Jing Hongchen and His View of Shrek

Shrek City.

The Soul Tool infrastructure here was basically inferior to that of the Sun Moon Empire. It had to be acknowledged that the Sun Moon Empire's Soul Tool technology was indeed the most advanced, and its people's standard of living was indeed very high. Although Shrek City's Soul Tool technology was also formidable, it still fell far short of the Sun Moon Empire's, especially when it came to eighth-grade Soul Tools.

Kong Deming and Jing Hongchen sent several scouts inside to search for information on Xiao Changge. To their surprise, they really did uncover a great deal of interesting information.

"Of course I know about him. That man is universally acknowledged as trash here. I heard his Soul Power was extremely low. When he left, he only had level-three Innate Soul Power. It seemed Ma Xiaotao took him in because she pitied him, but she never expected him to be so useless. In the end, Ma finally couldn't stand it anymore and kicked him out.

"And she even mercifully gave him 100 Gold Soul Coins. Honestly, what use was that trash?"

"Xiao Changge is trash, Shrek's disgrace. Taking him in was Shrek's disgrace, the greatest mistake made by the elders of Sea God Pavilion."

Listening to Shrek's assessment of Xiao Changge, the scouts began to believe what Xiao Changge had said—he had certainly obtained Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Rings as his first and second Soul Rings. That meant he might really be a genius.

It was very possible that Ma Xiaotao had truly used Xiao Changge's martial soul and Soul Power to treat her own Evil Fire. If that was true, then Shrek was unworthy of its title as the continent's sacred land.

"Keep digging. Find out about Ma Xiaotao's Evil Fire."

Afterward, the Sun Moon Empire scouts began gathering intelligence about Ma Xiaotao's Evil Fire. Before long, they truly obtained some information. Ma Xiaotao did indeed have Evil Fire, but only a small number of people knew about it. Only those close to Ma Xiaotao, or those with some connection to such people, knew that she had Evil Fire.

"As someone who joined Shrek City a long time ago, I naturally know Ma Xiaotao has Evil Fire. But for some reason, it seems her Evil Fire hasn't erupted recently. The elders of Shrek must have found a way to solve it."

With those words, they could basically confirm that everything Xiao Changge had said was true. Shrek had indeed used his martial soul and Soul Power to treat Ma Xiaotao's Evil Fire. It was all true.

"We can return and report now."

Several days later.

"Elder Kong, it seems everything Xiao Changge said was true. From the moment he displayed Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Rings, what he said should have been true.

"After verification, everything he said was true.

"Ma Xiaotao's Evil Fire truly existed, and it had not erupted once during this recent period. Clearly, they really were using Xiao Changge's martial soul and future to treat Ma Xiaotao's Evil Fire.

"And Xiao Changge also said that a Soul Engineer from the Sun Moon Empire once helped him. That Soul Engineer helped awaken his martial soul and planned to take him to the Sun Moon Empire, but Shrek discovered them. Shrek killed that Soul Engineer and forcibly took him back to Shrek.

"That part was probably true as well. Shrek was clearly afraid that the Sun Moon Empire would produce an outstanding Titled Douluo, perhaps even a Super Douluo. So they chose to kill that Soul Engineer, then ruin Xiao Changge's future.

"And this calls itself the continent's sacred land? Heh."

"That child has been telling the truth. We can trust him without concern now."

Jing Hongchen could now be said to loathe Shrek deeply, with equal measures of contempt and ridicule.

Things had changed from the original story.

In the original story, Jing Hongchen, as the dean of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy and master of Mingde Hall, viewed Shrek Academy in a way that could be summarized as follows: politically, he understood that it was unshakable; in terms of strength, he acknowledged its overwhelming top-tier power; emotionally, he had once even admired it; and in terms of position, he always regarded Shrek as the greatest variable rather than a mere enemy. He was not a warmonger who blindly hated Shrek, but an exceptionally pragmatic, clear-headed opponent.

