified his identity, the guards' expressions changed, they immediately lowered their swords, and bowed respectfully.

Mu En spoke faintly, "I want to see Your Majesty, lead the way."

...

Meanwhile,

In the hotel room, Qin Xiao, who was sitting cross-legged on the bed, suddenly open his eyes, a flash of ice blue gleaming within them.

"Sigh."

He exhaled deeply, and even the breath he expelled was white, indicating just how low the temperature in the room was.

"It's a success, I've obtained the Ice Blast soul skill, and my strength has also increased significantly. In addition to that... my Soul Power has gone up by two levels."

After noticing the changes in his body, a smile appeared on Qin Xiao's face.

His strength had improved once more.

Comforting.

He was now somewhat looking forward to when the Body Sect would arrange for the Mingde Hall...

By then... in the midst of chaos and war, wouldn't it be reasonable for him to pick up a Soul Beast Embryo?

...

As dusk fell,

Mu En finally returned to the hotel from the imperial palace.

He had a lengthy discussion with Xu Jiawei, talking about several remedial measures and eventually settling on a plan.

"Let's hope it works."

"Ah, there's also Xuan Zi, hopefully, this time he'll learn his lesson."

Mu En was helpless.

In fact, slapping Xuan Zi wasn't an impulsive act but a deeply contemplated one.

He had been considering what he could do to ensure Xuan Zi wouldn't get hurt, yet would take this incident to heart?

After much thought, it seemed this was the only way.

Moreover,

He had even taken Xuan Zi to a secluded place where it was just the two of them.

"Let's hope Xuan Zi will be awakened by my slap," Mu En could only silently pray.

"Grandfather."

"Elder Mu."

In the corridor outside the room, Beibei and Wang Yan saw Mu En and immediately rushed over.

Mu En smiled slightly, "How's Xiao Tao?"

Wang Yan quickly answered, "Medical Sage Douluo has finished treating Xiao Tao. The results are very good; she's regained consciousness and her emotions are very stable now."

After hearing Wang Yan's words, a broader smile appeared on Mu En's face, "As expected of the strongest healing soul master on the Soul Land, there really isn't anyone she can't cure."

This was the best news he had heard in a long time.

"Has Elder Mu returned?"

"Please come in."

As everyone was talking, the voice of Medical Sage Douluo came from inside the room.

Without hesitation, Mu En replied, "Alright, I will go in and check on her first."

Wang Yan and Beibei quickly made way for Mu En.

...

Inside the room,

As soon as Ma Xiaotao saw Mu En enter, she immediately stood up and bent over to bow, "Elder Mu."

As a disciple of Yan Shaozhe and bearer of the Evil Fire Phoenix Martial Soul, Ma Xiaotao had met Mu En on more than one occasion.

"It's good that you've woken up."

A kindly smile spread across Mu En's face, "You've had your teacher very worried. If he knew you were back to normal, he would be very happy."

Upon hearing this, Ma Xiaotao looked somewhat embarrassed, "It's all my fault, I've made everyone worry."

"Elder Mu, although Xiao Tao has returned to normal, there are risks. I sense a very stable energy within her that could have a severe impact on her."

"I wanted to tell you that I'm powerless regarding this."

Medical Sage Douluo shook her head with a sigh, "If it's a human problem, I could cure it. But a problem with the Martial Soul, I can't treat."

Hearing this, Mu En shook his head slightly, "You've already done enough. We will think of other solutions for Xiao Tao's problem ourselves."

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"Okay."

"That being the case, I won't disturb you further."

"During my absence, there's a whole heap of matters waiting for me to deal with at the Worship Hall."

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After the Medical Sage Douluo said this, he left the room.

Mu En turned to the two people waiting outside the door. "Wang Yan, Beibei, see off the elder Medical Sage, please."

Then, he refocused his attention on Ma Xiaotao. "Now that you've finally recovered, return to the academy tomorrow. Doing so, I will have fulfilled my responsibility to your teacher."

