Cai Yue'er fled back to Shrek Academy in a sorry state and went straight to the Sea God Pavilion to find Long Yeyue.
Whenever she remembered being robbed at Eastsea Academy, her chest tightened and her breathing grew ragged.
What a humiliating disgrace!
Before becoming the dean of Shrek Outer Court, Cai Yue'er had been a major force who stirred up the Soul Master World. None of her peers had been able to do a thing about her.
She did as she pleased and had a peculiar temperament, leaving everyone else in a state of utter chaos.
In the past, she had always been the one bullying others. Now, somehow, she had become the one being bullied.
And in front of so many children, no less. The dignified dean of Shrek Outer Court had been forced to grovel and hand over everything she owned in broad daylight just to escape by the skin of her teeth.
Once word got out, who knew what kind of public outcry it would cause?
Long Yeyue flew into a rage when she heard the news.
Was Qiangu Qingfeng's utter disregard for their academy's dignity revenge for the time she had publicly slapped his father?
Like father, like son!
"Good, good, good! Qiangu Qingfeng, you're something else! And the Spirit Pagoda, too!" After hearing Cai Yue'er's tearful account, Long Yeyue was so furious she nearly burst into flames.
"Come on. I'm taking you to see Yun Ming. Shrek Academy has been quiet for too long. The world must have forgotten our glory days."
With Long Yeyue fanning the flames, the Sea God Pavilion Meeting was convened once more after a long absence.
At the meeting, Cai Yue'er recounted every detail of her trip to Eastsea.
The elders all looked grim as they listened.
Seated at the head of the table, Yun Ming rubbed his temples, looking like he had a headache.
"I brought that child back to the academy out of goodwill. I was thinking of his future, but he actually questioned me in public with all sorts of inexplicable questions."
"He's just a little boy who doesn't understand anything, so someone at the Spirit Pagoda must have put him up to it."
"As for being humiliated by Qiangu Qingfeng, I personally don't care. But he committed such an act of highway robbery in broad daylight, using compensation for that child Qian Jue as an excuse. I'd say he was using it to cover his true intentions."
"He was clearly targeting Shrek Academy. He only did it to get revenge for—"
Cai Yue'er spoke with fervor, but halfway through, she sensed a cold gaze from behind her. She immediately stopped and changed the subject.
"Pavilion Master, in recent years, our Shrek Academy and the Spirit Pagoda have fallen out. We've repeatedly backed down, but now they're practically walking all over us. Do we really have to keep yielding?"
Cai Yue'er looked at Yun Ming, her eyes gleaming.
Back then, the Spirit Pagoda had proposed suppressing the Tang Sect's growth. Its former pagoda master, Qiangu Dieting, had stepped forward, only for Yun Ming to sweep out all his teeth with a single thrust of his spear. Left with a psychological shadow, Qiangu Dieting had handed his position to his son, Qiangu Dongfeng, and then gone into seclusion.
How glorious Shrek Academy had been in those days! When Cai Yue'er traveled the world, even people whose cultivation and strength surpassed hers had to give way once they learned who she was.
Cai Yue'er believed that as long as Yun Ming stopped avoiding the world and made a high-profile return, he would definitely cow those insignificant members of the Spirit Pagoda.
She then once again emphasized the talent Qian Jue had displayed, producing the relevant information she had recently gathered as evidence.
The elders marveled at what they saw.
"Understood Staff Intent at six years old? That child is extraordinary. If he's properly nurtured, his future achievements will certainly rival the Pavilion Master's."
"He really is exceptionally gifted. No wonder he's Elder Bei's grandson. It's just a shame..." An elder seated in the corner hesitated.
"A shame what? Are you saying this old man made a mistake?" Long Yeyue slammed her palm on the table and shouted, "When I brought Xiao Qian back, weren't you the ones who agreed to let me raise him? Now that he's gone, you're blaming me for not teaching him well?"
"I looked after him as best I could. If he's ungrateful and doesn't appreciate it, that's just his nature. It has nothing to do with me."
The elder who had been snapped at didn't dare respond, afraid of setting off this powder keg again.
