Star Palace!

"Fifth Soul Skill, Gravity Squeeze!"

Even in midair, Zhao Wuji did not remain idle, immediately activating his control skill.

A massive gravitational field instantly enveloped the waters where the giant turtle was, attempting to restrict its movements.

Immediately afterward, he raised those bear paws as large as millstones.

"Power Vajra Palm!"

Two enormous dark-gold palm imprints shot forth, carrying a howl that tore through the air as they slammed viciously toward the giant turtle's head.

This strike could be said to be Zhao Wuji's current peak combat power.

If an ordinary Soul Douluo were struck by it, even if they did not die, they would lose half their life.

Yet in the face of this ferocious attack, the giant turtle floating on the sea merely lifted its eyelids slightly, a trace of humanlike confusion appearing in its blue eyes.

It seemed unable to understand where this two-legged beast, with not a shred of spiritual power in its body and relying entirely on brute force to grow larger, found the courage to raise its claws at it.

The giant turtle could not even be bothered to open its mouth and spit out its inner core.

It merely slowly withdrew its tumor-covered head into its shell.

In an instant, the two enormous dark-gold palm imprints struck the giant turtle's weathered carapace solidly.

Bang!

A dull impact echoed across the turbulent sea.

Zhao Wuji only felt as if his strike had landed on an entire indestructible continental plate.

His prized fifth soul skill, "Gravity Squeeze," was not even a breeze to this old monster that had lived year-round on the seabed tens of thousands of meters below the surface.

The terrifying pressure of the deep sea had long tempered the giant turtle's body to an unimaginable degree. This slight change in gravity was utterly routine to it.

Then, an indescribable force of recoil surged wildly from his bear paws into both of Zhao Wuji's arms.

Crack! Crack!

The crisp sound of bones breaking was exceptionally piercing amid the howling sea wind.

Zhao Wuji let out a miserable scream. The enormous dark-gold bear lost its balance in midair and plunged straight into the icy seawater.

Crimson blood instantly stained a stretch of the sea red.

His seemingly indestructible Martial Soul Avatar was covered in spiderweb-like cracks under the impact of that recoil, as though it might shatter completely at any moment.

Outside the light screen.

On the Shrek Academy training grounds, the sounds of sharp inhalations rose all around.

The muscles on Flender's face twitched wildly. His crystal glasses had slipped to the tip of his nose, yet he did not notice.

"How is this possible..."

Oscar's mouth hung open, his voice trembling.

"With Teacher Zhao's Martial Soul Avatar and Power Vajra Palm, even a Soul Douluo wouldn't dare take it head-on with their body."

"That turtle didn't even use a defensive skill, and the recoil alone shattered Teacher Zhao's arms?"

Tang San stood nearby with deeply furrowed brows, purple light flickering in his eyes.

"It wasn't just recoil."

Tang San took a deep breath and began analyzing in a grave tone.

"That sea turtle lives in the deep sea year-round. Its body has long adapted to water pressure beyond ordinary imagination. Teacher Zhao's gravity control is completely ineffective against it."

"It's like a three-year-old child putting all his strength into hammering a piece of hundredfold-refined steel."

"The more strength he uses, the worse he injures himself."

The absolute suppression of their power systems once again taught everyone on the Douluo Continent a vivid lesson.

In that world, the trump card you were so proud of might be nothing more than a joke in someone else's eyes.

On the screen, the giant turtle slowly extended its tumor-covered head from its shell.

Its blue eyes carried a hint of amusement.

"You do have a bit of strength. Barely enough to scratch my itch."

The deep voice rang in Zhao Wuji's mind once more.

"However, since you came knocking on my door, this old man won't stand on ceremony."

The giant turtle did not even use the inner core in its body that was on the verge of breaking its core and forming a Nascent Soul.

It merely opened its mouth and gently blew at the sea.

The surrounding seawater seemed to have received an emperor's command and instantly began to boil.

Four water columns as thick as thighs rose from the sea, transforming into four chains of water that wrapped directly around Zhao Wuji's limbs.

Zhao Wuji struggled desperately, trying to mobilize his soul power and break free.

But the water chains looked soft, yet they were tougher than millennia-old cold iron. No matter how much strength he unleashed, they did not budge in the slightest.

Worse still, the chains carried the terrifying water pressure unique to the deep sea, slowly tightening inward.

"Ah!"

Zhao Wuji roared in agony.

Under the frenzied crushing force of the water pressure, his Martial Soul Avatar finally reached its limit.

With a muffled bang.

The dark-gold phantom of the giant bear exploded completely, turning into specks of light that scattered into the sea breeze.

His Martial Soul Avatar had been forcibly shattered.

Zhao Wuji suffered severe backlash. He spat out a mouthful of blood, rolled his eyes back, and passed out directly in the seawater.

Watching Zhao Wuji float on the sea like a dead dog within the light screen.

