Slap Douluo Starts Slapping

Although they had long prayed day and night for the academy to send someone to rescue them.

But... when Mu En truly appeared before them, seated in a wheelchair pushed by Bei Bei.

That anticipation turned into an indescribable tension, making them wish they could find a crack in the ground and crawl into it.

Especially Yan Shaozhe.

As Mu En's direct disciple, the current dean of Shrek Academy's Spirit Department whom Mu En had placed high hopes on and personally promoted, what he felt at this moment was simply worse than death.

He was like a troublesome child who had caused trouble outside, been detained, and ultimately needed his parents to personally come bail him out.

"Teacher..."

Yan Shaozhe lowered his head, his hands nervously clutching the corners of his clothes, his voice soft.

"Your disciple... has failed you, Teacher."

"I failed to handle the task you assigned me. Not only did I fail to solve the problem, I... I even brought shame upon the academy."

Qian Duoduo beside him wore an equally bitter expression.

He bowed deeply to Mu En.

"Elder Mu, I was wrong too."

"I was too reckless, too full of myself."

"I let down Elder Mu's trust, and I let down the academy's cultivation."

However.

Not everyone was as self-aware as the two of them.

While Yan Shaozhe and Qian Duoduo were painfully reflecting on their mistakes.

Xuan Zi, standing furthest inside, was an entirely different story.

He glanced at Mu En, his gaze somewhat evasive, but quickly looked away toward the wall beside him.

He did not apologize.

Nor did he show much guilt.

In Xuan Zi's mind, he had done nothing wrong.

He had merely come to teach Pirated Shrek Academy a lesson. There was nothing wrong with that. Besides... Mu En had never assigned him any task, unlike Yan Shaozhe and Qian Duoduo, those two fools who had been given a mission by Mu En and still messed it up.

That was Xuan Zi's way of thinking.

As long as I refuse to admit I was wrong, then I am not wrong.

Sitting in his wheelchair, Mu En did not speak immediately.

He merely looked quietly at the three people before him, his eyes becoming incomparably complicated.

Disappointment? Helplessness? Or... was this exactly what he had expected?

"Ah..."

A long sigh drifted softly from Mu En's lips.

That sigh was like a heavy hammer striking viciously against Yan Shaozhe and Qian Duoduo's hearts, making them lower their heads even further.

"Enough. Stop standing around here."

Elder Lin truly could not bear to watch any longer.

She stepped forward and scolded them in disappointment.

"Since Elder Mu has come in person, he will naturally take you back."

"But!"

Elder Lin abruptly changed her tone, her voice becoming stern.

"Once you return, all of you will reflect on yourselves properly! Can't you be a little more steady in the future?"

"Do you know how much the academy will have to pay this time to ransom you and clean up your mess?"

"Nothing has been negotiated yet, but it will definitely cost us dearly!"

"Yes, Elder Lin is right."

Yan Shaozhe and Qian Duoduo hurriedly nodded in agreement, not even daring to breathe too loudly.

However.

Right at that moment.

An ill-timed, even rather grating voice suddenly rang out.

"What?!"

Xuan Zi abruptly turned his head, eyes wide as he looked indignantly at Elder Lin, then at Mu En.

"A price that will cost Shrek Academy dearly?"

"Why?"

"Why should we give anything to this pirated Shrek Academy?"

"They captured us, so they are the ones in the wrong! They are the disrespectful ones!"

"It would already be merciful of us not to settle the score with them, and now we have to give them something? Isn't that far too humiliating?!"

As Xuan Zi spoke, the air inside the Confinement Room grew far quieter.

Mu En froze outright.

His cloudy old eyes widened slightly as he looked at Xuan Zi in disbelief.

He knew Xuan Zi was reckless, even somewhat unreasonable.

But...

He had never imagined that, in a situation where they were entirely at the other side's mercy.

Xuan Zi could still say something like that.

Was he missing a screw, or had he truly treated "Shrek's glory" as some kind of immunity token?

Behind Mu En, Bei Bei could only close his eyes helplessly and let out a deep sigh.

Of course...

It was still Xuan Zi.

The same old formula, the same old taste.

At critical moments, he was always unreliable, always able to step precisely on a land mine and ruin a situation that had already begun to ease.

"Heh."

Zhang Yang, who had been guarding the entrance all this time, curled his lips into a cold sneer upon hearing Xuan Zi's words.

He slowly stepped forward, dangerous light gleaming in his eyes.

"It seems you still haven't understood the situation."

"If you are unwilling to pay a price..."

"Then none of you will be walking out of this door."

"Furthermore, I can tell you clearly."

"The exact price must satisfy our Dean Lin Feng. Otherwise, don't even think about leaving."

Zhang Yang's words were absolute, leaving no room for negotiation.

Ordinarily, with things said to this extent, any normal person would know to rein themselves in.

But.

Who was Xuan Zi?

He was Taotie Douluo! A man who had spent his entire life putting into practice the belief that those who dared not cause trouble were mediocrities!

