"Be Aboveboard" Yan Shaozhe
"Haha, I'm right here. Why bother with a sneak attack?"
A chuckle echoed through the air, calm yet carrying an unmistakable sense of superiority. Immediately afterward, a short and stout figure slowly emerged from midair, as if stepping out of nothingness.
It was Jing Hongchen.
Behind him stood two ninth-level soul engineers. The auras they released were vast and oppressive, not the slightest bit inferior to those of ordinary Titled Douluo experts.
Seeing Jing Hongchen appear, Yuhao raised his eyebrows slightly. Earlier, he had assumed that the second wave of pursuers would be from the Star Luo Empire.
After all, Dai Hao had personally watched his son die.
But reality proved otherwise.
"Jing Hongchen," Du BuShi slowly rose into the air, his poisonous aura rippling outward as he confronted him directly, "you really do heal your scars quickly and forget the pain. I beat you so badly just a few days ago, yet here you are again, rushing to your death?"
At the mention of that incident, Jing Hongchen's expression stiffened slightly.
However, as if recalling something else, he quickly regained his composure and chuckled coldly.
"I think you are the one who healed your scars and forgot the pain," Jing Hongchen said mockingly. "The Snow Emperor's sword didn't feel very pleasant, did it?"
Back then, when Jing Hongchen detonated a ninth-level soul-guidance container to forcibly release the Snow Emperor, Du BuShi had taken the Snow Emperor's sword head-on.
Yet Du BuShi showed no anger at all. Instead, he laughed.
"It was indeed uncomfortable," Du BuShi admitted calmly. "But that Snow Emperor is now my disciple's soul ring. Even if I had to take two more swords, I would still be willing."
Boom!
Those words struck Jing Hongchen like a hammer to the chest.
He punched forward in fury, and a violent explosion erupted in the void, causing the surrounding air to tremble violently.
That Snow Emperor embryo had cost him an unimaginable price.
Yet in the end, it had merely become someone else's stepping stone.
How could he possibly endure that?
"Stealing another person's opportunity and still speaking so righteously—how shameless!" Jing Hongchen roared.
"Say whatever you want," Du BuShi replied indifferently. "We're the ones who gained the advantage anyway."
Du BuShi's tone was leisurely, even slightly mean-spirited.
And the more relaxed he appeared, the more enraged Jing Hongchen became, to the point where his killing intent almost overflowed.
Just as Jing Hongchen was about to act, he suddenly stopped.
A sinister smile crept onto his face.
"Poison King," Jing Hongchen sneered, "you won't be jumping around for much longer. When I bring your disciple's head to you later, let's see if you can still laugh."
After saying that, Jing Hongchen turned his head slightly and looked toward another direction.
"Dean Yan," he said calmly, "you've been listening for quite some time now. Isn't it about time you showed yourself?"
As his words fell, a brilliant beam of light descended from the sky.
When the light faded, three figures appeared unmistakably in midair.
They were Yan Shaozhe, Cai Mei'er, and Ji Xiao.
Yan Shaozhe glanced briefly at Jing Hongchen before speaking in a cold, restrained voice:
"Hall Master Hongchen, although we are temporarily cooperating to eradicate the Noumenon Sect—a malignant tumor on the continent—this does not mean that you and I are friends."
Hearing this, Jing Hongchen curled his lips in disdain and cursed inwardly.
"Disgusting hypocrisy. I wonder who was the first to propose cooperation."
Opposite them, Du BuShi sneered openly.
"Yan Shaozhe, you truly are hypocritical. No—your entire Shrek Academy is hypocritical. Anyone with eyes can see that you're cooperating with Mingde Hall, yet you still insist on pretending to be upright. It's revolting."
As he spoke, Du BuShi even retched a few times despite being poisoned.
"Hmph," Yan Shaozhe snorted coldly. "I, Yan Shaozhe, have lived my life upright and honorable. Even if I stand temporarily with Hall Master Hongchen, it is solely for the sake of eradicating evil forces like your Noumenon Sect."
His righteous tone made the air itself feel heavy.
The sheer hypocrisy was nauseating.
Not only Du BuShi, but even Jing Hongchen's eyelids twitched uncontrollably.
