Along the way, mechas flew over their car on six separate occasions, and fighter aircrafts whizzed past overhead on three occasions. It was quite apparent that the atmosphere in the areas close to Shrek City was extremely tense.
This explosion had tugged on the heartstrings of countless people, and the entire continent was most likely in a state of panic and chaos.
Tang Wulin finally drove his car into Heaven Dou City after night had already descended, and he contacted Ye Xinglan again before finally meeting them at a small and remote hotel.
Everyone virtually rushed over to him before giving him ma.s.sive hugs one after another, and both Xu Lizhi and Xu Xiaoyan were in tears.
Everyone knew that if Tang Wulin hadn"t launched himself into the air to s.h.i.+eld everyone from that soul missile with his body, all of them would most likely have already died at this point. Furthermore, Tang Wulin hadn"t been aware of the fact that Gu Yue could turn up to save him!
"You"re finally back. Now that you"re here, I can step down. Welcome back, Captain," Ye Xinglan said in a serious manner.
That"s right, they were Shrek"s Seven Monsters, the final ray of hope for Shrek Academy. They had to shoulder the responsibility of reviving the academy.
Right at this moment, a puzzled voice rang out from behind Tang Wulin. "Father, who are they?"
The heavy atmosphere in the room suddenly s.h.i.+fted.
Gu Yue poked her head out from behind Tang Wulin.
"Father? What is this, some kind of role-play thing?" Xie Xie asked in a dry voice.
Tang Wulin latched onto Gu Yue"s hand before pulling her to his side with a wry smile on his face. "Do you think I"m in the mood to be doing role-plays at a time like this? Gu Yue s.h.i.+elded me from that explosion, and I don"t know exactly what happened at the time, but when we woke up, she was already suffering from amnesia, and she"s been calling me father this entire time."
"Amnesia? Wait, she"s Gu Yue? Is, isn"t this Na"er?" Xu Xiaoyan"s sobs subsided as she turned her attention to Gu Yue.
Tang Wulin shook his head with a wry smile and briefly explained to everyone what had happened since he encountered Gu Yue, including how she now had the appearance of Na"er and how he"d managed to determine that she really was Gu Yue.
Xie Xie asked in a hesitant manner, "Gu Yue, do you recognize me?"
Aside from Tang Wulin, he and Xu Xiaoyan had known Gu Yue for the longest period of time.
"No." Gu Yue shook her head in a completely lost manner.
Even the perpetually headstrong Ye Xinglan had tears welling up in her eyes upon seeing this. "She saved our lives, yet she"s become like this; is there any way to cure her amnesia?"
Tang Wulin replied with a wry smile, "I don"t know. I came to meet up with all of you as soon as I escaped from the Star Dou Fortress, and I"m going to try and find a way to cure her. I just don"t know whether her current condition can be..."
"Let me see." An extremely hoa.r.s.e voice suddenly sounded as a person emerged from the inner room.
Tang Wulin couldn"t believe his eyes.
Yali had completely changed. It was as if she had been baked dry under the sun, and her face was deathly pale, giving her the appearance of a skeleton wrapped in a suit of skin. Her exquisitely beautiful features had completely withered away, and her long hair had turned greyish-white in color.
She had been reduced to nothing more than a shadow of her former self in just one night.
"Your Highness..." Tang Wulin appraised her in a stunned manner.
Yali"s footsteps were a little unsteady as she slowly made her way over to Tang Wulin before shaking her head at him. Her eyes were completely bloodshot and devoid of any signs of life and exuberance. She slowly raised a hand, and gentle white light radiated from her palm as she pressed it softly against Gu Yue"s forehead.
The worst thing that could happen to a person was for their heart to die, and her heart had undoubtedly crossed over to the other side with Yun Ming.
Gu Yue was at a loss for what to do in the face of the white light being released by Yali"s palm, but it was quite clear that she didn"t seem to feel anything, either.
