Flowers Fell, and the Beloved Was Lost

The morning sun shone down on the streets of Spirit City, but it could not dispel the gloom weighing on the hearts of the Shrek Academy team.

The air in the waiting room was so heavy it seemed to have solidified.

Dai Mubai lay gravely injured in bed, Zhu Zhuqing was unconscious, and Tai Long and Huang Yuan had also lost their ability to fight. Their original starting lineup of seven could no longer even fill out a complete roster.

Tang San stood by the window, gazing at the golden light reflecting off the spire of the distant Pope Palace. The bloodshot veins in his eyes were even worse than yesterday.

He clutched a handful of Dragon Whisker Needles so tightly that his knuckles had turned white.

"Xiao San..."

Oscar hesitated before speaking. "How about... we forfeit? There are only a few of us. We can't possibly beat Spirit Hall's Golden Generation."

"No!"

Tang San spun around, his voice hoarse and shrill. "We absolutely can't forfeit! That Wisdom Skull is crucial to me! Once I get it, I'll be able to solve the problem with my Twin Martial Souls and lead everyone back to the top!"

A nearly obsessive madness gleamed in his eyes.

He was like a gambler who had lost everything, with only one last chip in hand, yet still convinced he would turn it all around on the next bet.

"But..." Ning Rongrong bit her lip. "They have three Spirit Kings, and they can use a Martial Soul Fusion Skill. How are we supposed to fight them with only you and Xiao Wu?"

"I have a plan."

Tang San took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.

"Boss Dai may be out, but I still have my Eight Spider Lances and Tang Sect Hidden Weapons. As long as you support me with everything you've got and give me an opening to use Bat Wing Reincarnation, I can take them all down in one fell swoop!"

As he spoke, Tang San looked at Xiao Wu, who had remained silent the whole time.

Xiao Wu wore a pink combat outfit today, her long scorpion braid hanging down her back. Her face was a little pale, and there was always a trace of fear in her eyes. Every so often, she would unconsciously touch her chest, where Lovesick Heartbreak Red was hidden.

"Xiao Wu, are you afraid?" Tang San asked gently, though his tone left no room for refusal.

Xiao Wu looked into Tang San's eyes, full of longing. She knew that if she didn't accompany him through this, her third brother would spend the rest of his life weighed down by regret and remorse.

"I'm not afraid." Xiao Wu managed a smile. "As long as you're here, third brother, I'm not afraid of anything."

"Good!"

Tang San took Xiao Wu's hand, the fire rekindling in his eyes.

"Since Yu Tianyu called me a coward who only sacrifices his teammates, today I'll show him how I, Tang San, can lead a crippled team, turn the tide, and create a miracle!"

Once again, he painted himself a grand promise.

But he had no idea that deadly poison was hidden inside it.

The finals arena stood before the Pope Palace.

When the scanty Shrek Academy team stepped onto the stage, the whole crowd broke into unabashed boos.

"Look! It's the team that sells out its teammates."

"How dare so few of them come up here to get themselves killed? They really don't know their place."

Faced with the jeers raining down around him, Tang San remained expressionless. He shut out the noise and fixed his gaze on the three people across from him.

Hu Liena, Xie Yue, and Yan.

Just as Yu Tianyu had said, those three might cower before that Demon King, but to everyone else, they were still an insurmountable mountain.

"Tang San, I didn't think you'd actually dare to show up."

Yan rolled his neck, each movement cracking, his eyes brimming with a cruel smile. "Was yesterday's lesson not enough? Today, I'll personally break your bones one by one."

Hu Liena gazed at Tang San through half-lidded eyes, a playful smile on her lips.

"I hope you can last a little longer. Otherwise, that lord might get bored."

The "lord" she spoke of was naturally Yu Tianyu, seated on the high platform, looking down at the arena as he sipped his tea.

"Begin!"

At the referee's command,

the battle went straight to its fiercest point, with no probing or hesitation.

"Martial Soul Fusion Skill—Demon Charm!"

Hu Liena and Xie Yue instantly joined together. Two beams of light merged, becoming a thick pink mist that engulfed most of the arena in an instant.

Within the mist, their senses were obscured, their Soul Power suppressed, and their movements slowed.

