Chapter 56: The Sweeping Storm (Part 1)

Xu Jiawei sat in the Imperial Study.

Outside the window, the night grew deeper, the palace lanterns swayed, and their soft light reflected upon his sharp-featured face.

On the desk, secret reports from all corners of the continent were piled up, and at this moment, he was holding a piece of intelligence that had just arrived.

The paper sheets trembled slightly.

Xu Jiawei slowly put down the intelligence scroll and remained silent for a long time.

"Someone come."

"Your Majesty."

"Go and invite Princess Jiu Jiu over."

"Yes."

The guard received the order and left.

Not long after, light footsteps could be heard outside the Imperial Study.

The door was pushed open, and a young girl in a graceful, elegant long dress walked in.

Seeing Xu Jiawei's solemn expression, Xu Jiujiu was slightly startled.

"Brother, what happened?"

Xu Jiawei did not answer immediately, but instead handed over the intelligence on the table.

"See for yourself."

Xu Jiujiu took the secret report, her gaze sweeping over the contents.

The next moment.

Her bright eyes widened abruptly.

"This is..."

Xu Jiujiu's eyes were filled with shock.

"News just sent back by our spies in the Sun Moon Empire."

"Wang Lao easily defeated Mingde Hall Hall Master Jing Hongchen."

Xu Jiujiu fell into silence, once again fixing her gaze on the intelligence scroll, reading it carefully.

As a Star Luo princess who manages a portion of Star Luo's intelligence agencies and serves as an assistant to Emperor Xu Jiawei.

Xu Jiujiu also has a fairly profound understanding of the Sun Moon Empire.

Jing Hongchen's strength has truly been demonstrated on the battlefield.

To stand against several Super Douluo alone without falling behind—such an existence was easily and completely crushed by Medical Immortal Douluo Wang Xian'er.

If it weren't for the fact that Jing Hongchen's teacher, Kong Deming, and the Sun Moon Crown Prince pleaded for him at the end, Jing Hongchen would likely have been finished.

No, that's not necessarily true either.

Perhaps Wang Xian'er would still have let Jing Hongchen go.

This involves many external factors.

For instance, both Wang Xian'er and Xiadie are in the Sun Moon Empire and cannot act too excessively.

Moreover, as Mingdu is the capital of the Sun Moon Empire, even if Wang Xian'er's strength has greatly increased, she might not be able to leave safely after killing Jing Hongchen.

Xu Jiujiu came back to her senses and took a deep breath: "Did Wang Lao break through again?"

"It is not simple to easily defeat Jing Hongchen!"

"It is possible." Xu Jiawei's expression was complex as he sighed, "Not long ago, Xuanzi returned; although he had a sour face, he did mention some of the situation regarding Wang Xian'er."

"He said things like if he hadn't been trapped by a Soul Guidance Device, he could have killed Zhang Peng and Wang Xian'er."

"However, Xuanzi's words are just to be listened to."

Xu Jiawei does not have much regard for Xuanzi; the one he respects is that pillar of Shrek.

"It has only been how long!" Xu Jiujiu exclaimed.

"Brother, do you think Wang Lao will be..."

"Stop!"

Xu Jiawei waved his hand at Xu Jiujiu, stopping her from continuing.

"Discussions about Wang Lao end here; she is not a person who forgets favors."

"No matter what the future holds, the Star Crown Sect should be fine."

"The Star Crown Sect..."

Xu Jiujiu opened her mouth, wanting to say something.

"Alright, it is not us who should be worried." Xu Jiawei looked out the window with deep eyes, "Who can say for sure about the future?"

"The ones who should be anxious now are not us, but Shrek Academy."

"After all, we have never offended them."

"Speaking of which, it is not easy to suppress the reputation of Xuanzi being an Evil Soul Master!"

"I wonder who is so capable, coordinating everything so perfectly."

Shrek, Sea God Pavilion.

The heavy wooden door slowly closed, shutting out the clamor of the outside world.

The atmosphere inside the pavilion was heavy.

Beside a huge round table, the elder masters of Shrek Academy sat in rows.

At the head sat, as always, Dragon God Douluo Mu En.

