At that moment, every elder was seething with righteous anger.
Zhuo Shi's brows knotted together. He slammed both fists onto the table with a dull thud.
Another elder's face turned ashen, and the corners of his mouth twitched. He, too, was plainly furious.
Even the elders who were usually the most composed could not help shaking their heads and sighing, indignation written across their faces.
Truth be told...
They hated the Sun Moon Federation too.
Because...
Whether twenty thousand years ago or ten thousand years ago, the nations of Douluo had all held Shrek in the palm of their hands, terrified of offending it.
Back then, Shrek Academy...
Was a holy land in the hearts of every Soul Master on the continent, an institution no nation dared to slight.
Whenever the Heaven Dou Empire, Star Luo Empire, or Dou Ling Empire sent envoys, they arrived with every courtesy and the utmost deference.
A single word from Shrek Academy...
Had been enough to change a nation's policies.
A single stance from Shrek Academy...
Had been enough to decide whether a faction rose or fell.
But now?
The Federation had broken down the barrier between geniuses and commoners.
Children of common families who could once only look up at Shrek Academy could now gain resources and opportunities equal to Shrek students through the Federation's selection system.
The development of Soul Guidance Technology...
Had made high-level combat power less important.
A well-trained mecha battalion equipped with an array of fine soul-guided weapons could stand against an army of high-level Soul Masters.
And when mecha had first appeared...
Shrek had nearly lost its voice altogether.
If Battle Armor had not later appeared and restored the advantage of high-level Soul Masters...
Would the world still have belonged to Shrek?
Would the Douluo Continent still have been Shrek's Douluo Continent?
They had already yielded countless times!
From the very founding of the Federation...
They had kept yielding.
From the allocation of resources to admissions quotas to their say in Federation decisions, they had retreated step by step, compromising at every turn.
They had believed that as long as Shrek Academy remained, as long as its twenty thousand years of glory endured, they would one day reclaim their rightful place.
But what had the Federation done?
It had developed Level 12 Fixed Soul Tool Shells!
And there had originally been four of them!
They were ultimate weapons developed over decades by the finest soul-guided technology scientists of the time, at a cost of countless resources and untold labor.
Each one held enough power to destroy heaven and earth.
The very existence of each shell was a silent warning to every faction on the continent.
And the first had been detonated before the Sea God Pavilion Master of that generation and a gathering of elders!
It had been a wordless show of force.
The Federation had invited Shrek Academy's leadership to an uninhabited region to observe, then detonated a Level 12 Fixed Soul Tool Shell before their eyes.
That godlike pressure and the force of the explosion had struck fear deep into the bones of every Titled Douluo present.
In that instant, heaven and earth changed color, the sun and moon lost their light, and the land for thousands of miles around was scorched barren.
It had been a warning!
And a declaration!
The Federation had the power to destroy Shrek Academy.
It was because of that blast that Shrek Academy had spent the past several thousand years enduring, yielding, and never daring to openly break with the Federation.
They had strength, deep foundations, and countless powerful figures to defend them, but none of it could match the deterrent power of a single Level 12 Fixed Soul Tool Shell.
And the Federation still had three.
Yet even now, the Federation would not leave them alone!
Just look at what Chen Yu was doing!
He had moved against the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan...
Against a clan so ancient!
Without a shred of respect!
Without the slightest reverence!
That clan had endured for over ten thousand years, had countless powerful members, and held a position of immense importance on the continent.
Yet Chen Yu had wiped it out just like that!
Without the slightest hesitation.
Without the slightest restraint.
He had also pinned Long Yeyue to her death with a single spear thrust and sent an army to trample the entire Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan.
A man like that...
How could he be allowed to become Federation Council Chairman?
One elder could no longer hold back. He sprang to his feet, his white hair trembling faintly in the candlelight, his voice full of rage and grief.
"Chen Yu is nothing but a peasant-born brute who fought his way to the top with his fists!"
"What does he know of rank and station?"
"What does he know of rules?"
"All he sees is authority and strength! What place do propriety, honor, integrity, or shame have in his eyes?"
Another elder rose as well and echoed him, his face ashen.
"Exactly! How is his conduct any different from that of the tyrants of the Sun Moon Empire ten thousand years ago?"
"He's destroying the foundations of the continent!"
"Destroying the traditions our Douluo Continent has upheld for twenty thousand years!"
The elders spoke over one another, their angry voices rising and falling through the Sea God Pavilion.
Each vented his resentment and fury. Each condemned Chen Yu and the Federation in the harshest terms he could muster.
But beneath that anger...
That trace of fear...
Would not go away.
Yun Ming sat in the seat of honor and said nothing.
He simply listened in silence, his gaze deep and distant, his face betraying little.
But his hands gripped the arms of his chair tightly.
Zang Xin was right.
Chen Yu's actions were dangerous indeed.
But the crucial question was—
What could they do?
Fight?
They could not win.
Chen Yu had pinned Long Yeyue to her death with a single spear thrust...
Strength on that level was beyond any one of them.
Endure it?
They had endured for thousands of years already...
How much longer were they supposed to endure?
And if they kept enduring...
What would be left of Shrek Academy?
The angry denunciations continued in the Sea God Pavilion.
But in every heart...
Lay a heavy stone.
It was fear of the future, and uncertainty about what it held.
Just then, Zhuo Shi's eyes lit up, and he sprang to his feet.
Everyone turned toward him. Confusion and expectation showed on the elders' faces.
Zhuo Shi stood there, swept his gaze across every face on both sides of the long table, drew a deep breath, and spoke.
"Do you all remember how the academy has stood for twenty thousand years?"
His voice rang out through the Sea God Pavilion.
Thoughtfulness entered their eyes.
Some frowned slightly. Some sank into memory. Others seemed to have guessed what Zhuo Shi meant to say, and a light gradually appeared in their eyes.
Zhuo Shi raised both arms and cried out.
"Through the greater good!"
"Through justice!"
"Chen Yu wiped out the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan before the eyes of every great family and sect! Do you think they aren't afraid?"
"They are!"
"But they fear Chen Yu too!"
"Yet if we join together, would Chen Yu dare defy the whole world and wipe out every one of our factions?"
His words rang like stones striking the ground, every syllable filled with strength and conviction.
He held his arms high, as though embracing a vision vast beyond measure.
A fierce light burned in his eyes.
It was the pride and confidence of Shrek's own.
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