Xie Xie was the first one to emerge from the elevator. "Let me see what about this secret Tang Sect base is enough to make me cry..."
All of a sudden, his voice abruptly cut off, and his entire body stiffened as he was rooted to the spot.
Yuanen Yehui was behind him, but she was slightly shorter than him, so she couldn"t see what lay up ahead. However, she could naturally sense that there was something amiss from Xie Xie"s reaction, and she hurriedly tried to go around him.
It was also right at this moment that Xie Xie let loose an incredulous howl. "Teacher Wu..."
He then rushed forward like the wind. Wu Zhangkong"s facial features were still as cold as ever, but his eyes were filled with a gentle light.
He had been waiting patiently for their return, and when Xie Xie caught sight of him for the first time, he couldn"t believe his own eyes. His heart was then instantly overcome by irrepressible emotions.
It was just as Yue Zhengyu had said, everything had truly been scared witless in the wake of the Shrek Academy bombing, to the extent that their minds had gone completely blank, and they had been incapable of expressing their emotions.
However, as time pa.s.sed, the pain naturally caught up to them. All of their peers at Shrek Academy and even Teacher Wu had perished during that calamitous disaster, and the pain in their hearts remained fresh to this very day.
Never did Xie Xie think that he would be able to see Wu Zhangkong again, and all of his pent-up emotions immediately erupted forth uncontrollably.
He charged directly toward Wu Zhangkong before rus.h.i.+ng into his arms and bawling at the top of his lungs. Meanwhile, Xu Xiaoyan, Xu Lizhi, Yuanen Yehui, and Ye Xinglan were also rooted to the spot.
Teacher Wu was still alive...
Xu Xiaoyan had been a student of Wu Zhangkong ever since she was a small child, so they shared an extremely deep bond, and she also let loose a shrill shriek before rus.h.i.+ng forward.
Thus, the sound of broken sobs echoed throughout the entrance to the elevator.
Yue Zhengyu nudged Tang Wulin, and asked, "Did we go too far, Boss? What if they recover later on and decide to blame us for not telling them everything in advance?"
"Us? What do you mean us? My girlfriend isn"t here," Tang Wulin replied in a nonchalant manner.
"Boss, you can"t do this to me!" Yue Zhengyu howled in anguish. Thinking back to Xu Xiaoyan"s threatening gaze, chills immediately rang down his back.
"Hehe." Tang Wulin paid no heed to him and hurried forward to join the huddle.
What could make one more excited and elated than a reunion following an ordeal of life and death?
Even Wu Zhangkong had tears in his eyes. Being reunited with everyone had evoked within him emotions that he hadn"t felt for a very long time.
"Alright, everyone, let"s all calm down a little." Only after a long while did Tang Wulin begin to console his friends.
The one who was crying the loudest was Xie Xie. Perhaps it was because he was the first one to have caught sight of Wu Zhangkong, but he simply couldn"t stop his tears.
Yue Zhengyu nudged him with a hint of mockery in his eyes. "What was that about a heart of steel?"
Xie Xie turned to glare at him through a film of tears. "I was wrong! So what? If Teacher Wu can come back to life, I"d gladly be proven wrong countless times!"
All of a sudden, a thought occurred to him, and he abruptly stood up straight as he looked at Wu Zhangkong, then turned toward Tang Wulin. "You"re not pranking us, are you, Boss? Is this someone else disguised as Teacher Wu?"
They had all learned disguise techniques on the demonic island, and Tang Wulin was the most adept in those techniques among them. As long as he could find someone of a similar stature and build, he could make an extremely convincing imposter for Wu Zhangkong.
A resigned look appeared on Tang Wulin"s face. "I can disguise someone to look like Teacher Wu, but how can I replicate his aura as well?"
"It"s not an imposter! You can"t replicate Teacher Wu"s eyes!" Xu Xiaoyan yelled as she pinched Yue Zhengyu"s waist in a vicious manner. Her eyes were also filled with tears of excitement.