His aged body appeared increasingly thin, his silver-white long hair draped over his shoulders, and the wrinkles on his face seemed to have deepened compared to a few days ago.

His deep eyes looked quietly at the only empty chair, waiting in silence.

"Bang!"

The doors of the Sea God Pavilion were pushed open forcefully, and Xuanzi strode in; compared to before, his robes had clearly been replaced with a new set, no longer that tattered gray long robe.

It was just that...

That new clothing was still stained with bright, greasy oil marks, clearly having just eaten something.

Many of the elder masters twitched the corners of their mouths upon seeing this scene.

Xuanzi, however, did not care at all and sat down in his seat in a slovenly manner.

Mu En glanced at him, and the veins on his forehead twitched imperceptibly.

A few seconds later, he withdrew his gaze.

"This is news that has just been sent back from the Sun Moon Empire."

Mu En raised his hand, and a piece of intelligence was placed in the center of the tabletop.

"You all take a look."

As he spoke, the intelligence began to be passed around starting from his right-hand side.

One elder master after another took it.

As they read deeper, the expressions of the group became increasingly grave.

Some frowned, some had their pupils contract, and others gasped in cold air.

Clearly, they were shocked by the content of the intelligence.

Finally, that piece of intelligence reached Xuanzi's hands.

To be precise, it was only after the elder masters had passed it in a large circle that it reached his hands.

Everyone knew that Xuanzi had a bad habit.

He often did not wash his hands when eating.

Sure enough, as soon as Xuanzi took the intelligence paper, his greasy, large hand pressed directly onto it.

"Creak."

Several oily handprints were pressed onto the paper.

The originally neat secret report suddenly became dirty and covered in marks.

The corners of Mu En's eyes twitched again.

Ever since he was trapped for many days last time and nearly starved to death.

After Xuanzi returned to Shrek Academy, his obsession with food had clearly become more severe.

It was even somewhat pathological.

The reason Mu En let the intelligence go around in a circle before giving it to him was precisely because he did not want the other elder masters to see a secret report covered in oil stains, thereby lowering their psychological assessment of Xuanzi once again.

Xuanzi, whose eyes were still bulging toward his eye sockets from being starved previously and had not yet recovered, began to read the intelligence paper in his hand with his somewhat deformed eyes.

His complexion gradually turned gloomy.

"Boom—"

A terrifying aura erupted suddenly, and the round conference table shook violently.

The pressure belonging to a rank 98 peak Super Douluo instantly swept through the entire Sea God Pavilion.

"Damn it, those evil Evil Soul Masters!" Xuanzi's eyes were bloodshot, especially when he saw the name Wang Xian'er, which reminded him of his experience of being trapped and nearly starving to death.

However, the moment this pressure spread.

An even more vast aura descended.

Hum—

Like a spring breeze moistening the earth, it suppressed Xuanzi's aura.

The entire Sea God Pavilion returned to calm.

"Enough, sit down!" Mu En's voice echoed.

Xuanzi sat back down like a deflated ball.

"Mu Lao..."

Mu En looked at Xuanzi, was silent for a few seconds, and spoke slowly: "Xuanzi, no matter how evil they are, can they be as evil as your reputation is right now?"

A single sentence made the entire conference room go quiet instantly.

Many elder masters had strange expressions, and Xuanzi's face flushed red instantly.

"Mu Lao!" Xuanzi argued, "I... I was caught in a trap."

"Besides, those guys from the Sun Moon Empire schemed against me."

Mu En sighed: "A trap?"

"On the battlefield, who cares if it's a trap or not?"

"Does one have to tell you in advance that it's a trap before two armies engage in battle?"

"Or are you saying that before a war begins, one must talk to you about martial virtue?"

"Are we playing a game of house in a Soul Master competition?"

Xuanzi opened his mouth, but could not say a single word.

He knew that this time, he had disappointed Mu En.

Seeing that Xuanzi did not answer, Mu En's voice became even more severe: "Will the people who died come back to life because you were caught in a trap? Will Shrek's reputation be restored because you were caught in a trap?"

"Xuanzi."

"In your current situation."

"How can you expect me to feel at ease handing Shrek over to you in the future?"

As Mu En's voice grew increasingly heavy, Xuanzi's face turned completely pale.

"Mu Lao..."