Enemies Meet on a Narrow Road

Star Luo Empire, imperial capital Star Luo City.

As one of the oldest ancient capitals on the continent, the entire city had been constructed like an iron fortress. Its towering black-gray walls stretched for dozens of miles, their battlements densely lined with heavy Soul Tool cannons.

At this very moment, the whole of Star Luo City had long been drowned in unprecedented bustle and celebration.

The quinquennial Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament was about to open at Star Luo Square in the city center. Teams from the continent's major empires, top sects, and advanced Soul Master Academies had gathered here. The spectators and Soul Masters pouring into the city alone had filled its inns and restaurants dozens of times over.

White Tiger Street, the main thoroughfare, was packed with sightseers and Soul Masters across its broad bluestone pavement. Every shop along the street had hung bright red lanterns, while stalls selling snacks, souvenirs, and Soul Tool models shouted themselves hoarse, the clamor rolling through the street in wave after wave.

"Make way! Move aside! Don't block the road!"

At a corner of the crowded street, a group of people strolled out.

The white-clad youth at the front idly waved a folding fan, his expression relaxed and carefree. It was Yu Chen, who had just arrived in Star Luo City.

Behind him, Ma Xiaotao in her eye-catching red dress and Wang Dong'er in fitted martial attire, radiating heroic spirit, undoubtedly became the most eye-catching figures on the entire street. Passersby and young Soul Masters cast amazed looks their way, only to hurriedly avert their eyes after sensing the faintly sharp aura emanating from the two women.

Yu Hai and the other four disciples obediently followed behind, looking around with curiosity.

"Good heavens, Star Luo City is really lively. It's way bigger than the market at the foot of Heavenly Dragon Gate," Yu Feng murmured, wiping sweat from his forehead.

"Look at you, acting like you've never seen the world. We came here to fight, not to stroll around," Yu Hai scolded under his breath, though his own eyes could not help wandering over the bustling shops.

Walking ahead, Wang Dong'er picked up a candied hawthorn skewer from a nearby stall and examined it. Turning back, she said to Yu Chen, "Yu Chen, there are way too many people in this city, aren't there? When we entered earlier, the city guards inspected everyone so strictly. Even the teams from major sects had to queue up to verify their identities."

"The tournament is about to begin. It's normal for the Star Luo royal family to be strict when they're afraid of trouble." Yu Chen casually tossed a silver coin to the vendor and stuffed the candied hawthorn skewer into Wang Dong'er's hand. "But they can guard against ordinary Soul Masters. Can they guard against those who truly intend to cause trouble?"

Wang Dong'er bit into a hawthorn berry, its sweet-and-sour juice spreading through her mouth. Somewhat indistinctly, she asked, "Do you mean the Holy Spirit Cult, or Shrek?"

"Both." Yu Chen closed his folding fan, his gaze sweeping across the crowds on either side of the street.

Just then, bursts of loud conversation drifted over from the window seats of several nearby teahouses and restaurants.

"Hey, have you heard? The reserve team Shrek Academy sent for this tournament is full of once-in-a-thousand-year geniuses!" A bearded man held a large bowl of wine, boasting animatedly to the people at his table.

"Of course. When has Shrek ever not produced geniuses? Do you think their legend of ten thousand years without defeat is a joke?" The young man at the same table immediately chimed in. "I heard their captain this year has an exceptionally rare martial soul. He even received personal guidance from the elders of Sea God's Pavilion. His strength is unfathomable!"

"Exactly! Shrek is the stabilizing pillar of our Douluo Continent. Who else could take this year's championship besides them? Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy? Those people who play with lumps of iron aren't worthy at all!"

"That's right! The number one academy in the world! Shrek will win!"

The teahouse immediately erupted with cheers of agreement and clinking cups. Even the nearby pedestrians wore expressions as though Shrek winning the championship was simply the natural order of things.

Hearing those discussions, Ma Xiaotao, walking beside Yu Chen, could not help rolling her eyes. A trace of undisguised mockery hung at the corner of her lips.

"A bunch of frogs at the bottom of a well who have never seen the world." Ma Xiaotao sneered and lowered her voice to Yu Chen. "My lord, listening to these commoners heap praise on them is revolting. Back when I was at Shrek, those old men in the inner court used that same ten-thousand-year glory to brainwash their disciples every day. Looking at it from outside now, it's utterly laughable."

Yu Chen's expression remained unchanged. He casually spun the folding fan in his hand, then raised it to point at the towering, beast-like grand structure in the distance—Star Luo Grand Square.

