Shrek City, Counterfeit Shrek Academy, in a secluded pavilion by the Sea God Lake.
Just an hour ago, Xuan Zi, Yan Shaozhe, and Qian Duoduo had been summoned into the Sea Gods Pavilion by Mu En and were severely criticized in front of all the elders.
Xuan Zi was extremely angry, and the more he thought about his experience, the more furious he became. Thus, after coming out, he caught most of the chickens in Shrek City to roast and eat. However, he suddenly realized that over a dozen of his teeth had been knocked out, making it impossible to eat chicken now. He could only temporarily place the roasted chicken legs into his Storage Soul Tool.
Nevertheless, he still held half a chicken in his mouth to taste it. His anger toward Lin Feng's Counterfeit Shrek Academy and Long Yeyue had almost reached its peak. They wouldn't let him eat chicken legs in the Confinement Room, and now that he was out, his teeth were gone, so he still couldn't eat them!
"Shao Zhe."
Xuan Zi's face was gloomy, and his voice was low.
"Tell me, what should we do to get revenge on that damned pirated academy?"
"This old man cannot swallow this insult!"
"That person who seeks fame by deception actually dared to steal our Shrek Academy's ten-thousand-year reputation and even dared to humiliate this old man so much. It's simply outrageous!"
"If we don't show them some colors, how will we continue to hold our heads high on the continent?"
"Are you really content to watch that fake continue to exist and shit all over our heads?"
Hearing Xuan Zi's questioning, Yan Shaozhe felt a bitter smile in his heart.
Of course he wasn't content. As the Dean of the Spirit Soul Department, Shrek Academy's honor was his face.
Now that his face had been slapped so loudly, and he had not only lost money but also lost face, how could he not want revenge?
But...Yan Shaozhe took a deep breath, bowed slightly, and advised in a respectful yet firm tone.
"Elder Xuan, I can understand your feelings."
"That fake academy is indeed detestable, and I also wish I could eliminate it quickly."
"But..."
Yan Shaozhe looked up and said somewhat helplessly.
"Teacher has already given a strict order."
"We are absolutely not allowed to cause trouble again; we must behave ourselves."
"You also know that in order to redeem you... redeem us this time, the academy's vitality has been greatly damaged."
"A full quarter of our collection of ten-thousand-year herbs!"
"If we act rashly again and cause more trouble, I'm afraid the academy's foundation will truly be hollowed out."
Speaking of this, Yan Shaozhe couldn't help but recall the scene of being beaten by Zhuo Shi who fought Yan Shaozhe. The opponent was simply too strong, especially that terrifying Spirit Ring configuration, which had directly beaten him into submission.
"And..."
Yan Shaozhe shrank his neck, a trace of lingering fear flashing in his eyes.
"That academy... does indeed have some skill."
"Elder Xuan, we have to admit that if it comes to a head-on confrontation, the current us might really not be their match."
Hearing Yan Shaozhe's words that bolstered the enemy's prestige while diminishing their own, the fire of anger in Xuan Zi's eyes grew even stronger.
"Humph!"
Xuan Zi snorted coldly and slammed the half-roasted chicken heavily onto the table.
"In the end, you're just a coward!"
"Shao Zhe, you are the dignified Dean of the Spirit Soul Department, a Rank Ninety-Five Super Douluo! To think you'd have your courage broken just by being beaten once?"
"Elder Mu told you to be steady, not to be a shrinking turtle!"
Facing Xuan Zi's ridicule, Yan Shaozhe opened his mouth to argue but ultimately swallowed his words.
There was no other way; although he and Xuan Zi were of the same generation in terms of seniority, Xuan Zi was much older, and Mu En had always doted on this trouble-making nephew-disciple.
If he dared to talk back, he would be the one to suffer in the end.
"Yes, Elder Xuan's lecture is correct."
Yan Shaozhe lowered his head.
"I have too many concerns and am too cowardly."
"Humph, it's good that you know."
Seeing Yan Shaozhe yield, Xuan Zi felt a bit better and picked up the half-roasted chicken to continue licking it.
Just at that moment—
"Dean! Dean Yan!"
An urgent and panicked voice suddenly came from a distance.
Immediately after, a middle-aged teacher dressed in black stumbled into the pavilion. His face was as pale as paper, and his forehead was covered in cold sweat.
"What's the panic?!"
Yan Shaozhe frowned, an ominous feeling rising in his heart, as he shouted sternly.
"Don't you see Elder Xuan is here? Where are your manners!"
"Something... something big has happened!"
"Xiao Tao..."
"Her Evil Fire... suddenly erupted!"
"What?!"
Yan Shaozhe's face changed drastically.
"Where is she now?"
Yan Shaozhe asked urgently.
"By... by the Sea God Lake..."
The teacher swallowed hard.
"She... while she was out of control, she happened to run into a first-year freshman wandering by the lake."
"Then... then..."
"Then what?!"
Yan Shaozhe grabbed the teacher's collar and lifted him up.
"That freshman... was incinerated by the Evil Fire and... died on the spot."
"Buzz—"
Yan Shaozhe felt a roar in his mind, as if he had been struck by lightning. His grip loosened, and the teacher fell to the ground.
"Died... died?"
Yan Shaozhe muttered to himself, his face turning deathly pale in an instant.
