Set Out! All Villains

Above the Douluo Plane, there was a magnificent world wrapped in brilliant golden light.

The main hall of the God Realm Committee.

Endless divine power transformed into golden clouds rolling across the floor, while several massive marble pillars piercing through heaven and earth stood around the hall, their surfaces carved with the majestic avatars of various deities.

On the majestic divine throne in the very center of the hall, a figure wearing gorgeous sea-blue flowing robes sat upright.

He had extraordinarily handsome features, a cascade of deep blue hair draped like a waterfall over his shoulders, and a golden trident pattern between his brows emitting a faint radiance. This was the Sea God and Asura God who held the law-enforcement power of the God Realm—Tang San.

At this very moment, a huge crystal light curtain was suspended directly in front of Tang San, interwoven with countless golden optical fibers that represented the flow of fortune in every corner of Douluo Continent.

Suddenly, Tang San's brows furrowed fiercely.

Two dazzling blue rays instantly burst forth from his pupils, which had originally been calm as still water!

"Hmph!"

Tang San suddenly reached out to press his chest, letting out a muffled grunt from the depths of his throat. His originally rosy complexion turned somewhat pale in this single instant.

Within his perception, the divine consciousness seal he had set back then when he forcibly stripped away a wisp of his daughter Tang Wutong's soul and sent her down to the lower realm as Wang Dong'er had actually produced an extremely violent tremor just now!

That feeling was as if a berserk force inside the seal was wildly tearing at his divine power!

What made Tang San feel even more shocked and furious was that the force tearing at the seal did not come from a forcible external breach, but from Wang Dong'er's own soul consciousness!

His daughter... had actually produced a consciousness that resisted him in the lower realm!

"How is this possible?!" Tang San coldly roared in his heart, his fingers gripping the armrest of the divine throne tightly, making the incomparably hard divine gold armrest creak.

"To ensure nothing went wrong, I used a divine consciousness seal to erase all her memories of the God Realm, and implanted favorable feelings for the Child of Fortune, Huo Hao, into her subconscious. According to the trajectory of fate, she should have already merged with Huo Hao like water and milk by now, completely binding Tang Sect's ten-thousand-year grand plan together with Shrek's glory!"

Tang San reached out and swiped across the light curtain on the disk, dragging the fortune-gathering footage over to Shrek Academy.

When he saw Huo Hao in the secret room being forcibly infused with medicinal power, his body bristling with pipes and his face distorted, Tang San's expression grew even gloomier.

Not only was Huo Hao's fortune failing to reach its zenith as anticipated, but it instead appeared intermittent and even exuded an extremely unstable evil aura!

"Who on earth is it?! Exactly who is meddling with the threads of fate on the continent?!"

Tang San only felt an uncontrollable wave of irritation surge in his heart.

As the law enforcer of the God Realm, he was accustomed to controlling everything. Having laid out his plans in the lower realm for ten thousand years, Shrek Academy was his ideological orthodoxy, Tang Sect was his secular foundation, and Huo Hao was the perfect tool he had meticulously chosen to inherit the Emotion Godhood while concurrently serving as a pawn for the God Realm.

Yet now, the tool was damaged, his daughter had derailed, and even Shrek Academy had been beaten into a sorry state by a "Heavenly Dragon Gate" that had popped up out of nowhere!

"San, what's wrong with you? Why is your expression so ugly?"

A gentle, sweet voice suddenly echoed in the hall.

Xiao Wu, wearing a pink long dress and carrying a teacup emitting a refreshing aroma, walked out gracefully from the side hall. She looked at Tang San, whose expression was shifting unpredictably on the divine throne, a trace of worry appearing in her beautiful eyes.

The gloom on Tang San's face vanished completely the moment he heard Xiao Wu's voice, replaced by a gentle and accommodating expression.

He raised his head, looked at his walking wife, and smiled as he took the teacup and placed it on a side table. Reaching out to take Xiao Wu's delicate hand, he said, "It's nothing, Xiao Wu. I was just handling affairs for the various realms of the God Realm and became a little tired."

Xiao Wu looked suspiciously at the crystal light curtain suspended in midair and asked in a low voice, "San, could something have happened to Wutong in the lower realm? I've been feeling extremely flustered lately, and I haven't dreamed of Wutong for a long time..."

A heavily concealed chill flashed deep within Tang San's eyes, but on the surface, he still smiled as warmly as a spring breeze.

