The Two Titled Douluos Arrive, Undercurrents Explode

"Elder Gu, Elder Tuoba, you arrived at just the right time."

"Evil Soul Masters here have colluded with Soul Beasts in an attempt to seize an Exotic Treasure and disturb the Imperial Presence. They have already been intercepted by the guards under my command."

"I ask the two elders... to help me eliminate these petty villains and safeguard the peace here."

Yang Yu's calm voice rang clearly through the night sky, instantly defining the chaotic scene.

In the air, Gu Rong and Tuoba Xi's gazes became almost tangible as they instantly focused on the black-clad youth standing calmly amid the ruins below.

Holy Son Yang Yu!

A fleeting trace of surprise and scrutiny flashed through Gu Rong's sinister eyes. He had come under the Empress's secret orders, carrying the dual task of investigation and testing. The scene before him had far exceeded his expectations! The aura of an Immortal Grade Herb could not be faked! The youth battling the guards possessed evil, chaotic Soul Power and was clearly no good person! But this Holy Son... was far too calm! It was as though everything was under his control.

Tuoba Xi, meanwhile, frowned deeply. Golden-white Dragon Might unconsciously radiated from him, carrying intense suspicion and a hint of displeasure. He had already harbored misgivings toward Yang Yu, this Holy Son who had appeared out of nowhere. Now that he saw such chaos at the scene, with the Holy Son seizing the initiative and speaking without the slightest respect, he grew even more displeased. Especially after sensing that evil Soul Power, his instinctive disgust deepened.

"Evil Soul Masters? An Exotic Treasure?" Tuoba Xi's voice boomed like a great bell, full of interrogation. "Your Highness the Holy Son, this is important academy ground. Why did such dense Spirit Qi erupt here? And why did it attract Evil Soul Masters? Please explain yourself clearly!" He deliberately ignored Yang Yu's request for help and instead pursued responsibility first.

Gu Rong gave a chilly smile and tried to smooth things over, though his tone carried its own deeper meaning. "Brother Tuoba, calm your anger. It is fortunate enough that His Highness the Holy Son is unharmed. It seems His Highness has many capable people under his command, able to hold back such an evil fellow alone. However..." His tone shifted as his gaze swept over the seven-colored cocoon of light and the two people fighting fiercely. A flash of greed passed through his eyes. "The energies here are mixed, and unexpected changes may arise. Why not let us first capture that Evil Cultist, then ask His Highness to slowly explain the situation?"

The two played off each other, one taking the harsh role and the other the gentle one. They wanted both to seize the initiative, capture the "Evil Cultist" and the "Exotic Treasure," and force Yang Yu to give an explanation.

However, the moment their words fell!

Another change erupted below!

Tang San, who was entangled in battle with Zhu Zhuqing, heard Yang Yu's shameless reversal of black and white. Then he felt the two terrifying pressures in the air, as immense as mountains. His reason, already on the verge of collapse, was completely devoured by Evil Technique and hatred!

"Yang! Yu! You deserve to die!!!" He let out a heart-rending roar that no longer sounded human. The purple-black evil aura over his body surged explosively, actually forcing back Zhu Zhuqing's Netherworld Soul Devouring Slash for the moment!

He abruptly changed direction. Rather than fleeing, he charged like a mad demon, carrying all the evil Soul Power boiling within him. He transformed into a purple-black meteor and crashed recklessly toward the seven-colored cocoon of light floating in midair, where the energy was most concentrated!

His goal was no longer to devour it, but to destroy it! If I can't have it, then no one can! And Yang Yu would pay for his lies!

"Not good!" Zhu Zhuqing's expression changed as she hurriedly gave chase! Her Netherworld Soul Devouring Slash struck with full force toward Tang San's back!

Gu Rong and Tuoba Xi's expressions also shifted slightly in the air. They had not expected this Evil Cultist to be so crazed and fearless of death!

"Stop him!" Tuoba Xi shouted as he instinctively prepared to act! It would be far too regrettable if that cocoon radiating Immortal Spirit Qi was destroyed!

However, at the instant his Soul Power began to circulate!

Buzz!

