"Getting injured in a match is inevitable! None of the Shrek Academy students have suffered life-threatening injuries. With a few days of proper care, they'll recover!"
His voice was deep and steady, like the strike of a gavel.
"That is the end of this matter. Anyone else who dares to disregard the rules and attack a competitor will be severely punished, regardless of their status!"
"Your Majesty!"
Liu Erlong abruptly raised her head. The redness in her eyes had not faded, and her resentment and fury threatened to burst forth.
Her Xiao Wu, along with all the children she regarded as her own, lay pale-faced on the ground! That brat Yang Teng had been so vicious...
"Erlong!"
Yu Xiaogang reached out abruptly and clamped a hand around Liu Erlong's arm.
His voice was low, but harsher than ever, with a faint tremor that was difficult to detect.
"Calm down! Do you want Shrek Academy to be disqualified? Do you want Xiao San and the others to have suffered for nothing?!"
Liu Erlong shuddered as she met Yu Xiaogang's gaze. Though his Soul Power was weak, his eyes were now filled with complicated emotions.
There was grief, helplessness, and a plea for her to stand down.
At last, she forced out an unwilling grunt through gritted teeth and shook off Yu Xiaogang's hand. But she made no further move, only biting her lower lip hard.
Flender hurried forward as well and bowed deeply toward Emperor Xue Ye.
"Your Majesty, please calm your anger. We acted in haste and lost our composure. We'll take the children away for treatment now."
As he spoke, he gestured for Jiang Zhu and the other teachers, who had hurried over, to go up onstage and carry the students away.
A clash between Soul Saints that had nearly erupted was quelled by Emperor Xue Ye's iron-fisted intervention.
Skywater Academy, led by its dean, Shui Yunxia, withdrew peacefully.
Shui Bing'er and the others wore the joy of victory on their faces, but their disappointment was greater. They had barely gotten to participate at all.
Yang Teng and Gu Yuena were simply too strong!
Yang Teng quietly took in their subtle expressions.
When they returned to Shrek Academy, the oppressive atmosphere was almost unbearable. The humiliation of Liu Erlong being forced to swallow her anger pierced every Shrek student like a poisoned thorn.
Liu Erlong stood alone at the end of the corridor, staring out the window at the deepening dusk, her fists clenched so tightly they creaked.
Flender came over and patted her shoulder. He seemed to want to say something, but in the end, all he did was sigh.
"Erlong, the children are all right. That's a blessing in itself. That Yang Teng... and that Gu Yuena, too. Their origins are definitely no ordinary matter. Even the Spirit Hall Golden Generation might not measure up to them."
"I don't care where they come from!"
Liu Erlong cut him off abruptly, her voice tight with suppressed fury.
"Flender, did you see the way Xiao Wu looked at me before she passed out? And Mu Bai, Xiao San, and the others... Those little brats, especially Yang Teng!"
She turned around, flames blazing in her eyes.
"I, Liu Erlong, will remember today's humiliation! There's plenty of time yet. I'll make him pay tenfold, a hundredfold, for what he did today!"
The night was still and silent!
Everyone else had already gone to sleep, exhausted, or was resting in their rooms. But Liu Erlong couldn't sleep. She gently pushed open the door to Xiao Wu's room.
Moonlight poured through the window, falling across the girl's pale face. Xiao Wu lay quietly, her long scorpion braid spread across the pillow. Her usually lively eyes were closed, and her brow was faintly furrowed, as if she still felt uneasy in her dreams.
Liu Erlong sat beside the bed. The fury in her heart slowly gave way to deep affection and heartache.
She reached out and gently stroked Xiao Wu's smooth scorpion braid, her touch delicate and careful.
"My Xiao Wu..."
She murmured softly, her voice tender in a way only she could hear.
"Don't be afraid. Mom's here. Sleep well. When you wake up, everything will be all right."
"You suffered today... That little beast Yang Teng..."
Her gentle voice suddenly turned cold, icy as frost.
"Mom will get revenge for you and everyone else!"
"How are you planning to do that?"
A cool, flat female voice, devoid of emotion, abruptly sounded in the silent room.
It hadn't come from outside the door. It seemed to ring right beside Liu Erlong's ear—or even deep within her consciousness!
"Who?!"
She swept her gaze across every corner of the room. It was empty!
But the chilling sensation of being watched and targeted was all too real! Danger! Extreme danger!
Without the slightest hesitation, Liu Erlong crashed through the window, shattering the glass, and burst out into the night sky.
Under the cold moonlight, Liu Erlong hovered in the air, Soul Rings flickering into view. A blazing Crimson Dragon phantom loomed behind her as she warily sensed her surroundings.
