Upon hearing Xuan Zi's words, Bei Bei was completely stunned. He had originally thought that Xuan Zi was finally going to behave himself, but who would have thought he would come up with some kind of Dragon Hunting Operation?
What on earth was this nonsense?
Bei Bei's brows furrowed tightly as a strong sense of unease surged within his heart.
Meanwhile, the group of Sea God Pavilion elders also cast their gazes onto Xuan Zi, their faces filled with confusion.
"Xuan Zi, what do you mean by the… Dragon Hunting Operation you mentioned?"
Elder Song spoke first, her tone carrying a hint of solemnity.
Xuan Zi's gaze swept across everyone's faces before he slowly began to explain.
"Ancestor Mu's dragon core was obtained from a dragon in an ancient ruin, and it is extremely precious."
"Furthermore, a dragon core that has been nourished… might be the only one of its kind."
"Right now, we need to find the dragon core that Ancestor Mu lost, but no one knows who Ancestor Mu gave it to, which faction it was handed over to, or… where it is hidden."
"Therefore——"
"We have two objectives."
"First, find Ancestor Mu's dragon core."
"Second, hunt down Dragon-type Spirit Beasts!"
"Who knows… by hunting Dragon-type Spirit Beasts, we might also be able to obtain a dragon core."
As soon as these words were spoken, Bei Bei's face instantly turned pale. He abruptly stood up, pressing his hands against the table surface, his voice carrying a hint of urgency.
"No!"
"Elder Xuan, you cannot do this!"
Xuan Zi's brows frowned slightly as he looked at Bei Bei.
"Why not?"
Bei Bei took a deep breath, trying his best to calm himself down.
"Elder Xuan, have you ever considered what kind of consequences it would bring if we wantonly hunted Dragon-type Spirit Beasts?"
"The Spirit Beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest are by no means lambs to be slaughtered at will!"
"Especially those high-level Spirit Beasts; they possess intelligence no inferior to that of humans!"
"If we wantonly hunt Dragon-type Spirit Beasts, I'm afraid… it will trigger a beast tide in the Star Dou Great Forest!"
Bei Bei's gaze stared straight at Xuan Zi.
"At that time, Shrek City will bear the brunt, and Shrek Academy… will also welcome a massive disaster!"
"Elder Xuan, do not forget that in the Star Dou Great Forest, the number one ranked among the top ten Vicious Beasts, the Beast God Di Tian, is the Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King!"
"He is the king of Dragon-type Spirit Beasts!"
"If we wantonly hunt Dragon-type Spirit Beasts, I'm afraid… it will provoke Di Tian's fury!"
"Today's Shrek Academy has already lost Ancestor Mu…"
"What do we have to… fight Di Tian with?"
Inside the hall, there was silence.
Elder Song's expression also grew solemn. She remained silent for a moment, then slowly spoke.
"Bei Bei is right."
Her voice was steady, carrying a hint of unquestionability.
"Xuan Zi, regarding the matter of hunting Dragon-type Spirit Beasts… I oppose it."
"Today, Shrek Academy has suffered heavy damage to its Origin Qi and cannot withstand any more turmoil."
"If we truly anger the Spirit Beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest, the consequences… would be unimaginable."
Lin Huiqun also nodded.
"I also oppose it."
Elder Zhuang sighed and shook his head.
"Xuan Zi, your intention is good—in order to achieve a Breakthrough to Limit Douluo, and for the future of Shrek Academy…"
"However… we cannot stake the entire academy on a gamble."
Yan Shaozhe and Qian Duoduo exchanged glances and did not speak, but the expressions on their faces already explained everything.
They also disagreed.
Xuan Zi looked at everyone's opposing faces and remained silent.
"As for the matter of finding the dragon core, we will certainly do our utmost."
Elder Song spoke once more, her tone carrying a hint of pacification.
"However, as for hunting Dragon-type Spirit Beasts… let's forget about it."
"Xuan Zi, calm down."
Xuan Zi remained silent for a long time; then, his gaze slowly shifted and finally landed on Bei Bei.
