Shrek's Ten-Thousand-Year Reputation

A tremendous temptation lay before him.

Even Jin Peng, steadfast as he was, began to waver.

If they truly forced Mu En, a Limit Douluo, to the point of throwing caution to the wind, the consequences would be impossible to predict.

Besides, the sect's primary objectives for this trip—establishing their authority, taking revenge, and securing benefits—seemed to have already been achieved.

He deliberated inwardly for no more than a few breaths, yet his expression had already returned to calm.

He even wore a trace of the sentimentality one might show upon reuniting with an old friend.

He paused, and his voice softened. "Old Mu, Old Mu."

"We've known each other for over fifty years. Sure enough... you still understand me best."

The greed in those words made the hearts of Shrek's people bleed even more.

Jin Peng hesitated no longer. With a wave of his hand, his voice spread throughout his camp. "All disciples and elders, stop fighting! Fall in!"

The Body Sect experts still locked in battle in the sky immediately broke away and swiftly gathered behind Jin Peng.

On the ground,

Elder Wu had one hand clamped around Ma Xiaotao's throat and the other gripping Zhang Lexuan's shoulder, preparing to crush these two core inner courtyard disciples as well.

At those words, he frowned, and a regretful yet vicious gleam flashed through his eyes.

With a cold snort, he hurled the two gravely injured, unconscious girls viciously toward the distant ground as though tossing away trash.

Bang! Bang! Two dull impacts rang out. Dust rose into the air, and it was impossible to tell whether they lived or died.

"Hmph. Whether they live or die depends on their own luck!" Elder Wu spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva.

His figure flashed, and he returned to the formation in the air, tossing the barely breathing Yan Shaozhe back toward Shrek as well.

Jin Peng no longer looked at the tragic scene below. He clasped his hands toward Mu En, who stood within the light overhead.

His voice was neither servile nor overbearing. "Pavilion Master Mu, we have caused much offense today. Farewell!"

With that, he turned around.

Golden light flared again, and he was the first to fly back in the direction from which they had come.

Behind him, the remaining thirty-odd Body Sect experts followed closely.

Like a bloodstained dark cloud, they vanished swiftly into the distant horizon, carrying both the bearing of victors and the weight of grievous losses.

The phantom of the white dragon slowly dissipated.

Mu En descended onto the roof of the Sea God Pavilion. Beneath the setting sun, his hunched figure appeared especially desolate and heavy.

This sudden bloody battle finally came to an end in such an unexpected manner.

But the casualties had already been carved in stone.

On the Body Sect's side,

of the eleven participating Titled Douluo elders, one had died and one had been seriously injured. The accompanying Soul Saint and Soul Douluo disciples had also suffered considerable losses.

Shrek's losses were even more shocking: Beast King Douluo Gong Changlong and another Titled Douluo succumbed to their grievous injuries and died on the spot!

The other three participating senior elders had all suffered severe injuries to varying degrees, their strength greatly diminished.

Over eighty percent of Shrek's outer courtyard disciples had been killed or wounded. Blood flowed like rivers, corpses lay scattered everywhere, and the former sacred ground had become an Asura battlefield.

After enduring Wu Zheng's brutal slaughter, the more than fifty inner courtyard elites

had only eight survivors, each gravely wounded and on the brink of death. Among them were Ma Xiaotao and Zhang Lexuan, who had been brutally thrown aside, their fates unknown.

Shrek Academy's ten-thousand-year glory remained, but its foundations had been severely damaged, leaving it badly weakened.

And what had happened today was etched into the heart of every survivor. It would also inevitably shake the entire Spirit Master world in one form or another.

As he watched the Body Sect members depart with even more spirited backs,

then looked down at the devastated Shrek Academy beneath his feet, filled with cries of misery, Xuan Zi could no longer suppress the fury in his chest.

He abruptly turned to look at the hunched figure that had just slowly descended from the sky.

"Elder Mu! With your heaven-shaking strength, if you had been willing to act with all your power, keeping Jin Peng and those thieves here, even..."

"Even launching a counterattack against the Body Sect would have been no difficult task! Why... why did you not only refuse to punish them, but instead..."

"Instead, you even took out such a precious treasure to compensate them?! This... this is simply the greatest humiliation!"

