Upon hearing Lan Muzi's report on the Shrek Academy's tragic state, both Yun Ming and Long Yeyue were deeply grieved.
Yun Ming was filled with regret. If he hadn't allowed Long Yeyue and the others to act recklessly, perhaps things wouldn't have ended up like this.
Harming others ultimately leads to harming oneself.
Shrek Academy had demonstrated this principle to the fullest extent.
Long Yeyue, on the other hand, was overwhelmed with anger.
She shared the same thoughts as Lan Muzi.
Shrek Academy had deliberately left Yali behind in order to set up Xia Yi.
If Yali had been there, she would never have provoked the Demon Soul Great White Shark King, Xiaobai. If that had been the case, so many people at Shrek Academy wouldn't have died.
In short, everything was Xia Yi's fault.
In her heart, she had long since absolved herself of all responsibility.
No matter what, she would never admit that she was at fault.
Watching Long Yeyue's frantic state, Yun Ming closed his eyes and shook his head, choosing not to engage with her. Instead, he silently walked over to the injured members of Shrek Academy. Only after confirming that Na'er, who was unconscious, was not in any serious danger did he finally breathe a deep sigh of relief.
If something had happened to Na'er as well, he truly wouldn't know how to face Yali.
Without hesitation, he carried Na'er into the sky, heading straight to find Yali.
As for what was happening on the ship, Long Yeyue still wasn't willing to let it go—she wanted to stir up more trouble.
Once again, Yun Ming chose to ignore her.
Long Yeyue directly sought out Chen Xinjie, and together, they brought Lan Muzi into a secret chamber to begin their discussion.
The three of them deliberated for a full two hours. By the time they emerged, the high-ranking officials from both the Douluo Continent and the Star Luo Continent had already gathered.
Seeing their sect members and disciples lying dead, these people were filled with boundless rage. Especially the families of the victims, who released waves of terrifying auras that spread across the entire sea.
Particularly Ye Xinglan's father, who attempted multiple times to break into the chamber where Chen Xinjie, Long Yeyue, and Lan Muzi were meeting.
He desperately wanted to question Lan Muzi—why had he killed their family's Ye Wuque?
Unfortunately, he failed every time.
Finally, the door of the chamber slowly opened, and Chen Xinjie, Long Yeyue, and Lan Muzi stepped out.
As soon as the door opened, everyone immediately swarmed forward.
"Everyone!" Before they could speak, Chen Xinjie took the lead, releasing a terrifying surge of soul power and spiritual energy at the peak of the Pseudo-God level.
In an instant, the thousands of people present were all silenced, unable to voice their questions.
"Everyone, I am Hanhai Douluo, Chen Xinjie, commander of the Sun-Moon Federation's Sea God Legion and the master of the Battle God Hall. I have already thoroughly investigated the attack on the Yuan Yang and Xing Luo ships by the sea soul beasts. The attack was caused when Mu Ye of the Body Sect lured the Demon Soul Great White Shark group and then threw Tang Wulin of Shrek Academy into their midst. In order to survive, Tang Wulin was forced to kill a large number of Demon Soul Great White Sharks, which in turn led to the disaster."
Chen Xinjie's voice was low as he continued, "After the incident occurred, the teachers and students of Shrek Academy fought bravely against the sea soul beasts and suffered casualties just like the rest of you."
"Chen Xinjie, what do you mean by this? Are you trying to absolve Shrek Academy of blame? Don't forget, if Shrek Academy hadn't deliberately provoked the sea soul beasts, this battle wouldn't have been necessary in the first place!" Le Zhengyuan from the Sacred Family angrily rebuked. His son had died because of Shrek Academy, and now Chen Xinjie was actually praising them?
"I am simply stating the facts. Yes, this incident was indeed caused by Silver Moon Douluo's poor decision-making, but her intention was to protect her students. In that situation, we should try to understand her emotions as a teacher," Chen Xinjie replied solemnly.
"Ridiculous! Just to protect her own students, she had to make others risk their lives?" Ye Xinglan's father, Ye Tianluo, the current patriarch of the Ye Family and a Rank 95 Super Douluo, said coldly. His voice was icy as he continued, "And what about my son Que'er's death? How do you explain that? If Shrek Academy doesn't give us a satisfactory answer, this matter won't end here."
"I admit that Shrek Academy bears responsibility in this matter." Long Yeyue finally spoke, her voice solemn. "What has happened is deeply regrettable, and Shrek Academy is extremely sorry. I hereby promise that anyone who was injured or lost their lives in this battle against the sea soul beasts—whether from Star Luo Continent or Douluo Continent—will be compensated by Shrek Academy. As for the exact compensation details, I will negotiate with each of you individually. Compensation will include, but is not limited to, Federation currency, rare herbs, valuable metals, and admission slots to Shrek Academy. Whatever you request, as long as it is reasonable and Shrek Academy can provide it, we will not haggle over the price."
