"This is nothing but your one-sided story." Having spent all her time in the Inner Courtyard, Zhang Lexuan knew nothing of the true sequence of events.
"These are the records of the missing students that I had Teacher Mu Jin compile. Whether they are real or not, you will know the moment you look at them." Feng Piaoling casually drew a stack of documents from his soul tool.
Zhang Lexuan scanned the papers, her brow furrowing instantly. "You deliberately let the academy leadership know you admired me just to show me this? To drive a wedge between Shrek Academy and me?"
"Feng Piaoling, I know you resent Shrek, but you underestimate me. No matter how dark Shrek Academy might be, I am first and foremost Shrek's Zhang Lexuan. I will never betray it."
By this point, even a total fool could see that Feng Piaoling had absolutely no intention of returning to Shrek Academy.
Feng Piaoling looked at Zhang Lexuan as if he were looking at an idiot. "No, none of that matters. I only wanted to prepare you beforehand. The real show is inside. Your clansman is in there."
As he spoke, he pushed open the door and stepped inside.
My clansman? Zhang Lexuan hesitated for a moment before following him in.
Yet, the moment she stepped through the door, her eyes turned bloodshot, and her breathing grew heavy and ragged.
What did she see? She actually saw the murderer who had killed her mother.
A square face, a full beard, and a single eye.
Even though more than ten years had passed, Zhang Lexuan recognized him instantly. Back then, she had hidden under the bed, watching helplessly as this very man plunged a blade into her mother's back, stealing her life away.
The sheer shock of seeing him made her completely ignore Kong Deming, who was sitting right beside him. Eight soul rings—two yellow, two purple, three black, and one red—burst forth with brilliant light as a bright, silver moon manifested behind her.
She charged recklessly toward the one-eyed, middle-aged man.
However, halfway there, a silver barrier materialized out of thin air and expanded outward, blocking her from advancing even half a step further.
Only then did Zhang Lexuan notice Kong Deming.
Just like her, a bright silver moon rose behind him. His soul ring configuration consisted of two yellow, two purple, four black, and one red. He was undeniably a Titled Douluo.
Moreover, he was a Titled Douluo who possessed the exact same martial soul as her.
"Child, his soul power has already been sealed by me. I will certainly let you kill him, but before that, I want you to understand the truth of what happened. As for me, your great-grandmother was my paternal aunt. Due to past turmoil within the imperial family, she ended up in the Heavenly Soul Empire. You may call me your grand-uncle."
Kong Deming conveyed these words using soul power transmission.
Then, he turned a freezing gaze toward the one-eyed man and demanded, "Tell us everything that happened back then, from start to finish. Do not dare to speak a single lie."
"Yes, my lord." The one-eyed man did not dare hide a thing and immediately recounted the events of that fateful night.
Feng Piaoling listened from the side with great interest. The story went as follows.
One night more than ten years ago, Shrek Academy's Mu En had suddenly approached the patriarch of the one-eyed man's clan. He commanded them to find an opportunity to exterminate Zhang Lexuan's clan, leaving only the young girl, Zhang Lexuan, alive.
Considering that Zhang Lexuan's clan was a rival to their own, wiping them out would eliminate an enemy while currying favor with Shrek. The clan patriarch readily agreed.
However, Mu En's insistence on keeping Zhang Lexuan alive made the patriarch suspicious. Therefore, after Mu En left, the patriarch recorded a confession of his own using a Projection Pearl. He ordered the one-eyed man to take the pearl and go into hiding after the massacre, just in case Mu En decided to turn on them to silence them.
As it turned out, Mu En gave them no opportunity to negotiate at all. He immediately unleashed a breath of the Radiant Holy Dragon, wiping their entire clan off the map.
Terrified of being hunted down by Shrek, the one-eyed man had spent all these years hiding in the shadows. He had only surfaced now because the Class 9 Soul Engineer sent by Kong Deming had tracked him down.
"No... This isn't true! You're lying! Elder Mu helped me avenge my family! He is my benefactor! How could he possibly be the one who ordered you to murder my parents?"
Zhang Lexuan clearly could not accept this reality.
Distraught, she suddenly pointed the finger at Feng Piaoling. "It's you! It's all because of you! You hate Shrek, so you tracked down my past enemy just to trick me into betraying Shrek and Elder Mu! I'll kill you!"
At this moment, Zhang Lexuan lost every shred of her usual poise and grace as the Eldest Senior Sister. She looked like a hysterical woman screaming in the streets. She lunged directly at Feng Piaoling without a second thought.
Kong Deming made no attempt to stop her, simply allowing Zhang Lexuan to attack Feng Piaoling.
An old fox indeed... Feng Piaoling cast a cold glance at Kong Deming. His eyes widened, and a flash of ash-gray light swept through his gaze.
In the next instant, Zhang Lexuan froze in her tracks.
In her vision, she was no longer facing Feng Piaoling, but a colossal, ash-gray figure. The figure wrapped a massive hand around her throat, choking her. Her pupils dilated instantly from the sudden lack of air. Clutching at her own neck, her body floated upward completely against her will.
Noticing this, a flicker of surprise passed through Kong Deming's eyes, and he finally intervened. "Alright, that is enough. Stop."
"Old Kong certainly knows how to pick his moments," Feng Piaoling sneered inwardly before communicating silently, Elder Yi, let her go.
With his command, the ash-gray figure vanished from Zhang Lexuan's sight. She collapsed to the floor, coughing violently, and took a long while to steady her breathing.
After giving Feng Piaoling a deep, measuring look, Kong Deming stepped forward to help Zhang Lexuan to her feet. He handed her a Projection Pearl. "Child, I know this is incredibly difficult to accept, but it is the absolute truth. This is the Projection Pearl. I am sure you recognize the face of your enemy."
Zhang Lexuan took the pearl and examined it. Her entire world crumbled. Looking up at the man who claimed to be her grand-uncle with utter despair, she sobbed, "But Mu... why would Mu En do such a thing? If he wanted a disciple, he could have just asked openly. My parents would never have objected, and I would have listened to them and agreed to join him."
"Because of your talent, of course," Feng Piaoling's voice rang out from behind her.
Zhang Lexuan turned to see Feng Piaoling leaning against a pillar with his arms crossed, his expression cold and detached.
"Back then, Mu En had been permanently crippled from his battle with the previous master of the Body Sect. Knowing he didn't have many years left to live, he was desperate to find a successor."
"As luck would have it, you caught his eye."
"On one hand, he needed you to protect Shrek in his stead. On the other hand, he needed you to protect his great-grandson, Bei Bei. If he hadn't done this, you might have joined Shrek, but you would never have agreed to become a child bride to his descendant. Even if you were willing, your parents would never have stood by and watched their daughter be degraded like that. Therefore, in his eyes, your parents had to die."
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