Heaven Dou Upheaval, Battle of the Demigods

On the arena, the smoke and dust slowly dispersed.

Shrek's seven members lay sprawled across the arena. Bai Xiao knelt on one knee, supporting himself with the Seven Star Sword. Yu Momo's dragon scales on both arms had shattered. Han Xiao's tiger wings drooped. Ning Xia's Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda had dimmed... Every one of them was in a miserable state, with none of the high spirits they had possessed before the battle.

Meanwhile, although the Seven Luminaries Team's seven members had also expended a great deal of energy, they still stood firmly on the arena.

The outcome had been decided.

After a moment of silence, the audience erupted in thunderous cheers!

"They won! Spirit Pagoda won!"

"Seven Luminaries Team! Seven Luminaries Team!"

"That kid named Xiao Cheng is incredible! That final spear strike was unbelievably cool!"

Countless recording Soul Tools captured the entire scene—there were witnesses and evidence. This victory was beyond dispute.

However, beneath the arena, Long Yeyue's expression was as ugly as if she had swallowed a fly.

As the vice master of Shrek Academy's Sea God Pavilion, a demigod-level powerhouse, and the Light and Dark Douluo, what was her status? She had personally led the team here today intending to let Shrek Academy's younger generation teach these ignorant brats from Spirit Pagoda a lesson. Yet she had never expected them to lose so thoroughly before such a huge crowd!

How was she supposed to answer to the Sea God Pavilion? How was she supposed to answer to Bei Dexun?

Long Yeyue's face alternated between green and white. Her cold gaze swept over the Seven Luminaries Team members on the arena before finally settling on Xiao Cheng.

It was that brat!

She had seen that spear strike clearly—the dark-purple spatial slash, the evil and domineering aura...

"Hehe, what a wonderful performance." Long Yeyue's voice carried a trace of chill and sounded especially clear across the quiet plaza. "Spirit Pagoda's younger generation truly has some skill. However—"

Her tone shifted as her sharp gaze locked onto Xiao Cheng. "That boy, the Soul Skill you used just now came from the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger, didn't it?"

Xiao Cheng's heart tightened, but his expression remained unchanged. "So what if it did?"

"So what?" Long Yeyue sneered. "The Dark Demon Evil God Tiger is an extremely evil Soul Beast. How could its power possibly be controlled by a mere Soul Grandmaster like you? The power you used just now clearly carried evil energy! In my view, you already show signs of falling into the path of an Evil Soul Master!"

The entire venue burst into an uproar!

An Evil Soul Master?! That was an existence everyone on the Douluo Continent wanted dead! Long Yeyue was actually accusing a member of Spirit Pagoda's Seven Luminaries Team of being an Evil Soul Master in public?!

"An Evil Soul Master?! Is that Xiao Cheng an Evil Soul Master?"

"No way, right? Xiao Cheng is Spirit Pagoda's prodigy. How could he be an Evil Soul Master?"

"What do you know? Evil Soul Masters are best at disguising themselves! Maybe he's been hiding his identity!"

Whispers spread through the stands. The gazes many people turned toward Xiao Cheng already carried a trace of vigilance and suspicion.

Xiao Cheng's expression darkened.

He had not expected Long Yeyue to be so shameless, openly slapping the label of "Evil Soul Master" on him before everyone! This was not merely slander against him personally—it was an attack on Spirit Pagoda's reputation!

"Vice Master Long!" Leng Zhaoran's voice rang out like thunder. He suddenly rose to his feet, his face livid. "Watch your words! Xiao Cheng is a member of Spirit Pagoda's Seven Luminaries Team. Are you trying to make an enemy of Spirit Pagoda by slandering him so viciously?"

"Make an enemy?" Long Yeyue scoffed. "I am simply speaking the truth. How can the power of the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger be controlled by a child? The fact that he can control it now does not mean he will be able to control it in the future! If he is allowed to continue unchecked and becomes completely corrupted by Evil God Power, then it will not just be Spirit Pagoda that suffers—it will be the entire continent!"

Long Yeyue sneered. "The evil and domineering power he used just now, that aura, was clearly evil power! Shrek Academy has fought Evil Soul Masters for twenty thousand years. As the vice master of Shrek Academy's Sea God Pavilion, could I possibly fail to recognize it?"

She paused, her tone carrying the lofty air of someone bestowing charity. "However, heaven cherishes life. This boy is still young, so perhaps he can yet be saved. In my view, since Spirit Pagoda lacks the ability to properly discipline him, Shrek Academy should handle it instead. Let him join Shrek Academy and receive proper instruction from us. Only then can we ensure that he does not fall into evil. Being able to receive an education from Shrek Academy would be a bargain for this boy."

As she spoke, she actually raised a delicate hand. A dragon claw woven from light and dark elements reached toward Xiao Cheng on the arena!