This was the Golden Generation's trump card, a domain-type skill powerful enough to trap and kill a Spirit Emperor!

"Everyone, back to back! Rongrong, boost us in every way!"

Tang San shouted as he pushed his Purple Demon Eye to its limits. Two violet-gold rays pierced the mist, searching for their opponents.

"Inside this domain, you're lambs waiting to be slaughtered."

Demon Charm's eerie voice, neither fully male nor female, came from within the mist.

Two enormous Moon Blades swept through the air with a shrill whistle, slashing at the Shrek team from every direction.

"Ah!"

Screams rang out one after another.

Even with Tang San directing them, the difference in strength was simply too great.

In a single exchange, Oscar, Ma Hongjun, and Ning Rongrong were struck by the Moon Blades and sent crashing off the arena.

Only Tang San and Xiao Wu remained on the stage.

A desperate predicament.

A truly desperate predicament.

Yet at that moment, a strange smile curved Tang San's lips.

"At last... it's just us."

This, too, had been part of his plan!

Only with his teammates out of the way could he use those highly destructive, forbidden Hidden Weapons without restraint!

"Xiao Wu, Charm!"

Tang San called out, and the Eight Spider Lances burst open behind him like eight scythes of death.

"We have only one chance!"

Under the gaze of his Purple Demon Eye, Tang San finally caught a flaw in Demon Charm's defenses.

It was the instant the two Moon Blades crossed!

"Now!"

Tang San's hands danced like butterflies flitting among flowers, and dozens of flashes of cold light shot from his hands.

The Tang Sect Hidden Weapon technique ranked tenth—Bat Wing Reincarnation!

Each Hidden Weapon fragment flew in an arc, sealing off every possible route of escape. They were all coated in poison, too!

"What?!"

Demon Charm clearly hadn't expected Tang San to have another trick up his sleeve. The Hidden Weapons' trajectories were too strange to predict.

Clang, clang, clang!

After a flurry of sharp impacts, Demon Charm let out a muffled groan.

The Moon Blades blocked most of the Hidden Weapons, but a few fragments still sliced through Xie Yue's skin.

The poison took effect instantly!

The once-impeccable red mist wavered, growing unstable.

"Now's my chance!"

Tang San's eyes lit up.

He could see victory within reach!

If he used that moment to stab the Eight Spider Lances into their bodies and drain their Soul Power, he would win the match!

"I'm going to win! The Spirit Bone is mine!!"

Tang San roared. He sprang forward, his body turning into a blur as he charged straight for the opening.

Xiao Wu followed close behind, ready to deliver the finishing blow at any moment.

On the high platform,

Bibi Dong's brow furrowed slightly. She hadn't expected the boy she looked down on to actually injure the Golden Generation with the help of external weapons.

"Interesting."

Yu Tianyu set down his teacup, a cruel smile curling his lips.

"Let him see hope, then plunge him into despair."

"That's the perfect script."

Yu Tianyu tapped his fingers lightly on the table.

"Snap."

A crisp finger snap rang out.

An invisible yet overwhelmingly forceful mental shock, laced with a trace of the Dragon God's pressure, shot precisely toward Xiao Wu as she charged forward.

It wasn't aimed at Xiao Wu herself.

It was aimed at the Lovesick Heartbreak Red... hidden against her chest.

On the battlefield,

Tang San's Eight Spider Lances were less than three feet from Demon Charm.

The delirious joy of a victor had already spread across his face.

But then,

Xiao Wu, following behind him, suddenly jolted violently.

She felt an irresistible force sever the connection between her and the Lovesick Heartbreak Red.

The Immortal Herb that had always protected her and concealed her Soul Beast aura seemed to have been startled. Its light abruptly dimmed.

Then,

carried by the momentum of her charge,

the tragic red flower slipped from Xiao Wu's arms.

It floated through the air.

Time seemed to stop in that instant.

Tang San caught sight of the flower from the corner of his eye.

His heart skipped a beat. An unprecedented terror seized his soul, more frightening than facing death itself.

"No..."

The flower fell.

Her aura escaped.

Boom!!!

An unmistakable aura belonging to a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast exploded across the plaza before the Pope Palace like a massive bomb!

It was a pure aura, brimming with vitality and temptation.

