Shrek's Miserable State

Only then did the referee recover from the immense shock caused by the Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring.

Cold sweat poured down his body as he hurriedly blew the copper whistle in his mouth.

"Shrek Academy forfeits! Skywater Academy wins!"

"Skywater Team captain, stop attacking immediately!"

The referee's voice even trembled noticeably. He didn't dare approach the area shrouded in red light.

That was an unparalleled monster with a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring. How could a mere referee like him dare risk provoking it?

Hearing the referee's whistle, Xue Tianyu finally lifted his foot from Tang San's face.

He glanced with disgust at the blood staining his boot, then casually wiped it against the pristine ice beside him.

On the arena.

Tang San's face was covered in blood. His eyes had rolled back, and he had fallen into a deep coma.

The few remaining broken Eight Spider Lances lay limply at his side. His entire body was a horrifying sight.

The other Shrek team members, including Tailong and Huang Yuan, had all collapsed to the ground with their legs gone weak.

They didn't even have the courage to look Xue Tianyu in the eye.

Shui Bing'er, Xue Wu, and Shui Yue'er hurried forward.

Looking at Xue Tianyu's tall, slender figure, they could barely contain the adoration and fervor in their eyes.

This was the captain of their Skywater Team.

A god whose power could sweep all before him!

"Captain."

Shui Bing'er called softly, offering him a pristine white handkerchief from her sleeve.

Xue Tianyu took the handkerchief, casually wiped the dust from his hands, then tossed it onto Tang San.

"A bunch of worthless trash."

He turned around without giving the Shrek members another glance.

With the girls of the Skywater Team behind him, he walked straight off the arena.

Wherever he passed, everyone in the stands instinctively held their breath.

No one dared make the slightest unnecessary sound.

All that remained in the Great Soul Arena was Yu Xiaogang's anguished wailing as he rushed onto the arena and cradled Tang San.

Yu Xiaogang's anguished cries echoed through the Great Soul Arena.

He held Tang San, whose face was covered in blood, his hands stained with foul-smelling, poisonous blood.

"Xiao San! Xiao San, wake up!"

Yu Xiaogang trembled all over, tears and snot streaming down his face as he desperately shook the unconscious Tang San.

Tang San's nose had been completely crushed. The Eight Spider Lances he had once been so proud of had been shattered to pieces, leaving him like a heap of rags.

At the entrance to the rest area.

Oscar's legs had gone weak. He clung to the doorframe, barely managing to keep from collapsing.

Looking at the devastation on the arena, his teeth chattered uncontrollably.

The fat guy was dead. Teacher Zhao was dead.

Now even Xiao San, the strongest member of their team, had been crippled.

How were they supposed to fight now?

Their Shrek Academy was nothing but a joke.

Tailong and Huang Yuan were even more terrified, too afraid to go help carry Tang San down.

The figure of that white-clad young man had become a shadow they would never escape for the rest of their lives.

By now, Xue Tianyu had reached the steps at the edge of the arena.

Shui Bing'er followed behind him, maintaining a respectful distance of half a step.

The entire crowd held their breath, watching the peerless god of slaughter with the Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring leave.

Not a single person dared make a sound.

They were afraid of disturbing this murderous fiend.

Amid the deathly silence, a bone-grinding crack suddenly rang out.

Dai Mubai, who had been kicked away and slammed into the edge of the arena's protective barrier, twitched his fingers violently.

The intense pain stabbed at his nerves, wrenching him awake from his deep coma.

Dai Mubai struggled to open his eyes. His vision was awash in red.

He gasped for air. Each breath tugged at his broken ribs, twisting his face in agony.

Following his line of sight, the first thing he saw was Tang San, collapsed in a pool of blood, his life or death unknown.

He saw Yu Xiaogang kneeling beside him, wailing in grief, his dignity trampled into the dirt.

He saw Oscar trembling with fear.

The sight was like a sharp knife, plunging into Dai Mubai's heart.

Tang San was crippled.

The Shrek Team had been crushed beneath someone's feet.

Dai Mubai's eyes suddenly turned bloodshot, the veins on his forehead bulging like earthworms.

He was a prince of the Star Luo Empire!

The noble blood of the White Tiger Clan flowed through his veins!

How could he let someone laugh at him here as if he were a dead dog?

An overwhelming sense of humiliation instantly shattered his reason.

All the ostracism he had endured in the Star Luo Empire, all the hardship he had suffered to escape the imperial struggle—

In that moment, it all turned into boundless resentment.

"Stop!"

Dai Mubai bit through the tip of his tongue, using the last trace of Soul Power in his body to force his battered frame upright.

