Yun Ming sighed and looked down at his pair of translucent palms, his tone carrying a trace of self-deprecation and bitterness: "I naturally know that Electrolux has put in a lot of effort, but in this state, if I were to appear in the outside World, I fear I would be mistaken for an Evil Soul Master of the Holy Spirit Cult, wouldn't I?"
Upon hearing this, Electrolux could not help but snort again: "Hmph! Evil Soul Master? That group of people who cannot even control their own nature, are they worthy of being mentioned in the same breath as a Lich?"
"Yun kid, you remember this for this old man: a Lich is one of the most orthodox professions in the Necromancy System; it is a Realm that requires long periods of cultivation and Soul tempering to reach."
"When this old man roamed the Holy Demon Continent, I was a dignified Lich, walking between heaven and earth. When have I ever had to hide?"
Listening to this resounding evaluation from Electrolux, Yun Ming fell silent, the two clusters of golden Soul fire burning quietly in his eye sockets.
During this time in the Undead Plane, he had already gained a System understanding of Necromancy and the Lich System, which he had never heard of before.
He knew Electrolux was right; the heretical path that Evil Soul Masters used, relying on devouring resentment and blood essence to forcibly increase their strength, was indeed incomparable to a profession in the orthodox Necromancy System like a Lich.
The Origin of a Lich is the Fusion of pure Soul Law and death Law; it is a kind of transcendence and sublimation of the ultimate form of life.
Whereas Evil Soul Masters are mostly just twisted, out-of-control monsters who cannot even preserve their own sanity.
It was just that his Heart-Nature could not yet achieve the same open-mindedness as Electrolux; he still cared about what others said.
Leng Yaozhu looked at Yun Ming and suddenly asked: "What are your plans for the future? Are you not planning to rebuild Shrek Academy?"
Yun Ming, however, slowly shook his head. The two clusters of golden Soul fire flickered slightly, and his tone was calm and low, seemingly carrying a sense of relief after putting down some heavy burden.
"Yun Ming has already fallen for Shrek Academy. That spear strike back then was the last effort I contributed to the academy as the Master of the Sea God Pavilion."
"From now on, Shrek Academy will have its own successors; they are the hope for the future of Shrek."
"As for whether the academy can recover its former momentum, that will depend on heaven's will."
The identity of the Master of the Sea God Pavilion was, for Yun Ming, nothing if not a shackle.
He had carried it for too many years, and now he could finally lay it down with peace of mind.
Moreover, for him, a former Master of the Sea God Pavilion, to reappear before the World in this Lich form and accept those gazes—whether terrified, pitying, or curious—he was incomparably resistant to it in his heart; his pride would not allow such a thing to happen.
Electrolux's deep eyes swept lightly over Yun Ming, seeing through his thoughts at a glance.
However, he did not speak again, only sighing imperceptibly, thinking to himself: "Yun kid, after all, has experienced too little; he cannot let go of that Face. It is merely a physical shell; what is there to not see past?"
But he also understood that these words were still too early for the current Yun Ming; some hurdles could only be overcome by oneself slowly.
Leng Yaozhu, however, frowned tightly, her voice carrying a bit of unwillingness and heartache: "Are you just going to stay in this dark and sunless Undead Plane forever?"
Yun Ming fell silent. He opened his mouth, but realized he could not give an answer that would satisfy Leng Yaozhu.
Just then, Huo Yuhao's voice suddenly rang in Leng Yaozhu's mind: "Aunt Leng, it is understandable that Elder Yun is unwilling to appear before people he used to know in the form of a Lich. No one in that World from Ten Thousand Years ago knows him."
Upon hearing this, Leng Yaozhu's Phoenix eyes suddenly brightened, and she thought to herself that was right; this was indeed an excellent idea.
Her tightly furrowed brows gradually smoothed out. She did not want the once high-spirited Yun Ming to be trapped alone in this gray and deathly silent Undead Plane; Huo Yuhao's words had given him another possibility!
Leng Yaozhu guessed in her heart that Yun Ming probably did not yet know about Huo Yuhao's ability to travel between the two Worlds of Ten Thousand Years ago and Ten Thousand Years later.
She did not say much else; based on her understanding of Huo Yuhao, since he had proposed this idea, he would certainly arrange everything properly.
She lifted her eyes again, looking at the slightly illusory white-robed figure in front of her.
Her lips curled up slightly, blooming into a faint but exceptionally sincere smile, her voice carrying a sense of relief and release from the bottom of her heart: "I am really happy to be able to see you again after half a year, and I will come to visit you again in the future."
The two clusters of golden Soul fire in Yun Ming's eyes flickered slightly, and a smile finally appeared on his Face.
