Huo Yuhao's body trembled slightly.
An uncontrollable chill shot from the soles of his feet straight to his crown.
"What about... me?"
The thought surfaced in his mind like a nightmare.
He had been Huo Yuhao's "discoverer."
How much "effort" had Qiangu Wangyan poured into him?
The Sky Screen seemed to hear his thoughts. The images shifted once more, finally revealing Huo Yuhao.
[Huo Yuhao... A rather peculiar boy.]
[His Spirit Eyes Martial Soul is the most promising one I've ever seen.]
[Of course, I prepared a "gift" for him as well. That soul imprint from the Holy Spirit Cult would surely make him useful to me in the future, if only I could plant it.]
[But something strange happened.]
For the first time, a hint of confusion crept into the voice of the monologue.
[I took advantage of the opportunity to guide his mental cultivation and tried three times to quietly implant the imprint into his Spirit Sea.]
[But each time, the imprint vanished without a trace, like a rock sinking into the sea, without stirring the slightest ripple.]
[He must be hiding some great secret.]
[A secret capable of devouring even the Holy Spirit Cult's secret arts... Too dangerous.]
[Trying again would be too risky. I might expose myself.]
[Forget it. An uncontrollable pawn is better used as a simple tool.]
[As long as I keep showing him kindness and make him feel indebted to me, that'll be enough.]
On Shrek Plaza, everyone's gaze toward Huo Yuhao instantly became exceedingly complicated.
Suspicion, wariness, curiosity...
What secret did this seemingly ordinary boy hide, to make even Qiangu Wangyan find him troublesome enough to abandon his attempt to scheme against him?
At that moment, however, the scene inside Huo Yuhao's Spirit Sea was entirely different.
"What?! That bastard tried to make a move on you three times!"
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm shrieked, its enormous body churning through the Spirit Sea.
"Your big brother didn't notice a thing! What a humiliation!"
Just then, a calm, aged voice rang out.
"Do not panic."
Electrolux's figure slowly emerged.
"Elder Yi, do you know what happened?"
Huo Yuhao hurriedly asked.
Electrolux's voice was as calm as still water.
"When I fell into a deep sleep earlier, I instinctively devoured some soul energy."
"Now that I think about it, that soul energy must have been the imprint he planted."
Huo Yuhao stared blankly.
"You... you just devoured it?"
Electrolux spoke as if it were a trivial matter.
"It was merely a little impure soul mark. To me, it was no different from dust—not even enough to wake me from my sleep."
"Besides, even without me, this little worm's million-year-old Spiritual Origin would eventually have worn it away. It would simply have taken more effort."
Hearing this, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm puffed up its chest and declared loudly,
"Of course! A mere imprint—your big brother could've purified it in no time!"
The tension inside Huo Yuhao eased instantly, and warmth spread through his body.
He bowed deeply toward the depths of his Spirit Sea.
"Thank you, Elder Yi!"
Outside, everyone saw Huo Yuhao's relieved expression and assumed he was glad to have escaped danger.
But the monologue on the Sky Screen had not yet ended.
The scene shifted to the preparation room for the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Fighting Tournament!
The official and reserve members of the Shrek Seven Devils were all there!
Wang Yan stood before the tactical board, his expression more serious than ever.
[The Sun Moon Empire is indeed powerful. In a head-on fight, we have no guarantee of victory.]
[But the word "lose" does not exist in Shrek's dictionary.]
[For victory, for the championship trophy that represented the best on the continent, they were willing to do whatever it took.]
[So I proposed a brilliant strategy.]
[I suggested having Huo Yuhao use Spiritual Detection from below the stage to assist the team members fighting above.]
[I thought I'd have to persuade them with some nonsense about "the academy's honor."]
[But I was wrong. I'd overestimated their scruples—or rather, they had none at all.]
Before the words had even faded, Xuanzi's enormous hand slammed down on the table.
