Elder Chen was not wrong—Heavenly Soul Empire truly could not afford the cost of going to war with the Sun–Moon Empire.
Even now, merely maintaining the enormous border garrison along the Mingdou Mountain Range already placed a crushing burden on the empire's treasury.
They spent endlessly, yet saw no hope of victory. This was the stark reality of today's Heavenly Soul Empire.
Seeing the look on Prince Xue Yu's face, Yan Shaozhe understood his difficulty. He stepped forward and spoke gently:
"Since this is a sect's internal matter, then as one of the parties involved, Shrek Academy ought to have the right to speak, shouldn't we?"
"Of course." Tang Ya nodded.
Yan Shaozhe then turned to the side where the Snow Empress stood. "Teacher Xue, as a teacher of Shrek Academy, you should also step forward at a time like this. Shengyu, Qingtong—you come as well."
However, upon hearing this, Jiang Shengyu's expression did not change, though inwardly he was close to groaning.
Had Yan Shaozhe forgotten they all came from the Sun–Moon Empire? Or was he deliberately forcing them to take sides between the Sun–Moon Empire and Shrek Academy? This was way too clumsy!
The Snow Empress walked forward calmly. After she came to stand before Yan Shaozhe, Prince Xue Yu curiously asked,
"Dean Yan, this lady is…?"
"This is our Academy's newly appointed teacher—Super Douluo of the Ultimate Ice, at rank ninety-five. Teacher Xue Qingnü, titled Saint Snow!" Yan Shaozhe introduced her.
The moment they heard she was a ninety-fifth-rank Super Douluo of the Ultimate Ice, both Elder Chen and Prince Xue Yu's expressions changed to shock. They knew very well what it meant when such a terrifying ultimate attribute had reached the Super Douluo level!
It was essentially an invincible existence beneath the Ultimate Douluo level!
Even Tang Ya frowned at this. She leaned toward Elder Chen and whispered: "Elder Chen, do you have confidence?"
Elder Chen shook his head. "This old man can guarantee we can retreat safely. But as for winning… there is no hope."
And even retreating would likely cost them two ninth-tier soul tools.
An Ultimate Ice Super Douluo was simply too great a threat.
Tang Ya clenched her fists, unwilling. But when she saw Jiang Shengyu and Jiang Qingtong shooting her meaningful looks, she suddenly understood. Realization dawned, and the tension in her heart eased.
Once everyone had gathered beside Yan Shaozhe, he continued speaking to Tang Ya:
"I believe Vice Dean Fan Yu already explained the terms to you. The Academy will not compromise. Therefore, you must accept the Academy's conditions."
"And if I refuse?" Tang Ya countered.
Yan Shaozhe shook his head. "Then I'm sorry. This estate is Academy property. The Academy will not simply hand it over."
Hearing this, Jiang Shengyu could only sigh inwardly.
Mu En's original intent had been good, but the way Shrek Academy's people had executed it completely ruined it. If the spirit Mu En left behind within the Golden Tree ever learned of this… would it not enrage him back to life?
At this moment, the Snow Empress timely interjected:
"Dean Yan, are we to drive the Tang Sect's Sect Master out of Heaven Dou City, and then forcibly occupy this land ourselves?"
By now, the commotion had already drawn not only nobles but also commoners. Even many guests at the Heaven Dou Grand Hotel were watching. When the Snow Empress asked this question, Yan Shaozhe's expression immediately darkened.
For that was indeed his intent. But at the very least, he had to come up with a proper excuse! To openly state it as such—wasn't that admitting to the public that Shrek Academy was being unreasonable?
Yan Shaozhe was a deeply contradictory man: on one hand, he often acted without considering Shrek's reputation; on the other, he was excessively concerned about saving face.
With a stiff expression, he retorted to the Snow Empress:
"Of course not! How could Shrek ever do such a thing…"
Jiang Shengyu smacked his lips. This is shameless to the extreme.
Tang Ya then demanded:
"Isn't this exactly what Dean Yan is doing now? Forcibly occupying the Tang Sect's ancestral estate, refusing reason, relying only on power to oppress!"
"Insolence!" Yan Shaozhe snapped, frowning.
But Tang Ya pressed on:
"The Tang Sect now has branches established across the empires. I will see to it that every branch properly spreads word of Dean Yan's actions today, so that the entire continent knows of Shrek Academy's 'renown'!"
Hearing this, Yan Shaozhe's pupils contracted. "You—!"
He had miscalculated. He had ignored the fact that the Tang Sect was no longer the pitiful remnant it once was—reduced to a single sect master and one disciple, dependent on Shrek's shelter.
The present Tang Sect, even aside from the Soul Engineering Hall behind the scenes, already stood openly as a massive sect spanning the four great empires, with tens of thousands of disciples.
If Tang Ya truly carried out this threat, letting every branch spread the story, the blow to Shrek Academy's reputation would be immense!
And though Shrek was the number one academy on the continent, there were no shortage of rival academies waiting eagerly for a chance to drag them down. None of them would miss such an opportunity!
Tang Ya had already torn all pretenses aside with Shrek Academy. She feared nothing, and declared directly:
"Dean Yan, think carefully. Will you return this estate to the Tang Sect, or not?"
Yan Shaozhe's chest heaved violently. At this point, Prince Xue Yu stepped forward to smooth things over:
"Come now! We are all sects and academies of the former Three Nations of Douluo. Why make things so ugly? Dean Yan, in this prince's view, it isn't impossible to return the Tang Sect's ancestral land, is it?"
Xue Yu had offered him a way down. Yan Shaozhe sighed and followed it.
"The Prince is right. This estate… can be returned."
"And what of conditions? Does Shrek Academy still intend to act as the true master of the Tang Sect?" Tang Ya immediately pressed further.
Yan Shaozhe's face twisted. "Of course the Academy would never do such a thing! But the Academy is not a charity. To reclaim this estate from the Ironblood Sect, the Academy spent a great deal of resources. Those… must be repaid by the Tang Sect Master."
Tang Ya gave a cold laugh. "No problem."
With that, Elder Chen produced a storage soul tool.
Tang Ya handed it to Yan Shaozhe and said:
"The funds inside should suffice. Whatever remains, take it as repayment for the few years Shrek sheltered me."
She tossed the storage tool toward Yan Shaozhe. He caught it, but did not check inside. If he did, his embarrassment would only deepen.
Then Tang Ya shouted:
"Tang Sect disciples—move in!"
With those words, she personally led Elder Chen and the Tang Sect disciples behind her straight through the front gates, right under Yan Shaozhe and Fan Yu's noses.
Please drop some power stones support me at my
PS: Access the complete/finished chapters/series at Patreon: NanamiTL