An invisible, intangible, yet boundless Dragon Might that stood above all things descended like a precise sniper shot, instantly enveloping both him and Gu Rong!

It was not an attack, but an extremely brief and extremely powerful deterrence and disruption!

Tuoba Xi and Gu Rong both stiffened at once! The circulation of Soul Power within their bodies stalled for that brief instant! Though they recovered immediately, the best opportunity to act had already passed!

That moment of delay was enough!

Below, Zhu Zhuqing's Netherworld Soul Devouring Slash had already struck Tang San fiercely in the back!

Squelch!

Silver-black lightning surged madly into him! Tang San let out a shrill scream. His back became a bloody mess as his evil aura scattered! Yet his momentum did not lessen. Relying on his final madness and the bizarre nature of that Evil Technique, he forcibly dragged his heavily injured body forward and slammed hard into the seven-colored cocoon of light!

Boom—!!!

It was like a spark falling into an oil depot!

The seven-colored cocoon of light formed by Xiao Wu had already been in an extremely unstable state of erupting energy. Now, after being struck by Tang San's body filled with evil Soul Power, its internal balance was completely shattered!

An indescribably terrifying energy shockwave erupted with a roar, like hundreds of millions of suns exploding at once!

The seven-colored radiance instantly swallowed everything! Violent Spirit Qi mixed with Tang San's evil Soul Power, transforming into a destructive torrent that swept madly in every direction!

Tang San himself bore the brunt of it! He let out an incomparably brief wail of agony. Like a wax figure thrown into a furnace, his body was instantly swallowed and melted away by the seven-colored torrent! Not even ashes remained!

Zhu Zhuqing came next! She was the closest. Although she pushed the speed of her Hell Spirit Cat to its limit and flew backward the instant the energy erupted, while releasing Netherworld Soul Devouring Slash with all her strength to protect herself, she was still violently blown away by the horrifying shockwave! Blood sprayed from her mouth as she smashed heavily into distant ruins, her fate unknown!

The entire dormitory building, struck by that destructive energy, crumbled and disintegrated layer by layer from top to bottom like a paper toy! Bricks and stones flew everywhere as dust shot into the sky!

Gu Rong and Tuoba Xi's expressions changed drastically in the air. They simultaneously released Soul Power shields to block the blast! Even they were alarmed by the force of that energy torrent! Their blood and qi churned from the shock, forcing them back again and again!

At the core of the energy eruption, only a blinding mass of seven-colored chaos remained. Nothing could be seen clearly!

Amid the chaos, no one noticed a faint shadow, nearly blending into the night itself, silently dart into the collapsed ruins like Gui Mei. It precisely found the heavily injured and unconscious Zhu Zhuqing, quickly fed her a jade-green Pill, then quietly vanished again.

No one noticed that Ning Rongrong's room, protected by the crude barrier she had set up and cushioned by large quantities of books and blueprints, had somehow avoided completely collapsing. At the instant of the explosion, she alertly hid behind the defensive structure in the corner. Though the shock left her dizzy and covered in dust, she had not suffered serious injuries. Through a crack, she watched the apocalyptic scene outside. She watched Tang San be instantly vaporized and Zhu Zhuqing blown away. Her little face was filled with shock and lingering fear, but soon, an even more frenzied flame ignited in her eyes—her thirst for power intertwined with fear and worship of Yang Yu's unfathomable methods.

Even fewer people noticed that, a moment before the explosion, Shui Bing'er had exhausted the last trace of her Soul Power to condense the sturdiest ice shield around herself and Xiao Wu's cocoon of light. The ice shield shattered instantly under the blast, and she fell completely unconscious as well, but it still offset most of the direct impact. After releasing its most violent energy, the seven-colored cocoon's radiance rapidly dimmed and contracted, revealing Xiao Wu's unconscious figure once more. She fell from midair, only to be caught by Shui Bing'er's unconscious body on instinct. The two were buried together beneath the rubble, their breaths weak. Yet the aura of the Immortal Herb had miraculously become extremely faint, almost impossible to detect.

The dust slowly dispersed.

The former dormitory building had become a field of ruins.

