Call in Reinforcements, Thoroughly Investigate the Inquisitorial Legion

His eyes narrowed slightly. Like an old beast finally baring its fangs, he no longer restrained the aura of a Rank 98 cultivator, crushing down on the three men like a mountain.

"I'll only say this once. If something like this happens again, I'll use your heads to pay tribute to my dead students."

The air froze.

The three Titled Douluo went pale, fine beads of cold sweat seeping from their foreheads. Standing there, they did not even dare move a finger.

Chen Xuan's gaze lingered on them for a moment before he withdrew his aura and sneered.

"Get out. And investigate every last bit of those rotten accounts for me."

"Also thoroughly investigate the compensation for those injured disciples. If anyone's been getting sticky-fingered, make them cough it up immediately. This is your only warning."

"If any of you dare play games with me over this, watch your worthless lives. Get out!"

Feeling as though they had been pardoned, the three hurriedly lowered their heads and left the archive room, their legs trembling.

Chen Xuan left the archive room, passed through the dim corridor, and walked all the way outside the Inquisitorial Legion's gates.

Sunlight fell on his face again. He narrowed his eyes and let out a long breath of stale air.

He looked up at the sky. The sun had already climbed overhead. A breeze blew in from Sea God Lake, carrying a faint trace of moisture.

He touched the oil-paper packet tucked against his chest, opened it, and took another bite from a chicken leg.

Head back to Sea God Pavilion first, he thought as he chewed. I need to have a proper talk with Mu En about this. Do they really think I'm that easy to fool?

He tucked the oil-paper packet beneath his arm and slowly followed the stone path beside Sea God Lake.

The lake breeze whipped his graying hair about, but he did not bother with it. He merely narrowed his eyes and sorted through everything in his mind, piece by piece.

Before coming here, he had already prepared himself for the worst. But he had not expected the Inquisitorial Legion's rotten accounts to be even worse than he had imagined.

Several Titled Douluo sat in management positions, yet they had turned mission assignments into such a complete mess.

Four-Ring Soul Ancestors were sent to pursue Soul King-level evil soul masters, while Five-Ring Soul Kings were sent up against Soul Emperor-level opponents. There was not even a decent accompanying powerhouse. How was that any different from sending them to their deaths?

He had thought he would fly into a rage, but after truly walking out of the archive room, what rose within him was instead an abyssal chill.

Shrek really had rotted to its core.

Back when he had read about it outside the book, he had known that some parts of late-stage Shrek had already changed for the worse.

But at the time, he had always thought it was needed for the plot, that Third Young Master had deliberately written things harshly to create conflict.

Yet today, standing here in person, flipping through those files and seeing those cold numbers and names, he finally understood that this place was genuinely rotten.

It was not exaggeration, nor was it dramatization. They were truly using the students' lives to fill the gaps.

His expression did not change, but his steps unconsciously quickened.

The lake breeze blew straight at him, sending his graying hair flying. Suddenly, he cursed under his breath.

"Looks like there's no need to wait until Beibei is born this time."

He had originally planned to stabilize the Inquisitorial Legion first, then, after Beibei was safely born, free up his hands to thoroughly clean this place out from top to bottom.

But after reading those files, he realized he simply could not wait.

Those traitorous bastards!

They too had walked step by step from the outer court to the inner court.

Which Shrek student had not fought their way up step by step from the outer court?

Of those children who could enter the inner court, which one had not gritted their teeth and crawled out from a pile of corpses?

And now? Now that they sat in management positions, they no longer cared about the students.

For their own greed, they treated the students who came after them as firewood.

"Heh. Just wait to die."

He gritted his teeth and spat out those three words, his voice as cold as a chill rising from the bottom of Sea God Lake.

He suddenly regretted having held back too much in the archive room.

He had only cursed them a few times and told them to get out. That was far too light.

"When I told you to get out, I didn't mean for you to hide. Once the Elders' audit team comes down, none of you will escape."

He arrived before the main building of Sea God Pavilion. The gray-white structure looked especially solemn beneath the afternoon sun.

The disciple standing guard at the entrance saw him and hurriedly bowed in salute.

He nodded without speaking and strode inside.

When he reached Mu En's meditation room, he paused. First, he took out the oil-paper packet tucked against his chest, straightened his clothes, then wiped the grease from the corner of his mouth with his sleeve before raising his hand to knock.

"Elder Mu, I'm back."

A gentle, slightly hoarse voice came from inside. "Come in."

Chen Xuan pushed the door open and entered.

Mu En was reclining against the couch, a thin blanket draped over him, an old book held in his hands.

The window was half open, and a breeze carrying the lake's moisture drifted in.

Sunlight fell across his half-white hair, making his aged yet gentle face resemble an old jade statue.

Mu En looked up at him, his gaze resting briefly on Chen Xuan's face before falling on the oil-paper packet peeking out from his arms. He chuckled. "Went to the dining hall for chicken legs again?"

"On the way." Chen Xuan was not polite either. He walked over and sat down, setting the oil-paper packet on the table. "Want one, Elder Mu?"

Mu En waved a hand. "Keep them for yourself. I'm not like you. I can't eat such things anymore."

Chen Xuan glanced at him and did not press further. After a moment of silence, he said, "Elder Mu, I have something to tell you."

Mu En put down his book, his expression calm. "Go on."

"I just came back from the Inquisitorial Legion." Chen Xuan leaned back in his chair. "That place has rotted through."

He summarized the key points from several files he had seen at the Inquisitorial Legion.

His tone was not particularly impassioned, and even carried a hint of laziness, but every sentence was heavier than the last.

After hearing him out, Mu En did not speak immediately. He only frowned slightly.

Chen Xuan continued, "I want to use Sea God Pavilion's authority to send several Elders down there to thoroughly investigate the Inquisitorial Legion's mission records, casualty records, and compensation disbursements from the past few decades, from beginning to end."

He paused. "Especially the subsidies for injured students. I suspect someone has been skimming from them."

Mu En looked at him. "Are you sure you want to act now?"

"We have to." Chen Xuan said. "If we keep dragging this out, who will still be willing to send their children to Shrek?"

"If we don't even treat our own promising students' lives as lives, what will people outside think of us?"

Mu En was silent for a moment, then nodded. "Fine. Take the lead in the name of the deputy commander, and have two Elders investigate alongside you. Whoever you need, name them directly."

Chen Xuan grinned. "Elder Mu, you're decisive."

He stood up, but did not leave. Instead, he rubbed his hands together. "There's one more thing. If we're investigating the Inquisitorial Legion, the Soul Tool Department can't stay out of it."

"From now on, whenever the Inquisitorial Legion carries out missions, Soul Tools must be fully equipped. We need to discuss that with Xian Lin'er and Yan Shaozhe."

Mu En raised his brows slightly. "You want to call them over?"

"Call them over." Chen Xuan said. "While we're at it today, we can also sort out the funding allocation between the two departments again."