Chapter 197: Ma Hongjun to be Tried

The Heaven Dou Imperial Family and the Spirit Hall talked for an entire day, yet they were unable to reach a consensus.

Leaving the organizing committee office, Yu Xiaogang continuously pressured Salas, attempting to make him relinquish more interests to satisfy the appetite of the Heaven Dou Imperial Family and allow Shrek Academy to compete normally as soon as possible.

Salas did not resist this in his heart; even if interests were sold out, in the end, these assets were all managed by Xue Qinghe and would not fall into the hands of outsiders.

However, he would not easily agree to Yu Xiaogang, instead indicating that he would return to consider it for a night.

Yu Xiaogang could not force him, so he had to urge the other party to make a decision as soon as possible, then returned to Shrek Academy.

The organizing committee released news that Ma Hongjun would be publicly tried tomorrow; as his teacher, Flender was like an ant on a hot pan, his mood extremely stifled and anxious.

In the announcement, only Ma Hongjun's name was written; did this mean that in order to save Tang San, Yu Xiaogang had sold out Ma Hongjun?

When Yu Xiaogang returned to the academy with a face full of exhaustion, Flender hurried up to him, grabbed his arm, and asked, "Xiao Gang, what exactly is going on? Why is Hongjun being tried tomorrow? How is Xiao San?"

Yu Xiaogang brushed his hand away and furrowed his brows, "I am tired, let me rest for a while."

After all, he was an Elder Soul Master; in terms of energy, he certainly could not compare to those youths and powerhouses in the organizing committee.

Having "battled" with sharp words for an entire day, he was already exhausted and had no strength to reply to Flender's inquiries.

But now that the situation was critical, how could Flender let him rest? He said with great agitation, "Xiao Gang, tell me honestly, did you use Hongjun's life to trade for Xiao San's acquittal?"

Yu Xiaogang did not answer.

He had not figured out how to answer; after all, he owed Flender in this matter, though there was also the element of Ma Hongjun bringing this upon himself.

But the situation was stronger than the person, and he had to make certain trade-offs.

He couldn't possibly abandon Tang San to protect Ma Hongjun, could he?

Saying more would only lead to more mistakes, so Yu Xiaogang simply changed the subject and, using the excuse of resting, wanted to leave.

But Flender did not "let him off," continuing to question him incessantly.

Hearing the commotion, Liu Erlong followed the sound, and seeing Flender's "nagging" appearance, she couldn't help but walk up and separate the two.

"Old Flender, what are you doing? Xiao Gang has worked hard all day, let him get some proper rest."

Seeing that Yu Xiaogang refused to speak and that Liu Erlong had interrupted, the urgency in Flender's heart completely erupted.

He shouted sternly, "Xiao Gang, tell me the truth, did you sell out Hongjun!?"

Liu Erlong was in the know; she hesitated slightly, her gaze turning toward Yu Xiaogang.

How sharp was Flender's perception? He immediately noticed her small movement.

Things had reached this point; even if Yu Xiaogang didn't speak, he already knew the result.

But how could he be reconciled?

Back then in Caoji Village, seeing that Ma Hongjun possessed high innate soul power and a mutated phoenix martial soul, he had adopted him. He had even guaranteed to the village chief of Caoji Village that he would raise Ma Hongjun to adulthood and teach him Spirit Master knowledge.

And now, Ma Hongjun was only fourteen, far from an adult, yet he had already been detained by the empire and would very likely be executed tomorrow.

As a teacher, he was undoubtedly derelict in his duty.

The only one who could save Ma Hongjun right now was Yu Xiaogang, or for Tang Hao behind him to take action!

He grabbed Yu Xiaogang's arm and roared like a madman, "Xiao Gang, for the sake of our friendship over all these years, you must save Hongjun."

"Or tell me where His Excellency Haotian is, and I will go beg him to step in myself!"

"Enough, Flender!" Yu Xiaogang shook off his arm.

