Chapter 125 Xuanzi Still Wants to Back Out? He'd Better Kneel Down Obediently!
"Damn it, the poison won't kill you! You're like a persistent ghost!"
Xuanzi's body suddenly stiffened at the edge of the arena.
His face, already aged by anxiety, became contorted with extreme anger and shame.
He had his back to Du Busi, his right hand gripping the sleeve of the unconscious Ma Xiaotao tightly.
He had hoped that he could take advantage of the chaos of the party and the Emperor of Xingluo's preparations to present the awards, and secretly lead his frustrated team away from this place of trouble.
Once you leave Star Luo Square and return to Shrek Academy, there are countless ways to let that absurd bet go unresolved.
But to his utter surprise, Poison Undying had been watching him intently from beginning to end, showing Shrek absolutely no respect whatsoever.
This feeling of being publicly intercepted and forced to face the most embarrassing reality completely broke Xuanzi's defenses.
He felt that Poison Undying was like a mad dog that had its eyes on its prey, and no matter how he dodged, the other party would chase after him and bite him hard.
Huo Yuhao, Dai Yueheng, and the others, who were struggling to get up with Xuanzi's help, were also struck dumb at this moment.
Because the previous battle was so fierce, their minds were in a state of tension or absent-mindedness until the extremely penetrating voice of Poison Undying resounded throughout the square, and they suddenly remembered this extremely important, yet suffocating, matter.
Yes, before the competition officially began, at the city gate of Xingluo City, Xuanzi, as the team leader, did indeed make that bet about dignity with the sect leader of the Body Sect, Du Busi, in full view of everyone.
The losing team must not only acknowledge the opponent's strength, but the team leader must also kneel down and kowtow in public to apologize.
"This is really going to be embarrassing."
Huo Yuhao lowered his head, his hands hanging limply at his sides, and let out a sigh filled with despair.
Dai Yueheng, Bei Bei, and the others were also deathly pale. The shame that rose from the depths of their bodies even overshadowed the pain of defeat.
At the moment they made the bet, they had a vague feeling that something was wrong deep down.
Xuanzi's impulsive, irritable, and extremely arrogant personality, when faced with the equally protective and extreme Du Busi, makes his impulsive gambling behavior a huge hidden danger.
But at that time, Xuanzi said it was okay, they would definitely win.
But they lost.
Now, retaliation has arrived as expected.
They couldn't imagine how ironic and humiliating it would be if Xuanzi, a senior elder of the Shrek Academy's Sea God Pavilion and the embodiment of ten thousand years of glory, were to kneel down and kowtow to Du Busi in front of hundreds of thousands of viewers across the continent and under the gaze of sixteen level-seven panoramic imaging soul guides.
Just thinking about it makes me feel like I'm going to die.
...
Meanwhile, thousands of miles away in the Sea God Pavilion, the already oppressive atmosphere had been completely ignited.
As the elders watched Xuanzi's disheveled figure on the light screen, their long-suppressed anger finally erupted.
"Xuanzi actually made such a bet?" Old Song suddenly stood up, his originally kind face now covered with frost, his voice filled with incredulous anger.
"Is he crazy? If he does something like this, he's not just losing face for himself, he's smearing Shrek Academy's reputation built up over thousands of years into the mud!"
Yan Shaozhe's breathing became extremely heavy. He stared intently at the light screen, gritting his teeth and growling, "Kowtowing to Poison Undying in public? If our Shrek elders really kneel down, how will we maintain our standing on the continent? What right will we have to call ourselves the best in the world?"
"Are you going to renege on the debt?" Xian Lin'er couldn't help but ask, her tone filled with contradiction and anxiety.
"But if we renege on the bet now, Poison Will definitely cause an even bigger uproar. To renege on a bet while it's being broadcast live across the entire continent, wouldn't that be even more humiliating than kowtowing?"
Amidst the chaotic arguing, Moon, sitting in the main seat, remained eerily silent throughout.
His deep eyes remained fixed on Xuanzi, the dissatisfaction and disappointment in his gaze reaching their peak.
In Mu En's view, Xuanzi's recent performance can be described in more ways than just "mistakes".
He first drove away a once-in-a-millennium genius like Liu Yuan because of his arrogance, causing Shrek to lose a pillar of its future;
Then, due to problems with command and protection, Shrek's eternal glory came to an end under his leadership.
Now, he has dug such a huge pit for himself.
Moon closed his eyes and stopped looking at the images on the screen.
For Xuanzi, the Optimus Prime of Shrek Academy, he felt an unprecedented sense of disillusionment.
...
Meanwhile, at the edge of the arena, Du Bu Si's pressure continued.