To a Titled Douluo, that aura was like a lighthouse in the dark—impossible to ignore!

"This is..."

On the high platform,

Bibi Dong, who had been seated, shot to her feet. Her phoenix eyes blazed with shocking intensity as she stared at the girl in pink on the arena.

"A Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast?!"

Beside her, Ghost Douluo and Chrysanthemum Douluo also stiffened, their eyes filled with disbelief and unbridled greed.

"A Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast transformed into a human! And she was right under our noses!"

Terrifying pressure descended in an instant.

This was no longer a battle between Spirit Kings.

This was the overwhelming pressure of three Titled Douluo, one of them even a Peak Douluo!

Thud!

Tang San, charging forward, was like a fly struck by a giant palm. The pressure slammed him hard into the ground.

His Eight Spider Lances shattered one after another, each break emitting a jarring crack.

"Ah!!"

Tang San screamed, coughing up mouthfuls of blood.

The glimmer of victory? His last-minute comeback?

In that instant, it all turned to smoke.

The red mist dissipated.

Demon Charm split apart.

Hu Liena, Xie Yue, and Yan also froze, staring blankly at the trembling girl on the arena.

Xiao Wu stood there, the Lovesick Heartbreak Red lying at her feet. Her face was deathly pale as she stared at the three figures on the high platform, as fearsome as gods and demons. Her eyes were filled with despair.

It was over.

Everything was over.

"Seize her!"

Bibi Dong coldly uttered three words.

They were both a judgment and a death sentence.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Ghost Douluo and Chrysanthemum Douluo transformed into two streaks of light and hurtled toward Xiao Wu on the arena.

"No! Don't hurt her!!"

Tang San lay on the ground, every bone in his body feeling as though it might splinter, yet he still struggled desperately to get back up.

He was her older brother.

He had sworn to protect her.

"If you want to take her... you'll have to step over my dead body!"

Tang San roared, blood tears streaming from his eyes as he tried to shield Xiao Wu with his battered body.

What a touching scene.

What a tragic, heroic rescue of a beauty.

But reality was cruel.

"Get lost, you ant."

Chrysanthemum Douluo didn't even look at him. He casually flicked his sleeve.

Boom!

A gentle yet irresistible surge of Soul Power slammed into Tang San.

Once again, Tang San flew through the air like a rag doll, crashing hard onto the solid granite ground. He slid dozens of meters, leaving a horrifying trail of blood behind him.

He tried to get up.

But he couldn't.

A casual strike from a Titled Douluo had already shattered his meridians.

All he could do was lie there like a dead dog, helplessly watching Ghost Douluo's ghostly hand reach for Xiao Wu's slender neck.

"Xiao Wu..."

Tang San let out a despairing wail.

Was this the sorrow of the weak?

At a moment like this, Hidden Weapons, Twin Martial Souls, theories—all of it was garbage!

Before absolute power, he didn't even have the right to stand and speak!

Just as Ghost Douluo's hand was about to touch Xiao Wu—

"Hold it."

A lazy voice suddenly rang out across the arena.

It wasn't loud, but it carried an unquestionable authority.

Ghost Douluo, who had been certain of victory, abruptly froze in midair. He felt a shiver deep in his soul—the suppression all living beings felt before a superior dragon.

A tall, slender figure appeared out of nowhere in front of Xiao Wu.

It wasn't Tang Hao.

It was Yu Tianyu.

With his hands in his pockets and still looking half-asleep, he stood between the two Titled Douluo.

"Yu Tianyu? What are you doing?!" Chrysanthemum Douluo shrieked. "This is an order from His Holiness the Pope! This Soul Beast is Spirit Hall's prey!"

"Prey?"

Yu Tianyu tilted his head and glanced back at Xiao Wu, who was too stunned to move.

He reached out and gently stroked her long rabbit ears. Xiao Wu stiffened all over, not daring to move.

"You two elders have it wrong."

Yu Tianyu turned around and looked straight at Bibi Dong on the high platform, a wicked smile curling his lips.

"This rabbit is mine."

Silence fell over the arena.

Everyone stared at him, eyes wide.

What was he saying?

How dare he openly claim a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast right in front of the Pope?!

"Yu Tianyu." Bibi Dong's gaze turned cold. "Do you know what you're saying? You want to keep the Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring and Spirit Bone for yourself?"

