Chapter Seventeen: The Test

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The presence of a suspected divine spokesperson caused many nobles and officials to dare not ignore Lu Chuang’s orders. One command after another was issued in layers, and matters were accomplished with a swiftness rarely seen in ordinary times.

Just as Lu Chuang had said, the Sea God had not manifested for over ten thousand years, but the miracles wrought by the God of Abundance stood right before their eyes. For these shallow-faith nobles, it took only a moment of hesitation before they made their decision.

First, they began with their own households, removing the statues of the Sea God they had long worshipped. Unaware of the appearances of the Goddess of Life or the God of Abundance, they simply placed various precious spiritual herbs—symbols inspired by rumors about the healer—upon their altars.

Then, accompanied by servants and soldiers, they rushed toward the numerous temples scattered throughout Douling City. The priests of those still-devout temples, seeing such acts of sacrilege, angrily confronted them.

Some impulsive ones even unleashed their martial souls in defense, but against well-trained soldiers, they could barely withstand two rounds.

Several elderly priests who had devoted their lives to serving the gods saw this and instantly became blood-boiling, eyes reddened as they shouted, “Blasphemy! You are desecrating the gods!”

Pointing to the statue of the Sea God, they exclaimed passionately, “Look! The deity watches here; you will surely suffer divine punishment!”

The soldiers, who had originally planned to seize them, hesitated instantly upon hearing these words, glancing uncertainly at their nearby commander.

The commander calmly said, “By the edict of the Imperial Tutor, the statue of the Sea God is merely being moved to a side hall, not abolished from worship. Henceforth, the main deities of the empire’s rituals will be the Gods of Abundance and Life.”

Not a fool himself, the commander understood the saying “there is a god three feet above one’s head,” so he shifted all responsibility onto the suddenly appeared Imperial Tutor. This way, even if divine punishment should fall in the future, the legendary and discerning Sea God would unlikely direct wrath toward mere foot soldiers.

“Gods of Abundance and Life? Imperial Tutor?” The old priests, unfamiliar with this new deity’s name and the tutor’s sudden appearance, were stunned. Then one blurted angrily, “A false god! Surely a false god! I have served the Sea God all my life and have never heard of such a deity. That Imperial Tutor must be a demon!”

“Your Majesty! I wish to see Your Majesty!” Seeing the old priest still resisting the decree, the commander grew impatient and ordered his men to arrest the priest and throw him into prison.

Now, the younger priests around finally quieted, watching in anger as the Sea God’s statue was removed from the temple, and the commander respectfully placed a cluster of spiritual herbs where the statue had stood.

This scene unfolded simultaneously across various locations in Douling City. Soon, the people learned that the empire had a new Imperial Tutor, whose first decree was to revoke the Sea God’s position as the primary deity of worship.

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The immediate reaction upon hearing this news was resistance—after all, who had not grown up listening to the tales of the Sea God?

Which young person had not felt their blood ignite upon hearing the story of the deity’s heroic battles, cutting down the evil Martial Soul Hall that sought to unify the continent?

Yet, this resistance swiftly vanished upon learning that the new principal deities were the Gods of Abundance and Life—the gods of paradise, who could not bear to see mankind perish or suffer disease, nurturing all living beings.

Those who had contemplated defying the edict now rejoiced with smiles.

The healer’s name was once again invoked, his deeds sung as mercies bestowed by the God of Abundance. Those who had once been healed by the healer gathered together, placing hands over their chests and praying with sincere reverence.

“Merciful Gods of Abundance and Life, your faithful here offer heartfelt thanks, grateful for your messenger who healed my pain!”

“Thank you...”

Within the Duke’s mansion, Lu Chuang, the central figure in this series of events, listened silently as Herald recounted the details. He offered no comment, for saving lives had merely been a casual act to achieve his own ends; what happened afterward did not concern him.

When the Emperor of Douling asked why he would risk offending the Sea God, his answer was simply that he found the Sea God disagreeable.

This was no lie, but it was not his ultimate goal. His true purpose was a test—to see how the pure and noble God King would react to such humiliation.

“Has he not noticed, or is he unable to act?” Lu Chuang murmured to himself.

By his reckoning, the deity was probably still preoccupied with some so-called millennial grand plan; Douling Empire was not within his scope, so he had not detected the anomaly.

It was also possible that divine rules and the watchful eye of the rival God of Destruction, with whom he was at odds, prevented any punitive action.

But regardless of whether the god chose to intervene or was unable to, Lu Chuang no longer cared. As long as his plan could proceed without interruption for the time being, that was enough.

“Still, vigilance cannot be dropped,” Lu Chuang’s gaze flickered. He had not forgotten that a direct faction of the Sea God still existed on Douluo Continent.

Shrek Academy—a so-called academy, but in truth an international police force!

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It boasted an almost invincible Ultimate Douluo and more than two Title Douluos, with disciples scattered throughout the commercial, political, and military circles of various empires.

Had the rulers of those empires been foolish enough to allow them real power, Shrek Academy might have already accomplished, by other means, what the Martial Soul Hall had failed to complete millennia ago.

While the Sea God might be unable to act, that did not mean Shrek Academy was powerless. They would not even need divine edicts; once Shrek learned of the events unfolding in Douling Empire, it would not be long before they sent envoys to censure them.

Thinking of Ma Xiaotao, whom he had met earlier, Lu Chuang stood by the window gazing at the grand palace and murmured, “Your Majesty, this burden is yours to bear.”

Unbeknownst to him, the trouble he spoke of had already arisen within Douling City.

With fiery red hair, Ma Xiaotao and her companions were inside a tavern in the outer city, investigating news of evil soul masters.

The group of evil soul masters they had previously been tracking had been mysteriously slain. Their task seemed complete, but Ma Xiaotao keenly sensed something amiss. After entrusting the children to two companions to return to Shrek, she led the remainder to investigate the surroundings.

Their investigation quickly uncovered a truth that enraged these young people—the mass murderers, the evil soul masters, were being sheltered and raised by the nobles!

Furious, they were about to storm the noble mansion to confront them, but Ma Xiaotao, usually the most hotheaded, stopped them.

She understood all too well that they were unwelcome among the empire’s nobles. If they truly assaulted a noble’s residence, they would be detained by high-level soul masters and questioned, disgracing the academy.

So they decided first to resupply within Douling City before continuing their investigation. Once they had sufficient evidence, they would hand it over to the academy so that the teachers could personally interrogate the Douling Empire.

However, upon entering the city, they witnessed a sight that only deepened their fury.