He knew Long Yeyue's temper well. Since the death of Heavenly Favored Douluo, no one but Yun Ming dared say much about her conduct.
She had even adopted Qian Jue without consulting anyone, keeping him elsewhere for over half a year before finally informing them.
What could they do?
The Pavilion Master hadn't said a word. What could an idle elder like him possibly say?
At last, Yun Ming, who had remained seated at the head of the table, spoke. "Everyone, let's calm down."
"Let's leave it at that. Now isn't the time to start another conflict with the Spirit Pagoda."
Cai Yue'er was dissatisfied at once. "Pavilion Master, we're just going to let this go? If outsiders hear about it, they'll really think Shrek is easy to bully!"
"Then they can come and see for themselves whether my Atlas Spear is sharp."
"Shrek has stood on the continent for ten thousand years. Haven't we made enough enemies already? What happened back then has happened, and there's no undoing it. What we need to do now is avoid letting anything like it happen again."
Yun Ming spoke earnestly.
In his youth, he had been arrogant, convinced his talent was unmatched, and made trouble wherever he went. He had even threatened to destroy the Ming Capital.
Only after becoming Pavilion Master had he understood how much Heavenly Favored Douluo had sacrificed. Countless eyes were fixed on Shrek Academy; one careless move could doom them all.
Now that he was with Ya Li, Yun Ming only wanted to live peacefully with his wife. He also wanted to keep refining his demigod status and see if he could break through to a higher realm.
As long as Shrek Academy's survival wasn't threatened, Yun Ming wouldn't step forward to throw his weight around.
After he said this, no one else spoke. Cai Yue'er, too, fell silent.
They all knew the academy's position in the Federation had worsened in recent years. If Yun Ming, the continent's publicly recognized strongest man, weren't standing in their way, someone would have made a move against them long ago.
"Still, although Qiangu Qingfeng is that child Qian Jue's grandfather, the blood of my teacher flows through his veins."
"As the saying goes, when you marry a chicken, follow the chicken; when you marry a dog, follow the dog. Qian Jue's roots are with our academy. When he grows up, he'll understand. All we need to do is wait and see."
"Besides, our academy is recognized as the best on Douluo Planet. Once he's old enough, he'll naturally come here to apply."
"When the time comes, I'll take him as my disciple and pass on my legacy. He'll surely become another pillar holding up the sky for the academy."
Yun Ming glanced at Long Yeyue, whose expression was shifting by the moment, and regretted not being more forceful back then and bringing Qian Jue over to be raised by Ya Li.
But what was done was done. There was no point in saying more.
He could only blame himself for not taking things seriously enough. He had known about the older generation's tangled grudges, yet still believed Sister Yue's one-sided account.
"Sister Yue, all things considered, you were in the wrong where Qian Jue was concerned. When that child comes back someday, you should apologize if you can."
Long Yeyue turned her head aside and gave no reply.
But the fluctuations of Soul Power coming from her showed that her feelings were not as calm as she seemed.
"That's all for today's meeting. Everyone, please go back."
Yun Ming raised a hand, stood, and took Ya Li's hand. The two of them vanished from the hall together.
The elders exchanged silent glances, then could only leave with a sweep of their sleeves.
Long Yeyue left with Cai Yue'er, a trace of anger on her face.
At the exit, she looked back at the empty seat at the head of the table.
Yun Ming had grown old, too. Drowned in Ya Li's tender affection, he'd lost his fire, just like old man Bei.
The Yun Ming of old would never have stood by while someone from Shrek was bullied like this!
If he went on like this, Shrek's reputation would fade away. Today they were robbing Sea God Pavilion elders; tomorrow they'd dare blast the academy with Soul Cannon shells.
Qiangu Qingfeng was just one man. Her Light and Dark Holy Dragon was still plenty dangerous.
Long Yeyue looked toward Eastsea City, her deep violet eyes gleaming.
This time, she would definitely bring Qian Jue back and personally raise him into the next Yun Ming.
Otherwise, given the age-old feud between the Qiangu Lineage and Shrek, once Qian Jue grew up, the balance of power between the Spirit Pagoda and Shrek Academy would be reversed.