If they were not forced to cooperate at this moment, Jing Hongchen would have seriously wanted to ask Yan Shaozhe what exactly he had said when proposing this alliance.
"At what point did our Noumenon Sect become an evil force?"
At this moment, Yuhao stepped forward slowly. His gaze was calm and indifferent as he looked at the two opposing leaders.
"If that is truly the case," Yuhao continued evenly, "then what does it mean for the Sun Moon Empire to cooperate with the Holy Spirit Cult?"
The moment those words were spoken—
Jing Hongchen's pupils contracted violently.
His expression changed drastically.
"You—how do you know about the Holy Spirit Cult?!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, Jing Hongchen realized his mistake and hurriedly covered it.
But it was already too late.
Both Du BuShi and Yan Shaozhe immediately turned to look at him, their expressions filled with doubt and shock.
"Yuhao," Du BuShi asked gravely, "what kind of organization is this Holy Spirit Cult?"
Yuhao chuckled softly.
"Ten thousand years ago, after the ancestor of Shrek Academy destroyed the City of Slaughter and shattered the Angel God's inheritance, evil soul masters began to spread unchecked."
"After ten thousand years of accumulation, they formed an organized force."
"That organization is the Holy Spirit Cult."
"What?!"
Du BuShi was stunned.
Even Yan Shaozhe's expression changed drastically as he turned sharply toward Jing Hongchen.
Although Jing Hongchen tried desperately to conceal it, the fleeting panic in his eyes did not escape their notice.
Du BuShi burst into laughter, pointing directly at Jing Hongchen.
"Hahaha! How ridiculous! Even if I, Du BuShi, am not a good man, I would never associate with inhumane scum like evil soul masters."
"I never imagined that someone like you, Jing Hongchen—who looks so dignified on the surface—would secretly cooperate with such filth. You truly deserve death."
After that, Du BuShi turned his gaze toward Yan Shaozhe, sneer deepening.
"And you—someone who prides himself on being upright your entire life. How does it feel now, standing alongside someone like Jing Hongchen? You're so thick-skinned that you don't even know how to blush anymore."
Yan Shaozhe's face alternated between red and pale.
He clenched his fists and said stiffly:
"Don't slander me. Why would I, Yan Shaozhe, ever cooperate with evil soul masters?"
Then he turned sharply toward Jing Hongchen.
"Hall Master Hongchen, is this true? Are you cooperating with evil soul masters? If so, I will have no choice but to act in the name of righteousness today."
How could Jing Hongchen possibly admit it now?
"What nonsense!" he shouted. "I, Jing Hongchen, would never cooperate with evil soul masters. All of this was fabricated by Du BuShi and that damned brat!"
"Oh?" Yuhao smiled faintly, eyes filled with contempt. "Then how do you know about the Holy Spirit Cult?"
"This—this is because I was investigating evil soul masters myself," Jing Hongchen stammered. "I learned about the Holy Spirit Cult during my investigation, intending to annihilate them in one sweep."
His eyes darted back and forth.
Anyone could tell he was lying.
Even Yan Shaozhe felt a headache coming on.
"Can't you at least lie properly?" he thought bitterly.
In truth, Yan Shaozhe already suspected that the Sun Moon Empire was involved with evil soul masters.
But at this moment, he could not expose Jing Hongchen.
Because eliminating the Noumenon Sect—and Yuhao—was the priority.
After a brief pause, Yan Shaozhe coughed lightly.
"Hall Master Hongchen has always upheld righteousness. I, Yan Shaozhe, am willing to believe you."
"Haha!"
Du BuShi sneered.
"Yan Shaozhe, I never thought you could be this shameless. And you're still the dean of Shrek Academy? Bah!"
Yan Shaozhe's face remained expressionless.
"Poison King, empty words prove nothing. Unless you can produce concrete evidence, there is no point continuing this farce."
"If you truly had evidence, I, Yan Shaozhe, would immediately sever all ties with Jing Hongchen and the Sun Moon Empire. But do you?"
Du BuShi trembled with rage, murderous intent surging.
Before he could act—
Yuhao stepped forward once more.
"Evidence?" Yuhao said calmly. "I'll give it to you."
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