Comedy Turned Tragedy, Blood Spilled on the Spot

All they could hear was

Long Zhanye's heartbeat booming like war drums—"Thump! Thump! Thump!"

Every beat was so heavy that it seemed to hammer against everyone's hearts.

The entire banquet hall appeared to be enveloped by that terrifying rhythm, the air filled with a suffocating pressure.

Then,

With him at its center, rings of visible dark-red ripples suddenly spread outward!

Those ripples were not merely Soul Power, but the outward manifestation of his boiling blood and vitality.

The ripples continuously burst forth from his body and spread outward, layer upon layer, growing denser and denser until the skin and muscles around his heart had completely turned a glaring blood-red!

The clothes on his upper body shattered beneath the violent energy.

His veins bulged and writhed like dragons, while his muscles swelled violently, brimming with explosive power.

Most horrifying of all was his right arm, which had been completely enveloped in an incomparably dense bloody radiance!

The light flowed and churned as though it were alive.

His formerly gentle Soul Power had now transformed into tangible "radiance," exuding piercing sharpness and an aura of annihilation.

These scarlet "rays" spun and stretched madly around the outside of his right arm, emitting sharp shrieks like anguished wails.

They finally condensed into the phantom image of a massive blood blade over three meters long, its shape constantly twisting and shifting!

Even the space around the blood blade's edge seemed to warp slightly, radiating a deathly aura that made souls tremble.

However,

The insurmountable gulf in strength could not be crossed in the end.

"Bang—!!!"

An incomparably dull explosion rang out. Xuan Zi's dark-gold dragon claw effortlessly pierced through the seemingly terrifying blood blade phantom.

It crushed Long Zhanye's desperately constructed Soul Power defense and struck solidly against his chest!

Xuan Zi did not even spare Long Zhanye another glance. He merely casually patted his hands.

As though he were brushing away a speck of dust, his indifferent gaze swept across the entire hall.

Long Zhanye was instantly sent flying backward, crashing heavily to the ground and splashing up a glaring pool of blood.

Blood poured from all seven of his facial orifices, and his aura immediately withered to its lowest point.

Yet his bloodshot eyes remained fixed on Xuan Zi, filled with bone-deep unwillingness and hatred.

"Son—!!"

Seeing his beloved son gravely wounded and near death, Long Yufeng's eyes nearly split apart. He could no longer suppress the grief and fury in his heart.

With a furious roar, the three yellow Soul Rings beneath his feet lit up. Disregarding everything, he activated all his Soul Power and charged at Xuan Zi with utter determination!

But before he could approach, a fiery-red figure blocked his path like a ghost.

A cold gleam flashed through Ma Xiaotao's eyes. Without mercy, she drove a punch into his abdomen, then followed with a fierce side kick that swept hard into the back of his knee!

"Argh—!"

Long Yufeng let out a miserable scream as the Soul Power protecting his body shattered instantly.

He collapsed to the ground like a kite with its string cut, blood spraying wildly from his mouth. He could no longer get back up.

Dantai Jing witnessed the terrible change unfold in the blink of an eye. It was as if she had been struck by lightning, and she froze completely.

She looked at her son in the pool of blood, his fate unknown, then at her husband lying a few steps away, barely breathing...

A tightly stretched string in her Brain snapped with a sharp crack.

"Heh... hehehe... hehehehe..."

She suddenly bared her teeth and let out a hollow, eerie laugh.

There was no grief or anger on her face, only a blank, crazed, foolish smile.

She had already suffered from mental illness and could not withstand severe stimulation either.

But the hellish scene before her finally pushed her completely into the Abyss of madness.

The banquet hall fell deathly silent, and every guest was stunned.

Especially the elders and stewards of the Body Sect, whose faces were filled with shock, rage, and humiliation.

A joyous engagement celebration had turned into a one-sided crushing and a tragedy in the blink of an eye!

"Xuan Zi!!" The Titled Douluo elder of the Body Sect bristled, pointing at Xuan Zi as he roared.

"You dare cripple the future pillar of my Body Sect?! Are you declaring war on my Body Sect?!"

Xuan Zi stood with his hands behind his back, his expression as still as an ancient well. "Things have come to this. There is no need for this old man to say more. If you consider this a declaration of war..."

He paused, and his voice suddenly turned cold. "Then have Du Busi come to Shrek and find me! Shrek does not provoke trouble, but we have never feared it either!"

His tyrannical presence descended along with his words. The Body Sect elder's face turned livid, his chest heaving violently, yet he was ultimately left speechless.

On this continent, the strong were revered, and strength was the right to speak. At this moment, he keenly understood what powerlessness truly meant.

The Bright Jade Sect group had gone pale as well, terrified of being implicated.

While the two sides faced off, the sect master led the elders and disciples quietly away from the crowd, and they soon vanished without a trace.

In the pool of blood, Long Zhanye's body twitched faintly.

He could barely move, yet he still exhausted his final shred of strength to raise a trembling finger toward Xuan Zi, his voice hoarse and broken:

"Let... let... her go..."

Hearing this, Xuan Zi lowered his head and glanced at him, his eyes utterly unmoved.

"Very well," he said blandly. "Today, I will completely sever this cursed bond of yours, so that this evil creature will not continue bringing calamity upon the world."

Before his words had even faded, the left hand gripping Xiahou Ling's neck tightened slightly.

"Urgh...!!"

Xiahou Ling instantly felt herself suffocating, her pretty face flushing crimson.

Her legs kicked helplessly in midair as her hands desperately tried to pry open those iron-pincer fingers, but it was futile.

"Stop...!!!"

Long Zhanye let out a beast-like roar. Every vein on his face bulged wildly, nearly bursting through his skin.

"Cough... urghhh...!"

Xiahou Ling's struggles grew weaker and weaker. At last, her eyes rolled back, her body went limp, and she stopped moving.

As though throwing away a piece of trash, Xuan Zi casually tossed her onto the ground.

"Let's go." He called to Ma Xiaotao and turned to leave.

Just then!

Long Yufeng, lying on the ground and barely clinging to life, had a flash of almost crazed resolve in his eyes.

With trembling hands, he laboriously opened the Storage Soul Tool he carried with him.

He took out the Class Six Soul Tool gifted by the Bright Jade Sect—the Corrosive Ray Cannon!

Dangerous light flowed across the cannon's body.

"Villains... you destroyed my family..." Blood-flecked foam spilled from his mouth, his voice indistinct but filled with hatred. "...Then die with us!!"

Using the last of his strength, he slammed down the activation switch!

Bang!

A strange dark-green ray erupted instantly, moving at an astonishing speed!

Wherever the ray passed, the air gave off sizzling corrosive sounds, mixed with terrifying high-temperature burning!

If properly used, the destructive energy of those dual attributes was enough to severely injure or even kill a Soul Emperor!

The ray shot straight toward Xuan Zi and Ma Xiaotao's backs!

Though Ma Xiaotao had her back to the crowd, her instincts and extensive combat experience made her sense the danger the instant it descended.

She reacted with astonishing speed. Before she could even fully turn around, fiery-red Soul Power had already erupted!

"Second Soul Skill—Bathing Phoenix!"

Scorching Phoenix Flame instantly enveloped her, forming a solid shield of fire.

At the same time, she forcibly twisted her body, trying to evade or withstand the sudden lethal blow!