Xu Jiawei felt that his arrangement was flawless.
"Have Shrek's people take action? Your Majesty, that's indeed a clever strategy," Cheng Gang's eyes lit up upon hearing this, but he secretly heaved a sigh of relief in his heart.
Frankly speaking, he was really afraid that Xu Jiawei would rashly clash head-on with Xuan Zi.
After all, all it took was a word from His Majesty the Emperor, and they would have to risk their lives.
And the strength of that old fellow Xuan Zi...
Just thinking about it made Cheng Gang's heart tremble.
"Speaking of which, I'm quite curious, how did you get this crystal?"
Xu Jiawei felt something was amiss.
Xuan Zi left no one alive wherever he went, so who recorded it using the crystal?
He felt that Xuan Zi didn't seem like a psychopath who would kill people and record it. After all, slaughtering a village or exterminating a family was already psychopathic enough.
"Ah, this..."
At this question, Cheng Gang was also full of doubts, "Speaking of which, this matter is quite strange. I found this crystal."
"What?" Xu Jiawei was shocked again, "Such crucial evidence, and you just found it?"
Cheng Gang spread his hands helplessly, "If I hadn't experienced it personally, I wouldn't believe it myself. Your Majesty, this is absolutely true, and when I found it, many other people had also found crystals like this, and some even discovered the same crystals in various major towns."
"There are many more of these crystals!"
Upon hearing this, Xu Jiawei exclaimed, "Oh no!"
"Your Majesty, what's wrong?" Cheng Gang's expression also changed drastically, realizing that something big might happen.
"This is likely the scheme of someone with ulterior motives!"
"A scheme?"
After hearing Xu Jiawei out, Cheng Gang also came to a sudden realization, "Your Majesty, are you saying that someone intentionally wants to push Xuan Zi into the eye of the storm?"
Xu Jiawei nodded gravely, "I'm convinced that's the case. Think about it, Xuan Zi, such a powerful being, if he becomes the public enemy of Soul Land, what can Shrek Academy do? If Shrek handles it lightly, it would surely lead to dissatisfaction among countless people across Soul Land; and if the matter is handled severely, it would be equivalent to crippling themselves!"
"Gulp!"
Cheng Gang swallowed hard, "Such a ruthless tactic."
Xu Jiawei instructed, "Now we can only trouble you to make a trip to Shrek Academy and deliver this crystal as quickly as possible."
"Alright." Cheng Gang nodded firmly and then asked, "Your Majesty, shall we not try to remedy the situation?"
"Remedy..." Xu Jiawei fell silent at the question.
Moments later, he helplessly cast his gaze outside the grand hall, "Given that we have seen this crystal, it proves that the time is already ripe. Even if we want to remedy the situation, it's too late now.
Unless... we could kill all those who know the truth, but do you think that's possible?"
Cheng Gang shivered after hearing Xu Jiawei's words.
Possible?
Of course not.
Counting the time, people who have seen this crystal—if not a hundred thousand, there must be eighty thousand, right?
Can they all be killed?
...
Meanwhile.
The same scene was unfolding in the Dou Spirit Empire.
They too were dispatching strong individuals, heading towards Shrek.
...
The next day.
Noon.
The soul fighting arena within the Shrek Academy was packed to the brim.
And the cause of this scene was still yesterday's noon dispute in the cafeteria.
The battle between the Soul King level prodigious girl from the Sun-Moon Empire and the notorious bootlicker Xu Sanshi from the Shrek Academy.
"Uncle Master, just watch, I will definitely beat that arrogant guy until he's looking for his teeth on the ground!" Meng Hongchen boasted with a few swings of her little fist and then stepped onto the stage.
"Look, that girl has gotten on the stage."
"So young, and already a Soul King?"
"What's the big deal, her Cultivation Level is just boosted by drugs, it's as flimsy as paper."
"Cut it out, aren't you afraid your tongue will get blown away by the wind? Knocking Xu Sanshi flying with a punch and you still say it's paper flimsy?"
"If you don't agree, then you go up."
There were those who were shocked, those who were disdainful, and those who argued back, creating a lively atmosphere.
However.
As time slowly passed, the crowd began to feel that something was off.
So much time had passed; why was there still no sign of Xu Sanshi?
According to the time, he should be there by now.
"Damn, did Xu Sanshi chicken out?"
"He shouldn't have. It was him who challenged her."
However.
Just as everyone was puzzled, Xu Sanshi's voice rang out in the arena.
