Shrek's Status, Ling Luochen's Contempt

"Senior Ma Xiaotao is amazing!"

"Exactly!"

"Senior Ma Xiaotao is so cool!"

"I heard that trash left. Honestly, Senior Ma Xiaotao gave that trash so many chances and told him to work hard, but what happened? He was still useless. Now he took 100 Gold Soul Coins and left. If it were me, I wouldn't have given him even one Gold Soul Coin."

"Senior Ma Xiaotao is beautiful and incredibly talented. Honestly, I don't understand why Senior Ma Xiaotao protected that trash. Now Senior Ma Xiaotao has finally had enough. I hope she can make that trash leave.

But in my opinion, that trash must have truly disappointed Senior Ma Xiaotao, which was why she gave him the Gold Soul Coins and made him leave."

The Shrek students spoke at this moment.

"What are you talking about?" A beautiful blue-haired woman walked over.

Ling Luochen.

Ling Luochen was a genius of Shrek Academy's Inner Court, one of the official members of this generation's Shrek Seven Devils, known as the "Princess of Snow."

Martial Soul: Ice Elemental (Control System).

Soul Rings: Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black.

A Control System Battle Soul King of roughly over level fifty.

Appearance and personality: Long blue hair, icy blue eyes, skin fairer than snow, cold and proud like a winter plum blossom; cold on the outside but warm within, she valued family deeply and cared immensely for her younger brother Ling Xiao. After his death, she became even more withdrawn.

"Senior Ling Luochen! Why are you here?" Upon hearing her, these Shrek students became somewhat afraid to speak.

"What were you talking about? Tell me honestly."

"You only just returned recently, so... it seems Senior Ma Xiaotao made that trash leave. That trash took 100 Gold Soul Coins and left. Along the way, quite a few people mocked him. No one knows where that trash has gone now. Everyone was happily saying that Ma Xiaotao gave up on that trash last year."

"What?!" Ling Luochen immediately became furious upon hearing this.

Trash?! Innate Full Soul Power at level thirty—if it weren't for Ma Xiaotao, would he have been unable to cultivate properly until now? If it weren't for those people from Shrek, would he have ended up like this?

The Shrek elders first killed the Sun Moon Empire Soul Engineer who helped Changge awaken his Martial Soul, then forcibly dragged him to Shrek. Seeing that he was unwilling to cooperate and unwilling to join Shrek...

They chose to cripple Changge and make him obediently help Ma Xiaotao, allowing her to absorb his Soul Power and the power of his Martial Soul to complete the evolution of her own Martial Soul.

Such conduct was already utterly outrageous.

Ma Xiaotao, do you still have the nerve? You ruined someone else's future, absorbed someone else's Martial Soul, and then claimed that you were an unparalleled genius. Your actions are pathetic. Don't you find them laughable?!

And you even said that you were the one who gave up on him. Clearly, you were the one who forced him. If it weren't for you, he would have had a very bright future, wouldn't he?!

If it weren't for you, he might have already become an unparalleled genius in the Sun Moon Empire.

Ling Luochen knew what Xiao Changge had suffered at Shrek, but she did not dare say it aloud. If she did, her family would suffer Shrek's retaliation.

Although Ling Luochen appeared to be someone who had already been brainwashed by Shrek, she was actually very clever. She pretended to have been brainwashed, while in truth she had remained clear-headed all along, observing everything Shrek did and always sympathizing with Xiao Changge.

However, Ling Luochen had never possessed the strength to help Xiao Changge. After all, Shrek's Titled Douluo were already extremely powerful, and their number had reached double digits. Did they look like pushovers in battle?

Shrek Academy was not merely an academy. It was more like a small kingdom independent of the Douluo Three Kingdoms. Furthermore, its dean held an extraordinarily high status.

For example, Mu En, the Master of the Sea God Pavilion, was clearly Shrek Academy's dean, yet his status surpassed even the emperors of the Douluo Three Kingdoms. Even if the Sun Moon Empire's emperor came, he would still have to show him respect.

This claim was largely valid within the setting of The Unrivaled Tang Clan, but it was not a matter of "respect." It was determined by hard power and transcendent status. An emperor governed a nation, while the Sea God Pavilion governed a "Soul Master order that stood above nations."

Why was the Sea God Pavilion Master's "standing" greater than that of the three kingdoms' emperors and the Sun Moon Emperor?

The pinnacle of combat power stood guard: During the era of The Unrivaled Tang Clan, Mu En was a level-99 Limit Douluo, the Dragon God Douluo, one of humanity's peak experts; after Mu En died, Xuan Zi also reached level 99. The emperors of the three kingdoms and the Sun Moon Empire were not fighters of that level. The strongest figures in their royal families were merely Protector Douluo, around level 95.