Poison Undying walks through the air, each step creating a ripple of green soul power in the air.
His overwhelming aura locked onto Xuanzi, his tone icy and mocking:
"Xuanzi, speak! Where did your running spirit go? I'm still here waiting for you to keep your promise!"
Xuanzi was under the scrutiny of hundreds of thousands of eyes in the audience, feeling as if he were being roasted over a raging fire.
His inner pride was roaring wildly; he didn't want to kneel at all, as that would be more painful for him than death.
Under such extreme pressure, Xuanzi chose the most despicable method: defaulting on his debt.
"What are you talking about? What bet?" Xuanzi suddenly turned around, forcing a look of anger onto his old face, and shouted loudly.
"Don't make baseless accusations! As a senior member of Shrek Academy, when have I ever made such an absurd bet with you? It's clearly your Body Sect trying to take advantage of the situation and deliberately fabricating lies to humiliate me and Shrek Academy!"
Xuanzi's words stunned Du Busi for a moment, then he burst into wild laughter as if he had heard the funniest joke of his life, his laughter filled with sorrow and mockery.
"Fine! You've got guts, Xuanzi. Trying to renege on your debt, huh? Think there's no one to witness it, huh?" Du Busi's laughter abruptly stopped, his eyes turning as sharp as blades as he shouted behind him without turning his head.
"Liu Yuan! Take that thing out and let our 'forgetful old man' remember it all!"
Under the suspicious gazes of everyone present, Liu Yuan expressionlessly took out a small and exquisite metal sphere from his storage soul tool.
It was a level six soul tool specifically designed for long-distance recording.
As Liu Yuan channeled his soul power into the metal sphere, it emitted a faint blue light, and a clear and resonant voice instantly amplified through the sound-guiding devices surrounding the arena:
"...If you're afraid of poison, then take your trash and get out of Star Luo City right now! I, Xuanzi, am saying this right here: if your Heavenly Soul Team wins, what harm is there in me, the Gluttonous Douluo, kowtowing to you in public and admitting my mistake! But if you lose..."
That was Xuanzi's voice, his tone filled with the same arrogant disdain he had shown back then.
Xuanzi's face turned from a pale green to a deathly gray in an instant.
He stared intently at the sphere in Liu Yuan's hand, his voice trembling as he questioned:
"You...you Body Sect have always prided yourselves on being aloof and never using soul tools, right? Why would you have something like this!"
Liu Yuan snorted coldly, his pair of purple-gold double pupils looking down at Xuan Zi below, his tone calm but full of sarcasm:
"We will deal with gentlemen in the same way as gentlemen; but we will have to prepare some special measures to deal with certain special groups of people who go back on their word."
Liu Yuan did not stop there. He surveyed the entire area, once again channeling his soul power, his voice echoing throughout every corner of Star Luo Square:
"Dear viewers and colleagues from the Star Luo Empire!"
"I remember that when we made the bet with Elder Xuan at the city gate that day, many of our friends were there to witness it."
"Now, I would like to ask everyone to be my witnesses."
"Friends who were there that day, if you heard this conversation, please stand up and tell everyone loudly whether this really happened!"
As soon as Liu Yuan finished speaking, the entire venue fell silent for a brief second, followed by responses from dozens of directions.
"Yes! I was right at the city gate at the time, and I heard it clearly!"
"That's right, I heard it too! Elder Xuan said it himself: we must kowtow!"
"Shrek Academy is actually trying to renege on its debt! How disappointing!"
The public outcry surged like a tidal wave, completely blocking all of Xuanzi's escape routes.
Xuanzi's body swayed violently. He looked around at the pairs of eyes filled with contempt, mockery, and amusement, and listened to the commoners who had once held him in awe now loudly condemning his injustice.
He knew that he absolutely couldn't shirk this hurdle today.
If he didn't kneel, his reputation as Xuanzi and the millennia-old honor of Shrek Academy would completely collapse at this moment, making him a laughingstock across the entire continent for thousands of years. If he didn't kneel, he might not even have the chance to leave Star Luo Square.
He had no choice but to kneel.
Under Liu Yuan's cold, double-pupiled gaze, amidst Du Busi's arrogant laughter, and witnessed by hundreds of thousands of spectators.
Xuanzi's once strong knees finally slammed heavily onto the edge of the arena with a very subtle and sore scraping sound.
"Thump—!"
That was the sound of Xuanzi's knee hitting the ground, and also the sound of Shrek Academy's ten-thousand-year myth shattering completely.
This level 98 Taotie Douluo finally lowered his self-proclaimed noble head and knelt before Liu Yuan under the watchful eyes of the entire continent.
(End of chapter)