Chapter 136: Every Generation of Shrek Has Its Idiots!
As one of the Sea God Pavilion elders spoke more and more passionately, it sounded as if reopening the Soul Engineering Division were some kind of unforgivable heresy.
"That's why I believe reopening it would be an act of betrayal—a denial of the principles our Shrek forefathers established, a violation of ancestral decree!"
"Reopen the Soul Engineering Division? Absolutely not!"
More than half of those present at the Pavilion meeting shared that sentiment.
What a joke! They'd worked so hard to abolish the division back then and merge its remnants into the Tang Sect.
Shrek Academy should look like Shrek Academy.
As long as it could produce gods, everything else—soul devices included—was meaningless fluff.
Soul tools were external trinkets. Only self-cultivation and power made one truly strong.
The discussion turned into a chorus of opposition.
They weren't really against advancement—they simply didn't want their authority divided or their status diminished.
Short-sighted fools!
Even as Titled Douluos, they still clung to arrogance and narrow thinking.
Yun Ming rubbed his temples, feeling his patience snap.
This wasn't a matter of wanting to reopen the division—it was a matter of needing to.
What did they want to do instead? Sit around until the Federation developed spacefaring ships that could sail through the stars?
Or mass-produce Level Twelve Fixed Soul Cannons capable of annihilating gods, and mount them on mechas?
When that day came, would Shrek still dare to repent its inaction?
"But the Tang Sect isn't destroyed," objected one elder quickly. "Only its headquarters was lost. The other branches still exist! Gather them, and there's still strength to rebuild. As their ally, it's our duty to support their revival—there's no need to reopen the division."
Even as the strongest man alive, Yun Ming couldn't defy the Pavilion's system.
He couldn't simply impose his will by raw power—though if he fought, none of them would survive.
Still, what would that prove?
The last Pavilion Master who'd dared to force sweeping reforms—the Dragon God Douluo, tens of millennia ago—had supported the Soul Tool Division's creation.
But after his death, fearing his successor (the infamous Supreme Elder of the Holy Spirit Cult) would corrupt Shrek, the Pavilion had deliberately fragmented its authority to avoid another "tyrant."
That power struggle became Shrek's darkest era, when the academy was led by Taotie Douluo Xuanzi. He survived the chaos, but the scars he left still shackled future generations.
Now, Yun Ming sought progress—but found himself dragging a herd of self-serving fossils behind him.
Did reaching Titled Douluo truly grant the right to choke the next generation's future?
His headache turned to rage.
A sharp, oppressive aura erupted from him—a quasi-divine pressure, the might of the Continent's strongest lifeform.
"And what," he asked quietly, "if I insist?"
Instantly, the air in the hall shifted. Over thirty Titled Douluos flared their soul power in unison, linking their energies to resist his presence.
"Pavilion Master, calm yourself! Don't act rashly."
"Rashly? Me?" Yun Ming laughed mockingly. "Self-destructive, am I? You call me that?"
From the day he awakened his martial soul, he'd been hailed a prodigy.
At twenty-three, he reached the rank of Titled Douluo. At twenty-six, he'd become a Super Douluo. At thirty-one—an Ultimate Douluo.
Now Master of the Sea God Pavilion, peerless across the continent, worshiped as its strongest.
He'd triumphed in wars, found love, and carried the name First Among Men.
Yet now, his own peers dared lecture him on "discipline"?
A cruel smile twisted his face.
Fine then. Enjoy clinging to your useless 'Shrek glory' while the world leaves you behind.
With a thunderous crash, Yun Ming blasted a hole straight through the main chamber's ceiling and vanished into the sky.
The remaining elders didn't even flinch.
"Yun Ming's still too young," one scoffed. "He doesn't understand the foundation of Shrek Academy."
"In another hundred years, he'll realize we were right all along."
"End the discussion. The proposal to reopen the Soul Engineering Division is hereby nullified."
"Instead, we proceed with Project Ascension—a focused initiative to pool all of Shrek's resources into cultivating new gods."
"When we birth a god again, everything we've lost… we'll reclaim."
Once again, the decision was unanimous.
"Agreed."
"Agreed."
"Agreed!"
If Yun Ming's vision had drawn loud disapproval, this new one drew unanimous cheers.
After all, creating gods—that had always been Shrek Academy's pride, its eternal pillar, the true source of its vaunted "ten-thousand-year glory."
…
"Idiots. Complete idiots."
Far away, in the wilds of Mount Phoenix, a river roared between cliffs—a chasm so wide that no end was visible.
Calling it a "stream" was laughable; it was practically an ocean channel.
Crossing it on foot or by soulforce was impossible, and only those with genuine flight—like Le Zhengyu—could soar across.
But since none could abandon their heavy supplies without starving later, they had to improvise.
And so, they began building bamboo rafts.
Jiang Chen stared at the bamboo stalks before him—every single one dented or cracked, claw marks shredded through them. His face darkened.
"Tell me," he said coldly, "how exactly am I supposed to use this?"
He held up a splintered bamboo stalk with full claw imprints. It leaked like a sieve.
"Hmm? Did I not make myself clear?"
Huo Yun'er crouched on the ground, hugging her head pitifully. "I was wrong, Ancestor~ I really was! Please don't scold me anymore!"
She had only absorbed the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear's external soul bone recently and hadn't yet mastered her strength. Some "mistakes" were inevitable.
But not in front of everyone!
Her cheeks flushed red. "I'm a proud woman too, you know! Keep scolding me and Yun'er will get mad!"
Jiang Chen finally found a few intact stalks among the mess. Just as relief crossed his face, he turned—only to see Huo Yun'er still standing there doing nothing.
His temper flared again.
"Why are you still standing there?"
"Get back to work!"
"Ah! Yes, Ancestor! Yun'er's on it, right away~"
(END CHAPTER)
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