"Di Tian, after the meeting ends, immediately send Yao Ling back to the Star Dou Great Forest. Don't let him come out for the time being."
"Yes." Di Tian replied. Yao Ling also obediently agreed, not daring to voice any objection.
"As for how he will be punished later, you decide. I won't take part in that," Yun Ze said. Strictly speaking, Yao Ling was not his subordinate, so there was no need for him to be involved in the punishment.
"Fine." Gu Yuena gave Yao Ling a cold glance, then looked at Yun Ze with some worry. "Nothing will go wrong, right?"
Yun Ze shook his head and said, "The problem isn't big. Among all the crime scenes, only one private residence in Floating City was detected with energy traces — and those traces belong to Yao Ling."
"To lock onto Yao Ling through that energy trace is very unlikely. After all, with normal thinking, who would imagine that soul beasts were behind this?"
"As long as Yao Ling leaves the Dragon-Phoenix Hall now, even if they come knocking, it'll be useless."
"With Di Tian, Lin Yi, Bear Lord, and those titled-level soul beasts deterring them, they can't act against Dragon-Phoenix Hall without evidence."
Hearing this, Gu Yuena felt much more at ease. At least Yao Ling's mistake wouldn't destroy all their previous efforts.
"Yao Ling, go back and reflect properly. Because of your carelessness this time, you almost ruined everything we worked for," Gu Yuena said angrily.
"Yes, yes — this subordinate knows his fault, truly knows his fault," Yao Ling replied hurriedly, filled with guilt and regret.
"After this is over, we should think of a way to blow up the Star Dou Great Forest," Yun Ze said casually.
"Why?" Gu Yuena asked in surprise, not expecting him to say that.
"So that the soul beasts in the forest can 'disappear' in a reasonable way. That way, your identities will be safer," Yun Ze explained.
Gu Yuena blinked a few times, thought for a moment, then understood and laughed.
"Indeed. Only by destroying the Star Dou Great Forest can we prevent people from suspecting Di Tian and the others."
"Well, not exactly prevent suspicion — more like there will be no evidence left even if they do suspect," Gu Yuena corrected herself.
"Mhm. I'm just mentioning it casually for now. We can talk about actual implementation later," Yun Ze said, changing the subject.
"Have everyone prepare for battle. After this, Shrek Academy will definitely come aggressively. There will be a hard fight."
"Yes," Di Tian and the others responded.
Yun Ze then made some further arrangements and contacted Xu Lin and Gu Ming after the meeting.
…
That night, the Federal Government convened an emergency meeting. Those unable to attend in person joined via video.
The huge conference hall was filled with major figures, including Yun Ming, Long Yeyue, and Ya Li from Shrek Academy.
Also present were Gu Ming from the Federal Research Institute, Xu Lin from Sun Moon Royal Academy, Guan Yue the vice-hall master of the War God Hall, Qian Gu Dongfeng and Leng Yaozhu from the Spirit Transmission Tower.
Also Tang Sect's Affectionate Douluo Zang Xin, the Bright City governor, the Bright City police chief, and others.
Even Central Army Commander Yu Guanzhi — a Federal three-star general — attended.
Yu Guanzhi was a super heavyweight in the federal military: an Extreme Douluo with four-word battle armor, on equal standing with Chen Xinjie in military rank.
At this moment, the Federal Speaker was briefing the legislators on the attack, while images flashed across the massive screen behind him.
"Thirty-seven federal legislators and twenty-three federal bank employees — sixty people in total — were murdered in their homes."
"Except for the Su Mu family in Floating City, where obvious energy residue was found, none of the other crime scenes had any energy traces."
"The perpetrator was extremely powerful and very smart — he used weapons to commit the killings."
"After professional examination, those weapons were confirmed to have been crudely hammered into shape, not purchased from any store."
"We can't investigate anything through that clue. Since that lead is useless, the only remaining clue is the Su Mu residence."
The Speaker finished the report, his tone full of anger mixed with helplessness.
Many legislators frowned, feeling a trace of fear.
This killer was terrifying — to do this, he had to be at least a Titled Douluo.
The hall erupted into discussion. When the timing felt right, Yun Ming stood up, and with a single sentence made the hall fall silent:
"This was done by Dragon-Phoenix Hall."
Everyone looked at each other, thinking privately. No one would believe him just because he said so.
"阁下 Yun Ming, you speak with such certainty — do you have any solid evidence?" the Speaker asked happily.
He was under enormous pressure; if it could be confirmed that Dragon-Phoenix Hall was responsible, the pressure would vanish.
"No," Yun Ming shook his head solemnly. "I just think it was them."
"Uh…" The legislators were speechless. Some instinctively wanted to refute him, but held back because it was Yun Ming.
"Heh. Yun Ming, thirty-seven legislators are dead — this is not something to joke about."
"If you have evidence, we'll immediately move to eliminate Dragon-Phoenix Hall. But if you don't, you can't expect us to act just because you feel like it."
"I know Shrek has grievances against Dragon-Phoenix Hall, but public matters and private grudges are separate."
"This concerns the face of the federal government. I hope you won't recklessly accuse others because of personal hatred," Xu Lin said.
In the past, even if he disliked Yun Ming, he wouldn't have dared to speak this way.
After all, Yun Ming was known as the strongest on the continent — powerful and domineering. Saying this could have gotten him beaten.
But now, with Dragon-Phoenix Hall backing him, he had the confidence.
"Yes," Gu Ming added, "if you think Dragon-Phoenix Hall did it, then produce evidence. A single 'I think so' is meaningless."
"After all, Dragon-Phoenix Hall has three Extreme Douluo. Without sufficient reason, I believe the government should not act against them."
"First, randomly assigning blame will destroy the federal government's credibility and let the real killer go free — that would be unjust to the dead legislators."
"Second, Dragon-Phoenix Hall is not weak. Those Extreme Douluo alone are enough to make us think carefully."
"I agree with Director Xu and Elder Gu," Qian Gu Dongfeng of the Spirit Transmission Tower said first.
"This matter is far too serious. Acting just because Yun Ming 'thinks so' would be absurd."
"We need sufficient evidence. Without it, I also oppose taking action against Dragon-Phoenix Hall. It would be unjustified and could cause the Federation to lose extreme-level powerhouses."
He wasn't saying this to help Dragon-Phoenix Hall — he simply disliked Yun Ming and wanted to make things difficult for him.
He still remembered clearly how Yun Ming had humiliated him before. This grudge had to be repaid.
(End of Chapter)