The Fully Activated World-Annihilating Black Lotus

The instant Tang Ya fell to the ground, her body curled into a ball. Her already pale face lost all color, and even her lips turned bluish-black.

Her chest heaved violently, every breath accompanied by broken whimpers. The Blue Silver Grass martial soul within her trembled wildly beneath the corrosive power of the World-Annihilating Black Lotus. The blue-green vines wrapped around her body withered and shattered at a visible rate, turning into flecks of green light that dispersed into the air.

Her life force was rapidly draining away, like a punctured waterskin, leaving not even the slightest chance to hold it back.

"Xiao Ya!"

Bei Bei's roar nearly tore his throat apart. He lunged over like a madman, trembling hands carefully gathering Tang Ya into his arms. The skin beneath his fingertips was terrifyingly cold, and the person in his embrace was light as a feather, as though she might scatter with the wind the next second.

"Xiao Ya... Hold on! Please, hold on!" Bei Bei's voice choked as tears uncontrollably struck Tang Ya's face. "I'll take you back to the academy. Dean Yan will definitely find a way to save you! Don't fall asleep... Don't you dare fall asleep!"

Tang Ya struggled to open her eyes. Her unfocused gaze fell upon Bei Bei's face, and the corners of her lips tried to lift into a smile, but she only coughed up a mouthful of black blood.

The blood landed on the back of Bei Bei's hand, carrying a bone-chilling cold that instantly burned several tiny bloody holes into his skin—the World-Annihilating Black Lotus's corrosive power had even contaminated her blood.

"Bei... Bei Bei..." Her voice was as thin as a thread, her breath weak and faint. "Avenge... me... Kill... kill him!"

Before she could finish, her head suddenly lolled to one side. The hand resting on Bei Bei's arm fell limply, and she completely fell silent.

The last wisp of Blue Silver Grass wrapped around her wrist, like a kite with its string cut, turned into fluorescent light and scattered into the morning glow.

"Xiao Ya—!"

Bei Bei let out a despairing roar, the grief in his voice nearly shattering the entire forest. He clutched Tang Ya's gradually cooling body tightly, his nails digging deep into his own flesh. Blood flowed through his fingers, yet he was utterly unaware of it.

Those amber eyes that had always burned with lightning now held nothing but crimson madness, like a trapped beast that had lost everything.

Wang Dong'er stood frozen in place. She looked at Tang Ya's lifeless face, then at Bei Bei's grief-stricken appearance. Her pale blue pupils abruptly contracted, and her peerless face was filled with shock and disbelief. She opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but her throat seemed blocked, and not a single sound emerged.

How could this... How could this have happened?

Tang Ya had still barely been able to stand moments ago. How had she, in the blink of an eye...

"It's all your fault!"

Suddenly, Bei Bei raised his head. His bloodshot eyes locked tightly onto Wang Dong'er, the hatred in his voice as tangible as a blade. "If you hadn't hesitated! If you had acted just now! How could Xiao Ya have died?! You don't deserve to be a Shrek student! You don't deserve it!"

His voice was filled with hysterical madness. Before his words had even faded, a palm strike condensed with lightning slammed toward Wang Dong'er without warning!

"Puh—"

Wang Dong'er had no time to react. Her entire body flew backward like a kite with its string cut, crashing heavily into a tree trunk behind her. She violently spat out a mouthful of blood, staining the front of her clothes red.

She slowly slid to the ground, clutching her agonizing lower abdomen. The light in her eyes instantly dimmed. Her lips moved a few times, but in the end, she said nothing. She merely lowered her head and let her long hair cover her face.

"You've lost your mind!"

Seeing this, Lu Jing could not help but shout angrily, "What does this have to do with her?!"

He hovered in midair, the World-Annihilating Black Lotus emanating a cold aura. His gaze was icy. "She never made a move from beginning to end. She didn't help you, and she didn't help me. What right do you have to blame her? You couldn't beat me, so you're taking it out on someone else? Bei Bei, did lightning fry your brain?"

"If you're weak, train more. If you can't afford to lose, don't come out and make a fool of yourself!"

Lu Jing's voice was like an ice spike stabbing fiercely into Bei Bei as he mocked, "You're allowed to chase me around screaming that you want to kill me, but no one else is allowed to fight back? I killed one of yours, and now you're panicking? If you had killed me just now, then who would have cried injustice for me?!"