He gently patted the back of Xiao Wu's hand and coaxed her softly, "Rest assured, Wutong is living very well in the lower realm. With Mu En and those children watching over Shrek Academy, what could possibly go wrong? I was just seeing some restless little bugs jumping around on the continent, which was slightly disturbing."

"Little bugs?" Xiao Wu blinked.

"Mhm, just some ants who think they have a bit of strength and dare to provoke divine might." Tang San picked up his teacup and took a sip, masking the chilling, eerie killing intent in his eyes. "No need to mind them; the fate of the lower realm was destined long ago, and no one can alter my arrangements."

"That's good." Xiao Wu heaved a sigh of relief, leaning her head against Tang San's shoulder. "San, once Wutong finishes her trial in the lower realm, let's bring her back. I really miss her so much."

"Alright, I'll listen to you. Once this Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament concludes, everything will be settled." Tang San stroked Xiao Wu's long hair, his tone so gentle it could melt into water, yet the words he spoke exuded an unquestionable dominance.

After comforting Xiao Wu, Tang San found an excuse to let her return to her bedchamber to rest first.

Once Xiao Wu's figure completely vanished behind the main hall, the gentle smile on Tang San's face vanished instantly!

He turned abruptly, overlooking the map of Douluo Continent in the light curtain from on high. His azure eyes were pitch black, as if breeding an endless storm.

"Heavenly Dragon Gate... Yu Chen..."

Tang San muttered these two names in a low voice.

Just now, he had used the Sea God authority to forcibly deduce the situation, only to discover that the youth named Yu Chen seemed shrouded in an extremely bizarre mist of heavenly secrets. No matter how he urged his divine consciousness, he could not see through the other's true origins and Martial Soul background!

Even the trace of divine consciousness he had left within Wang Dong'er's body felt a superior suppression originating from the bloodline and laws level when attempting to approach Yu Chen!

"Impossible! Douluo Continent is merely a low-tier plane; how could there possibly be an existence surpassing the God King's standing?!"

Tang San gnashed his teeth until they clicked.

What he could least accept was things slipping out of his control.

If this Yu Chen were allowed to continue growing, not only would Huo Hao's fortune be completely stripped away, but the divine consciousness seal on Wang Dong'er would also be completely shattered! By then, the chess game he, Tang San, had painstakingly managed in the lower realm for ten thousand years would utterly turn to nothingness!

"Shrek is my orthodoxy. Whoever touches it dies."

Tang San stood before the divine throne with his hands behind his back, a flash of naked killing intent and ruthlessness in his eyes.

"Since conventional rules of fate cannot defeat you, don't blame me for using divine authority."

Tang San sneered, raised his right index finger, and tapped gently against the light curtain on the disk.

An extremely covert golden speck of light, carrying a sacred Sea God aura and berserk Asura divine power, shot forth from his fingertips!

This divine power silently penetrated the crystal wall barrier between the God Realm and the lower realm without triggering any alarms from the God Realm's rules, hurtling straight toward the Star Luo Imperial City of the Douluo Continent like a falling meteor!

"Go... infuse yourselves into the bodies of those children in Shrek, and stimulate Huo Hao's spiritual sea."

Tang San overlooked the lower realm, a cruel sneer hanging on the corners of his mouth. "The Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament... Yu Chen, I'd like to see what you use to act arrogant when facing a Shrek team tainted with divine power!"

Right in the middle of the Heavenly Dragon Gate's martial arts drill square, dozens of coiling dragon stone pillars stood around. The morning sun slanted down, baking a thin layer of warmth onto the flagstone ground.

Below the steps, four young disciples stood straight in a row, hands pressed tightly against the outsides of their thighs, not daring to take even a heavy breath.

These four were carefully selected elites from the younger generation of the Heavenly Dragon Gate, individuals who usually walked sideways even in the inner sect. Yet right now, each of them kept their heads lowered, their eyes fixed stubbornly on their own shoetoothes.

"Hey, Yu Hai, what do you suppose the young master wants with the few of us anyway?" The thin-faced youth on the left lowered his voice, his lips barely moving as his faint voice drifted to the side. "I was so excited last night I couldn't close my eyes for half the night; I heard we're going to Star Luo City to participate in the tournament this time?"

The robust youth called Yu Hai bobbed his Adam's apple up and down and replied in a similarly low voice, "Can you cut the chatter? When is it our turn to second-guess what the young master does? Anyway, I only know one rule: later, when the young master says to go east, we absolutely must not glance west, understand?"

