Chapter 130: Elder Xuan Kowtows, Pleading Guilty
The streets of Shrek City remained as wide and prosperous as ever, yet for Elder Xuan and his dejected team, the paved road leading toward the academy's core felt agonizingly long.
As they trudged deeper into the city, the bustling civilians and scattered independent Soul Masters lining the thoroughfare gradually took notice of this dispirited procession.
Already hypersensitive to his surroundings following their crushing defeat, Elder Xuan felt the shift in the atmosphere immediately. The gazes cast their way lacked the usual fanatical awe and deep reverence. Instead, those eyes were filled with sharp scrutiny, utter confusion, and undisguised disgust.
"Look over there... aren't those people from the Shrek Academy team?" A laborer lowered a heavy crate to the cobblestones, pointing a calloused finger at the group marching with their heads bowed. His voice carried a heavy note of disbelief.
"It really is them. And isn't the old man leading them Elder Xuan?" A nearby Soul Master narrowed his eyes, tracking their movements before letting out a harsh, grating sneer. "To return in such a pathetic state... they have completely dragged Shrek's ten-thousand-year reputation through the mud."
"Ah? What exactly happened? How can you speak about Elder Xuan like that?"
"You actually have not heard?" The Soul Master scoffed, crossing his arms. "The results of the All-Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament have been out for days! Shrek Academy's ten-thousand-year legacy of absolute dominance was shattered. They lost to a team whose overall soul power ranks were far inferior to theirs. And if that was not humiliating enough, the absolute core of the Heavenly Soul Team was none other than Liu Yuan—the very same student Elder Xuan personally expelled from the academy!"
"That is not even the worst part!" another bystander chimed in, his tone dripping with mockery. "I heard Elder Xuan made a public wager with Du Busi at the Star Luo City gates. After losing, right in front of hundreds of thousands of spectators, with soul tools broadcasting the entire event, he actually dropped to his knees! He personally kowtowed to apologize to Liu Yuan and Du Busi. They say the sound of his head hitting the ground echoed through the viewing screens!"
"Eww... that is just too shameful. A dignified Super Douluo actually doing something so spineless?"
"Exactly! Losing the championship is one thing, but throwing away their dignity like that? I bet the academy's higher-ups and the Sea God Pavilion elders are furious right now. When has our Shrek ever suffered such a monumental insult?"
"He deserves severe punishment the moment he steps through those gates."
The rising and falling whispers of the civilians and independent Soul Masters acted like rusted carving knives, relentlessly scraping against Elder Xuan's already frayed nerves.
The color drained from his face, leaving behind an ashen pallor that quickly darkened into a livid, bruised purple. Beneath his tattered, dirt-stained sleeves, his fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles popped and his fingernails bit into his palms.
Given his usual explosive temper, if anyone had dared to openly critique Shrek's gains and losses in his presence, he would have unleashed his aura and slapped them into the dirt without a second thought.
But today, he kept his head down. He knew that his every movement now represented the absolute last shred of the academy's dignity. Worse still, he could not refute a single word. Their mockery was built on bloody, obvious facts.
He could not afford to lower himself to the level of commoners, nor did he dare lash out in the middle of the city. Swallowing the bile in his throat, he merely quickened his pace. Like a pack of beaten stray dogs, he led his battered team away from the bustling main road, ducking into the towering gates of Shrek Academy to escape the suffocating stares.
However, the very instant Elder Xuan's boots crossed the threshold into the academy's inner courtyard, an aged voice—heavy with an unquestionable, suffocating authority—exploded directly within his mind.
"Come to the Sea God Pavilion."
It was Elder Mu.
The telepathic command carried no anger, no disappointment, no emotional coloring whatsoever. Yet, that sheer emptiness caused a layer of cold sweat to instantly erupt across Elder Xuan's back.
'Hoo... It is finally here,'Elder Xuan muttered inwardly. The previously unfocused, defeated glaze in his eyes vanished, replaced by a flash of extremely sinister, calculating brilliance.'Whether I can turn things around in this crisis—a disaster more than enough to ruin my entire reputation—depends entirely on my next actions. Elder Mu is a deeply emotional person, and Shrek is currently suffering a severe drought of top-tier talent. As long as I play my part perfectly...'
Without a moment of hesitation, Elder Xuan turned to his battered students. With a wave of his hand, he dismissed Huo Yuhao, Ma Xiaotao, and the rest of the exhausted team, instructing them to return to their quarters and heal their injuries.
Once he was alone, he raised his hands and deliberately ruffled his already unkempt hair, making himself look even more disheveled and pathetic. Plastering a tragic, death-bound expression across his wrinkled face, he turned and walked alone toward the towering Golden Tree, his steps heavy as he approached the Sea God Pavilion.
When Elder Xuan pushed open the heavy, ancient wooden doors of the Sea God Pavilion, the atmosphere inside the dimly lit meeting hall was freezing. The air felt thick, heavy enough to crush a man's lungs.
Around the long, polished conference table sat the absolute apex of Shrek Academy—all the esteemed elders of the Sea God Pavilion. Yan Shaozhe, Xian Lin'er, Cai Mei'er, Elder Song... these legendary figures, whose names commanded respect across the entire Soul Master world, all wore expressions of grim severity. The instant the doors creaked open, countless gazes filled with intense scrutiny and burning anger locked onto Elder Xuan.
