Mingde Hall.
Hall Master's Office.
Bang bang bang!
Knocking sounded on the door, followed by Lin Jiayi's voice from outside.
"Hall Master, the person has been brought back."
"Come in."
Jing Hongchen, seated in his chair, put down the work at hand and spoke calmly.
Click.
The door opened. Lin Jiayi led a young man inside and closed the door behind them.
That young man was none other than the Shrek Academy student who had been the first to make a move a few hours earlier.
"Student Li Tao pays his respects to Hall Master."
Facing Jing Hongchen, Li Tao was visibly nervous, yet there was a trace of excitement and anticipation in his eyes.
"Child, you did very well just now. This Hall Master will also honor my promise. After this exchange ends, you may remain in the Sun Moon Empire and join my household."
Jing Hongchen smiled as he praised him.
Aside from being the Hall Master of Mingde Hall, Jing Hongchen also held the noble title of Duke of the Sun Moon Empire and possessed his own fief.
Li Tao was one of the Shrek students he had secretly won over in advance, to be used at a critical moment—to escalate the incident of Shrek Academy causing trouble and force Xu Tiannan to take action.
Li Tao's background was that of a fallen noble from the Douling Empire. His branch of the family was among the lowest-ranked, so much so that he had had to beg everywhere just to obtain a city lord's recommendation letter to attend Shrek Academy.
After entering Shrek Academy, he was rejected by the Martial Soul Department and was then shunted into the Soul Tool Department.
Thus, under Lin Jiayi's inducement, he quickly defected.
It wasn't that Shrek Academy was bad—mainly, Lin Jiayi simply offered too much…
"Thank you, Hall Master! Thank you, Hall Master!"
Li Tao immediately knelt down in gratitude.
A man's knees are worth gold—but this was exactly the moment to spend it.
"Alright. You may withdraw for now."
Jing Hongchen nodded slightly and waved his hand.
"Yes! Yes!"
After bowing deeply once more to Jing Hongchen, Li Tao carefully backed out of the room and closed the door behind him.
After a short while, once Li Tao had left, Lin Jiayi looked at Jing Hongchen and made a throat-slitting gesture, speaking in a low voice.
"Hall Master, should I take care of him? After all, a dead man keeps the tightest mouth."
"Jiayi, let me tell you this—living people are far more useful than dead ones. You must look at matters comprehensively."
Jing Hongchen shook his head, his fingers tapping lightly on the table.
"People like Li Tao are profit-driven by nature. Promise him a bit of benefit, and he'll become utterly loyal. What's more, he can no longer return to Shrek Academy—his retreat is already cut off. He has no choice but to rely on me."
"If he were to die, that old fox Yan Shaozhe might even bite back at us. The gains would not be worth the losses."
"As expected of you, Hall Master—you see things far more thoroughly. Jiayi has learned a great deal."
At some point, Lin Jiayi had already taken out a small notebook and was writing down Jing Hongchen's words verbatim.
When it came to improving himself, he was dead serious.
"Alright. You can go handle your work now as well. Shrek Academy has probably already exploded by this point."
Jing Hongchen laughed heartily.
He and Yan Shaozhe had been locked in open and covert struggle for many years. This time was the most satisfying yet—and it was all thanks to that kid Jiang Jue.
"Yes, Hall Master. I'll take my leave then."
After Lin Jiayi departed, Jing Hongchen removed his glasses and spoke softly.
"It's been several days since I last went to see Meng. The medicine to help her recuperate is also ready. I'll go see her now."
With that thought, Jing Hongchen headed out.
"Want advancement? Worship the Holy Son.
Want cultivation progress? Worship the Holy Son.
Want resources? Worship the Holy Son!"
At the headquarters of the Holy Spirit Church, inside Cloud Dark Douluo's room.
Cloud Dark Douluo held a statue in his hands, eyes closed, murmuring softly with an expression of utmost reverence.
He was performing his daily three acts of worship.
And the appearance of the statue was precisely that of Jiang Jue.
At the same time, similar scenes were unfolding in several other rooms.
Meanwhile, within a mysterious space inside the Holy Spirit Church, thick black mist enveloped the center of the area.
Within this space, wisps of faint—almost transparent—black mist were gradually being drawn in from outside, gathering toward the center.
These faint black mists clearly originated from within the Holy Spirit Church itself.
Suddenly, the dense black mist at the center trembled, as if it had sensed something.
After a brief moment, a somewhat hoarse voice rang out.
"The wind has risen…"
"The consciousness of the Douluo Continent has changed."
"But what can I do about it…"
"So many years have passed. The opportunity will eventually come, won't it?"
"These days of barely clinging to life…"
The voice echoed through the space. The black mist then returned to its original stillness.
As if none of it had ever happened.
Shrek Academy.
Sea God Pavilion.
"What tricks is Mingde Hall playing now? Claiming that our Shrek students went to steal their things—and that it was Xiao Yuhao! This is clearly framing!"
"Shameless! Utterly shameless!"
Around the round table, the Shrek elders erupted in anger as they read the letter from Mingde Hall.
Xuanzi sat at the head seat, looking at the indignant elders, shaking his head.
Ever since becoming the Pavilion Master of the Sea God Pavilion, dealing with matters like these every day had given him a splitting headache.
It was far less enjoyable than drinking a little wine and gnawing on chicken legs like before.
"Elder Xuan, say something! Yuhao can't be wronged like this!"
Xian Lin'er looked toward Xuanzi, forcibly suppressing her anger as she spoke.
"That's right, Elder Xuan. What kind of person Yuhao is, don't we all know? Mingde Hall is clearly picking a fight."
Qian Duoduo quickly chimed in, looking at his wife Xian Lin'er as he spoke.
Although he had never once climbed into Xian Lin'er's bed throughout their many years of marriage, he took great pleasure in defending her whenever matters arose.
Yan Shaozhe—usually the most proactive in situations like this—was unusually silent this time. He rubbed the bridge of his nose, feeling somewhat guilty.
Because in his heart, he understood everything perfectly clearly…
Right now, he was doing his best to minimize his own presence.
"Alright, alright, enough arguing."
Xuanzi rubbed his temples and pressed both hands downward, then turned his gaze toward Yan Shaozhe.
"Shao Zhe, you come up with an idea. You're usually the one with the most schemes."
"Ah? I… uh…"
Feeling everyone's eyes on him, Yan Shaozhe's mouth twitched. After hesitating for a moment, he spoke softly.
"I think we should first clarify the cause of this incident. After all, Yuhao is currently in Mingde Hall's hands. We should see what Mingde Hall intends to do."
"Based on my understanding of Jing Hongchen, he won't act without profit."
"And what does everyone else think?"
After hearing Yan Shaozhe, Xuanzi looked around at the other elders.
"Isn't Fan Yu also at Mingde Hall? Why haven't we seen any message from him?"
At this moment, Lin Huiqun asked with some confusion.
"It's possible he's already sent something, but it just hasn't arrived yet."
Another elder replied softly.
"Then we should send people over to see what's really going on. We can't let Yuhao suffer over there."
After thinking for a moment, Xian Lin'er spoke up.
"Indeed, we should send people. Otherwise, Mingde Hall and the Sun Moon Empire will really think Shrek Academy is easy to bully!"
"Have they forgotten how our Shrek ancestors defeated them back then?"
Several elders narrowed their eyes slightly, speaking coldly.
"Alright. Then Huiqun and Shaozhe will lead a group over."
"Any objections?"
Xuanzi nodded slightly and slapped the table to conclude.
Yan Shaozhe let out a quiet sigh, a bitterness rising in his heart.
(End of Chapter)