The two red mechas turned their mechanical heads toward each other, exchanging a silent glance. After a moment, the one who had spoken earlier stepped forward slightly, summoning up his courage:
"Your Excellency Qingtian, you have severely disrupted the order of Mingdu, and you even fought inside the city, causing civilian casualties.
As a city defense officer, I know I can't stop you, but I still have to act. You need to give Mingdu — give the people — an explanation."
Yun Ming looked at the red mecha and said:
"I won't evade responsibility for this matter. Later, I will report to the Council and compensate the civilians. You can rest assured of that. But before that, I must settle my grudge with the Dragon Phoenix Hall. You'd best not block or interfere. Otherwise, don't blame me for being rude."
His gaze suddenly sharpened, his aura oppressive, making the pilots of both red mechas shudder involuntarily.
"This…"
The two mecha pilots were troubled. By protocol, they should stop him now — arrest those disturbing the peace — but Yun Ming's words gave them pause.
"I'd like to see what exactly you mean by 'being rude' if we do block you," a voice came from the distance.
From afar, Gu Ming, Xu Lin, Xu Chuan, and several other powerhouses were approaching together — it had been Gu Ming who spoke.
The Dragon Phoenix Hall was close to the Sun Moon Royal Academy. If he wanted, Xu Lin could have arrived before the mechas, but he hadn't. Instead, he first gathered some of the Academy's experts, contacted his teacher, met up, and only then came over.
Seeing Gu Ming, Xu Lin, and the others, Yun Ming's heart sank. This was becoming increasingly troublesome.
"Elder Gu, what's the meaning of this?" Yun Ming looked at Gu Ming, his tone interrogative, clearly unhappy about his arrival.
"It's nothing," Gu Ming said coldly. "I heard you struck at the Dragon Phoenix Hall without cause, so I came to lend a hand."
Yun Ming understood perfectly — by "lend a hand," he meant lending help to Dragon Phoenix Hall. His tone hardened:
"Elder Gu, this is a personal grudge between Shrek Academy and Dragon Phoenix Hall. It's best you don't get involved. The fewer complications, the better."
"The Dragon Phoenix Hall has juniors I value, and I've received favors from them. I cannot just sit idly by," Gu Ming shook his head, clearly resolved to intervene.
Yun Ming met Gu Ming's eyes, warning him:
"Elder Gu, think carefully before acting. If you step in, this matter will escalate.I don't wish to see Shrek Academy and the Federal Research Institute standing on opposite sides. That would not benefit the unity and stability of the Federation."
Gu Ming's expression grew more serious. He understood what Yun Ming meant, and he felt helpless. If it weren't for Dragon Phoenix Hall's involvement, he would never wade into this muddy water.
But now he had no choice — he couldn't just watch Shrek attack Dragon Phoenix Hall.
"I don't want this to get too big either. If possible, I'd prefer to mediate, to resolve the feud between you two. Things haven't reached an irreconcilable point yet. If Shrek Academy apologizes and makes some reparations, this matter can end here. There's no need for a life-and-death fight leading to mutual destruction," Gu Ming said.
In his eyes, Shrek Academy had launched a sudden attack on Dragon Phoenix Hall — the offending party was obvious. Naturally, it was Shrek who should apologize.
As for the cause of the attack, perhaps it had to do with Yun Ze defeating Shrek's students earlier — a retaliatory strike, perhaps.
"Apologize to them?" Yun Ming's emotions surged violently, and he roared, "That is absolutely impossible!
They abducted Shrek's student Tang Wulin and caused the death of one of our Sea God Pavilion Elders — and you expect us to apologize to them?
Even if they apologized to us, it wouldn't be enough. Only their blood can settle this matter. There is no possibility of reconciliation!"
Hearing this, Gu Ming, Xu Lin, the city defense officers — all of them were stunned. They hadn't expected this. Instinctively, they turned their eyes to Di Tian and his group, as if seeking confirmation.
Di Tian stood in the distance, face filled with fury, pointing at Yun Ming:
"Good job, Shrek! You attack us, then slander us afterward — truly shameless. If you want to fight, then fight. Why force some false charges on us? Abduct Tang Wulin? As if! Why would we abduct one of your students for no reason?
We have no grievance with Tang Wulin. Our only connection is that our young hall master defeated him at Sun Moon Royal Academy.
If it had been the other way around — if he'd defeated our young hall master — you could claim we bore a grudge and wanted to destroy a genius, that would at least make a bit of sense.
But in reality, our young hall master easily defeated him. And you think we'd retaliate by abducting and killing him? Utter nonsense!"
"Exactly, I think Shrek Academy just wanted to retaliate. Shameless!" a bystander shouted angrily from the distance.
Many others chimed in, complaining about Shrek Academy. Some even cursed, clearly holding a grudge against Shrek.
Most of these people had fled from near Dragon Phoenix Hall. After surviving the earlier disaster — nearly dying — how could they possibly have any goodwill toward Shrek now?
Nearby, media workers were already taking pictures, livestreaming, giddy with excitement. This was earth-shattering news.
The news had already broken and was rapidly attracting massive attention, livestream numbers skyrocketing.
More reporters, upon hearing the news, were rushing here, scrambling not to miss a single second.
Everyone now found Di Tian's words reasonable. Dragon Phoenix Hall had no motive to abduct Tang Wulin.
"Whether we slandered you or not, you know perfectly well in your heart," Yun Ming said as calmly as he could, though he ground his teeth in hatred at Di Tian.
"We do," Di Tian said flatly.
Seeing the other side respond so confidently, Yun Ming's anger spiked again. His usual composure was impossible to maintain.
"Your Excellency Qingtian," came a voice from the red mecha, "I think it's necessary for us to discuss this calmly. What if there's been some misunderstanding?"
He wasn't trying to help Dragon Phoenix Hall — he just didn't want a fight to break out in the city. Peaceful resolution was best.
"I agree," Gu Ming nodded. "If this is all over some misunderstanding, it would be a terrible shame for two great powers to clash."
"Dragon Phoenix Hall will not forget, nor forgive Shrek Academy's provocation," Di Tian said. "But we are willing to talk. We will not allow anyone to slander us. Words that tarnish Dragon Phoenix Hall's name must be cleared up."
This stance showcased Dragon Phoenix Hall's poise and confidence, giving off the air of a group with a clear conscience — not afraid of ghosts knocking at the door.
Now all eyes turned to Yun Ming, watching for his reaction. If he dared not speak of peaceful discussion, it would imply guilt — that there was something to hide.
Yun Ming wanted nothing more than to strike immediately. There was no point arguing with these shameless scoundrels. But the situation forced him to endure — to first expose Dragon Phoenix Hall's lies.
(End of Chapter)