Elder Ma's words were dripping with sarcasm.
However, what he said was indeed true: an innate Level 20 genius, after going to Shrek, only cultivated to a Soul Venerate by the age of thirteen. During that time, Ma Xiaotao, who was originally plagued by Evil Fire, just so happened to have her Evil Fire completely purified, and her flames were even enhanced to the level of Ultimate Fire. And that innate Level 20 genius, just so happened to possess a Pure Fire Martial Soul capable of purifying Evil Fire.
With so many coincidences aligning, truthfully, no one would believe there wasn't something fishy going on.
As the leader of the contemporary Shrek Seven Monsters, Ma Xiaotao's intelligence was known to all major powers. Who didn't know that she couldn't easily fight due to her Evil Fire burning her body, and had even given up the captain's position to Dai Yueheng before? But this sudden appearance, with her Evil Fire completely gone and her flames evolving into Ultimate Fire—they had originally wondered where she got such great fortune, but now it all made sense. It was the sacrifice of one genius to achieve another.
Xuan Zi, Gong Changlong, and the other Title Douluo still had some pride; they were all silent at this moment.
Only Zhou Yi persisted, "All of this is just your speculation; there's no concrete evidence."
"I can prove it." Xiao Xiao stepped forward and said, "Since I entered the Academy, in just one year, Tuo Tuo's cultivation was lowered twice."
"Damn it, Xiao Xiao has indeed been swayed by Yuwen Tuo." Seeing Xiao Xiao step forward willingly, Zhou Yi's face darkened. Fortunately, she was only an Outer Court disciple, and merely a child who had just shed her freshman title and advanced to her second year; her words carried little weight.
Zhou Yi was about to retort further.
Suddenly, another voice rang out, "I can also prove that Little Tuo was indeed crippled by Ma Xiaotao for six years, and I watched it all unfold during those six years, but I couldn't save him."
"Ling Luochen!!!" Zhou Yi became instantly furious.
Xiao Xiao's testimony was nothing; she was just a reserve. But Ling Luochen was different; she was the main controller among the contemporary Shrek Seven Monsters. The Shrek Seven Monsters had always been Shrek Academy's public face. How could her words be easily dismissed as a joke?
Zhou Yi knew that Ling Luochen had always doted on Yuwen Tuo, but she never imagined that she would betray Shrek for him.
In truth, if it were Ling Luochen from a few months ago, she indeed wouldn't have done this. The day that changed her mind and solidified her resolve was the day Ma Xiaotao achieved Ultimate Fire. Yuwen Tuo, his soul power depleted and utterly exhausted, collapsed at the Inner Court gate. A large group of teachers only cared about surrounding Ma Xiaotao, and not a single one came to check on him. From that moment on, Ling Luochen knew that Yuwen Tuo had no future staying at Shrek.
"Ling Luochen, what do you mean? You actually betrayed Shrek and helped Yuwen Tuo frame our Shrek," Zhou Yi angrily demanded.
"Betrayal? Framing?" Ling Luochen said coldly, "Fabricating lies to frame someone, that is called betrayal and framing. Speaking the truth, what's wrong with that? My Shrek has always stood tall on the continent for ten thousand years, based on neutrality, fairness, justice, and righteousness. As the saying goes, if one is upright, there is nothing that cannot be revealed to others. If one conceals the truth out of fear of losing face, then what's the difference between such a fragile reputation that can be exposed at any time, and having no reputation at all?"
Ling Luochen did not believe she had betrayed Shrek. She had not twisted facts; she had only stated what had truly happened. As she said, what need does an organization that prides itself on justice and light have to conceal anything? If they made a mistake, they should admit it openly and then correct it.
In truth, Yuwen Tuo was also surprised by Ling Luochen's intervention. She was never part of his plan, because he didn't want Ling Luochen to be caught in the middle between himself and Shrek. He only wanted her to stay out of it. He never expected her to so decisively step forward to vouch for him.
"Enough!" Xuan Zi suddenly roared. "Yuwen Tuo, what exactly do you want to do?"
He knew that the tide had turned today. Yuwen Tuo had colluded with the Tianhun Empire, preparing both witnesses and material evidence, and with the Sun Moon Empire chiming in from the side, Shrek's ten-thousand-year reputation was utterly ruined today. He now deeply resented Yuwen Tuo, and regretted not having killed him earlier due to a small moral burden. For Shrek's ten-thousand-year reputation, what was one act of ingratitude?
"I don't plan to do anything. My goal has already been achieved," Yuwen Tuo said with a smile.
His purpose today in exposing what Shrek had done to him was not to legally punish Shrek. Not to mention that even now, the chain of evidence he provided wasn't complete. Even if there were perfect evidence, who could legally sentence Shrek? What he wanted was merely to complete the first small step of his revenge: to utterly disgrace Shrek.
"Alright, since your goal has been achieved, then come back with me. Don't worry, I, on behalf of the Sea God Pavilion, promise to compensate you a hundredfold for what you lost in those six years." Xuan Zi knew that to salvage Shrek's reputation today, they had to compensate Yuwen Tuo.
It's better late than never. Clutching at straws at the last minute is better than not clutching at all.
As long as the world saw that Shrek was genuinely admitting its mistake, and then they could explain that treating Yuwen Tuo that way was out of necessity, due to the rampant Evil Soul Masters on the continent, their purpose was to create an Ultimate Fire Phoenix Soul Master who could restrain Evil Soul Masters and save more innocent people, which forced them to resort to such painful measures. With Shrek's ten-thousand-year reputation on the continent, this matter would soon blow over.
After all, for the Douluo Continent, this incident wasn't really a big deal. So what if Yuwen Tuo was crippled? It didn't fundamentally harm the continent's interests. Now, everyone was just surprised because the incident was too sudden and they didn't expect the upright Shrek to have such a side. Once they came to their senses, they would remember, what did this matter have to do with them?
The most important thing today was to forcibly take Yuwen Tuo back. No one could stop him, he declared! Xuan Zi was still somewhat confident in his strength. Who here could be stronger than him?
"Heh heh, next, it's my turn to appear." Du Busi stood up, first subtly leaving the Soul Dueling Arena, then leaped into the sky and began to descend.
With a "Boom," the entire ceiling of the Soul Dueling Arena was completely ripped off by an incredibly powerful force.
Yuwen Tuo looked up at the sky. For some reason, a part of his luck seemed to evoke similar images. These powerhouses, they all liked to rip off people's ceilings, didn't they? Was it just for a cooler entrance?
Then I'll do that too in the future!
"Xuan Zi, do you still remember this old man?" Du Busi's voice boomed like a bell. His formidable aura instantly suppressed the Taotie Douluo, who was originally the strongest on the field.
"Old Monster Du?! Why are you here?!" Xuan Zi was greatly alarmed. At such a critical moment, why was this old guy joining the fray? This person acted without any regard for consequences, incredibly domineering. His arrival would only make things more troublesome.
"He's… the Body Douluo, Du Busi?!"
Elder Ma, Xu Jiawei, and the high-ranking officials of various major powers were all utterly shocked. What was happening today? After the Taotie Douluo, this old monster, hidden for so long, had also emerged.
Was he also here for Yuwen Tuo?
Du Busi, however, extended a finger and pointed at Huo Yuhao, saying, "This old man is here for this young lad. He possesses the Body Martial Soul - Spirit Eyes, which means he is one of my Body Sect's people. This old man is here today to take him back to my Body Sect. I just didn't expect to also witness such a good show. Shrek, haha, what a righteous and just Shrek!!!"
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