At the head of the table sat Elder Mu. The Dragon God Douluo had his eyes closed, his frail figure resting in the main seat. In the dim, flickering light, his silver hair gave him an aura of exceptional, heavy loneliness.
Elder Xuan did not pause. He did not wait for Elder Mu to speak, nor did he give Yan Shaozhe or the others a chance to voice their prepared reprimands.
Thud.
A dull, heavy impact echoed through the silent hall as Elder Xuan's knees slammed into the thick mahogany floorboards.
Right in the center of the gathered elders, directly facing Elder Mu, the Level 98 Super Douluo cast aside every ounce of his dignity and knelt.
This sudden, dramatic display instantly stunned Yan Shaozhe and the others, forcing the bellyful of harsh criticisms they had prepared right back down their throats.
"Elder Xuan, what is the meaning of this..." Xian Lin'er frowned deeply, her voice laced with a cold, piercing edge.
Elder Xuan did not raise his head. He kept his face angled toward the floorboards. When he finally spoke, his voice was hoarse, trembling with an intensely manufactured sense of agonizing self-reproach.
"Elder Mu, fellow elders... I, Xuanzi, deserve death for my crimes!"
He pressed his hands flat against the cold mahogany floor, his shoulders shaking slightly as if overwhelmed by grief.
He did not offer a single excuse. He did not bring up his usual objective reasoning, nor did he mention the bizarre, heaven-defying strength of their opponents. Instead, he executed his calculated plan, adopting the most extreme method available—the one most guaranteed to elicit sympathy. He took absolute, unmitigated responsibility for every failure.
"Leading the team to Star Luo City this time, not only did we lose the championship that this academy has held as a sacred legacy for ten thousand years... but because of my momentary muddle-headedness and deep-seated prejudice, the academy's glorious reputation was utterly shamed before the entire continent."
He paused, letting a ragged gasp escape his lips.
"All of this is entirely my fault! It is Xuanzi's fault! It was my sheer arrogance, my failure to protect the students, and my actions—kneeling and kowtowing at Star Luo Plaza—that tarnished Shrek's golden signboard!"
Elder Xuan suddenly jerked his head up. At that precise moment, a few turbid tears actually squeezed out from the corners of his aged eyes, tracking through the dirt on his cheeks. He stared fixedly at the silent Elder Mu, his tone ringing with absolute resolution.
"I know deeply that I no longer have the face to stand before the Sea God Pavilion. I no longer have the right to occupy the sacred position of an elder. Therefore, I have come today to formally request that Elder Mu strip me of all my authority and permanently revoke my status as an elder of the Sea God Pavilion!"
His voice grew louder, echoing off the wooden walls. "From this moment on, strip me of all my privileges! Let me be nothing more than an idle old man guarding the academy gates. I swear I will never again interfere in any affairs of the Sea God Pavilion for the rest of my life! Only by doing this can the fierce criticism against Shrek from the outside world be quelled. Only by doing this can I provide a proper explanation to those defeated children!"
This dramatic plea for punishment—an act akin to a martial artist voluntarily crippling their own cultivation—sent a visible ripple of shock through the hall.
Seeing Elder Xuan in such a miserable, downcast, and completely defenseless state, the burning anger in the eyes of many elders actually began to waver, giving way to a faint trace of hesitation.
No matter his recent failures, Elder Xuan had served the academy faithfully for a hundred years. His loyalty, at the very least, had always been unquestionable.
However, at the head of the table, Elder Mu remained absolutely silent.
Elder Xuan lay prostrate on the ground, his forehead resting against the wood. He focused on the subtle shifts in the air currents around him, his mind calculating frantically behind his tear-stained facade.
He knew Elder Mu's fatal weakness. The Dragon God Douluo valued relationships above all else, especially the bonds forged with comrades he had known for decades.
, Shrek was currently in a state of severe vulnerability. They lacked top-tier combatants. If he was removed from the board, there simply would not be enough high-level powerhouses left for Shrek to deploy against its enemies.
This was his gamble. He bet everything on the absolute certainty that Elder Mu would not—could not—completely discard a Level 98 Super Douluo during such a precarious moment in Shrek's history.
As long as he could retain his title and stay within the core circle, there would always be room to maneuver in the future.
The meeting hall fell into a long, deathly silence. The only sound echoing within the oppressive shadows of the Sea God Pavilion was Elder Xuan's heavy, ragged breathing.
[Akarin's Note:
Enjoying the story? Dropping a quick review, comment, or Power Stone means the world to me and keeps these daily updates flowing!
Want to read 50 chapters ahead or just want to help keep a shameless translator alive? (My livelihood actually depends on this, haha 😭). You can support me directly here:
(P.S. Just remove the brackets and replace the [.] with a regular dot . to use the links!)
✨ Patreon (50 Advanced Chapters): patreon[.]com/AkarinTL
☕ Ko-fi (Support / Sponsor): ko-fi[.]com/AkarinTL
🔗 All My Links: linktr[.]ee/AkarinTL
Thank you so much for reading and keeping this project alive!]