"Heh, if one can't even see through this much, they wouldn't even be present at this meeting." Xu Jiawei chuckled lightly.
"As long as we can slaughter the younger generation of the Sun Moon Empire, cutting off at least ten years of their talent pipeline, severely shocking those traitorous sects who defected from the Three Nations, and by the way, deal a heavy blow to the Sun Moon Empire's core base—Mingde Hall—then surely, the Sun Moon Empire will suffer immense damage. It might take them centuries to recover. By then… we can slowly erode them, not giving them any breathing room."
The Sect Master of the Xuanming Sect spoke in a thoughtful tone.
And conveniently, if this operation could rescue his son, he wouldn't fear any retaliation from the Sun Moon Empire.
As for Shrek Academy, their thinking wasn't much different.
Conveniently, they'd also bring back their exchange students. By that point... it would be the Sun Moon Empire that's truly caught by the throat. After all, Xiao Hongchen and Ma Rulong were still in Shrek Academy, making the Sun Moon Empire seethe but unable to speak out.
As for air supremacy or missile strikes, they weren't concerned. During this mission to destroy the Mingde Hall base, they'd also seize a few researchers—either take them back to Shrek Academy or force out the location of the missile caches and then kill them.
And besides… there was Beibei!
A glimmer of a smile flashed in Mu En's eyes. At that point, it would truly be—Shrek's overwhelming victory!
Sure enough, even if the Sun Moon Empire had won many times before, none of it could compare to this decisive moment. He didn't believe that with all the top forces of the original continent mobilized in a surprise attack, they couldn't defeat the Sun Moon Empire.
"If only four thousand years ago, we had used our victory to seize more resources, plunder more people, destroy more talents—how would we be in this situation today?"
Titan let out a cold snort.
"This..." Xu Jiawei shook his head helplessly.
Though they had won four thousand years ago, the Three Nations and Shrek had paid a heavy price. If they had pushed any further to plunder, there would have been fierce backlash—would the Sun Moon Empire have fought them to the death? It wasn't worth it.
As for soul tool technology... what a pity. But at that time, traditional soul masters of the original continent looked down on soul tools, thinking the Sun Moon Empire had only won because they used cheap hidden weapons and caught everyone off guard. After circling around and finding that the Sun Moon Empire's lands were frozen, desolate—except near the extreme north and the Demonic Forest—there seemed to be little value. So they didn't bother.
"Dwelling on the past is useless. It only affects morale. History has no 'if.' We can only look at the present," Mu En interrupted everyone's reminiscing and tapped the wooden table.
"Everyone, we do this out of necessity—for the honor of the continent, for the future of the continent, we must fight this battle!"
"This battle—we will win!"
"We will win!"
"Damn it, this girl's ruthless."
Tang San spat out a mouthful of blood and struggled to stand up.
He looked at Jiang Nannan, who stood proudly atop the platform. This was a dueling stage used by students of the Sun Moon Empire's Royal Academy to settle personal grievances—similar to Shrek Academy's Soul Dueling Arena.
Naturally, such duels between campus geniuses often drew crowds.
"What's this guy's deal? Why's he always pestering Jiang Nannan?"
"No idea. I heard he's an exchange student from Shrek, trying to rebuild some kind of 'original Seven Shrek Monsters' with her."
"Damn, does he not know Tang San's reputation is in the gutter? Honestly, these days, the place where Tang San has the best reputation is actually in the Sun Moon Empire…"
"His talent's okay, supposedly he's got twin spirits, a bit like Tang San. But against someone like Jiang Nannan? Only Sword-obsessed Senior or Dream Senior can match her."
The murmurs of the crowd rose.
Though not mocking, the commentary was cuttingly realistic—and to Tang San, piercing.
Who was he?
Tang San, God-King of the Divine Realm, once the most monstrously talented genius of the Douluo Continent. Ever since his debut with the original Seven Monsters, he walked a godlike path and smoothly became a divine enforcer.
Not long ago, with a flick of his finger, he could blot out the stars, crush Douluo Star into dust. These so-called geniuses before him were nothing but slightly bigger ants.
He had descended in avatar form to save the continent, push forward a millennium-spanning plan—though admittedly, with some arrogance.
But reality had slapped him hard.
Tang San clenched his fists, staring at Jiang Nannan's cold, dismissive look. The resentment in his heart burned hotter.
"There's no killing allowed on stage. But if you keep pestering me, I will cripple your limbs."
Jiang Nannan said coldly.
She glanced at Tang San as if looking at garbage—not even bothering to use her soul tool set against a mere Soul Elder.
Even with her naturally kind disposition, she had developed a killing intent.
She had clearly held back every time, considering their shared academy roots. But this guy was disgustingly persistent, radiating this inexplicable self-confidence, thinking her mercy meant she liked him.
Jiang Nannan flicked her flowing hair and walked away lightly.
Leaving behind Tang San, half-kneeling on the ground, bloodied and humiliated.
"Back then, every girl I interacted with ended up liking me. Why is it that after I've chased her for so long, she's still so cold?"
Tang San walked out of the arena.
Frustrated, he wandered outside the Royal Academy, aimlessly kicking pebbles.
"Kid, come here…"
Suddenly, a voice called out.
"Teacher?!! You… how..." Tang San looked up. A figure in black robes blocked his path—but the voice gave it away instantly. He smiled in delight.
"Shh."
Xuanzi smiled faintly.
He lifted the boy's shoulder, and in the blink of an eye, they appeared inside a small inn.
"Teacher, why are you here?" Tang San asked in surprise.
Seeing that his disciple wasn't faking his emotions, Xuanzi felt a bit of fatherly warmth and nodded with satisfaction—but then frowned. "Who beat you up like this?"
"...It was my own incompetence. I tried to recruit Jiang Nannan, a former Shrek student, to rebuild the Seven Monsters. But she repeatedly rejected me and even beat me up and mocked me every time…" A flicker of gloom passed over Tang San's face.
He couldn't exactly tell his teacher it was because he was sexually harassing her, right?
"How hateful!" Xuanzi's eyes gleamed with killing intent.
To him, traitors like her didn't belong in Shrek—no matter how talented.
"But don't worry. This grudge… will be avenged." He gave a cold smile.
Because he remembered not long ago, the Xuanming Sect Master had approached him, asking Shrek Academy to keep an eye on a girl named Jiang Nannan. They intended to take her—along with his son—as a future daughter-in-law.
Apparently, Xu Sanshi only recognized this girl. If not, he'd rather remain single for life. Normally, they wouldn't dare act on such thoughts—but with this alliance stronger than ever, even if the Sun Moon Empire retaliated later, they'd probably have to swallow their anger.
So… the plan was set in motion.
(End of Chapter)