A hot-tempered elder said, "Just cripple her cultivation and lock her in Shrek's prison!"
Qian Duoduo, the vice dean of the Soul Tool Department, shook his head and said:
"No. Zhou Yi's husband is a Level 8 Soul Engineer, and he's the Soul Engineer in Shrek most likely to reach Level 9. Treating Zhou Yi like that would inevitably alienate him.
The Douluo Three Kingdoms already lag behind the Sun Moon Empire in Soul Tools. We can't afford to lose a talent like Fan Yu, so that approach won't work."
Xian Lin'er nodded silently as well. Although she desperately wanted to kill Zhou Yi, she had no choice but to consider Fan Yu's situation.
As a Level 8 Soul Engineer herself, she knew just how much potential Fan Yu had. Once he became a Titled Douluo, he would most likely become a Level 9 Soul Engineer.
The elders discussed the matter further, but none could come up with a suitable solution.
In the end, Xian Lin'er said:
"Then simply expel Zhou Yi from Shrek Academy and never employ her again. That way, Fan Yu shouldn't have any objections."
"Let's do as Lin'er suggested."
Mu En nodded, then continued:
"The academy owes those four or five hundred students an explanation. Whether we compensate them personally or their families, we must at least get that done first. I'll leave this matter to you, Mei'er."
Cai Mei'er nodded solemnly:
"Rest assured, Mu En. I'll handle this properly."
Mu En stroked his beard, tapped his fingertips lightly against the tabletop, and said with a smile:
"All right, that settles this matter for now. Have you made any headway with that mysterious organization called the 'Dark Web' I asked you to investigate?"
The elders present exchanged glances, their expressions rather grim.
Clearly, they had found little.
An elderly woman seated to Mu En's left spoke:
"Mu En, this organization is far too mysterious. All I know so far is that its intelligence network spans the entire continent.
It's a vast organization operating across the Four Empires, claiming that any intelligence can be bought for the right price.
As reluctant as I am to admit it, the Dark Web's intelligence network and information-gathering capabilities are far, far stronger than Shrek's.
Take the Holy Spirit Cult, that organization of Evil Soul Masters. If I hadn't learned about it through the Dark Web, I would never have known that the Evil Soul Masters had already grown into such a formidable force.
They even have several Titled Douluos among their ranks, including Super Douluos... But obtaining detailed information on those Titled Douluos would cost an astronomical amount of resources."
The speaker was Lin Huiqun, a Level 96 Super Douluo who oversaw Shrek's Treasure Gathering Pavilion and underground intelligence network.
That was precisely why the Dark Web's intelligence network and information-gathering capabilities had shocked her so deeply.
Mu En's expression darkened slightly at her words. Evil Soul Masters refused to submit to discipline. If they had formed an organization, it meant an exceptionally powerful Evil Soul Master had forcibly brought them to heel.
At that thought, a woman appeared in Mu En's mind-Ye Xishui.
With that woman's talent, she had most likely already become a Level 99 Limit Douluo.
If his guess was correct, she was the leader of this Holy Spirit Cult.
Only the strength of a Limit Douluo could subdue that pack of Evil Soul Masters.
From this, he could also infer that his dear friend Long Xiaoyao was undoubtedly at Ye Xishui's side.
The situation was therefore even worse than Lin Huiqun had described.
An organization of Evil Soul Masters with two Level 99 Limit Douluos-what terrifying combat power that was.
Of course, Mu En understood that dear friend of his extremely well. Although Long Xiaoyao's martial soul was the Dark Holy Dragon, he had always been upright and honorable in everything he did.
If he really had joined the Holy Spirit Cult, Ye Xishui had most likely hoodwinked him into it.
That fool probably still thinks he's the one who wronged me...
Mu En sighed helplessly to himself. After all these years, as a seasoned veteran of romance and the "Satisfying Douluo,"
how could he not have realized that Ye Xishui had laid a trap for the two brothers back then, all to drive a wedge between them?
As he thought about it, a flicker of killing intent flashed through Mu En's eyes.
If he hadn't known that Long Xiaoyao was at Ye Xishui's side,
he would have planned to take that woman down with him when he was on the verge of death.
Mu En leaned back slightly, tapped his withered fingers against the armrest, and said:
"Huiqun, keep investigating them and maintain our cooperation. Such a powerful intelligence network is exactly what we at Shrek urgently need..."
Lin Huiqun sighed, worry etched across her brow.
"What makes the Dark Web most troubling is that it doesn't seem to favor any side. It only sells information. In other words, the Holy Spirit Cult most likely has quite a lot of intelligence on Shrek as well."
Xian Lin'er frowned. "In other words, the Dark Web is like a neutral marketplace? Anyone can buy intelligence from them, as long as they offer enough?"
Lin Huiqun nodded. "Exactly."
The elders present all wore grave expressions.
"Teacher, I've had some dealings with this organization too. I can only describe its members as utterly insane and bizarre."
Seeing that his own matter had been put behind them, Yan Shaozhe hurried to make his presence felt.
Mu En looked at Yan Shaozhe, signaling for him to continue.
"I call this organization utterly insane because its members seem not to care whether they live or die. Whenever I try to capture one for questioning, they choose suicide almost without hesitation.
The strangest thing is that these people seem to have appeared out of nowhere in Shrek City. I can't find any trace of them anywhere else.
Oh, and before dying, they shout, 'Long live Earth!' Earth is most likely the name of their leader."
Before Mu En could speak, Lin Huiqun slammed the table, pointed at Yan Shaozhe, and berated him:
"No wonder the Dark Web's intelligence keeps getting more expensive! I was wondering what was going on, and it turns out you've been capturing their people! Tell me! How many of them have you killed?"
The corner of Yan Shaozhe's eye twitched. He hadn't expected to offend another elder the moment he opened his mouth.
He stammered, "P-probably a dozen or so. Elder Lin, please let me explain. I didn't kill them myself. They all committed suicide.
They were mostly ordinary people... I thought I should be able to pry something out of them."
By the end, Yan Shaozhe's voice had grown quieter and quieter.
Lin Huiqun was absolutely furious. Pointing straight at his nose, she snapped:
"Would they have killed themselves if you hadn't captured them? You little brat! You didn't even know what you were dealing with, yet you dared to seize them and interrogate them? Did a donkey kick you in the head?"
She had dealt with the Dark Web's people for so long without ever considering capturing them for interrogation. Instead, she had investigated quietly.
Yet this bastard had gone and driven more than a dozen of them to their deaths.
No wonder the prices had risen so much whenever she tried to obtain intelligence from the Dark Web lately.
If Elder Song hadn't been holding her back, Lin Huiqun would have marched over and given him two resounding slaps.
Before you continue