A Microcosm and the Auspicious Beast's Epiphany
What happened in the Federation Hall is just a microcosm of what has happened recently in the Federation.
After learning that Shrek Academy had been sealed off, some Shrek supporters Shrek City, after communicating with their elders and companions or after careful consideration, chose to remain silent or even join the Federation.
Others were extremely anxious, trying to find out information through various channels. Some even secretly gathered to discuss how to "support" or "rescue" the college in their hearts.
A direct confrontation is impossible. Even though Shrek Academy has considerable influence, it cannot stand against the Federation. The only way to help the academy is through various means of communication.
However, it turned out they were overthinking it.
Their voices, both online and offline, have had almost no effect.
The public isn't blind; although initially, when the Federation announced sanctions against the Shrek Academy, everyone was somewhat taken aback by this sudden news.
But after the initial shock and confusion, the public learned more inside information, especially after the Spirit Pagoda publicly supported the Federation and condemned Shrek Academy's actions. The balance of public opinion then completely and irreversibly shifted.
The prevailing opinion on the streets and online has quietly shifted.
"Shrek is powerful, but even the most powerful can't act with impunity, right? Stealing the Eternal Heaven Kingdom? What's the difference between that and rebellion?"
"I heard they've been secretly sending things to the Star Luo Continent? Isn't that betraying their own people?"
"I know Major General Xu on that Federation disciplinary list; he's also Shrek graduate. He actually chose to conceal the theft of strategic weapons—if a major general is like this, I could do better."
"I was disappointed when my child didn't get into Shrek, but now I'm glad they didn't! Who are the kids raised in that place really loyal to? They might even disown their mother."
Faced with this situation, those close to Shrek naturally had objections.
There were naturally some comments such as "There's more to this than meets the eye," "Someone must be smearing us," and "We believe in Shrek, Shrek can't be wrong."
However, they mostly faced even fiercer rebuttals.
"Slander? Shrek didn't do those things? Everything is just slander? Shrek must be really powerful, powerful enough that someone is willing to use so much slander to attack you!"
"I also think Shrek is awful. Battle Spirit Master on the street during the final exam, injured my son, and didn't even pay compensation. When we tried to negotiate, they said the academy had already taken everything, and they didn't have enough money, so they'd pay later, then they just walked away. They're completely insane!"
"I once saw Shrek students steal Federation military aircraft, and I thought someone was impersonating Shrek cadets. Now it seems it was real."
"Last year, Shrek Academy students fought outside our company, damaging a lot of property, but they only gave us 10,000 Federal Coin in compensation, less than one percent!"
"Wait, what? That ID looks familiar. Didn't you only lose one door that time?"
Those who stand up to defend Shrek will immediately face questions and attacks from all sides. They not only have to defend core accusations such as the Eternal Heaven Kingdom and supporting Star Luo Empire, but also have to deal with countless "historical grievances" and "public grievances," whether true or false, big or small.
In the end, even the families of victims from Ten Thousand Years Ago came forward.
"Trust Shrek, Shrek can't be wrong? Ha! Our family's ancestor was betrayed by Shrek! Do you know about that Death God's Emissary from Ten Thousand Years Ago? A Soul King killed and crippled two generations of Shrek Seven Monsters in front of a level 98 Super Douluo, and my ancestor was one of them."
If it weren't for that Death God's Emissary's self-destruction, our other ancestors wouldn't even know the reason for our ancestor's injury. He could have reached the pinnacle, but because of the irresponsibility of the Shrek Academy's elite members, he ended up paralyzed!"
Faced with this situation, Shrek supporters felt powerless.
As the Spirit Pagoda further demonstrated its influence, some Shrek supporters discovered an even more desperate situation.
Their Soul Spirit actually wanted to break their contract with them!
"Partner, are you going to betray me?"
A Soul Master stared in disbelief at the Soul Spirit beside him, communicating with it using his Divine Power.
"You betrayed me first. What are you doing now? Are you willing to risk your life for Shrek Academy?"
In the spiritual realm, the Soul Spirit coldly said, "Shrek made a mistake, and they must pay the price. The Federation even gave the people of Shrek City a chance, not wiping them out completely. But what about you? What are you doing? You are supporting a mistake, and you might even drag those around you into the Abyss!"
The Soul Master trembled and froze.
For Soul Masters of this era, the trust in Soul Spirit has long since transcended many worldly bonds through accumulated interactions.
When Soul Spirit expresses its opposition in such a clear and resolute manner, the impact and persuasiveness it brings even surpasses the admonitions of family elders or the cold laws of the Federation.
Therefore, when they saw that even the Soul Spirit they had spent every day with and shared life and death with disagreed with them, more people came to their senses.
However, there are still some stubborn people who support Shrek.
In response, the Federation had previously stood by and watched these people's performance with indifference, has begun to react.
Giving Shrek time and letting things develop could be a way to expose those who are truly devoted to Shrek.
Feeling somewhat bored as she looked at the messages defending Shrek on the Soul Tool Network, Gu Ruiqiu yawned.
These people won't learn their lesson until they're faced with dire consequences.
Instead of wasting your time, you should do more good deeds and achieve more merits; perhaps the Federation will even give you some preferential treatment.