"When has Shrek ever suffered such disgrace?! Did the blood of those dead disciples and senior elders flow for nothing?!"

Xuan Zi's questioning carried grief and indignation, as well as deep incomprehension and resentment toward Mu En's decision.

"How presumptuous!"

Mu En suddenly turned around. A terrifying brilliance erupted from his usually calm eyes!

"Xuan Zi, Xuan Zi, you were the one who committed violence first in this matter!!"

"You acted without distinguishing right from wrong, struck mercilessly, destroyed another's foundation, and ruined another's future! This is a grave taboo! A grave taboo of the Spirit Master world!!!"

"Yes, Jin Peng's slaughter today was excessive, and his methods cruel. But what was the cause?"

"You gave him grounds to act. You gave him a reason to fight to the death and spare no cost!"

"If I had relied on my overwhelming cultivation today and brazenly acted to keep Jin Peng and the Body Sect elite he brought here, or even, as you said, counterattack their sect..."

Mu En's gaze swept over the senior elders present. "How would that be any different from those Evil Soul Masters of the Holy Spirit Cult who slaughter innocents without restraint?!"

"How would the people of the world view Shrek then?"

"Shrek's name of 'justice' and 'protection,' earned through the blood, sacrifices, and perseverance of generations over ten thousand years—"

"Must it become a laughingstock in my, Mu En's, hands because of a conflict in which we were in the wrong from the start?!"

Mu En's gaze was like a sharp sword. "Xuan Zi, do you want Shrek to be despised by the entire world? Do you want the aspirations of our predecessors to be destroyed in one stroke?!"

The series of questions left Xuan Zi trembling all over, his face changing from red to white.

He opened his mouth, seemingly still wanting to argue. "But... Elder Mu, those disciples who died or were injured..."

"Enough!" Mu En cut him off sternly, a flash of pain crossing his eyes.

He raised his thin palm. It seemed slow, yet before Xuan Zi could react,

Slap! A crisp slap landed squarely on Xuan Zi's face!

That blow contained little Soul Power, yet it shocked and stung Xuan Zi more than any soul skill attack could have.

He staggered back half a step, his face flushed as he stared at Mu En in disbelief.

"Xuan Zi, you acted recklessly and arrogantly, bringing such a calamity upon the academy and causing countless deaths and injuries!"

"You are ordered to immediately reflect in seclusion! Think carefully about what responsibility you bear!"

Mu En turned his gaze toward the other Sea God Pavilion senior elders around him, whose expressions were equally grim and whose thoughts all differed.

"Everyone, what is done is done. There is no use saying more."

"Our most urgent task is to rebuild the academy, treat the wounded, and calm the people."

He paused. "As for today's events... tell the outside world that the Evil Soul Masters of the Holy Spirit Cult had long plotted this and launched a large-scale surprise attack on Shrek Academy."

"Fortunately, the teachers and students of the entire academy resisted with their lives, while the Sea God Pavilion gave its all and repelled the invading enemy. However, the academy suffered devastating losses as a result."

"The work of Evil Soul Masters?" A senior elder repeated under his breath, a complicated look appearing on his face.

This was undoubtedly the best cover story, as well as the best excuse for preserving Shrek's image as a victim and a force of justice.

They would place everything on the already infamous Holy Spirit Cult, an organization everyone wished to destroy.

Not only would that conceal the truth of the conflict with the Body Sect, it might even win them greater sympathy and support from all sides of the continent.

"That's right." Mu En nodded firmly, his gaze sweeping over everyone.

"Everyone present today, whether senior elder, teacher, or surviving student, must give the same account."

"This matter concerns the academy's ten-thousand-year reputation and its continued existence. No mistakes will be tolerated!"

"Anyone who leaks the truth in private... will be treated as a traitor to the academy and severely punished!"

Mu En spoke those final words with absolute finality, carrying a piercing chill.

The Sea God Pavilion senior elders looked at one another. Though they harbored endless unwillingness and resentment...

"Yes, Pavilion Master," everyone answered quietly, their voices dry.

Mu En waved his hand tiredly. "Go. Perform your respective duties and devote yourselves to disaster relief. The academy... needs to restore order as soon as possible."

The senior elders said no more. One after another, they turned and threw themselves into the chaotic ruins below.