Chapter 30: The Oracle

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“Whew—”

In a brightly lit room, Ma Xiaotao, dressed entirely in red, wearily pressed her temples with her fingers and exhaled a heavy breath of foul air.

Two months had passed since she declared that she would wage a war of faith against the Imperial Preceptor. In the beginning, the Abundance Church had shown her the remarkable unity of a monotheistic religion, and she had imitated it by helping establish the Sea God Church.

Yet blind imitation was clearly unwise. Compared with the Abundance Church, the Sea God Church’s cohesion was worlds apart.

The former’s internal structure encompassed every level of the Douling Empire. Its background and resources were extraordinarily rich, and under the banner of saving the suffering masses, it had swiftly won a vast number of followers and supporters among the people.

The Sea God Church, by contrast, had neither people nor money. Its strongest fighters were merely a handful of young Soul Kings, including Ma Xiaotao herself. Although the church had the support of certain nobles, their assistance was limited to a few relatively inferior resources.

Those resources could barely sustain even the most basic medical operations.

Thus, even now, Ma Xiaotao still wondered why those nobles supported them at all.

Apart from the few Shrek students, the so-called Sea God Church consisted of little more than a rabble. Those unaffiliated soul masters were indeed devout in their faith in the Sea God, but they had also grown thoroughly accustomed to living without restraint.

Although Ma Xiaotao and the others were far stronger than them, seeing how young their leaders were inevitably aroused contempt—and even jealousy—in their hearts. They simply refused to obey orders.

Out of hatred for the Abundance Church, they had attacked its forces on their own initiative. Not only had this caused the Abundance Church to regard the Sea God Church as an enemy, it had also completely destroyed the reputation Ma Xiaotao and the others had painstakingly built among the common people. Now, every step forward was agonizingly difficult.

Only then did Ma Xiaotao finally understand what Lu Chun had meant when he spoke to her before.

The human heart was unfathomable. The human heart was terrifying.

She had been born standing too high above others to understand the inscrutability of the human heart.

Even now, Ma Xiaotao remained far too confident. The so-called spiritual war she had envisioned had ended before it even began. What had actually emerged was a real war, fought with blades and blood.

Her actions had dragged countless innocent people into the conflict and caused their deaths. Having grown up in the peaceful environment of the academy, she was consumed by guilt.

“Ma Xiaotao, the academy has sent another message ordering us to return. The tone was extremely severe. It seems they’re deeply dissatisfied with what we’ve done.” Ling Luochan entered alongside Dai Yueheng.

“That’s not all. The Abundance Church’s Purification Envoys have launched an extremely fierce offensive lately. Several preaching stations have been destroyed. But according to our observations, those attackers’ martial souls are connected to several sects within the Douling Empire.”

“Ma Xiaotao, I’m afraid the Abundance Church’s counterattack is coming soon. You should think about what we’re going to do next.”

“Our next step…” Ma Xiaotao rubbed her aching forehead and sighed. “Even you think the Abundance Church is our enemy?”

Before either of them could answer, Ma Xiaotao abruptly changed the subject.

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Her gaze sharpened as she looked at Dai Yueheng. “Dai Yueheng, the Star Luo Empire suddenly launched a war. Do you know what happened?”

At those words, Dai Yueheng’s handsome face stiffened slightly. Once he had composed himself, he said coolly, “Let’s go. This farce should end.”

Yes, a farce. From beginning to end, he had regarded Ma Xiaotao’s actions as nothing more than a farce. At first, he had merely wanted to see whether he could win the favor of the Sea God through it. But once he realized it was impossible, he had abandoned the effort without hesitation. Within the Sea God Church, he had contributed the least of anyone.

He came from the White Tiger family and knew a great deal about the gods.

When the Star Crown family replaced the White Tiger family as the imperial house of the Star Luo Empire, their God of War ancestor had ignored the matter from beginning to end. That alone made it clear that the gods possessed little power to interfere with the Douluo Continent.

