Disgraced

No one had expected the master of the Sun Moon Empire's Virtue Hall to suddenly appear among the spectators.

On the raised platform before the imperial palace, Star Luo Empire emperor Xu Jiawei's expression shifted slightly. A complicated look flashed through his eyes, but he did not intervene.

He had received news about Shrek Academy two days earlier.

The information seemed to have come from the Sun Moon Empire.

Presumably, the Evil Soul Master who had escaped had leaked what happened.

Xu Jiawei had long suspected Shrek Academy might try to win sympathy to divert public attention.

What he had not expected was for Mu Jin to actually dare exaggerate the facts and spout such nonsense.

Xu Jiawei knew perfectly well what had happened to Shrek. But the Star Luo Royal Family still feared Shrek's thousand-year reputation, and he did not dare expose them in public and make an enemy of them.

He had not expected Jing Hongchen to appear here, much less step forward before the crowd at just the right moment.

In the arena, Jing Hongchen fixed Mu Jin below with a sharp gaze. His voice rang across all of Star Luo Plaza through a Soul Tool.

"Shrek makes it sound so noble. Sacrifice and devotion, protecting the continent, ridding the people of evil—it all sounds wonderfully lofty."

"Unfortunately, every word is a lie. It's a false image you've carefully manufactured!"

Mu Jin's face darkened. "Jing Hongchen! Don't you dare slander Shrek without evidence!"

"Slander?" Jing Hongchen scoffed, his face full of contempt.

"Then how about I lay out the truth, piece by piece, for everyone on the continent to hear?"

"You claim Evil Soul Masters were wreaking havoc in the Mingdou Mountain Range. According to our investigation, only one Soul King–level Evil Soul Master was involved."

"How did one become a whole group of powerful Evil Soul Masters when you told the story?"

Mu Jin's expression changed drastically, and he fell speechless. Jing Hongchen continued without missing a beat.

"Who did Shrek send? Several Soul King and Soul Emperor students from your inner academy, with Xuan Zi, a level ninety-eight Super Douluo, secretly accompanying them."

"Yet this minor affair somehow ended with 'multiple starting members killed and your main forces gravely wounded.' The Evil Soul Master wasn't too strong. Shrek Academy was simply incompetent."

"Your own mistakes caused heavy casualties, and now you're using them to win sympathy and polish your image? What a joke!"

The crowd fell silent. The sympathy on many faces slowly faded.

Jing Hongchen pressed on:

"Besides, the Mingdou Mountain Range lies within the Star Luo Empire's borders. Any trouble there is for Star Luo's authorities to handle."

"A mere Soul King–level Evil Soul Master was hardly a major crisis. The Star Luo Empire was fully capable of eliminating him."

"Even if they hadn't discovered him, someone would have dealt with it as soon as Shrek notified them."

"So why did Shrek insist on crossing into another nation's territory and taking matters into its own hands?"

"You rushed to intervene and called it protecting the people? As I see it, you only wanted to draw attention to yourselves and flaunt the authority of your so-called 'number one academy on the continent.'"

"Put plainly, you showed blatant disregard for the Star Luo Empire's sovereignty."

That struck a nerve with everyone from the Star Luo Empire. Countless high-ranking officials in the stands stirred.

"And there's more. Shrek has spent years proclaiming its righteousness while forcing inner academy students to join the Shrek Inspection Team. You call it maintaining peace across the continent and stamping out Evil Soul Masters."

"But what's the truth?"

"The ones you send into deadly battles are all young students in their fifties and sixties in level."

"And you pit them against hordes of high-level, vicious Evil Soul Masters."

"Meanwhile, the academy's senior figures and instructors stay safely behind. At most, you send a representative along to supervise."

"Over the years, how many of the continent's finest talents has Shrek sent to their deaths? How many promising young people have you thrown away?"

"It's always the students who sacrifice, bleed, and die."

"And it's always Shrek Academy that claims the glory, reaps the rewards, and uses those sacrifices to burnish its reputation!"

The scorn in Jing Hongchen's voice deepened. Every word struck home.

"You command the best resources on the continent and recruit its most brilliant talents."

"Countless gifted young people travel thousands of miles to join Shrek. They trust you. They revere you."

"And how do you treat them?"

"You call it training through life-and-death trials. In truth, you use those young lives to build Shrek's fame and glory."

"You squander the continent's finest talent and drain the strength of the next generation, all to preserve a hollow reputation that has lasted a thousand years."

"How selfish. How hypocritical!"

An uproar swept through the crowd. Every trace of sympathy vanished from their faces, replaced by suspicion and anger.

Jing Hongchen's lips curled as he delivered his sharpest blow.

"One last thing."

"Did you put on this public show of suffering today to explain your team's predicament and show everyone how noble you are?"

"No. Two days ago, Xuan Zi used his power to abduct a contestant in public. His bullying disgraced Shrek and shattered its reputation."

"You know you were in the wrong, so you deliberately exaggerated how deadly the mission was and painted your motives in the best possible light."

"Wasn't the whole point to divert attention?"

"You're using your students' sacrifices to cover up the disgraceful mistakes of your leaders."

When he finished, Star Luo Plaza fell utterly silent.

Everyone's gaze toward the Shrek team below had changed completely.

Their admiration and sympathy had turned in an instant to doubt, disappointment, and even disgust.

Mu Jin's face went deathly pale, and his body trembled. He opened his mouth but could not find a single word in rebuttal.

Every member of the Shrek team looked miserable. They lowered their heads in silence, unable to face the crowd.

In mere moments, the reputation Shrek had worked so hard to restore collapsed completely.

In a corner, Xuan Zi had kept out of sight because of what had happened two days earlier. Now fury overcame him.

He could no longer restrain himself and stepped forward.

"Enough, Jing Hongchen. Stop spouting nonsense."

"You're making things up and lying through your teeth to ruin Shrek's name. What are you plotting?"

With that, Xuan Zi's nine Soul Rings rose around him. A crushing wave of Soul Power erupted, hurling nearby spectators aside as it surged toward Jing Hongchen. Xuan Zi raised a hand and attacked.

Jing Hongchen remained calm. He immediately activated Hongchen's Protection and blocked the attack.

Xu Jiawei hurried to stop them.

"Stop! Xuan Zi, don't act rashly!"

"People can judge right and wrong for themselves. Attacking now will only make matters worse."

"And with such a crowd here, you're bound to hurt innocent people."

Just then, Du Busi appeared from who knew where and began mocking Xuan Zi.

"Heh. What's wrong, Xuan Zi? Can't win the argument, so you're going to fight again?"

"You old fool. Are your fists the only way you know how to make a point? Hahaha!"

Jing Hongchen snorted. "Xuan Zi, enough. My Soul Power may not match yours, but that doesn't mean I'm afraid to fight you."