"Well obviously, I'm not stupid." The thin, tall fellow shrank his neck, his peripheral vision stealthily aiming toward the high platform. "Speaking of which, though, our team's lineup... do we really not need to wear the sect's ritual robes? I've heard that when those major sects go out on expedition, they're all decked out in matching brocade robes with quite a grand spectacle."

"Wear ritual robes? You still don't know the young master's temper?" Another disciple nearby couldn't help chiming in. "The young master himself dislikes wearing those flashy things, so we just need to follow the young master's pace."

As the disciples muttered among themselves, a flurry of crisp footsteps echoed from the corridor behind them.

The four instantly zipped their lips, straightening their spines until they stood as neat as wooden stakes.

Above the high platform, several figures slowly walked out.

Walking at the very front was naturally Yu Chen. He wore a crisp, tailored plain white robe with soft, drooping fabric devoid of any extra embroidery, and his long black hair was casually pinned back with a white jade hairpin. Holding a jade-boned folding fan in his hand, he walked at an unhurried, steady pace.

At a position half a step behind him, Ma Xiaotao wore a bright red tight-fitting long dress with a hem slit up to the side of her thigh, outlining her tall, well-proportioned lines clearly. Her face was painted with light red makeup, the outer corners of her eyes canted slightly upward, and her entire person exuded an overbearing aura that kept strangers at a distance.

Wang Dong'er on the other side was completely different. She had tied her usually loose long hair into a neat high ponytail, donning a dark blue form-fitting combat outfit with bracers and a belt tightly bound. Her whole person looked valiant and spirited, and she even held a sheathed short sword in her hand, her pretty face full of seriousness.

The Great Elder followed at the very rear with several senior managers of the sect. Seeing Yu Chen step onto the main platform, he hurried forward quickly and said with a bowed waist, "Young Master, the candidates have already been decided according to your instructions. Yu Hai, Yu Lin, Yu Feng, Yu Chuan—these four kids all have Soul King foundations, and their martial souls are pure Thunder Dragon mutations. They'll definitely have no problem playing supporting roles at the tournament."

Yu Chen stopped in his tracks, tapping his folding fan twice against his palm while his gaze looked down condescendingly at the four disciples below the stage.

Swept by this gaze, the four young men on the stage felt the hairs on their backs stand up on end. They hurriedly knelt on one knee in unison, cupping their fists and shouting loudly, "This disciple pays respects to Young Master!"

"Get up, there's no need to drop to your knees over everything." Yu Chen waved his hand, walking over to the white jade-carved railing and leaning his body sideways against it. "The reason I called the four of you to tag along is very simple. The tournament roster requires seven people, and I'm too lazy to go elsewhere to round up numbers. The four of you have decent strength, and you're easy enough on the eyes."

Yu Hai took the lead in standing up, holding his spine straight as he said loudly, "Following the Young Master on an expedition is our disciples' good fortune! Wherever the Young Master points, we strike; we'll never disgrace the Heavenly Dragon Gate!"

"Disgrace?" Yu Chen chuckled, snapping his folding fan open with a swish. "Who said I was sending you to win face for the sect?"

The four youths below froze, looking at each other without understanding the meaning behind those words at all.

Yu Hai raised his head cautiously and asked with a face full of doubt, "Young Master... then why are we going to Star Luo City, exactly?"

Ma Xiaotao, standing beside Yu Chen, let out a light snort, crossed her arms across her chest, and sneered, "Idiots. The master going to Star Luo City is to smash the place up; do you really think we're going to obediently participate in a match?"

Wang Dong'er also added a sentence from the side, "Exactly, rules are things only the weak abide by."

Rebuked like this by the two maidens, the four disciples felt rather awkward, but the blood in their hearts was instead instantly stirred up.

Yu Chen folded his fan, pointed at the four people below, and explained in a flat tone, "Let's make things clear beforehand: once we reach Star Luo City, there is only one rule. Once you enter the competition venue, as long as I haven't given the word for you to move, even if the sky falls, the four of you will honestly stand in the back like wooden stakes. Understood?"

"Understood!" the four answered in unison.

"Very good." Yu Chen nodded and continued, "Rule number two: if you run into other ordinary academies and your hands itch to go up and play, do as you please as long as you don't kill anyone. However, if you draw Shrek Academy—whether it's the main roster or the reserve team—beat them to death. Broken limbs and fractured bones are getting off lightly. If anyone dares hold back, when we return to the sect, I'll personally cripple their soul power."