"The higher they're praised, the harder they'll fall." Yu Chen's tone was calm, yet it carried a chilling coldness. "They've been number one for too long. Even they themselves believe they're invincible. The world worships Shrek like an altar, so this time, before everyone on the continent, I'll smash that altar to pieces."

Listening to Yu Chen, Wang Dong'er's heart suddenly skipped a beat for some reason.

Back when she had been at Shrek Academy, if anyone had dared speak ill of Shrek, she would have summoned her Light Goddess Butterfly martial soul and fought them to the death. But now, after following Yu Chen this far and witnessing the Transdimensional Twin Dragons power within him that surpassed all reason, then recalling Shrek's hypocritical rhetoric, she felt not the slightest disgust. Instead, an inexplicable thrill and anticipation rose within her.

"Young master, should we head to the official inn arranged for us and report in now?" Yu Hai stepped forward and respectfully asked.

"No rush. Let's first take a look around the square and see whether those so-called famous sects have arrived." Yu Chen spoke calmly and started walking forward.

The group passed through the bustling streets and soon reached the main road outside Star Luo Square.

The roads here were even wider. Fully armed imperial guards of the Star Luo Empire stood watch every few steps, maintaining order at the scene. Countless Soul Masters from across the continent had gathered outside the cordon, eager to witness the arrival of the competing academies.

"Move! Make way!"

At that moment, a burst of noisy shouting and hoofbeats suddenly came from the street ahead.

The originally packed crowd seemed to have been forcibly split apart by something. People hurriedly retreated to both sides, and several slower civilians were nearly shoved to the ground.

"What's going on? Who's being so domineering?" Wang Dong'er frowned and tugged Yu Chen's sleeve, stepping half a pace aside.

In the middle of the street ahead, a team of young people wearing dark green uniforms swaggered toward them. Embroidered on the chests of those uniforms was an exceptionally conspicuous green monster head—the team of the renowned Shrek Academy.

Rather than growing angry over their arrogance, the spectators on both sides of the street erupted in deafening cheers and screams.

"It's Shrek! The Shrek team has entered the city!"

"The Shrek Seven Monsters! Long live!"

Yet Yu Chen did not look at the frenzied spectators around him, nor did he look at the haughty official Shrek team members at the back. Instead, his gaze fell directly on the youth walking at the very front.

The youth was not particularly burly, and his face even looked somewhat pale and gaunt. He was Huo Yuhao, who had been forcibly cultivated by Shrek through drugs and secret techniques.

At that moment, Huo Yuhao wore a slightly oversized green captain's battle robe. His head hung low, and his hands were unconsciously clenched into fists.

But under the gaze of Yu Chen's eyes, which possessed the status of a transcendent Dragon Clan, Huo Yuhao's aura was strange to the extreme.

A faint golden glimmer pulsed between the youth's brows, emanating the dual pressure of the Sea God and Asura God. Yet deep within his spiritual sea and meridians, an exceptionally sinister, violent, unstable black aura was also entwined. His entire body resembled a puppet forcibly stitched together from two berserk powers, radiating an ominous presence that made people deeply uncomfortable.

As if sensing Yu Chen's gaze, Huo Yuhao, walking at the front of the team, suddenly raised his head.

His eyes were bloodshot, and a cold, rigid light flickered in their depths. Through the noisy crowd, his gaze collided directly with Yu Chen's deep and arrogant eyes.

The flow of people on White Tiger Street had been forcibly divided, while the civilians and low-level Soul Masters on both sides continued shouting Shrek's name loudly.

Huo Yuhao's somewhat vacant eyes shifted, and his gaze swept through a gap in the crowd, landing precisely at Yu Chen's side.

Wang Dong'er held a half-eaten candied hawthorn skewer in one hand while tugging Yu Chen's sleeve with the other, a bright red hawthorn berry still between her teeth.

The instant this scene entered Huo Yuhao's eyes, his bloodshot eyes flew wide open, and the veins around his eye sockets bulged one by one.

"Wang Dong'er!"

Huo Yuhao sprang straight out from the front of the team, his steps hurried and unsteady, even making his green captain's robe sway chaotically.

Several Shrek members behind him froze for a moment. Wang Yan, the teacher leading the team, also stopped and raised his hand as he called out, "Yuhao! Come back! Report to the inn first!"

But Huo Yuhao did not hear Wang Yan's shout at all. He crossed the distance in a few strides, rushing into the middle of the street and forcibly blocking Yu Chen's group.