He was already physically and mentally exhausted, yet Flender kept pestering him again and again; the stifled emotions in his heart completely erupted.

"Flender, how do you expect me to save Hongjun?"

"He is the one who killed; he is the direct culprit who caused Wang Teng's death, and even he himself has confessed and signed the deposition—this matter is already set in stone! The Heaven Dou Imperial Family must have someone take responsibility; if Hongjun doesn't take the blame, do you want Xiao San to bear it?"

"Don't forget who his father is!"

"Hongjun is righteous and has taken the blame upon himself. Once he has undergone the trial, Shrek Academy will be able to regain its eligibility to compete!"

"Besides, he might not necessarily be sentenced to death; after he is released from prison, he will still be your disciple!"

With the husband singing and the wife following, Yu Xiaogang had already made up his mind, and Liu Erlong had no reason not to support him.

She consoled him, "Old Flender, sacrificing only Hongjun to trade for the future of the entire academy and the children is already the best result."

"Can you stop making a scene? Just do it for the sake of the children."

Flender's expression suddenly went blank, like a frost-bitten eggplant; his figure staggered, and he nearly fell.

Liu Erlong's rhetoric made it clear that she had known the result all along, while he had been kept in the dark.

Yu Xiaogang's trip to the organizing committee today was, in all likelihood, to sell out Ma Hongjun.

Now, whatever was said was too late; Ma Hongjun's life and death were completely in the hands of the organizing committee.

Yu Xiaogang snorted coldly and ignored him further.

Wu Qi was constantly monitoring the outcome of the handling.

When he returned to the hotel where the Seven Treasures Team was staying, everyone looked at him expectantly.

His tone was indifferent, "I don't know the specific details, but the Heaven Dou Imperial Family and the Spirit Hall reached a consensus to let Ma Hongjun be the scapegoat and extract Tang San from the situation."

"Furthermore, Shrek Academy will likely regain its eligibility to compete the day after tomorrow."

Hearing this, everyone was slightly disappointed.

Even if Shrek Academy's match tomorrow was ruled a loss, they would only have lost four matches.

The key lay in how the outcome of their match against the Blazing Radiance Academy would be judged.

If Shrek Academy were judged the winner, they would still retain the suspense of advancing.

Having experienced so many setbacks and still failing to eliminate Shrek Academy, I fear there will be quite a few people boasting about them in the future.

This point made the members of the Seven Treasures Team somewhat unhappy.

But the decision of the organizing committee was not something they could change.

Sun Buyu laughed and interrupted, "Even if Shrek Academy can advance, so what? You were able to defeat them the first time, and you can defeat them a second and third time. They are merely bringing humiliation upon themselves."

The source of everyone's displeasure was naturally not a worry about the opponent's strength.

It was rather that the Shrek Team had committed every evil deed, yet they could escape this disaster, which was truly unexpected.

Furthermore, that smug look on Yu Xiaogang's face was very unpleasant to look at, no matter how one saw it.

Wu Qi shrugged, "Tomorrow at noon, Ma Hongjun will be dragged to the downtown area for trial; it is possible he will be executed on the spot. Shall we all go watch?"

"Go? Why wouldn't we? I've long found that fatso an eyesore," Chen Ping suggested.

Ma Hongjun was a typical example of someone who was unskilled but foul-mouthed; whenever he won against an opponent by riding the coattails of the situation, his tail would immediately shoot up to the sky, and he would even insult and mock his opponents.

On the other side, Prince Xue Xing was also handling the traces of Wang Teng.

How could a Spirit Master born from a commoner family have endless money to spend?

Once someone with ulterior motives seized the handle, and then followed the vine to find Xue Xing, that would be a huge problem.

If it led to serious damage to the reputation of the Heaven Dou Imperial Family, he would no longer be able to remain a Prince.

Of course, the replacement strategy proposed by Salas attracted the attention of many people. Those with the ability had not yet investigated Wang Teng, which could be considered as giving Xue Xing time to "destroy the evidence."

(End of this chapter)