Many soul masters of Douluo Continent shut their eyes in pain.

The Immovable Bright King.

This notorious fiend, once renowned across the continent, could not even withstand a single breath from anyone in the waters of this cultivation world.

"Old Zhao..."

Flender clenched his fists tightly, his nails digging deep into his palms.

He knew Zhao Wuji was finished.

Falling into the hands of a demonic beast of this level, his fate would only be worse than death.

The giant turtle blew out a bubble in satisfaction.

"This physique is pretty good. His blood and vitality are a little strange, but Poison Jiao should like this kind of chewy blood food."

The giant turtle controlled the water, wrapping the unconscious Zhao Wuji inside a huge translucent bubble.

Then its massive body slowly sank, preparing to take its prize back to its deep-sea cave abode.

Just as everyone in Douluo believed Zhao Wuji's fate had been sealed and that he was about to become someone else's meal.

A sudden change occurred.

The originally gloomy, oppressive sky suddenly twisted violently.

The thick clouds seemed to be forcibly torn apart down the middle by an invisible giant hand, revealing a massive rift thousands of feet long.

"Evil beast, do not flee!"

A cold and haughty shout rolled down from above the nine heavens, instantly drowning out the howling winds over the sea.

Immediately afterward, a dazzling azure sword light descended from the rift in the clouds like divine punishment from the heavens.

The sword light stretched a hundred feet long, radiating a razor-sharp sword intent that sent chills down one's spine.

Wherever it passed, even the surrounding space rippled visibly.

Its target was the Level Seven giant turtle preparing to dive!

Sensing the deadly threat descending from above, the giant turtle let out a roar of shock and fury.

It had no time to take Zhao Wuji with it. Its huge head abruptly withdrew into its shell.

At the same time, the shell on its back erupted with brilliant blue light, condensing above it into an incomparably heavy ice-blue mystic shield.

Boom!

The azure sword light struck the ice-blue mystic shield without any flourish.

A deafening explosion rang out across the sea.

The violent energy shockwave turned into rings of white airwaves that swept madly outward, directly forcing away the surrounding seawater and crushing a massive depression dozens of meters deep into the surface of the sea.

The bubble enclosing Zhao Wuji instantly burst under the impact of the shockwave.

Zhao Wuji was flung away like a rag sack, rolling across the surface of the sea more than a dozen times before finally stopping, his life or death unknown.

Crack.

A crisp sound rang out.

The supposedly indestructible mystic shield condensed by the giant turtle actually split open with a clear crack beneath the slash of the sword light.

Although it had blocked the strike, the giant turtle's enormous body was forcibly pressed more than ten meters downward.

"A late Core Formation sword cultivator!"

The giant turtle poked its head out, its blue eyes filled with wariness and rage.

It stared fixedly into the sky, its voice rumbling over the sea like muffled thunder.

"Someone from Star Palace?"

"This old man has cultivated in seclusion in the deep sea for years and has never provoked your Star Palace. Why must you be so ruthless?!"

The giant turtle's question rang out.

Above the clouds, a tall, slender figure slowly descended.

He was a young man dressed in white brocade robes, with sword-like brows, starry eyes, and strikingly handsome features.

Standing atop an azure flying sword with his hands clasped behind his back, his robes fluttered in the wind, making him seem like an immortal descended into the mortal world.

At the mention of the words "Star Palace,"

many people on the Douluo Continent were stunned.

The Yue Kingdom, where that young man named Han Li had come from, had been filled with countless sects.

And now, in this place known as the Chaotic Star Sea, another enormous force called the Star Palace seemed to have appeared.

The white-robed youth looked down arrogantly at the giant turtle on the sea, a disdainful sneer curling across his lips.

"Do I need a reason to kill you?"

"I am currently refining a top-grade water-element magical treasure and happen to need an old enough turtle shell as its primary material."

"Consider yourself unlucky, you old turtle. You just had to show your head in these waters."

The white-robed youth spoke flippantly, not taking this Level Seven great demon—equivalent to a late Core Formation cultivator—in the slightest.

"Hand over your demon core and turtle shell obediently, and I may show mercy by leaving you a wisp of your remnant soul to reincarnate."

"Otherwise, I will make sure your body and soul are utterly destroyed today!"

This overwhelmingly domineering declaration spread clearly across the Douluo Continent through the heavenly curtain.

Countless soul masters felt their blood boil.

This was how cultivators ought to act!

He treated a terrifying demon beast capable of instantly killing a Soul Sage as nothing more than crafting material—and even demanded that it hand over its own shell.

That lofty arrogance, which regarded all living things as mere straw dogs, filled those ordinarily high and mighty powerhouses of the Douluo Continent with longing.

As for the giant turtle on the sea, it was practically furious enough to burst its lungs.

"Arrogant and ignorant human!"

The giant turtle let out an enraged roar, and the surrounding seawater began churning violently once more.