If the student had been injured, or even crippled, with his status in the academy, he could find a way to suppress it—at most paying some money or giving some resources to keep them quiet.
But...Killed?
Killing an innocent freshman by the Sea God Lake?
The nature of this had completely changed!
Although Mu En was protective of his own, what he hated most was the indiscriminate killing of innocents, especially when it involved his own academy's students.
If Mu En found out about this...
"This... what should be done?"
Yan Shaozhe paced back and forth in a frantic state.
"If Teacher finds out, it'll be a disaster..."
"Who else knows about this?"
Yan Shaozhe suddenly turned to look at the teacher, his eyes fierce.
"At... at the moment, I'm the only one who saw it."
The teacher said tremblingly.
"I came to report to you immediately."
Hearing this, Yan Shaozhe breathed a small sigh of relief, but the heavy stone in his heart still hadn't dropped.
Paper cannot wrap fire.
A freshman going missing would be discovered sooner or later.
Just as Yan Shaozhe was at a loss.
"Hehe...""Shao Zhe..."
Xuan Zi looked at the panicked Yan Shaozhe and spoke leisurely.
"It seems that while you usually have many clever ideas as Dean, you're still not calm enough when you actually encounter a problem."
"Elder... Elder Xuan?"
Yan Shaozhe was stunned for a moment. Looking at Xuan Zi's confident expression, it was as if he had caught a final straw of hope.
"You... you have a way?"
"Of course."
Xuan Zi stood up, walked in front of Yan Shaozhe with his hands behind his back, and patted his shoulder, leaving behind several greasy handprints.
"If you are willing to help me, put in more effort, and stop being so evasive like today..."
"This old man can help you solve this trouble."
"Really?!"
Yan Shaozhe was overjoyed. At this moment, how could he care about Mu En's prohibition? As long as he could protect Ma Xiaotao and not let the trouble fall on himself, he would do anything!
"Elder Xuan! As long as you can help me through this crisis, from now on, whatever you say goes!"
"I, Yan Shaozhe, will follow your lead!"
"Good!"
Xuan Zi nodded with satisfaction.
This was exactly what he wanted. With this leverage in hand, Yan Shaozhe would be the most obedient blade in his hand from now on.
"Actually, this matter isn't hard to handle."
"Don't forget, besides being an elder of the Sea Gods Pavilion, this old man has another identity."
"Vice Commander of the Shrek Monitoring Group."
The Shrek Inspection Corps was Shrek Academy's most core and mysterious organization, specifically responsible for monitoring and hunting down wicked Evil Soul Masters across the continent.
Although nominally, Mu En was the Commander.
But because Mu En was physically disabled and stayed in the Sea Gods Pavilion year-round, indifferent to worldly affairs, the actual control of the Monitoring Group and the arrangement of specific affairs had always been handled by Xuan Zi.
He was the actual power holder, possessing immense room for manipulation and the right of interpretation.
"Elder Xuan, you mean..."
Yan Shaozhe seemed to have guessed something but wasn't certain.
Xuan Zi sneered, a cold light flashing in his eyes.
"The death of a freshman is indeed a big deal."
"But what if..."
"This freshman wasn't killed by Xiao Tao."
"But instead..."
Xuan Zi paused and said word by word:
"Encountered an Evil Soul Master who had infiltrated Shrek City."
"To protect the academy, to protect the civilians."
"This freshman fought heroically, engaging in a life-and-death struggle with the Evil Soul Master."
"And finally..."
"Sacrificed himself gloriously!"
[A/N: This guy makes me physically ill]
"..."
Hearing this plan, Yan Shaozhe's pupils shrank violently, and he was completely stunned.
Packaging a freshman accidentally killed by their own as a hero who fought against an Evil Soul Master?
This... this was simply...
Too brilliant!
[A/N: Its disgusting and inhumane you a**holes]
And too shameless!
In this way, not only would Ma Xiaotao's guilt be washed completely clean, but that dead unlucky bastard could even gain the title of a glorious sacrifice. The academy could even use this to promote the Shrek Spirit. A Spirit Master brave enough to fight Evil Soul Masters, even if they were a freshman, even if they died, could be exceptionally admitted into the Shrek Inspection Corps.
One must know that only inner courtyard disciples could enter the Shrek Inspection Corps. For a freshman to be exceptionally admitted was an ultimate honor!
"Brilliant! Truly brilliant!"
Yan Shaozhe looked at Xuan Zi, showing heartfelt admiration for the first time.
He had always thought Xuan Zi was just a brute who only knew how to eat and act rashly. He didn't expect him to have such a high talent for plotting such schemes and reversing black and white!
"But... regarding Elder Mu..."
Yan Shaozhe was still a bit worried.
"Don't worry."
Xuan Zi waved his hand with a look of indifference.
"The files and mission records of the Monitoring Group are all managed by me."
Hearing this, Yan Shaozhe set his mind at ease.
Then what was there to fear? Anyway, if the matter were to come to light, Xuan Zi would be the one at the front taking Mu En's scolding, while he would only have secondary responsibility.
"Thank you, Elder Xuan! Thank you, Elder Xuan!"
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A/N:
5 Power Stones = 1 Extra Chapter
I hope all of you are enjoying this story so far. I would appreciate some Power Stones if you can spare any. Leave a review if you like the story. Thank you.