Saying this, Yu Chen paused, a chilling ruthlessness in his eyes. "As for the consequences of crippling Shrek's people, you don't need to worry about them. If the sky falls, I'll hold it up."

This speech was crude to the extreme, lacking any of the high-sounding pre-expedition exhortations of a major sect, yet falling into the ears of these young disciples, it stimulated their nerves far more than any grand rhetoric.

The elders standing nearby looked at each other. The Great Elder rubbed his hands together and stepped forward, speaking worriedly in a low voice, "Young Master, Shrek after all bears the reputation of being number one for ten thousand years, and I've heard they come prepared for this tournament, with deeply intertwined influences over in the imperial city. If we truly offend them to death, will the tournament organizing committee trip us up behind the scenes?"

"Trip us up?" Yu Chen cast a sideways glance at the Great Elder. "If they dare pull dirty tricks during the tournament, then don't blame me for turning the entire Star Luo Square upside down. Great Elder, do you think the dragon breath in my hands is just for show?"

Choked speechless by these words, the Great Elder could only wryly wipe the cold sweat from his forehead. "Young Master possesses peerless divine might; it was this old man worrying too much, this old man worrying too much."

"Alright, stop dawdling and wasting time here." Yu Chen straightened his body, tidied his sleeves, and looked back at Ma Xiaotao and Wang Dong'er. "Are things all packed?"

"Reporting to Master, everything is proper; we can set off at any time." Ma Xiaotao slightly curtsied, her red dress swaying gently with the movement.

Wang Dong'er also patted the storage soul tool at her waist, responding crisp and clear, "I'm ready too, we can depart anytime!"

Yu Hai couldn't help asking down below, "Young Master, our sect's dragon-scaled carriages are already prepared outside the mountain gate. Shall we head down the mountain now to board them?"

"Carriages?" Yu Chen raised an eyebrow and shook his head. "Creeping along like a turtle, taking that kind of thing to Star Luo City means everything will be over by the time we arrive."

Yu Hai scratched his head, looking blank. "Then how... do we go? It's a journey of thousands of li."

Instead of answering him, Yu Chen directly raised his right hand.

A dazzling, pure, searing-white radiance suddenly rose from his palm, emitting not the slightest noise, yet the moment it appeared, the ambient heaven and earth spiritual energy around the entire martial arts drill square frantically converged toward the center. That was not ordinary soul power, but an ultra-dimensional dragon clan aura that overrode the rules of this plane.

Immediately after, that ball of white light rapidly elongated and solidified in midair, transforming into a searing-white giant sword phantom several zhang long and incomparably broad. Flowing across the sword body was supreme Sun-Thunder Divine Radiance, and wherever its light shone, even the hard obsidian ground beneath grew faintly scorching.

"Get on."

Yu Chen stepped down, his figure landing lightly on the tip of the sword as his white robes whipped wildly in the fierce wind.

Ma Xiaotao and Wang Dong'er were already unsurprised. Tiptoeing off the ground, the two girls leaped skillfully onto the giant sword, standing respectively on the left and right behind Yu Chen.

The four disciples below stared dumbfounded. Yu Hai dropped his jaw and stammered, "Is... is this a self-created soul skill? Or a flight soul tool?"

"Cut the nonsense, hurry up and roll up here if you don't want to be left behind!" Ma Xiaotao rebuked condescendingly from above.

Only then did the four youths snap out of their daze. Hurriedly urging their soul power, they scrambled clumsily onto the wide tail of the white sword Qi. The moment they stepped on it, they felt a warm yet supremely domineering dragon might firmly anchor their entire bodies; even as their bodies swayed, the soles of their feet felt as secure and unmovable as if rooted in place.

The Great Elder and the various high-ranking sect officials stood below the steps, looking up at the light sword suspended in midair, their eyes filled with awe and fanaticism.

Standing at the very front with his hands behind his back, Yu Chen gazed toward the southern firmament, the corners of his mouth curling into an arrogant arc.

"Let's go, to Star Luo City, to collect a debt."

With those words falling, Yu Chen formed a sword finger and sliced forward lightly.

That huge, searing-white light sword emitted a crisp, melodious dragon roar in midair, subsequently transforming into a white aurora that tore through the clouds and broke straight through the void—so fast that it left a lingering white-gold trajectory in the empty air.

The square was left with only a howling gale and a group of sect elders who gazed blankly at the horizon, unable to recover for a long time.