Moments later, Yali slowly withdrew her hand, and her brows furrowed slightly as she said, "Her condition is rather special. There"s nothing wrong with her physically, so it"s most likely the case that her mind has been dealt a heavy blow, resulting in a change in the nerves in her brain, thereby sealing off her memories, and that"s why she"s suffering from amnesia."
Tang Wulin asked in a nervous manner, "Can her condition be remedied?"
Yali replied, "It won"t be easy. The brain is an extremely mysterious thing as it"s the most complex organ in the human body. According to research conducted by the federation, there has always been a limit to how much the human brain can be explored, and there"s no way to glean all of its secrets. We can only divide the brain up into simple sections based on some observations, but no deeper conclusions have been drawn. This is one of the important directions that soul technology research is progressing toward. This condition can"t be treated lightly, and if incorrect treatment methods are applied, further irreversible damage could result."
Tang Wulin couldn"t help but draw a sharp breath upon hearing this. Yali was the number one healing system Soul Master on the entire continent; even she was stating that Gu Yue"s condition was quite troublesome to deal with, so it had to be very serious.
Yali could see the concern on Tang Wulin"s face, and she consoled, "Don"t be too worried; there are ways to remedy her condition. Generally speaking, as long as you can find the correct spirit items that can help bolster her bodily functions and return her cranial nerves back to normal, her memories will naturally return to her. It"s just that I can only think of one spirit item that can cure her; it"s called the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum, and it"s extremely rare. Also, we"ll need one that"s at least 10,000 years old to remedy her condition. If Shrek Academy were still around, we"d be able to draw upon the academy"s power and resources to search for one, but now..."
Her voice trailed off as her eyes dimmed even further.
Everyone also fell silent, and they felt as if their hearts had been filled with lead. Shrek Academy was gone, leaving them feeling like plants with no roots.
Tang Wulin took a deep breath, and said, "Your Highness, we"ll definitely rebuild Shrek Academy and return it to its former glory, I promise!"
Yali nodded with a bitter expression on her face. "The future is in your hands. I"ll do everything I can to support all of you."
After that, she turned and returned to her room.
It was already taking immense willpower just for her to continue to survive, and her only motivation was to see the revival of Shrek Academy in Yun Ming"s stead.
As the master of the Sea G.o.d"s Pavilion, it had naturally been extremely excruciating for Yun Ming to witness the destruction of Shrek Academy. If she weren"t being supported by the thought of completing Yun Ming"s final wish in his stead, Yali would"ve followed him to the other side already.
A Myriad Year Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum...
Tang Wulin held onto Gu Yue"s hand with a determined look on his face. He was going to find that spirit item and cure Gu Yue. He was the backbone of this team, so he couldn"t allow himself to wallow in grief and despair. They were most likely the only remaining force in Shrek Academy, and as the captain, he had to shoulder this ma.s.sive burden and the hope of the entire Shrek Academy.
"Pull yourselves together, everyone; the sky still hasn"t fallen yet. Shrek still has us, and the fact that the academy chose us as Shrek"s Seven Monsters means that we"re exceptional enough to carry the entirety of Shrek Academy on our shoulders in the future. This is our duty and also our responsibility. The academy nurtured us, and we"re all proud to be students of the academy. In my heart, Shrek Academy will always be the number one academy, and we have to keep facing forward no matter what situation we"re in. Wherever we fell is wherever we"ll stand up again."
Ye Xinglan stood firmly beside him, and said, "Tell us what to do next, Wulin."
Tang Wulin replied in a serious voice, "The current situation is very complicated. The academy has been destroyed, the federal parliament has been disbanded, and the entire continent is in a state of chaos. In a situation like this, we can"t rely on or trust anyone else. I still clearly recall something my father told me when I was just a small child; he said that the only person one can completely rely on is themselves, and I think that"s really true. The only people we can rely on now are ourselves."