Only Mingde Hall Could Do It

Only Mingde Hall Could Do It

Meanwhile, the Shrek team staying at the Star Emperor Hotel was in a somber mood.

There were only ten people in the conference room besides the teachers leading the team, and only three of them looked like first-string players.

Wang Yan pulled out a chair and sat down, affecting a relaxed air. He looked at Ma Xiaotao, Dai Yueheng, and Ling Luochеn across from him. In the end, he didn't speak to them first, but turned instead to the reserve players sitting on the other side, their faces pale.

The reserve players still able to compete were Bei Bei, He Caitou, Xu Sanshi, Jiang Nannan, Dai Huabin, and Zhu Lu. Xie Huanyue had suffered extremely serious injuries and had already been sent back to Shrek for emergency treatment.

"There are a hundred and thirty-three teams competing. The first round will be a seven-on-seven knockout match, and the losing team will be eliminated immediately." Wang Yan tried to make his voice sound confident. "Xiaotao and Yueheng still need time to recover. For this match, Ling Luochеn, you'll have to lead the team."

"Yes." The frostlike woman seated with the first-string players agreed at once.

Her injuries were only slightly less severe than Ma Xiaotao's and Dai Yueheng's. If she wanted to compete, she would still need a mobility aid.

The seven-on-seven team matches allowed teams to start with fewer than seven players. But Wang Yan still had no choice but to field Ling Luochеn, because he had very little confidence in the reserve team. On top of that, Dai Huabin had injured his shoulder and couldn't engage in strenuous activity for now. As a close-combat Soul Master, he was effectively useless for the first few rounds.

It would be humiliating if Shrek lost in the knockout rounds.

He had already lost his chance to take a post in the inner academy after suffering serious injuries on a mission with Xuan Zi. If he let Shrek's ten-thousand-year legacy end on his watch this time, there would be no way he could keep working at Shrek.

"We questioned her and suspect she's a Body Sect spy. We've taken her into custody and are telling the public that she's assisting a teacher with a confidential research project."

The woman seemed to have woken up by then, but the small portion of her face that showed was still completely bloodless. At the sound of the door opening, her eyes struggled to turn toward it, settling on Jing Hongchen as he approached.

If she still had her old outlook, she could never have spoken so politely to Jing Hongchen after learning she was in Mingde Hall. But now, she truly didn't care about anything.

Xi Xi nodded.

This wasn't a matter of whether he bore the main responsibility. It was simply bad luck. As the teacher and one of those involved, there was no way he could distance himself from this string of events. If he argued back, they might ask him, "Leaving Xuan Zi aside, are you really saying you bear no responsibility at all?"

"Listen up." He forced himself to sit up straight. "Our opponents won't be that strong, either. Some first-string players aren't even as good as you reserve players. You're already among the best of your generation, so give it everything you've got."

"...Also, I've made some progress on the matter you asked me to handle." Lin Jiayi glanced around, then quietly closed the office door before continuing.

"Third, the academy does indeed have an informant for the Crown Prince, but we haven't identified the person yet..."

"We won't get a bye. As defending champions, we're certain to compete in the first round of the knockout stage. Shrek's first shot has to ring out loud and clear."

Lin Jiayi handed Jing Hongchen a letter. Jing Hongchen took it, skimmed it, then nodded to show he understood. Lin Jiayi noticed that several more white strands had appeared in Jing Hongchen's already sparse silver hair.

"Are you talking about Shrek?" Jing Hongchen asked calmly.

"Treat that Ghost Martial Soul student well. Don't frighten her. Use your methods and draw the truth out of her slowly."

In the pure white hospital room lay a woman wrapped in bandages from head to toe. A pale green sphere hovered above her head. It was an auxiliary healing Soul Tool, constantly releasing life force onto her. A level-six Milk Bottle powered it. When its Soul Power dropped below a certain level, it would sound an alarm, prompting the physician in charge of her treatment to replace it with a freshly charged Milk Bottle.

He knocked on the door twice, waited ten seconds, then opened it and went inside.

"Even if you seem young, as long as you're wearing Shrek's uniform, they'll tremble at that title!"

At this, Jing Hongchen's face turned livid. A hint of menace glinted in his narrow, slit-like eyes. "They're targeting me again... If that Evil Soul Master hadn't lost his mind and provoked Yuhao and the others that day, I might never have learned my academy had been eaten away by termites until it was full of holes."