He staggered forward two steps, his eyes fixed on Xue Tianyu's back.

"Xue Tianyu!"

"You despicable coward!"

His roar sounded especially harsh in the silent arena.

Hearing the commotion, Yu Xiaogang whipped around.

When he saw Dai Mubai swaying on his feet, murder in his eyes, he was terrified out of his wits.

"Mubai! What are you doing?"

"The match is over! Stop at once!"

Yu Xiaogang screamed hysterically, trying to go grab Dai Mubai.

But he was still holding the gravely injured Tang San and couldn't get away.

Tailong finally came to his senses and scrambled toward the arena.

"Boss Dai, don't be rash!"

"Even Third Brother lost! If you go up there now, you're just throwing your life away!"

Tailong's voice broke with tears.

Dai Mubai slapped Tailong away as he climbed up.

"Get lost!"

"Even if I die, I, Dai Mubai, will never grovel just to stay alive!"

Xue Tianyu stopped walking.

He turned around and looked down at Dai Mubai, who stood a few meters away.

His expression was as calm as if he were looking at a corpse still twitching.

"Despicable?"

Xue Tianyu let out a soft sneer.

"Someone who can't even withstand one kick from me has the nerve to talk about being despicable?"

Dai Mubai shook with rage and spat out another mouthful of blood.

"If you hadn't relied on the suppression of your Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring, how could I have lost?"

"You crippled Xiao San and destroyed Shrek!"

"You crushed our last hope into the mud!"

"Even if we both die today, I'll drag you down with me!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a burst of violent white light surged around Dai Mubai.

He ignited his own vital blood, forcibly driving the Soul Power remaining in his body.

The already shattered White Tiger Vajra Transformation miraculously gathered itself together once more.

A phantom White Tiger roared furiously behind him.

Blood speckled its golden fur, giving it a reckless, desperate look.

The spectators in the stands cried out in alarm.

"Has he gone mad? Burning his vital blood will shorten his life!"

"He's completely burning through his life force!"

"Are all the people from Shrek a bunch of madmen who don't care if they die?"

The referee's face had gone deathly pale as he frantically blew his copper whistle.

"Skywater Academy has already won!"

"Shrek team member, stop this suicidal attack immediately!"

"If you don't stop, your entire academy will be disqualified!"

The referee's voice was completely drowned out by Dai Mubai's roar.

Dai Mubai slammed his feet into the ground. The flagstones beneath him caved into a deep pit.

He turned into a white shooting star, charging straight at Xue Tianyu with an unflinching will to die.

"Die!"

He gathered all his Soul Power into his right fist.

The violent force compressed the surrounding air until it let out a piercing sonic boom.

This punch had already far surpassed the limits of a forty-fourth-level Soul Ancestor.

Its power had even reached the level of a Soul King.

Shui Bing'er furrowed her brows, and a surge of cold swept over her.

"Captain, let me handle him."

Shui Yue'er was furious too, her fists clenched tight.

"These Shrek people are shameless! They lost and still resort to sneak attacks!"

Xue Tianyu raised a hand, gently stopping Shui Bing'er.

"There's no need."

"Since he's in such a hurry to die, I'll grant his wish."

As the violent fist wind drew closer, Xue Tianyu barely even blinked.

He slowly raised his right hand.

Without any flashy movements, he simply reached forward.

His long fingers spread open to meet the dazzling white light.

Smack!

A dull impact rang across the arena.

Shockwaves burst outward from the two of them, flinging every shard of ice nearby into the air.

Dai Mubai had poured his entire life force into that punch, driving it with enough power to break the sound barrier.

Yet Xue Tianyu caught it casually in one palm.

Violent Soul Power surged wildly where their hands met, hissing sharply.

But Xue Tianyu stood as unmoving as a towering mountain.

Even the ice-blue coat draped over his shoulders didn't wrinkle.

Dai Mubai, on the other hand—

A string of sharp cracks burst from the bones in his right arm.

Blood vessels ruptured beneath his skin, and blood instantly soaked his entire arm.

"What?"

Dai Mubai's eyes widened, his pupils contracting violently.

His all-out, life-burning strike hadn't even forced his opponent to take a single step back.

The gap in their strength was so vast it was despairing.

"Is this what you call taking us both down?"

Xue Tianyu's tone was indifferent.

His fingers tightened slightly.

Crack!

Dai Mubai's fist was crushed outright.

The crack of his broken finger bones rang with eerie clarity through the silent arena.

Blood and splintered bone seeped through Xue Tianyu's fingers.

Before Dai Mubai could scream, Xue Tianyu had already raised his right leg.

A vicious knee strike slammed directly into Dai Mubai's abdomen.

