The icy wind swept through the white mourning banners in front of the Sea God's Pavilion, carrying with it a heavy, mournful wail.
Huo Yuhao, Bei Bei, He Caitou, and the other members of the Shrek Seven Devils slowly turned away in the freezing night.
None of them looked back at the Sea God's Pavilion beneath the Golden Tree, nor did they spare a glance for Xuan Zi's fading figure standing on the terrace.
Their footsteps echoed clearly along the deserted academy paths, yet every step felt unbearably heavy, burdened by hearts that had gone numb.
"Let's go," Bei Bei said quietly. "We're leaving this place."
His usually gentle voice was now icy cold, filled with utter disappointment.
None of them returned to their dormitories to gather their belongings. Instead, they walked straight through the gates of Shrek Academy and made their way to a secluded tavern hidden within Shrek City.
The tavern was dimly lit, illuminated only by a few old soul tool lamps that cast a faint glow across the room.
They gathered around a crude wooden table and ordered several jars of the strongest liquor. There were no greetings or conversation—only the harsh sound of strong alcohol being swallowed.
Huo Yuhao lifted his bowl and stared at his reflection. The eyes that had once been filled with vitality were now bloodshot.
He tipped the bowl back and drained it in one gulp.
The fiery liquor burned from his throat to his stomach, but even that intense pain couldn't drown out the emptiness in his heart.
"Yuhao... are we really just going to stand by and watch them march toward destruction?" Xiao Xiao asked softly, her head lowered as her fingertips scraped across the rough wooden tabletop. Her voice trembled slightly.
Xu Sanshi slammed his bowl onto the table, sending liquor splashing everywhere.
"What can we even do? Elder Xuan is now a Rank 99 Limit Douluo, and he controls the entire Sea God's Pavilion."
"In his eyes, we're nothing more than disobedient pawns. You all heard what Yan Shaozhe said. To him, questioning this suicidal war is nothing but a challenge to his authority."
Jiang Nannan sat quietly beside them. Although her expression remained calm, her tightly clenched fists betrayed the turmoil raging within her.
Bei Bei gently set down his wine bowl and looked around at each of his companions.
As the leader of the Shrek Seven Devils and Mu En's most valued successor, he felt the deepest pain of them all.
"This is no longer the Shrek Academy we once knew," Bei Bei said slowly, his voice frighteningly calm.
"The Shrek of the past taught us to uphold justice and preserve balance across the continent. But today's Shrek has become consumed by the arrogance that comes with power."
"They reject technological progress and disregard the cost in human lives, all to preserve their so-called Spirit Master orthodoxy. I can no longer follow an academy like this."
He Caitou wiped the liquor from his mouth before speaking in his deep, muffled voice.
"I feel the same. As a soul engineer, I understand better than anyone what this war really means. It isn't glory—it's a death sentence. I can't watch my brothers follow those madmen into the abyss."
Silence settled over the room.
The scent of alcohol lingered in the air as each of them severed the final emotional ties binding them to Shrek.
Huo Yuhao slowly raised his head. A determination unlike anything he had ever shown before shone in his eyes.
He thought about everything Liu Yuan had revealed, his own past as a puppet, and how Shrek had fallen into corruption after Mu En's death.
"I've made my decision."
His voice wasn't loud, yet it echoed throughout the small tavern.
"I'm leaving. Not because I'm running away, but because I refuse to remain a tool for the God Realm and these stubborn fools. This Shrek is no longer worthy of my loyalty."
"We're leaving too."
Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, He Caitou, and the others spoke almost at the same time.
That night, inside that tiny tavern, they used strong liquor to bid farewell to identities they had once worn with pride.
...
Before dawn the next morning, as the first rays of sunlight appeared on the horizon, every member of the Shrek Seven Devils, along with several like-minded Core Disciples, quietly passed through the gates of Shrek City.
They left behind no letters.
They took no resources from the academy.
The only thing they carried with them was the sincerity in their hearts—which had long since turned cold.
---
Morning.
Sea God's Pavilion.
As usual, Yan Shaozhe went to summon Huo Yuhao and the others for the war mobilization meeting.
Instead, he found the residence of the Shrek Seven Devils completely empty.
The news quickly reached the Sea God's Pavilion.
Xuan Zi was seated at the head of the hall, reading the Star Luo Empire's reply. The moment he heard that Huo Yuhao and the others had all disappeared, his grip tightened around his wine gourd, crushing a deep imprint into it.
"What did you say?"
"They left?"
Xuan Zi shot to his feet.
The pressure of his Rank 99 Limit Douluo cultivation erupted instantly, causing the air throughout the meeting hall to explode with a deafening boom.
His face twisted with fury.
The humiliation of having his authority challenged sent the spirit power within him into violent turmoil.
The other elders of the Sea God's Pavilion were equally enraged.
"This is outright rebellion!"
Qian Duoduo slammed his palm onto the table as he stood.
"As the Shrek Seven Devils, how dare they abandon the academy when it needs them most?"
Yan Shaozhe's expression was equally grim.
He had never imagined that Bei Bei—the successor he had personally chosen—would follow Huo Yuhao in such a rebellious act.
Xuan Zi let out a cold snort.
As his anger surged, dense earth-attributed spirit power condensed around him into countless heavy particles, forcing the surrounding floor to groan beneath the pressure.
"Go!"
His voice was filled with murderous intent.
"Pass down my orders immediately. Have three elders each lead a team to seal off every major route surrounding Shrek City!"
"No matter what it takes..."
"Bring them back!"
"Elder Xuan," one elder asked cautiously, "on what grounds?"
Xuan Zi sneered, his tone cold and domineering.
"Grounds?"
"The grounds are that they have yet to fulfill their responsibilities as Shrek Core Disciples."
"The academy has nurtured them for years and invested countless resources into them. Their duties remain unfinished, and the war hasn't even begun. They have no right to leave Shrek."
"Even if they have to be dragged back in chains, bring them back to the mourning hall and make them atone for their crimes!"
Without another word, three powerful elders immediately departed.
Leading teams from the Enforcement Hall, they shot out from the Sea God's Pavilion like streaks of light, pursuing them in different directions.
In the minds of Xuan Zi and the other elders, every disciple belonged to Shrek.
This so-called defection was an unforgivable insult to Shrek's ten thousand years of prestige.
But by then, Huo Yuhao and the others had already entered the vast forests of the Heaven Dou Empire.
Using Spiritual Interference and the Simulation Soul Skill, they had completely severed all traces of themselves, leaving Shrek unable to track them.
The Shrek Academy of today had become utterly unfamiliar to them.
To put it plainly, as long as they never had to return to Shrek Academy again, they were willing to go anywhere—
Even the Sun Moon Empire.