"Keep them for myself? No, no."

Yu Tianyu shook his head and replied nonchalantly, "I just think it'd be a shame to kill such a cute little rabbit."

"Besides..."

Yu Tianyu pointed at Tang San, who lay in the distance, still coughing up blood.

"Doesn't His Holiness the Pope think it'd be more interesting to keep her alive than to kill her?"

"Perhaps use her as a collar for...certain people?"

Bibi Dong paused, then understood what Yu Tianyu meant. She gave the unfathomable young man a long look.

After a while, Bibi Dong reined in her aura and sat back on her throne.

"Since you've spoken up, I'll grant you this favor."

"However, I'll spare her life, but she won't escape punishment. This Soul Beast must be kept under strict guard by Spirit Hall—or by you."

"Deal."

Yu Tianyu snapped his fingers.

Ghost Douluo and Chrysanthemum Douluo exchanged glances, then could only withdraw in disappointment.

Was the crisis over?

No.

For Tang San, true hell was only just beginning.

Yu Tianyu turned around and grabbed Xiao Wu by the wrist.

"Come with me, little rabbit."

"No... I won't go..." Xiao Wu wept, her gaze fixed sorrowfully on Tang San in the distance. "Third Brother... Third Brother..."

"Tsk. You're noisy."

Yu Tianyu frowned and reached out to pinch Xiao Wu's chin, forcing her to look at him.

"Get a grip on the situation."

"If I hadn't stepped in, you'd already be a corpse. Just another Spirit Ring."

"I'm the one who saved your life."

Having said that, Yu Tianyu didn't take her away right away.

Instead, he dragged her step by step over to Tang San.

Tang San lay in a pool of blood, struggling to lift his head. He looked at the man who stood above him and at his beloved, held in the man's grasp like a plaything.

"Let... let her go..." Tang San's voice was as faint as a mosquito's buzz.

Yu Tianyu crouched down, wearing that signature, nauseatingly gentle smile.

"Tang San, you should thank me."

"Look how loyal I am. You said you didn't want her hurt, so I saved her life for you."

"Even if she belongs to me from now on."

Yu Tianyu leaned close to Tang San's ear and whispered in a voice only the three of them could hear:

"Don't worry. I'll take good 'care' of her for you."

"Day and night."

"After all, I've always wanted to taste a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soft Bone Rabbit."

Boom!

Those words shattered the last of Tang San's mental defenses.

"AAAAAH! Yu Tianyu! I'll kill you! I'll kill you!!"

Tang San let out a howl of utter anguish, like a beast whose young had been stolen. He desperately tried to summon his Soul Power, set off his Hidden Weapons, and take them all down with him.

But he couldn't move.

Yu Tianyu had already planted one foot on his head, grinding his face into the dirt.

"Save your breath, loser."

Yu Tianyu looked coldly at the ant beneath his foot.

"You couldn't even protect your own woman, and you still have the nerve to shout?"

"Remember this feeling of helplessness."

"It's a disgrace you'll never live down."

With that, Yu Tianyu lifted his foot and kicked Tang San aside like a piece of trash.

Then, before the eyes of the entire crowd, he wrapped an arm around Xiao Wu's waist and forcibly pulled her into his embrace amid her startled cry. He turned and walked down from the platform.

"No! Third Brother!!" Xiao Wu cried, reaching out toward Tang San.

But she couldn't break free of Yu Tianyu's iron grip.

Tang San lay on the ground, his vision blurred.

All he could do was watch the pink figure grow farther and farther away until she vanished completely in the arms of that demon.

In front of Pope Palace.

The sunlight still shone brightly, yet it felt as cold as ice against their skin.

The spectators watched the scene. Some were shocked, others sighed, but most looked on with awe at the strong.

No one pitied the failure lying on the ground.

In a world where strength reigned supreme, the howls of the defeated were the most worthless noise of all.

Tang San dug his fingers deep into the cracks in the granite. His nails broke, and blood ran freely.

"Yu... Tian...yu..."

He repeated the name over and over in his heart, each time with a hatred that cut to the bone.

But he knew all too well.

From this day on,

his dignity, his love, and his hopes

had all been crushed beneath that man's heel.