"Legal Robbery"

"... Let me first tell you about the basic situation outside," Zang Xin began.

He stood up and pointed to the location of Shrek City on the map.

He drew a circle around that location in red ink, with a line of small print next to it. "Radiation zone approximately 700 kilometers in diameter, Core Area devoid of life."

"I have something to say first." Zang Xin's voice wasn't loud, but it was loud enough for everyone to hear. "The massacre in the outer city has been confirmed."

He paused, then added, "It wasn't because of Jing Heng's nuclear bomb; that nuclear bomb didn't kill a single civilian."

Zang Xin continued, reporting on the casualties and losses of the Tang Sect, the movements of the Spirit Pagoda, the public opinion situation, the attitude of the Sun Moon Federation, and the deepening conflict Federation and Star Luo Empire, one by one.

He spoke plainly, without embellishment or exaggeration, but every number weighed heavily on the heart.

After he sat down, Yun Ming spoke.

"There are two paths now. First, we announce to the public that Shrek Academy's main force is still intact, and step forward in the name of the Sea God Pavilion to stabilize the situation, with the Tang Sect issuing a statement simultaneously."

"Second, continue to maintain the illusion of 'annihilation,' lie in hiding underground to rest and prepare for war, while sending a small number of people out to stabilize the situation."

Let's all share our thoughts.

Yun Jingheng leaned back in the old chair with its armrests worn smooth, his gaze fixed on Shrek City, marked with a red circle on the tabletop map.

Within a 700-kilometer radius, life has vanished from the Core Area —this is the footnote written by Zang Xin.

He stared at the small print for a few seconds, then looked up, his gaze sweeping over everyone present.

He raised his hand.

The movement was small; he simply raised his right hand off the table, fingertips pointing upwards, as if raising his hand to ask a question in class.

But the sight of a person with bandages wrapped around his body, who had been carried out of the rubble less than half an hour ago, suddenly raising his hand made several older people who were about to speak swallow their words.

Yun Ming glanced at him and nodded slightly.

Yun Jingheng lowered his hand, his voice not loud, but everyone in the quiet conference room could hear him clearly.

"The other side went to such great lengths to spread the message of ' Shrek's destruction' simply to do two things."

"First, they forced us to come forward and refute the rumors, using our public appearances to confirm our survival and location."

"Secondly, if we don't show ourselves, they will take the opportunity to gradually encroach on our sphere of influence. The first possibility is that it's a trap set for us, and the second is a business opportunity that suits them."

"We can't declare Shrek still exists just yet, nor can we let them make the second type of business too comfortable."

"Jing Heng," Tang Wulin spoke, his voice low but steady, "I'd like to share my thoughts."

All eyes turned to him.

Tang Wulin has always kept a low profile in the academy. He is an Outer Court student, a blacksmith, and one of the unannounced Shrek Seven Devils. However, this is the first time he has spoken up at the Sea God Pavilion Meeting.

Zhuo Shi, sitting opposite him, raised an eyebrow slightly, and Long Yeyue picked up the pen again.

"Supplies are extremely scarce."

Tang Wulin's gaze fell on the map on the table, and he pointed to the outer edge of the red circle marking the radiation zone. "Shrek City is destroyed. We've lost all our resources on the ground—the canteen, warehouses, forging workshop, herb garden—all gone."

"According to the information Elder Cai just provided, the shelter's current supplies can last for about half a month. If we can't immediately announce that Shrek is still alive, we must find new sources of supplies within these two weeks."

Cai Yue'er opened her notebook and recited a few figures. "Food can last for twelve days, fresh water and medicine are slightly more plentiful, about half a month. But Soul Power crystals and high-purity energy crystals, which are the energy we use to maintain the Core Array of the shelter—can only last for seven days at most."

"What... what should we do?" Tang Wulin looked at Yun Jingheng, his eyes filled with anxiety.

"Um... Wulin, the Titled Douluo led by the Pavilion Master cannot appear in the public eye at the moment, but Shrek is not just about the teacher." Xie Xie added weakly.