Shrek was not a nation, but it surpassed an "uncrowned nation": The academy stood outside the jurisdiction of every empire. The Sea God Pavilion was the highest joint decision-making body of Shrek and the Tang Sect. Together with the Sun Moon Empire's Mingde Hall and the Body Sect, it was considered one of the continent's three great powers. Yet Shrek was the only one among them capable of influencing the entire continent's direction through its own influence alone.

Examples of suppression in actual combat:

When Du Busi, the Body Sect's leader and a level-98 peak expert, came knocking, Mu En appeared and directly forced him back;

In the original story, Jing Hongchen, master of the Sun Moon Empire's Mingde Hall, brought hidden schemes to the Sea God Pavilion. Mu En saw through them and countered him, leaving Jing Hongchen unwilling to make a move;

In the original story, when Cheng Gang, a Protector Douluo of the Star Luo Empire, wanted to attack Huo Yuhao, Xuan Zi slapped his face swollen on the spot;

During the finals of the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament, the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy suffered a loss. Xuan Zi merely glared, and no one dared make another move.

Every nation treated Shrek with "recruitment and fear": When the three kingdoms went to war, resisted Sun Moon Soul Tools, or dealt with Evil Soul Masters of the Holy Spirit Cult, they all needed the endorsement of the Shrek Supervisory Group and the Sea God Pavilion. Emperors could govern civilians and armies, but they could not control the stance of Titled Douluo—while more than seventy percent of the continent's Titled Douluo had teacher-student ties, alumni ties, or Tang Sect connections with Shrek.

But this needed to be explained on two levels.

At the level of secular political power: Emperors possessed territory, armies, taxation, and laws. At formal state banquets, emperors still occupied the seat of honor. That was the rule of politics.

In terms of the Soul Master world and the continent's actual influence: With a single word from the Sea God Pavilion Master, the royal families of the three kingdoms could be summoned to listen to instruction, and the Sun Moon Empire could be made to restrain its military adventurism. Even when Mu En lay paralyzed in a reclining chair in his old age, Du Busi and Jing Hongchen still lowered their heads—this was not ceremonial respect. It was the survival logic of, "If you dare touch him, tomorrow Shrek, the Tang Sect, and half the Titled Douluo will teach you a lesson."

Simply put, whether it was the emperors of the Douluo Three Kingdoms or the Sun Moon Empire, they were "rulers of a nation," while the Sea God Pavilion Master was "the stabilizing pillar of the continent's Soul Master world."

In the worldview of The Unrivaled Tang Clan, the latter truly carried more weight than the former. So saying that his "standing was greater than that of the Douluo Three Kingdoms' emperors and the Sun Moon Emperor" was not an exaggeration. A more accurate way to put it was—his weight did not lie in court etiquette, but in "who could determine the balance between life and death across the continent."

"Damn it..." Ling Luochen had always sympathized with Xiao Changge. As someone who knew the full details, she had always pitied that poor younger brother.

Ling Luochen knew that Xiao Changge was an abandoned child. He had never seen his parents since childhood and seemed to have been abandoned by his mother when he was very young.

After that, he had lived a difficult life, relying on his own efforts to struggle onward. Later, he finally encountered a Soul Engineer from the Sun Moon Empire who was willing to help him awaken his Martial Soul. In the end, he successfully awakened a top-tier Martial Soul—or rather, it should have been a Divine Beast Martial Soul—and he even possessed Innate Full Soul Power at level thirty.

With such talent, he would have received excellent treatment in any nation. Whether he joined the Dou Ling Empire, the Heaven Dou Empire, the Sun Moon Empire, or the Star Luo Empire, any one of the four countries could have offered him the finest treatment.

After all, Innate Full Soul Power at level thirty had never appeared in history. Even Sea God Tang San and Angel God Qian Renxue had only possessed Innate Full Soul Power at level ten and Innate Full Soul Power at level twenty, respectively. The difference was enormous. The emergence of someone with Innate Full Soul Power at level thirty was already a blessing beyond measure.

Throughout the tens of thousands of years of Douluo Continent's history, a supreme genius with Innate Full Soul Power at level thirty had never appeared.

Xiao Changge, who had awakened a top-tier Divine Beast Martial Soul and possessed Innate Full Soul Power at level thirty, should have had a bright future and the right to choose any nation to join. Yet he was discovered by Shrek. The Sun Moon Empire Soul Engineer who helped him awaken his Martial Soul was killed by Shrek, and he himself was forcibly taken to Shrek.

Moreover, knowing that Xiao Changge bore this hatred, Shrek's elders understood that he would only hate them. Thus, they chose to cripple Xiao Changge, make him help Ma Xiaotao resolve her Martial Soul problem, and force her to absorb his Soul Power.

