Chapter 188 Xuanzi Breaks Through His Defenses! Is All of This Real?
Inside the Sea God Pavilion, the life force emanating from the golden tree remains strong.
But at this moment, this aura could not calm Xuanzi's restlessness.
He sat in the main seat, a greasy stain still visible on the carpet from the chicken leg that had fallen to the ground at his feet.
Xuanzi stared at the staff member kneeling in front of him, trembling like a leaf. His mood, which was already depressed because of the failure to break through, became extremely bad.
He couldn't stand seeing the Shrek members acting so spineless in front of him.
"What are you crying for? Take back your tears!"
Xuanzi slammed his hand on the armrest, the sound echoing like muffled thunder in the closed office.
"Shao Zhe took Elder Song and Xian Lin'er with him. Three Super Douluo, if placed in any imperial city of the continent, would be enough to make the emperor treat them with state honors."
"They just went to bring back a vice dean, what big trouble could possibly happen? Can the Heavenly Soul Empire really turn the world upside down?"
The staff member swallowed hard, his voice shrill from extreme tension: "Elder Xuan, something truly terrible has happened..."
"The official announcement just released by the Heavenly Soul Empire said that Dean Yan, Elder Song, and Vice Dean Xian... ambushed Fan Yu in the side garden of the Imperial City, but were killed by the True Body Douluo, Poison Undying."
"A fierce battle broke out between the two sides. Dean Yan and his three elders... all suffered severe injuries. In the end... Dean Yan had no choice but to hand over three 100,000-year-old soul bones in public as compensation before Du Busi was allowed to leave."
"What did you say?"
Xuanzi's pupils suddenly contracted, and his cloudy eyes became bloodshot in an instant.
He suddenly stood up, and the powerful shockwave sent the staff member on the ground flying, crashing heavily into the wall.
"Poison-proof? No matter how strong he is, can he defeat two level 97s and one level 96 by fighting three opponents alone? And he even extorted three 100,000-year soul bones? This is simply outrageous!"
Xuanzi grabbed the staff member by the collar, lifted him up, and roared with a ferocious expression.
"Where did this information come from? Who gave you the audacity to fabricate such a disgraceful lie about the academy?"
The staff member, his face flushed from being pinched, struggled to pat Xuanzi's hand: "It...it came from the official announcement of the Heavenly Soul Empire...now...the entire continent's soul guidance communication stations and underground black markets are buzzing with the news."
"They even described the details of how Old Song was poisoned but survived and had his hands and feet broken... Dean Yan and the others haven't returned yet!"
Xuanzi seemed to have all his strength drained away, and he loosened his grip, throwing the staff member to the ground.
"Impossible... Absolutely impossible."
Xuanzi paced back and forth in the office, her breathing becoming extremely heavy.
"Although Poison Undying is domineering, he would never dare to humiliate Shrek like this if he weren't insane."
"If it's true, then wouldn't Shrek Academy's reputation, built up over ten thousand years, be completely ruined overnight by those three good-for-nothings?"
Despite saying it was impossible, Xuanzi's heart sank to the bottom.
He knew very well that the Heavenly Soul Empire would never dare to issue such a proclamation that could trigger a war if it were not true.
He immediately roared at the door, "Men! Investigate for me! Mobilize all the Shadow Guards of the academy who are lurking in the Heavenly Soul Empire. I want to see the truth of the matter within an hour!"
"Also, go and guard the west gate. Once Yan Shaozhe and the others return, immediately take them to the Sea God Pavilion. Do not alert anyone!"
...
The next twenty-four hours felt like an eternity to Xuanzi.
He has already taken the position of the Sea God Pavilion Master, which means that the honor and disgrace of the entire Shrek Academy rests on his shoulders.
He valued the "Shrek" brand even more than when Mu was alive, because he knew that he could no longer suppress an era with force like Mu had, so he could only desperately protect the purity of this brand.
He sat listlessly on the top floor of the Sea God Pavilion, the chicken leg on the table long since cold, yet he couldn't swallow a single bite.
