Chapter 280 Shrek Academy members break down, Xuanzi assassinates Liu Yuan, how is that possible?
Hearing Poison Undying's blunt and domineering question filled with soul power, the expressions of the leading city guard general and the high-ranking elder of the competition, who was wearing a silver robe, changed again.
The night wind blew through the ruins, carrying with it the biting cold of frost and the smell of burnt earth.
On the ruins before them, Liu Yuan, dressed in white, remained calm and composed. Xue Di stood by his side, cold and aloof. Although Du Busi's dark green primordial soul power had subsided, the invisible pressure of his status as a level 99 Limit Douluo still weighed heavily on the hearts of every soldier present.
Poison can't kill, they've already said it all.
As the sect leader of the Body Sect and a high-ranking member of the Heavenly Soul Royal Academy, he would never have dared to make such a huge joke about Xuanzi, the strongest student of Shrek Academy, in front of all the major forces on the continent, unless there was a definite direct conflict.
Moreover, the dust scattered all over the ground, the collapsed hotel pillars, and the lingering, extremely pure earth-attribute soul power in the air all clearly pointed to that Gluttonous Douluo from Shrek Academy.
The city guard general and the official elder exchanged a glance, both seeing extreme shock and solemnity in each other's eyes.
They didn't ask any further questions.
Because they were well aware that the case involved a direct confrontation between two level 99 Limit Douluos, as well as the assassination of a core student from another top academy by the Ten Thousand Years First Academy. The nature of the case had completely exceeded their authority to make a decision on the spot.
They must investigate now, and they must immediately mobilize all the imperial power to conduct a thorough investigation.
However, this is only a search.
Without obtaining the most direct and substantial evidence, or without capturing the fleeing Xuanzi on the spot, as officials of the Sun Moon Empire, they absolutely could not openly convict Shrek Academy of such a serious capital offense. After all, the name Shrek still held immense influence on the Douluo Continent.
"Please calm down, Poison Sect Master."
The silver-robed elder took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the shock in his heart, and bowed slightly to Poison Immortal, speaking in a very serious and solemn tone:
"This matter is of great importance, not only concerning the safety of the Heavenly Soul Royal Academy, but also the reputation of the tournament hosted by our Sun Moon Empire. Since the Poison Sect Master insists that it was the work of Shrek Academy's Xuanzi, our officials and the city guards will do everything in their power and show no leniency. However, according to the laws of the Empire and the rules of the tournament, before the evidence is completely conclusive, we still need to conduct a comprehensive review and examination of the soul power traces at the scene and the soul guidance surveillance footage from the surrounding streets."
Poison Undying snorted coldly, his hands behind his back, his dark green eyes narrowing slightly: "I naturally know your rules. The scene is right here, the lingering, foul-smelling, stubborn soul energy hasn't completely dissipated yet, so feel free to go and see for yourself. However, you must give me an explanation today regarding the safety of myself and my disciples."
"That's natural."
The city guard general stepped forward, immediately beckoned to his personal guards, and loudly ordered, "Pass on my orders to mobilize the first and third Soul Master reconnaissance teams to seal off three surrounding blocks and record all remaining traces of spiritual energy and soul energy fragments at the scene using instruments! At the same time, retrieve all monitoring array records from midnight tonight!"
"Yes!" Several city guards clad in heavy armor responded loudly, then quickly dispersed, taking out miniature soul power detection soul tools with a cold luster from their storage soul tools at their waists, and began to carefully examine the ruins with serious expressions.
The silver-robed elder turned around again, slightly turned to face Poison Undying and Liu Yuan, made a gesture of invitation, and said in a very polite tone:
"Poison Sect Master, Liu Yuan, this hotel is now completely destroyed. To ensure the smooth running of the upcoming round-robin tournament and the absolute safety of all players, the organizers have arranged new accommodations for the Tianhun Royal Academy players overnight at the Inner Court Hotel within the Imperial City. There, the Royal Soul Master Corps patrols 24 hours a day, ensuring that such a horrific intrusion will not occur again. Please follow us to our new location."