Xie Xie is right.

Yun Jingheng sat up straighter, his right hand no longer pressing on the wound on his abdomen, but instead placed on the table.

"We've been discussing whether the ' Sea God Pavilion ' can make an appearance, but Shrek is more than just the Sea God Pavilion."

Yun Jingheng's gaze swept over the young faces present. "The elders at the Titled Douluo level cannot be touched. Any one of them showing up in public would immediately expose the fact that Shrek's main force still exists."

"But Shrek Academy also has Inner Court. The senior students in the Inner Court, whose cultivation levels range from Soul Saint to Soul Douluo, may not be numerous, but each one is a formidable force capable of standing alone."

"They are not members of the Sea God Pavilion, and their whereabouts will not attract the same level of attention as the elders' appearances, but they are still Shrek's banners."

He turned to Tang Wulin: "You just said that we don't have enough supplies, and asked 'What should we do?' The answer is right here beside us."

Tang Wulin paused for a moment, then followed Yun Jingheng's gaze to Xie Xie, then to Yuanen Yehui and Xu Xiaoyan, and finally to the few Inner Court student representatives sitting in the corner of the conference room.

Lan Muzi was among them. He leaned against the wall, arms crossed over his chest, listening quietly from the start of the meeting, with his signature gentle smile on his face.

"Brother Lan," Yun Jingheng called out directly, "How many people in the Inner Court are still able to move around?"

Without flipping through the roster or hesitating, Lan Muzi directly announced the number, "Excluding the Sea God Pavilion Elder and the Shrek Seven Devils present, there are currently seventy-nine Inner Court students."

"Among them, there are three Soul Douluo level, seventeen Soul Saint level, twenty Soul Emperor level, and the rest are Soul King. There are twenty-one lightly wounded and six seriously wounded. The seriously wounded are all lying in the medical area, and the rest are able to move."

He paused, a sharp glint appearing in his gentle smile, "And you just mentioned 'the senior students of the Inner Court' — Jing Heng, have you forgotten that you yourself are also from the Inner Court?"

Yun Jingheng blinked, looked down at his shoulders and abdomen wrapped in bandages, then looked up and said in an extremely innocent tone, "I'm injured now, that's what my mom said."

Ya Li gave a soft hum across from her, but the corners of her mouth couldn't help but curve into a slight smile.

A few hushed laughs drifted through the tense atmosphere of the conference room, even making Feng Wuyu's lips twitch.

"Okay, except for the wounded."

Lan Muzi didn't argue with him. "Seventy-three people who can move, how do you plan to use them?"

Yun Jingheng dropped his previous playful expression and became serious again:

"The senior students from the Inner Court are leaving the shelter in batches, in their individual capacities, to purchase food, medicine, and daily necessities in nearby cities that have not been affected by radiation."

"Do not gather in groups, do not reveal your identities, each person's purchases should not exceed the normal transport capacity of a caravan, move on immediately after purchasing, and do not make two purchases in the same city."

He paused, then added, "The most crucial point is that we can't rely solely on buying. Buying supplies requires money, and we don't have much that can be converted into cash, so besides buying, we also need to plunder."

"Rob?" Feng Wuyu frowned.

"The one who stole the Spirit Pagoda."

Yun Jingheng's tone was extremely serious, "When Xie Xie is active, he can also take a few sheep from the Spirit Pagoda. Xie Xie is fast, Yuan En can defend against him. The two of them can cooperate, grab them and run, and the Spirit Pagoda won't be able to catch them."

Xie Xie's eyes lit up.

He nudged Yuanen Yehui under the table with his knee and whispered, "Did you hear that? Officially authorized, legal robbery."

Gu Yuena raised her hand. "Jing Heng, I'm still here. Can you consider how I, a Spirit Envoy, feel?"

"Spirit Envoy ..." Yun Ming Ya Li exchanged a silent glance.

Ye Xinglan pressed her hand down, "You're not really after that position. We all know what you're up to. Be good, listen to me."

"... Are you trying to soothe a child?"

