Nangong Lingyun's final words caused the expressions of everyone present to change dramatically.
Originally, Tang San, who had been standing on Dai Mubai's side, was just now still resenting and wondering how Nangong Lingyun could be so disrespectful to his teacher—stupid enough to provoke a Soul Saint-level dean and get himself and others involved, basically courting death.
Upon hearing this, he jumped back several steps in terror, as if stung by a scorpion.
He had heard those words before, but back then, he thought that the fourteen survivors who made it through were the cream of the crop—extremely talented and battle-hardened, destined to be powerful. He assumed he was going to be one of those strong ones.
He never realized just how terrible the fate was for the other forty-eight who died—the massive misfortune they suffered.
Now, putting himself in their place for a moment, all his body hair stood on end, and a cold sweat ran down his back.
Forty-eight out of sixty-two—that's 77.4%, nearly 80% of talented soul masters like himself were ruthlessly killed off.
God, the evil and cruelty of this academy were simply beyond words.
What if he blindly joined them…
Tang San's face was full of dread; Ma Hongjun and Oscar looked just as grim.
Though years of interacting with Nangong Lingyun had made them somewhat hesitate at his harsh verdict,
After all, the deans usually seemed approachable and not terrifying.
But the undeniable fact was that so many geniuses had died at Shrek Academy, and as insiders, they knew this all too well.
Sometimes they even felt a bit proud—surviving such brutal elimination was bragging material.
Even Zhao Wuji was stunned. He hadn't expected Nangong Lingyun to bring up this issue and interpret Shrek's proud teaching philosophy like that.
Only Dai Mubai, perhaps grateful for being accepted, spoke with doubt:
"That doesn't sound right. I've heard from senior students before that all fourteen graduates from Shrek have become top-notch figures recognized worldwide. The most outstanding among them is even an elder of the Spirit Hall now, second in authority only to the Pope."
Nangong Lingyun smiled faintly.
As a former fanfic writer, and a hardcore "abuse Tang San" faction member in the Douluo fanfic community, he was intimately familiar with many of Shrek's dark spots.
Even in later stories, after it became the continent's undisputed top academy, their habit of sacrificing their own disciples never changed.
Almost every soul-hunting mission meant several students dying—no exceptions, no matter how talented.
Even the elite teams chosen for the pan-continent soul master competition were wiped out, forcing backups to take their places.
He sneered and asked:
"If they are truly world-renowned and famous, then please tell me—who exactly are they? Don't tell me they're so famous you can't even name them? And next time you brag, please prepare better.
"Shrek Academy was founded twenty years ago. By your enrollment standards, even the first batch would be at most thirty-two years old now.
"The Spirit Hall requires elders to be level ninety soul power. How come I've never heard of such a young title Douluo appearing on the continent?
"Back then, the two peaks of the soul master world, Tang Chen and Qian Daoliu, and now the Spirit Hall's Pope Bibi Dong, were all between thirty-five and thirty-eight when they achieved their titles.
"If a thirty-two-year-old title Douluo really existed with such monstrous talent, the whole continent would have been shaken by now, wouldn't it?"
When his words fell, the air turned chillingly silent, a needle drop could be heard.
Everyone at Shrek Academy went completely quiet.
Though they hadn't spoken much before, this silence wasn't just about no one talking—it was the speechlessness of having no reply.
Freland's face twisted into a terrifying snarl, his sharp eyes like they could kill, but after a long time, no words came out.
Zhao Wuji's anger faded away completely, and he looked decades older, lost and dejected.
After more than ten seconds, the four-eyed owl reluctantly tried to defend:
"Soul hunting always involves deaths. If they died, it means they weren't geniuses or strong enough. The truly powerful ones emerge even in adversity and swim against the tide.
"We use harsh environments to temper the students' will, so they develop strong hearts—
"So they remain calm and steadfast after countless hardships, allowing them to achieve greater success in the future.
"This is Shrek's unique teaching philosophy.
"People like you, spoiled rich kids, could never understand our painstaking efforts."
"Ha ha, amazing, ha ha ha, simply incredible, ha ha ha ha ha…"
"Clap clap, clap clap clap clap…"
Nangong Lingyun laughed—wildly, completely unrestrained, even bending over laughing.
He clapped hard with both hands, showing no effort to hide his sarcasm toward those words.
Suddenly, the laughter stopped cold, his voice icy and sharp:
"Dressing up slaughtering civilian geniuses as tempering their will—
"I've lived a long time, but this is the freshest, most refined excuse I've ever heard.
"There are many shameless people in the world, but you alone occupy the top spot.
"So many students at Shrek have died, but I don't recall any teachers dying, right?
"Every day brainwashing students that being a coward is talent, encouraging fighting—
"Why don't you temper yourself properly?
"Go to the core of the Star Dou Great Forest and challenge a few hundred-thousand-year-old soul beasts, or try assassinating the Pope at Spirit Hall?
"If you survive, that's perfect tempering; if you die, then you're just useless.
"Also, calling me a spoiled rich kid?
"Freland, with your despicable dirty tricks, you have no right to judge me."
A thunderclap moment.
Except for Xiao Wu, everyone's faces turned shocked at Nangong Lingyun's ruthless insult.
Tang San quietly stepped away, not daring to stay nearby.
No matter how bad Shrek Academy was, the dean was a powerful Soul Saint.
To insult a Soul Saint so openly—wasn't he afraid of provoking a furious backlash?
Sure enough, in the next moment, Freland's face flushed red again, furious beyond control:
"Today, I will properly teach you how to respect the strong, for the sake of your parents!"
Wings flickered behind him, gusts of wind swirling as he appeared right in front of Nangong Lingyun.
Raising his palm, he prepared to slap hard across his face.
But at that instant, Nangong Lingyun's mouth curled into a faint, disdainful smile.
He wasn't stupid; he wouldn't provoke an opponent without confidence.
Unfortunately, the people he feared were out there—but definitely not a few Soul Saints.
Without even summoning his weapon spirit, Nangong Lingyun let a golden light flash on his right arm.
At the critical moment, his hand caught Freland's outstretched claw, swung it hard downward.
The four-eyed owl, now much larger thanks to the weapon spirit, was slammed forcefully to the ground.
One hit wasn't enough—several more followed,
With booming sounds, dirt and rocks flew, the earth cracked.
The scene was almost identical to when Loki faced the Hulk.
....
(End of Chapter)