Chapter 96: Shrek's Crumbling Mask
When a small flying insect appeared in Jing Hongchen's hand, Xuan Lao's expression changed instantly.
As the Deputy Leader of Shrek's Sea God Pavilion, Xuan Lao possessed level 98 soul power—more than enough to detect even the slightest fluctuations in soul energy. Despite often appearing unreliable, he had absolute confidence in his ability to sense hidden soul devices. If anyone tried to use a concealed soul tool to spy on him, he would detect and destroy it instantly.
Because of this, Xuan Lao had no fear of Jing Hongchen catching him off guard. He firmly believed that any attempt to monitor them would be immediately exposed.
But this time, things were different.
The insect in Jing Hongchen's hand showed no soul power fluctuations—none at all.
Earlier, Xuan Lao had dismissed the tiny creature. Without soul energy, it was clearly not a soul tool, and since it wasn't even flying in his direction, he hadn't given it a second thought. He was here to deal with humans, not insects.
But to everyone's shock, that inconspicuous bug turned out to be the key to exposing Shrek Academy's secret tactics.
The insect flew toward a screen Jing Hongchen had prepared. As it landed, the screen lit up—projecting clear footage of Huo Yuhao's cheating.
"Xuanzi, the evidence is irrefutable," Jing Hongchen sneered. "What else do you have to say?"
Xuan Lao's face darkened. He turned to look at Yan Shaozhe. Clearly, this was a mess that only someone with a sharper mind could handle.
Yan Shaozhe found himself forced into the spotlight. Though caught off guard, he wasn't just a powerful soul master—he was also a skilled strategist, unlike Xuan Lao, who relied more on brute force.
He immediately stepped forward. "We had no knowledge of his actions. This was entirely his personal behavior. Besides, he's just a one-ring Soul Master. Even if Shrek wanted to cheat, it wouldn't be through someone like him."
It was a clever move, meant to downplay the incident and isolate Huo Yuhao from the academy's official stance. But standing to the side, Xiao Qiang saw through it immediately.
He already knew about Huo Yuhao's first soul skill thanks to his own fourth ability. Calmly, he spoke up. "Indeed, he's only a one-ring Soul Master. But his first soul skill is quite impressive—it's an auxiliary-type skill: vision sharing. With it, he can link his sight with others, allowing each person to see what the others see. Am I wrong?"
Yan Shaozhe forced a smile, but his eyes burned with a killing intent that mirrored Xuan Lao's.
Now wasn't the time to act, however. With Unbreakable Douluo and Jing Hongchen present—and Xiao Qiang holding Beibei captive—any rash move could have disastrous consequences. Shrek's reputation was already hanging by a thread.
Reluctantly, Yan Shaozhe gave in. He sent a signal to Yin Chengxian, who quietly nudged Huo Yuhao awake and told him how to respond.
As expected, when Huo Yuhao opened his eyes and realized his soul skill had been exposed, he immediately fell to his knees, sobbing.
"I'm sorry, Master Xuan! Dean Yan! I'm just an orphan… Shrek gave me a home. I've always wanted to repay that kindness, but I never found a way to contribute. With Senior Beibei and the others on the battlefield, I was worried for their safety, so I used my first soul skill to help. This is all my fault. I'll take full responsibility!"
"Ah, you foolish child," Yan Shaozhe sighed, shaking his head. "We could've won fairly—why resort to something like this?"
Though his words sounded like a scolding, they were actually quite forgiving. Decades of experience as an old fox made his performance more convincing than even Xiao Qiang expected.
While some viewers and dignitaries remained skeptical, Shrek still had plausible deniability. No direct evidence tied Huo Yuhao's actions to anyone higher up. It could be brushed off as one student's impulsive choice.
"It may be his personal behavior," Xiao Qiang replied coolly, "but if it caused us to be treated unfairly, shouldn't you hand him over to us?"
"No," Yan Shaozhe rejected the proposal without hesitation. "He is a Shrek student, and we don't abandon our own."
What he didn't say was that keeping Huo Yuhao at Shrek ensured his silence. If the boy were taken to the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy, who knew what secrets he might spill?
Xiao Qiang narrowed his eyes. "Are you protecting your student—or protecting the truth? It's fine. Let's move on. Even if Huo Yuhao acted alone, how do you explain Miss Mengdi's case?"
At his signal, Yu Mengdi emerged from the Sun Moon Royal Academy's ranks.
"Who is she?"
"I remember now. She fought against Shrek once… right, it was the match where those two ended up dead."
"Yeah! She was actually dominating, but then… she missed that final blow. Wait, was that really just a coincidence?"
Whispers rippled through the crowd. The connection between Yu Mengdi's last-minute failure and Shrek's cheating tactics was too hard to ignore now.
Yu Mengdi walked directly onto the stage and pointed at Xuan Lao—not to accuse Shrek of cheating, but to make another revelation.
"It was him," she said firmly. "He told me I had to fuse a thousand-year soul ring for my sixth ring. If I didn't… he said he would kill me."
Xuan Lao raised his brows but remained calm. He stroked his beard and replied, "Little girl, don't slander me. I was only joking when I said that."
He'd expected her to accuse him of forcing her to throw the previous match, but since she only brought up the matter of her soul ring, he felt relieved.
Besides, she wasn't standing within the protective circle of the Unbreakable Douluo. Clearly, she hadn't defected to the Sun Moon side—or perhaps she knew they couldn't protect her. Either way, she seemed reluctant to fully turn against Shrek.
To Xuan Lao, this was an unspoken agreement: if she kept quiet about the match-fixing, he'd allow her to keep the ten-thousand-year ring for her sixth soul ring. A win-win, in his mind.
He was even congratulating himself internally—thinking he was smarter than he realized—until the crowd began to murmur.
"Wait… did Shrek's Titled Douluo really threaten someone?"
"Well, he said it was just a joke…"
"Joke? If the emperor tells you to eat a pile of shit and threatens your entire clan if you don't—would you treat that as a joke?"
"Right! Or imagine a god descending and giving you an order, then just coldly snorting if you hesitate. You'd obey instantly!"
"Tch… I wouldn't dare say no."
The stadium was abuzz. Tens of thousands of spectators from across the Star Luo Empire were now questioning Shrek's moral integrity. Though opinions varied, the conclusion was almost universal:
Shrek was using its power to bully others—and they were cheating, not just once, but likely many times in the past.
Xuan Lao's eye twitched.
"…Why do I feel like I just got played?"