Snap!
At the peak of the Star Luo Empire's imperial city.
Emperor Xu Jiawei stood up abruptly, smashing his wooden chair with a palm strike. His face was twisted with fury. "So that's what happened ten years ago. No wonder my younger sister perished in the Star Dou Great Forest…"
General Dai Hao remained silent, his gaze complex.
After all, Dai Yueheng had already written to him. If not for Lu Cheng's mental sharing, which allowed them to detect the abnormality a fraction of a second early, then given Elder Xuan's almost leisurely speed, the entire team would likely have been wiped out, rather than just suffering heavy injuries.
"Those animals at Shrek Academy…" Emperor Xu Jiawei said, his voice trembling with suppressed rage. "That day, they even sent Yan Shaozhe to my palace to apologize in person. I thought they were polite and sincere, so I didn't pursue it, but I never imagined…"
Emperor Xu Jiawei's eyes were bloodshot, his palms clenched. His younger sister had been very close to him, second only to Princess Xu Jiujiu.
And what made him most furious was that his sister's death felt like a farce…a farce caused solely by Elder Xuan's stupidity and gluttony. She was at the prime of her life; she still had…
But that old animal, Elder Xuan, had tossed their Star Luo Sect's bloodline disciple into the core area of the Star Dou Great Forest just like that. This attitude was almost no different from what Lu Cheng had said; not only did they not value them, but they also wantonly trampled upon and wasted them.
And Emperor Xu Jiawei was far from the only one furious. The venue had gathered experts from various top forces, and the number of inner academy disciples who had died at Elder Xuan's hands was clearly more than just one or two.
In the past, out of respect for Shrek Academy's ten thousand years of prestige, everyone had just let it slide, feeling powerless. But today, with everything torn open and the accounts compared, it turned out that Shrek Academy was so beastly, truly treating the monster disciples of their sects as expendable materials to fill the gaps in eliminating evil soul masters.
Who could tolerate this?
And what sent shivers down people's spines was that Elder Xuan was Shrek Academy's strongest expert. In other words, he was almost guaranteed to take over as the future Pavilion Master of the Sea Gods' Pavilion. This meant that a fool, an old piece of trash, someone who had caused such a massive disaster, was actually going to be in complete control of Shrek Academy in the future.
This was too terrifying. Who would dare send their own outstanding disciples to Shrek Academy? Wouldn't that just be a pure demon's den?
"Lu Cheng, you animal, shut your mouth!" Yan Shaozhe's face was green with anger. He wasn't stupid; he knew the terror of Lu Cheng's move. This was fundamentally digging up the roots of Shrek Academy.
Once numerous forces clearly understood the corruption within Shrek, the blow to the academy's reputation would be immense.
It was even enough to make the current Shrek suffer a grievous blow to its foundation.
Why had their Martial Soul Department valued the tournament championship so highly for so many years, even risking everything to win? It was because of the prestige. The reputation of being the number one in the continent gave the entire Shrek Academy a status almost like that of a god. It also brought the most outstanding disciples from various families, sent by forces out of "trust."
This positive cycle had kept Shrek as the number one on the continent. But now…
Lu Cheng had exposed the fact that Shrek "treated human lives like grass." Even if there was still inertia, and many great families were still willing to send their disciples in, at least a considerable portion of forces had already begun to doubt and waver regarding Shrek.
In other words, the quality of their student intake would plummet.
For Shrek, that was striking at their lifeblood.
That was why Yan Shaozhe was so composed, even showing signs of wanting to make a move.
But Tiansha Douluo Huang Jinxu stood before Lu Cheng, impassively blocking him.
His Majesty had just secretly transmitted an order: even if it meant offending Shrek Academy, he must protect the youth.
"Shrek is threatening me with my life, but I am not afraid." Lu Cheng smiled and shook his head, looking righteous and awe-inspiring.
At this moment, many students and teachers finally realized why Lu Cheng had been targeted at Shrek Academy. It turned out that he had pierced through this corrupt and absurd reality, which had led Yan Shaozhe and the others to view him as a thorn in their side.
Many people looked at Lu Cheng with a hint of reverence and admiration.
Yan Shaozhe was desperate. This scene had cast him as the villain and Lu Cheng as the hero. If handled poorly, he, Yan Shaozhe, would not just be failing to win the championship; he would go down in history as a laughingstock for ten thousand years. He would also be a sinner of the entire Shrek Academy.
But even as the dean of the Martial Soul Department, a century-old fox, he was thrown into disarray by Lu Cheng's chain of moves. After all, who would have thought that this youth would choose to self-destruct with him at the finals, without the slightest bit of preparation?
And what made it harder was that everything Lu Cheng said was the truth. He couldn't refute it.
Elder Xuan had caused the deaths of over a dozen people back then. Looking at the expressions of Emperor Xu Jiawei and the others, it was clear that the pieces fit together, not to mention that Zhang Lexuan, one of the four survivors, was there as a witness. It was almost a checkmate.
Lu Cheng sighed softly and launched his final offensive.
"And Yan Shaozhe, you demanded that we, the reserve team disciples, must win the championship in this tournament. If we fail to win, no matter how brilliant our previous matches were, it is all for nothing. Yet Bei Bei, as the great-grandson of Elder Mu, can inherit the position of Pavilion Master of the Sea Gods Pavilion, while Elder Xuan, who should have borne the main responsibility in the Mingdou Mountain Range, just wiped his butt and left, leaving us innocent people to take the blame."
Lu Cheng's tone was filled with emotion.
