97: Chapter 97 Victims' Alliance

"He was thirteen years old back then, with Innate Soul Power level eight. I managed to scrape together enough tuition to get him into Shrek, but less than half a year after he entered, he went with his teacher to hunt Spirit Beasts, and they didn't even send his body back! The academy just had someone pass on a message, saying the child was eaten by a Spirit Beast, that he had no ability himself, and there wasn't even a single bronze coin in compensation. They wouldn't even tell me how my child died!"

"I'm a widow who raised my child, hoping he would get ahead in life, only for this wretched academy to ruin my family! I went to the academy gate and cried for three days, only for Zhao Wuji to shove me into the mud, calling me an old hag for causing trouble, and he even set dogs on me! I'm just an old woman without the ability to take revenge, and I can only watch helplessly as they live freely and happily, using our hard-earned money to drink and eat meat!"

The old woman wept bitterly, tearing at everyone's heartstrings. The people in the private room all turned red-eyed, recounting Shrek's crimes in a chaotic clamor.

"Me too! Back then I was a level thirty-three Spirit Elder. My talent wasn't top-tier, but any academy could have trained me well. Instead, I was swindled into Shrek. I paid the tuition, only to find out after entering that their so-called 'one-on-one instruction' was just the teachers drinking and playing cards all day, leaving us to Cultivate blindly on our own!"

"And me! When I graduated, my Soul Power had barely reached Spirit Ancestor. When I went out to find a job, as soon as people heard I was a Shrek graduate, they wouldn't even let me in the door! They said that everyone from Shrek is just a brute who only knows how to fight, with absolutely no theoretical foundation!"

"That's the most disgusting part! When we were there, the academy bragged every day that it was the top academy on the continent, but when we graduated, nobody recognized that reputation at all! When something actually happened, the academy would immediately distance themselves from us, terrified of getting into trouble!"

"So, all the benefits go to their academy, while we students have to shoulder all the blame and risks ourselves! How can there be such a logic in this world?!"

This group of people had all walked into Shrek Academy full of hope, thinking they had entered the cradle of Geniuses and could ascend to the heavens in one step.

But upon entering, they discovered that this so-called Monster Academy was nothing more than a complete and utter scam.

They collected exorbitant tuition fees yet couldn't even provide the most basic accommodation or environment for Cultivation.

Under the banner of "honing Geniuses," they made students risk their lives to snatch resources while the teachers sat back and reaped the benefits.

When hunting Spirit Beasts, the teachers always hid at the very back. If a student died, they would just lightly brush it off with "we don't raise trash," refusing to take even the slightest responsibility.

It wasn't that they hadn't thought about revenge, but Flender was a Spirit Emperor and Zhao Wuji was a Spirit Saint. As ordinary people whose highest rank was only Spirit Ancestor, they didn't even have the qualifications to fight back against two high-level Spirit Masters.

For so many years, they could only swallow their resentment, watching helplessly as Shrek relied on swindling to deceive hopeful young boys and girls, generation after generation.

But now, it was different.

"Three low-life thugs who are only Spirit Elders dared to climb the wall and break into Shrek in the middle of the night, running Flender and Yu Xiaogang around in circles and humiliating them to that extent, and they didn't even dare to let out a fart!" Shi Lei stood up abruptly, his tiger-like eyes sweeping over everyone present, his voice ringing out with conviction. "If the three of them dare to make a move on a Spirit Saint and a Spirit Emperor, what reason do we, who have been swindled and harmed for half our lives, have to not seek revenge?!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the private room instantly fell silent, and everyone's eyes lit up, as if torches had been ignited in the darkness.

That's right.

Three hooligans who were only Spirit Ancestors and Spirit Kings dared to break into Shrek, ruining the reputation of the Dean and the Great Master, who didn't even dare to make a sound about seeking revenge. Why should they, who had been harmed for their entire lives, continue to endure it?

"Brother Shi is right!"

A young man in his twenties slammed the table and stood up. "I've endured this for so many years, and I've had enough! We used to fear them because they were a Spirit Saint and a Spirit Emperor, but what about now? They can't even handle three hooligans, and their reputation is already completely rotten! We'll go demand an explanation now. Even if we can't beat them, we must expose Shrek's true face to all of Soto City and the entire continent! Let everyone know that this is just a money-grubbing, fly-by-night academy!"

"That's right! My son cannot die in vain! Even if I have to risk this old life of mine, I will get justice for my son!" The white-haired old woman wiped away her tears, her eyes full of determination.

