Ma Hongjun's Tragic Death!!

Long Tian looked at him.

"I've already extracted the Martial Soul origin from you, and you still haven't faced reality?"

Ma Hongjun's expression shifted repeatedly.

These past days, he had tried every possible method to restore the Evil Fire Phoenix.

Yet no matter how many medicinal herbs he absorbed, there was not the slightest reaction from his Martial Soul.

The students who had once surrounded him and fawned over him had all left after he lost his cultivation.

Ma Hongjun could only rely on Shrek's former reputation to bully civilians in the city and seek a sense of existence.

"It's all because of you!"

Ma Hongjun raised his hand and pointed at Long Tian.

"If it weren't for you, how could I have ended up like this?"

"You ruined everything!"

Long Tian did not respond.

Ma Hongjun suddenly pulled a dagger from his robes and stabbed at the woman beside him.

"Since I can't live well, none of you should either!"

Shui Bing'er immediately unleashed her Soul Power.

But Long Tian had already vanished from where he stood.

The next moment.

The white-clad figure appeared before Ma Hongjun.

Long Tian pinched the blade between two fingers and snapped it lightly.

Crack.

The dagger broke into two pieces.

Long Tian seized Ma Hongjun's wrist in the same motion.

"You wanted to kill someone?"

"I didn't!"

Ma Hongjun struggled desperately.

"Long Tian, you can't kill me!"

"I'm from Shrek!"

"Shrek won't let you go!"

Long Tian looked at his panicked face.

"You already harbored the intent to kill."

"Since you dared to act, you should bear the consequences."

Ma Hongjun's face turned deathly pale.

"I was wrong!"

"Long Tian, I was truly wrong!"

"I'll never dare do it again!"

Shui Bing'er walked over to the woman and shielded her behind herself.

"Long Tian, she wasn't hurt."

"Leave this matter to me."

Long Tian did not let go.

Nine-Colored Soul Power surged from his fingertips, directly sealing Ma Hongjun's meridians.

Ma Hongjun collapsed to his knees, his legs no longer able to support his body.

"You've already been crippled once."

"Since you still dared to continue bullying civilians, there is no need for you to remain alive."

Ma Hongjun's eyes filled with terror.

"No!"

"Long Tian, you can't kill me!"

"My master is a Soul Sage, and Shrek has many powerful figures behind it!"

Long Tian raised his right hand.

Nine-colored radiance gathered in his palm.

"If your master wants revenge for you, tell him to come find me."

"As for you."

Long Tian slowly clenched his five fingers.

The nine-colored light instantly pierced through Ma Hongjun's chest.

Ma Hongjun's body suddenly stiffened.

The next moment, he collapsed limply by the roadside.

Blood slowly spread across the stone pavement.

The crowd on the street immediately retreated.

Shui Bing'er looked at Ma Hongjun on the ground, her expression complicated.

"You really killed him."

"He deserved it."

Long Tian withdrew his hand and turned to the civilian woman.

"You may leave now."

The old man hurriedly pulled his granddaughter down to kneel.

"Thank you, Lord Soul Master, for saving our lives."

Long Tian raised his hand and supported their bodies.

"No need to bow."

"If something like this happens again, go find the city guard as soon as possible."

The old man nodded repeatedly and quickly left with the woman.

Shui Bing'er stood beside Long Tian, watching their gradually receding backs.

"You killed someone from Shrek as soon as you returned to Heaven Dou City."

"Shrek will find out sooner or later."

"It doesn't matter if they do."

Long Tian looked ahead.

"Ma Hongjun was already given one chance."

"I won't give him a second."

Shui Bing'er fell silent for a moment, then gently took Long Tian's hand.

"Next, we should register first."

A warm, soft touch came from his palm.

Long Tian turned his head.

Shui Bing'er did not let go. Her lovely face was filled with seriousness.

"The Soul Master Tournament is about to begin."

"Skywater Academy cannot let one Ma Hongjun affect the arrangements ahead."

Long Tian looked at her and nodded.

"Let's go."

The two walked side by side toward the depths of Heaven Dou City.

The bloodstains left at the street corner were soon crushed beneath carriage wheels.

But news of Ma Hongjun's death reached Shrek Academy that very day.

Heaven Dou City.

On the street.

Ma Hongjun lay in the middle of the stone road, his chest pierced by Nine-Colored Soul Power. He had completely lost all breath.

Long Tian withdrew his hand. His white clothes remained unstained by even a trace of blood.

The surrounding civilians retreated one after another, their eyes filled with reverence as they looked at him.

Shui Bing'er stood nearby and said softly:

"The city guard is here."

Orderly footsteps came from the end of the street.

More than ten guards hurried over, separating the nearby crowd.

The captain of the city guard glanced at Ma Hongjun's corpse, his expression turning grave.

"Who did this?"

Long Tian replied calmly:

"I did."

The captain raised his head, his gaze falling on the Skywater Academy emblem at Long Tian's waist.

"Why did you kill him?"

The woman whom Ma Hongjun had nearly stabbed earlier immediately stepped out from the crowd.