Then she saw her.
Atop the crown of a tall tree in the distance stood a slender silver figure.
Moonlight poured over her like water. Her waist-length silver hair shimmered faintly, and her purple eyes gleamed in the night as she calmly looked down at Liu Erlong.
It was Gu Yuena, but some kind of technique made her impossible for Liu Erlong to see clearly.
Gu Yuena showed no intention of attacking. She simply watched in silence. Her gaze was calm and still, yet it pressed down on Liu Erlong with an inexplicable weight.
"You want to—"
"Mental Disorder!"
Gu Yuena's red lips parted. She uttered four words without making another move.
"Ugh..."
Liu Erlong let out a short, stifled groan. The Soul Power she had gathered collapsed in an instant, and the Crimson Dragon phantom flickered in and out.
The world spun around her. Her head throbbed as her consciousness sank rapidly, as though swallowed by a quagmire.
Thud!
The notorious Horn of Slaughter, whose fiery temper had made her famous throughout the Soul Master World, fell straight from the sky without ever touching so much as her opponent's hem. She lost consciousness completely.
Gu Yuena stood atop the tree, her silver hair stirring faintly in the wind. Her purple eyes glanced at Liu Erlong's unconscious form on the ground.
Then her figure merged into the silver ripples of moonlight and quietly vanished, as if she had never appeared.
Meanwhile, in a bustling district of Heaven Dou City, inside a delicately decorated dessert shop wafting with a sweet aroma.
It was already night, and few customers remained inside. Warm yellow lights created a cozy atmosphere.
Yang Teng sat alone by the window. More than a dozen exquisite little cakes were spread across the table in front of him.
The cakes came in different colors and adorable shapes.
"Yang Teng!"
A low growl, brimming with anger, shattered the quiet of the dessert shop.
Liu Qingfeng stormed in through the door, his face hostile. Behind him followed Tie Zhan, the Guardian Hand of the Balak Kingdom and a Titled Douluo.
Liu Qingfeng pointed at Yang Teng, his finger trembling with rage.
"You! How dare you deceive me!"
"Senior Tie, teach this arrogant brat a lesson!"
Tie Zhan's face remained expressionless, though he secretly sneered.
If not for the kindness Liu Qingfeng's father had shown him years ago, why would a Titled Douluo of his standing and a Guardian Hand waste his days indulging an incompetent prince?
He stepped forward, his gaze settling on Yang Teng. Scenes from the competition that day came back to him: the bizarre "Space Lock," and a Soul Ring Configuration that defied common sense.
"Boy!"
Tie Zhan spoke, his voice low.
"You fought brilliantly in the competition today."
He paused. "In all my life, I've never seen talent and skill like yours. I'll give you a chance. Become my disciple. What do you say?"
"Huh?"
Liu Qingfeng nearly thought he had misheard. He whipped around to stare at Tie Zhan, his mouth gaping wide enough to fit an egg.
"Senior Tie, you..."
"Silence."
Tie Zhan glanced coolly at Liu Qingfeng. Even a trace of a Titled Douluo's might was enough to make a Soul Ancestor like Liu Qingfeng fall silent at once, drenched in cold sweat.
Only then did Liu Qingfeng snap back to his senses. The man before him was a Titled Douluo! No matter how dissatisfied he was, he didn't dare defy him to his face.
The shop assistant cowered behind the counter, not daring to make a sound. Everyone's eyes were fixed on Yang Teng.
Yang Teng seemed not to feel the pressure Tie Zhan was exerting. He even picked up a small silver fork and leisurely cut off a piece of chocolate cake. He put it in his mouth and savored it before replying:
"What if I refuse?"
Tie Zhan's expression darkened slightly.
As a Titled Douluo, he had personally offered to take the boy as his disciple. He had shown him more than enough respect, yet the boy was so ungrateful.
"Then I'll have no choice but to..."
Tie Zhan's voice turned cold. He hadn't yet finished saying, "teach you about respecting your elders and knowing your place," when—
"Senior Tie."
A warm voice came from the doorway, cutting him off.
"Are you trying to bully a guest of the Heaven Dou Imperial Family?"
Tie Zhan furrowed his brow and looked toward the voice.
A young man stood at the doorway, though no one had noticed when he arrived.
He was tall and straight, dressed in finely tailored formal clothes embroidered with elegant swan patterns in gold thread. They shimmered faintly beneath the lights.
His neat, short blond hair and handsome features gave him a refined air, while an unmistakable nobility shone through. A perfectly measured smile rested on his face as he calmly looked into the shop.
It was none other than the Heaven Dou Empire's crown prince, Xue Qinghe!
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