Diverting Trouble Elsewhere, Xuan Zi Faces a Dilemma

As head of Shrek Academy's Inspection Corps, he had a duty and a responsibility to deal with this.

Surely the corps could not inspect the continent while ignoring what went on inside the academy.

"Take these documents to Xuan Zi. Wait there for his response, then come back and tell me."

Huang Jinxu sealed the documents and sought out Du Weilun, the director of discipline in Shrek Academy's outer court.

Why send him? The reason was simple: he was one of the many senior figures who would face judgment.

Wasn't there something amusing about making him deliver the evidence against himself?

Of course, Huang Jinxu had another, smaller reason: Du Weilun had once clashed with his daughter.

"Rest assured, Dean. I'll deliver these documents to Xuan Zi exactly as they are."

Du Weilun stiffened at the sight of Huang Jinxu appearing out of thin air before him. He stood ramrod straight, eager to show his loyalty.

Given his position, he naturally knew that the new dean of the Martial Soul Department was the Heavenly Fiend Douluo.

As the saying went, a new emperor brought a new court.

He had been loyal to Yan Shaozhe, one of his trusted right-hand men. With a new dean in charge, he could hardly help worrying about his position.

He had spent this entire period on edge, afraid the new dean might dismiss him without warning.

The dean's failure to make an appearance had only deepened his unease.

Now the dean had appeared and given him a task. That was undoubtedly a good sign.

It suggested the new dean was still willing to employ the people his predecessor had relied on.

He had to handle this beautifully—ideally, well enough for the new dean to see what he could do.

Without a moment's hesitation, Du Weilun set off to find Xuan Zi.

Before long, the documents reached Xuan Zi, who was overseeing a combat assessment for inner court disciples.

At first, Xuan Zi thought little of them. But once he had read everything, his expression turned grave.

Unreliable though he was, he still had some sense.

He knew just how weighty these documents were and what they meant.

Across Shrek Academy, from Sea God Pavilion members down to teachers and administrators at every level, at least seventy percent had broken the rules.

If everyone named in the documents were judged accordingly, the academy's strength would plummet overnight. To say its operations would collapse entirely would be no exaggeration.

Were their offenses serious?

Yes—and no.

They were serious because Huang Jinxu had compiled everything strictly according to the rules Shrek Academy itself had laid down.

By the letter of those rules, punishment had to follow.

Yet they were not serious in the eyes of the powerful and the academy's senior figures, who considered such offenses hardly worth mentioning.

There were, of course, a few exceptionally egregious cases—even Xuan Zi thought those people deserved to be slapped dead on the spot.

The most troubling point was that his own name appeared in the documents.

If the rules were enforced to the letter, he, the head of Shrek Academy's Inspection Corps, would have his Martial Soul destroyed and be expelled from Shrek Academy.

The documents felt like a scalding-hot potato in Xuan Zi's hands.

If someone else had uncovered these problems, they might have come to nothing.

After all, no one would have taken them seriously.

But Huang Jinxu was the one who had uncovered them.

Judging by his past conduct, he might actually carry out the punishments set out in the documents.

"Xuan Zi, our dean asked me to wait here for your response."

Seeing Xuan Zi hold the documents without saying a word, Du Weilun mustered his courage and spoke up.

This was the first task the new dean had entrusted to him. He had to carry it off flawlessly.

Otherwise, how could he report back?

"A response?"

At Du Weilun's words, Xuan Zi understood: Huang Jinxu was forcing him to make a choice.

But what answer could he give?

Was he supposed to follow the documents' conclusions and punish himself?

How could he possibly do that?

Xuan Zi set his perpetually foggy mind to work. As he thought, he absently pulled a chicken head from his Storage Soul Tool and tore into it, crunching through even the bones.

The crunching rang in everyone's ears. Coupled with Xuan Zi's dark expression and the oppressive air rolling off him, it made one thing unmistakable.

Even a fool could see he was in a foul mood and on the verge of erupting.

The atmosphere grew heavy in an instant.

Even the two Shrek Academy inner court students who had been sparring stopped fighting.

"Du Weilun. During your tenure as director of discipline in the outer court, you ignored student complaints and gravely neglected your duties. You secretly withheld cultivation resources from core disciples. When teachers harmed students, you not only failed to report them but shielded them... Effective immediately, you are stripped of your position. A final judgment will be announced once the facts have been established."

Only after a long silence did Xuan Zi read out the accusations against Du Weilun and the provisional ruling recorded in the documents.

Xuan Zi's plan was simple: leave the Titled Douluo and those above them alone for now. As for those below that level—or those with no prospect of ever reaching it—he would act on Huang Jinxu's findings first.

The particulars would have to wait for a Sea God Pavilion Meeting.

Du Weilun had been brought before him today, so he would start with him.

"Wh-what...?"

Du Weilun felt as if thunder had exploded inside his head.

What was all this?

He had only come to deliver some documents. How had he become the accused?

Granted, he had done those things, but weren't they perfectly normal?

They had never been a problem before. Why had they become one the moment the new dean took office?

Worse, he had personally delivered the evidence to the Inspection Corps.

"Director Du, you'd be better off not resisting. Once the investigation is complete, if you've been wronged, the academy will clear your name."

Before Du Weilun could say anything more, Xuan Zi's voice cut in, edged with anger.

Du Weilun had no idea that one point in the documents had been decisive in Xuan Zi's choice to make an example of him: they stated plainly that he had known about Wang Dong but had failed to report it at once.

The mention of the Clear Sky Sect brought the events of some time ago back to Xuan Zi, and anger flared in him. If only he had learned sooner of Wang Dong's connection to the Clear Sky Sect, he might have avoided the loss of function that followed and the turmoil it caused.

For that reason alone, Du Weilun had no hope of escaping what came next.

(Being updated)