Long Yeyue forced a smile onto her face, which was quite inconsistent with her usual stern and cold expression.
She raised her hand and beckoned Na'er, her voice softening slightly compared to before: "Na'er, come here."
Na'er hesitated for a moment, but finally stood up and walked over to Long Yeyue.
Long Yeyue looked up and examined her carefully. A moment later, she slowly extended her hand and held out a crystal she had been clutching in her palm to Na'er.
Na'er's gaze fell upon the crystal, and her pupils constricted slightly.
It was a transparent, diamond-shaped crystal that displayed a clear and deep blue, like a drop of solidified seawater polished into a solid state by the passage of time.
Inside the crystal, ripples seemed to be slowly undulating, with flowing light and shadows swirling within, carrying an indescribable sense of liveliness.
Although Na'er's cultivation was currently only at the Spirit Saint level, her knowledge was undoubtedly at the Divine Rank level.
She only took one look at the crystal before recognizing something extraordinary within it; it was the aura of the Divine Rank, and she could not possibly be mistaken!
It wasn't just her; everyone else in the room also sensed the anomaly.
The moment the crystal appeared, everyone's mental force was involuntarily drawn to it.
For a brief instant, everyone felt dazed, as if their very beings had been cast into a vast, azure World.
Even Zang Xin, who was a Limit Douluo, had his eyes wide open, his face filled with unconcealed shock.
With his Spirit Domain Realm mental force cultivation, he rarely encountered situations where he lost control, even when facing powerhouses of the same level.
Yet, just a moment ago, he had clearly felt his mental force being gently tugged by that crystal, causing him to involuntarily fall into an endless, azure World.
The sensation was too fast, so fast that he didn't even have time to put up any resistance.
Although it only lasted for a short breath, it was enough to give him a completely new understanding of Shrek Academy's foundation.
Among those present, only Ya Li recognized the origin of the crystal at a glance.
She sat in her chair, a look of reminiscence flashing in her eyes.
She had once seen this crystal with Yun Ming; it was a treasure that only the successive heads of the Sea God Pavilion could possess.
Long Yeyue's voice sounded again at this moment, introducing it: "This is the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud. It has always been kept in the Sea God Pavilion and is the academy's treasure."
"Its origins can be traced back twenty thousand years. It was the personal item of Tang San, the Thousand Hands Douluo, who was the first Sect Leader of the Tang Sect and the Soul of the first generation of the Shrek Seven Devils of Shrek Academy."
"It is said that the ancestor Tang San's ability to achieve the position of Sea God is inextricably linked to this crystal."
"In Shrek Academy, only powerhouses who have reached the Limit Douluo level, and have undergone sufficient trials, are qualified to experience its mysteries, thereby seeking a path to the Divine Realm."
The conference room fell silent for a moment, and everyone's breathing grew noticeably heavier.
They had not expected that beneath the ruins of Shrek Academy, such a Legacy item directly related to the gods was still hidden.
Long Yeyue sighed slightly, a sigh filled with an indescribable exhaustion, as if she were bearing the weight of many years of unspoken burdens.
She lowered her eyelids and remained silent for a moment before continuing, her voice lower than before.
"At that time, when Shrek Academy was attacked by the God-Slaying Fixed-Mount Soul-Guided Shell, I had originally intended to stay there with the academy's teachers and sacrifice myself for the academy."
"But I suddenly thought of this Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud." She slightly raised the azure crystal in her hand, her gaze falling upon it. "It cannot be lost. It is the academy's treasure and the hope for the academy's future."
"So, I had to abandon the idea of protecting the academy with Yun Ming. I returned to the Sea God Pavilion, took this crystal, and have been living in disgrace ever since."
When she said the words "living in disgrace," the corners of her mouth twitched with a hint of self-mockery.
On that aged face, guilt and helplessness were intertwined, like old wounds carved into her very bones.
A moment later, she took a deep breath, lifted her head again, and her gaze fell upon Na'er.
Those cloudy eyes now held a look of solemnity that was almost sacred: "You are Yun Ming's Disciple, and now I entrust this crystal to you."
"I hope you can inherit Yun Ming's dying wish, protect every blade of grass and tree of Shrek Academy, and safeguard the glory and honor of Shrek Academy over the past Ten Thousand Years."
Na'er solemnly took the crystal from Long Yeyue's hand, putting on an appearance of "loyalty": "Yes!"
She had joined Shrek Academy to use Shrek's power to complete her ten-thousand-year grand plan.
Shrek Academy being destroyed by that God-Slaying Fixed-Mount Soul-Guided Shell was a variable she had not anticipated.
After that catastrophe, she had originally given up on the Shrek line, but now her thoughts had changed again.
She looked down at the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud in her palm, which was shimmering with flowing water light, and felt the faint, lingering aura of the Divine Rank within it. In her heart, she silently re-evaluated the position of Shrek Academy in her plans.
A destroyed academy, suddenly appearing with a Legacy item related to gods—who knew what other "good things" this Shrek Academy, with its ten-thousand-year heritage, might still have!
She could not miss out on this!
At this moment, everyone's eyes were focused on Na'er, watching the azure Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud shimmering with flowing water light in her palm. No one noticed that Tang Wulin, sitting to the side, had an odd expression on his face.
Tang Wulin kept his head lowered, his brows slightly furrowed.
When he first saw the crystal just now, he had an indescribable sense of familiarity, as if he had seen it somewhere before, or as if it were meant to belong to him.
That feeling was baseless, yet it would not go away.
And immediately after, another emotion quietly surfaced: longing.
It made him involuntarily want to approach the crystal and hold it in his hand.
Yet, to Tang Wulin, this longing was greed, a thought he should not have.
He tried his best to suppress that impulse, clenching his fists tightly on his knees, repeatedly telling himself that the crystal was given to Na'er by Elder Long, that it had nothing to do with him, and that he had no right to covet it.
He took a few deep breaths, and the strange emotion was finally, barely, suppressed.
He thought he had steadied his mind and that this matter would just pass.
But just as he let out a sigh of relief, a voice suddenly echoed in his mind.
The voice carried a note of surprise: "Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud?!"
Tang Wulin's pupils constricted suddenly, and he shouted in his heart: "Old Tang?!"
That's right, the familiar voice was none other than that "Old Tang" who had helped him at critical moments in the past.
Old Tang had been silent for a long time; he hadn't expected him to suddenly appear at this moment.
He immediately asked in his heart: "The Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud you mentioned, is that the crystal? Old Tang, do you know it?"
Old Tang's voice carried an unprecedented urgency, almost without thinking, he said: "Quick... quickly place it against your forehead!"
Upon hearing this, Tang Wulin's brows furrowed even tighter, and he replied in his heart: "No, Old Tang, that is something Elder Long gave to Na'er, it is not mine."
"It is yours!"
Old Tang's voice was even more urgent, and in that urgency, there was even a hint of anxiety: "It is very important to you, and it is also very important to me! Quickly place it against your forehead!"
Tang Wulin gritted his teeth, remaining unmoved: "I said no, that was given to Na'er by Elder Long, I cannot take it."
There was a moment of silence in his mind, and a moment later, Old Tang sighed.
Immediately after, Tang Wulin felt that Old Tang's originally gentle gaze had changed, suddenly becoming sharp.
"If you won't act..."
Old Tang's voice lowered a few notches, carrying an irrefutable decisiveness.
"Then I will do it myself!"
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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.