Zhu Shen charged toward the orb again. This time, he was more cautious, constantly changing his flight path to make it harder for Blood Shadow to lock onto him.
Blood Shadow was indeed distracted. Several bursts of evil energy shot out in succession, but Zhu Shen narrowly dodged them all.
"Pesky fly!" Blood Shadow roared. He was about to focus all his strength on Zhu Shen when Tang Hao's Clear Sky Hammer came swinging at him again.
"Your opponent is me," Tang Hao said coldly. His Clear Sky Hammer swept through the air in a blur, keeping Blood Shadow firmly pinned down.
Now!
Tang San's eyes sharpened. He raised his right hand and sent five poisoned needles coated with paralyzing powder flying.
The needles traced five faint silver streaks through the air, soundlessly shooting toward the orb atop the altar.
Blood Shadow sensed them, but it was already too late to stop them.
"Pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft!"
All five needles struck the orb.
The dark-red light on its surface suddenly faltered, then began to fluctuate violently. The paralyzing powder had limited effect on evil energy, but it had still disrupted the orb's stability.
"Damn it!" Blood Shadow roared. He drove Tang Hao back with a punch, then turned to destroy the needles.
But how could Tang Hao give him the chance?
"Ninth Soul Skill, Clear Sky Hammer: Chaotic Cloak!"
The red Soul Ring around Tang Hao's body suddenly blazed. His Clear Sky Hammer split into countless hammer-shadows, crashing down on Blood Shadow like a raging storm.
This was Tang Hao's full-force attack.
Blood Shadow had no choice but to stop and defend with everything he had.
"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"
The hammer-shadows and evil energy collided furiously, and explosions rang out without pause.
Zhu Shen seized the opportunity to fly beside the orb. He reached out with his dragon claw and snatched it.
The orb was icy cold to the touch, and evil energy immediately began to devour his palm. His dragon scales hissed as they started to corrode.
"Break, damn you!"
Zhu Shen gritted his teeth and poured all his Soul Power into his dragon claw.
"Crack!"
A fissure appeared across the orb's surface.
It spread rapidly, covering the entire orb in the blink of an eye.
"No!" Blood Shadow let out a despairing howl.
The orb exploded, breaking into countless dark-red fragments.
As it shattered, the dark-red mist around the altar began to dissipate rapidly. The evil energy around Blood Shadow weakened as well. His Soul Power Level plunged from level 80 to level 73, and it was still falling.
"My power..." Blood Shadow's face turned deathly pale, his eyes full of terror.
Tang Hao seized his chance and slammed the Clear Sky Hammer into Blood Shadow's chest.
"Pfft!"
Blood Shadow spat out a mouthful of black blood, flew backward, and crashed into a tree. He passed out.
The battle was over.
Zhu Shen landed on the ground and let out a long breath of relief.
He glanced at his right hand. A large patch of dragon scales had been corroded away, leaving his flesh bloody and mangled. Thankfully, he had the Dragon God Bloodline, so it should heal quickly.
"Teacher, are you all right?" Tang San ran over. His expression changed when he saw the wound on Zhu Shen's hand.
"I'm fine. It's just a small wound." Zhu Shen waved him off, then looked at Tang Hao. "His Excellency Haotian, thank you."
Tang Hao put away his Clear Sky Hammer and walked over to Blood Shadow to examine him.
"He's still alive, but his Martial Soul is ruined," Tang Hao said. "The backlash from the evil energy means he'll never cultivate again."
Zhu Shen nodded and looked toward the children on the altar.
The forty-seven children were still tied together, trembling with fear. A few of the younger ones had already cried themselves unconscious.
"Let's get the children down first," Zhu Shen said.
Tang San immediately hurried over and used his hidden weapons to cut through the ropes.
The children were free, but they still didn't dare move. One by one, they huddled together.
"Don't be afraid. We're here to save you," Zhu Shen said, doing his best to make his voice gentle. "The bad guys have been defeated. You're safe now."
A slightly braver boy raised his head and asked timidly, "R-really?"
"Really." Zhu Shen went over and patted his head. "When dawn comes, we'll take you home."
The boy burst into tears.
The other children began crying too.
Before long, the Soul Hunting Forest was filled with the children's sobs.
Zhu Shen felt a headache coming on.
