Xu Jiujiu personally arrived at the door of the luxurious suite at the Star Sovereign Grand Hotel, which had been prepared exclusively for the Shrek Academy team. She gently knocked with her jade-like fingers.
After a moment, the door opened to reveal a bespectacled young man, his face etched with worry. He was visibly surprised to see the elegantly dressed woman in court attire standing before him.
"Your Highness… What brings you here?"
Xu Jiujiu gave a perfect professional smile.
"You must be Teacher Wang Yan, the leader of the Shrek team."
Wang Yan, flustered by the respectful tone from a royal princess, quickly invited her in.
As she entered, Xu Jiujiu noticed the room was empty of the team members and took a seat on the sofa. Wang Yan poured her some tea before sitting across from her.
"Teacher Wang Yan, may I ask where your students are?"
At this, Wang Yan sighed.
"They're visiting our injured teammates."
Xu Jiujiu's brows furrowed.
"What happened that caused such heavy losses to Shrek Academy? After seeing the team roster, my royal brother was very concerned about their condition."
Yes—concerned. Though not necessarily for their well-being.
Wang Yan's eyes turned red as he recounted the tragedy—how a single five-ringed Soul King had decimated their team.
"And so, three of our precious inner court disciples were gravely injured and had to return to the Sea God Pavilion for treatment. One even... lost their life. What a terrible calamity..."
He didn't mention Elder Xuan. How could he? A team led by a Rank 98 Transcendent Douluo, nearly wiped out by a mere five-ringed evil soul master? It was an utter humiliation.
Wang Yan harbored no small amount of resentment toward Elder Xuan for this.
Xu Jiujiu was left speechless by the tale. As clever as she was, she knew something was being left out. But she wisely refrained from asking, like whether a lone mid-tier teacher like Wang Yan could possibly be the only one leading such a prestigious team.
"My condolences, Teacher Wang Yan."
Wang Yan nodded and rubbed his reddened eyes.
"Forgive my loss of composure, Your Highness. But rest assured, even in the face of such adversity, Shrek Academy will never bring disgrace upon the Douluo Alliance or its own millennium of honor."
Xu Jiujiu nodded without comment, but inwardly she was speechless.
'Not bring disgrace? With that lineup, you think you can win?'
'Is Shrek Academy really more important than the entire Douluo Alliance? Is the prestige of one academy greater than that of a nation?'
An awkward silence filled the room. Finally, Xu Jiujiu couldn't hold back anymore. She carefully relayed Emperor Xu Jiawei's message.
As she spoke, Wang Yan's expression hardened. His tone turned icy.
"Your Highness, if we are to explain the weakening of our team, we will only do so to highlight the fact that we fought valiantly against evil soul masters in defense of the continent's greater good. That, we can accept."
"But we will not accept your tournament organizers' so-called charity. The honor of Shrek Academy has always been earned—never gifted."
"If we must lose, then it will be to the Sun Moon Empire's Royal Soul Engineering Academy—our only true rival. Please return, Your Highness."
Seeing how Wang Yan showed her no deference and even had the audacity to say such absurd things while basically kicking her out, Xu Jiujiu was fuming inside.
She barely restrained herself. Despite being a princess, she couldn't afford to offend Shrek Academy easily—they still held immense prestige throughout the three nations.
Clenching her lips, she said:
"Teacher Wang Yan, surely even you don't believe Shrek's current lineup has any chance of defeating the Sun Moon Empire's team?"
She bit her tongue before adding what she really wanted to say: 'Frankly, I doubt you could even beat our Star Luo Royal Academy team.'
Wang Yan said nothing, merely staring at her with a cold, unyielding gaze.
Xu Jiujiu opened her mouth to say more but found, to her horror, that no words would come out.
'Young lady, Shrek Academy's strength is not for you to define. You'd best leave now, before you truly ruin my mood.'
A deep, aged voice echoed in her mind.
Xu Jiujiu, as a royal, was protected by numerous soul tools, including those designed specifically to defend against mental control.
And yet this elder from Shrek had rendered all of them useless—manipulating her like a puppet. How could she not be terrified?
A few seconds later, the old man—Elder Xuan—lifted his control. Xu Jiujiu said nothing more. She shot Wang Yan a venomous glare before storming out without looking back.
Soon after she left, several members of the Shrek reserve team, who had been eavesdropping outside the door, entered with downcast faces.