The cheering on both sides of the street diminished slightly, and quite a few people craned their necks to look over.

"Who's that? Why are they facing off against someone from the Shrek team?"

"No idea. Judging by that white-clad youth's clothes, he doesn't look like a noble from the three great empires. There are also two pretty girls behind him."

"Keep your voice down. The one leading them is Shrek's captain. I heard he has a very strange temper."

Huo Yuhao stared fixedly at Wang Dong'er, his chest heaving violently. He pointed a finger at Yu Chen's nose, his voice shrill and sharp. "Wang Dong'er! You really are associating with this evil Soul Master! Elder Xuan and the elders of Sea God's Pavilion raised you as the core of the sect, yet you not only betrayed the academy, you even hooked up with this bastard of unknown origin! You've disgraced Shrek completely!"

Wang Dong'er had just chewed and swallowed the hawthorn berry in her mouth. Upon hearing that, her delicate brows immediately knitted together.

She took half a step forward, casually tossed the bamboo skewer into a nearby basket, and looked Huo Yuhao up and down, her eyes filled with impatience. "Is something wrong with your brain? Why are you barking in the street in broad daylight? Who I'm with is none of your damn business. Shrek's honor? How much rotten food did Shrek feed you for you to be so eager to act like its guard dog? Get lost. A good dog doesn't block the road."

"You! What did you say?!" Huo Yuhao began trembling all over.

During those days in Shrek's secret chamber, when drugs and secret techniques had been forced into him, the words drilled into his head by the elders of Sea God's Pavilion had echoed day and night. The ten-thousand-year plan, Emotion Godhood, Wang Dong'er as the partner destined for him by fate. Yet now, that so-called destined partner stood beside another man, looking at him as though he were a filthy insect.

"Dong'er, he used evil arts to brainwash you!" Huo Yuhao gritted his teeth, and a small bloody crack even split open at the corner of his eye. "I'll cleanse the academy of traitors now and bring you back to Sea God's Pavilion for judgment!"

Ma Xiaotao, standing behind them, could not help laughing.

The woman in the red dress folded her arms and cast Huo Yuhao a cold sidelong glance, her tone contemptuous. "Cleanse the academy of traitors? With a cripple like you, forcibly raised by drugs? Huo Yuhao, you weren't even qualified to carry my shoes in the inner court. That bunch of senile fools led by Xuan Zi treat you like treasure, and you really think you're something special?"

"Ma Xiaotao! You're also a traitor to the academy!" Huo Yuhao roared. The golden point of light between his brows suddenly pulsed, followed by an exceptionally murky dark-red bloody glow rising from his body.

It was an evil power formed by the mixture of Asura God power and violent medicinal force.

"Die!"

Huo Yuhao stomped down, cracking the entire bluestone road beneath his feet. He lunged straight at Yu Chen, his right hand clenched into a fist. A cold spiritual shock was wrapped around the force of his punch as it smashed toward Yu Chen's face.

Wang Yan, behind him, was horrified. "Yuhao! Stop! Private fighting is forbidden during the tournament!"

But it was already too late.

Faced with this punch carrying remnants of divine power, Yu Chen did not even close the folding fan in his hand. He stood where he was with a composed expression, without even blinking, and lightly uttered a single word. "Get lost."

An invisible dragon's might, mixed with the extreme cold of the Lesser White Dragon, instantly slammed into Huo Yuhao's chest.

"Pfft!"

Huo Yuhao's fist was still a full three feet away from Yu Chen's clothes when his entire body seemed to crash into an invisible towering iron wall.

That frigid white light surged backward along the force of his punch, instantly shattering the dark-red, sinister bloody glow around his body!

Huo Yuhao opened his mouth and sprayed a mouthful of blood mixed with fragments of internal organs. His body flew backward like a kite with its string cut, tracing a miserable arc through the air before crashing down with a boom and smashing a small roadside wooden stall that sold masks.

Wood chips flew everywhere, and shattered masks scattered across the ground.

The noisy voices throughout the street seemed to have been cleanly cut off by a pair of giant scissors.

The surrounding civilians, vendors, and scouts from the various advanced Soul Master Academies were all stunned, their eyes widened round.

"How... how is that possible?"

"Shrek's captain... got blasted away by a single shout? He didn't even raise a hand?"

"What kind of joke is this? That's Shrek Academy's captain! Could a Titled Douluo have made a move?"

Whispers rapidly spread through the crowd.

"Yuhao!"

Wang Yan cried out and hurried over, pulling the blood-covered Huo Yuhao from the pile of broken wood.