"The by-product from Number One has been modified. Xuan Ziwen tested it yesterday, and it can be installed without issue."

"No." She shook her head. "I used to live in the Dou Ling Empire. I grew up in a small city. My family didn't have much, but when they realized I had some talent, they spent a lot of money to send me to Shrek... After I entered the inner academy, I never went home."

She had been awake for three days. From talking with the physician, she had managed to understand her situation to some extent.

She looked at Jing Hongchen, who was standing right beside her, and slowly raised her one usable hand:

The reserve players were gradually becoming more spirited as they listened, but the three first-string players remained unchanged. They knew the real state of the competition better and understood that Wang Yan was only trying to boost morale. Still, none of them could bring themselves to interrupt him.

"I see." Jing Hongchen nodded. "But you can't move right now. Even if our Soul Engineers flew you to the Dou Ling Empire, it would be too far, and the trip would be bad for your condition."

Jing Hongchen finally looked away from the reflection trembling in his teacup. "Hm?"

"And the background check you asked me to conduct while Young Master Xiao was doing his internship... We did catch a few suspicious people."

Jing Hongchen rubbed his brow. The girl had almost no will left to live. Clearly, she thought dying now would be better than living as a cripple. Like many terminally ill patients who asked to go home in their final moments, it was a sign that she had given up on life.

He slammed his hand on the table. The teacups rattled, spilling a few drops of tea. Lin Jiayi knew his hall master's temperament well. Jing Hongchen was somewhat overbearing and hated people acting recklessly over his head.

"Begin investigating the Body Sect spy at once. Petition the imperial family to punish him for leaking state secrets!"

"First, there's a student with a Ghost Martial Soul. Our investigation confirmed she's connected to those people. We also discovered problems with her enrollment papers. They may have an accomplice in the admissions office."

"Hello." Jing Hongchen walked over to her bed, pulled up a chair, and sat down. "I'm Jing Hongchen, the current hall master of Mingde Hall. You're Xi Xi, right?"

Jing Hongchen's brow furrowed.

"Hall Master, Elder Ma sent word. The team has arrived safely in Star Luo City and is resting at the hotel. Everyone is doing well."

Her last memory stopped at the moment flesh exploded in front of her. She'd had a chance to escape the cave right then, but she had turned back to attack the chunks of the corpse that were about to explode so the children wouldn't be hurt in her place. She only remembered turning and thrusting out her right arm, unleashing several Soul Skills. She didn't know what happened after that.

But before losing consciousness, she had already seen the horrific state of Ma Xiaotao and the others, as well as half of Yao Haoxuan's body. She knew this year's Shrek's Seven Devils were finished.

"Mm, I'll get that underway soon."

"Ah... My condition doesn't matter anymore." Her eyes stared blankly at the ceiling, hollow with despair. "If I die on the way, just burn me to ashes and scatter them into the sea."

Lin Jiayi nodded. "Yes."

"Go on." Jing Hongchen poured himself a cup of tea.

The news had dealt her a devastating blow, too. She had always seemed the most ordinary of the Seven Devils, but with her considerable talent and tireless hard work, she had at least earned what seemed to be a bright future—only to lose it all overnight.

Jing Hongchen rose from his seat and strode out. Before long, he arrived at the hospital room.

"Second, there's a student who concealed his Martial Soul. He listed and demonstrated his Martial Soul as a shovel when he enrolled, but a second, rigorous scan with our instruments confirmed that it's actually the ear, a Body Martial Soul. Someone had helped him disguise it as a shovel."

"Finally, send the modified product to the door of that Shrek student's hospital room. I'll be there shortly."

"Hall Master Hongchen... Could you let me go back to my hometown?"

The physician had told her that her entire right arm couldn't be saved. Much of her face and chest had also been burned, and she might be left with permanent scars. If they amputated her arm, her cultivation would fall with it, likely dropping straight back to level thirty, the Soul Elder rank.

"Don't be so pessimistic," Jing Hongchen said. "There may still be a way to turn things around."

"Didn't the doctor already say it was impossible...?"

"That's because they haven't encountered the cutting edge of our Soul Guidance Technology." Jing Hongchen raised his voice slightly. "We at Mingde Hall have a way to restore you to how you were. The Douluo Three Kingdoms can't do it. Shrek can't do it. Right now, only Mingde Hall can."