"Who said I wouldn't dare to come?"
The crowd parted, and a figure appeared before everyone's eyes.
But immediately after, a strange expression spread across their faces.
They saw that Xu Sanshi was no longer the familiar Xu Sanshi they knew.
In his place stood a metal giant, about two and a half meters tall.
"What is this?"
Everyone suddenly showed a look of astonishment.
"A Human-shaped Soul Guidance Device?"
Qin Xiao looked at Xu Sanshi, also revealing a look of surprise. His spiritual power immediately spread out, enveloping Xu Sanshi. His expression then also turned curious.
Xu Sanshi was not wearing a Human-shaped Soul Guidance Device; to be precise, he was wearing a suit of armor.
But this armor was exceedingly thick.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
As Xu Sanshi took steps forward, the ground trembled, indicating the immense weight of the armor.
"What the hell is that?"
When Xu Sanshi climbed onto the stage, Meng Hongchen frowned and said, "Are you some kind of turtle, hiding in such a huge shell?"
"Heh heh heh, you just don't understand, do you?"
"What era is it now? Isn't it reasonable for Soul Masters to use soul tools in battle?"
Xu Sanshi chuckled mischievously from within the armor.
Meng Hongchen disdainfully responded, "You call that thing you're wearing a soul tool? Can you not disgrace soul tools, please? Put it in our Sun-Moon Empire, and even dogs wouldn't wear it. Even the scrap collectors might not want it."
Her words elicited laughter throughout the audience.
Even though they shouldn't be laughing from a standpoint of position, they just couldn't help it.
"Hmph, at this time and you're still trying to have the last word. Referee, I'm ready. Let's start."
Xu Sanshi planned to teach Meng Hongchen a lesson with his actions.
After their battle yesterday, he realized that he absolutely could not defeat Meng Hongchen using conventional means. That's why he came up with this method, to fight a war of attrition.
With the defensive capabilities of this metal armor, it would help him block the onslaught of attacks. Once Meng Hongchen was nearly exhausted, he would emerge from the armor and turn defeat into victory.
The teacher in charge of the soul fighting arena took a deep look at Xu Sanshi before slowly nodding, "Alright then!"
Immediately after, he loudly announced, "The battle begins!"
No sooner had his words fallen than Meng Hongchen sprang into action.
A dozen soul cannons bombarded Xu Sanshi in a relentless assault.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The soul cannons' blasts hit the thick metal, igniting flashes of fire.
Xu Sanshi knelt on one knee on the ground, his body not even swaying as he easily bore the onslaught.
"Ahahaha, how about that, you can't break through my defense, can you?"
Xu Sanshi's sneering laughter echoed once again.
After Meng Hongchen's attack, he felt reassured.
That girl, she definitely couldn't handle him.
In fact, the defense of this metal was even stronger than when he activated his Martial Soul.
"Damn it!"
Meng Hongchen clenched her teeth; this guy was too despicable.
Suddenly, she decided to spend some serious resources, pulling out several powerful soul tools, determined to shatter Xu Sanshi's "turtle shell."
However,
Just then, a voice suddenly echoed in Meng Hongchen's mind.
"Meng, don't be angry, your uncle-martial master will help you."
Uncle-martial master?
Meng Hongchen's heart stirred, but her pretty face did not show any sign of it.
An idea popped into her mind, and she inwardly asked, "Uncle-martial master, what should I do?"
Qin Xiao responded with a laugh, "It's simple, just cut him with a knife!"
Cut?
Meng Hongchen was momentarily taken aback.
The way of fighting for Soul Masters was to maintain a distance and suppress the enemy with long-range firepower.
Her grandfather, Jing Hongchen, once said that if the distance was extended beyond 2000 meters, they could even stand a chance against that level 98 Titled Douluo, Xuan Zi, from Shrek Academy.
This illustrated the importance of distance for a Soul Master.
Closing in the distance was not exactly a favorable move.
But, considering that the speaker was Qin Xiao, Meng Hongchen subconsciously chose to believe him.
Because what the uncle-martial master said was always right.
She put away the soul cannons, and from the Spatial Soul Guidance Device, she took out a level 5 soul tool battle saber and charged towards Xu Sanshi without hesitation.
This move surprised everyone present.
Abandoning her advantage and choosing close combat, had Meng Hongchen lost her mind?
Didn't she see Xu Sanshi's armor of iron bumps? If she got hit, even a Soul King might get hurt!