"Elder Mu, is there anything else you need?" Xuanzi straightened his collar and asked respectfully.
Xuanzi was always known for being slovenly in public, but he was extremely proper in front of Mu En.
"Cough, cough..."
Mu En was just about to speak when he couldn't help coughing twice.
Xuanzi was startled. He hurried over and asked worriedly, "Elder Mu, are you all right?"
Mu En shook his head and said calmly, "I'm fine. Xuanzi, you're close to reaching the threshold of a Limit Douluo now, aren't you?"
Xuanzi was taken aback, unsure why Mu En had brought that up so suddenly, but answered honestly, "I tried condensing a Second Soul Core before. My mental power was sufficient, but my Soul Power reserves weren't deep enough. I ran out of energy before I could finish, and the attempt failed. I only gradually recovered not long ago."
"In that case, try again after some time."
"Ah?"
Xuanzi looked stunned, but in the next moment, he felt a gentle, powerful energy envelop him, filling every corner of the meeting hall.
"Is that... the Dragon Pill?"
Xuanzi saw the Dragon Pill suddenly appear in Mu En's hand and realized what he meant.
"I was injured by the Dragon Pill's domineering, violent aura when I absorbed it all those years ago. It damaged my foundation, leaving me confined to a reclining chair and shortening my life.
"But after all these years of nurturing it, and after the last battle happened to purge the last of its violent aura, the energy it contains is now quite gentle.
"Taotie isn't one of the Nine Sons of the Dragon God, but it does share part of the Earth Dragon King's bloodline—the Earth Element Holy Dragon, one of the Nine Great Dragon Kings. Your Martial Soul is the Godly Taotie Bull. Though it's incomplete, it inherited a trace of that bloodline.
"Every Limit Douluo's rise is accompanied by great fortune. Absorbing this Dragon Pill will not only let you break through to rank ninety-nine, but might even evolve your Godly Taotie Bull into a Taotie."
But faced with the Dragon Pill, something every Soul Master would go mad for, Xuanzi showed not a trace of excitement. Instead, his eyes were filled with deep sorrow.
He knew what it meant that Mu En was offering him the Dragon Pill now. As he looked at Mu En's frail body, like a candle flickering in the wind, his eyes grew misty with tears.
His lips trembled, and a choked voice came from his throat. "Elder Mu, you..."
"Enough. You're not a child anymore. Why are you still getting so worked up? How will you lead Sea God Pavilion and Shrek in the future?"
Mu En was open-minded and calm. He smiled faintly. "Everyone dies eventually. Besides, I've lived for two hundred and fifty years. I've had more than enough."
"You know I'm not suited to managing things..."
"Then change. Shrek needs a Limit Douluo to stand guard. That's the only way to deter our enemies and keep them from attacking us lightly."
"Leopards don't change their spots..."
"Hmm?"
"I understand..."
"Absorb it while I can still hold on for another year or two."
"Yes."
Xuanzi took the Dragon Pill with trembling hands. The overwhelming grief weighed heavily on his heart, leaving him aching.
Just then, Mu En and Xuanzi seemed to sense something. Their expressions changed, and they both turned to look at the sky outside.
"Mu En, get out here!"
A voice filled with terrifying Soul Power rang out without warning across all of Shrek City.
Countless people in the city looked up in astonishment. A figure hovered high in the sky. They were shocked that anyone would dare make trouble in Shrek, and do so with such brazen arrogance.
But some of them were puzzled. Who was this Mu En?
It was noon. The cloudless sky stretched out in a brilliant blue, and the blazing sun spilled golden light over the city.
The air should have been scorching, but under the pressure of that figure, everyone felt a bone-deep chill.
A column of earthy yellow light suddenly shot up from Sea God Island, breaking through the oppressive gloom.
More than thirty columns of light followed close behind, forcing the intruder's aura back.
"Who dares to cause trouble in Shrek?"
