Xuan Zi's Fury, Death God's Escape

Other than Dai Yueheng, who had been closest to that mountain of corpses, neither the Main Team nor the Reserve Team had suffered the direct damage caused by the Corpse Explosion Technique detonating the corpses' bones, flesh, blood, and soul power.

However, aside from the Reserve Team, who had been directly protected by the Glazed Shield, the Main Team members had all sustained injuries of varying severity from the corpse poison blood mist kicked up by the explosions.

At the very instant the explosions erupted, though they lacked the aid of Spiritual Detection, the Main Team members had still done their utmost to resist.

Ma Xiaotao was enveloped from head to toe in golden-red Phoenix Flames. At the cost of a great deal of soul power, the corpse poison blood mist lost its toxicity the moment it touched the Phoenix Flames, unable to inflict any tangible harm.

Ling Luochen was much the same. With her ability to control ice, she wrapped herself in a layer of ice crystals, effectively blocking most of the corpse poison blood mist. However, her soul power was lower than Ma Xiaotao's.

The thinner, weaker portions of Ling Luochen's ice layer were corroded through by the corpse poison, allowing it to seep inside.

Xixi used lightning to protect herself and resisted part of the corpse poison. Even so, due to her martial soul and cultivation path, the Agility Assault Type soul master was severely affected by the poison and badly injured.

Gongyang Mo and Chen Zifeng had no such means. They possessed neither defensive Soul Skills, nor soul power suited to resisting corpse poison.

They could only do their best to preserve themselves with soul power, but even simple soul power defenses were eroded by the foreign soul power within the corpse poison blood mist. Moreover, the leather armor issued by the Shrek Monitoring Group was not fully sealed.

Thus, areas left uncovered by the leather armor—such as the gaps around their joints, or their eyes, ears, mouths, and noses—were all corroded by the corpse poison blood mist to varying degrees.

Gongyang Mo was currently enduring the pain as he used his Soul Skills to ease the effects of the corpse poison on everyone.

Yet the composition and properties of the corpse poison they had been exposed to were extremely complex. The poison nourished by each corpse's bones, flesh, blood, and soul power differed in subtle ways.

Therefore, Gongyang Mo could only temporarily delay the poison's onset and suppress its effects. He could not remove it completely.

Yao Haoxuan was in an even worse state. His martial soul was a giant, and because of his enormous body and his Soul Skills' focus on support and control, his oversized frame became the greatest flaw when facing the overwhelming corpse poison blood mist.

Nearly every inch of his skin had been stained dark green by the mist. As the corpse poison continued its erosion, he was in unbearable agony.

The continuous explosions lasted more than ten seconds. Although Dai Yueheng was the strongest among them aside from Ma Xiaotao, and the Evil Eye White Tiger granted him considerable physical strength and defensive Soul Skills—

Even so, there was no way he could fully withstand a Corpse Explosion Technique with destructive force comparable to that of a Soul Sage.

The tunnel entrance Dai Yueheng had blocked had already been more than half collapsed by the terrifying force of the explosions. Furthermore, due to the tunnel's confined space, the Corpse Explosion Technique's force struck in both directions.

After enduring explosions compressed by the tunnel environment, the bandits who had retreated into the passage were almost entirely killed.

As for Dai Yueheng, who had originally stood at the tunnel entrance, he had been blown to pieces. Amid the horrifying fluctuations of soul power and the rain of blood and flesh—

Only Huo Yuhao, through the Eye of Truth, could inspect the corpse fragments infected by Death God's Emissary's foreign soul power but not yet triggered, and roughly determine which pieces had belonged to Dai Yueheng.

If there had been a Defense Type soul master blocking the entrance, things should have been much better. Though the Corpse Explosion Technique is incredibly powerful, an elite Soul King specializing in defense should at least be able to ensure they don't die. At worst, they'd be seriously injured.

After all, some Defense Type soul masters have cheat-like abilities such as Invincible Golden Body.

From the very beginning, Huo Yuhao had wanted to criticize the Main Team's lineup. They had brought a support-and-control type whose job was to spout colorful language, as well as the comic-relief Yao Haoxuan whose strongest Soul Skill was apparently swallowing everything in sight, yet they had not brought a Defense Type soul master?

