Chapter 81: Huo Yuhao, Tang Ya, and Bei Bei Are Shocked! No Wonder Liu Yuan Didn't Come to Shrek Academy Back Then!
Hearing Elder Xuan's agonizingly strained yet unmistakable submission, the frost hardening Elder Mu's ancient features thawed by a fraction. The suffocating pressure of his soul power, which had been crushing the very air inside the Sea God Pavilion, slowly receded. He cast a fleeting glance down at Elder Xuan, who lay slumped in a spreading pool of his own blood, his face a portrait of utter, hollow defeat.
"Since that is the case, go and rest for today. Tend to your injuries."
Elder Mu turned away. In the dimming afterglow of the sunset, his thin, withered back appeared burdened by an invisible mountain. Without looking back, his voice echoed through the hall, "We set off early tomorrow morning. For the Body Sect."
With faltering steps, the Dragon God Douluo walked away, his silhouette gradually swallowed by the deep shadows of the Sea God Pavilion.
The remaining pavilion elders exchanged heavy, complicated glances. Collective sighs broke the silence. Staring at Elder Xuan's mangled, bloody back, their minds raced with the impending storm of public opinion Shrek Academy was bound to face at dawn. Their hearts churned with unease.
As for Elder Xuan, he remained kneeling in a daze. Deep within his chest, there was no relief at surviving the punishment. Instead, a cold, creeping dread seized his throat. This fear did not stem from the threat of death. It came from the imminent, total annihilation of his lifelong dignity.
'After tomorrow... how will the people of the Douluo Continent view me, Elder Xuan?' he muttered, his voice scraping like dry, rotting wood.
He knew the brutal truth. The moment the continent learned he was performing the ancient rite of carrying thorns to beg for forgiveness, the mighty Taotie Douluo would be reduced to a pathetic laughingstock.
Trembling, he forced himself up. His back was a landscape of shredded flesh, forcing him to hobble awkwardly toward his private quarters. With every agonizing step, thick drops of dark red blood stained the pristine grass.
The next morning, as the first pale rays of sunlight pierced the morning mist, a scene destined to be etched into the annals of history unfolded within the hallowed grounds of Shrek Academy.
Elder Xuan had discarded his signature greasy cloak. His upper body was completely bare, exposed to the crisp morning air. Wrapped tightly around his torso and back were thick, rough vines covered in vicious thorns. The jagged spikes dug mercilessly into the raw, unhealed wounds Elder Mu had whipped open just hours prior. With every breath he took, fresh blood welled up, trailing down his spine in macabre crimson streams.
Elder Mu offered no mercy. He forbade Elder Xuan from hiding his face beneath a hood, nor did he allow the use of a discreet teleportation array to leave the city.
Leaning heavily on his cane, Elder Mu walked at the forefront. His command was absolute and cold: Elder Xuan was to walk out through the main gates of Shrek Academy, in full view of the world.
This unmatched spectacle instantly ignited a firestorm of shock among the student body.
"Isn't that... Elder Xuan? Heavens, what happened to him?!"
"Carrying thorns to beg for forgiveness? Are those actual brambles digging into his flesh? What unforgivable sin could he have possibly committed to warrant such extreme humiliation?"
"He is a Level 98 Super Douluo! The second-in-command of our entire academy! What kind of mistake forces a Super Douluo to parade his own disgrace in public?"
Countless students from both the inner and outer courts froze in their tracks. They crowded the edges of the cobblestone paths, their hushed, frantic whispers buzzing like a disturbed hornet's nest.
Soon, older students with connections to the academy's upper echelons began leaking the devastating truth.
"I heard... Elder Xuan unjustly expelled the orphan of a Shrek martyr a few years ago. A student named Liu Yuan."
"Are you blind to the news? That same Liu Yuan is now an absolute monster in the Body Sect! He's been slaughtering Soul Saints back-to-back, and he's even the prospective son-in-law of the Heavenly Soul Empire's imperial family. Elder Mu is personally dragging Elder Xuan to beg on his knees for Liu Yuan's return!"
Tucked away in a quiet corner of the sprawling crowd, Huo Yuhao, Bei Bei, and Tang Ya stood frozen, witnessing the hunched, wretched figure of Elder Xuan trudging toward the academy gates, bleeding and bare-chested.
The three exchanged heavy glances, a complex storm of emotions swirling in their eyes.
"So... Elder Xuan actually did such a thing?" Huo Yuhao murmured, watching the Taotie Douluo's pathetic, limping gait. His chest tightened. He vividly recalled the cold, unyielding gaze Liu Yuan had leveled at them during their first encounter in the Star Dou Great Forest. A gaze devoid of any reverence for the name 'Shrek'.
"No wonder," Tang Ya sighed, her expression twisting with bitter realization. "No wonder when we met him in the Star Luo Empire, no matter how hard we tried to persuade him, he refused to even consider joining Shrek Academy."
She crossed her arms, a deep frown marring her pretty face. "If it were me... if the academy threw me out like trash during my lowest, most desperate moment, I would never come back either."