"Let's do it! Fight them! The worst that can happen is death! It's better than living a lifetime of cowardice!"

"Let's unite! Even if our Soul Power isn't as good as theirs, we have numbers! We must also find everyone who has been swindled by Shrek! I don't believe that just two Spirit Masters can go against all the people of Soto City!"

The resentment that had accumulated for over a decade finally erupted. Everyone in the private room was red-eyed, rubbing their hands in anticipation, their eyes filled with the flames of revenge. They made a plan on the spot: first, to contact all the past students and family members they could find who had been swindled by Shrek, and then to go to the gates of Shrek Academy together to demand justice, fully exposing Shrek's true face as a money-grubbing, victim-harming institution.

And their plan soon reached the ears of the Transmigrators in the front hall.

Upon hearing this, the group of Transmigrators instantly became interested and began slamming the tables and cheering them on.

"Holy crap! The real victims are here! We absolutely have to support this wave!"

"So satisfying! Flender, that old swindler, should have been confronted by his victims long ago! What kind of Monster Academy? It's just a pure scam gang!"

"Brothers, let's pool some money! Let's back these big brothers and sisters up! If they want to cause a scene, we'll cover for them and ensure their safety!"

"Exactly! Let the whole continent see what Shrek really is! I've long found them eyesores!"

The group of Transmigrators immediately pooled a large sum of gold coins and had someone deliver it to the private room inside. They also put the word out that as long as they dared to make a scene, the Transmigrators would cover all subsequent expenses, and they could even help spread the message to Heaven Dou City, letting the entire Heaven Dou Empire know about Shrek's scam.

What was even more interesting was that this news soon reached the ears of Bu Le and his two companions.

The three guys were drinking in a casino, and when they heard this, their eyes instantly lit up.

"Big Brother, more business is coming!" E Kao rubbed his hands together, his face full of fat bunched up as he smiled. "This group is going to Shrek to demand justice, and they said if the three of us are willing to go and back them up, they'll pay us double!"

"There's such a good thing?"

Bu Le downed the wine in his cup in one gulp and laughed loudly. "Let's do it, brothers! Only an idiot wouldn't take money when it's offered! Before, we were just sneaking in to pull pranks, but this time we're going to cause a scene openly and above board, and we're even getting paid for it. Why not?"

Tian Ya also nodded, his eyes full of excitement. "Exactly, anyway, Flender and Yu Xiaogang wouldn't dare make a big deal out of this. If we go, we're just causing them trouble, and we can make money too. It's a guaranteed profit with no loss!"

The three of them made the decision on the spot, accepting the job. They specifically went to meet with Shi Lei and the others, patting their chests and guaranteeing that once they arrived at the scene, they would ensure Shrek's reputation was thoroughly trampled underfoot.

That afternoon, Soto City exploded with activity.

Shi Lei led dozens of people, marching mightily towards Shrek Academy.

The group included past graduates, dropouts, white-haired parents of students, Transmigrators joining the fun, and even Bu Le and his two companions, the three clowns walking loosely at the very front of the procession. All the way, they shouted the crimes of Shrek Academy—swindling money and harming people—attracting the attention of passersby on the street who joined the procession to watch the spectacle. The group grew larger as they walked, eventually reaching over a hundred people.

Meanwhile, inside Shrek Academy, it was still deathly quiet.

Flender and Yu Xiaogang still kept themselves locked in their rooms and hadn't stepped out for three whole days. The enrollment notices had long been torn down completely, and even the academy gates were shut tight. Zhao Wuji sat in the courtyard, drinking sullenly and cursing, angry at the three hooligans who dared to break into the academy, and also angry that Flender and Yu Xiaogang refused to make a sound about it, leaving him without any excuse to seek revenge.

None of them knew that a storm of revenge, launched by victims and sweeping across the entire Shrek Academy, had already reached the academy gates.

A crowd of over a hundred people blocked the front of Shrek's dilapidated gate. Shi Lei stared at the crooked plaque above, "Shrek Academy," which to him now seemed full of irony. He took half a step back, engaged his core, and delivered a fierce flying kick right into the center of the plaque!

"Crack—"

The rotten wood shattered instantly. The entire plaque fell to the ground with a crash, breaking into pieces in the mud and making a deafening sound. Amidst the swirling dust, Shi Lei lifted his foot and stomped hard on the broken wood pieces, roaring at the tightly shut gate:

"Flender! Zhao Wuji! Get your asses out here right now!"

"The students you swindled back then have returned to demand justice!"