A few days later, Heaven Dou Great Spirit Arena.
The Continental Advanced Spirit Master Elite Tournament Heaven Dou Division qualifiers officially concluded.
After intense competition, the five teams that ultimately advanced were Tianxing Academy, Divine Wind Academy, Blazing Academy, Shrek Academy, and Tianshui Academy.
According to the competition process, a brief awards ceremony would be held after the qualifiers to present the advanced teams with certificates of qualification and noble titles, symbolizing honor.
However, when the announcer called Shrek Academy's name, the stage was empty; no one came up.
The people from Shrek Academy hadn't come.
It wasn't that they were giving up the award; rather, they were already too preoccupied to care about it.
At this moment, Shrek Academy was already in utter chaos.
The news that Tang San was a fallen, Evil Soul Master, as if on wings, spread throughout Heaven Dou City's streets and alleys within a few days, becoming the most shocking topic of conversation after meals.
The once highly anticipated Genius youth, in the blink of an eye, became a rat on the street, hated by all, and Shrek Academy, which cultivated such a demon, was naturally pushed to the forefront of controversy.
Outside the academy gates, crowds of people who had heard the news gathered, pointing and discussing, their eyes filled with disdain and fear.
Inside the academy, it was even more chaotic and a mess.
"Withdraw! We must withdraw!"
"How can I let my child stay in a place where an Evil Soul Master has been? It's too dangerous!"
"Dean Flender! We sent our children here to learn the Righteous Path, Cultivate Martial Souls, and serve the nation, not to learn how to suck human blood and Soul Power!"
"We don't want the tuition fees! Quickly process our withdrawal!"
At this moment, countless parents, with expressions of fear and anger, pulled their children, crowding in front of the academy's administrative building and academic affairs office, their emotions extremely agitated.
They were afraid that their children would get involved with the fallen in any way, and even more afraid that other unknown things might be hidden in this academy.
The academy's teachers were frantic, trying to calm and explain, but their voices seemed so pale and powerless in the face of the surging crowd and panic.
The once vibrant campus was now filled with a doomsday-like panic and desolation.
The few remaining students also lived in constant fear, hiding in their dorms and not daring to go out.
Shrek Academy's reputation completely collapsed and hit rock bottom within a few days.
At this moment, Flender stood by the office window, looking at the chaotic scene downstairs, listening to the incessant demands for withdrawal and curses, as if he had aged ten years overnight.
The academy he had painstakingly managed for over twenty years, the home he considered his life's work, was falling apart before his eyes at a visible speed.
Just as Shrek Academy was besieged by internal and external troubles, and everyone was in a state of alarm.
The office door was gently pushed open, and Qin Ming walked in. He looked at Flender, who was standing by the window, his back appearing particularly desolate and old, and a pang of sadness went through his heart.
"Dean…" Qin Ming called softly, his voice full of worry.
Flender didn't turn around, still gazing at the noisy crowd demanding withdrawals downstairs. His voice, after being suppressed with great effort, was calm as he said faintly:
"I'm fine, Qin Ming."
He paused, his gaze seemingly piercing through the chaos before him, falling upon the few children he valued most and cared for deeply. His voice carried deep regret and helplessness.
"It's just a pity for Hongjun, Oscar, Mubai, Zhuqing, and these children. They originally had great futures and talents, but now… they have to be implicated like this because of Little San's matter, enduring these slanders and criticisms along with the academy."
What pained him was not just the collapse of the academy.
It was also the future of these innocent students who were affected.
"Dean, then… for the upcoming promotion rounds, are we still participating?" Qin Ming walked to Flender's side, also looking at the chaos downstairs, asking the most realistic question at hand.
"After Little San was taken away, Master has also been shutting himself in his room all day, depressed and melancholy. I'm afraid… we can't count on him either."
Flender was silent for a moment after hearing this.
Then, he slowly turned around. Although his eyes behind his glasses were bloodshot, his voice suddenly rose:
"Participate! Why not participate?!"
"Even if we don't get a good ranking, even if it's just a formality, the children must complete the process of this competition!"
As he spoke, his gaze swept out the window, as if he saw the young and resilient faces of Ma Hongjun, Dai Mubai, and others.
"At the age of Hongjun, Oscar, Mubai, and Zhuqing, they will still be within the eligible age range when the next Continental Advanced Spirit Master Elite Tournament begins!"
"This time, let's treat it as the most cruel and most real tempering! Let them personally experience what true adversity is, and what it means for the world to be fickle! As long as they can rise again from this strike, their future path will be able to go further!"
"Who knows, the champion of the next competition might belong to our Shrek!"
...On the other side, Spirit City, Supreme Pontiff Palace.
In the spacious and majestic hall, Bibi Dong sat on the high Supreme Pontiff's throne.
At this moment, she held a secret letter between her slender fingers—it was Salas's urgent report detailing the Tang San incident.
After reading it word for word, Bibi Dong's beautiful face showed no anger; instead, a cold and playful curve slowly appeared. She gently put down the letter, elegantly stood up, and said in a rather clear and cold voice:
"Interesting, Clear Sky Sect produced a fallen, Evil Soul Master…"
She kept repeating these two words.
Her tone was full of sarcasm, as if savoring an absurd joke.
Chrysanthemum Douluo, who was standing by, saw this, pondered for a moment, then stepped forward, bowed, and asked: "Your Eminence, how should we deal with this Tang San? Should we follow the usual practice and have Salas execute him on the spot to serve as a warning?"
In his opinion, once the charge of Evil Soul Master was confirmed, direct execution was the simplest and most straightforward method.
"Salas said in his letter that he would wait until all the Heaven Dou Division promotion rounds are over, then escort Tang San along with the participating teams to Spirit City for me to personally deal with him."
Upon hearing this, Bibi Dong's mind involuntarily flashed with Yu Xiaogang's haggard and stubborn figure. After a moment of silence, she finally spoke.
A hint of doubt flashed in Chrysanthemum Douluo's eyes. Escort him back? Isn't that unnecessarily complicated?
But he dared not say more, only continuing to ask: "Then, Your Eminence, once Tang San arrives in Spirit City, how do you plan to deal with him? Fallen and Evil Soul Masters are inherently intolerable to the world. Will he be sent to that place of depravity, according to old precedents, or…?"
"Hahahahaha!"
Bibi Dong suddenly let out a burst of laughter filled with endless coldness and mockery. The laughter echoed continuously in the empty hall, sending shivers down one's spine.
"Being able to devour life force… is considered evil?"
"The world is truly adorably foolish."
At this point, her laughter gradually ceased, and a hint of arrogant disdain for worldly rules, looking down upon all under heaven, flashed in her purple eyes.
"According to their pedantic standards, wouldn't my Martial Soul, the Soul Eating Spider Emperor, also become an… Evil Soul Master in their mouths?"
Chrysanthemum Douluo's body trembled slightly upon hearing this, and he quickly lowered his head, not daring to respond.
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