He was the worst at comforting children.
Thankfully, Tang San was more experienced. He went around comforting them one by one, slowly calming them down.
Tang Hao stood to one side, watching Tang San's busy figure with a complicated expression.
"Grandmaster," he began. "How did you know there would be a ritual here tonight?"
Zhu Shen had already thought up an explanation. "A few days ago, I found traces of Evil Soul Masters in Nuoding City. I followed the clues here. As for the night of the full moon, I guessed. Evil Soul Masters usually like to hold rituals at times like this."
Tang Hao glanced at him but didn't press further.
"What should we do with the children?" he asked.
"Take them back," Zhu Shen said. "The Evil God Temple kidnapped orphans and children from the slums. Their families must be frantic. Once dawn comes, we'll have people from the Spirit Hall Branch in Nuoding City deal with it."
Tang Hao nodded.
The two fell silent for a while.
"How much do you know about the Evil God Temple?" Tang Hao asked.
"Not much," Zhu Shen replied honestly. "I only know it's an organization of Evil Soul Masters, led by Blood Shadow—the one lying over there. They've been active around Nuoding City, kidnapping children for rituals because they want to summon some kind of Evil God Projection."
Tang Hao frowned. "An Evil God Projection?"
"Right." Zhu Shen pointed to the altar's ruins. "That thing you just scattered was what they summoned. It was only a projection, but it still had the strength of a Soul Douluo. If you hadn't arrived in time, I might have met my end here today."
Tang Hao was silent for a moment, then said, "I'll keep investigating this. An Evil Soul Master organization operating inside the Heaven Dou Empire is no small matter."
Zhu Shen's heart stirred.
Was Tang Hao going to get involved?
That was great!
With the Clear Sky Douluo stepping in, the Evil God Temple's days were numbered.
"By the way, His Excellency Haotian," Zhu Shen said, remembering something. "Su Nuo, the principal of Notting Academy, is also with the Evil God Temple. He helped Blood Shadow collect children and provided them with information."
Tang Hao's eyes turned cold. "The principal of Notting Academy?"
"Yes," Zhu Shen said. "I saw him meeting with Blood Shadow myself. I also examined him. He has evil energy in his body. It isn't very strong, but he's definitely cultivated an evil technique."
"I understand." Tang Hao nodded. "I'll deal with it."
Zhu Shen let out a sigh of relief.
With Tang Hao's word, that old bastard Su Nuo was finished.
The eastern sky began to brighten.
Dawn was near.
Zhu Shen watched the sky grow lighter and felt a pang of emotion.
What an eventful night.
From sneaking into the Soul Hunting Forest, to being discovered, to fighting Blood Shadow, to Tang Hao's arrival, the Evil God Projection descending, and finally destroying the orb and defeating Blood Shadow...
Every step had been fraught with danger.
Thankfully, they had won in the end.
"Teacher." Tang San walked over. "The children have all calmed down. A few have minor injuries, and I treated them as best I could."
Zhu Shen nodded. "Well done."
He looked at Tang Hao. "His Excellency Haotian, what now?"
Tang Hao glanced at Blood Shadow on the ground, then at the children.
"You take the children back to Nuoding City and hand them over to the Spirit Hall Branch," he said. "I'll deal with Su Nuo."
"All right." Zhu Shen had no objections.
Tang Hao turned and disappeared into the depths of the forest.
Zhu Shen watched him go and silently lit a candle for Su Nuo.
Of all the people he could have picked a fight with, he had to choose the Clear Sky Douluo.
He had it coming.
"Xiao San, let's go," Zhu Shen called to Tang San. "Take the children with us. We're going back to Nuoding City."
Tang San nodded and organized the children into a line.
The forty-seven children formed a long column. They were still afraid, but Tang San's reassurances had helped them calm down considerably.
Zhu Shen led the way, with Tang San bringing up the rear. Together, they headed toward Nuoding City.
They hadn't gone far when a commotion suddenly rose ahead.
A group of people rushed out of the trees. At their head was the portly old hall master of the Spirit Hall Branch in Nuoding City. More than a dozen Soul Masters followed behind him, all fully armed.
"Grandmaster!" The portly old man's eyes lit up when he saw Zhu Shen. "Are you all right? We received a letter from Wang Sheng saying you'd come to the Soul Hunting Forest to rescue people, so we hurried over with reinforcements..."
