The Final Gamble, Full Retreat!

Second, Sea God's Light was Shrek Academy's ultimate trump card for survival. Revealing it too early would only strip the trump card of its original purpose and might even backfire, inviting joint retaliation from all the major powers.

Therefore, it had to be used with the utmost caution.

Elder Zhuang's expression changed abruptly as he looked at Huo Yuhao's twisted limbs and wounds covering his body.

"Elder Mu, nearly half of his meridians have been severed. His sternum has pierced his lungs, and there are remnants of some special elemental power within his body."

"Even his spiritual origin has been damaged."

"I can only do my best to preserve his life. I may not be able to preserve his foundation!"

Upon hearing Elder Zhuang's words, Mu En's hurried steps came to an abrupt halt. There was no expression on his aged face.

"Then save his life first."

Elder Zhuang wanted to say more, but Mu En had no time to respond. He quickly turned around and headed deeper into Sea God Pavilion.

He truly could not afford to wait any longer.

The outer courtyard disciples were being slaughtered, while many evil soul masters had broken through the inner courtyard's defenses as well.

The power provided by the Golden Ancient Tree was far from keeping up with the rate at which they were expending it. Reinforcements from the three nations had yet to arrive; whether they had been intercepted or delayed by some other problem was unknown.

If this dragged on any longer, Shrek's ten-thousand-year foundation would truly be severed today.

Mu En reached out and pressed a hand against the wall. The ancient wall silently parted, revealing a staircase leading underground.

There were no soul guidance lamps at the end of the staircase, only a stone chamber covered in patterns of ocean waves.

At the center of the chamber stood a stone pillar. Resting atop it was a palm-sized golden crystal, within which the faint outline of a trident could be seen.

Mu En walked to the stone pillar and lowered his head to look at the crystal, endless complexity flashing through his eyes.

Sea God's Light! Shrek Academy's true trump card.

Ever since Sea God Tang San ascended, this power had remained sealed in the depths of the Golden Ancient Tree. Only the successive Masters of Sea God Pavilion were qualified to come into contact with it.

It could protect the academy, and it could purify evil soul masters.

Yet gods could not interfere with the lower realm at will. Every use would consume the divine power stored within it and would also tighten the God Realm's restrictions upon this power.

Thus, every successive Pavilion Master knew of it, but few had ever truly used it.

Mu En had not wanted to use it either. A hidden trump card was a deterrent; once placed in plain sight, it would be studied, guarded against, and might even attract the covetous eyes of every major power.

But now, he had no choice.

"Since my teacher departed, this old man has guarded Shrek for hundreds of years."

Mu En raised his hand and pressed his palm against the golden crystal. Blood rich in the light bloodline flowed through the gaps between his fingers and into the patterns carved on the stone pillar.

"If I allow the academy to be destroyed in this old man's hands today, how could I face Shrek's predecessors? How could I face my teacher?"

The trident imprint inside the crystal slowly lit up.

Mu En's body instantly tensed. A force far surpassing the level of an Ultimate Douluo surged back from the stone pillar and entered his meridians through his arm.

This was a power that transcended the laws of this world.

Even with Mu En's cultivation as an Ultimate Douluo, he still found it difficult to bear.

His blood continuously flowed into the crystal, only to be evaporated by the golden divine radiance it emitted. The last remnants of vitality within his body were also being frantically drained away by the stone pillar.

The Golden Ancient Tree shook violently.

The roots entrenched beneath Sea God Island lit up at the same time. All life energy converged toward the stone chamber, then flowed through Mu En's body as a medium into the stone pillar.

Mu En's knees bent slightly, blood continuously spilling from the corners of his mouth. Yet he did not let go. Instead, he began chanting mournfully toward the supreme, sacred trident.

"In the name of the Master of Sea God Pavilion."

"I beseech the ancestral Sea God to protect Shrek Academy!"

The trident imprint fully awakened. Almost in an instant, the originally dim sky above Sea God Island transformed into a pure gold-and-blue expanse.

Long Xiaoyao, high in the air, suddenly turned his head.

Mu En's abrupt departure from the battlefield with Huo Yuhao had indeed surprised him.

He had initially thought Mu En merely wanted to protect that child, or buy time with the Golden Ancient Tree.

But the aura emanating from Sea God Island now made every hair on his body stand on end. That was absolutely not power Mu En could possess.

Because that power had already exceeded the limits human soul masters could touch.

The Dark Sacred Dragon let out a deep dragon roar, its enormous body instinctively retreating.

The scales on its body tightened, and even the darkness blanketing half the sky began to contract violently.

"Could it be a god?" Long Xiaoyao's expression changed drastically. He had lived for over two hundred years, seen countless powerful figures, and personally stood at the peak of the continent.

Yet when faced with the golden divine radiance rising from Sea God Island, his body still sent him an intense warning of danger.

A direct clash was absolutely impossible. This was no longer a matter of whether he could block it.

Long Xiaoyao did not hesitate. He immediately reached down toward the ground.

Dark soul power transformed into two dragon claws, piercing through the chaotic battlefield and separately wrapping around Long Wushang and Tang Ya, forcibly dragging them into the air.

Tang Ya was still maintaining the Sinful Blue Silver Grass when her body was suddenly lifted into the air, the vines beneath her feet snapping one after another.

"Master!"

"Don't resist. It's Father."

Long Wushang also looked toward Sea God Island. The golden divine radiance had already pierced the black clouds, illuminating the entire inner courtyard.

The Original Sin Demon Puppet was suppressed by that power. The seven-colored patterns on its surface rapidly dimmed, and even the original sin authorities it had unleashed were forcibly dispersed.

He finally understood what Mu En intended to do.

"This is Sea God's Light?!"

Long Wushang's face darkened, and he then glanced in the direction Huo Yuhao had been taken.

He really had forgotten about this. It had rarely appeared in the original history, and Shrek had never disclosed it to the outside world.

Over all these years, he had never encountered this thing in the major records or his own memories. If he had not seen the trident within that divine radiance, he probably would not even have recognized what it was.

It seemed they had truly driven Shrek Academy mad today, driven Mu En mad. Mu En would probably rather exhaust his lifespan than forcibly activate Sea God's Light to protect the academy.

"No wonder that old bastard spared no cost to withdraw to the inner courtyard."

Long Wushang recalled the Dark Sacred Dragon and allowed Long Xiaoyao's soul power to protect Tang Ya and himself.

He did not continue rushing in to pursue Huo Yuhao.

Although Electrolux had only fragmented divine consciousness remaining, if he were truly driven into a corner, no one knew whether that old monster would burn away all his origins.

Besides, Sea God's Light was now protecting the inner courtyard. Continuing to force his way in would be gambling with his life.

There was no need.

A great number of Huo Yuhao's meridians had already been severed, his Sea of Spirit had suffered an impact, and Electrolux's divine consciousness had been severely depleted.

Even if Shrek could save his life, they might not be able to restore his foundation.

Today's objective had already been more than half achieved.

Throwing himself away just to secure that last bit of results was not decisiveness. That would be water on the brain.

"Retreat at once."

Long Wushang did not delay. Holding the Supreme Hierarch's Command Token, he immediately issued the final order. Long Xiaoyao's furious roar spread across all of Shrek City the next moment.

"All members of the Holy Spirit Cult, withdraw from Shrek immediately!"

As the order spread, the evil soul masters fighting throughout the city raised their heads.

Some had slaughtered until their eyes were bloodshot and still wanted to seize a few students on their way out. But when the golden divine radiance from Sea God Island spread outward, the greed on their faces turned once more into deep terror.