However,

Ma Xiaotao shook her head, lightly biting her lip.

"What's the matter, do you have something else you need to do?"

Hesitating for a moment, Ma Xiaotao looked directly at Mu En and shared her thoughts, "Elder Mu, I'd like to wait until the end of the Soul Master tournament to go back to the academy with everyone."

"That won't be much longer anyhow. According to the schedule of the tournament, it should be tomorrow afternoon that Shrek squad will face off against Sky Soul Royal Academy's team. After the match, we'll leave."

"We're leaving tomorrow afternoon?" Ma Xiaotao's delicate body trembled.

"Yes, we'll leave after the match. There's no more Shrek Academy's schedule after that, and it's still some time before the closing ceremony, so we won't wait, right?"

"Elder Mu, do you mean that we are giving up on this Soul Master tournament?"

"There's no other choice. To be honest, it doesn't really matter whether we fight this match or not. The reason for letting everyone participate was just to gain experience. I've told Xuan Zi not to care about the rankings, but it's a pity that he insisted on having his way and caused such a grave error,"

Mu En sighed.

Today of all days, he regretted giving Xuan Zi the chance to redeem himself for his past mistakes.

If he had sent Yan Shao Zhe, Qian Duoduo, or Xiao Meier, any one of them, such a situation would never have arisen.

And they also lost two elite Soul King level students because of it.

The more Mu En thought about it, the more he felt he had sinned.

Of course,

Mu En never denied that he bore inescapable responsibility for today's lawless Xuan Zi.

Perhaps if he hadn't been so permissive, indulgent, and tolerant, things might have been better.

"Elder Mu, I don't want to leave."

"I want to take part in tomorrow's battle."

Ma Xiaotao's crisp voice suddenly rose next to Mu En's ear.

Mu En hesitated for a moment, then shook his head slightly. "Given your current physical condition, the best course of action would be to rest and recuperate. The Soul Master tournament is not suitable for you."

"But, whenever I close my eyes, I think of Gong Yangmo, Dai Yueheng, Ling Luochen, Chen Zifeng, Xi Xi, Yao Haoyuan."

"I remember our promise to shine on the stage of the Soul Master tournament and win the championship."

"However, tragedy still struck. Some of them will be forever buried in that dark cave, others sustained severe injuries and can't participate in the competition."

"But as the captain of the squad, I should carry on everyone's dreams and convictions. I must press forward and strive, even if I fail, I will have no regrets."

"This fight is no longer just about me."

Ma Xiaotao said resolutely.

But Mu En saw tears streaming down Ma Xiaotao's cheeks.

He too was deeply moved.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if those kids hadn't run into trouble?

After a long silence, Mu En finally nodded slowly. "Alright then, I'll permit you to participate in this match. But remember, you must control yourself."

Hearing this, Ma Xiaotao, through her tears, smiled and nodded repeatedly. "I promise you, I'll definitely control myself..."

...

The next day.

Early in the morning.

The Soul Master tournament was held as scheduled.

The number of spectators, as expected, filled less than a third of the arena.

However,

Strangely, the first to step on the stage wasn't a host or a referee, nor was it the competing teams—it was the emperor of Xingluo Empire, Xu Jiawei.

"Why would His Majesty appear here?"

"What kind of problem is going to arise now?"

"I'm not even wearing my imperial robe."

"..."

Both the public and the competing Soul Master teams were filled with deep suspicions.

But one thing was for sure; something significant must be happening.

And at that moment, Xu Jiawei began to speak slowly, "I stand before you now, hoping that everyone will disregard my elevated status and speak with me as equals."

"On a personal level, I want to apologize for some inappropriate actions I've taken."

With those words,

Everyone was startled.

They understood why Xu Jiawei was doing this.

An emperor cannot be wrong.

But Xu Jiawei, as an individual, could be.