Soul Land 3: Legend Of The Dragon King

"Don't mind me; I'm just exercising," he said with a benevolent smile.

A myriad of emotions welled up in Long Yeyue's heart as she appraised Chen Xinjie, and the anger in his heart seemed to have vanished.

Presented before her was a wizened old man in a rough cloth robe, and even though his silver hair was still impeccably combed, he was looking nothing like the almighty Battle God Hall Master of the past.

Who could've imagined that a quasigod would be reduced to a sweeper in Shrek Academy?

On that day, Chen Xinjie had accompanied Tang Wulin back to Shrek Academy before paying Long Yeyue a visit, but she had refused to see him. Chen Xinjie didn't force the issue and asked for one of the most ordinary rooms in the academy to stay in.

The next day, he began to sweep the drill ground.

Tang Wulin almost had a heart attack upon seeing this, and he tried to talk Chen Xinjie out of his new "job" on many occasions, but Chen Xinjie refused to budge, continuing to sweep the drill ground every day before returning to his room.

It had been three months since he had first begun this lifestyle, and not once during this time had he gone to visit Long Yeyue again.

He seemed to have become completely accustomed to this lifestyle, living off simple meals and sweeping the drill ground every day. This lifestyle was far simpler than his past life, and even he was growing a little complacent.

Only the higher-ups of Shrek Academy were aware of his identity, but they could only allow him to do as he pleased. On some days, Yuanen Zhentian would invite Chen Xinjie for some tea and a chat after the latter completed his sweeping duties. Both of them were Limit Douluos of the older generation, so they naturally had a lot to talk about.

Long Yeyue had refused to meet him during this time, but she was well aware of what he had been up to. Yali had gone to find her on countless occasions to put in a good word for Chen Xinjie. It was downright ridiculous that a Limit Douluo was sweeping the academy's yard every day!

Prior to meeting Chen Xinjie on this day, Long Yeyue stubbornly refused to acknowledge him, thinking that Chen Xinjie was humiliating himself like this every day in order to force her to meet him.

However, for some reason, the sight of his lonesome and elderly figure only struck her with a sense of sympathy and melancholy.

No matter how much she resented him, she had never disregarded his accomplishments. It was certainly no easy feat to become a quasigod while also assuming command over the Battle God Hall and the Sea God Legion.

During the past century, Chen Xinjie had put in countless blood, sweat, and tears to further his own career, yet he was now a yard sweeper for the academy.

He was sweeping the drill ground very carefully without any semblance of half-heartedness, and Long Yeyue could sense that he was very happy and content. Everything was very natural, and there was nothing forced about what he was doing; it was as if he had immersed himself into his sweeping.

She had already watched from the shadows many times, and she finally couldn't resist the urge to show herself on this day. This was their first meeting since Chen Xinjie arrived in Shrek Academy.

"Leave," Long Yeyue said.

Chen Xinjie shook his head in response. "No, I'm not going anywhere, even if you beat me. I have no home to return to; are you going to force out a lonely old man without a home? At the very least, I have food and shelter here."

"You have no home? What happened to your family?" Long Yeyue snapped.

Chen Xinjie smiled, and replied, "I've already severed all ties with them so they won't be implicated for my crimes. I'm currently a traitor to the federation, a lonesome old man with nowhere to go. Thankfully, Tang Wulin was kind enough to give me a place to stay, and only Shrek Academy can ensure my safety."

"How can you be so shameless?" Long Yeyue was on the verge of storming away in a fit of rage.

Chen Xinjie chuckled, "This is a new skill I picked up recently. I sorely regret not learning this skill earlier. Otherwise, I wouldn't be in such a pitiful situation."

Long Yeyue pointed at the front gate of the academy. "Get out! Get out of here right now! I don't want to see your face!"

Chen Xinjie replied with a serious expression, "I'm not leaving, Yeyue. Shrek Academy doesn't belong to you; it belongs to everyone. I'm just going to continue sweeping here, and I won't disrupt your life, so don't worry. Shrek Academy looked after you in my stead for so many years; all I want is to be able to repay the academy. I don't know what else I can do, but sweeping is definitely within my capabilities. Regardless of how much longer I live for, I'm going to sweep here for the rest of my life.

"I already made all of the necessary preparations before coming here. The Chen Xinjie of the past is already dead; all that's left is Old Man Chen the sweeper, so don't chase me away! I'll be a homeless beggar if you do!"

Long Yeyue's lips twitched slightly upon hearing this. Never did she think that Chen Xinjie would become like this one day. However, his benevolent smile and genuine expression made her unable to work up the resolve to kick him out.

Right at this moment, Yi Zichen had just finished another lap, and while he was running, he already saw that an elderly woman had approached Chen Xinjie.

He was just a new student, and Long Yeyue rarely ever showed herself in public, so he had no idea who she was.

"Are you two fighting?" Yi Zichen asked in a curious manner.

Chen Xinjie smiled, and replied, "No, we're just discussing a technical problem."

Yi Zichen faltered slightly upon hearing this. Were there supposed to be any technical elements to sweeping?

He had heard some of their earlier conversation, and he turned to Long Yeyue as he said, "Don't be so hard on Grandpa; have some compassion."

Long Yeyue snapped, "You don't know anything! Keep running!"

Chen Xinjie chuckled, "Why are you yelling at a child? I think he's a good boy. It looks like Shrek Academy has a bright future ahead."

Long Yeyue turned back to him with an enraged expression. "That has nothing to do with you! Get out of here right away! Just the sight of you pisses me off!"

Chen Xinjie replied with a smile, "That means I hold some place in your heart. Otherwise, you wouldn't feel anything toward me. That's even more reason for me to stay!"

Long Yeyue immediately blushed upon hearing this. "What happened to your pride and dignity?"

Chen Xinjie replied, "I'm just a sweeper; what need do I have for pride? I've clung onto it my entire life, but I don't think it's worth that much now, so I discarded it."

"You..." Long Yeyue suddenly discovered that there was nothing she could do to such a shameless Chen Xinjie.

"Hmph!" In the end, she could only storm away.

Chen Xinjie leaned on his broom as he watched her depart with gentle eyes.

Yi Zichen was still standing beside him, and he was also watching Long Yeyue's departing figure. "What are you looking at, Grandpa?"

Chen Xinjie, "I'm looking at that grandma over there! She was really beautiful when she was young. Even now, she's still retained a lot of her charm; it's just not apparent to little kids like you."

Yi Zichen asked, "You must have a lot of history with that grandma, right, Grandpa? Why is she so mad at you? Shouldn't you be trying to console her?"

A wry smile appeared on Chen Xinjie's face upon hearing this. "If I could console her with words, I wouldn't be sweeping here. It's alright, I'm confident that she'll forgive me someday."

Yi Zichen was quite surprised to hear this. "Is it that serious?"

Chen Xinjie sighed, "I did some very stupid things in the past, but let's not talk about that. Continue on your run; don't let me delay your training. I have to keep sweeping as well."

"Alright." 

Thus, Yi Zichen continued on his run with a bunch of questions in his heart, while Chen Xinjie continued to sweep in a leisurely manner.