After a long silence, Zhuoshi looked up and swept his gaze over the people watching him, finally stopping at Bear Lord's intense stare. He felt immense pressure.
A look of appeared struggle on his face. His eyes shifted to Long Bing and the disciple who had Vouched for him. Thinking that he had already let it slip, he said a few words.
Consider it paving the way for Changkong's future. Anyway, knowing or not knowing some things was the same.
"You think that with the divine realm gone, Shrek students have lost their influence in the Federation, public support is gone, and the investment in Xingluo has declared bankruptcy, so this is the weakest time in Shrek's history, do you not?"
Upon hearing this, the expressions of some around him became somewhat unnatural.
These were indeed Shrek's advantages. If they still existed, how could Shrek Academy be destroyed? Even if it was destroyed under immense pressure, it would leave behind huge hidden dangers.
Beside Huo Yuhao, Gu Yuena glanced at Huo Yuhao, also feeling somewhat emotional.
This was still Shrek weakened under his influence. If the Spirit Transmission Tower had not been established back then, the Federation could just forget about dealing with Shrek now.
"You are right. Present day Shrek is the weakest it has been since its founding, apart from before its rise."
Zhuoshi admitted this, making the corner of Yingfeng's eye twitch.
Four Limit Douluo and dozens of Titled Douluo. Yet it was the weakest time in its history.
What a Versailles.
Zhuoshi made a turning point. "But Shrek's greatest advantage has not disappeared."
What was the most difficult thing about Shrek to the Federation?
It was not Shrek graduates, nor Shrek's openly visible strength. It was that Shrek was the only place in the current Federation with a deep connection to deities and protected by many deities.
The first generation Seven Devils, the Butterfly God.
When heaven and earth changed back then, some divine realm objects fell on the Douluo Continent, giving many forces new trump cards. So how many trump cards did Shrek, as the force with the most contact with deities, have?
No one in the Federation knew exactly how many things those deities had left at Shrek. That was also what the Federation most feared about Shrek.
A War God said dismissively, "The biggest trump card is nothing more than divine weapons. It is not like the Federation does not have them. Unless Shrek still has a true god, otherwise."
Zhuoshi looked at the War God who had spoken but did not say anything. Yet this attitude made many people's hearts sink.
Could it be that Shrek still had a true god level existence or back up plan?
Bear Lord's eyelids twitched. He instinctively looked at Huo Yuhao and Gu Yuena.
If there was a true god, that would indeed be difficult to handle.
Even if all the Federation's Near Divine experts joined forces and could fight a true god, as long as the true god was not stupid, it could fight Guerrilla Warfare and find an opportunity to take out all the Federation's experts.
After all, the Federation's experts could not possibly Stick Together forever, could they?
And one on one, the only people in the Federation who could deal with a true god were probably these two.
When Bear Lord's gaze fell on Huo Yuhao and Gu Yuena's faces, he saw that their expressions had not changed. His heart stirred, and he felt relieved.
It seemed that Spirit Ice and His Majesty both had ways to deal with a true god.
Good. Confidence was restored.
Unlike Bear Lord, whose Confidence was entirely in Huo Yuhao and Gu Yuena, when the Federation experts learned that there were still deities behind Shrek Academy, their expressions were not very good.
How could Shrek's foundations be so strong?
But this did explain why Shrek had the Confidence to do those things.
Backed by deities, they could indeed be arrogant.
Some people even associate to Spirit Hall because of the deities.
That time was Exactly Like This Very Moment.
Similarly backed by deities, Spirit Hall had always had the Angel God's inheritance, and later produced the Asura God.
And Shrek's first generation Seven Devils were all deities. Ten thousand years ago, there was also the Butterfly God.
Back when Spirit Hall was wiped out, they had to directly face two deities. Now, to make Shrek Academy a thing of the past, it seemed they would also have to face a true god.
"The world truly is a great Reincarnation."
Someone sighed inwardly.
But now that the divine realm was missing, where could they find a god to help them?
