Douluo Dragon King: I'm creating a golden age behind the scenes!

Chapter 97 Shrek's Response

Looking at the interrogation record in his hand, Xu Ziqian understood the purpose of Tang Wulin and the others and Shrek Academy's trip.

Their trip was specifically for the "life-sustaining pod" invented by Xu Ziqian. In this day and age, with the disappearance of the divine realm and the absence of gods, the shadow of death looms over everyone. Like the high-ranking officials of the Federation, the elders and high-ranking officials of Shrek Academy also possess powerful soul power and a lofty status that are difficult for others to match. However, no matter how self-important they are, they are also afraid of death and will die due to the reduction of their lifespan and the arrival of old age, turning into a handful of yellow earth.

As a member of Shrek Academy, a sacred place for soul masters with a history of ten thousand years, bearing lofty honor and mission.

They bear the heavy responsibility of safeguarding the "peace" and "stability" of the mainland. How can they just stand by and watch themselves quietly pass away before "evil" is eliminated and "justice" is upheld?

Therefore, in order to continue to protect the peace and stability of the continent and make Shrek's glory great again, they, as the guardians of this continent, unanimously believe that this means of extending human life for hundreds of years should be entrusted to the great Shrek Academy so that it can play its greatest role!

Only then can it truly contribute to justice on the mainland!

According to Wei Heng, among the elders of the Sea God Pavilion, it was Long Yeyue who took the lead in proposing the idea, and it received the support and approval of a group of elders who were nearing the end of their lives. He also emphasized that it was not because he saw his colleagues passing away one by one that he proposed it.

"Purely for Shrek's glory and justice!"

Even his master, Yunming, chose to support and agree because of the special nature of his and Yali's lifespans.

Looking at this confession, which was full of righteous words but was actually hypocritical, Xu Ziqian was not surprised at all. He simply turned to his subordinates and ordered, "Shrek is still so high and mighty. Spread the news."

. . . .

In an instant, the news that "Shrek Academy sent a disciple to infiltrate the Federal Research Department in an attempt to steal important experimental results, but was caught on the spot" spread throughout the entire Federation.

In response, the Federal Research Department stated that it would severely condemn Shrek Academy's actions and would punish the perpetrators severely.

Shrek Academy quickly denied the incident and requested that the Research Department hand over the thieves who disguised themselves as Shrek Academy students to Shrek Academy for strict punishment.

Immediately, all the major powers, though aware of Shrek Academy's nature, began to mobilize their resources to verify the truth of the matter with the Research Department.

At this moment, one after another, soul guide communications were directly sent to Xu Ziqian. These were all high-ranking officials who had graduated from Shrek Academy or had close ties with Shrek Academy, including those from the military, the Federal Council, and even the Temple of War.

Their purpose was singular: to plead for the infiltrators, to cover up for Shrek Academy, and to smooth things over.

Xu Ziqian didn't tolerate these people and directly said, "You want me to release them? Fine!"

"Make Shrek Academy issue a public apology live across the entire Federation and return double what they've taken from our research department over the years!"

Following that, the research department released some videos and materials. The videos contained confessions from Tang Wulin and Xie Xie, along with their competition videos and personal materials from the Star Luo Continent, directly confirming their status as disciples of Shrek Academy.

But this also rendered Shrek Academy's previous public relations efforts ineffective, forcing them to ultimately accept the defeat.

However, this two-faced behavior has disillusioned many members of the public and even students at the academy.

This caused a huge stir, and the entire Soul Master world was in an uproar.

Inside the Sea God Pavilion at Shrek Academy, the atmosphere was so oppressive it was suffocating.

In the huge conference room, the elders of the Sea God Pavilion sat together, each of their faces filled with anger and sorrow. Their usual composure and calmness had vanished without a trace.

Feng Wuyu slammed his hand on the table and said angrily, "What is the Research Department trying to do? How could they make such a big deal out of this?" His voice trembled slightly as he spoke, his tone full of resentment and anger.

Cai Yue'er chimed in, "And those opportunists! They always talk about how loyal they are to Shrek Academy, but now not a single one of them dares to utter a sound!"

She was referring to those high-ranking officials and families who had previously pleaded for Shrek Academy, promising to help but now, faced with the current public opinion storm, they had become like cowards, their previous enthusiasm and support gone.

. . . .

Actually, this is normal. After all, Xu Ziqian controls the development and allocation of the "Life Support Pod" project. Even if those high-ranking officials and families have close ties with Shrek Academy, they dare not push too hard for fear of offending him.

After all, everyone gets old eventually. Compared to Shrek's interests, they'd rather live a few more years.

However, this behavior still infuriated Shrek. When he heard someone take the lead in condemning it, the elders could no longer suppress their anger and gathered around to argue fiercely about the matter.

Yun Ming sat in the main seat, listening quietly to the elders' complaints. His eyes were deep and solemn as he said, "Alright, complaining is no use anymore. The most important thing now is to come up with a solution."

After Yun Ming's words, the elders gradually quieted down and began to think about countermeasures.

Zhuoshi tentatively suggested, "How about we negotiate with the research department and give them some of our resources to exchange for the children?"

Normally, he wouldn't have given in so quickly, but there was no other way; three of the people arrested this time were his grand-disciples.

For a moment, everyone fell silent, seemingly deep in thought about the feasibility of the proposal.

Some of the elders nodded slightly, [feeling that this might be a way to temporarily alleviate the crisis, sacrificing some interests for a chance to breathe. Although humiliating, it seems to be the least bad option at the moment?]

Especially when they thought of promising core disciples like Tang Wulin, Xie Xie, and Xu Xiaoyan being trapped in the trap, they worried that they might leak more academy secrets.

However, some people hesitated, worried that doing so would make Shrek Academy appear too weak.

But before this faint flame of compromise could ignite, a loud voice rang out from Yun Ming's left, "Absolutely impossible!"

Everyone turned to look at the source of the voice and saw that it was Long Yeyue, who hadn't spoken since the beginning of the meeting. She stood up, her face displaying a "passionate" expression, her eyes revealing an unwavering determination. She scanned the crowd and raised her voice, saying, "We are Shrek Academy, a school with a history spanning ten thousand years. How can we succumb to outsiders because of a few mere students?"

When Zhuo Shi saw that it was Long Yeyue who spoke, he was somewhat displeased, but due to her seniority and prestige at Shrek Academy, he could only sigh helplessly and say, "Then tell me, what should we do?"

Long Yeyue said unhurriedly, "Since they're threatening us with those students, then as long as those students aren't in their hands, isn't that enough?" As she spoke, a confident smile appeared on her lips.

Seeing her confident demeanor, Yun Ming seemed to understand Long Yeyue's thoughts. A sharp glint flashed in his eyes as he said, "Elder Long, could it be that you intend to...?"

"The Research Department isn't like Mingde Hall, a bunch of bookworms' territory. How many decent combat personnel can it possibly have?"

"What the Body Sect could do ten thousand years ago, we at Shrek Academy ten thousand years later—" Long Yeyue's voice rose to its highest point, filled with unwavering resolve, "we will definitely be able to do it too! And we will do it even more thoroughly! Even more shockingly! We will make the entire Federation remember the price of provoking Shrek Academy!"