Bei Bei let out a dry, self-deprecating chuckle, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "And to think, we kept pestering him at the border. We even tried to use the academy's 'glorious reputation' to sway him..."
He shook his head, his tone laced with embarrassment. "Looking back, our behavior was incredibly awkward. We were essentially inviting a victim back into the jaws of the beast that discarded him. He must have thought we were absolute clowns."
Tang Ya nodded slowly, her dark eyes tracking the departing delegation. "Still, don't be naive. Aside from the surface-level apology, Elder Xuan's public humiliation is a calculated move. He's cooperating with Elder Mu to play the sympathy card. They are trying to force Liu Yuan into a corner where he has no choice but to return."
Her voice dropped to a whisper. "If they fail to bring him back, all this bleeding and kneeling means absolutely nothing."
Huo Yuhao remained silent for a long moment, the golden light of his Spirit Eyes flickering faintly before he shook his head. "That's hard to say."
"I have looked into Liu Yuan's eyes," Huo Yuhao said softly, yet with absolute certainty. "There is no confusion in him. No lingering attachment. Only extreme, terrifying rationality. I don't know if he will ever return, and I don't know if a few drops of blood will be enough to make him forgive Elder Xuan."
The Shrek delegation moved with blinding speed. The moment they cleared the towering gates of Shrek City, they transformed into several streaks of brilliant light, tearing across the horizon straight toward the Heavenly Soul Empire.
Meanwhile, the explosive news—the Taotie Douluo carrying thorns to beg forgiveness, and the Dragon God Douluo personally visiting the Body Sect—sprouted wings. It swept across the Douluo Continent like a hurricane, landing on the desks of every major power and top-tier sect in a matter of hours.
Most factions reacted with sheer absurdity and deep shock. The invincible Shrek Academy, bowing its head? Yet, beneath the initial disbelief, a collective, predatory anticipation took hold. The continent adopted a wait-and-see attitude, eager to witness exactly how this unmatched farce would conclude.
However, within the opulent confines of the Heavenly Soul Empire's imperial palace, the Emperor's reaction to the secret intelligence report was entirely different.
He slammed his hand onto his mahogany desk and stood up abruptly, his regal face twisting into a mask of terrifying gloom.
"Those old foxes at Shrek Academy... what a venomous, calculating scheme!" The Emperor sneered, his voice dripping with disdain. "They treated him like dirt and drove him away. Now that they realize he is a peerless dragon among men, they want to use extreme, self-mutilating theatrics to farm sympathy and forcibly snatch him back?!"
The Emperor saw through Elder Mu's political maneuvering in a heartbeat. He understood the nature of a centenarian monster like the Dragon God Douluo. Elder Mu would never allow his second-in-command to suffer such catastrophic public humiliation unless the prize—Liu Yuan's world-breaking talent—was worth a thousand times the cost.
"Ju Chui Douluo!" the Emperor barked, his low voice echoing toward the heavy silk screens at the back of the study.
A middle-aged man dressed in a plain, unadorned robe materialized from the shadows without a sound. He bowed deeply toward the throne.
"Proceed to the Body Sect immediately," the Emperor commanded, his eyes flashing with ruthless imperial authority. "Inform Sect Master Du of Shrek's exact movements. Tell him this: No matter what exorbitant conditions Shrek offers, and no matter how long Elder Xuan bleeds on his knees, he must keep Liu Yuan! Liu Yuan is not just the supreme successor of the Body Sect—he is the prospective son-in-law of my empire!"
The Emperor's mind was crystal clear. The Body Sect and the Heavenly Soul Empire were bound by deeply intertwined interests. As long as Liu Yuan remained with the Body Sect, he served as the ultimate anchor for the empire's future supremacy.
Letting Liu Yuan return to Shrek? The Emperor would rather burn his own treasury.
While Shrek Academy wasn't an enemy, they were fiercely, stubbornly neutral. No matter how much power Shrek possessed, they would never bow to the imperial family. They could never offer the absolute, intimate loyalty that the Body Sect provided.
Ju Chui Douluo nodded curtly. His figure blurred, and with a faint ripple of soul power, he vanished from the study, tearing through the sky at maximum velocity to deliver the warning.
In what felt like the blink of an eye, Elder Mu's delegation crossed the imperial borders and descended upon the rugged, imposing mountain gate of the Body Sect.
Elder Mu halted exactly ten meters from the base of the grand stone steps. He planted his cane into the earth, his withered frame standing tall against the mountain wind.
Then, drawing upon his vast, oceanic soul power, the Dragon God Douluo's aged yet terrifyingly authoritative voice boomed outward, echoing like rolling thunder through the entire valley.
"Elder Xuan! Kneel!"
Elder Xuan's battered body convulsed. He squeezed his eyes shut, his fists clenching so tightly his knuckles turned bone-white.
Thud!
His knees slammed violently into the hard bluestone slabs before the Body Sect's gate, the heavy, sickening crack echoing in the silent air.
At that exact moment, the supreme dignity of Shrek Academy's second-in-command shattered into a million irreparable pieces, left bleeding in the dirt at the doorstep of the Body Sect.
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