Light and Shadow, Blooming Amidst the Slaughter

"What did you say?"

"Clang—!"

Hua Mulan drew her sword from its scabbard, the clear, resonant chime echoing throughout the small garden.

"I was wrong, Sister Mulan!"

Ying surrendered in a second. At Great Wall Academy, she wasn't afraid of Su Han, but she was terrified of Hua Mulan.

After all, when Sister Mulan hit people, she really hit them.

Zhuge Liang walked in at this moment and asked Su Han for instructions.

"Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan has arrived at the reception hall. Dean, how would you like to handle this?"

Meanwhile, Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan was currently doubting his own talent as a spirit master.

Seriously, man? A powerhouse with a Three Lives Martial Soul has already shown up—what's the point of me even cultivating anymore!

Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Ning Fengzhi held a banquet for Chen Xin and Li Bai. The two Douluo, Sword and Bone, along with him, all came to keep company for this peerless sword talent from Great Wall Academy.

"Wow, is Ying only ranked thirteenth? It seems that place called Martial Soul Hall isn't simple either!"

Seeing that Li Bai finally showed a ripple of emotion, Chen Xin couldn't help but laugh.

"What, underestimated the heroes of the world, have you?"

"That's not it. This Golden Ranking's calculation of combat power isn't accurate. Just now, Miss Shangguan's ranking wasn't accurate, and Ying's is even ridiculously low."

Chen Xin, Ning Fengzhi, and Gu Rong were all stunned. Someone who dared to judge the Heavenly Dao Golden Ranking as inaccurate had arrived; just how confident was he in the combat power of his academy's members?

"But, that's normal."

Li Bai drank another cup and said nothing more.

If Chen Xin and the others knew that Ying possessed a second life and that her fighting spirit reached a terrifying, frenzied level, they would also agree that thirteenth was far too low.

The mere Heavenly Dao was not even one ten-thousandth as vast as the Dean's strength; it couldn't even judge or measure the human will, which showed it lacked true wisdom.

Li Bai thought with disdain, though the motion of his hand as he drank did not stop.

Great Wall Academy didn't have much alcohol in stock. Su Han was afraid he would be a bad influence on the children, so he had forbidden him from drinking at the academy when he summoned him. This was just a chance to satisfy his craving.

Sunset Forest.

Porcupinefish Douluo sped along the entire way, finally arriving at the lair of Dugu Bo mentioned in the intelligence reports.

"Old Poison!"

A voice imbued with the terrifying soul power of Porcupinefish Douluo exploded across the Sunset Forest. Within a radius of several hundred meters, thousand-year soul beasts trembled and prostrated themselves.

"No one here."

Porcupinefish Douluo's brows furrowed tightly, yet through his soul power detection, he sensed an aura he was familiar with.

"Old She!"

Porcupinefish Douluo surged his soul power, the shockwaves parting the dense forest. A blood-soaked body was hanging in the thicket.

He could not afford to grieve; he immediately turned and rushed toward Heaven Dou City.

Who could have killed Snake Lance Douluo outside of Heaven Dou City?

Dugu Bo?

It wasn't that Porcupinefish Douluo looked down on him, but he truly lacked the qualifications to kill Snake Lance. Even if he could defeat Snake Lance Douluo, the latter would certainly have been able to escape.

Dugu Bo's poison was of little use against experts at the Titled Douluo level.

That left only one possibility: Prince Xue Xing had seen through Qian Renxue's disguise and colluded with other experts in advance.

For instance, the three instructors of the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy, or perhaps the Heaven Dou Empire's top combatant, Marshal Ge Long. These Soul Douluo experts, together with Dugu Bo, had ambushed and killed Snake Lance Douluo!

These were existences that Qian Renxue, with her Soul Saint cultivation, could not withstand. He had to rush back as quickly as possible to protect the Young Lady.

Inside Shrek Academy, Yu Xiaogang, shocked to the extreme, spat out a mouthful of tea. Flender and Shrek's Six Monsters were no better off.

"Three Lives Martial Soul!"

"Her phoenix sounds like a higher grade than mine!"

"Power Attack type, Defense type, Agility Attack type... Dean, is there really someone who can cultivate all of them simultaneously?"

The exclamations of Xiao Wu, Ma Hongjun, and Oscar were naturally also what Yu Xiaogang, who was forcing himself to remain calm, was thinking in his heart.

But this reality, which completely contradicted his soul master theories, left him terrified to face it.

"Uh, under special circumstances, Three Lives Martial Souls do exist, uh, because..."

Yu Xiaogang was at a loss for words. He knew of the existence of Twin Martial Souls only because he was acquainted with Bibi Dong, and he had been able to leverage her status to study cases of Twin Martial Souls from the past several hundred years.

However, a Three Lives Martial Soul was truly beyond the limits of his knowledge.

"According to theory, a Three Lives Martial Soul shouldn't be anything particularly good. Even if this Ying is a Super Douluo, she must have forcibly raised her level by piling trash-tier soul rings onto all three martial souls!"

The more Yu Xiaogang spoke, the more confident he became. His tone grew impassioned toward the end, and he then added with a pained expression, "That detestable Great Wall Academy! To think they would stunt the growth of such a genius. If she were taught by me, I could train her into a god!!!"