Hearing Zhang Yang's threatening words, Xuan Zi's stubborn temper instantly flared.

"Bullshit!"

"You expect us to pay a price? You expect us to satisfy some Lin Feng?"

Xuan Zi pointed at Zhang Yang's nose, utterly justified.

"Get this straight!"

"Whose name does your academy bear? Shrek!"

"The name Shrek is a glory earned by our ancestors ten thousand years ago!"

"Allowing your pirated academy to use the name Shrek Academy is already an enormous act of grace on our part!"

"Not only are you not grateful, you actually want us to pay a price?"

"How is that possible?!"

The more Xuan Zi spoke, the more agitated he became, as though he stood upon the moral high ground, radiating an aura of righteous grandeur.

"..."

At that moment.

Even Elder Lin, who had originally felt somewhat pained over the money, felt her old face redden and could no longer bear to listen.

Saying something like that, in this situation, right in front of them...

Wasn't that courting death?

Sure enough.

Bei Xin, who had been standing silently behind Mu En, could not help but chuckle upon hearing Xuan Zi's remarks.

"Heh."

"It seems..."

Bei Xin slowly raised his eyes, his gaze passing over Mu En before falling coldly upon Xuan Zi.

"Your Shrek Academy has no intention of negotiating peacefully."

"That is not the case."

Mu En spoke in explanation, looking toward Bei Xin and Zhang Yang in an attempt to soothe them.

"Brother Bei Xin, please calm your anger."

"These are merely angry words from Xuan Zi. They should not be taken seriously."

"We have come with sincerity. We absolutely do not mean to refuse peaceful negotiations!"

After saying that, Mu En suddenly turned and fixed Xuan Zi with a stern stare.

Faced with Mu En's warning gaze, Xuan Zi slightly softened his tone, but he did not shut up.

Instead, he seemed to suddenly think of something, a greedy glint flashing through his eyes.

"Elder Mu, don't stop me. I know what I'm doing."

"If..."

"If you truly want Shrek Academy to give you resources, that is not impossible."

"After all, Shrek is wealthy and powerful. Giving you a little charity is nothing."

"But!"

Xuan Zi finally revealed his true intentions, his burning gaze fixed on Zhang Yang.

"In exchange."

"You must hand over the method for increasing soul ring age limits!"

The moment those words came out.

Everyone was stunned.

Even Elder Lin widened her eyes, staring at Xuan Zi as though he were insane.

What was he saying?

A method to increase soul ring age limits?

They did not know such a method, but one capable of increasing a soul ring's age would undoubtedly be extremely precious. Yet he was demanding they hand it over as soon as he opened his mouth? And in a tone of charity?

"Stop pretending to be stupid!"

Seeing everyone's reactions, Xuan Zi assumed they did not believe him and immediately shouted.

"I heard about it that day!"

"That fellow named Zhuo Shi and Zhang Yang both had thousand-year first soul rings!"

"No normal person can withstand a thousand-year soul ring as their first soul ring!"

"Your academy must possess some secret method capable of increasing soul ring age limits!"

"Only in the hands of the real Shrek Academy can such a secret method flourish and benefit the entire continent!"

"For a pirated academy like yours, keeping such a secret method is a waste. You might as well hand it over to us and treat it as your token of allegiance upon returning to the orthodox line!"

"..."

Mu En closed his eyes in despair.

It was over.

Completely over.

This was no longer mere shamelessness. This was outright robbery!

They were on someone else's territory, yet they still wanted to seize their core secret?

How much nerve did it take to do something like that?

Even Bei Bei wore a blank expression at this moment.

Looking at Xuan Zi, he had only one thought in his heart.

How exactly had this Xuan Zi become Taotie Douluo? How had he survived until today?

Right then.

Whoosh—

A sharp rush of wind suddenly came from outside the Confinement Room.

"Who?!"

Before Xuan Zi could react, his vision blurred.

A figure in a long black-and-white dress rushed in like a ghost, appearing before Xuan Zi.

It was an old woman.

Her silver hair flew wildly, and her gaze was as sharp as blades.

It was Long Yeyue, whom Lin Feng had just summoned!

She did not waste a single word.

Facing Xuan Zi, who was still indulging in his sweet dreams, she simply raised her right hand and swung it down viciously!

"Smack—!!!!"

Caught completely off guard, Xuan Zi was sent flying by the slap!

"Pfft—"

Xuan Zi spun through the air three times before crashing heavily into the metal wall, then slid down like a dead dog.

The moment he opened his mouth,

More than a dozen blood-streaked teeth, mixed with blood, clattered onto the floor.

Clutching the side of his face, which had instantly swollen into a pig's head, Xuan Zi stared at the old woman who had suddenly appeared. His head buzzed, and he was utterly dazed by the blow.

Long Yeyue slowly withdrew her hand and looked down at Xuan Zi on the ground, her eyes filled with disgust and contempt.

She spoke coldly:

"Say what you just said..."

"Again?"