Douluo: A Returnee from Another World, the Heaven-Defying Seal Crushes Tang San to Death

Lu Yu feigned surprise and asked, "A Title Douluo? How could bandits possibly have a powerhouse of that level?"

Meng Shenji took a deep breath without answering, but his expression seemed to say that he had expected this all along.

Seeing his reaction, Lu Yu immediately understood. He was not the only one who had spotted the problem—many of the powerhouses in the convoy had likely anticipated it as well!

Recalling that, in the original plot, the upper echelons of the major academies had not suffered any devastating blows before the Soul Master Competition began, Lu Yu's eyes flickered uncertainly.

Was this Spirit Hall's scheme? Or a trap set by the Heavenly Dou Empire?

Who was the prey? And who was the hunter?

While Lu Yu spoke with Meng Shenji, the Five Elements Academy had already formed separate groups. The teachers gathered their students together and prepared for battle.

On Xue Qinghe's side, more than twenty Soul Kings, eight Soul Emperors, and three Soul Douluos surrounded him protectively amid the crowd.

At that moment, the bright, sunny sky suddenly darkened. Chilling gusts swept through the area, accompanied by the faint sounds of wailing ghosts and howling wolves.

The oppressive aura grew increasingly terrifying, making many lower-level students struggle to breathe as their faces turned pale.

The next moment, shadowy figures burst out from the woods beside the road. All of them wore black and had their faces covered, wrapped from head to toe.

Yet the instant they emerged, every one of them activated Martial Soul Possession, revealing dazzling arrays of soul rings.

There were forty-three of them in total: thirty Seven-Ring Soul Sages and thirteen Eight-Ring Soul Douluos!

The moment they saw that lineup, everyone in the Heavenly Dou Empire exchange delegation felt their hearts sink.

They had only a little over ten Soul Sages on their side, and the number of Soul Douluo-level powerhouses could be counted on one hand. Aside from the students, most of the rest were Soul Kings and Soul Emperors.

Not to mention...

There was also a Title Douluo who had yet to show himself, suppressing the entire field with aura alone!

"Run! The exchange delegation's powerhouses and I will buy you time!"

Meng Shenji made a decisive call. With a grim expression, he said to Lu Yu, "Even if every one of us dies, nothing can happen to you or His Highness the Crown Prince!"

Lu Yu took a deep breath. Without wasting any words, he turned and left.

At the same time, Xue Qinghe, escorted by three Soul Emperors, charged off in another direction.

Watching Lu Yu and Xue Qinghe depart, the teachers from the other academies came to their senses as well. Leng Ningyan was the first to speak. "Follow Lu Yu! Heaven Dou Royal Academy values him immensely. He must have some means of saving his own life!"

The airheaded, lovestruck Shui Yue'er's eyes immediately lit up. She nodded like a pecking chick, then grabbed her sister Shui Bing'er and chased after Lu Yu.

The teachers from the major academies also ordered their students to flee, while they themselves swarmed toward the incoming enemies.

Though the gap in strength between the two sides was enormous, battles between powerhouses were difficult to resolve in a short time. They were confident that they could buy enough time for the students to escape.

After parting ways with Meng Shenji, Lu Yu fled at a speed not much different from that of an ordinary Three-Ring Soul Master, all while calculating the sequence of events in his mind.

From Meng Shenji's attitude, it was easy to tell that the powerhouses from the major academies had likely anticipated the arrival of formidable enemies.

Had they noticed something was wrong from the moment they set out, just like he had? Or had they found clues during the previous encounter with the bandits?

Lu Yu leaned more toward the latter. After all, these people did not know Xue Qinghe's true identity, nor did they know that the Elephant Armor Sect had long since secretly colluded with Spirit Hall.

That meant...

In the eyes of the powerhouses from the major academies, this attack had come from the Star Luo Empire!

But Lu Yu knew that this was undoubtedly Spirit Hall's doing!

Especially that Title Douluo hidden in the dark. The ability to darken the daylight and summon howling winds...

It was strikingly similar to the handiwork of Ghost Douluo, the confidant of Spirit Hall's Pope!

But the question was...

What was Spirit Hall's purpose in doing this?

To eliminate the Heavenly Dou Empire's geniuses? Or to weaken the Heavenly Dou Empire's high-level Soul Master forces?

If something happened to everyone in the imperial exchange delegation, while Xue Qinghe alone escaped unscathed, would that not arouse suspicion?