The moment Long Yeyue said this, the scene suddenly fell silent.
Everyone understood that the events had already transpired, and there was no point in continuing to hound Shrek Academy.
Rather than that, it was better to take advantage of this opportunity to extract some benefits from them.
"But what about Lan Muzi killing my son Que'er?" Ye Tianluo gritted his teeth and asked.
If those who had died at the hands of the sea soul beasts were compensated by Shrek Academy, he could accept that.
But Ye Wuque had died at Lan Muzi's hands—no matter what, he wouldn't let him off so easily.
"Sword Saint Douluo, I fully understand your feelings right now. Although Lan Muzi killed Ye Wuque to protect Tang Wulin, it was a misunderstanding. But what's done is done, and Shrek Academy will not make excuses. How about this—Lan Muzi's wife, who was also my student, died in the attack by the sea soul beasts. She had four pieces of soul bones, all of which were over ten thousand years old. Shrek Academy will offer them to the Ye Family as compensation," Long Yeyue said gravely.
Behind her, Lan Muzi clenched his fists so tightly that they turned white.
Tang Yinmeng was his wife.
Even in death, she was not at peace—her soul bones were to be taken away.
But since Long Yeyue had spoken, he had no choice but to accept it.
Long Yeyue was using Tang Yinmeng to gain sympathy, making her bear the consequences of his actions.
Otherwise, he himself would have to face punishment.
"Four ten-thousand-year soul bones…" Sword Saint Douluo Ye Tianluo's expression became hesitant.
Seeing his hesitation, Long Yeyue quickly added, "Silver Moon Douluo, the Outer Court Dean of Shrek Academy, has also perished. She had a hundred-thousand-year soul spirit. Shrek Academy can temporarily seal this soul spirit. In the future, if Xinglan is able to withstand a hundred-thousand-year soul spirit, and as long as she remains at Shrek Academy, I can personally ensure that the soul spirit will be given to her. How about that?"
The moment Long Yeyue said this, everyone's eyes burned with desire.
A hundred-thousand-year soul spirit!
For ordinary people, that was something they couldn't even dream of.
"…Fine. Let's leave it at that." Ye Tianluo painfully closed his eyes.
For the sake of his beloved daughter, he would endure his nephew's death.
"Does anyone else have any objections regarding Shrek Academy's compensation?" Chen Xinjie asked.
The crowd fell into silence.
Although their own compensation hadn't been negotiated yet, seeing how generous Long Yeyue was toward the Ye Family, they assumed she wouldn't be stingy with them either.
"Good. Since no one has any objections, let's discuss the other responsible parties," Chen Xinjie said, nodding in satisfaction.
"First, we have the Body Sect. They bear undeniable responsibility for what happened, but since Mu Ye of the Body Sect has already perished, we will address the issue of the Body Sect when we return to the Douluo Continent. Secondly, there is Xia Yi. I assume everyone is aware of the Phoenix Heart Jade of the Cold family, a treasure of the Phoenix Clan. I have confirmed that Xia Yi possesses the Phoenix Heart Jade belonging to Heavenly Phoenix Douluo Leng Yaozhu, which contains the full-force strike of an Ultimate Douluo. He clearly had the ability to use it to kill the Beast King Octopus, or at the very least intimidate it. However, he deliberately chose to do nothing. He must give us an explanation for this."
"Sea God Douluo, you shouldn't put it that way." Long Yeyue waited for Chen Xinjie to finish speaking before deliberately interrupting with a faux defensive tone. "As far as I know, the Phoenix Heart Jade is a symbol of love between a man and a woman, a token of their bond. How could it possibly be used so casually? We should try to understand Xia Yi's position. This matter isn't his fault at all. The sea soul beasts' attack had nothing to do with him to begin with. Besides, we only lost a mere three hundred people, whereas the Phoenix Heart Jade is a sacred token of love between him and Sky Phoenix Douluo!"
Chen Xinjie, Long Yeyue, and Lan Muzi had spent a full two hours discussing the matter before they came up with what they believed to be a "foolproof plan."
One had to admit—they learned quickly.
By using an utterly ridiculous excuse to justify Xia Yi's actions, they could maximize the amount of resentment directed at him.
With the groundwork they had laid earlier, many people present were no longer blaming Shrek Academy. Instead, their anger was gradually shifting toward the Body Sect and Xia Yi.
However, what they didn't realize—
The washing dishes incident involving Ye Xinglan and Xu Lizhi in Tianhai City was actually something Xia Yi had come up with in a moment of impulse.
At the time, Shrek Academy had thought they were in an unsolvable predicament.
But in Xia Yi's eyes, their argument had been full of loopholes.
If they wanted to use foreign tactics to counter foreign threats, they needed to truly grasp the essence of the method first.
(End of Chapter)