Liu Yuan, who had been sitting on a rock to the side the whole time, slowly stood up, straightened his white clothes which were undamaged, closed his double pupils, and looked completely calm, as if he had not taken the extreme duel just now to heart at all.
"Thank you for your trouble," Liu Yuan said casually.
Du Busi impatiently waved his dark green long sleeves and led Long Aotian, Chen Lu, and other elites from the Body Sect who had rushed over after hearing the news. They followed the official transportation vehicles of the event organizers and left the now-ruined wasteland overnight, heading towards their new residence with even stricter defenses.
Meanwhile, on the other side, at the very same moment that the exploration work on this side had just begun.
Another team of elite city guards, led by two titled Douluo-level powerhouses, was already heading straight for the ordinary hotel where the Shrek Academy team was staying, their footsteps echoing loudly through the night.
The inn was quiet in the dead of night, except for a few guest rooms on the second floor, where the faint light of the soul-guided lamps still shone.
Bang!
The heavy wooden door on the first floor of the inn was kicked open violently from the outside, and the dense scraping sound of iron armor and the cold texture of soul power locking instantly filled the entire building.
"City guards are on duty! Everyone stay put and do not move!"
A cold, furious shout echoed through the inn. Immediately afterward, a large number of fully armed city guards, wielding soul-guided ray guns, surged up the stairs like a black tide, surrounding the core guest rooms where the Shrek team was staying.
In the living room on the second floor, Bei Bei, Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao and the others, who were resting with their eyes closed and using their soul power to regulate their spiritual sea, were suddenly and violently awakened by the commotion.
Having suffered a terrifying crushing defeat from Liu Yuan's pure mental power during the daytime competition, Bei Bei and the other six still looked pale and somewhat haggard. Hearing the shout outside the door, Bei Bei frowned deeply, enduring the lingering pain in her mind, and pushed open the door.
Huo Yuhao also arrived at the center of the living room.
Xu Sanshi, Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao, and the others all pushed open the door and came out, their faces filled with astonishment and extreme vigilance.
"What are you doing?! This is Shrek Academy's territory!"
Xu Sanshi, who had always been somewhat impatient, couldn't help but shout loudly when he saw the dark gun barrels outside the door, already glowing with the light of soul guidance charging: "Is this how the Sun Moon Empire treats its contestants? Leading troops to besiege our Shrek Academy dormitory in the middle of the night, who gave you the guts?!"
Two city guard generals, clad in heavy black armor and exuding the aura of a level 90 or higher titled Douluo, slowly emerged from behind the soldiers. Their faces were ashen, and they ignored Xu Sanshi's shouts, their icy eyes sweeping over the faces of the Shrek Academy members one by one.
"I have been ordered by the joint command of the city defense command and the competition organizing committee to come here to find the leader of your Shrek team, the old man of Shinjuku—the Gluttonous Douluo Xuanzi."
The titled Douluo general on the left spoke in a cold, emotionless voice, demanding in a harsh tone, "Where is Xuanzi? Tell him to come out and see me immediately!"
Hearing the other party's icy tone, which sounded almost like an interrogation, Bei Bei's brows furrowed even deeper. As the nominal captain of this cohort, in Xuan Zi's absence, he could only forcefully maintain his composure, stepping forward to meet the other party's oppressive aura, and replying in a deep voice:
"After finishing his dinner in the evening, Elder Xuan returned to his room to rest and instructed us not to disturb him. Generals, Elder Xuan is a senior elder of Shrek Academy, a Limit Douluo. Why have you all come here with so many troops to find him so late at night? What has happened?"
"Go back to your room to rest?"
The general sneered, completely disregarding Bei Bei's one-sided account. He abruptly waved his right hand, ordering the two elite squads behind him: "First squad, go check Xuanzi's private bedroom! If there is any resistance, you are authorized to use a level four or higher mental paralysis device!"
"yes!"
Without the slightest hesitation, ten fully armed elite city guards, under the extremely unpleasant gazes of the Shrek members, violently kicked open the door to Xuanzi's bedroom at the far end of the living room.
However, as the door was violently broken open, the scene inside caused the tense atmosphere to freeze slightly.