"Shrek Academy really doesn't treat its disciples as human beings…"
At this moment, Yan Shaozhe completely exploded.
He finally realized that he shouldn't have given this guy a chance to speak. From the first sentence he said, he should have used his full power to stop him. But he hadn't expected Lu Cheng to be so ruthless, hitting Shrek's vital points with every move. However, as long as he killed Lu Cheng now, he could stop the losses in time and sincerely apologize to all parties.
He could barely minimize Shrek Academy's losses. After all, Shrek's ten thousand years of foundation were there; a camel that died was still bigger than a horse. As long as he stabilized the situation and had the teachers take action, it would certainly not affect them too much.
He rose abruptly, and a massive phantom of a Bright Phoenix rushed straight toward Lu Cheng's body. His murderous intent was undisguised, and it had clearly been brewing for a long time.
Crack.
Tiansha Douluo Huang Jinxu was caught off guard. He only had time to release his martial soul to block, but in an instant, it was torn apart by the Phoenix, which then swept past Huang Jinxu's body and smashed down toward Lu Cheng.
"Hahahaha…
As expected of Shrek Academy, petty as always. The young ones are, and the old ones are too. My sect's holy son said a few words to you, so what? You're already in such a rush?"
A deep voice rang out.
Du Busi's burly body appeared in front of Lu Cheng, and along with him, many black-robed figures appeared one by one.
A tyrannical aura instantly spread across the entire arena.
Even Tiansha Douluo Huang Jinxu's pupils shrank suddenly, his expression changing.
"The Body Sect…they really came!" Emperor Xu Jiawei narrowed his eyes and waved his hand, a sinister smile curling on his lips: "No need to interfere. I want to see how Yan Shaozhe will have the face to stand on this continent after today! And that animal, Elder Xuan, I will never forget the grudge of my younger sister's death."
Many Body Sect experts appeared one after another, about twenty of them. Almost all of them were Titled Douluo level experts, and the weakest was at the peak of the Soul Douluo realm. Lang Ya blinked at Lu Cheng, revealing a smile.
At this point, it was clear that this Body Sect Holy Son was playing for real, having completely offended Shrek Academy to the death.
This was the true brother of me, Lang Ya!
After reporting to the Sect Master that this youth had undergone a second awakening of the golden tier, the entire Sect had been stirred. After repeatedly verifying his information, Du Busi had not hesitated at all, bringing almost the entire power of the sect just to be foolproof.
The leader slowly raised his palm, and the massive Phoenix phantom was like a throat being tightly pinched by a large hand, struggling painfully but to no avail.
Du Busi scratched his ear and applied a little force with his palm.
The Bright Phoenix was instantly crushed completely, and Yan Shaozhe also spat out a mouthful of blood from his throat, his face filled with terror.
"The Body Sect?!?"
Du Busi ignored Yan Shaozhe and looked at Lu Cheng, his face smiling like a blooming flower. He patted the latter's arm, his eyes soft: "Child, don't worry. From now on, you are a member of my Body Sect. If anyone dares to bully you again, I'll beat them up for you!"
"Everyone, take a good look! This is our future new holy son!" He shouted loudly.
Many Body Sect experts around also wore smiles, and the title "Holy Son" was called out continuously.
Lu Cheng revealed a smile.
A sense of relief washed over him.
He had finally found his organization… he was no longer a rootless duckweed, drifting around and being bullied by others.
Although he had expected it, seeing this scene still moved him quite a bit.
This old guy, Du Busi, was like someone who had the words "benevolence and righteousness" carved on his forehead. As long as they were Body Martial Soul users, he would treat them like his own bloodline descendants.
"Damn it…" Yan Shaozhe spat out a mouthful of blood, his face full of anger, his heart surging like a river. If he had known, he would have killed this little animal before the finals. But unfortunately, unfortunately…it was too late.
The die was cast. After Lu Cheng followed the Body Sect, let alone killing him, even if they touched a hair on his head, the Body Sect would dare to go to war with Shrek Academy completely.
All his previous calculations had come to nothing.
Returning to Shrek Academy to give him a hard time…he had to return to Shrek Academy first.
This little animal never had any intention of returning to the academy from the beginning. He came to participate in the competition to escape!
No! Zhang Lexuan…
Yan Shaozhe's pupils shook, and he suddenly raised his head to look at Zhang Lexuan beside Lu Cheng. The latter was looking down at him indifferently, her position clearly indicating her intention.
She also chose to stand on the side of the Body Sect.
"Zhang Lexuan!!!"
Yan Shaozhe said with grief and indignation.
This was the Inner Academy Senior Sister of Shrek Academy, in whom Mu En had placed high hopes, the pillar that was meant to suppress the Sea Gods Pavilion for Bei Bei. With her monstrous talent and prestige, if she also left Shrek Academy, it would undoubtedly be a double blow.
After all, apart from Ma Xiaotao, there wasn't another "successor" in the inner court who could compare to her.
"Are you worthy of Shrek Academy's painstaking cultivation? Are you worthy of Elder Mu? He, in his old age, for your sake…" Yan Shaozhe began to play the emotional card in earnest.
But he was abruptly interrupted by Zhang Lexuan.
"Heh, killing my whole family just to snatch a seedling. Yan Shaozhe, are you even worthy of mentioning cultivation?" Zhang Lexuan stared coldly at Yan Shaozhe, calling him by his full name.
"When Mu En killed my whole family back then, did he ever think of today?"
"…"
Yan Shaozhe's pupils shook, and his heart began to beat violently.
It was over…everything was completely over.