Uproot Them All

Meanwhile, in the warehouse, the soldiers discovered a large number of Soul Tools and Soul Tool blueprints.

The Soul Tools were dazzling in variety and abundant in type.

From offensive soul cannons to defensive soul barriers.

From personal soul pistols to gigantic ship-mounted soul cannons.

Everything was there.

Some Soul Tool models had not even been equipped by the Federation military yet. Clearly, they had been independently developed by the Tang Sect.

In the dockyard, the soldiers found dozens of vessels and submarines of varying sizes.

The vessels and submarines were exquisitely designed and manufactured with advanced techniques, clearly built for long-range voyages.

The dockyard also had dedicated maintenance and supply areas, capable of supporting the vessels and submarines through prolonged operations.

All the evidence pointed to the same conclusion.

The Tang Sect had been using this secret base to transport military resources overseas to the Star Luo Empire and the Dou Ling Empire.

This was blatant treason.

Before long, everyone was detained, and all resources were confiscated by the state.

The personnel in the secret base, including the Tang Sect disciples left behind, researchers, technicians, and staff responsible for transporting supplies—a total of more than two hundred people—were all fitted with restraining devices and escorted onto warships.

All the Soul Tools, blueprints, and various supplies in the warehouses were packed, catalogued, loaded into military Soul Storage Tools, and transported to the Federation treasury.

After the operation ended...

The armies on both sides began withdrawing.

The armored formations stretched into long columns, winding their way down the highways.

The warship fleets turned their bows and cut through the waves.

Though exhausted, the soldiers' morale remained high.

They had completed their mission.

They had completed the mission the Speaker had entrusted to them.

Before leaving, Chen Yu slowly looked toward Yun Ming.

He said nothing. He simply watched him in silence.

That gaze was calm as water—without anger, mockery, triumph, or even the slightest emotion.

Yet it was precisely that calm...

That made Yun Ming feel unprecedented humiliation.

There was only contempt in that gaze.

As though Chen Yu were looking at a stone by the roadside, a falling leaf, something that had absolutely nothing to do with him.

That contempt...

Hurt more than any words could.

Because it meant...

In Chen Yu's eyes...

Yun Ming was not even worth provoking any emotion.

And Yun Ming could only lower his head.

He lowered it so far that his face was almost invisible.

His fists were clenched at his sides, his nails digging deeply into his palms.

His body trembled faintly from humiliation.

He was the Sky-Propping Douluo, a Peak Quasi-God, and the Pavilion Master of Shrek Academy's Sea God Pavilion. He had his pride, his dignity, and his bottom line.

But today...

His pride had been crushed beneath someone's feet.

His dignity had been trampled.

His bottom line had been breached.

And he did not even have the courage to resist.

No matter how humiliated he felt at this moment...

He still did not dare oppose Chen Yu.

Because he knew Chen Yu was not threatening him.

Chen Yu was merely stating a fact.

If he dared make a move, he would end up like Zang Xin, like Chen Xinjie.

Above Shrek City...

The night wind swept past, carrying a trace of chill.

Yun Ming stood there like a statue.

Behind him, Shrek's elders remained silent. Not a single one spoke.

Chen Yu withdrew his gaze, turned, and left.

His figure gradually receded into the night sky, growing smaller and smaller before finally vanishing beyond the northwestern horizon.

At that moment, the Seven Great Legions also began returning to their respective bases.

The Central Legion headed for Ming Capital, the Southern Legion for the south, the Western Legion for the west, and the Northwestern Legion for the northwest.

The Tianhai, Donghai, and Beihai Navies each returned to their own ports as well.

The Seven Great Legions departed in seven directions, slowly disappearing beyond their respective horizons under the cover of night.

Chen Yu followed the Central Legion back to Ming Capital.

He sat in the rear of the Central Legion's command vehicle, looking out at the night through the window, his expression calm as water.

Only he and Yu Guanzhi were in the vehicle, and the atmosphere was quiet and steady.

Yu Guanzhi sat in the front passenger seat. He glanced at Chen Yu through the rearview mirror, hesitated, and finally spoke.

"Speaker."

There was a trace of confusion in his voice.

"Shrek Academy clearly played a major role in all this."

"Why did you..."

He did not finish his sentence.

But the meaning was already obvious.

The Tang Sect was Shrek's ally, and even more so, Shrek's most capable helper.

Therefore, the Tang Sect's treason...

Could not possibly have been unknown to Shrek Academy.

One could even say...

Shrek Academy was very likely the force supporting the Tang Sect from behind the scenes.

Since they had captured the Tang Sect, why not deal with Shrek as well?

And with the Speaker's strength...

Flattening a mere Shrek would not be difficult.

Chen Yu replied calmly.

"Destroying Shrek would be easy."

"But what This Speaker wants to eliminate is the Shrek in everyone's hearts."

His voice was calm as water, yet it carried a power that inspired awe.

"Shrek has operated for twenty thousand years. Countless noble families and sects throughout the Federation have ties to Shrek."

"Once Shrek is destroyed..."

"They will hide."

"And when the proper time comes in the future..."

"They will join forces."

"And rebuild Shrek."

"Therefore, This Speaker leaves Shrek Academy intact so that they will take the initiative to expose all their allies."

"Then clean them out one by one and uproot them all!"

His tone remained calm, but every word was like a blade—precise and sharp.

Destroying Shrek was easy.

But destroying Shrek's place in people's hearts, its influence across the entire continent...

That was the true difficulty.

And that...

Could not be solved through force alone.

If he destroyed Shrek now.

Those noble families and sects colluding with Shrek would immediately hide and destroy the evidence...

Never to be heard from again.

Once the heat died down and the time was right, they would emerge again, rally their forces under the banner of "rebuilding Shrek," and once more stand against the Federation.

Therefore, he had no intention of alerting the enemy.

Before alerting them, he would drag every snake from its hole and clean them up one by one.

Therefore, he would not destroy Shrek.

He would keep Shrek.

He would make it bait, a target.

And when those forces colluding with Shrek saw that Shrek still existed, they would harbor hope, continue maintaining contact with Shrek, and unknowingly expose themselves.

And once they had all been exposed beneath the sunlight...

That would be when he raised the butcher's blade.

Upon hearing this, admiration appeared in Yu Guanzhi's eyes.

At that moment, he turned slightly and looked at Chen Yu with an almost reverent gaze before saying respectfully.

"Your strategy, Speaker, is beyond my reach."

His voice was filled with sincerity, without the slightest flattery or pretense.