The spacious bedroom was dimly lit. The bedding on the bed was neatly folded to one side, without a single wrinkle or trace of someone having lain on it; the wine gourd and other miscellaneous items that had been on the table were also gone. The entire room was empty, without even a trace of Xuanzi's residual soul power.
Xuanzi wasn't in the room at all.
"Reporting to the general, Xuanzi is not in the room. There are no signs of recent activity inside the room, and there are traces of residual soul power in the window, indicating that someone used a short-range stealth technique to move through it!" The captain of the search team rushed out and reported loudly with an extremely serious expression.
Upon hearing this report, the faces of the two city guard generals darkened completely, and the coldness in their eyes intensified.
Standing on one side of the hall, Bei Bei, Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao, and the others looked at Xuan Zi's empty room, and their hearts suddenly skipped a beat. An extremely ominous premonition began to rise wildly in the depths of their hearts.
Huo Yuhao sat in his seat, his bright eyes fixed on the empty window. Recalling Elder Xuan's extremely stubborn and convinced that Liu Yuan had won the match by "sneak attack" when he was on the preparation table during the day, Huo Yuhao's face turned even paler than when he had suffered mental injuries during the day.
Where did Elder Xuan go in the middle of the night?
"Generals, Elder Xuan is a man of profound cultivation. Perhaps he is simply seeking a place in Mingdu City to go into seclusion for recuperation or to conduct an inspection."
Beibei suppressed her inner panic and tried her best to make her words sound reasonable. She asked the two generals what was going on: "May I ask what the city guards did to make Elder Xuan so suspicious of you by visiting us so late at night?"
The leading city guard general stared coldly at Beibei's face, which was full of forced composure, and a cold smile appeared on his lips.
He made no attempt to conceal anything, for the news would spread throughout the entire capital city before dawn. He directly and unequivocally stated the current situation, word by word:
"Just a quarter of an hour ago, the exclusive hotel where the Heavenly Soul Royal Academy was staying, not far from here, was openly and secretly infiltrated by an extremely powerful expert. In the dead of night, the intruder attempted to assassinate Liu Yuan, the top core member of the Heavenly Soul Royal Academy, from his bedroom. The intruder was immediately intercepted by Du Busi, the sect leader of the Body Sect, and Xue Di, the ruler of the far north, who were lying in wait. The two sides engaged in a fierce battle at the extreme level inside the hotel, completely reducing the entire luxury hotel to ruins."
At this point, the general's gaze swept across Huo Yuhao, Bei Bei, and the others like a knife, and the coldness in his voice could no longer be concealed:
"According to the on-site report by Poison Undying, the sect leader of the Body Sect, the thick residual earth-attribute ultimate soul power and the extremely distinctive aura of the savage Taotie all point to your Shrek Academy's Taotie Douluo, Xuanzi. The Heavenly Soul Royal Academy has lodged the strongest protest with the Sun Moon Empire and the competition organizing committee, suspecting that Xuanzi, because of the crushing defeat during the day, shamelessly committed this despicable assassination to ensure that Shrek's reputation would not be ruined."
boom.
Although these words were not deliberately spoken with soul power, they struck the Shrek Academy students like a thunderbolt from a clear sky, resounding deep within their minds.
"Assassinate...assassinate Liu Yuan? How is that possible?!"
Xiao Xiao's legs went weak, and she almost lost her balance. Her big eyes widened in shock and fear.
Wang Dong was completely stunned. He bit his lip hard, his mind, which had been somewhat frustrated by the setback, went blank in an instant due to this extremely absurd and dark news.
The legendary elder of Shrek Academy, the undisputed number one academy for millennia, secretly broke into a guesthouse in the dead of night during the competition to assassinate a twenty-year-old core player. If this was truly the work of Elder Xuan… then the reputation Shrek Academy has built up over ten thousand years with the blood and justice of countless predecessors would become a colossal joke after this one night. What difference would there be between this and those ruthless evil spirit masters who resort to sneak attacks?
"This is absolutely a frame-up! It's a deliberate frame-up by the Body Sect and the Heavenly Soul Royal Academy!"
(End of chapter)