["Good! That's what we'll do!"]
["This isn't cheating. It's a strategy! A legitimate way to use our students' abilities!"]
["The tournament rules don't say that reserve members can't provide assistance from below the stage!"]
The captain, Ma Xiaotao, had excitement flashing in her eyes.
["Exactly! Victory comes first! For Shrek's glory, we have to win this championship!"]
Dai Yaoheng, Xu Sanshi, and the other team members showed not the slightest shame. Instead, their fighting spirit blazed.
Every one of them accepted the plan without a second thought.
[As expected of Shrek. They really had a proud tradition of shamelessness.]
[But they had no idea that victory was never my goal!]
[I wanted Shrek to be caught cheating in front of everyone!]
[Just imagine it! The Shrek Seven Devils, exposed for openly cheating before a huge crowd! Disqualified! Nailed to the pillar of historical shame!]
[The continent's number one academy, stealing victory through such despicable means!]
[Hahahaha! That would make them suffer a hundred times more than killing any one of their geniuses!]
[But... but why?!]
For the first time, the voice of the monologue surged with intense emotion, brimming with anger and resentment!
[Were those useless referees blind?!]
[How could they fail to detect such obvious fluctuations in spiritual power?!]
[We... actually won just like that?]
[I stood below the stage, watching them cheer and lift that trophy, with curses filling my heart!]
[I had to force a pleased smile onto my face and accept everyone's praise.]
[But in my heart, I had to admit that this was the greatest failure of my revenge plan!]
The monologue ended.
Across the entire Douluo Continent, in both timelines, an uproar erupted!
[Douluo II Period]
Shrek Plaza.
"How could this... How could this have been exposed!"
Dai Yaoheng's face turned deathly pale, and the words slipped out before he could stop them.
Ma Xiaotao, Ling Luochеn, Bei Bei... Every member who had participated in that tournament lowered their heads.
There was no shame on their faces, only fury at being exposed!
They had no way to refute it!
The Sky Screen had shown the facts!
But they did not think they had done anything wrong.
They only hated that the matter had been made public!
And outside Shrek, the whole continent was already in an uproar!
Sun Moon Empire, Mingde Hall.
"Cheating!! They all cheated!!!"
Jing Hongchen crushed the armrest in his hand. He was so furious his whole body shook, and the terrifying fluctuations of Soul Power made all of Mingde Hall vibrate!
Xiao Hongchen and his younger sister, Meng Hongchen, had bloodshot eyes.
"So that's what happened! We lost to a bunch of cheats!"
Xiao Hongchen roared,
"From their elders down to their students, not one Shrek member is innocent!"
"Grandpa! I demand a rematch!"
"No! I demand that their championship be stripped from them!"
"They don't deserve it!"
Jing Hongchen laughed in fury.
"Shrek, my foot! The continent's number one academy, my foot! Morally bankrupt! Every last one of them shameless!"
"Guards!"
"Carry out my orders and immediately issue a notice to every faction on the continent!"
"Strongly condemn the shameless cheating by every member of Shrek Academy in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Tournament!"
"Demand that the tournament committee immediately strip them of their championship title and have them publicly apologize to the Sun Moon Empire!"
"And there's more!"
"They also killed several of our team members during the tournament!"
"Before, they hid behind the rules of Soul Fighting, and we had nothing to say."
"Now it's clear they're a bunch of butchers who cheated while slaughtering their opponents!"
"This matter must be settled as well!"
The Star Luo Empire, the Heaven Dou Empire, and every academy that had ever been defeated by Shrek erupted at that moment!
"Shameless! Utterly shameless!"
"We demand that all of Shrek's tournament results be revoked!"
"Shrek must answer to the entire continent!"
"They don't deserve to run an academy! They're a disgrace to the continent!"
The wave of condemnation swept across the entire continent.
The reputation Shrek Academy had built over ten thousand years teetered on the brink of collapse!
Before you continue