The smile on Qiangu Dongfeng's face faded, replaced by gravity as he fell into deep thought.
"There are only a handful of forces on the continent capable of doing this—and daring to do this—and it was clearly aimed at Shrek Academy…"
"It's either the Holy Spirit Cult or them," Qiangu Dongfeng did not say this out loud, only thinking it to himself.
These two forces seemed the most likely to him, but he could not be certain—after all, there was no solid evidence.
"Grandfather, have you guessed something?" Qiangu Zhangting asked.
Qiangu Dongfeng shook his head. "There isn't enough information. How could we possibly guess it just by speculation?"
"Let's wait for the Federation government's investigation. Before that, we shouldn't make blind guesses."
"Zhangting, organize the photos of the death scenes of these people and send them to me. Also send me the detected energy data," Qiangu Dongfeng instructed.
"Alright," Qiangu Zhangting replied.
After he left, Qiangu Dongfeng's brows knit tightly as he murmured to himself,
"I hope it isn't you. Otherwise, things will get very troublesome…"
Shrek Academy, Sea God Island, Sea God Pavilion.
Inside the room, the atmosphere was heavy, everyone's face extremely grim.
"Thirty-seven councilors—all of them graduates of our Shrek Academy. This is clearly an assassination aimed at Shrek," Long Yeyue said through clenched teeth.
Killing intent surged from her; everyone present could feel her fury, like a volcano on the verge of eruption.
"Who could be so bold as to do something like this?" Even the usually gentle Yali wore a face full of anger.
As soon as she spoke, the room fell silent. Everyone pondered in thought.
"Dragon-Phoenix Hall," Yun Ming, seated at the head with an exceptionally solemn expression, spoke three words.
At his words, everyone turned to look at him. The name "Dragon-Phoenix Hall" stabbed at their nerves.
"Thirty-seven councilors, spread across thirteen cities, including Bright Capital, Tian Dou City, and Star Luo City."
"Among them were several councilors with Title Douluo–level strength. To kill them all in a single night, the opposing side must have deployed at least thirteen Title Douluo."
"On the continent, a force that could dispatch so many Title Douluo and also has the motive—aside from Dragon-Phoenix Hall, I can't think of any other," Yun Ming explained.
"Damn that Dragon-Phoenix Hall! This must be their retaliation against our Shrek Academy," Long Yeyue said angrily.
"I'll notify the Federation government immediately and tell them this guess," Yali said.
"Not yet," Yun Ming stopped her. Seeing her puzzled expression, he explained,
"Let's wait until we've gone to Bright Capital first. If we tell them now, it might alert the enemy and let Dragon-Phoenix Hall get wind of it and flee ahead of time—that wouldn't be good."
Yali understood and nodded. "I'll go with you."
Yun Ming nodded, then looked at the others. "After this meeting ends, we'll set off for Bright Capital."
"Besides the five I mentioned last time, select another ten Title Douluo to accompany us. This time, I will definitely annihilate Dragon-Phoenix Hall."
"Yes," everyone responded in unison.
"Do you need me and Old Zhao to go with you?" an elderly man who had not appeared at a Sea God Pavilion meeting for a long time spoke up.
This man was extremely aged—his qi and blood were depleted, his skin like the bark of a centuries-old tree.
His name was Jin Lie, one of the Shrek Seven Monsters from two generations ago. He was now over two hundred and forty years old, his vitality nearly exhausted, not far from death.
The one he called Old Zhao was also an elderly man, just as aged. The two had been classmates in the past and were the closest of brothers.
Both sat in wheelchairs, so weak that even walking was difficult. Time had long stripped them of the bearing of peak powerhouses.
Normally, the two would not attend Sea God Pavilion meetings. With only a few years left to live, basking in the sun and waiting for death suited them better.
"This matter can be handled by this disciple's generation. I wouldn't dare trouble the two martial ancestors," Yun Ming said as he stood up and bowed deeply to the two.
He understood their condition—once they took action, it would mean burning away their last remaining years of life in exchange for a brief return to peak strength.
Seeing Yun Ming say this, Jin Lie did not insist and instead warned,
"This matter must be handled thoroughly."
"Not only Dragon-Phoenix Hall, but also the Yun family behind them must be uprooted completely."
"Shrek cannot be offended. They have repeatedly provoked Shrek's authority. If they are not destroyed, it will not be enough to deter the world."
"In the past twenty thousand years, no one who dared provoke Shrek Academy has ever ended well. I don't want any exceptions this time either."
"It's not necessary to kill everyone," Zhao Yi reminded. "Remember to leave some alive to interrogate them about the pill formula. The formula for the Hundred-Year Life-Extending Pill must be obtained."
"This disciple understands," Yun Ming nodded in response.
After the meeting ended, a large aircraft bearing the Shrek emblem took off from above Shrek City.
A group of sixteen people, led by Yun Ming, were aboard—all of them possessing Title Douluo–level strength.
Though their numbers were not large, they were elites among elites. This alone represented nearly sixty percent of Shrek Academy's Title Douluo–tier combat power.
Shrek Academy had more than thirty Title Douluo in total. Calling it nearly sixty percent was calculated based on combat strength.
Yun Ming, a quasi-god, combined with Long Yeyue, a half-god with profound foundations, was equivalent to over a dozen ordinary Title Douluo—possibly even more.
One had to know that Yun Ming had once achieved the glorious feat of facing many opponents alone. Even when over a dozen powerful experts joined forces to besiege him, they still could not defeat him. His strength needed no further elaboration.
If not for the presence of aged quasi-gods like Jin Lie and Zhao Yi at the academy—who could still fight at peak strength if forced—it would not be an exaggeration to say they had mobilized over seventy percent of their high-end combat power.
Bright Capital, Dragon-Phoenix Hall, ninth-floor conference room.
"Just now, news came from Sun Moon Royal Academy. They said that in most of the scenes, no residual energy was detected."
"However, at a certain courtyard in Floating City, residual energy was discovered—and has already been collected," Yun Ze said calmly as he looked toward Yao Ling.
"Yao Ling, what's going on here? Didn't you say nothing unexpected happened?" Gu Yuena demanded, her expression ugly.
When Yao Ling returned earlier, he had claimed everything went smoothly. Clearly, he had lied—otherwise there wouldn't be any residual energy.
Di Tian, Lin Yi, and the others all looked at Yao Ling. Floating City had been his responsibility.
Yao Ling stood up and explained nervously, "Young Master, Miss, I was careless at the time and didn't kill with a single strike."
"In order not to cause a big disturbance, I used my innate talent skill."
"Then why didn't you say so at the time?" Gu Yuena asked coldly.
"I thought it wouldn't matter, so I just…" Yao Ling said softly, his heart pounding with anxiety.
"Wouldn't matter?" Gu Yuena was somewhat angry, and Di Tian and the others all frowned.
"Fortunately, you've always been outside searching for spiritual objects and never showed your face in Dragon-Phoenix Hall. No one knows you."
"Otherwise, this mistake of yours would have been fatal," Yun Ze said.
(End of Chapter)