Chapter 544: Shrek Academy in Chaos!
Shrek Academy's dominance as the top soul master academy on the continent had never been due to some so called "advanced" educational system it was all about attracting top tier talent.
Zhongli Wu's scheme directly targeted this foundation, shaking the very roots of Shrek Academy's legacy.
He refused to believe that every Shrek student, when faced with the threat to their families' safety, would still stand unwaveringly with the academy.
Even parents considering enrolling their children in Shrek Academy would hesitate, given that the academy was failing to stop him from slaughtering students' families at will.
As for the students whose families had already been killed, who now harbored deep hatred and sought revenge, Zhongli Wu didn't care.
He was a level 98 Super Douluo tier evil soul master far beyond the reach of mere students. Their future retaliation was of no concern to him.
His reputation? Meaningless.
As the leader of the Holy Spirit Cult, he was already doomed to infamy.
And as for becoming the Empire's official "State Religion", that wasn't about good PR. No matter where they were, evil soul masters were universally reviled.
Even if Xu Tianran officially recognized the Holy Spirit Cult, it wouldn't suddenly "cleanse" their reputation.
But Zhongli Wu had faith faith that Xu Tianran's ambition to crush the three Douluo nations and Shrek Academy would force him to suppress public outcry against the Holy Spirit Cult, all for the sake of his greater goal.
"Shrek Academy, which prides itself on 'justice', yet cannot stop us evil soul masters… I'd love to see how they handle this!" Zhongli Wu's eyes flashed with cruel excitement.
With a sweep of his sleeve, he commanded, "Move out! Our next targets Shrek students' families!"
"Yes, Cult Master!" The evil soul masters responded in unison.
Of course, their next destination was far from Shrek Academy, making it harder for Long Xiaoyao to track them down.
Zhongli Wu knew full well that he had no confidence in defeating the Dragon God Douluo.
Shrek Academy
Zhang Lexuan stood atop an ancient styled pavilion, gripping the railing tightly.
Her expression was tense as she gazed down at the protesting students below.
Some of them had red rimmed eyes, their faces filled with anger and grief, holding up long white banners with blood red slogans scrawled across them.
She scanned the banners
"Shrek Academy's top experts must act annihilate the evil soul masters!"
"Shrek, help your students!"
"This isn't just any evil soul master threat we need to fight back harder!"
A few student leaders raised their fists, shouting angrily.
Their cries echoed through the air, their emotions raw and unfiltered.
Some Shrek teachers stood nearby, ensuring the protest remained orderly, preventing students from acting too rashly.
Zhang Lexuan understood why they were doing this.
Some of these students had lost their families their loved ones slaughtered by evil soul masters in cold blood.
And Zhongli Wu had brazenly declared that his target was Shrek students' families.
Some students whose families hadn't yet been attacked had joined the protests out of fear, desperate for the academy to take stronger action.
Truthfully, the academy was already trying.
Aside from Elder Mu, every single elder had mobilized.
Even Dean Yan Shaozhe and Elder Xuan, who had been in seclusion, had emerged to hunt down the evil soul masters.
They had two objectives:
Avenge the innocent lives lost.
Suppress the growing fear and restore Shrek Academy's reputation.
But they had failed.
Every time Zhongli Wu finished a massacre, he would flee to another location before striking again.
The three Douluo nations were vast, filled with countless cities and towns.
Shrek Academy students' families lived all across the continent, and the Shrek Elders had to move as a group for safety.
Because of this, they couldn't predict Zhongli Wu's movements and were always a step too late.
The Douluo nations and the Shrek Investigation Bureau had deployed powerful soul masters to track Zhongli Wu's movements, but it was pointless.
To Zhongli Wu, these spies were like paper tigers.
The moment they encountered him, they were slaughtered before they could even relay any intelligence.
After all, as Tang Ya now fully recovered had informed them, Zhongli Wu was a level 98 Super Douluo tier evil soul master.
Among all of Shrek Academy's forces, only Elder Mu could completely overpower him.
Only Elder Xuan could fight him to a standstill.
The strength advantage that evil soul masters typically held over normal soul masters diminished at higher levels.
A Titled Douluo tier evil soul master could fight evenly with a normal Super Douluo.
But at the Super Douluo level, an evil soul master still couldn't match an Ultimate Douluo.
Suddenly, Mu En's voice echoed in Zhang Lexuan's mind:
"Lexuan, come to the Sea God Pavilion immediately for a meeting."
Zhang Lexuan hesitated, then realized
Had Elder Xuan and the others returned already?
Without delay, she took flight toward the Sea God Pavilion.
Since the deaths of Elder Zhuang and Elder Lin, there were now vacancies in the Pavilion, meaning younger experts needed to step up.
As the strongest student in the inner court, Zhang Lexuan had undisputedly earned a seat among the elders.
She swiftly entered the Sea God Pavilion and took her seat.
Around her, the elders all wore grim expressions.
Mu En turned to Yan Shaozhe and instructed:
"Shaozhe, lead the meeting."
"Yes, teacher!" Yan Shaozhe responded respectfully.
Taking a deep breath, he looked around the room and announced:
"Because of Zhongli Wu's rampage, Shrek Academy is in complete chaos!
"Not only are students staging protests, but some have even withdrawn from the academy entirely to protect their families.
"Rumors are spreading, fear is taking hold, and even our admissions process is being affected.
"Many parents, fearing for their children's safety, no longer want to send them to Shrek Academy.
"If this continues, our academy's ten thousand year legacy will suffer irreparable damage!
"Since our attempts to capture Zhongli Wu have failed, this meeting will focus on discussing how do we kill him as soon as possible?"
The elders' expressions darkened, their gazes turning solemn.
This was no minor issue
It was a crisis threatening the foundation of Shrek Academy itself.
The impact of this situation was far worse than losing a tournament.
Elder Song let out a cold snort:
"If it weren't for Tang Ya regaining her sanity and revealing critical information about the Holy Spirit Cult, we wouldn't have even known Zhongli Wu's true strength.
"A level 98 Super Douluo, doing something so despicable and utterly shameless!
"Massacring innocent people, then running away before we can catch him he is the perfect embodiment of an evil soul master's depravity!"
The entire Sea God Pavilion was filled with heavy silence.
This was no longer just a battle of strength
It was a battle for Shrek Academy's future.
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