Shrek's Golden Image Shattered

"Ah..."

In the stands of Eastsea Academy, Wu Changkong watched the farce on the arena and could not help shaking his head. A trace of complicated emotion flashed through his golden eyes.

Shrek... After leaving that place and living alone for many years, he had long realized that Shrek's educational methods might have had some problems.

That extreme sense of glory, that near-fanatical collectivism, that matter-of-fact belief that "all outside Shrek are beneath contempt"—when he reexamined those things from an outsider's perspective, he found that they were not as right as he had once believed.

His junior sister, Shen Yi, had clearly failed to realize that.

She had been steeped in Shrek's glory for too long—so long that she could no longer distinguish true education from blind obedience.

Wu Changkong could not help suspecting that Qi Ji's targeting of Shrek was not his idea alone.

Shrek City was a veritable state within a state. There, Shrek's own laws held more authority than the Federation's laws.

The Federation's upper ranks had been dissatisfied with this situation for a long time. Whether Qi Ji, a genius personally cultivated by the Federation, was suppressing Shrek's reputation in public out of his own will or on orders from above, the result was the same.

In truth, Wu Changkong also hoped that Shrek could become a place devoted purely to teaching and nurturing people.

Unfortunately, reality never followed people's wishes.

"Teacher Wu... I don't understand."

Xie Xie turned around to look at Wu Changkong, his eyes carrying the confusion and bewilderment unique to a teenager.

At the same time, the other three children of Class Zero also turned around, their gazes landing squarely on Wu Changkong.

In the education they had received since childhood, Shrek had always been the holy land in the hearts of Soul Masters, a pure and immaculate sanctuary that could not be defiled.

Twenty thousand years ago, righteous Shrek had defeated the Spirit Hall Empire of Spirit Hall; ten thousand years ago, righteous Shrek had stopped the Sun Moon Empire from unifying the continent by force, allowing today's Douluo Federation to exist.

In textbooks, in teachers' lessons, and in the words of their elders, Shrek was the savior, the embodiment of justice, an unquestionable supreme existence.

But today, they had personally seen Shrek's students swept aside by Qi Ji alone on the arena. They had seen Shrek's teacher rush onto the arena and attack contestants who were in the middle of a match. They had heard the waves of condemnation rising from the audience.

These things seemed nothing like the stories they had heard since childhood.

Wu Changkong could not help closing his eyes and remaining silent for a long while.

He opened his eyes, looked at the children gazing up at him, and slowly spoke in a low, weary voice. "Shrek... has always been like this."

Those seven short words seemed to drain all his strength.

After all, he had once been a Shrek student himself. In his eyes, Shrek had once been his home, a place for which he had been willing to give everything.

But when he viewed it as an outsider, Shrek no longer seemed so right.

At the very least, Wu Changkong could not bring himself to deceive the children who trusted him most.

They had asked an honest question, and he should give them an honest answer.

At the same time, he could not help realizing that—perhaps after today, Shrek's golden image truly ought to shatter.

A myth that could only be sustained by lies and glory would eventually be exposed one day.

On the arena, Qi Ji had already returned to the rest area. Naturally, someone else would clean up the remaining mess.

The unconscious Shrek students were carried off the stage by medical staff, while Shen Yi was "politely invited" out of the venue by Skysea Alliance security personnel.

Qi Ji changed into a dry set of clothes and sat down on a sofa in the VIP lounge. Before long, Tang Wuling and Gu Yuena came over.

"Was what happened today something you prepared in advance to target Shrek?"

Gu Yuena held her phone out before Qi Ji. The screen displayed the trending lists across the Federation's major social media platforms.

Less than five minutes had passed, yet the internet was already flooded with hit pieces about Shrek—"Shrek Teacher Interferes with Official Federation Match," "Shrek Students Crushed by Seven-Colored Dragon Emperor Alone," "Shrek's Glory? Nothing But Self-Deception"... All kinds of headlines emerged one after another, driving the narrative at breakneck speed.

Of course, there were also a few scattered reports about Qi Ji defeating seven Shrek students alone, but they looked especially flimsy before the overwhelming tide of negative information.

It was so deliberate that anyone could tell someone was fanning the flames behind the scenes.

"No."

Qi Ji shook his head, his tone frank. "Going after Shrek is simply a position I was born with. The Federation has never gotten along with Shrek, so I was just doing it in passing. As for why everyone else jumped in so quickly..."

He shrugged and glanced at the negative reports that were still constantly refreshing. "Probably because there are far more people who dislike Shrek than anyone imagined."

Honestly, even he was rather shocked.

Shrek truly had enemies everywhere. The moment an opportunity arose to smear Shrek, those forces immediately sprang into action, moving faster than anyone else.

Qi Ji stood at the forefront as the blade, while the forces hidden behind the scenes pushed that blade hard into Shrek's weak spot.

"Enough," Qi Ji said, returning the phone to Gu Yuena as he changed the subject. "Playing politics is for the big shots. You two should think about how to defeat each other in the finals, shouldn't you? Don't forget that your bet is still on."

"Hmph... Do you even need to ask?"

Tang Wuling planted her hands on her hips, looking utterly confident. "In an open area, I might be a little wary of this woman. But on this arena, it's my home ground!"

She was not wrong.

In an open area, Gu Yuena could keep kiting her with elemental control and spatial abilities, and Tang Wuling would not even be able to catch up.

But the arena was only this large. With Teleportation, Tang Wuling could rush from one side to the other in an instant. There was simply no possibility of being kited.

A frontal clash in such a confined space was practically a battlefield tailor-made for her.

"Heh... little brat."

Gu Yuena casually glanced at Tang Wuling, her purple eyes carrying an unhurried air of superiority. "So what if I give you the terrain advantage?"

"Who are you calling a little brat?!"

Tang Wuling bristled instantly. They had been discussing match strategy just a moment ago, yet the next second, that remark had set her off.

"Whoever answers to it."

"Gu Yuena, you bitch!"

"Tang Wuling, you idiot."

The two started trading barbs again, neither willing to yield an inch.

Qi Ji sat on the sofa, watching the two argue until their faces turned red. He could not help sighing, picked up a glass of water from the table, took a sip, and silently turned his gaze toward the window.

Yeah, looking at the scenery was much more interesting than watching them argue.