How was that any different from destroying his future?

Xiao Changge was not an Evil Soul Master at all. He was an ordinary person, the child of commoners. He should have possessed a beautiful future, but what happened? Shrek ruined him. The key was that Shrek claimed to be the continent's sacred land, the sacred land of Soul Masters.

So what did they actually do? They destroyed a commoner child's future and even killed his benefactor. How was such conduct any different from butchers and bandits?

It could be said that even butchers and bandits were far better than Shrek.

How was Shrek's behavior any different from that of hypocrites and petty villains?

Ling Luochen was truly furious this time, because what they had done was simply too excessive.

"!..." Ma Xiaotao also noticed Ling Luochen at this moment and then walked over.

"Let's have a proper talk. There are some things I need to question you about!" Ling Luochen said angrily.

Ling Luochen was truly furious, furious on Xiao Changge's behalf.

Afterward, the two of them came to the Inner Court.

There was no one here, and Ma Xiaotao used Soul Power to create a soundproof barrier so that no sound could escape.

"Do you know what exactly you did? You destroyed Xiao Changge's future.

Xiao Changge could have had a beautiful future, but what did you do?! What did you do?!

Not only did you force him! You absorbed the power of his Martial Soul, absorbed his Soul Power, ruined his future, and condemned him to being an ordinary person for the rest of his life. Then you drove him out! And you only gave him 100 Gold Soul Coins. Don't you feel ashamed? Don't you feel disgusted? You ruined someone else's future and only gave him 100 Gold Soul Coins. Doesn't your conscience hurt?!

And you were the ones who destroyed everything he had. You were the ones who killed his benefactor. He should have gone to the Sun Moon Empire and should have had something better..." Before Ling Luochen could finish, Ma Xiaotao became furious.

"Shut up!" Ma Xiaotao attacked him with her Phoenix Martial Soul, unable to listen any longer. Perhaps her weak point had been struck, perhaps the truth had been exposed and she did not want to admit it, so she chose to attack. But Ling Luochen was no pushover. She directly used the ice attribute of her own Martial Soul to block the strike.

"Was I wrong? He should have had a beautiful future. He was not an Evil Soul Master; he was merely the child of ordinary commoners. He should have had everything, should have become an outstanding genius. Yet what did you do? You destroyed him. Don't you feel ashamed? Shrek calls itself the sacred land of Soul Masters. As a talented Soul Master, he should have had the right to enjoy everything he deserved, but what did you do?!"

"This matter is none of your business. He did it willingly, willingly, understand?!" Ma Xiaotao spoke as though she were deceiving herself. Willingly? Forcing someone to let you absorb his Soul Power and the power of his Martial Soul, with death awaiting him if he resisted—what kind of freedom was that?

If Xiao Changge had refused, he would have been killed. Wasn't that simply leaving him no choice? They forced him!

Ma Xiaotao, such behavior was truly laughable. She had deceived even herself while still believing she was right. Once he gained power and came for revenge, the consequences would be severe.

Xiao Changge had done nothing wrong. He was only the child of ordinary commoners, someone who should have become a top-tier unparalleled genius, yet everything was destroyed. If this hatred continued to spread, the consequences would become even more serious. At that time, Ma Xiaotao and Shrek would only suffer Xiao Changge's frenzied revenge.

"Do you take me for a fool, or are you trying to deceive yourself? How was that voluntary? Why should he sacrifice his future to help you? What kind of joke is that? How was that voluntary? And after driving him out, you only gave him 100 Gold Soul Coins. Did dogs eat your consciences?!

I want to see Mu En."

Ling Luochen did not have many direct dealings with Mu En, but every encounter between them concerned Shrek Academy's core interests. Their relationship could be summarized as that of "a talent-cherishing protector" and "a valued core junior."

Mu En was extremely protective of and placed great trust in Ling Luochen.

As the Master of the Sea God Pavilion and the strongest person of the age, Mu En showed this Inner Court genius concern beyond the ordinary:

He personally protected her path: When Ma Xiaotao's Evil Fire erupted, Mu En not only personally asked Ling Luochen for help, but also promised generous compensation. When the two worked together to suppress the Evil Fire, Mu En assisted from behind and healed Ling Luochen, preventing her from suffering backlash injuries.

Ling Luochen's reverence for and loyalty to Mu En:

Ling Luochen was cold and proud by nature, but she always maintained the highest respect for Mu En and firmly carried out the academy's arrangements:

She respectfully called him "Elder Mu": As an Inner Court disciple, she deeply respected Mu En, who spent his days lying near the entrance to the Outer Court dormitories, and regarded him as the academy's highest authority.

Ling Luochen believed that Mu En should uphold justice for Xiao Changge.