"This lord acted to save me."

"Ma Hongjun stopped me in the street and even pulled a knife to kill me."

The nearby civilians spoke up in succession.

"We all saw it."

"That fat man drew his knife first."

"Lord Soul Master only acted to save someone."

The captain crouched down and picked up the broken dagger.

Ma Hongjun's fingerprints and aura still remained on the blade.

After a brief inquiry, the matter was already perfectly clear.

The guard stood and bowed to Long Tian.

"This man wielded a knife and committed violence. You acted to stop him, so you are not at fault."

"However, someone has died in the city. We still need your name and academy affiliation."

Long Tian took out Skywater Academy's tournament token.

"Skywater Academy, Long Tian."

The captain's expression changed slightly upon seeing the tournament token.

The Soul Master Tournament was about to begin.

Anyone capable of representing an advanced Soul Master Academy in the competition was at least a genius among the younger generation.

What was more, Long Tian's name had already spread throughout Heaven Dou City.

A ten-thousand-year third Soul Ring.

A hundred-thousand-year fourth Soul Ring.

Skywater Academy's new captain.

Any one of those achievements was enough to command attention.

"So it's Captain Long Tian."

"The matter has been investigated. You may leave."

Long Tian put away the token and turned toward the other side of the street.

Shui Bing'er came to his side and walked alongside him.

The two figures passed through the crowd without sparing Ma Hongjun another glance.

Behind them, the city guard soon carried the corpse away.

Skywater Academy's carriage continued toward the registration site.

Within half a day, news of Ma Hongjun's death reached Shrek's temporary residence.

Shrek Academy.

Temporary residence.

Flender sat in the middle of the hall, holding an official document from the Heaven Dou City Guard.

Large creases had been pressed into the paper by Soul Power.

Yu Xiaogang stood beside him, his face dark.

Tang San, Dai Mubai, Xiao Wu, and Oscar had all gathered in the hall.

Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing stood by the window instead, not approaching.

After a long while.

Flender put down the document.

"Hongjun is dead."

Oscar's body stiffened.

"Dean, what did you say?"

"Ma Hongjun died on the streets of Heaven Dou City."

Flender closed his eyes.

"The one who killed him was Long Tian."

The moment those words fell, the hall sank into silence.

Dai Mubai slammed a palm onto the table.

"Long Tian again!"

"He drained Fatty's Evil Fire Phoenix bloodline before, and now he won't even spare his life!"

Killing intent flashed through Tang San's eyes.

"Long Tian has gone too far."

"Ma Hongjun has already lost his Martial Soul. He posed no threat to him at all."

"Even if Fatty made a mistake, it was not Long Tian's place to take his life."

Xiao Wu immediately nodded.

"We have to avenge Fatty!"

"We can't let Long Tian keep acting so arrogantly."

Yu Xiaogang picked up the document and read through it carefully.

It recorded everything with great clarity.

Ma Hongjun had stopped a civilian woman in the street.

After failing in his assault, he had drawn a dagger and prepared to kill her.

Long Tian had intervened and ultimately killed him.

There were over twenty witnesses.

The Heaven Dou City Guard had already ruled that Long Tian's actions had been an act of rescue.

Yu Xiaogang's expression turned even uglier when he saw this.

"Even if Hongjun made a mistake, he should have been handed over to Shrek."

"Long Tian had no right to kill him."

Flender slowly rose to his feet.

The aura of a level seventy-eight Soul Sage surged from his body.

"Hongjun was my only personal disciple."

"This debt cannot be settled so easily."

Dai Mubai immediately said,

"Dean, let's go find Long Tian right now."

"As long as we catch him, we can avenge Fatty."

"No."

Ning Rongrong suddenly spoke.

Everyone in the hall turned to look at her.

There was little change in her delicate, pretty face.

"Ma Hongjun attacked a civilian first, then tried to kill her."

"Long Tian merely stopped him."

"You have no reason to seek revenge."

Xiao Wu immediately glared at her.

"Ning Rongrong, whose side are you on?"

"Fatty was our companion!"

Ning Rongrong did not back down.

"It is precisely because he used to be our companion that I know his character all too well."

"Even after the Evil Fire Phoenix bloodline was drained, he still did not change."

"If Long Tian had not been there this time, that civilian woman would have died."

Zhu Zhuqing walked over from the window.

"The city guard has already investigated what happened."

"If Shrek attacks Long Tian over this, they will be making an enemy of Skywater Academy."

"Besides, Long Tian also has Spirit Kite Douluo behind him."

At those final words, Flender's Soul Power immediately stalled.

Spirit Kite Douluo.

When this Spirit Hall elder had descended upon Shrek, she had shattered Zhao Wuji's Mighty Vajra Palm with a single strike.

The pressure of that Titled Douluo still remained deeply etched in everyone's memories.

The killing intent on Dai Mubai's face also faded somewhat.

"Is Fatty just supposed to die for nothing?"

Zhu Zhuqing glanced at him.

"Ma Hongjun tried to kill someone with a knife and was killed on the spot."

