Back then, he had led a group of young geniuses into the Soul Beast Forest, only for nearly the entire group to be wiped out by a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast while he, a Level 98 Super Douluo, was in charge...
Damn it, who was the "Death Messenger" here? You, Old Xuan, Vice Pavilion Master of the Sea God Pavilion, were the real "Death Messenger," weren't you?!
"That..."
In a shadowy corner, a middle-aged man in a black robe hesitated, then looked at the woman beside him, shrouded in a blood-red cloak. "Mom, does the Holy Spirit Cult really not have a Supreme Elder secretly operating outside?"
Even the woman hesitated for a moment.
"Xiaoyao, this guy... isn't one of yours, is he?"
An old man emerged from the shadows and quickly shook his head. "I don't know! What does this have to do with me? How was I supposed to know Old Xuan was this outrageous?"
Across the entire continent, those who witnessed the scene were left speechless with shock.
With a graduation rate this low, the truth about Shrek Academy was finally coming to light!
Even more explosive was what happened next. Under the "furious" pursuit of Old Xuan, a Level 98 Super Douluo, that "Death Messenger," who was only at the five-ring level, actually...
Got away!
Then Huo Yuhao, who was only at the two-ring level, chased after him. A strange gray power burst from his body, and he dealt with this so-called "Death Messenger"!
Unless it was a rigged match, who the hell would believe this?!
Nearly everyone on the continent looked toward Shrek Academy with increasingly peculiar expressions. At that moment, even the students and teachers inside Shrek Academy were having trouble keeping a straight face.
Thinking about it carefully, some things had always seemed stranger the more you thought about them. The Shrek Inspection Team had spent all this time searching the continent for Evil Soul Masters and suppressing them. Every year, they boasted about their many victories, and were painted as the "Guardians of the Continent" and "Gods of Justice."
But when you thought about it, why did it seem like there were always more Evil Soul Masters on the continent, no matter how many they wiped out?
"Ugh, after all this, Shrek won't be able to compete in this Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament, will they?"
"I think they can just withdraw. Explain the situation and say they won't be competing this year. Everyone should understand."
"After so many consecutive victories, no one will be willing to see that streak end. But what can you do when Old Xuan is this outrageous?"
Everyone watched the Sky Screen and sighed repeatedly.
No one thought that a few little kids who had come to watch the tournament could have any hope of winning. The age gap was too great, and the difference in rank was huge. It simply wasn't realistic.
"What? They're really sending those kids out there?"
"Holy crap, are they crazy? You're getting paid a few hundred Copper Soul Coins a month. Why risk your life...?"
As the scenes on the Sky Screen continued to play, the people of the continent stared in stunned disbelief.
After the Shrek team's instructor pumped them full of slogans like "Shrek's glory" and "We've never lost," the kids went wild one after another, burning through their Soul Power and their bodies as they fought on the tournament stage for that nebulous "glory."
The moment the two-ring Twin Martial Souls girl, Xiao Xiao, collapsed on the tournament stage after overexerting her Soul Power, everyone on the continent fell silent!
Was glory like this... really worth it?
In Shrek City, Xiao Xiao, who was about to enroll, had also seen this scene! At that moment, confusion filled her eyes.
Knowing her own personality, she followed the scenes on the Sky Screen and tried to imagine herself in them.
To her horror, she realized that under the influence of her surroundings and the systematic brainwashing of so many adults, she would definitely have done the same things—and in the end, become just as crazed!
But... as an onlooker, was doing all this for Shrek Academy really worth it?
What made everyone even more speechless was yet to come.
As the tournament reached its latter half and their opponents grew stronger, Shrek Academy, with only a group of kids fighting desperately, struggled more and more.
After all, no amount of fighting for your life could make up for such a vast difference in strength!
Then Shrek's team instructor promptly began giving the team members "extra lessons."
"Huh? Th-this isn't cheating? Isn't that a little wrong...?"
Xiao Xiao, who was fairly straightforward, froze. Meanwhile, Huo Yuhao, Caitou, Bei Bei, and the others in the scene had already started thinking it through.
"What's wrong with that? It'd be such a waste not to have Yuhao's abilities help from off the field!"
Their instructor, Wang Yan, shook his head and said righteously, "Just think about it. Their average age is so many years above yours, and they've had that many more years to cultivate. Is a competition like this even fair?"
"Besides, any price is worth paying for Shrek's glory. What does one little sacrifice matter if it's to defend Shrek's glory?"
At the words "Shrek's glory," Xiao Xiao opened her mouth, but ultimately fell silent. And so the outrageous strategy of having an eighth man on the sidelines was decided!
"Holy crap, what the hell? Are they even human?"
"I finally understand why Shrek Academy has gone undefeated for so many tournaments. Of course they won't lose, hehe!"
"I knew it. Our Sun Moon Team lost in such a baffling way back then. So they were pulling strings behind the scenes, too!"
All at once, who knew how many academies across the continent saw red!
What kind of beastly logic was Wang Yan spouting? What did he mean, "They're so much older than you, so the competition isn't fair"? Wasn't that because you idiots sent all the older students away yourselves?
If you're unhappy, go after the Old Xuan who screwed you over! What kind of move was it to use underhanded tricks against everyone else?
And how could results obtained through cheating possibly be called "glory"?
For a moment, countless onlookers felt like they were going to throw up!
At that moment, only the countless senior elders, teachers, and inner-court disciples inside Shrek Academy thought it was perfectly reasonable.
The only thing they resented was that these future schemes had been exposed to the entire continent by that damned Sky Screen.
So what if they did everything in their power for Shrek's glory? How much had Shrek contributed to the continent? How many sacrifices had they made? If Shrek couldn't win the championship, then what was the point of this Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament?
"Hmph, I'd like to see which blind fool dares to bad-mouth Shrek Academy!"
In a daze, Xian Lin'er seemed to hear the voices outside, sneering and hurling insults at Shrek Academy. With a sharp crack, she smashed the chair she was sitting on to pieces and said furiously.
But no matter how angry Xian Lin'er got, she couldn't make the scene playing on the Sky Screen stop. Nor could she prevent the spectators across the continent from discussing one "glorious achievement" after another!