While the Federation experts were thinking about how to face a deity, Gu Yuena sent a telepathic message to Huo Yuhao. "Yuhao, do you think the deity connected to Shrek Academy is a divine consciousness left by a god severely wounded in the Divine Realm War, or one of the other two situations?"
With her knowledge, she quickly thought of three situations in which god level strength could be manifested on the current Douluo Continent.
First, Conceal Heavenly Secrets and Act Against Heaven, creating an environment without plane influence to become a god. (Similar to the Demon Emperor breaking through to a true god in the original work.)
Second, a deity with a divine seat descending to the mortal realm. Because the divine seat originated from the divine realm, the Douluo plane could not easily suppress the possessor from manifesting god level strength, nor would it suppress them. Just like the Sea God, Angel God, and Asura God twenty thousand years ago, who ignored the plane's suppression.
However, this situation of a deity descending to the mortal realm generally did not happen, because the divine realm had rules that deities could not interfere with the lower realm. To live long term in the lower realm, a deity would certainly have their divine seat temporarily taken back by the divine realm.
But those deities who were severely wounded in the Divine Realm War might not care about this rule. Who would care about such a rule when they were about to die? Running away was the priority.
In Gu Yuena's view, the deity with the Holy Spirit Cult probably fell into this category.
Third, by the power of the plane, that is, a being such as the Plane Lord or the Plane's Life Core could reach the god level with the help of the plane's power.
If there was a deity behind Shrek, it was undoubtedly one of these situations.
Upon hearing this, Huo Yuhao thought for a moment and said, "It should be the power of the plane. As for the divine consciousness of a deity carrying a divine seat, the deity on the Holy Spirit Cult's side has not even recovered. Even if such an existence were inside Shrek, it could not have recovered to its peak."
"Moreover, Shrek is still so quiet. If it were a deity that could move freely, Shrek would not have this attitude. They would have already started negotiating with the Federation. This shows that the deity standing behind them has limited mobility and Has Nothing to Do With a deity possessing a divine seat."
In fact, he had already thought of who they were.
After all, in this era originally, there were only four god level existences related to Tang San. Although each had their own limitations, the original work mentioned that as long as the conditions were met, they could all manifest god level strength.
Yingfeng was one of the calmer people among them, having thought of similar points as Huo Yuhao.
"The deity behind Shrek has limited mobility, does it not?"
His voice carried his characteristic calm analysis.
"If Shrek truly had a deity that could move freely and deter the Federation, you would not need to be Trapped in an Isolated City, let alone wait until now. You could have long used that power to engage in equal dialogue with the Federation. But the fact is, you have chosen the most Passive defensive posture. This can only mean that the deity's protection has great limitations. Either it cannot be easily used, or it is not a living deity itself."
Zhuoshi met Yingfeng's scrutinizing gaze and said nothing more.
Seeing this, Yingfeng raised an eyebrow. "You do not want to answer that question. Then let me ask another. Since Shrek has the Confidence to face the Federation, what are the various ideas inside?"
Since there was a situation beyond expectation like a deity, then Shrek's current thought was definitely not simply Putting Up a Desperate Resistance.
Zhuoshi closed his eyes. His tone was quiet.
"There are those who want to fight to the end. There are those who understand Shrek's Decadence and want to quietly Perish with it. There are those who want to accept the Federation's proposal. There are even those who want to leave the Federation, Preserve the Flame, and Start Over."
"Such Different Opinions."
Yingfeng snorted coldly. "And what about your true god? His idea is the reason for your Silence during this time, is it not?"
Wu Changkong, who had remained silent since Huo Yuhao and the others arrived, suddenly looked up at his teacher, his brow deeply furrowed.
He thought of his previous several conversations with his teacher.
Only if there were problems within Shrek would it be like that.
Perhaps it was precisely because of the true god that the elders with Different Opinions had been unable to carry out their own ideas, dragging things out until now.
Zhuoshi looked toward Shrek, his expression was complicated.
"They want Shrek to continue, even if it means leaving the Federation. And together, they will carry out the Ten Thousand Year Plan set by the Sea God."
***
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