In Douluo Continent, I am the mastermind behind the scenes.

Seeing that her mother was unyielding, Xian Lin'er subconsciously swallowed, then made a chop motion as if to strike Song Qingying on the back of the neck.

Fortunately, Song Qingying was prepared and reacted in time, grabbing Xian Lin'er's wrist.

"Even a tiger wouldn't eat its own cubs, so you should leave now. I can pretend you never came back."

As she spoke, Song Qingying suddenly exerted force with her right arm, throwing Xian Lin'er directly against the door frame.

In the end, Song Qingying did not kill Xian Lin'er, not because of the mother-daughter relationship, but because... Xian Lin'er was no longer a Soul Master. Since the other party dared to return to Shrek City and even dared to persuade Song Qingying to surrender to her face, without full preparation, I'm afraid... no one would believe it.

After a long silence, Xian Lin'er finally got up from the ground, looked at Song Qingying in front of her, and said in an icy tone, "Elder Song, I hope you won't regret the choice you made today."

After saying that, Xian Lin'er pursed her lips, then kicked open the door and stepped out.

She had only taken two steps when Xian Lin'er bumped right into Lin Huiqun, who was rushing over.

"Hey, isn't this the famous Martial God Douluo? Why aren't you enjoying yourself in Heaven Dou City? Why are you here to die?"

While mocking her, Lin Huiqun slapped Xian Lin'er to the ground, then ripped off the ribbon from the waist of Xian Lin'er's dress. The next moment, the aura emanating from Xian Lin'er changed 180 degrees, and gradually... returned to its usual state.

"What a show!"

Chen Yu emerged from the shadows with a smile, then his eyes sharpened, his icy gaze landing on Xian Lin'er. "Compared to those low-level Soul Masters who disagreed with the Sea God Pavilion's ideals and chose to leave Shrek City to join the Ningyun Sect in the north, you, a traitor who enjoyed the Sea God Pavilion's benefits while betraying them in defeat, are even less forgivable!"

"It's all about the victor and the vanquished. The Sea God Pavilion and the Condensing Cloud Sect conspired against me. Humph, I, Xian Lin'er, did not lose unjustly."

Despite the pain, Xian Lin'er slowly got up, leaned against the wall, and gave Chen Yu a look of utter despair.

Chen Yu crossed his arms, looked at the leather-clad woman before him, and asked with curiosity, "Back then, you disregarded the Sea God Pavilion's kindness to you and insisted on surrendering when faced with death, which shows you're a coward. Now that you're home, you're acting like you're ready to die. How come you've become fearless in just a few months?"

Xian Lin'er said softly, "The Sea God Pavilion has a sense of shame. Even though they know that I, Xian Lin'er, am begging for mercy, they still spread the word that I, Xian Lin'er, suffered inhuman treatment in Jialing Pass and could not bear the torment, so I chose to betray my faith."

"If... you publicly judge me, Xian Lin'er, what will become of the reputation of the Sea God Pavilion? What will become of your reputation, Your Highness the Goddess? Even if I die, you will at most execute me in secret. Your cooperation with the Ningyun Sect cannot be made public, hahaha..."

As she spoke, Xian Lin'er suddenly burst into laughter three times, and two lines of clear tears flowed from her beautiful eyes.

She didn't regret it; she was... afraid.

No matter how many times she could do it all over again, she would never regret the decision she made at Jialing Pass. After living a life of luxury for so many years, who the hell would want to die?

"Actually... you don't necessarily have to die. I can give you a chance to live."

Looking at Xian Lin'er, who had an extremely strong will to survive, Chen Yu revealed a harmless smile.

……

The next morning, Xian Lin'er, shackled and escorted by two female Soul Masters, knelt down in Shrek Square.

One of the female Soul Masters turned on the recorder and broadcast the content that Xian Lin'er had already recorded through the amplified Soul Guidance Device.

"I, Xian Lin'er, am not human!"

"I, Xian Lin'er, am a coward who fears death!"

"When we were defeated, I, Xian Lin'er, completely disregarded the Sea God Pavilion's cultivation of me and instead groveled before the Sun Moon Empire!"

……

As Xianlin'er's confession resounded throughout Shrek Academy, the students who were about to enter the teaching building stopped in their tracks and went to Shrek Square in twos and threes to watch the excitement.

Seeing the growing crowd of onlookers, Song Qingying, sitting on the top floor of the teaching building, couldn't sit still any longer. She immediately knelt before Chen Yu, pleading, "Miss, if you want Lin'er to die, why humiliate her in this way? Yes, she betrayed us at the last minute, but before the Jialing Pass incident, she contributed a lot to the construction of the Sea God Pavilion. Even if she didn't achieve anything, she certainly worked hard. Doesn't she deserve a quick death?"

Snapped!

Chen Yu showed Song Qingying no mercy, slapping her across the face. "Mistakes must be punished; this is an age-old truth. Zhou Yi arbitrarily expelled students who weren't particularly talented for the sake of so-called college entrance rates. Where were you, Song Qingying, when those students had nowhere to appeal?"

"Those who haven't done anything wrong are punished, while those who have made mistakes are pardoned. Is this what the Sea God Pavilion is like now?"

"Yes, the Sea God Pavilion's system isn't perfect, but for the Sea God Pavilion to have reached its current state, are you Sea God Pavilion elders completely clean, without a single fault to be found?"

As soon as she finished speaking, Chen Yu slowly exhaled a breath of stale air. In the past year or so, she had cultivated many of her trusted confidants. Even if Song Qingying and her group went on strike again, Shrek City would not be paralyzed.

A flawless version after careful inspection!

Now that she has the cultivation of a Title Douluo, she is much more confident than before. She can easily put Song Qingying in her place. Hmph, what's the point of talking about morality with such a despicable person?

The planning of the Mingdu bombing was all done by this group of people.

Looking at Chen Yu's beautiful face, Song Qingying recalled sitting next to her a year and a half ago, calling her "Grandma Song's little girl" repeatedly. A hint of sarcasm flashed across her rough old face.

Grandma Song is there when things need her, but Song Qingying is there when things don't, right?

"I, Song Qingying, have failed in my duty to raise my daughter, causing the Sea God Pavilion to lose all face... I am aware of my grave sins, and from today onwards, I will resign from all my positions and return home... to live out my remaining years in peace."

After saying that, Song Qingying leaned on her cane and walked towards the stairwell.

If she doesn't want to maintain her dignity, then someone else will.

She was so stupid, really. How could she have believed all that nonsense Chen Yu said back then?

However... this is for the best. As long as she doesn't hold a position in the Sea God Pavilion, she's unlikely to be implicated in any future purges.

And so, Song Qingying returned to the Qingyanlong family's mansion, walked straight to her destination, and collapsed onto the bed without even taking off her clothes.

"Finally... I can rest for a bit."

Song Qingying sighed and was about to close her eyes when an androgynous figure suddenly appeared in front of her.

"Grand Secretary Song, are you interested... in joining the embrace of our Bright Moon Plane?"