Then again, it was hard to say. Perhaps the Inner Court Disciple from the Soul Engineering Department whom the Main Team had dropped had been a Defense Type soul master. Even if not, with the capabilities of Soul Tools, filling in as a Defense Type soul master at a critical moment was not impossible.

"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!" Outside the cave, Xuan Zi, who had been sitting atop a hill drinking wine and eating meat with great relish, felt the tremors beneath him and heard the terrifying sounds. His eyes widened.

"Nothing must happen to them!"

His figure flashed, and all that remained where Xuan Zi had been sitting were a few clean-picked chicken bones, proof of what he had been doing moments before.

As the true Elder leading the group, Xuan Zi should have been following them the entire time and protecting them in secret. After all, this mission differed from ordinary Shrek Monitoring Group assignments.

Those undertaking this mission were the Main Team and Reserve Team selected by Shrek Academy for this year's Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament.

There was not much time left before the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament.

Whether considered from the tournament's perspective, Shrek Academy could no longer spare the time to select a more suitable team.

Or from the academy's perspective, these fourteen could be called Shrek Academy's most elite and core disciples of the past decade.

If all of them perished here, it would undoubtedly make things even worse for the already struggling Shrek Academy.

Moreover, Xuan Zi, the vice leader of the Shrek Monitoring Group, had personally applied for this mission. Under normal circumstances, the Main Team and Reserve Team possessed special privileges and could at least postpone Shrek Monitoring Group assignments.

But Xuan Zi believed that these elite disciples of Shrek Academy should not shirk responsibilities that belonged to them.

Nor had he believed that a group of Evil Soul Master bandits containing only Soul King-level experts, according to his senses, could pose much of a threat to his students.

Yet Death God's Emissary had slapped Xuan Zi hard with reality. Who said only Shrek Academy's people could be invincible among their peers and fight above their rank?

Who said Shrek Academy's most elite disciples could compare with Evil Soul Masters, the true direction in which the world was moving and the orthodox path among soul masters?

Even if their Soul Ring configurations were worse, even if their cultivation and strength were lower, Evil Soul Masters could still borrow the laws of the Douluo World and use those laws to unleash terrifying combat power.

But now, even regret was too late. Xuan Zi could only pray and hope that most of the students would be unharmed. Otherwise, he did not know how he would face the upcoming Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament.

If they failed in the tournament, would Shrek Academy's glory, preserved for ten thousand years, and its brilliance of consecutive championships, be brought to an end under his leadership? No! Absolutely not!

"Caw caw caw caw! How did my Corpse Explosion taste? Even if it didn't blow you to death, this corpse poison should still be enough to make you suffer."

Death God's Emissary's cold voice drifted from the depths of the collapsed cave.

This Death God's Emissary isn't very authentic. Why isn't he going 'hehehehe'? Villains die from talking too much. Isn't he going to run while he has the chance?

Huo Yuhao said to the people around him, "I have a dangerous feeling. We should retreat first."

Without waiting to see whether anyone agreed, Huo Yuhao immediately dismissed the Glazed Shield and ran toward the rear.

Wang Dong reacted fastest and hurried after Huo Yuhao. Xiao Xiao and Ning Tian followed next, and after thinking for a moment, Beibei followed as well.

Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan hesitated as they looked at the Main Team ahead of them, but ultimately chose to follow Huo Yuhao.

Seeing this, Wang Yan did not know what to say. Looking at the Main Team, troubled by corpse poison, and then at the Reserve Team, who had already retreated, he was caught between advancing and retreating.

A furious old roar quickly resolved Wang Yan's dilemma.

"Bastard!" Along with an intense white light, terrifying soul power and pressure swept through the cave, instantly evaporating every trace of corrosive poisonous blood that remained in the environment.

Xuan Zi had finally arrived. However, the poisonous blood that had already seeped deep into the Main Team members' bodies would not be so easily removed.

Xuan Zi's aged, slovenly figure appeared beside the Main Team. Seeing that only Dai Yueheng was missing and that the others, though in poor condition, were neither fatally wounded nor crippled, a trace of relief flashed through Xuan Zi's eyes.

Fortunately, neither the Main Team nor the Reserve Team had suffered excessive losses. After a period of recuperation, they should still be able to participate in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament.