"If you want to avenge him, go by yourself."

Dai Mubai opened his mouth, but in the end, he did not take a step forward.

Tang San looked toward Yu Xiaogang.

"Teacher, Long Tian has arrived in Heaven Dou City."

"During the Soul Master Tournament, Spirit Kite Douluo may not remain at his side all the time."

"We can look for an opportunity."

Yu Xiaogang did not agree immediately.

Long Tian was no longer the auxiliary Soul Master in his twenties that he had once been.

A ten-thousand-year third Soul Ring.

A hundred-thousand-year fourth Soul Ring.

A level forty-four Soul Ancestor.

And a Titled Douluo teacher.

If Shrek took the initiative now, the only thing they would invite was utter disaster.

Flender sat back down in his chair.

The killing intent on his face gradually receded.

"During the Soul Master Tournament, Heaven Dou City is full of powerful figures."

"Any private fight will be investigated by the royal family."

"Let this matter rest for now."

Xiao Wu hurriedly said,

"Dean, are we not avenging Fatty?"

Flender pressed a hand against the table.

"I did not say we would not avenge him."

"We simply cannot act now."

Yu Xiaogang then spoke.

"Long Tian has Spirit Kite Douluo protecting him. We have no chance in a direct confrontation."

"Once the Soul Master Tournament ends, we can make plans at leisure."

Tang San fell silent for a moment before slowly nodding.

"I understand."

Though he said so, everyone knew perfectly well that as long as Spirit Kite Douluo lived, Shrek would not dare truly lay a hand on Long Tian.

The hall fell silent again.

Ma Hongjun's corpse was still being kept at the Heaven Dou City Guard headquarters.

Yet not a single person from Shrek dared to seek out Long Tian.

Ning Rongrong turned and walked out of the hall.

Zhu Zhuqing followed closely behind.

Neither of them looked back.

Heaven Dou City.

Skywater Academy's residence.

After completing registration for the Soul Master Tournament, Long Tian returned to his quarters alone.

Shui Bing'er had taken the other team members to familiarize themselves with the competition venue.

Inside the room.

Long Tian sat cross-legged on the bed.

The Life Divine Domain slowly circulated through his meridians.

The power brought by the hundred-thousand-year Blue Silver Emperor Soul Ring was continuously merging with the Rainbow Dragon Martial Soul.

The fourth blood-red Soul Ring slowly revolved around his white-clad body.

Just then.

A knock sounded from outside the courtyard gate.

Long Tian opened his eyes.

Life Perception rapidly spread outward.

Two people stood outside the gate.

The aura of one of them was familiar to Long Tian.

"Come in."

The courtyard gate was pushed open from outside.

The green-haired old man entered the courtyard with his hands behind his back.

Dugu Yan followed at his side.

Her emerald-green eyes fell upon Long Tian, and a hint of unease quickly appeared on her cheeks.

Long Tian looked at Dugu Bo.

"So you know how to use the front gate now?"

The corner of Dugu Bo's mouth twitched.

"This old man is a dignified Titled Douluo. By visiting you in person, I have already given you plenty of face."

When his gaze fell upon the blood-red Soul Ring, the green-haired old man abruptly stopped.

"A hundred-thousand-year Soul Ring?"

"When you left Skywater Academy, you clearly had only three Soul Rings."

"How long has it been? You actually obtained a hundred-thousand-year fourth Soul Ring already?"

Long Tian withdrew his Martial Soul.

"I needed a Soul Ring at level forty, and I happened to encounter a suitable one."

Dugu Bo stared at him for a long time.

Such a casual answer left the Poison Douluo momentarily at a loss for words.

How rare were Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts?

Even Titled Douluos had to rely on luck to encounter one.

Yet this man before him had merely gone out once and returned with a hundred-thousand-year Soul Ring.

Even more astonishingly, Long Tian had truly absorbed it successfully.

Dugu Yan also hurried forward.

"You're already level forty-four?"

"That's right."

Long Tian glanced at her.

"The poison in your body is more severe than last time."

Dugu Yan instinctively touched her lower abdomen.

Over the past few days, every time she activated the Jade Phosphor Serpent Poison, her lower abdomen would erupt in agonizing cramps.

Late at night, the meridians in her right leg would also become stiff.

These symptoms were exactly as Long Tian had described that day.

Dugu Bo put away his earlier attitude.

"This old man has already examined Yan Yan's body."

"Poison has accumulated in her Baihui acupoint, Shanzhong acupoint, and the meridians in her right leg."

"There is Jade Phosphor Serpent Poison in her bone marrow as well."

Long Tian rose from the bed.

"So, you believe me now?"

"Everything happened exactly as you said. This old man has no reason not to believe you."

Dugu Bo took a deep breath.

"You said that you could detoxify Yan Yan and me."

"This old man came here today for that matter."

Dugu Yan pressed her red lips together.

"As long as you can cure me, I will no longer pursue what happened at the Soul Arena."

Long Tian looked at the green-haired woman before him.

"You ambushed me from behind, and you still expect me to take responsibility?"