This claw looked casual, but it contained the terrifying pressure of a demigod-level powerhouse! If it truly landed, not to mention Xiao Cheng, a mere Soul Grandmaster—even a Title Douluo-level powerhouse would be severely injured on the spot!

"Long Yeyue! How dare you!"

Leng Zhaoran was both shocked and enraged. He had not expected Long Yeyue to be so utterly shameless as to bully a child in public. He immediately let out a furious roar, and Heavenly Phoenix True Fire burst from his body! A phoenix wing blazing with raging Heavenly Phoenix True Fire slashed out like a divine blade, colliding with Long Yeyue's light-and-dark dragon claw!

Boom—!!!

A deafening explosion shook the heavens!

The two demigod-level powers collided, unleashing a destructive shockwave! The protective Soul Tool formation around the arena instantly lit up with blinding light and trembled violently beneath the impact, as though it could shatter at any moment!

Fortunately, there were plenty of powerhouses among the spectators.

Yue Zhenshan, master of Heaven Dou City's Spirit Pagoda branch, a Rank 96 Super Douluo and Three-Word Battle Armor Master, acted at once. A heavy earthen-yellow barrier rose from the ground and blocked the shockwave from reaching the stands.

The person in charge of the Heaven Dou City Tang Sect branch, also a Rank 96 Super Douluo and Three-Word Battle Armor Master, acted as well. A jade-green curtain of light protected the spectators on the other side.

Only through the combined efforts of the two Super Douluos did they barely manage to block the aftermath of the two demigods' clash.

Even so, countless cracks spread across the ground of the entire central plaza, while the protective formation surrounding the arena groaned under the unbearable strain.

"Leng Zhaoran! You dare stop me?! Are you declaring war on Shrek Academy?!" Long Yeyue shouted sharply. The phantoms of the Light and Dark Twin Dragons emerged around her, radiating terrifying pressure.

"So what if I stop you?" Leng Zhaoran sneered. "Long Yeyue, stop twisting the facts! You are the vice master of Shrek Academy's Sea God Pavilion, a demigod-level powerhouse, yet you attacked an eight-year-old child from Spirit Pagoda in public! Once word of this gets out, let's see whether Shrek Academy loses face or Spirit Pagoda does!"

He paused, his tone filled with heavy mockery. "Besides, you claim Xiao Cheng is an Evil Soul Master? Just because he used a power you have never seen before? How laughable! What is wrong with Spirit Pagoda's geniuses having unusual Martial Souls? Does Shrek Academy not have students with unusual Martial Souls? Should I drag out all those Shrek Academy students with dark-attribute Martial Souls and interrogate them one by one to see whether they are Evil Soul Masters?"

Long Yeyue stubbornly replied, "I am thinking of the continent's safety! If the Evil God Power within that boy is not controlled, it will become a great disaster in the future!"

"Bullshit!" Leng Zhaoran cursed without restraint. "I think you just can't accept defeat! You lost the team battle just now and couldn't save face, so you want to vent your anger on a child! And you call him an 'Evil Soul Master'? It's utterly ridiculous! If you really had the ability, why didn't you say so before the team battle? Why did you wait until after losing to jump out and make accusations? If that isn't being unable to accept defeat, then what is?"

Long Yeyue's face alternated between green and white. Leng Zhaoran's retorts left her speechless.

She truly was somewhat angered by humiliation. As Shrek Academy's vice master, she had always stood above others. When had she ever suffered such indignity? Especially when it came from Spirit Pagoda's younger generation, who had defeated them in front of everyone!

But she had not completely lost her reason. She knew that if she continued provoking a battle between Limit Douluos in a major city like Heaven Dou City, it would inevitably cause devastating casualties. The aftermath might even destroy half of Heaven Dou City.

Even someone as arrogant as Long Yeyue did not dare commit such an outrage. Thus, she let out a cold snort. The phantoms of the Light and Dark Twin Dragons circled her body as she shot into the sky. "Leng Zhaoran, if you have the nerve, follow me! Let me see just how capable you, the Heavenly Phoenix Douluo, really are!"

"Why would I fear you?" Leng Zhaoran did not hesitate. Heavenly Phoenix True Fire surged up once more, and his entire body transformed into a crimson streak of light that soared skyward!

The two demigod-level powerhouses faced one another high in the air, and the atmosphere became tense to the extreme!

On the ground, everyone raised their heads to stare at the sky, holding their breath.

A battle between demigod-level powerhouses was an event rarely seen!

Being able to witness such a spectacle would be worth it even if they died from the aftershocks!

The two Limit Douluos rose one after the other to an altitude of ten thousand meters!

On the ground, the audience gazed upward. Though they could not see the battle's specific details, the intermittent flashes of crimson and silver-white light in the sky, along with the faint booms that carried down, showed just how fierce the battle was.