He showed no mercy with this blow.

Dai Mubai's shirt exploded across his back.

His whole body arched up again like a fully cooked shrimp.

He spewed mouthfuls of shredded organs from his mouth, splattering them across the pristine ice.

The sight was horrifying.

Xue Tianyu released his grip.

Dai Mubai collapsed at his feet like a heap of boneless, rotting mud.

He gasped for breath, unable even to muster the strength to scream.

"Mubai!"

Yu Xiaogang was grief-stricken. He dropped to his knees and desperately kowtowed.

"Xue Tianyu, please, stop!"

"We've already conceded!"

"I'll agree to any compensation you want—Soul Bones, Gold Soul Coins. Shrek will find a way to gather it all!"

"Let him go!"

Xue Tianyu didn't even spare Yu Xiaogang a glance.

The black leather boot lifted slowly, then planted itself precisely on Dai Mubai's chest.

"When that piece of trash ambushed me just now, why didn't you tell him to stop?"

Xue Tianyu pressed down slightly with his toe.

The sound of breaking ribs rang out again, and Dai Mubai let out a pained howl.

"You want to talk rules with me?"

"Do you Shrek even deserve to?"

In the VIP seats,

Xue Ye's brow furrowed, his face turning grim.

He recognized Dai Mubai's identity.

He was the second prince of the Star Luo Empire, living abroad.

The Heaven Dou Empire's intelligence network had kept a file on Dai Mubai for years.

If he had only been seriously injured during the competition, they could still have brushed it off as an accident in the heat of battle.

After all, injuries and deaths were inevitable in Soul Fighting competitions.

But if Dai Mubai were trampled to death in front of everyone, the Star Luo Empire would certainly seize the opportunity to make trouble.

If the Star Luo Emperor flew into a rage, an all-out war between the two empires might break out ahead of schedule.

That would trigger a serious diplomatic crisis.

"Bishop Salas."

Xue Ye turned to the Platinum Bishop beside him, a trace of displeasure in his voice.

"The competition is over, yet a contestant is still attacking someone."

"As one of the organizers, shouldn't Spirit Hall step in and stop him?"

Salas narrowed his eyes, lightly tapping his fingers against the back of the sandalwood chair.

The old fox's face was full of amusement as he watched the show.

"Your Majesty must be joking."

"That boy possesses a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring. He's a peerless monster."

"With killing intent like that, even an old man like me might not come out ahead if I went up there."

Salas was working out his own plans.

He would be more than happy if Xue Tianyu killed Dai Mubai.

As long as he could spark an all-out war between Heaven Dou and Star Luo, Spirit Hall could rise amid the chaos and reap the benefits.

As for trouble for the Heaven Dou Empire, what did that have to do with Spirit Hall?

Xue Ye snorted and stood up.

The old bastard was clearly planning to stand by and do nothing.

"Guards!"

Several Soul Saint-level experts clad in the armor of the Royal Knights appeared behind him in an instant.

Their armor clinked together with a crisp metallic ring.

"Go stop Xue Tianyu!"

"Make sure that Star Luo prince survives!"

"We can't let anything happen to him in Heaven Dou City!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

The three Soul Saints of the Royal Knights released their Martial Souls and shot toward the arena.

On the stage,

Dai Mubai was still pinned beneath Xue Tianyu's foot, blood bubbling continuously from his mouth.

But he heard the commotion around him and saw the Royal Knights descending from the sky.

They were the most elite force in the Heaven Dou Empire.

He knew the Heaven Dou Imperial Family had stepped in.

As long as the Heaven Dou Imperial Family intervened, no matter how strong Xue Tianyu was, he wouldn't dare kill him.

In his unbearable pain, Dai Mubai actually bared his bloodied mouth in a deranged grin and burst into laughter.

"Ha ha ha!"

"Xue Tianyu!"

"Do you dare kill me?"

Dai Mubai coughed up blood as he screamed with all his remaining strength.

His eyes brimmed with sick delight and venom.

"I'm the second prince of the Star Luo Empire!"

"I'm a direct descendant of the White Tiger Clan!"

"If you kill me, the entire Star Luo Empire will become your enemy!"

"My father will raze Skywater Academy to the ground and tear you limb from limb!"

"Star Luo's assassins will hunt you without end. Your family, your friends—they'll all die without a proper burial because of you!"

"You don't dare! You're a coward who only knows how to throw your weight around in the arena!"

His brazen taunts blared through the Amplifying Soul Tool, spreading across the entire Great Soul Arena.

The whole arena fell silent once more.

Every spectator drew in a sharp breath.

No one had expected a member of the Shrek Team to have such a terrifying background.