Chapter 38: Itself is the Source of Disaster! (1 / 1)
He let out a cold sneer, his voice sounding like poison-dipped ice picks:
"Collateral damage to civilians? It is practically inevitable! In the heat of battle, under the fanatical slogans of 'eradicating evil completely,' the accidental killing of a few civilians who might be caught in the crossfire is, to them, nothing more than a necessary sacrifice and a small price to pay. As long as we dig diligently, or even slightly guide circumstances to create opportunities, we can always find such leverage! Take the bloody facts, the wailing of the innocent, and make them public at the very moment they are flaunting their justice! Let the glorious image they have painstakingly crafted be stained with blood that can never be washed away!"
A glint of excitement and cruelty flickered in Du Busi's clouded eyes. The Shrek Supervision Group, an organization he hated to the bone yet was forced to wary of—its greatest weakness was that self-righteous sense of justice! As long as a stain was found and magnified...
Lin Yu raised a third finger, his gaze sweeping over the silent Gu Yuena nearby, his words carrying a deeper meaning:
"Third, expose their greed and incite public rage. Do the high-levels of various nations, especially those powerful empires, truly bow their heads to Shrek Academy without a single shred of resentment? An organization that exists outside the national system, possessing formidable military force and immense influence, interfering in internal affairs and acting as the 'World Police,' is practically a certainty! Perhaps it is manipulating under the guise of mediation, or perhaps it is secretly supporting or suppressing certain forces to maintain its transcendent status... These hidden threads, Sect Master Du, having been immersed in the continental situation for a hundred years, you surely know better than I how to collect and connect them—how to turn them into a noose tightening around Shrek's neck. Make the Imperial Royals and Kingdom Nobles realize that Shrek is not a protector, but a sword of interference hanging over their heads, ready to fall at any moment!"
Du Busi nodded slowly, the joints of his withered fingers turning white from his grip. Shrek's reach was too long; the people they had offended were certainly not few. It was just that previously, no one dared to unite them, and there was a lack of a powerful core to push it forward. Now...
Lin Yu's voice suddenly rose, carrying a cold irony and provocativeness:
"Fourth, light the fuse and explode their original sin! Shrek Academy is adjacent to the Star Duo Great Forest. With tens of thousands of years of accumulation, it is the norm for Soul Masters to hunt Soul Beasts to obtain Soul Rings and Soul Bones. But their greed and arrogance have long since seeped into their marrow!"
His sharp gaze pierced toward Du Busi:
"They view Soul Beasts as resources to be taken at will; life and death are irrelevant as long as the Soul Rings and Soul Bones are in hand. Their students train in the forest—how many of them use the excuse of 'entering territory by mistake' or 'suffering an attack' to carry out proactive hunts and seize treasures? This unscrupulous plundering has long since accumulated a sky-reaching resentment within the Soul Beast tribes!"
Lin Yu's tone became like a prophecy:
"With just a little stimulation—we don't even need to act ourselves—at the critical moment, we only need to skillfully add fuel to the fire. Let the hunting behavior of certain Shrek idiots seriously provoke the powerful existences deep within the forest... A devastating Beast Tide caused by Shrek would be enough to tear their 'Holy Land,' built on the bones of Soul Beasts, into pieces! At that time, who will still think it is a force protecting the continent? It itself is the source of disaster!"
Gu Yuena's clone stood quietly to the side, an undetectable ripple passing through the depths of her purple eyes, as if a pebble had been thrown into a calm lake. Lin Yu's words accurately struck the core pain point of the conflict between Soul Beasts and humans, and also faintly pointed toward her.
Lin Yu stood up abruptly, his golden pupils like a burning sun, looking down at Du Busi. His concluding words exploded in the stone hall like a thunderclap:
"To summarize, Shrek's crimes are too numerous to record!"
"Externally, they hold high the banner of justice, but in reality, they harbor evil intentions, interfering in internal affairs and treating the accidental killing of civilians as if it were grass!"
"Internally, they practice double standards, using accidental killing as an excuse for 'combat experience,' and crippling or destroying opponents under the beautiful name of 'strength is supreme' to manifest their tyrannical arrogance! But once they themselves suffer heavy losses, they immediately jump up and down, screaming accusations that the opponent is anti-human and cruel! How hypocritical!"
"Toward Soul Beasts, it is even more blatant predatoryism. The life and death of Soul Beasts have nothing to do with them, so long as the Soul Rings and Soul Bones are obtained! They view Soul Beasts as resources, not as sentient beings!"
Every word of Lin Yu's was like a heavy hammer, smashing into Du Busi's heart, completely igniting and sublimating the hatred accumulated over a hundred years.
"Du Busi!"
Lin Yu's voice carried an unquestionable majesty:
"As long as we can link these crimes—especially iconic events like a disastrous defeat in the tournament, Supervision Group scandals, evidence of interference in internal affairs, and the Beast Tide—and detonate them at the right time to form a public opinion storm sweeping the continent... Shrek's halo of a sacred and inviolable Holy Land will be completely torn to shreds! Its foundations will be stripped of bone and sinew! Its allies will become estranged! Its enemies will rise and attack it en masse!"
His final words were decisive:
"At that time, there will be no need for your Body Sect to come out in full force to fight to the death with the Sea God Pavilion. Shrek Academy will fall into unprecedented isolation and condemnation. Its ten-thousand-year foundation will begin to rot and collapse from within! That will be the perfect opportunity for you, Du Busi, to lead the Body Sect in the name of settling blood feuds and setting things right, to deliver the final blow, completely trampling it and grinding it into the dust! Make it harder than reaching the heavens for them to ever rise again!"
"This is the true 'withdrawing the firewood from under the cauldron'! Skinning the hide and picking the bones!"
The stone hall fell into a dead silence, save for Du Busi's heavy breathing, which sounded like a bellows. His wrinkled old face twitched violently due to extreme excitement and hatred. In his clouded emerald eyes, the last trace of doubt was completely swallowed by the raging flames of revenge, replaced by a near-maniacal agreement.
The blueprint Lin Yu described was grander, more meticulous, and more lethal than any revenge fantasy he had held over the past hundred years!
"...Good! Good! What a 'withdrawing the firewood from under the cauldron'! What a 'skinning the hide and picking the bones'!"
Du Busi slammed his hand onto the armrest of the stone throne, and the hard black stone was instantly covered in spiderweb-like cracks. He stood up, his hunched body exploding with an astonishing aura, staring fixedly at Lin Yu:
"Lin Yu! I, old man, believe you this once! This heaven-sent fortune, my Body Sect accepts it!"
His gaze turned toward the faint figure of Huo Yuhao outside the stone hall, a heat flashing in his eyes:
"Gold-level Awakening? Fine! As long as this disciple of yours truly has that aptitude and can withstand my sect's secret techniques, I, old man, will personally protect him!"
The corners of Lin Yu's mouth curled into a satisfied arc, his golden eyes as deep as an abyss:
"Then, a pleasure collaborating with you, Sect Master Du. Let us begin preparing this feast to bury Shrek."
The flames of revenge burned fiercely in Du Busi's eyes; the blueprint drawn by Lin Yu had completely ignited his battle intent that had been dormant for a hundred years. His withered palm gripped the stone armrest tightly, his burning gaze sweeping over Lin Yu before finally settling on the upright figure of Huo Yuhao outside the stone hall.