"Good news, bring me some good news…" Xuanzi kept rubbing his hands together, talking to himself.
He hoped the message from the Shadow Guards was that "the Heavenly Soul Empire is spreading rumors," that Yan Shaozhe and the others had brought back Fan Yu, and even that it was just a prank targeting Shrek Academy.
However, things did not go as planned.
At dusk the next day, the restrictions on the Sea God Pavilion were triggered, and the auras of Yan Shaozhe and his two companions appeared within the sensing range.
Xuanzi flashed and instantly appeared at the entrance of the pavilion.
When he saw the scene before him clearly, the last glimmer of hope he had was completely shattered.
Yan Shaozhe's once neat dean's robe was now tattered and stained with blood. Due to the excessive depletion of his soul power, his face was deathly pale, almost transparent.
Xian Lin'er was in an even worse state. She was carrying the dazed Old Song on her back. Old Song's left hand, which should have been holding a gun or a blade, was bent at a terrifying angle, clearly having been broken off by being stepped on.
The extent of their suffering was so dire that they didn't even need to ask; the answer was already clearly written on their faces.
"Elder Xuan…" When Yan Shaozhe saw Xuanzi, his once spirited eyes revealed extreme humiliation and defeat. His knees buckled and he almost lost his balance.
Xuanzi stared intently at Yan Shaozhe, his chest heaving violently, each word seemingly squeezed out through clenched teeth: "Those things circulating outside...you encountered Du Busi...handed over the 100,000-year-old soul bone...and Fan Yu...tell me, is it true?"
Yan Shaozhe remained silent for a long time before finally closing his eyes, two lines of humiliating tears sliding down his cheeks.
He let out a bitter sigh, his voice so hoarse it was almost inaudible: "It's true. Poison can't kill him... His physical strength far exceeds our imagination. The three of us fought with all our might, but we couldn't defeat him."
"So in the end, in order to save the lives of Elder Song and Lin'er, and to prevent Shrek Academy's reputation from being completely ruined by him at the gates of the imperial city... I had no choice but to hand over the soul bone and bring people back."
"What did you say? Say it again!"
Xuanzi's suppressed anger erupted completely at this moment.
He lunged forward and grabbed Yan Shaozhe by the collar. His voice was distorted and shrill with rage: "You really gave those three 100,000-year-old soul bones to that green-haired old ghost?"
"You really let him slap Shrek Academy in front of the entire continent? What are you doing back here alive? Why didn't you fight him in the Imperial City!"
Yan Shaozhe let Xuanzi shake him and said blankly, "Not to mention that we were no match for him, at that time, Vina led tens of thousands of troops to surround us, and the soul guidance device was already aimed at us."
"If we fight to the death, not only will we fail to bring the person back, but Shrek Academy, this ancient holy land, will also be known as 'the one that failed to assassinate a high-ranking official in another country and died. Elder Xuan, we cannot bear such consequences."
"Can't afford it? You'd better throw Shrek into the mud right now, then you'll be able to afford it!"
Xuanzi shoved Yan Shaozhe away and let out a deafening roar.
He recalled the discussions that had been taking place across the continent about Shrek's incompetence these past few days, and his own "impossible" fantasies from just now, and he completely broke down.
"Idiots! A bunch of idiots!" Xuanzi swung his arm violently, shattering the golden tree railing beside him into pieces.
"Fan Yu defected, and when you went to rescue him, you failed and were instead humiliated. In the end, you even had to pay compensation and buy your lives? Shrek Academy has been established for ten thousand years, and we have never suffered such a disgrace!"
He trembled with rage: "Poison Undying... What a Poison Undying! He's digging up the very foundation of Shrek Academy! You three idiots have squandered the last bit of legacy left by Elder Mu!"
Yan Shaozhe and the other two lowered their heads, letting Xuanzi's spittle spray onto their faces. In this deathly Sea God Pavilion, only Xuanzi's almost insane roars echoed continuously.
(End of chapter)