He hadn't finished speaking when he spotted the long line of children behind Zhu Shen. He froze.
"Th-this many children?"
"Forty-seven," Zhu Shen said. "They were kidnapped by the Evil God Temple for a ritual. We got here in time and rescued them."
The portly old man drew a sharp breath. "Forty-seven? Those damned Evil Soul Masters!"
The Soul Masters behind him were outraged as well.
"Hall Master, where are the Evil Soul Masters?" one of them asked.
"They've been defeated." Zhu Shen pointed behind him. "They're by the altar, unconscious. Go arrest him. Make sure to use the special shackles. His Martial Soul may be ruined, but the evil energy is still there."
The portly old man immediately sent some people over.
Soon, two Soul Masters returned with the unconscious Blood Shadow in custody.
The portly old man examined him and confirmed that he was an Evil Soul Master with a high Soul Power Level. He became even more respectful toward Zhu Shen.
"Grandmaster, we owe this all to you. Otherwise, so many children..." The portly old man sighed. "I'll report this to my superiors and put you in for a commendation."
"No need for that," Zhu Shen said, waving him off. "Just make sure these children get home safely."
"Of course, of course." The portly old man nodded repeatedly.
The whole group made their way back to Nuoding City.
By the time they arrived, the sun was already high.
The portly old man took the Soul Masters to look after the children, while Zhu Shen and Tang San returned to Notting Academy.
As soon as they reached the academy gates, they saw Wang Sheng waiting there with the work-study students.
"Teacher!" Wang Sheng's eyes lit up when he saw Zhu Shen. "You're back! Are you all right?"
"I'm fine." Zhu Shen smiled. "How was your picnic?"
"It was pretty good," Wang Sheng said. "We bought lots of meat and ate our fill. We were just worried about you..."
"Worried about what? Your teacher's plenty strong." Zhu Shen patted him on the shoulder. "All right, go get some rest. There are no classes today. Training resumes tomorrow."
The work-study students cheered and scattered.
Zhu Shen and Tang San returned to their dormitory.
As soon as he went inside, Zhu Shen collapsed into a chair and let out a long breath.
"I'm exhausted."
Tang San poured him a cup of water. "Teacher, the wound on your hand..."
"It's fine. It'll heal in a couple of days." Zhu Shen took the cup and drank. "You're the one who hasn't slept all night. Hurry and get some rest."
Tang San shook his head. "I'm not tired."
"You have to sleep even if you're not tired." Zhu Shen put on a stern face. "Go. That's an order."
Tang San had no choice but to return to his room.
Sitting in his chair, Zhu Shen thought back over last night's battle.
Blood Shadow, the Evil God Projection, Tang Hao, the Clear Sky Hammer...
Every moment was still vivid in his mind.
He raised his right hand and looked at the corroded wound. A shiver of fear ran through him.
If Tang Hao hadn't arrived in time, if Tang San hadn't disrupted the orb with his poisoned needles, if...
There had been too many what-ifs.
"My strength still isn't enough," Zhu Shen murmured.
At level 45, as a Soul Ancestor, he was still in over his head against a Soul Saint-level opponent. Even with two purple and two black Soul Rings, the Dragon God Bloodline, and an External Soul Bone, he couldn't overcome the enormous gap in Soul Power Level.
He had to get stronger as soon as possible.
He opened the System Panel.
[Host: Zhu Shen (Yu Xiaogang)] [Martial Soul: Dragon God (Bloodline purity: 40%)] [Soul Power: Level 45] [Soul Rings: Purple (3,000 years), Purple (3,000 years), Black (10,000 years), Black (10,000 years)] [Soul Bones: Dragon God Left Arm Bone (10,000 years), Dragon God External Spirit Bone (10,000 years), Evil Phoenix Torso Bone (purified)] [Evolution Points: 0/100] [Current Quest: Expose the mole in Notting Academy (Completed)]
Quest complete?
Zhu Shen froze, then quickly understood.
Su Nuo was the mole, and he had been exposed. Tang Hao was going to deal with him, so the quest had naturally been completed.
[Congratulations, host! You have completed the opportunity quest: Expose the mole in Notting Academy. Reward...]