But Dai Yueheng, the eldest son of the White Tiger Duke and captain of this Main Team, had died here. How was he supposed to explain this to the White Tiger Duke?

Though the White Tiger Duke's Mansion was certainly incomparable to Shrek Academy in strength, the White Tiger Duke's family had maintained friendly relations with Shrek Academy for generations. Its members naturally held a different status from ordinary students.

Thus, rage once more surged through Xuan Zi's mind. With a wave of his hand, a terrifying suction force burst from his palm, and the tunnel entrance blocked by fallen rubble instantly exploded open.

A thin figure in a black robe was about to be dragged before Xuan Zi.

But how could I, the legendary Soul King, Death God's Emissary, simply sit and await death?

Bored out of his mind, Huo Yuhao provided narration for the scene from the rear while preparing to deploy the Glazed Shield once more. After all, Xuan Zi being unreliable was hardly a new development.

The corpse fragments of Dai Yueheng, scattered everywhere by the first Corpse Explosion, began to swell again. Their bones, flesh, blood, and soul power underwent another violent reaction under Death God's Emissary's activation.

Xuan Zi was, after all, a Super Douluo, and he quickly sensed the situation. Looking at the Main Team members beside him, a flash of conflict crossed his eyes before he ultimately gave up on capturing Death God's Emissary.

White light poured forth from Xuan Zi, forming a solid barrier of soul power that shielded him and everyone behind him.

Dai Yueheng's scattered corpse fragments exploded under the effects of the Corpse Explosion Technique. Empowered by his original Soul Emperor cultivation, the blast's might had already approached the level of a Soul Douluo.

Yet that alone posed no threat to Xuan Zi. However, Death God's Emissary took advantage of the opportunity, pressed some hidden mechanism, and transformed into a wisp of black smoke that drifted underground.

Then a series of terrifying explosions rang out from the concealed passage beneath the cave.

Already on the verge of collapse from the two Corpse Explosion Techniques, the cave could no longer endure and began to cave in across a vast area.

Xuan Zi let out a roar of impotent fury, but seeing the helpless crowd, he ultimately waved his sleeve. He directly controlled all fourteen people present with soul power and sent them flying rapidly out of the cave.

At the same time, Xuan Zi used soul power to support the rubble and debris within the cave, keeping it temporarily stable. Once everyone had left, however, the cave that had concealed Death God's Emissary's sins completely collapsed without that support.

"Wang Yan, take care of the wounded. I will not spare that damned Evil Soul Master!" Xuan Zi said furiously. He then abandoned the severely injured students, rose into the air, and directly entered Martial Soul Possession.

Xuan Zi no longer restrained the Spiritual Power and soul power of a Super Douluo. They swept outward like tidal waves, probing the surrounding rocks, grass, and trees.

Those with weaker strength felt considerable pressure under its influence, while the gravely wounded Yao Haoxuan directly coughed up a mouthful of blood and fainted.

Huo Yuhao secretly shook his head. He did not think Xuan Zi was likely to catch Death God's Emissary, because he had just discovered through the Eye of Truth that Death God's Emissary seemed to possess several Soul Tools that concealed his aura.

Furthermore, the Soul Tools on Death God's Emissary were not low-grade. Or rather, they had clearly been custom-made for him.

That series of explosions in the underground passage had not been caused by ordinary gunpowder. They had been caused by explosives specially treated for use in crafting Soul Tools, which could be directly triggered with soul power.

Coupled with the series of acts Death God's Emissary had committed along the border between the Mingdou Mountain Range and the Star Luo Empire, it was not hard to see that he likely belonged to the Holy Spirit Cult and had Soul Engineers from the Sun Moon Empire backing him.

In such circumstances, Xuan Zi, blinded by rage and unwilling even to treat the severely injured students first, would likely find it difficult to catch Death God's Emissary, who was as slippery as a loach.

After all, those bandit group members in plain sight were not Death God's Emissary's true trump card. They were merely insignificant fodder he had gathered at random.

Death God's Emissary still had twelve Corpse Slaves under his command. With Soul Tools concealing his aura and soul power, then using those twelve Corpse Slaves to cover his retreat and confuse his trail—

Even though Xuan Zi's Soul Power Level was extraordinary, in Huo Yuhao's view, that straightforward brute would likely struggle to catch Death God's Emissary, who was merely a Soul King.