Whether they were unable to do so or simply unwilling, the fact that the gods could not interfere in the affairs of the Douluo Continent was common knowledge among the leaders of every major power.

Ma Xiaotao’s voice turned cold. “That isn’t what I’m asking. Do I really have to put it plainly? Was it you who passed along the information that led the Star Luo Empire to dispatch troops and launch this war?”

“Dai Yueheng, the beloved future Duke of White Tiger.”

Confronted by Ma Xiaotao’s relentless interrogation, Dai Yueheng fell silent. After pondering for a long while, he finally said, “This war won’t continue forever. For years, the Star Luo Empire has been resisting the Sun-Moon Empire head-on. The pressure within the country has nearly reached an uncontrollable level. It needs an outlet for that pressure beyond its borders.”

“Bang!”

A spark grazed past Dai Yueheng’s ear, and an unpleasant smell of scorching flesh entered his nostrils.

Ma Xiaotao had already released her martial soul. Furious, she said, “So you chose to plunder the Douling Empire?”

“Do you have any idea how many people will die because of this? Don’t forget your identity! How is the academy supposed to answer for your actions?”

Dai Yueheng replied calmly, “Yes, I know. That is why, before doing this, I submitted my application for graduation to the academy.”

“What?!”

Ling Luochan, who had not spoken a word since the beginning, cried out in shock. The fury blazing around Ma Xiaotao also faltered slightly.

They both knew exactly what a graduation application meant. It meant graduating directly from the outer academy and forfeiting the opportunity to join the inner academy. The inner academy was the true heart of Shrek Academy; giving up the chance to enter it was almost equivalent to abandoning many opportunities that awaited them in the future.

For Dai Yueheng, it also meant relinquishing the chance to come into contact with the most powerful figures of the next generation.

Just as the atmosphere between them grew even more strained, a carefree voice rang out.

“What a decisive little tiger. But I’m afraid you’ve misunderstood one thing.”

The door was pushed open. A burst of force surged inside, instantly suppressing the two who stood on the verge of conflict. Then an old man in disheveled clothes, his hands greasy with oil, walked into the room.

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“Elder Xuan!”

The three of them cried out in surprise. None of them had expected him to appear so suddenly.

Xuan Lao looked solemnly at Dai Yueheng. “I speak here in my capacity as an elder of the Sea God’s Pavilion. The academy has rejected your application for graduation. From this day onward, you are expelled from the academy.”

At those final words, Dai Yueheng’s expression changed dramatically. He shouted, “Elder Xuan, that violates the rules!”

The moment he finished speaking, a single glance from Xuan Lao forced him down at the waist. Then, from somewhere, the old man produced a fragrant chicken leg and began eating as he said indifferently, “Let me teach you one last lesson. On the Douluo Continent, might has always made right. Rules are established by the strong for the weak. You have no right to question them.”

“Now return to your Star Luo Empire.”

“…”

The pressure on him vanished. Dai Yueheng silently straightened his back. Without another word, he inclined himself slightly toward Xuan Lao and left.

After Dai Yueheng had gone, Ling Luochan immediately said, “Elder Xuan, wasn’t your punishment a little too severe?”

“Too severe? Hmph!”

Xuan Lao snorted coldly. “His actions have caused two nations to go to war and disrupted what had been a relatively peaceful situation across the continent. Expulsion is already a lenient punishment. After this, I’ll have to find his father and ask him how he managed to be such a father.”

Ling Luochan had nothing to say. After all, Xuan Lao was not wrong. If the matter were investigated thoroughly, Dai Yueheng could easily be charged with war crimes.

Ma Xiaotao did not comment on that matter. Instead, she asked somewhat nervously, “Elder Xuan, did you come here because of us?”

“Because of you…” Xuan Lao studied the two anxious young women for a long while. “Well… more or less. I happened to be passing by.”

“More or less? Passing by?” Ma Xiaotao asked in confusion.

“Mm.”

Xuan Lao nodded faintly. After licking the bones completely clean, his expression turned solemn.

“Three days ago, a divine oracle descended upon the Sea God’s Pavilion.”