Sea God's Pavilion's Fury

His strength was unfathomable, and that bizarre devouring ability was unheard of. He had even eaten the rampaging Evil Fire Phoenix like a snack.

A mere Soul Emperor like himself was not even worthy of a second glance from the man.

Not to mention...

He glanced at Wang Dong'er beside him.

She was a genius girl highly valued even by Mu En, the master of Sea God's Pavilion, possessing a martial soul with the ultimate light attribute!

Yet now, she stood obediently behind this man like a little maid.

One was not enough, and now even Ma Xiaotao, the foremost student of the Inner Court, was being dragged into this?!

In Shrek Academy's ten thousand years of history, had it ever suffered such unbearable humiliation?!

Core disciples were being lured away one after another, right in front of the elder leading them?!

If word got out, would Shrek Academy have any face left?!

"Xiaotao, listen to me." The elder's voice softened, carrying a trace of pleading. "The Academy will definitely find a way to solve your martial soul problem! Dean Yan Shaozhe, Elder Mu... none of them will give up on you! Come back with me first, and we can discuss this at length, all right?"

Ma Xiaotao's shoulders trembled slightly.

Discuss it at length?

Again, discuss it at length!

She had heard those words for more than ten years!

Every time she had been filled with hope, only to receive deeper despair in return.

She slowly lifted her head. Her face was drenched in sweat, and the wild arrogance once in her fiery red eyes had vanished, leaving only a desperate resolve as though she had smashed the cauldrons and sunk the boats.

She did not look at the elder. Instead, she stared fixedly at Yu Chen's back and rasped out, using every ounce of strength in her body, word by word:

"I, Ma Xiaotao!"

Her voice was not loud. It was hoarse and weak, yet it struck everyone's hearts like a heavy hammer.

"Am... willing to follow you, my lord!"

"From this day onward, I shall obey all your commands and never shrink from death!"

Boom!

Something seemed to explode in the Shrek elder's mind. He staggered back two steps and collapsed onto the snow, his eyes hollow and his face ashen.

It was over.

Completely over.

After Wang Dong'er, the number one student of Shrek Inner Court—the future Flame Phoenix Douluo—had also "betrayed" them in public.

And she had done so by kneeling and swearing allegiance in a manner that was practically offering up her soul.

He could already imagine the terrifying upheaval that would erupt throughout Sea God's Pavilion once this news reached the Academy.

And he, Yan Feng, would become the greatest joke and sinner in Shrek's history.

Watching this, Wang Dong'er's lips curled upward involuntarily.

Wonderful.

There was another companion who had seen through Shrek's hypocrisy.

The strongest and finest people ought to stand beside this man, shouldn't they?

Only then did Yu Chen finally turn around slowly.

He walked over to Ma Xiaotao and examined her from above.

"Have you thought it through?"

"I have!" Ma Xiaotao answered without hesitation. Her gaze held fervent worship. "What you gave me, my lord, was a new life!"

"Very well."

Yu Chen nodded and did not waste any more words.

He did not need tearful declarations of loyalty. What he wanted was absolute obedience.

He turned to Wang Dong'er and ordered, "Help her up."

"Yes."

Wang Dong'er answered brightly. She stepped forward, extended her slender arm, and helped the utterly exhausted Ma Xiaotao up from the snow.

The two women who had once been regarded as Shrek Academy's peerless twin prodigies now stood on Yu Chen's left and right like the gentlest of maids.

Seeing this, the Shrek elder felt as though someone had clenched his heart in their hand. Even breathing became difficult.

What an absurd, and yet what an ironic sight!

After doing all this, Yu Chen acted as though he had merely brushed away two specks of dust.

His gaze passed over the three of them and settled on the Ice Jade Scorpion in the distance, which had been sprawled on the ground pretending to be dead since earlier, not daring to breathe too loudly.

The ten-thousand-year soul beast shuddered violently when it met Yu Chen's gaze, nearly frightened out of its wits.

It had seen with its own eyes how this human had swallowed the power of that terrifying fire woman in a single "bite"!

This human... was ten thousand times more terrifying than the rulers of the Far North Core Region!

Yu Chen crooked a finger at it.

The gesture was casual, yet it carried an irresistible will.

"You."

His voice was not loud, but it rang clearly in the Ice Jade Scorpion's mind.

"Come here. Lead the way."

The Ice Jade Scorpion raised its head tremblingly, unable to understand what this fiend still wanted.

Yu Chen's next words seemed to lower the temperature of the entire ice valley by several dozen degrees.

"Find the strongest one here."

Shrek Academy, Sea God's Pavilion.

The heavy pavilion doors were pushed open from outside, then slowly closed again.

The light suddenly dimmed.

Yan Feng, the elder responsible for escorting them, staggered inside. His legs gave out, and he nearly fell to his knees.

He was soaked from head to toe. It was impossible to tell whether it was melted snow or cold sweat. His face was white as paper, his lips trembled, and he could not utter a single word.

"Yan Feng! Why have you returned alone?!"

A refined-looking middle-aged man with an innate air of authority between his brows abruptly rose from beside the main seat.

It was Yan Shaozhe, the dean of the Martial Soul Department.

His gaze swept over the empty space behind Yan Feng.

"Where are Xiaotao?! Where is Wang Dong?!"

Yan Feng's body shook even harder. He opened his mouth, but only hoarse gasps came from his throat, as though an invisible hand were strangling him.

The atmosphere within Sea God's Pavilion instantly grew grave.

Everyone present was a true core member of Shrek Academy, venerable elders whose slightest stomp could make the continent tremble.

From Yan Feng's soulless appearance, they had already sensed an extremely ominous possibility.

"Speak!"

Yan Shaozhe roared, and the pressure of a Soul Douluo crashed down upon him.

Instead, the pressure seemed to give Yan Feng an outlet. He dropped to his knees with a thud and began to wail.

"Dean... they're gone... they're both gone..."

Yan Shaozhe's mind buzzed.

"What do you mean, gone?! Explain yourself!"

"Wang Dong... Wang Dong, she... she left with that man called Thunder Dragon..." Yan Feng's voice carried a sob, full of humiliation. "And... and Senior Sister Xiaotao..."

"What happened to Xiaotao?!" Yan Shaozhe's heart tightened.

Yan Feng suddenly raised his head, his face filled with despair and terror.

"She... she left with that man too!"

"What?!"

Yan Shaozhe slammed his palm down on the goldenwood long table before him.

Bang!

The table, crafted from ten-thousand-year goldenwood and supposedly indestructible, was struck with such fury that a clear crack appeared across its surface!

The teacups leaped into the air, and scalding tea splashed over his hand, but he did not notice at all.

"Ma Xiaotao also... also left with that Thunder Dragon?!"

He trembled with rage, his eyes bloodshot as he glared at Yan Feng as though he wanted to devour him alive.

"Has she gone mad?! She is the chief disciple of my Martial Soul Department! She is the Academy's hope for the future! How could she... how could she betray the Academy?!"

Sea God's Pavilion fell into dead silence.

The other venerable elders also wore expressions of shock and disbelief.