The imperial family and the Spirit Hall negotiated for an entire day, but still failed to reach an agreement.
After leaving the organizing committee's office, Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang continued pressuring Salas, hoping to make him give up more benefits to satisfy the imperial family's demands so Shrek Academy could return to the tournament as soon as possible.
Salas was not particularly opposed to the idea. Even if some benefits were surrendered, the businesses would ultimately remain under Xue Qinghe's management rather than fall into the hands of outsiders.
However, he had no intention of agreeing to Yu Xiaogang's demands so easily. Instead, he claimed he needed a night to think it over.
Yu Xiaogang could not force the issue. He could only urge Salas to make a decision quickly before returning to Shrek Academy.
The organizing committee had already announced that Ma Hongjun would be publicly tried the following day. As his teacher, Flender was like an ant on a hot pan, overwhelmed with anxiety and unable to calm down.
The announcement mentioned only Ma Hongjun's name.
Did that mean Yu Xiaogang had sacrificed Ma Hongjun in order to clear Tang San?
When Yu Xiaogang finally returned to the academy, looking utterly exhausted, Flender hurried over and grabbed his arm.
"Xiaogang, what exactly is going on? Why is Hongjun being tried tomorrow? How is Little San?"
Yu Xiaogang brushed Flender's hand aside and rubbed his temples.
"I'm tired. Let me rest for a while."
He was no longer young. Compared to the younger members and powerful experts on the organizing committee, his stamina simply couldn't keep up.
After spending an entire day locked in fierce verbal arguments, he was completely drained and had no energy left to answer Flender's questions.
But things had already reached a critical point. There was no way Flender could simply let him rest.
Emotionally, he demanded, "Xiaogang, tell me honestly. Did you trade Hongjun's life for Tang San's acquittal?"
Yu Xiaogang remained silent.
He didn't know how to answer.
He knew he had let Flender down in this matter, though Ma Hongjun had also brought much of it upon himself.
But circumstances had forced his hand. He had no choice but to make a sacrifice.
He couldn't possibly abandon Tang San just to save Ma Hongjun.
Knowing that anything he said could make matters worse, Yu Xiaogang simply tried to change the subject and use his exhaustion as an excuse to leave.
Flender refused to let him go and continued pressing him for an answer.
Hearing the commotion, Liu Erlong came over. Seeing Flender refusing to back down, she stepped forward and separated the two.
"Boss Fu, what are you doing? Xiaogang has worked hard all day. Let him get some rest."
Seeing that Yu Xiaogang refused to speak while Liu Erlong interrupted him, the anxiety building inside Flender finally exploded.
He shouted, "Xiaogang! Tell me the truth! Did you sacrifice Hongjun?!"
Liu Erlong knew the truth.
She hesitated for a moment before instinctively glancing toward Yu Xiaogang.
Flender's perception was extremely sharp. He immediately caught that subtle movement.
At that moment, even without Yu Xiaogang saying a word, he already knew the answer.
But how could he possibly accept it?
Back in Rooster Village, after discovering Ma Hongjun's innate high Spirit Power and his mutated Phoenix Spirit, Flender had taken him in. He had personally promised the village chief that he would raise Ma Hongjun into adulthood and teach him everything about becoming a Spirit Master.
Now, Ma Hongjun was only fourteen years old, not even an adult, yet he had already been imprisoned by the empire and would most likely be sentenced to death the next day.
As his teacher, Flender felt he had completely failed.
The only people who could save Ma Hongjun now were Yu Xiaogang or Tang Hao behind him.
Grabbing Yu Xiaogang's arm again, Flender roared desperately, "Xiaogang, for the sake of all these years of friendship, you have to save Hongjun."
"Or tell me where His Majesty Tang Hao is. I'll go beg him myself!"
"Enough, Flender!" Yu Xiaogang finally shook off his grip.
He was already mentally and physically exhausted, and Flender's relentless demands finally pushed him past his limit.
"Flender, how do you expect me to save Hongjun?"
"He was the one who killed someone. He was the direct cause of Wang Teng's death. He has already confessed and signed the statement. The case is already settled! The imperial court needs someone to take responsibility. If Hongjun doesn't bear the blame, should Xiao San take it instead?"
"Don't forget who his father is!"
"Hongjun understood the bigger picture and accepted the responsibility himself. Once he has been tried, Shrek Academy will be allowed to compete again."
"And he might not even receive the death penalty. Once he's released from prison, he'll still be your disciple."
Liu Erlong naturally sided with Grandmaster, who had already made up his mind.
She tried to persuade Flender, "Boss Flender, sacrificing only Hongjun in exchange for the future of the entire academy and the other children is already the best possible outcome."
"Please stop making a scene. Think of the children."
Flender's expression froze. He looked like a wilted plant as his body staggered, nearly collapsing.
Liu Erlong's words made it obvious that she had known the outcome all along, while he had been kept completely in the dark.
Grandmaster's trip to the organizing committee today had most likely been to sacrifice Ma Hongjun.
Now it was too late. Ma Hongjun's fate rested entirely in the hands of the committee.
Grandmaster snorted coldly and ignored him.
Wu Qi kept a close watch on how the matter was being handled.
When he returned to the hotel where the Seven Treasure Team was staying, everyone immediately looked at him expectantly.
He replied in a calm tone, "I don't know all the details, but the imperial family and Spirit Hall have reached an agreement. Ma Hongjun will be made the scapegoat, and Tang San will be cleared of responsibility."
"Also, Shrek Academy will most likely be allowed to compete again the day after tomorrow."
Hearing this, everyone looked somewhat disappointed.
Even if Shrek Academy lost tomorrow's match by default, they would only have four losses.
The real issue was how the match against Blazing Glory Academy would be ruled.
If the committee declared Shrek the winner of that match, they would still have a chance to qualify.
After everything they had gone through, Shrek still hadn't been eliminated. Many people would no doubt praise their resilience afterward.
That alone was enough to irritate the members of the Seven Treasure Team.
Still, the committee's decision wasn't something they could change.
Sun Buyu smiled and interrupted, "So what if Shrek qualifies? You beat them once, you can beat them a second and third time. If they keep coming back, they'll only be humiliating themselves."
Their frustration wasn't because they feared Shrek's strength.
It was because Shrek had done so many disgraceful things yet still managed to escape the consequences.
And seeing Grandmaster acting so smug after everything made it even more unpleasant.
Wu Qi shrugged. "Tomorrow at noon, Ma Hongjun will be taken to the public square for trial. There's a chance he'll be executed on the spot. Want to go watch?"
"Of course," Chen Ping said immediately. "I've been sick of that fat guy for a long time."
Ma Hongjun was the type who lacked ability but had an oversized mouth. Whenever he managed to win thanks to favorable circumstances, he'd immediately become arrogant, insulting and mocking his opponents.
Meanwhile, Prince Xue Xing was also busy erasing every trace connecting him to Wang Teng.
How could a Spirit Master from an ordinary commoner family possibly have an endless supply of money?
If anyone discovered that inconsistency and traced it back to Xue Xing, it would become a serious problem.
If it caused severe damage to the imperial family's reputation, he could forget about remaining a prince.
Fortunately for him, Salas's proposal to shift the blame had attracted everyone's attention. Those capable of investigating had not yet started looking into Wang Teng, giving Xue Xing enough time to eliminate all the evidence.
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