Of course, it only lingered on Bei Bei for a very short time, but it still made Bei Bei somewhat uncomfortable.
"Fine."
"If we can find Ancestor Mu's dragon core, that would naturally be for the best."
"As for hunting Dragon-type Spirit Beasts… let's put it aside for now."
Upon hearing these words, Bei Bei couldn't help but heave a sigh of relief.
He had originally thought it would take a great deal of effort to convince Xuan Zi, but who would have thought… it would go so smoothly?
A sense of relief surged within Bei Bei's heart.
It seemed that Xuan Zi was still capable of reasonable communication.
At least… he wasn't stubbornly clinging to his own course of action.
Bei Bei slightly relaxed his hands inside his sleeves, and his hanging heart finally settled down.
But right at this moment, Xuan Zi spoke up once again.
"Aside from the dragon core and the Dragon Hunting Operation…"
He raised his head, his gaze sweeping across every single person present.
"There is one more matter."
"For Shrek Academy, this matter… is of utmost importance."
"It must be resolved as soon as possible."
Everyone's gazes fell upon Xuan Zi once again.
The heart that Bei Bei had just put down abruptly jumped back up. His brows furrowed tightly, and a strong premonition of bad things surged within his heart.
Xuan Zi… wouldn't say something incredible again, would he?
Bei Bei clenched his fists once more.
He nervously looked at Xuan Zi, waiting for him to continue.
Xuan Zi remained silent for a moment, then slowly spoke.
"Within today's Shrek Academy…"
His voice grew cold and stern.
"There are some fence-sitters present."
"When they joined our Shrek Academy, they came for our reputation, for our teaching faculty, and for our resources."
"And now… after enjoying all of this, when they see our Shrek Academy encountering danger and crisis, their hearts have begun to waver."
Xuan Zi's gaze was filled with chilliness.
"This kind of matter… is unforgivable."
His voice grew louder and louder.
"Therefore, severe punishment must be dealt to these fellows!"
"Take back the resources the academy gave them, and order them to withdraw and leave Shrek Academy!"
"Completely purge the tumors from within Shrek Academy!"
"The people who remain behind are the true talents that Shrek Academy needs!"
After Xuan Zi finished speaking, his gaze swept across the crowd, as if waiting for their agreement.
"No!"
Bei Bei abruptly stood up, his voice carrying a hint of urgency.
"This kind of matter… is absolutely not allowed!"
His complexion flushed slightly from excitement.
"Elder Xuan, do you know what you are saying?!"
"Right now, the morale of Shrek Academy is shaken. Instead of thinking about how to stabilize the people's hearts, you want to push the students outward?!"
"Isn't this… isn't this digging our own graves?!"
Bei Bei took a deep breath, trying hard to keep his voice steady.
"Elder Xuan, what we should be doing right now is stabilizing the people's hearts!"
"Make those students whose hearts have wavered find their sense of belonging to Shrek Academy once again!"
"Instead of… kicking them out!"
"Doing that will only make the remaining people even more panicked!"
Bei Bei's gaze stared straight at Xuan Zi.
"Furthermore, those students might have wavering hearts right now, but who can guarantee that they won't re-identify with Shrek Academy in the future?"
"Who can guarantee that they won't become the backbone of Shrek Academy in the future?"
"Elder Xuan, by doing this… you will only push away everyone who might have originally developed a sense of belonging to Shrek Academy!"
Everyone's gazes fell upon Xuan Zi and Bei Bei.
After hearing Bei Bei's words, Xuan Zi remained silent for a moment, then let out a cold sneer.
"Bei Bei."
His voice carried a hint of disdain.
"What you are able to see is truly… far too narrow-minded."
"In this regard, you are far inferior to Ancestor Mu."
"At this time of crisis for Shrek Academy, we have no energy to stabilize those opportunists…"
"What we need right now is for Shrek Academy to be of one mind from top to bottom!"
"It is for everyone to unite as one and weather the crisis together!"
"And those people who lack a sense of honor for Shrek Academy should be purged from Shrek Academy!"
