Cai Yue'er's gaze slowly fell upon Zhang Lexuan and Ling Luochen. Her eyes were quite cold, causing the two of them to subconsciously straighten their backs.
"Now, you should have seen the gap between us."
Cai Yue'er spoke in a calm tone, her emotions unreadable.
"With your abilities, wanting to enter this academy—it is basically impossible."
These words were like a bucket of cold water poured over their heads.
Zhang Lexuan pursed her lips and said nothing.
Ling Luochen hung her head, the color draining slightly from her cool, elegant face.
They were the top students of Shrek's Inner Court. One was the Inner Court's Eldest Senior Sister, an Eight-Ring Soul Douluo. The other was one of the Shrek Seven Devils, a Five-Ring Soul King.
Growing up, they were accustomed to praise, amazement, and terms like "genius" and "monster."
But today, in this place, they realized for the first time— That they were, in fact, nothing special.
It turned out that Shrek's geniuses didn't even have the qualifications to pass the entrance exam for this academy.
This realization was too cruel, so cruel it was hard to accept. Yet, they couldn't refute it. Because Cai Yue'er was telling the truth.
Zhang Lexuan took a deep breath, suppressing the rising bitterness in her heart. She raised her head, preparing to say something—
However, Cai Yue'er's next words caused her to freeze instantly.
"You two—" Cai Yue'er paused, her eyes sweeping indifferently over their faces. "Are from that Counterfeit Shrek Academy, aren't you?"
'What?!'
Zhang Lexuan's pupils suddenly constricted. Ling Luochen snapped her head up, shock surfacing on her cool face. When was their identity exposed? From the moment they stepped onto this floating island, they believed they hadn't shown any flaws. Every word and action had been extremely cautious—
Yet the other party had known from the very beginning?
Cai Yue'er took in their reactions, the smile at the corner of her lips fading slightly.
"No need to be so surprised." She said indifferently. "We knew even before you set foot on this floating island."
Zhang Lexuan felt a chill run up her spine. From the very beginning...
Their performance and disguise were nothing more than a ridiculous farce in the other party's eyes.
"You didn't think—" Cai Yue'er's voice remained calm. "That our Shrek Academy would be so easy to enter, did you?"
"The two people who sent you here are named Xuan Zi and Yan Shaozhe."
Boom-
These words were like a thunderclap exploding in their minds. They... they even knew Elder Xuan and Dean Yan's identities?!
Zhang Lexuan felt her mind go blank. She had thought that while this trip for her and Ling Luochen was dangerous, at least their identities were a secret. As long as they acted carefully, they might be able to complete the mission. But now, the other party not only knew their identities but also knew everything about Xuan Zi and Yan Shaozhe.
What did this mean?
It meant that from the start, they were exposed right under the other party's nose. This feeling of being seen through made Zhang Lexuan's back turn cold.
Cai Yue'er looked at their shocked expressions and suddenly gave a light laugh. In that laughter, there was a hint of playfulness and a hint of mockery.
"There's no need to be so shocked." She said indifferently. "Those two only just left our academy a month ago."
A month ago...
Zhang Lexuan was stunned, not reacting for a moment.
"That old fellow from your academy called Mu En paid a heavy price to redeem them." Cai Yue'er extended her slender fingers, counting them off one by one. "One hundred million gold coins."
"Ten complete Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Beast Spirit Bones."
"And—"
She paused, the smile on her lips deepening.
"One-fourth of your Shrek Academy's entire stock of rare herbs and medicinal pills."
As her voice fell, Zhang Lexuan felt a buzzing in her ears. She was completely dumbfounded.
One hundred million gold coins...
Ten Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Bones...
One-fourth of the herb and pill inventory...
This... this...
Ling Luochen snapped her head up, her eyes full of disbelief.
If this was true...
If what Cai Yue'er said was true...
Then Xuan Zi and Yan Shaozhe were simply the eternal sinners of Shrek Academy! The first two were one thing, but the third one truly gambled away ten thousand years of Shrek Academy's accumulation.
Zhang Lexuan's hands trembled slightly. She remembered Xuan Zi's sorrowful expression before they left, his self-reproachful words, and his earnest plea—
"Lexuan, this old man only wants to make one last contribution to the academy..."
So this was his so-called "contribution"? Losing the academy's foundation... And then sending her and Ling Luochen here to die?!
