Xuan Zi did not answer immediately.
Those cloudy old eyes were now bloodshot.
He stared fixedly at the thin battle report in front of him, yet it felt heavier than a thousand-pound boulder.
He knew all too well.
This failure wasn't as simple as just losing a match.
This was a massive slap to the face.
It was a vicious slap to Shrek Academy's face, the Sea Gods Pavilion's face, and even more so, to Xuan Zi's own face!
Liu Yuan was someone he had personally driven away.
And now, this youth whom he viewed as a "discarded pawn" was representing Shrek's greatest arch-enemy, the Sun Moon Empire. On the highest-profile stage of the entire continent, he had frontally crushed the team Shrek was most proud of.
This drama of Karma coming back around with such swift retribution was truly too ironic.
"Elder Xuan..."
The intelligence officer's voice trembled more and more; he was truly on the verge of a breakdown.
Every additional second this oppressive atmosphere lasted was a form of torture for him.
"Sigh..."
After a long while, a long sigh escaped, as if it had drained all the energy and spirit from Xuan Zi's body.
He slowly closed his eyes and slumped against the back of his chair, his voice as raspy as two rusty iron plates rubbing together:
"Send it out..."
"Something like this cannot be hidden."
"Rather than letting them hear an exaggerated version from others, it's better... if we report it ourselves."
After saying this, Xuan Zi seemed to instantly age ten years. Even the wine gourd that never left his hand now seemed so glaringly out of place and redundant.
"Yes..."
The intelligence officer felt as if he had been granted a grand amnesty. He hastily bowed in salute and then fled the suffocating meeting room as if escaping for his life, heading off to carry out the task that made his heart tremble with fear.
...
At the same time.
Shrek Academy, Sea Gods Pavilion.
Inside this ancient pavilion, which symbolized the absolute Peak of power in the Douluo Continent's Spirit Master world, the lights were currently brightly lit, and the atmosphere could even be described as somewhat relaxed and expectant.
Around a massive long table sat over a dozen elderly people.
They were either resting with their eyes closed or conversing in low voices, but every single one of them exuded a terrifying aura that made one's heart palpitate.
They were Shrek Academy's true foundation—the Sea Gods Pavilion Elders.
They were existences who could make the Douluo Continent tremble just by casually stomping their feet.
Today, these big shots, who usually remained elusive, were gathered together. Their focus was on only one thing—the All-Continent High-Rank Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament currently being held in Star Luo City.
To be more precise, they were focused on today's highlight battle: Shrek Academy vs. Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy.
"Calculating the time, the match over there should have ended long ago, right?"
A middle-aged man dressed in white with a refined temperament spoke with a smile. It was precisely the Dean of the Martial Soul Department of Shrek Academy, Yan Shaozhe.
He picked up the teacup in front of him, took a light sip, and appeared composed:
"With Elder Xuan leading the team this time, and our Shrek Academy team being unprecedentedly strong, dealing with a Sun Moon Royal Team shouldn't be a problem."
"Hehe, Shaozhe, aren't you being a bit too optimistic?"
A woman sitting opposite him spoke with a chuckle; she was the Dean of the Soul Tool Department, Xian Liner:
"The Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy is an established powerhouse with deep foundations after all. Although we, Shrek, have suppressed them for ten thousand years, they manage to cause us quite a bit of trouble every year. Furthermore, the opposing captain, Liu Yuan, has performed consistently well from the start of the Soul Master Tournament until now."
At the mention of the name "Liu Yuan," the Elders present showed various expressions.
Some felt regret, some were curious, and some were dismissive.
"Yes, Liu Yuan..."
Yan Shaozhe put down his teacup, a complex light flashing in his eyes:
"To be honest, it really was a pity that Elder Xuan drove him away back then."
"However, we haven't truly understood the full extent of his strength yet."
"His appearance for the Sun Moon Team this time can be considered an opportunity."