Xuanzi fixed his gaze on the old woman before him, his expression grave. The aura she emanated belonged to a Limit Douluo—and an Evil Soul Master at that.
They had just been discussing how to deal with Evil Soul Masters, and now one had come right to their doorstep. But when had a Limit Douluo among the Evil Soul Masters appeared on the mainland?
Ye Xishui glanced at Xuanzi without acknowledging him, then shouted again, "Mu En, you killed my son. Do you not even have the courage to face me? Or are you so ashamed of what happened back then that you're hiding like a coward?"
More than twenty figures rose into the sky behind her, squaring off against Shrek.
"If you want to see Elder Mu, you'll have to get past me first!" Xuanzi roared.
Her blatant disregard for him was infuriating. With nowhere else to vent the sorrow in his heart, he attacked at once.
Two yellow, two purple, four black, and one red Soul Rings appeared. His Seventh Soul Ring lit up, and he immediately unleashed his Martial Soul Avatar.
Earthy yellow light blazed. A monster appeared out of thin air, with a goat's body, eyes beneath its armpits, tiger's teeth, human hands, and a pair of enormous bull horns. It was over thirty meters long.
Ye Xishui's eyes were full of disdain. Six black and three red Soul Rings appeared, utterly overpowering Xuanzi, and a blood-red shadow formed behind her.
Xuanzi was shocked, but he didn't back down. Intense yellow light burst forth, and his nine Soul Rings transformed into rings of light that floated between his enormous horns, each over five meters long.
The next moment, countless yellow spheres of light gathered behind him, like a meteor shower falling to earth. They swept toward Ye Xishui in a vast, overwhelming wave.
Behind Ye Xishui, the Blood Soul Demon Puppet blazed with blood-red light. Twelve blood-colored wraiths, each the size of a human head, appeared around her. A storm of blood and gore swept across Shrek City, and the sky turned red.
This was her ultimate trump card: the Blood Soul Great Method!
Each wraith had been crafted through a secret method. Raising one to the size of a human head likely required at least a hundred thousand lives. In other words, these twelve wraiths had been made through the sacrifice of a million people.
The yellow meteor shower was stopped by the twelve wraiths, not one projectile reaching Ye Xishui. Where they collided, black cracks split through space and began to spread.
Ye Xishui pointed forward with her right hand. Nine wraiths scattered into a formation that surrounded Xuanzi. They shot out thin strands, each as thick as a thumb, which wrapped around the Godly Taotie Bull and ate away at it, leaving one wound after another.
"Moo—!"
Xuanzi roared toward the sky. Intense earthy yellow light gathered around him, and his body swelled, breaking free of its restraints. The yellow sky and the blood-red sky split apart.
He raised his head. His pair of bull horns sharpened and solidified, and his claws struck the wraiths aside. He charged through the air toward Ye Xishui.
Ye Xishui sneered, and blood-red light blazed in her eyes. In an instant, all her long hair turned blood red. The Blood Soul Demon Puppet behind her surged into her body, fusing with her.
Ye Xishui's body immediately doubled in size. The rich crimson made her look as if she were carved from rubies. Terrifying blood energy churned around her and surged outward like waves.
"Boundless Sea of Blood!"
An endless sea of blood engulfed Xuanzi. No matter how he struggled, he couldn't break free. Blood red swallowed the yellow sky and spread across all of Shrek City. Countless vengeful spirits shrieked, transforming the city into a ghost town.
A vicious glint flashed in Ye Xishui's eyes. "Mu En, if you don't come out, I'll slaughter all of Shrek today!"
At her words, the twelve wraiths rushed down toward Shrek City, scrambling to feed. They had caught the scent of fresh blood, heartrending screams, and terror.
Shrek's experts stepped forward to stop them, but the Holy Spirit Cult experts who had come with Ye Xishui intercepted them.
Even Titled Douluo might not be able to defeat the wraiths, let alone ordinary people.
The crowd fell into panicked despair, scattering like headless chickens.
Before you continue