After Mu En finished speaking, the entire hall fell into a brief silence.
"Provoke?"
Xuan Zi grabbed the wine gourd and took a swig, his greasy fingers swishing across the table.
"If we're talking about recent enemies... it's probably only the Body Sect."
His words abruptly stopped, and his cloudy pupils suddenly contracted.
The air in the entire council chamber seemed to freeze.
" Body Sect?"
Yan Shaozhe subconsciously looked out the window at the pitch-black night sky, as if a member of the Body Sect might suddenly leap out and devour him at any moment.
"... The Body Sect's overall strength is above ours, but they wouldn't dare to attack Shrek Academy head-on." Xian Lin'er frowned slightly.
"In the battle in the Far North, we suffered heavy losses. Of the troops we took there, only Xuan Zi returned alive."
Mu En sighed and said in a deep voice.
"If I hadn't arrived in time, even Xuan Zi would probably have perished there."
That's true.
Xuan Zi still felt somewhat uneasy about the battle in the Far North.
" The Body Sect, by joining forces with the Soul Beast, has given us a huge surprise, causing us heavy losses."
"Wait, according to Mu En's intuition, could it be that the Body Sect and the Ferocious Beast have joined forces to attack Shrek?"
"Isn't this a bit too much?" Yan Shaozhe also felt it was a bit outrageous.
"Would the Body Sect really want to destroy us? Although we have conflicts with the Body Sect, we don't have any life-or-death hatred for each other, and none of us would want to eliminate the other."
"If Shrek Academy were gone, I really can't imagine what the original Three Kingdoms of the Douluo Continent would become. They might no longer be able to unite and fight against the Sun Moon Empire."
"At this time when we are about to go to full-scale war with the Sun Moon Empire, the Body Sect should not do such a thing."
"I think so too," Xuan Zi agreed with Yan Shaozhe's statement.
"However, I know a very capable young man from the Body Sect; I've already shared the details with you."
"He has no Soul Power, but his Qi and Blood are incredibly strong. During his time as Soul King, he cultivated Soul Core, making his combat power virtually invincible."
Xuan Zi's expression became extremely solemn upon mentioning this person.
"More importantly, even if he were standing right in front of us, you wouldn't be able to see him at all unless your eyes were constantly on him, and you wouldn't be able to detect him even with Spiritual Power scan."
"It was precisely because of his special physical condition that I suffered losses at his hands many times."
" Xuan Zi, do you think the young people you mentioned would infiltrate Shrek Academy?" Xian Lin'er asked. "But we've laid a tight net around the Shrek Academy over the past few years."
"Furthermore, they had all the elders monitor the entire Shrek Academy, leaving no corner unchecked."
"Under these circumstances, can he really still get in?" Xian Lin'er remained skeptical. "We even locked up Zhang Lexuan in the forbidden area because of this young man."
"This is a last resort. Zhang Lexuan is quite familiar with that young man," Xuan Zi sighed. "It pains me to see such an outstanding child, especially since she is already our next successor Sea God Pavilion Master."
" Soul Douluo in her early twenties, with a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring... her future potential is far greater than ours."
"By the way, has anything unusual happened lately?"
Xian Lin'er shook her head:
"There's nothing unusual, so I'm quite skeptical of Mu En's supposed intuitive warning."
As she spoke, Xian Lin'er tentatively asked:
Is there any possibility of an error?
"I really hope this intuition is just a misunderstanding," Mu En said with a troubled expression, "But..."
"We trust the teacher's intuition," Yan Shaozhe immediately. "I'll personally check Zhang Lexuan's and her father's room later to see if that young man will come."
"Assuming he truly possesses the powerful physique Xuan Zi described, we might not be able to detect him even with the most meticulous preparations."
"Therefore, we only need to focus our inspection on Zhang Lexuan's and her father's rooms."
"..."
Mu En remained silent.
He clearly didn't want to talk about this topic anymore.
Let's leave it at that.
Xuan Zi said sternly.
"Do as Yan Shaozhe says, focus your surveillance on those two rooms."
As he spoke, Xuan Zi looked at Yan Shaozhe:
"I'm in charge of investigating Zhang Lexuan's father; you go and investigate Zhang Lexuan herself."
"No problem."
As the sun set, its crimson afterglow bathed the western buildings of the Shrek Academy.
Toji, who had been searching all night and all day, now stood outside a secluded stone house, his fingertips gently stroking the rough wall, his eyes cold and stern.
After obtaining the information from Zhang Lexuan, he searched almost the entire western district of the Shrek Academy. From the Soul Guidance Experiment Area to the outer academy dormitory, he even infiltrated several hidden underground warehouses, but he still couldn't find any trace of Elder Zhang.
Shrek Academy is too large, and many places are equipped with Soul Power detection barriers, so even in his state of Unity of Heaven and Man, he cannot completely avoid them.
He had to wander in the shadows like a ghost, investigating bit by bit.
And now, he finally stood in front of this unassuming stone house.
This is the last possibility.
Just like where Guan Zhang Lexuan was, someone would deliver meals to her regularly.
Toji of breaking down the door, he quietly went around to the side window and glanced at the situation.
It was pitch black inside, but he didn't see Elder Zhang.
But in the corner, there was a large area that he couldn't see clearly.
We need to go in and take a look.
Toji sank to the bottom and glanced around.
Compared to Zhang Lexuan, this place is alright.
There was no one guarding it.
However, precisely because of this, Shen Toji had no hope for this place.
Toji a deep breath and quietly pushed the door open.
The noise is negligible; proceed with caution into the house.
The room was dark and damp, with a faint smell of herbs and blood in the air.
On the bed in the corner, a gaunt figure lay quietly.
That's the person Toji is looking for.
Elder Zhang.
His hands and feet were bound by black metal shackles, and a Soul Tool restraint ring was fastened around his neck, completely sealing his Martial Soul and Soul Power.
His face was so pale it was almost transparent, and his breathing was so weak that he seemed about to disappear at any moment.
Elder Zhang's condition is much worse than Zhang Lexuan's.
This is clearly a sign of abuse.
Toji narrowed his eyes, a cold glint flashing in them, and slowly approached.
"... who?"
Elder Zhang seemed to sense something; his eyelids twitched slightly, but he ultimately failed to open them.
His voice was hoarse, as if it had been sanded, and extremely weak.
Toji didn't answer, but instead checked her surroundings first.
Strange, there are no guards?
Logically speaking, as an important hostage, Elder Zhang should have been under strict guard by the Shrek Academy.
But apart from Elder Zhang himself, there wasn't a single member of the Inspection Corps in this room.
"Is it because Elder Zhang can be imprisoned and the seal cannot be broken, so there is no need to send more people to guard him?"
This is very unusual.
Toji squatted down, his fingertips almost touching the shackles on Elder Zhang's wrists.
"Don't... move."