Wu Zhangkong was Tang Wulin"s childhood idol, and that applied to her and Xie Xie as well.
"What"s going on?" Xu Lizhi couldn"t help but ask with an elated look on his face.
Tang Wulin smiled, and right at this moment, one figure after another emerged from nearby.
"Wu Siduo? Xu Yucheng? Luo Guixing? Zheng Yiran? Yang Nianxia? My G.o.d! All of you are still alive?" Everyone"s emotions were reignited at the sight of them.
They had once been rivals, but ever since they had entered the inner court, their relations.h.i.+p had improved significantly. After all, they were all from the most exceptional cla.s.s one!
Wu Zhangkong smiled, and said, "If we hadn"t heard that you were all coming back, I would"ve left with them already. I can finally rest easy now that I"ve seen all of you for myself."
It had been a very long time since Wu Zhangkong had been in such a good mood.
These disciples of his were all far more exceptional than him. They were only in their early twenties, yet all of them had reached the Soul Sage level with the exception of Zheng Yiran; this was an extraordinary cohort even in Shrek Academy!
Furthermore, they had all been nurtured by him; what could be more exciting to him than this as a teacher?
"You"re all going somewhere? Where are you going?" Xie Xie asked in a curious manner.
Tang Wulin glanced at Xie Xie, and replied in their stead, "They"re going to military training. You know, to the place that we went to before."
Peculiar expressions appeared on all of Shrek"s Seven Monsters" faces, mirroring the expressions on the faces of their inner court seniors back when they had set off for their military training stint.
They were undoubtedly going to the demonic island! That place was surely going to leave them with many "lasting memories".
"Oh, that"s great! I"m sure you"ll enjoy it," Yue Zhengyu said with a sly smirk.
Wu Siduo and the others glanced at one another at the sight of their expressions, and Yang Nianxia asked, "What is this place? Why do I feel so uneasy when I look at all of you?"
Xu Lizhi put on a serious expression. "Don"t be uneasy, you"re going to a good place. Just trust us; can"t you see how quickly we"ve grown? It"s all because of that special military training. Perhaps you"ll have caught up to us by the time you get back from there."
Wu Siduo glanced at them, and said, "No matter how arduous the training is going to be, we"ll complete it as soon as possible so we can come back and rebuild Shrek Academy with everyone."
Tang Wulin nodded with a smile.
Wu Zhangkong said, "Take them to rest now, Pavilion Master. I also have to prepare to set off with Wu Siduo and the others. For the first group, we"ve selected 12 people; that"s the upper limit for the number of people they can accept at a time."
"Alright." Tang Wulin nodded in response.
He respected Wu Zhangkong as his teacher, but he was currently the Sea G.o.d"s Pavilion Master and the Tang Sect Master, so he couldn"t act as respectfully as he did in the past.
"Pavilion Master?"
All of Shrek"s Seven Monsters turned to Tang Wulin with surprised expressions with the exception of Yue Zhengyu.
Wu Zhangkong explained, "The academy"s rebuilding process has already commenced, and the outer and inner courts have been established. Wulin is now the Sea G.o.d"s Pavilion Master, and all of you are elders of the Sea G.o.d"s Pavilion as well."
A surprised yet solemn expression appeared on the faces of Shrek"s Seven Monsters upon hearing this.
The rebuilding process had already commenced, and they had become elders at such a young age; the future rebuilding process was definitely going to be an extremely arduous one, but they had to face forward with a positive mindset no matter what.
Yue Zhengyu smiled, and said, "That"s not the end; they"re not the only survivors!"
Yue Zhengyu was being crucified by Xu Xiaoyan"s vicious pinching techniques, and he didn"t dare to withhold any more information.
An hour later, all of Shrek"s Seven Monsters were taken to their rooms, and aside from Tang Wulin and Yue Zhengyu, everyone felt as if they were still in a dream.
So many of their junior disciple sisters and junior disciple brothers of the inner court had survived, as well as their peers of the inner court. Even Elder Long had survived. Could there be any better news than this?