Gu Yuena finally managed to utter just this one sentence, then lowered her hand, her tone carrying a very faint hint of grievance that would be easily missed if one didn't look closely.

But after she lowered her hand, she didn't pull it back. Instead, she let Ye Xinglan hold it down, and gently hooked Ye Xinglan's little finger under the table with her finger.

Ye Xinglan released her hand without changing her expression, turned back and continued to sit upright, as if nothing had just happened.

But the moment Yun Ming and Ya Li exchanged glances was seen by everyone in the conference room.

"Spirit Envoy Reserve..." Yun Ming repeated these four words, his tone flat and devoid of any emotion.

Yun Jingheng's gaze towards Gu Yuena gradually intensified.

"Bang--!"

Yun Jingheng slammed his hand on the table, the movement so forceful that it aggravated his wound, but he didn't feel it at all.

"Yeah! You're Spirit Envoy! And your master is Leng Yaozhu!"

"Haha... cough cough cough!" He laughed so hard he coughed, his face turning red, whether from excitement or pain, or both, it was hard to tell.

"Hey, Gu Yue,"

Yun Jingheng finally stopped coughing, raised his head, and looked at Gu Yuena with an extremely bright expression, his tone carrying a kind of lightness and excitement that only appears when a brilliant idea comes to mind.

"You said... you, a Spirit Envoy Summoner, have invested a lot of money in researching Soul Spirit. Isn't that perfectly reasonable? Could you pull some strings?"

Gu Yuena looked at the excessively bright smile on his face, remained silent for a moment, and then the corners of her mouth slowly curved up as well.

The curve wasn't large, but everyone present could see that she had fully understood Yun Jingheng's meaning and accepted it immediately.

"I think... it makes perfect sense."

Tang Wulin paused, his grin stretching to his ears. "Moreover, if Gu Yue's research project proposal is convincing enough, the Spirit Pagoda might even allocate additional funds."

"In other words, the Spirit Pagoda will not only remain unaware that we are using their money to buy supplies, but they will also actively add money to it!"

Xie Xie listened to this with his mouth agape, looking at Yun Jingheng with an extremely complicated expression. After a long while, he managed to stammer out, "Just now you were talking about how to rob someone else's supply convoy, and now you're even trying to steal their research funding?"

"Grabbing a racing team is physically demanding," Yun Jingheng said matter-of-factly. "Getting funding is a skill; shouldn't we have as many options as possible?"

"A two-pronged approach," Yuanen Yehui added succinctly.

Gu Yuena had already flipped the silver dragon scale in front of her over and was tracing something on the smooth back of the scale with her fingertips.

After she finished rowing, she looked up and announced the title of her research topic, which silenced everyone present for a moment. "<The Potential Influence of Ancient Soul Beast Bloodlines on the Evolution of Modern Soul Spirit —A Cross-Generational Comparative Study Using Dragon Bloodlines as a Sample>".

"... Can you say that awful name a second time?" Xie Xie's face scrunched up.

Gu Yuena ignored him and continued, "This research topic is exactly what my mentor Leng Yaozhu, has been wanting to promote, but she hasn't had a suitable candidate."

"She had been subtly hinting that I should join."

There was a two-second silence in the conference room, then Xu Xiaoyan said in a tone that tried hard to remain calm but couldn't suppress the upward curve of her lips, "The Spirit Pagoda —no, it should be said that the future master of the Spirit Pagoda will sponsor the reconstruction of Shrek?"

"That's one way to understand it." Gu Yuena nodded slightly.

"If the Spirit Pagoda Academic Committee knew the true purpose of this research, they would probably all be spitting blood."

Ye Xinglan leaned back in her chair and spoke with a smile.

"At that time, Shrek's reconstruction will be a piece of cake, won't it?" Xie Xie finally revealed his true colors.

"Hehehe~" ×7

Ya Li looked at Yun Ming with concern, "Is it really okay to let Jing Heng come into contact with him so early...?"

Yun Ming looked at his son, who was chatting animatedly with his friends, with a complicated expression. "Perhaps not, but it seems... it's too late."