Chapter 156 Every Evil Deed is the Holy Spirit Cult's Doing!
Although this incident wouldn't affect Shrek Academy's student recruitment, many Shrek alumni had deep emotional ties to the academy and could not tolerate any damage to its reputation. Even the elders of the Sea God's Pavilion, despite their age and immense power, took great pride in being part of Shrek Academy.
Hearing Yan Shaozhe's words, Bei Bei felt conflicted. He was torn between following Tang Sect's rules or handing over its secret techniques to help Fan Yu and He Caitou. But what if Xiao Ya returned one day and found out about this? How would he explain it to her?
However, Dean Yan's reasoning also made sense.
After thinking for a moment, Bei Bei gave a bitter smile. "Dean Yan, I'm willing to hand over the Tang Sect's secret techniques. After all, whether it's for the academy or for Teacher Fan Yu and He Caitou, this is the only way. If Xiao Ya finds out in the future, I hope she will understand."
With that, he retrieved a small booklet from his fake Twenty Four Moonlit Bridges storage tool and handed it to Yan Shaozhe.
Seeing the four large characters on the cover Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record Yan Shaozhe smiled with satisfaction.
Taking the booklet in his right hand, he patted Bei Bei's shoulder with his left and said, "Bei Bei, you've made the right decision. I know that breaking the Tang Sect's rules is painful for you, but this is for the greater good. Rest assured, the academy is still doing everything it can to find Tang Ya, and the moment we have news, you'll be the first to know."
With that, Yan Shaozhe quickly turned and left, heading straight to the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy's reception hall, where he found Jing Hongchen and handed him the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record.
"Dean Jing, this is the Tang Sect's secret techniques as requested. Now, can you release Fan Yu and He Caitou? They are, after all, Shrek's faculty and students, and keeping them imprisoned for too long wouldn't be appropriate."
Before visiting Bei Bei, Yan Shaozhe had already handed over the ten thousand year soul bone compensation demanded by Jing Hongchen.
To be honest, for a millennia old powerhouse like Shrek Academy, giving up ten ten thousand year soul bones wasn't enough to shake its foundation. Over the centuries, Shrek had amassed a vast collection of resources, so parting with some soul bones, while painful, was manageable.
For the Sun Moon Empire, however, soul bones were far rarer.
Compared to the original three nations of the Douluo Continent, the Sun Moon Empire's soul beast population was weaker, and the quality of their soul bones was lower as a result.
Although soul engineers relied heavily on soul tools for their power, who would refuse a chance to become even stronger? Soul bones could still enhance a soul engineer's combat ability, so Jing Hongchen ultimately accepted them.
At this moment, Jing Hongchen briefly inspected the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record before storing it in his storage ring.
A smile appeared on his face. "Alright, Dean Yan, I'll take you to see them now. Oh, and Dean Qian, I assume you'll be joining us as well?"
He turned to look at Qian Duoduo, who nodded firmly. "Of course. I need to have a serious talk with Fan Yu and He Caitou. There must be some kind of misunderstanding I refuse to believe they would steal blueprints."
Even though Qian Duoduo had been fully aware of Fan Yu's plan to steal the blueprints, this was something that could never be admitted. If they did, it would severely tarnish Shrek Academy's reputation.
Soon, Jing Hongchen led Qian Duoduo and Yan Shaozhe to a courtyard.
At the entrance, several soul engineers stood guard. As soon as they saw Jing Hongchen, they straightened up and greeted him in unison, "Hall Master!"
These soul engineers were all researchers from Mingde Hall, and they despised Fan Yu and He Caitou for stealing their blueprints.
Many of them had even volunteered to guard the two, ensuring that they didn't escape.
Jing Hongchen nodded. "You won't need to guard them anymore. I've just negotiated with Shrek Academy, and we've decided to release Fan Yu and He Caitou."
Hearing this, some researchers' faces darkened with displeasure.
However, they weren't foolish.
Becoming a Mingde Hall researcher required intelligence, and while many of them were straightforward due to years of working with soul tools, they weren't dumb.
They knew Fan Yu and He Caitou couldn't be imprisoned forever.
Reluctantly, they stepped aside.
Seeing this, Jing Hongchen gestured. "Alright, Dean Yan, Dean Qian, let's go inside."
With that, he led them into the courtyard.
Inside, Fan Yu and He Caitou were seated at a table, eating a meal.
Although they were technically prisoners, their status was special. With Sun Moon Academy's exchange students still at Shrek Academy, Jing Hongchen wouldn't go so far as to throw them into a dungeon.
"Fan Yu, He Caitou!"
Qian Duoduo smiled as he quickly approached, followed closely by Yan Shaozhe.
Soon, the four of them were deep in conversation, while Jing Hongchen quietly left the courtyard.
After all, he wasn't close to any of them, and he had more pressing matters like handing over the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record to Huo Yuhao.
Without delay, he took off toward Huo Yuhao's residence.
Inside the courtyard, after some brief conversation, Yan Shaozhe activated a soundproof soul barrier and turned to Fan Yu.
"Fan Yu, from now on, you and He Caitou must blame the Holy Spirit Cult for stealing the blueprints."
"Remember, every evil deed is the Holy Spirit Cult's doing. You were both coerced by their evil soul masters."
"Shrek Academy's people always uphold the pure and virtuous legacy of our ancestor, Tang San. We would never commit such an act of theft on our own initiative."
"Because of this blueprint theft scandal, the academy's reputation has suffered greatly. How could you be so careless?"
"If you had successfully stolen the blueprints and delivered them to the academy, you would have been hailed as heroes. But since you were caught, we now have to clean up this mess."
Fan Yu hesitated. "But… will people believe us?"
Yan Shaozhe smirked. "Given Shrek Academy's millennia old reputation, as long as we provide an explanation, people will be willing to believe it.
Shrek Academy has deeply influenced the three nations of the Douluo Continent for over ten thousand years.
Even Xu Jiawei, the Emperor of Star Luo, once secretly attended Shrek Academy just to experience life as a Shrek student.
Now, regarding the time and place for your public statement, we still need to discuss the details."
With that, Yan Shaozhe and the others began strategizing how to shift the blame entirely onto the Holy Spirit Cult, ensuring that Shrek Academy's reputation remained untarnished.
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