Wang Dong, Xu Sanshi, Jiang Nannan, Bei Bei, He Caitou, Dai Huabin, and Zhu Lu.
If Huo Yuhao had seen the uninjured Dai Huabin, he would have been "relieved," as if "a great weight had been lifted," and "he could finally breathe easy."
As for the others, their conditions were similar to the original story. Only Bei Bei had suffered a relatively minor injury—enough to keep him off the field for a short time.
Zhu Lu had taken more serious damage and needed Dai Huabin's support to walk.
Wang Yan looked at his dispirited students and felt a stabbing pain in his heart. He was about to speak when they suddenly shouted out with renewed determination:
"We won't give up, Teacher Wang Yan!"
"The honor of Shrek Academy is ours to protect!"
"Rest assured! As long as we're here, Shrek stands strong!"
"We'll follow your guidance, and we will win!"
". . ."
Hearing these brave words from such young, battered children, Wang Yan's eyes welled up once more.
Sadly, without their true core—Huo Yuhao—Shrek Academy was destined to part ways with its so-called glory.
---
Inside Emperor Xu Jiawei's study, Xu Jiujiu stormed in and slammed a palm on the desk.
"Shrek Academy is absolutely outrageous! Stubborn beyond belief!"
Usually graceful and composed, the princess was now visibly furious.
She'd tried so hard to give them a way out, representing the royal family, only to be turned away by a crusty, shameless, overpowered old man!
What was worse—she could only swallow her anger.
They had no choice. Against the growing threat of the Sun Moon Empire, the Douluo Alliance couldn't afford to lose Shrek's support. The academy's power, and its symbolic status, meant everything to the people.
Xu Jiawei tried to comfort his sister, then sighed.
"The authority of an academy outweighing that of a nation... What a joke this world has become."
"But there's no helping it, sister. When it comes to backstage manipulation, we don't need their permission."
Xu Jiujiu nodded, her eyes fierce.
"Hmph. Good. When the time comes, I'll represent our Royal Academy in battle. Let's see if that laughable Shrek team can beat us."
---
Since the tournament drawing wouldn't take place until the next day, Huo Yuhao was wandering the Star Sovereign Grand Hotel with Meng Hongchen and Xiao Hongchen, using the time to gather intel on the other teams.
Xiao Hongchen, who had always seen Shrek as a rival, was on the hunt for their distinctive—ugly—green uniforms.
Meng Hongchen wore a similarly bored expression as Huo Yuhao. If he weren't here, she wouldn't have bothered showing up at all.
"Seriously, brother? What's with you looking around like a creep? Is Shrek Academy a beautiful woman you're desperate to find?"
Her sharp tongue remained as vicious as ever. Huo Yuhao couldn't help but laugh.
Xiao Hongchen rolled his eyes.
"Recon, sis. Ever heard of it? Hey—found them!"
Huo Yuhao looked over and, sure enough, spotted the unmistakable vomit-green uniforms.
Meng Hongchen peeked too and immediately frowned.
"Not to be mean, but these kids look so young. Reserve team, maybe?"
Xiao Hongchen sighed.
"Ugh, then it's not even interesting. Just the reserve team?"
But Huo Yuhao thought otherwise. 'If that's really what you think, you're in for a surprise. Elder Xuan never fails to shock.'
Meng Hongchen noticed Huo Yuhao's stiff expression.
"You alright, Yuhao?"
". . . It's nothing. Just... if they're not the main team, then it's no big deal."
Narrowing her eyes, Meng Hongchen studied the Shrek reserve members. A woman's intuition told her something about Yuhao's reaction wasn't so simple.
So why did he freeze up?
There were only three members from Shrek present: Xu Sanshi, Dai Huabin, and Wang Dong.
The moment Meng Hongchen saw Wang Dong, her eyes sparkled—he was so handsome!
But then she thought about Huo Yuhao, who had always been by her side. 'Yeah, home-cooked meals are still the best.'
Over time, spending every day with Yuhao had slowly chipped away at her fangirl tendencies.
Seeing how his sister hadn't reacted much to this "pretty boy," Xiao Hongchen was surprised. He glanced at Huo Yuhao, then nodded in sudden understanding.
His playful gaze shifted to Meng Hongchen.
Of course, siblings share a bond. Meng Hongchen instantly knew what her annoying brother was thinking and gave him a fierce glare.
(End of Chapter)
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