"Today's Shrek Academy can only have one voice!"
"Bei Bei, you are too young and too naive."
"Do you think that by pacifying them, you can make those people genuinely stay behind?"
"Impossible."
"Therefore, rather than letting them stay in the academy and shake military morale, it's better to… purge them directly."
After Xuan Zi finished speaking, his gaze landed on Bei Bei.
"I have finished speaking."
"What about you?"
Bei Bei gritted his teeth and said word by word.
"I oppose it."
"Firmly oppose it."
Xuan Zi coldly glanced at Bei Bei, then cast his gaze onto the crowd of Sea God Pavilion.
"In that case… let us hold a vote."
As soon as these words were spoken, the atmosphere in the hall instantly became tense.
Elder Song's brows furrowed even deeper, but she did not stop him. Lin Huiqun sighed and shook her head.
Xuan Zi's gaze swept across every single person present.
"Those in favor of purging the fence-sitters, raise your hands."
Yan Shaozhe and Qian Duoduo exchanged glances, then… slowly raised their hands.
On both of their faces, there was a hint of helplessness.
When Xian Liner saw Qian Duoduo raise his hand, fury instantly surged within her eyes. She stared fixedly at Qian Duoduo, as if she wanted to tear him apart alive.
Qian Duoduo felt thoroughly uncomfortable under that gaze and lowered his head, not daring to look at her.
"Those in favor of Bei Bei, raise your hands."
Elder Song, Lin Huiqun, and Elder Zhuang raised their hands one after another.
Seeing this scene, a warmth surged within Bei Bei's heart.
The three elders… chose him.
Xian Liner withdrew her gaze from Qian Duoduo and also raised her hand.
"I support Bei Bei."
Her voice was cold and stern, carrying a hint of anger.
Cai Mei'er hesitated for a moment, then… also slowly raised her hand.
"I also support Bei Bei."
Bei Bei looked at those raised hands, his heart filled with emotion.
The Sea God Pavilion elders, now including Bei Bei and reserve elder Gong Changlong, totaled sixteen people.
Votes were cast one by one.
Finally, Bei Bei's support rate surpassed Xuan Zi's.
Xuan Zi looked at this scene, a flash of fury passing through his eyes, and his expression turned ugly.
"Good."
"Very good."
"Extremely good."
He uttered the word good three times in a row, every single word sounding as though it was squeezed out from between his teeth.
Then, he looked at Bei Bei and said word by word.
"In that case…"
"Then, I shall quit Shrek Academy."
As soon as these words were spoken, there was an uproar throughout the hall.
"Xuan Zi, you—"
Elder Song abruptly stood up, her face filled with shock.
"No way!"
Lin Huiqun also grew anxious.
"Xuan Zi, calm down!"
Elder Zhuang hurriedly spoke to dissuade him.
"Xuan Zi, right now Shrek Academy is in critical need of personnel. If you leave…"
"What will happen to the academy?!"
Xuan Zi waved his hand, interrupting their words.
"Not just me, Duoduo and Shaozhe will also leave with me."
Yan Shaozhe and Qian Duoduo's complexions instantly turned pale, looking somewhat dumbfounded. Xuan Zi had never discussed this matter with them at all! However, it was not a good time to oppose him now, so they could only respond with silence.
When Xian Liner heard these words, she completely exploded.
Xian Liner abruptly stood up, her gaze staring fixedly at Qian Duoduo.
"Qian Duoduo! Do you really intend to follow him?!"
Her voice was filled with fury.
Qian Duoduo raised his head, looking at Xian Liner's face filled with rage, and a deep sense of helplessness surged within his heart.
Xuan Zi looked at this scene, the corners of his lips lifting slightly to form a cold sneer.
"Alright, now, make your choice: do you want those fence-sitters, or do you want the three of us to stay?"
After hearing Xuan Zi's words, Bei Bei trembled all over. An unprecedented wave of anger surged into his heart; he had never expected that Xuan Zi would actually resort to playing dirty after losing!
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A/N:
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