Thinking about it, Gu Ruiqiu glanced at Huo Yuhao's room and asked Snow Empress, who was standing beside her, "Snow Empress, how much longer will Huo Yuhao need?"
Since returning yesterday, Huo Yuhao has been in seclusion and hasn't come out yet.
Snow Empress snapped out of her reverie from the list before her and replied, "He needs to break through to the Soul Saint and fully condense his Second Soul Core. Moreover, Yuhao has his own plans, so it will probably take some more time."
99
Seeing Gu Ruiqiu's bored expression, Gu Yuena, who was teaching Jia Lin how to use various modern Soul Tool and cultivation knowledge, said, "If you're so bored, why don't you cultivate more? Or help Snow Empress think of a way to identify Possession Demon. The inside of the Spirit Pagoda is fine, we can control it, but using Life Crystal to identify them on a large scale throughout the Federation would alert the enemy."
"I've been cultivating very hard, okay? I'm almost at the Titled Douluo level. I've even thought of Titled Douluo: Dragon God Douluo ----"
Seeing Gu Yuena and Jia Lin both casting death stares at her, Gu Ruiqiu coughed lightly and quickly stopped the conversation, but she couldn't help but feel uneasy.
Is it illegal to give someone the Titled Douluo "Dragon God"?
I'm not being disrespectful to the Dragon God, nor am I trying to trample on your Master, so why are you looking at me like that?
There have been many Titled Douluo throughout Titled Douluo who have been called Dragon God, and you haven't seemed to care much about them. You can't exactly pull the "ignorance is no excuse" mentality, can you?
Gu Ruiqiu secretly curled her lip.
She couldn't think of many Titled Douluo that sounded powerful when it came to Titled Douluo related to the Golden Dragon Martial Soul, otherwise she wouldn't have set her sights on "Dragon God".
The Titled Douluo "Dragon Emperor" is not bad, but that Titled Douluo was already used by that old woman, Long Yeyue.
(The Titled Douluo "Dragon Emperor" was originally used by Long Yeyue, but it was later changed to "Titled Douluo Light-Dark" to make way for Long Yeyue 'Tang Wulin Titled Douluo.)
During her time as Dragon Emperor Douluo, Long Yeyue was extremely spirited and confident. She believed that with the two Super Martial Soul, the Radiant Sacred Dragon and the Dark Sacred Dragon, she could suppress other Martial Soul and the Dragon Clan to a great extent. Therefore, she adopted "Dragon Emperor" as her Titled Douluo and even challenged Di Tian, hoping to prove her "Dragon Emperor" title.
Then, she became withdrawn and isolated.
After a while, they even changed the Titled Douluo to Light-Dark, but even so, Gu Ruiqiu inexplicably didn't want to use the Titled Douluo anymore.
Thinking about the Dragon Emperor Douluo Long Xiaoyao from Ten Thousand Years Ago and the Dragon Emperor Douluo Long Yeyue in this life, Gu Ruiqiu felt that this Titled Douluo was cursed.
Yes, Huo Yuhao told her the story of Long Xiaoyao Ten Thousand Years Ago. After all, the stories of Long Xiaoyao, Ye Xishui, Mu En, and the "Three Beauties" of the Spirit Hall are all very good examples, enough to warn a person not to let Love-Obsessed Mind their judgment.
She had heard Xiong Jun mention the stories of Long Yeyue, Heaven Blessed Douluo, and Chen Xinjie a hundred years ago.
"Wait, Long Yeyue and Ye Xishui, Heaven Blessed Douluo, Chen Xinjie and Long Xiaoyao, Mu En— "
It's such a symmetrical triangle, like a reflection in a mirror.
Miss Auspicious Beast's eyes widened, a sense of excitement rising within her, as if she had vaguely discovered some strange law governing the world.
When Gu Yuena saw the Auspicious Beast suddenly stop, she frowned, and her sharp gaze brought Gu Ruiqiu back to her senses, causing her to awkwardly change the subject.
"Regarding the Possession Demon —isn't the Soul Guidance Research Institute of the Spirit Pagoda researching the Divine Tool created by that Possession Demon? We can talk about it after we have some results. Besides, didn't Huo Yuhao make a suggestion?"
"I remember him saying we could start with people who support the popularization of Soul Spirit, right?"
Gu Ruiqiu said solemnly.
"I'm investigating the list."
At this moment, Snow Empress spoke up, "Given Star Luo Empire's situation, if they want more Soul Spirit, they either need their forces here to increase their smuggling efforts, or they will need the Holy Spirit Cult's help."
"Yuhao probably came up with this idea based on this point. After all, once Soul Spirit become more common among ordinary people, it will be much easier for the Star Luo Empire to obtain Soul Spirit. And the Possession Demon only need to have the councilors they control simply express their support for this issue, which is completely risk-free."
The popularization of Soul Spirit is a voice that has emerged in the council in recent years. Yuhao heard this news from Na Nali at the Spirit Ice Grand Ceremony and kept it in mind.
Now that the threat of Possession Demon has emerged, the other party immediately thought of this direction for investigation, which made Snow Empress somewhat emotional.
What they took for granted, and what was an inevitable consequence of the times, became clues worth investigating in Huo Yuhao's eyes.
While the three were discussing the Possession Demon, a battle and trial were also reaching its most intense moment within the space of the Throne of Seal.