Lu Yu, who knew the original plot well, understood that Bibi Dong was an extremely intelligent woman. She would never do something so foolish!

Then what other purpose could she have?

At that moment, Lu Yu suddenly stopped and turned to look toward the battlefield where the powerhouses were fighting.

The gap between the two sides was too great. The powerhouses of the imperial exchange delegation had already fallen into a disadvantage. Those black-clad men could easily have sent a group of experts to hunt down the geniuses like them.

But they had not done so!

Lu Yu narrowed his eyes. He vaguely guessed part of the truth.

Perhaps...

This attack was merely for show!

Otherwise, with Ghost Douluo present, how could students like them, whose cultivation generally had not exceeded four rings, possibly escape?

Bibi Dong's target had to be Xue Qinghe!

A rendezvous!

The realization struck Lu Yu all at once, and he immediately turned and ran.

After running for roughly two kilometers, Lu Yu finally stopped. He took out a map from his Soul Guiding Ring and spread it open for inspection.

"There's a soul beast canyon nearby!"

Lu Yu's eyes brightened slightly. Not far from his current location, the map clearly marked a soul beast gathering ground called Star Soul Canyon!

On the map, Star Soul Canyon was marked with a black triangle.

That meant ten-thousand-year soul beasts appeared in that canyon, and there were quite a few of them!

"I'll try my luck there!"

Ever since his cultivation had reached level forty, Lu Yu had yet to obtain his fourth soul ring. This was a perfect opportunity.

But just as he was about to set off, a rustling sound suddenly came from the bushes behind him.

Immediately afterward, a clear voice called out, "Lu Yu! Wait!"

Lu Yu frowned and turned around, only to see seven figures leap out of the brush one after another.

They wore matching water-blue academy uniforms. They were clearly the student representative team from Skywater Academy.

"Why are you following me?" Lu Yu asked suspiciously.

"Handsome Lu! We should move together. That way, we can look out for each other!" Shui Yue'er spoke first.

Lu Yu glanced into the distance, where violent waves of Soul Power were continuously spreading, and said gravely:

"We should split up and run! If those people catch up, at least we won't all be caught in one net!"

To everyone's surprise, Shui Yue'er actually nodded in agreement. Blinking her big, watery eyes, she said, "You're right!"

Then she turned to Shui Bing'er and the others. "Sis! You go first! I'll follow Lu Yu! That makes us a smaller target, so we'll be harder to catch!"

But at that moment, Lu Yu's expression abruptly changed. The Heaven-Defying Seal instantly appeared in his palm, and he charged toward the seven girls.

Shui Yue'er's beautiful eyes widened as she blushed and opened her arms.

But instead of Lu Yu's solid chest, what reached her was a powerful burst of force!

Before the seven girls could react, they were swept away by that force.

Fortunately, these girls were no mere ornaments. They quickly regained their composure, released their martial souls, and landed steadily.

"Run!"

Lu Yu shouted, his body shooting away like lightning in one direction.

Only then did the girls see that at the spot where they had just been standing was a black-clad man with a deep wound across his chest, seven soul rings circling his body!

"Split up and run!"

Shui Bing'er was the first to steady herself. She gave a sharp cry, then grabbed the still somewhat dazed Leng Yue'er and darted away.

The black-clad man stood where he was, his eyes full of malice. Looking toward the direction in which Lu Yu had fled, he muttered:

"A Three-Ring Soul Master with two thousand-year soul rings... This must be Lu Yu, the one hailed as the Heavenly Dou Empire's number one genius?"

As soon as he spoke, a cold glint flashed in the black-clad man's eyes, and he pursued Lu Yu!

"Damn it! There are seven beautiful girls right there, so why the hell are you chasing me? Don't tell me you're some old queer?"

Sensing the Soul Power fluctuations behind him, Lu Yu cursed under his breath as he darted through the forest.

He was heading toward Star Soul Canyon, a place where soul beasts gathered and ten-thousand-year soul beasts could be found.

The terrain there was relatively complicated, which would also restrict the Soul Sage behind him.

He had already placed four Heavenly Gang Talismans on himself, while golden light and electric radiance intertwined beneath his feet.

With the fourfold boost, along with the Golden Light Spell and Thunder Arts, he was confident that the Soul Sage behind him would not catch him before he reached Star Soul Canyon.

But at that moment, Lu Yu suddenly felt the Soul Sage behind him burst forward in speed, rapidly closing the distance between them!

"Agility Attack System?"