"Let's see what kind of waves he can still stir up when he truly stands on the competition field and clashes with our Shrek Academy students."
"I think so too."
Another Elder stroked his beard and laughed:
"Even though this kid's performance in the previous matches was quite eye-catching, those opponents were too weak to serve as a reference."
"Facing Xiaotao today is the true touchstone."
"I just wonder how many rounds he can last under Xiaotao's hands? Can he force out even thirty percent of Xiaotao's strength?"
"Thirty percent? You think too highly of him."
An ill-tempered Elder snorted coldly:
"Xiaotao possesses the Phoenix Evil Fire and has a Spirit Saint cultivation! What Rank is Liu Yuan? He's just a Spirit King. The gap in spirit power Rank is right there; no matter how well he performed before, what can he do?"
"I bet he won't last the time it takes for a stick of incense to burn!"
"Hahaha, then I'll bet half a stick of incense!"
The Sea Gods Pavilion was filled with a joyful atmosphere; everyone didn't seem to take the outcome of this match seriously.
In their subconscious, Shrek winning was only natural.
What they cared about was merely the process of winning and the performance of that "traitor," Liu Yuan.
Yan Shaozhe watched this scene and shook his head with a smile.
He turned to look toward the door and said with full confidence:
"To let everyone see clearly, I specifically instructed them over there to use the best spirit tools to record today's match in full and send it back."
"Calculating the time, the intelligence officer should be arriving soon."
As soon as he finished speaking, the heavy wooden door of the Sea Gods Pavilion was lightly knocked.
"Enter!"
Yan Shaozhe's spirit lifted as he spoke loudly.
The door slowly pushed open, and an intelligence officer wearing a Shrek uniform walked in.
However, this normally well-trained intelligence officer's steps seemed somewhat unsteady, and his face was unnaturally pale.
He kept his head down, not daring to look directly at any of the Elders present, while tightly clutching a sealed intelligence cylinder in his hand.
Because he had already seen the contents of the battle report.
It was information enough to make the entire Sea Gods Pavilion explode.
At this moment, he felt like a suicide soldier about to ignite a pack of explosives; every step he took was trembling.
But the Elders, immersed in the relaxed atmosphere, did not immediately notice his abnormality.
Yan Shaozhe waved him over with a smile:
"Come, come, hurry and present the battle report. Everyone is waiting."
"Don't dawdle, just give us a brief summary of the results. Was it a win? How did that kid Liu Yuan perform? How much of Xiaotao's combat power did he force out?"
Several Elders also chimed in with jokes.
The intelligence officer walked to the end of the long table, feeling his legs go soft, almost kneeling on the ground.
He took a deep breath, trying hard to control his trembling voice, but his throat felt as if it were blocked by a wad of cotton, dry to the point of pain.
"What's wrong? Why are you hesitating?"
Yan Shaozhe's brow furrowed slightly, finally noticing something was amiss. "Could it be that some accident occurred?"
"No..."
The intelligence officer finally squeezed out a sound, but his head was buried even lower, his voice as faint as a mosquito's buzz:
"Reporting to the Elders..."
"In today's match, we, Shrek, lost."
As soon as these words were spoken, the originally noisy Sea Gods Pavilion instantly fell into a deathly silence.
One could hear a pin drop.
The smiles on all the Elders' faces froze, and Yan Shaozhe's hand holding the teacup stopped in mid-air.
"What did you say?"
Xian Liner widened her eyes in disbelief, thinking she had misheard. "Say that again?"
The intelligence officer gritted his teeth and went for it:
"In today's battle, Shrek Academy was defeated!"
"Captain Ma Xiaotao engaged in a 1v1 duel with the Sun Moon Team's captain, Liu Yuan..."
At this point, his voice took on a hint of desperate trembling:
"The result was a complete lack of resistance."
"She was frontally crushed and thoroughly defeated by Liu Yuan!"
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