Yan Shaozhe's Rage

"It seems I'll have to find some time to practice the Emperor Seal Technique." Xiao Jinchen muttered to himself, then kicked Xuan Zi a few more times before leaving the Exotic Flame Space and heading toward the Star Emperor Grand Hotel.

On the other side.

After stepping into the emergency stairwell, Elder Ma deliberately took countless detours, shifting the Soul Beast Embryo back and forth on his person several times. He was truly cautious to the extreme, terrified of the slightest mishap.

However, under the lock of the Ice Empress's powerful spiritual power, no amount of caution from Elder Ma was of any use. By the time the Soul Beast Embryo returned to Elder Ma's hands, he had already traveled far from Star Luo City.

"Phew."

Just as he stepped out of Star Luo City and let out a sigh of relief, he felt a bone-chilling cold sweep over him.

There was no warning, and no chance to struggle.

In the span of a single breath, Elder Ma was frozen into an ice sculpture.

Just as Elder Ma was frozen, a graceful figure appeared before him without a sound.

The moment he saw who it was, the pupils within Elder Ma's frozen eyes suddenly constricted.

Ice Empress!

Immense terror surged into his heart. He wanted to roar, to demand an explanation, but because he was completely frozen, he could not make a sound, and could only stare fixedly at the Ice Empress before him.

The Ice Empress reached out and tore Elder Ma's entire arm off. Without even glancing at it, she snatched the storage soul tool from it. After probing it with her spiritual power and confirming the presence of the Soul Beast Embryo, she flicked her hand and cast the sub-flame of the Bone Chilling Flame that Xiao Jinchen had given her onto Elder Ma.

"Whoosh!"

The moment the sub-flame of the Bone Chilling Flame touched Elder Ma, the cold-infused fire instantly swallowed him. In just a few breaths, he was burned clean, leaving not even a speck of ash behind.

The Ice Empress swept a cold, indifferent gaze over the spot where Elder Ma had just stood, then headed toward the Star Emperor Grand Hotel, clutching the storage soul tool containing the Soul Beast Embryo.

Shrek, Sea God Island.

"Ah! Ah! Ah! Soul Hall! Soul Hall! Soul Hall! You damned Soul Hall, you truly have a death wish!" Yan Shaozhe cursed at the top of his lungs, his violent soul power surging outward.

The terrifying soul power erupted instantly, causing even the lake water around Sea God Island to churn.

Yan Shaozhe's eyes were bloodshot, and his entire body was trembling.

"Xiaotao... my Xiaotao!"

Yan Shaozhe's roar gradually turned into a wail. He dropped to his knees, slamming his fist into the floor so hard that the ground cracked instantly.

Ma Xiaotao was his only personal disciple, and he had treated her like his own daughter.

But now, she had been burned alive into a charred corpse by the Young Hall Master of the Soul Hall. The moment he received the news, Yan Shaozhe was consumed by absolute rage.

"Soul Hall... if I don't slaughter every last one of you, I, Yan Shaozhe, am no longer human!"

Blazing Light Flame surged from Yan Shaozhe's body, the high temperature distorting the very air around him.

"Shaozhe, come here."

Just as Yan Shaozhe was consumed by rage, this voice resonated directly within his mind.

Hearing that familiar voice, Yan Shaozhe's manic, furious heart miraculously calmed down. The rage that had nearly devoured his reason was forcibly suppressed by this gentle power.

Yan Shaozhe shuddered, jerked his head up, and the crimson in his eyes slowly faded.

"Teacher..."

Yan Shaozhe took a deep breath and stumbled toward the direction the voice had come from.

Pushing open the doors of the Sea God Pavilion, a warm, gentle aura washed over him, slightly soothing the fire of his rage.

Mu En was resting quietly on a lounge chair, waiting for him in silence.

"Teacher..." Yan Shaozhe's legs gave way, and he knelt on the ground once more, his voice hoarse. "Xiaotao... Xiaotao is gone..."

By the end, this ninety-sixth-level Super Douluo was sobbing like a child.

"Sigh." Mu En sighed softly, raising his hand to lift him up from a distance. "I know. Shaozhe, please accept my condolences."

"Teacher!" Yan Shaozhe suddenly looked up and roared, "I am going to the Star Luo Empire right now! I am going to kill that Young Hall Master of the Soul Hall! I want him to pay with his life for Xiaotao!"

"Shaozhe, calm down." Mu En said, "No one is more heartbroken over Xiaotao than I am, but precisely because she was your disciple and my grand-disciple, we must not act rashly."

Mu En looked at Yan Shaozhe and said earnestly, "The fact that this Soul Hall dared to strike during the tournament and even sent a Limit Douluo-level powerhouse shows they are clearly trying to provoke us. If you rush over there now, what can you do other than throw your life away? Do you want Xiaotao to have died in vain, with no one left to avenge her?"

"Teacher... then are we just going to let it go?" Yan Shaozhe was slightly stunned by these words, the anger in his eyes fading a bit more, only to be replaced by a sense of bewilderment.

"Of course not!" A cold glint flashed in Mu En's eyes as he said in a deep voice, "Shrek has noted this debt. But we will not go to our deaths now; we must uncover their background. When the time is ripe, we will collect the debt with interest!"

Mu En said slowly, "You are the backbone of the Sea God Pavilion. If you collapse, who will avenge Xiaotao? Pulling yourself together is the best tribute you can pay her."

"Teacher... but..."

"Enough, you may go now." Mu En interrupted Yan Shaozhe.

After Yan Shaozhe left, Mu En let out a weary sigh. He had originally hoped to maintain good relations with the mysterious Soul Hall, yet who would have thought it would lead to such a disaster.

What puzzled him even more was that although the boy from the Soul Hall was gifted with an cultivation of eighty levels, Xuan Zi was a ninety-eighth-level Super Douluo—how could he have failed to protect Xiaotao?

Mu En realized that it seemed whenever he let Xuan Zi lead a team, nothing good ever happened.

First, he led Zhang Lexuan and the others to hunt soul beasts, and a whole group died.

Later, he led two generations of Shrek Seven Devils to participate in the tournament, and another group died.

Now, to make matters worse, Ma Xiaotao had actually died on stage right under his very nose.

Mu En truly did not know what to say for a moment.

Could it be that the Supreme Elder of the Holy Spirit Cult had exerted their power yet again?

But once he was gone, the position of Sea God Pavilion Master would still have to be passed to Xuan Zi; after all, apart from him, Xuan Zi was the person with the highest combat power within Shrek.

Ma Xiaotao had been killed, and Shrek had lost all face, yet Mu En was powerless to intervene. He had calculated his own lifespan, and he had at most four or five years left.

Even if he were to force himself to act, he could at most barely hold his own by borrowing the Sea God's Light, but the opponent was no ordinary Limit Douluo—that was a Limit Douluo who possessed the Ultimate Ice attribute!

Xuan Zi was unreliable, and Yan Shaozhe was too narrow-minded. Mu En rubbed his brow in exhaustion.

"Lexuan, Xiaotao, Huo Yuhao..." Mu En murmured, "Now that Xiaotao is gone, I can only rely on Lexuan and this kid, Huo Yuhao."

"It seems I must cultivate the younger generation as quickly as possible."

"No! Huo Yuhao is still participating in the Soul Master Tournament. I must go there in person. If even Huo Yuhao were to be killed by the Soul Hall, then Shrek would suffer a massive loss."

Thinking of this, Mu En's expression grew solemn. His figure shifted abruptly, and he vanished from where he stood.