(1) Political standing: the wisdom of a ten-thousand-year academy—no one dared touch it.

When teaching Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen later on, he once said something very straightforward:

"Even if the Empire unified the entire continent, Shrek Academy would be fine... It is an academy, not a nation. Shrek has never sought power; it merely educates Soul Masters. Whoever rules the continent will hope that this highest academy continues to exist. If it were truly destroyed, it might even bring about the Empire's decline, because Shrek has trained far too many powerful individuals."

In his eyes, Shrek's refusal to meddle in imperial power was precisely the survival wisdom that had allowed it to endure for ten thousand years—it stood above changes in political regimes and thus became a necessity every faction had to tolerate. This was also why he dared send his grandchildren there as exchange students: Shrek was not a force seeking to overthrow the Sun Moon Empire, but a cradle for Soul Masters shared by the entire continent.

(2) Comparison of strength: war depended on Soul Tools, but he yielded before top-tier power.

When Sea God Pavilion faced Mu En, the Dragon God Douluo, Jing Hongchen was suppressed until sweat beaded on his forehead. He then gave a very famous comparative assessment, using himself and Xuan Zi as examples:

Within one hundred meters: Xuan Zi would certainly win, though he himself had the ability to take them both down.

At one thousand meters: he could protect himself and retreat.

At ten thousand meters: he was confident he could win.

In a large-scale war: Mingde Hall and the Sun Moon side would certainly win.

But when it came to contests between high-level experts: "No one can shake Shrek's position on the continent. Neither Mingde Hall nor the Body Sect can do so."

He agreed with Mu En's judgment that Soul Tools would replace some Soul Master functions in the future, but their greatest potential would still depend on powerful Soul Masters. Soul Tools won wars, while Shrek set the ceiling—this was the core conclusion he reached after personally experiencing Sea God Pavilion.

(3) Personal feelings: he had once admired Shrek and acknowledged its educational environment.

He spoke frankly to his grandchildren:

"Actually, even I once admired Shrek Academy. I once wanted to study there... As long as one is a Soul Master, everyone wishes to study at Shrek Academy. Everyone is the same, including His Majesty."

Meng Hongchen had also added that Shrek possessed the best environment for studying and cultivation. Its teachers did not reject exchange students from outside academies, and students who left it retained a deep attachment to the academy. Jing Hongchen explained part of his decision to send his grandchildren to Shrek as fulfilling his own youthful wish, proving that he genuinely acknowledged Shrek's educational system. It was only his position in the Sun Moon Empire that prevented him from following the orthodox path of a Soul Master.

(4) His way of handling matters: wary, willing to make use of Shrek, but never rashly provoking it.

When he went to Shrek to demand the Sword of Judgment and inquire about his granddaughter's poisoning, Mu En stopped him and took his ninth-grade Soul Tool, Red Dust Protection, as an "entry fee." He suffered the setback, accepted it, and did not dare fall out with them.

When Huo Yuhao was beaten while serving as an exchange student in the Sun Moon Empire, Jing Hongchen's first reaction was to fear Shrek holding them accountable. He worried that Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen would have a hard time at the academy, so he hurried to protect Huo Yuhao rather than punish him.

He used Huo Yuhao to spur the Sun Moon students onward: "Failure is not frightening. What is frightening is not knowing why you failed... When will you be able to defeat Shrek?" He treated Shrek as a benchmark to drive his own side forward, not merely an object of hatred.

In summary:

In the original story, Shrek in Jing Hongchen's eyes was the "anchor" of continental Soul Master civilization: politically untouchable, impossible to suppress at the highest levels of power, genuinely admirable in its educational environment, and only in warfare did he dare claim that Soul Tools could win—a ten-thousand-year behemoth that even its opponents acknowledged as a place "every Soul Master admires."

But now, because of what happened to Xiao Changge, he had become completely disappointed in Shrek and had utterly given up on it.