At this moment, the reason Xuan Zi was so shaken was naturally because he had recognized Liu Yuan.
As one of the very few—perhaps even the only—students who had dared to reject his, Xuan Zi's, so-called "kindness," Liu Yuan had left an impression etched deep into his bones.
Even after two years, that scene remained vivid in his mind.
Back then, although Liu Yuan possessed astonishing talent—on par with Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi of the same period—he had been ruthlessly expelled from Shrek Academy by Xuan Zi on a fabricated pretext, simply because he refused to join the so-called "Shrek Supervisory Group."
In Xuan Zi's view, once someone left Shrek, the continent's greatest platform, no matter how gifted they were, they would inevitably fade into mediocrity.
He absolutely could not tolerate seeing Liu Yuan succeed.
Deep down, his darkest desire was to see Liu Yuan fall into destitution after leaving Shrek—lacking resources, lacking guidance from famous teachers—until he was reduced to kneeling outside Shrek's gates, sobbing in regret.
Only then would it prove how wise and powerful Xuan Zi's decision back then had been.
So now, when he saw Liu Yuan seated among the Sun Moon Royal Team—and in the very front row, no less—a powerful sense of revulsion and humiliation surged violently in his heart.
"This Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy really is going downhill,"
Xuan Zi bit down hard on a chicken bone with a loud crack, his eyes dark and gloomy.
"They've even started picking up trash now? Do they really accept any stray cat or dog?"
"Treasuring the garbage I kicked out like it's something precious… looks like the Sun Moon team has no hope at all this year!"
However, just as Xuan Zi was frantically belittling Liu Yuan in his heart, desperately trying to regain some pitiful psychological balance—
Xi Xi and Dai Yueheng, who had been silently observing nearby, followed Xuan Zi's line of sight and also noticed Liu Yuan.
Xi Xi froze for a moment. Then, as if recalling something, her eyes widened abruptly. She pointed in Liu Yuan's direction and exclaimed:
"Elder Xuan! It's him!"
"That's the guy I mentioned back then!"
Dai Yueheng also frowned deeply, his expression turning grim.
"That's right. Even though we only met him once, I remember him very clearly. There's no mistake."
"It looks like we'll probably run into them later."
"What?!"
Hearing the words of the two students, Xuan Zi felt as though he'd been struck by lightning. All the fat on his body trembled violently.
The chicken leg in his hand fell to the ground with a plop, kicking up a small cloud of dust.
Xuan Zi was completely stunned.
His mind seemed to short-circuit, buzzing loudly.
"You mean…" Xuan Zi said in a trembling voice, pointing toward the distant Liu Yuan, disbelief written all over his face.
"The peerless genius I had you go to great lengths to recruit—offering huge benefits and special admission to bring into Shrek—was this guy?!"
Although Dai Yueheng and Xi Xi didn't understand why Xuan Zi was reacting so violently, they still nodded honestly.
Boom!
It was as if an invisible slap had landed squarely on Xuan Zi's old face.
It burned with pain.
So that was it!
No wonder!
No wonder that "mysterious genius" had shown such utter disdain for Shrek's recruitment!
No wonder no amount of benefits could sway him!
It turned out… it was Liu Yuan all along!
An unprecedented wave of humiliation surged through Xuan Zi. His perpetually boozy old face flushed the color of pig liver, turning purplish red.
What was this?
He had just kicked someone away like trash with one foot—
and then turned around and begged them to come back with the other?
At the same time—
Xuan Zi suddenly felt a gaze land on him.
Subconsciously, he looked up and met Liu Yuan's eyes across the distance.
Separated by the sea of people, Liu Yuan was still sitting there, his expression calm and composed.
But in the eyes he cast toward Xuan Zi, there was a faint, elusive smile.
That smile held no anger, no resentment—only a lofty, detached mockery, like someone looking down at a clown.
"Pfft—"
Seeing that expression, Xuan Zi felt his blood churn violently. He nearly spat out a mouthful of old blood on the spot.
It was unbearable.
Absolutely unbearable!
At this moment, with barely any effort, he could imagine what Liu Yuan must have been thinking back then—when Xuan Zi had confidently sent Dai Yueheng to recruit him.
Perhaps, while listening to Shrek's so-called "sincerity," Liu Yuan had been inwardly mocking both Shrek and Xuan Zi himself as utter fools.
"Damn it! Damn it all!"
Xuan Zi trembled with rage, his mouth twisting, his beard quivering.
"It's all those useless scouts' fault!"
He roared inwardly, frantically shifting the blame.
"If it weren't for those trash scouts relying on Eagle Eye-type martial souls—only seeing appearances from afar, never truly infiltrating the Sun Moon Royal Academy, never learning Liu Yuan's name…"
"If they'd passed back the crucial information that 'that genius is named Liu Yuan'…"
"And if that day, when Liu Yuan encountered Xi Xi, this kid hadn't deliberately concealed his identity…"
"Then how could I have done something so utterly shameful?!"
Back then, it was he himself who had confidently and righteously kicked Liu Yuan out, declaring that he was "not worthy of being a student of Shrek."
Yet later, he had turned around and begged him to join Shrek, even praising him as a "peerless genius"?
This self-inflicted slap to the face made Xuan Zi—who cared obsessively about reputation and was extremely self-righteous—feel so humiliated he wished the ground would split open so he could crawl inside.
His expression changed like a Sichuan opera mask—blue, then white, then red—an astonishing spectacle.
Meanwhile, the other Shrek students nearby, including Ma Xiaotao, stared at their team leader in confusion.
What was wrong with Elder Xuan?
He'd just been chewing on a chicken leg—why did he suddenly look like he was suffering from severe constipation?
"Elder Xuan? Are you alright?" Gongyang Mo asked cautiously.
"Is there something wrong with that guy?"
Xuan Zi took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the shame and fury threatening to explode in his chest.
If the students learned about such an embarrassing incident, what dignity would he have left?
Absolutely not.
"I'm fine!"
Xuan Zi ground out the words through clenched teeth.
Then, a vicious, malevolent light erupted from his cloudy old eyes as he stared fixedly at the distant Liu Yuan, his voice dropping to a terrifying whisper.
"Listen carefully."
"In this tournament, no matter what—even if you have to risk your lives—you must win the championship for me!"
"Especially when you face the Sun Moon Royal Team…"
Xuan Zi clenched his fists, his nails digging deep into his palms.
"No matter what, you must crush them—utterly and mercilessly! Do not give them even the slightest chance to breathe!"
"Yes!"
Although they didn't understand why, sensing the palpable fury radiating from Xuan Zi, everyone except Bei Bei and Huo Yuhao hurriedly responded.
Only Xuan Zi himself roared madly in his heart:
We must win!
We must trample Liu Yuan beneath our feet!
Otherwise, it would prove that—
Liu Yuan became even stronger after leaving Shrek.
And if that were the case, then my, Xuan Zi's, face would be completely lost.
The reputation I've spent an entire lifetime building—
would be utterly destroyed by this brat!
-------------Author---------------
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