In the air, Gu Rong and Tuoba Xi hovered with grim expressions. Their Soul Power shields had faded, and their robes were somewhat disheveled. They looked at the completely destroyed scene below, at the vanished Evil Cultist and the dimmed "Exotic Treasure," their eyes shifting uncertainly.

Yang Yu still stood where he was. A thin barrier surrounded him, flowing with ripples of time and an aura of creation. He was completely unharmed, without even a speck of dust on his clothes.

He calmly clapped his hands, as though merely brushing away a little dust. Looking at the two Titled Douluos in the air, he spoke with just the right trace of "regret" and "helplessness" in his voice.

"It seems... that Evil Cultist knew his sins were grave and chose to self-destruct, intending to destroy all evidence. He was even unwilling to leave behind the Exotic Treasure. What a pity..."

He paused, sweeping his gaze over the ruins as his tone turned cold. "However, that villain actually managed to infiltrate deep into the academy and detonate something this powerful, nearly endangering this Holy Son's safety... Nuoding Academy's defenses appear to be useless! Zhao Wuji!"

Zhao Wuji, who had already been frightened pale and was hiding in the distance, scrambled over and dropped to his knees with a thud. "This subordinate failed in his duty! I deserve ten thousand deaths! Please punish me, Your Highness!"

"Punishment will naturally not be spared." Yang Yu's voice was icy. "From this moment on, Nuoding Academy's defenses will be taken over by the Patrol Team! Elder Gu, Elder Tuoba, I will leave the aftermath here, as well as the investigation into that Evil Cultist's origins and accomplices, to the two of you."

In just a few words, he not only characterized Tang San's disappearance and the energy eruption as "the Evil Cultist self-destructing to destroy the treasure," clearing himself completely, but also turned the tables by accusing the academy's defenses of incompetence. He directly dumped the remaining mess onto the two Titled Douluos! He himself remained entirely uninvolved, as though he were merely a frightened victim.

Gu Rong and Tuoba Xi's expressions immediately became even uglier! They had come to investigate and hold someone accountable, yet now the Holy Son had conscripted them on the spot to clean up the mess and investigate this clearly bizarre affair!

Especially since the "Evil Cultist" was dead with no evidence left behind, while the "Exotic Treasure" also appeared to have been destroyed. Many clues had been cut off! How were they supposed to investigate? And who would benefit if they found the truth?

Both were old foxes, and they instantly realized Yang Yu had played them! Yet the other party held the moral high ground, and his words were flawless. They could not find any reason to refute him!

Gu Rong gave Yang Yu a deep look with his sinister eyes, then said with a smile that did not reach his eyes, "Your Highness has been frightened. Protecting Your Highness's safety and uncovering the truth are our duties. Please rest assured, Your Highness. We will investigate carefully and give you an explanation."

He deliberately emphasized the words "investigate carefully."

Tuoba Xi merely snorted coldly, his face ashen. He said nothing, but the way he looked at Yang Yu grew even more hostile.

Yang Yu acted as though he had not heard Gu Rong's hidden meaning and nodded in satisfaction. "Excellent. Then I will leave this place to the two elders. This Holy Son has suffered a fright and needs to rest. Yue Guan, let us go."

With that, he truly turned around. Accompanied by Yue Guan, who had appeared behind him at some point, he leisurely headed toward the still-intact guesthouse within the academy, leaving behind the ruins and the two grim-faced Titled Douluos.

Gu Rong and Tuoba Xi watched Yang Yu's departing back, then looked at the devastated ruins below and the wounded who needed treatment. Their expressions were so dark they seemed about to drip water.

They knew that from the very beginning of this inspection, they had fallen into an absolute disadvantage.

This young Holy Son was far more difficult and terrifying than they had imagined!

And beneath the ruins, in the darkness, the true undercurrents had only just begun to stir.

Zhu Zhuqing's life had been preserved by a mysterious Pill.

Ning Rongrong stared with frenzied eyes amid the ruins.

Shui Bing'er and Xiao Wu were buried beneath the rubble, their breaths faint.

And deep underground, that sinister Tiger Roar quietly faded away once more, as though it had never appeared.

The first blast of the storm seemed to have subsided, but the towering waves it had raised were only beginning to spread.