A fist-sized inner core radiating an icy blue glow slowly emerged from its mouth and hovered in the air.

It was going all out.

A world-shaking battle between a Core Formation cultivator and a Level Seven great demon was about to erupt!

In the scene, the icy blue demon core floated in midair.

The surrounding seawater was instantly frozen by an incomparably frigid aura, turning into enormous icebergs that stood before the giant turtle.

This was the vital essence the Level Seven great demon had condensed over thousands of years. Its power was extraordinary; even cultivators of the same rank would not dare receive it head-on.

Yet when the white-robed youth saw this, not only was he unafraid, but the greed in his eyes grew even stronger.

"Stubborn fool."

"Then let this old turtle witness the orthodox flying sword arts of my Star Palace!"

His hands rapidly formed seals before his chest, and he uttered the word, "Split."

The azure flying sword beneath his feet gave a crisp sword cry and shot into the sky in an instant.

Then, one became two, two became four, four became eight...

In the blink of an eye, the sky was densely filled with more than a hundred azure sword shadows.

Every sword shadow radiated tangible, razor-sharp sword qi, warping the surrounding space as though it had been sliced apart.

This sight left the sword experts of the Douluo Continent utterly dumbfounded.

Heaven Dou City, outside the main hall of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

Sword Douluo Chen Xin suddenly stepped forward, staring unblinkingly at the light screen in the sky.

He looked almost possessed as he muttered to himself.

"This... is this Myriad Swords Return to the Sect?"

"No, that's not right!"

"Every single one of these sword shadows is actually tangible, each containing complete sword intent and energy!"

Chen Xin felt as though the swordsmanship he had practiced his entire life had utterly collapsed at that moment.

His ultimate technique, Myriad Swords Return to the Sect, was at best merely an illusion simulated with soul power—impressive in appearance but lacking substance.

But the sword art wielded by that youth in the light screen turned one sword into a hundred, and every sword could take a man's head. This was the true Great Dao of the Sword!

"To hear the Dao in the morning, and die content that evening..."

Chen Xin closed his eyes, and two streams of tears slid down his aged cheeks.

He finally understood that the swordsmanship he had always been so proud of did not even qualify as a basic beginner spell in this world of cultivation.

In the scene, hundreds of sword shadows poured down upon the giant turtle on the sea like a raging storm.

The giant turtle desperately activated its demon core, raising a thick ice-blue barrier.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

A barrage of impacts rang across the sea.

Under the ceaseless erosion of the sword rain, the sturdy barrier's glow grew dimmer and dimmer.

Finally, with a crisp "Crack!", the barrier shattered completely.

More than a dozen sword lights slashed directly into the giant turtle's shell, leaving deep sword marks as blood instantly dyed the seawater red.

"Roar!"

The giant turtle let out a pained wail. Its demon core also dimmed, forcing it back into its body.

"Hmph, utterly vulnerable."

The young man in white sneered and pressed two fingers together, preparing to command his flying sword to deliver the giant turtle its final blow and take that precious shell.

But just as he was about to strike.

The sneer on his face suddenly froze.

The surrounding sea, which had been surging with waves moments ago, had somehow stopped churning.

A thick, nauseating stench silently spread through the air.

The young man in white looked down, and his pupils abruptly contracted.

The seawater below had somehow turned a horrifying ink-green!

Bubbles continuously rose from the ink-green water, which exuded an intense corrosive aura.

Even the enormous icebergs the giant turtle had formed earlier rapidly melted upon touching the ink-green seawater, like snow meeting boiling water, turning into poisonous liquid.

"This is..."

An unprecedented sense of danger rose within the young man in white.

He suddenly raised his head and looked toward the distant horizon.

At the edge of the sky, the heavy gray storm clouds had now completely turned into pitch-black poisonous miasma.

A terrifying pressure powerful enough to make heaven and earth change color was rolling toward them at an unimaginable speed.

The pressure was so immense that even the protective spiritual radiance around the young man in white began to twist violently, creaking as if unable to bear the strain.

Before this aura, his Core Formation cultivation actually gave rise to an urge to kneel and beg for mercy.

"Nascent Soul..."

"A shape-shifting great demon!"

The young man in white's voice completely changed pitch, and his handsome face twisted with fear.

He finally remembered that this sea region was on the edge of the territory of Poison Jiao, one of the legendary overlords of the Chaotic Star Sea!

Meanwhile, in Sunset Forest on the Douluo Continent.

Poison Douluo Dugu Bo stared at the ink-green seawater, and even his breathing halted.

"Turning an entire boundless ocean into a poisonous marsh in an instant..."

Dugu Bo swallowed a mouthful of bitter saliva.

The Jade Phosphor Serpent Venom he usually took such pride in could at most poison all living things in a city.

Yet the aura casually released by the unseen monster in the light screen could contaminate an entire sea!

Such mastery over poison had completely surpassed the understanding of all living beings on the Douluo Continent.