Yu Xiaogang had worked himself into a frenzy, but he suddenly caught a glimpse of Tang San's rather unpleasant expression.

Lacking in emotional intelligence, he asked, "San, what's wrong? Are you not feeling well?"

"I'm fine, thank you for your concern, Teacher."

Tang San forced a smile as he answered Yu Xiaogang.

Inwardly, however, he felt quite awkward. What did he mean by saying he could train a Three Lives Martial Soul talent into a god?

What about me? I, Tang San, possess Twin Martial Souls and Innate Full Soul Power. With a disciple like me, what is there for a useless Soul Grand Master like you, Yu Xiaogang, to be dissatisfied with!

Tang San's desire to leave Shrek Academy and seek out Great Wall Academy grew stronger and stronger.

He made up his mind: once the Gold List finished announcing the seven individuals today, he would take Xiao Wu and leave Shrek.

"How could a Phoenix possibly be a low-tier martial soul!"

Ma Hongjun's expression was also quite sour. He was Flender's personal disciple and had always respected Yu Xiaogang as his teacher's friend.

But for someone like him, the only thing worth bragging about was his own Evil Fire Phoenix martial soul. How could he allow anyone to disparage the Phoenix martial soul?

Yu Xiaogang was left unable to step down from the awkward position by Ma Hongjun's retort, and he fumbled, trying to offer some sort of defense.

"Hongjun, do you not want to eat anymore!"

"Tch, what kind of bullsh*t Master."

"You... you!"

Yu Xiaogang's lips trembled, but just then, the Gold List broadcast rang out.

He snapped his head up, like a drowning man desperately reaching for a single straw of hope.

He watched eagerly, as if proving his theory correct would mean that he, Yu Xiaogang, was still the Master.

[Dark Feather Douluo Ying possesses three of the most top-tier, peerless martial souls simultaneously. Her Tool Martial Soul is peerless in offense, her Beast Martial Soul possesses immense vitality, and her Body Martial Soul has perfect attributes. Her strength is highly spectacular—a terrifying beauty where pure stats and mechanics coexist! Light and shadow, blooming amidst the slaughter!]

[Rewards: Soul Power increased by one rank, Soul Ring Year Limit increased by 2,500 years, one 90,000-year Left Arm Soul Bone, one 90,000-year Right Leg Soul Bone, one 90,000-year Head Soul Bone!]

With both stats and mechanics laid bare, the Heavenly Dao Golden Ranking's unreserved praise shocked the entire Douluo Continent.

Seriously, man? It's not even pretending anymore.

Case closed, this Heavenly Dao Golden Ranking is a shill for Great Wall Academy.

Martial Soul Hall, Worship Hall.

After the broadcast of Ying's Three Lives Martial Soul concluded, Mighty Lion Douluo, who had just been shouting, "Who can stand before me? Who dares to stand before me?", was left speechless.

He muttered a stubborn retort, insisting that in terms of quality, his Blazing Lion beast martial soul was definitely superior, before falling into silence.

The Worship Hall fell into a strange, heavy atmosphere after seeing the Golden Ranking's commentary on Ying.

Three Lives Martial Soul, each one top-tier; the Heavenly Dao Golden Ranking's evaluation of the Nether Feather Phoenix also appeared far higher than that of Mighty Lion Douluo's Blazing Lion!

"Was I wrong to tell you to call Xue'er back?"

"I will write the letter at once."

Qing Luan Douluo immediately agreed with Qian Daoliu. Just kidding—a Super Douluo with a Three Lives Martial Soul had appeared. At most, he could hold off two more opponents by relying on the full set of soul bones he had accumulated over years of cultivation.

Qian Daoliu spoke slowly. With his vision, he had discerned a terrifying truth.

"Her rank is not built up by her Three Lives Martial Soul; she hasn't even attached a single soul ring to her latter two martial souls."

"How is that possible!"

Mighty Lion Douluo was shocked. As a High Priest of Spirit Hall, he had witnessed firsthand the terrifying speed of improvement Bibi Dong achieved after breaking through to Titled Douluo by stacking ten-thousand-year spirit rings onto her second martial soul.

If one didn't stack soul rings for the other martial souls, how could reaching rank 97 be so easy!

"Otherwise, how could a Three Lives top-tier martial soul with thirty skills only be ranked thirteenth!"

Qian Daoliu lost his usual composure, speaking urgently.

Golden Crocodile and the others reacted instantly. That's right, how could it only be ranked thirteenth!

"Just how many secrets is this Great Wall Academy hiding?"

Qian Daoliu sighed. He felt an unprecedented sense of fear; the hegemony Martial Soul Hall had held over the continent for a thousand years might be buried in his generation.

Meanwhile, Bibi Dong sat on the Pope's throne, utterly stunned.

She herself possessed Twin Martial Souls, and with her intelligence, she could naturally see that Ying had absolutely not added any new soul rings.

"No, I will not fail. I am the strongest!"

"I am the chosen one of the gods!"

Bibi Dong shrieked, black-purple energy rising from her body as she seemed to be engulfed by some kind of evil substance.