Zhang Lexuan closed her eyes, feeling a tightness in her chest. After all... the two of them really didn't know how this academy had found out about their identities, yet now Cai Yue'er had exposed them in one breath, and also knew about Xuan Zi and the others.
Could it be... Xuan Zi intended to hand the two of them over to this academy in exchange for the lost resources?
No, no, no. Zhang Lexuan quickly dismissed this thought. Although Xuan Zi was unreliable most of the time, he wouldn't go as far as to harm his own fellow disciples like this...
[A/N: Awwww. She came so close to figuring out that Xuan Zi is the Holy Spirit Cult's man, lol]
But Cai Yue'er's words were not over yet. "Of course, we also know why you've come here. The technology to increase the age of spirit rings, right?"
Zhang Lexuan and Ling Luochen froze at the same time. They felt a chill rush from the soles of their feet to the crown of their heads. The other party... even knew this? Then wasn't their trip a joke from the very beginning? If the other party knew everything, then their fate...
"Want to know why?" Cai Yue'er suddenly spoke.
Zhang Lexuan and Ling Luochen both looked at her, their eyes filled with unconcealable anxiety. The smile on Cai Yue'er's lips faded, replaced by a touch of coldness.
"That one called Xuan Zi was quite arrogant when we locked him up back then." She said slowly. "The moment he opened his mouth, he demanded we hand over the technology to increase spirit ring ages. A guy who trespassed into our academy and made such wild boasts—on what grounds could he make demands of us?"
"How absurd."
Hearing this, Zhang Lexuan and Ling Luochen's faces burned with shame. They knew Xuan Zi acted impulsively, but they hadn't expected him to be impulsive to this extent.
"And then?" Cai Yue'er looked at the two of them, her tone indifferent. "Elder Long gave him a slap and knocked out quite a few of his dog teeth."
Zhang Lexuan suddenly remembered something. During the first few days after Xuan Zi returned, he indeed... didn't show his face much. His whole face was swollen, and his speech was slurred. At the time, she only thought Xuan Zi had been injured while on a mission and didn't take it to heart.
So...so that was what happened.
"I didn't expect him to actually dare to send people over again..."
Xuan Zi had offended them to such a degree, and the two of them were sent over as spies—
What good end could they possibly have? Zhang Lexuan thought back to what happened to her when she had just reached level eighty. Was it really impossible for Xuan Zi to do something that would harm his fellow disciples?
Cai Yue'er's words let Zhang Lexuan know that Xuan Zi hadn't made a deal with this Shrek Academy beforehand to send her and Ling Luochen to their deaths.
But now that things had developed this way... what was the difference?
Their identities were exposed from the start. During the process of flying up, Zhang Lexuan had even asked Xuan Zi—if both Xuan Zi and Yan Shaozhe were remembered by this academy, then... wouldn't it be better to have two teachers who were unknown to this academy send them up instead?
But this suggestion was flatly rejected by Xuan Zi, saying that as long as the two of them didn't actively expose themselves, the other party couldn't possibly know their identities.
He even added: 'Do you two not even trust this old man anymore?'
Naturally, they trusted him. After all, Xuan Zi was the second-in-command of Shrek Academy. But now, the facts told them that Xuan Zi really couldn't be trusted. What Xuan Zi did was harm them, even if it wasn't intentional. But... is non-subjective harm not harm?
"Do you know why I arranged a battle for you even though I knew your identities?"
At this moment, Cai Yue'er continued to speak.
Both Zhang Lexuan and Ling Luochen were puzzled.
"Logically speaking, people like you who want to steal the academy's technology would definitely not be spared lightly, especially those from the Counterfeit Shrek Academy who have already had conflicts with us. However, the Dean is merciful and intended to give you a trial. The result of that trial is that neither of you passed."
"Given the opportunity, you were useless." These words could be said to be quite heart-piercing. "The academy won't kill you, but... there are still rules to follow. You two, follow me."
After speaking, Cai Yue'er prepared to lead Zhang Lexuan and Ling Luochen away.
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A/N:
5 Power Stones = 1 Extra Chapter
2 Reviews = 1 Extra Chapter
I hope all of you are enjoying this story so far. I would appreciate some Power Stones if you can spare any. Leave a review if you like the story. Thank you.