"Shut up!"

Bei Bei abruptly raised his head, the crimson in his eyes nearly dripping with blood. "I'm going to kill you! I'll make you pay for Xiao Ya's life!"

He carefully placed Tang Ya's body on the ground and took off his outer robe to cover her. His movements were gentle, as if he were handling a priceless treasure. Once he had done all this, he suddenly rose to his feet. Blue lightning around him surged wildly, and an aura of destruction filled the air—he had completely gone mad.

"Attack together!"

Bei Bei roared at the black-clothed man in the treetops, his voice hoarse. "Today, we have to make sure this brat dies without a burial!"

The black-clothed man did not waste words. His seventh soul ring lit up once more, and the phantom of a black wind dragon roared as it charged toward Lu Jing. It intertwined with Bei Bei's Lightning Power, forming an impenetrable net of death.

"Damn it, do you really think I'm easy to bully?"

Lu Jing laughed in fury, a trace of resolve flashing through his eyes. "Tian Meng, let's go all out!"

"Let's go all out!"

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's voice was equally mad. "This old man's million-year reputation can't be thrown away here!"

The platinum soul ring suddenly erupted with dazzling brilliance. The petals of the World-Annihilating Black Lotus fully unfolded, and a lotus phantom faintly emerged amid the ink-black mist. A terrifying aura far surpassing anything before burst from Lu Jing's body—this was the World-Annihilating Black Lotus's source power, completely awakened!

Just as both sides' attacks were about to collide, a tremendous crash suddenly came from the heavens, as if an invisible hand had ripped the sky apart. A black streak of light shot across the horizon like a meteor, trailing a long tail of flame as it plunged straight toward the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest, finally entering the body of an unconscious youth.

The youth lay in the grass, his features refined. He was Huo Yuhao, who had mistakenly entered the Star Dou Great Forest. At that moment, his brows were tightly furrowed and his body trembled slightly, as though he were enduring immense pain.

Yet this earth-shaking phenomenon did not stop the slaughter within the clearing.

Bei Bei's Lightning Dragon Claw, the black-clothed man's Wind Dragon True Body, and Lu Jing's World-Annihilating Black Lotus collided with a thunderous crash!

Boom—!

Blinding light swallowed everything. Black mist, blue lightning, and pitch-black Wind Blades intertwined, forming an ever-expanding sphere of energy.

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm poured all of his Spiritual Power into it, completely merging with the World-Annihilating Black Lotus's source power and unleashing strength far beyond his own level.

At the peak of the radiance, a black pillar of light that pierced heaven and earth shot into the sky, enveloping Lu Jing, Bei Bei, the black-clothed man, and the caught-up Wang Dong'er at the same time.

The four figures distorted and faded within the pillar of light. Finally, as the light dissipated, they vanished completely from where they stood, as though they had never existed.

Only the outer robe covering Tang Ya's body still trembled lightly in the morning breeze, bearing witness to the brutal battle that had taken place here.

Not long afterward, several powerful auras rushed out from the depths of the Star Dou Great Forest and instantly appeared in the devastated clearing. At their head was a massive black dragon. His amber vertical pupils swept across the surroundings. It was Di Tian, who had hurried over.

Several ferocious beasts followed behind him. Their gazes fell upon the bloodstains on the ground and the outer robe, then shifted to the lingering energy fluctuations in the air. Their expressions instantly became extremely grim.

"Tian Meng's aura... has disappeared." Di Tian's voice was low, carrying a trace of gravity. "There are also the auras of Human Soul Masters, as well as... an unfamiliar, sinister power."

Another ferocious beast stepped forward, sniffed the scent in the air, and said solemnly, "The energy fluctuations are chaotic, as if there was an intense collision. And... there are traces of spatial tearing."

Di Tian raised his head toward the heavens. The rift there had already healed, leaving behind only faint residual energy. His brows knitted tightly as a powerful sense of unease rose within him.

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm had disappeared. The Human Soul Masters and that sinister power had vanished alongside him. And there was also that black light which had fallen toward the forest's outskirts...

The Star Dou Great Forest—even the entire Douluo Continent—seemed to be on the verge of change.