He nodded slowly, not saying much, but in his heart, a trace of anticipation for the next meeting quietly arose.
In this gray and deathly silent Undead Plane, being able to have an old friend come to visit him was already a great comfort to him.
However, after a brief silence, Yun Ming could not help himself, and he opened his mouth to ask the question that had been circling in his heart for a long time.
His voice was a few degrees lower than before, carrying a trace of caution, and also a trace of irrepressible concern and anxiety: "That... is there any news of Ya Li?"
For Shrek Academy, he had already exhausted all his strength and had a clear conscience.
Now, the only thing he could not set his heart at ease about was his lover, Ya Li.
That catastrophe back then had come too suddenly; although he had blocked two level-12 Fixed-Mount Soul-Guided Shells, he had no idea what had happened afterward and was unsure if Ya Li was still alive.
Upon hearing these words, the smile on Leng Yaozhu's Face cooled down almost visibly.
The softness in her Phoenix eyes disappeared completely in an instant, replaced by a thin layer of frost.
She did not answer Yun Ming's question, but instead turned directly to Huo Yuhao and coldly threw out a sentence: "Yuhao, let's go."
Having said that, she leaped up, jumping off the broad back of the Bone Dragon first and landing steadily on the gray-black wasteland below.
Huo Yuhao glanced at Yun Ming, a trace of helplessness flashing in his eyes, and then followed her down.
He raised his hand and waved it in front of him, and a huge light gate slowly unfolded before the two of them.
However, just before the two were about to step into the light gate, Leng Yaozhu could not help herself, and her footsteps came to a sudden halt.
She turned her head, coldly glancing from the corner of her eye at the white-robed figure on the back of the Bone Dragon, and let out a heavy snort: "Rest assured, Ya Li is not dead."
After saying this, Leng Yaozhu did not linger any longer, grabbed Huo Yuhao, and stepped into the light gate without looking back.
Yun Ming watched as the light gate slowly closed, and the last trace of Life Qi in this space dissipated completely.
The eternal silence of the Undead Plane once again shrouded this World, and the Bone Dragon beneath his feet seemed to feel the complex emotions of the person on its back, gently swinging its dozens-of-meters-long bony tail.
Yun Ming slowly withdrew his gaze and then let out a long sigh of relief.
As long as Ya Li was still alive, that was enough; the huge stone hanging in his heart finally landed.
However, thinking of the cold look in Leng Yaozhu's eyes when she left, a faint sense of apology could not help but rise in Yun Ming's heart.
At the Spirit Pagoda Headquarters, the figures of Huo Yuhao and Leng Yaozhu reappeared in the center of the office.
Leng Yaozhu walked back to the desk in a few steps, sat down in the large leather office chair, folded her arms across her chest, and her Face remained cold.
Huo Yuhao looked at Aunt Leng's rare posture, secretly amused, and asked: "Aunt Leng, are you still angry?"
In front of the Disciple she had raised with her own hands, Leng Yaozhu could not be bothered to put on any airs, and let out a heavy snort through her nose: "What do you think Yun Ming means? Why did he have to bring up Ya Li in front of me?"
The more she spoke, the angrier she became, and her slender, fair fingers tapped indignantly on the desktop twice, making a crisp tapping sound.
Huo Yuhao watched from the side, both amused and helpless; these words from Leng Yaozhu were truly full of jealousy.
He smiled and said: "This is only human nature; Aunt Leng should have been used to it long ago."
Faced with Huo Yuhao's bluntness, Leng Yaozhu stood up, walked to his side, and tapped him on the head.
She did not use even a shred of Spirit Power for this, and with Huo Yuhao's currently powerful physical body tempered by the Body Sect's secret techniques, let alone being tapped on the head with a finger, he might not even feel pain if he were hit by a hammer.
But he still complied very cooperatively with an "Ouch," shrank his neck, and pretended to be in pain.
Leng Yaozhu watched his exaggerated, cooperative performance and finally could not help but chuckle, the chill on her cold, frosty Face melting away by more than half.
After laughing for a moment, her Phoenix eyes suddenly narrowed slightly: "I was originally thinking about whether to arrange for Ya Li to go to the Undead Plane to see him, but now... at least within a year, Yun Ming can forget about seeing Ya Li."
As she said this, she lifted her eyes to look at Huo Yuhao, her Phoenix eyes carrying a bit of warning: "You know what I mean."
Huo Yuhao immediately straightened his expression and said loudly: "Aunt Leng, rest assured!"
-------------------------------------------------
A/N:
I hope all of you are enjoying this story so far. I would appreciate some Power Stones if you can spare any. Leave a review if you like the story. Thank you.