"Now that the incident has already happened, saying words of regret is meaningless. Let's discuss how we should deal with it," Zhao Yi said.
His voice carried a hint of fatigue. They only had a few years left to live, yet they still had to worry about these matters.
"What else can we do?" Bai Fei still had the same fiery temper he had in his youth.
"That damned Dragon Phoenix Hall has some so-called Truth Pill that can force people to tell the truth. They directly made that little girl Yali confess everything."
"Now even if we want to wash away these accusations, it's impossible. The public has already concluded that we were responsible."
Everyone else remained silent, brows tightly furrowed as they pondered countermeasures.
The room fell into a long silence. The atmosphere was as heavy as their mood.
"I have an idea that might recover some of our reputation," Zhao Yi finally said, breaking the silence.
"What idea?" Bai Fei blurted out immediately. Everyone else also turned to look at Zhao Yi.
Zhao Yi showed a troubled expression. This method was somewhat shameless, and he felt embarrassed even mentioning it.
"Old Zhao, at a time like this why are you still hesitating? This concerns the academy's inheritance!" Bai Fei urged.
"Sigh… I guess we can only wrong Yun Ming," Zhao Yi sighed, his face filled with deep guilt.
"My idea is to sacrifice the rook to save the king—push the entire responsibility onto Yun Ming. Say that this matter was done by him and Yali, while most of the academy's leadership was unaware."
"If we do this, although we can't completely absolve the academy, we can at least minimize the impact."
"Afterward, the academy can formally apologize for the slander Yun Ming committed and provide some compensation to the Dragon Phoenix Hall. Then this matter will be over."
"In the short term the academy will still be criticized, but given enough time, Shrek will still be Shrek. The overall impact won't be too great."
Hearing this, everyone felt the plan was shameless, but after thinking it over, it actually seemed like a very good solution.
Shifting the blame onto a few individuals so the academy itself wouldn't suffer total reputational collapse… it wasn't impossible.
"Old Zhao, the Dragon Phoenix Hall killed so many of our people, and you want us to apologize to them? Are you senile?" Bai Fei angrily said.
"Of course not. This grudge—we will never forget it, and we must never forget it," Zhao Yi said coldly, a flash of killing intent appearing in his eyes.
"Since Shrek Academy was founded, we have never suffered such heavy casualties, nor such humiliation."
"This blood debt must be repaid. If we don't exterminate the Dragon Phoenix Hall, my hatred will never be satisfied."
"Then why are you still talking about apologizing?" Bai Fei asked, slightly calmer but confused.
"I only mean an apology in name," Zhao Yi explained after calming himself.
"A public apology to the Dragon Phoenix Hall is simply for the people and the Federation government to see."
"This will give the public the impression that Shrek knows its mistakes and is willing to correct them, allowing us to recover some of the academy's reputation."
"At the same time, it will make it difficult for the Dragon Phoenix Hall to attack Shrek Academy openly."
"After all, the masterminds of the incident—Yun Ming and the others—are already dead, and Shrek has apologized."
"If the Dragon Phoenix Hall still insists on wiping us out completely, it would appear excessive. If they forcefully attack us, then we will stand on the moral high ground."
"By that time we can mobilize the students who serve in the Federation and have them come support us in resisting the Dragon Phoenix Hall."
At the end, he spoke in a very helpless tone:
"Both Yun Ming and Long Yeyue, the two Limit Douluo, are dead."
"Old Jin and I are also nearing the end of our lives. Shrek Academy lacks top-tier combat power now, so we have no choice but to temporarily compromise with the Dragon Phoenix Hall."
"These are only temporary measures. Once we make preparations, it will not be too late to avenge today's humiliation."
Bai Fei carefully considered Zhao Yi's words, while the others also thought silently.
"Let's do as Old Zhao said," Jin Lie said.
"For the sake of Shrek's reputation built over twenty thousand years, we can only wrong Yun Ming and the others."
"This matter needs someone to bear responsibility. It's better for Yun Ming and the others to carry the blame than for all of Shrek to suffer."
"When we destroy the Dragon Phoenix Hall in the future, we can find a way to clear their names."
"This is too humiliating! When has Shrek ever suffered such humiliation?" one Sea God Pavilion member shouted angrily.
"Yes… I never imagined that one day Shrek would face such disaster, even losing the Pavilion Master of the Sea God Pavilion," another member sighed.
"Old Zhao, Old Jin, why don't we just directly attack the Dragon Phoenix Hall?" Bai Fei suggested angrily.
"They just fought a major battle not long ago, and their strength won't recover quickly. If we strike now, we could wipe them out completely."
Although he was near the end of his life, he could still burn his life force and fight with everything he had—at worst dying together with the enemy.
"I agree! The Dragon Phoenix Hall killed so many of our brothers. Even if I die, I want them to pay the price!" someone shouted.
Many people echoed the sentiment. Killing intent filled the room as their anger made them unable to sit still, ready to recklessly destroy the Dragon Phoenix Hall.
"Old Zhao, our academy and the Tang Sect still each have a Hundred-Year Longevity Pill. If two people take them, they can temporarily recover their peak strength."
"With two quasi-gods plus many Titled Douluo, destroying the Dragon Phoenix Hall shouldn't be a problem," Jin Lie said after thinking it over.
He also didn't want to swallow this humiliation. Instead of pretending to compromise, he would rather break the pot and fight them directly.
"I know you're all angry, but we can't act impulsively," Zhao Yi said helplessly.
"If we really fight the Dragon Phoenix Hall and lose another dozen Titled Douluo, what will happen to the academy's future?"
"And Sun-Moon Royal Academy and the Federal Research Institute are already standing with the Dragon Phoenix Hall. If we attack them, these forces will definitely help them."
"In that situation our losses would be even greater. With the threats of the Spirit Pagoda and the Holy Spirit Church, if we suffer too heavy losses, the academy's future will be very worrying."
Hearing this, many people fell silent.
Indeed, they had already suffered great losses. If they lost another dozen Titled Douluo, what would happen afterward?
Whether it was Shrek or the Tang Sect, both were massive cakes surrounded by hungry wolves.
Previously, their absolute strength deterred everyone. But once they weakened, it would be difficult to guarantee they wouldn't be carved up.
"But if we attack the Dragon Phoenix Hall in the future, there will still be casualties—maybe even more than now," a Sea God Pavilion member said.
"That may not necessarily be the case," Zhao Yi replied.
A strange smile appeared on his aged face—cold and even somewhat crazy.
"Old Zhao, just say what you're thinking. Stop keeping us in suspense," Bai Fei urged, knowing the old man was plotting something.
Zhao Yi looked at Bai Fei and said:
"Old Bai, if I remember correctly, the Tang Sect possesses a weapon that even a Limit Douluo cannot sense in advance."