Xiao Cheng stood on the arena, staring at the two figures repeatedly colliding in the sky as he clenched his fists.

"Long Yeyue..." he muttered the name, a cold glint flashing through his eyes.

He would remember this grudge.

Just then, a cyan figure instantly appeared beside him.

"Cheng'er, are you all right?" Xiao Ran's concerned voice sounded beside his ear.

"Dad, I'm fine." Xiao Cheng shook his head and looked at his father. "That old swine Long Yeyue..."

"Don't worry. Your Uncle Leng will handle this matter." Xiao Ran patted his shoulder, then raised his head to look into the sky. A cold glint flashed in his eyes, and his voice carried a sinister chill. "But since she dared to attack you, I cannot let that old swine have an easy time either. I need to let the world know what price must be paid for targeting Xiao Ran's son."

As he spoke, the divine artifact Space-Time Divine Shuttle he had been nurturing within his body trembled slightly. Spatial power flowed around him, while the Power of Empty Green amplified it at full output.

The next moment, his figure vanished from where he stood and appeared ten thousand meters up in the sky!

"Brother Leng, I'm here to lend you a hand!" Xiao Ran's voice sounded beside Leng Zhaoran.

Leng Zhaoran was briefly startled, then laughed. "Brother Xiao, you came at just the right time! This old hag's strength is a bit lacking. I could handle her alone, but with your help, it'll be even more certain!"

He was telling the truth.

After exchanging more than ten rounds, Leng Zhaoran had discovered that Long Yeyue's strength was nowhere near as frightening as her reputation suggested.

Long Yeyue was known as Sun and Moon Radiance, the Light and Dark Dragon Emperor. Coupled with her Martial Soul configuration, anyone who had never fought her would find it difficult to imagine that her actual strength was so lacking. At the Limit Douluo level, one was generally a leader of a major faction, and clashes with peers were rare. Even when battles occurred, they were usually secretive, since otherwise they could easily cause severe hostility between two great powers. Thus, Limit Douluos rarely had clear battle records, and no one had questioned Long Yeyue's strength.

After all, Long Yeyue's Martial Soul configuration was indeed extraordinarily lavish—Twin Martial Souls, the Radiant Holy Dragon and the Dark Holy Dragon. Among the powerhouses of the current era, no one would dare claim to surpass her in that regard. In addition, Shrek Academy's foundation was profound, and she had cultivated smoothly all the way to the Limit Douluo level, encountering almost no meaningful setbacks.

Yet precisely because her path had been too smooth, she lacked real combat experience.

Her understanding of the profound truths of the Radiant Holy Dragon and Dark Holy Dragon was seriously mismatched with her cultivation. Aside from simply using collisions between light and dark elements to create explosions, she could only rigidly employ her own Soul Skills and certain secret techniques created by previous wielders of the Radiant Holy Dragon and Dark Holy Dragon Martial Souls at Shrek Academy.

Put plainly, she only knew how to copy what others had created. She had nothing that truly belonged to her.

Leng Zhaoran, however, was different.

Although he had also studied the insights and secret techniques regarding the Heavenly Phoenix Martial Soul left behind by generations of Leng Family powerhouses, he had always worked to turn that knowledge into something of his own. He was still somewhat inferior to those peerless geniuses who had truly created their own secret techniques, but compared with someone like Long Yeyue, who could only follow a script, he was far superior.

"Long Yeyue, is that all you've got?" Leng Zhaoran continued to taunt her while fighting. "The Radiant Holy Dragon and Dark Holy Dragon are utterly wasted in your hands! If you don't know how to use them, you might as well give those Martial Souls to someone else!"

"You're courting death!" Long Yeyue was so enraged that smoke nearly came from all seven of her orifices. Her attacks grew fiercer, but she exposed even more openings.

Xiao Ran saw it clearly from the side. The Space-Time Divine Shuttle trembled slightly, and a spatial rift silently opened behind Long Yeyue—

"Watch out!" A warning surged through Long Yeyue's heart. She hurriedly dodged, but the spatial rift still grazed the corner of her clothes and sliced off part of her sleeve!

"Xiao Ran! You actually dared to ambush me!" Long Yeyue roared in fury.

"An ambush?" Xiao Ran smiled faintly. "I was merely helping you clear your head, so you wouldn't let your anger cloud your judgment and do something even more shameful. You dared attack my son—did you really expect me to follow rules with you?"

"You—!"

Long Yeyue was so furious that she could not speak. Yet she had no choice but to admit that with Xiao Ran supporting Leng Zhaoran from the side, she could no longer deal with Leng Zhaoran at full strength. Although Xiao Ran's cultivation was inferior to hers, the Space-Time Divine Shuttle's amplification made his spatial power exceptionally strange and unpredictable, leaving her unable to guard against it.

If this continued, not only would she gain no advantage, she might even suffer a major loss!