If I Don't Kill Anyone, Wouldn't That Tarnish My Reputation as the Fallen Douluo?

Zhang Lexuan stared fixedly into Qian Jue's abyss-like eyes, feeling a chill shoot from the soles of her feet straight to the top of her head.

She bit her lower lip tightly, as if her throat had been stuffed with cotton. She could not force out a single word.

It was not that she did not want to refute him, but that she did not dare.

Because beneath Qian Jue's seemingly teasing gaze, she had caught an undisguised, tangible killing intent.

Her instincts screamed a warning: the man before her was absolutely not bluffing.

If she dared to say even half a word in rebuttal for the sake of Shrek's dignity at this moment,

this unrestrained madman would definitely tear open space without hesitation, descend directly upon Sea God Island, and snap Ma Xiaotao's neck in front of everyone!

At that point, Zhang Lexuan would become the eternal sinner who had caused the death of an inner academy genius.

Seeing Zhang Lexuan pale-faced and trembling slightly, yet still unable to utter a word, Qian Jue gave a soft scoff and slowly turned around.

"What? You ran into a question you can't answer, so you're planning to play mute?"

With his back to her, Qian Jue's tone brimmed with mockery.

"Or are you afraid that the moment you open your mouth, I'll rush to Shrek and slaughter that little girl called Ma Xiaotao?"

The surroundings fell deathly silent.

Zhang Lexuan merely watched Qian Jue's back with complicated eyes, still not daring to make a sound, afraid of provoking this temperamental monster.

However, Qian Jue's next sentence struck like thunder from a clear sky, instantly soaking Zhang Lexuan's back with cold sweat.

"I was lying. Even if you don't speak, I'll still kill her."

The instant his words fell, a terrifying pressure powerful enough to make heaven and earth change color erupted!

"Buzz—" Beneath Qian Jue's feet, nine unconventional soul rings rose one after another: black, black, black, red, red, red, red, red, red.

That pitch-black Fallen Angel Martial Soul instantly fused with him. Six enormous black wings spread wide, blotting out the entire alley in absolute darkness.

He raised his right hand and casually clenched the empty air before him.

"Crack—"

The indestructible barrier of space was like fragile paper in his hand, instantly torn open into a deep black spatial rift. Violent spatial turbulence howled out from within.

"Wait!!!" Zhang Lexuan was terrified out of her wits. No longer caring about her composure or fear, she screamed out of control.

She regretted it so deeply that her insides twisted!

Why had she used such a lofty tone to accuse him just now?

Why had she tried to reason with a madman whose strength had reached the level of an Ultimate Douluo?!

Hearing that terrified plea, Qian Jue halted just before stepping into the rift.

He slowly turned around. His six black wings fluttered lightly behind him, and a chilling smile hung on his demonically handsome face.

"Oh? So you can talk after all..."

"L-let's... let's talk this out..."

Zhang Lexuan's voice trembled, her legs weak. She looked at Qian Jue almost pleadingly. "You can't go to Shrek... Elder Xuan and the others..."

"Heh, talk this out?"

The smile on Qian Jue's face vanished instantly, replaced by extreme coldness and savagery.

"Ten years ago, when your three Super Douluo from Shrek besieged me, you had no intention of 'talking things out' with me."

He tilted his head back as if recalling something, then let out a low sigh.

"Ah... I was too merciful ten years ago. I failed to wipe you all out completely.

That truly tarnished the titles of 'Evil Soul Master' and 'Fallen Douluo.'"

Qian Jue's gaze suddenly locked onto Zhang Lexuan, his eyes blazing with a mad thirst for slaughter.

"In that case, let me personally see just how much Shrek has improved over the past ten years, apart from that hypocritical face of yours!"

"No—!"

Zhang Lexuan wanted to say more, but Qian Jue gave her no further chance.

He swept out his hand, and an irresistible, terrifying suction force erupted instantly.

Zhang Lexuan only saw a blur before Qian Jue's iron-cold hand clamped tightly onto her shoulder.

The next second, Qian Jue stepped into the pitch-black spatial rift, dragging the despairing Zhang Lexuan with him.

As the spatial rift rapidly closed, the alley returned to deathly silence, leaving behind only a faint scent of sulfur and destruction in the air.

Meanwhile, Shrek Academy.

The sun shone brightly, and the breeze was gentle.

People came and went along the broad streets. Outer academy students gathered in small groups, their laughter echoing through the vibrant campus.

Everything was as peaceful and tranquil as usual. No one realized that a catastrophe capable of overturning all of Shrek was silently descending.

Below the new student dormitory building, Mu En lay as usual in that battered reclining chair, eyes closed as he basked comfortably in the sun.

Suddenly, Mu En's previously relaxed body stiffened.

He abruptly opened his eyes, and an incomparably terrifying gleam burst from his once-clouded gaze.

An immensely horrifying pressure, filled with endless destruction and fallen energy, was brutally tearing through space at an unbelievable speed as it bore down on Shrek Academy!

The aura was so powerful that even the surrounding air let out a groan of unbearable strain.

Mu En slowly straightened his hunched body from the recliner. The kindness on his face vanished completely, replaced by unprecedented gravity.

"This aura is..." Mu En's shriveled lips trembled slightly as he spoke a name that had nearly become taboo among Shrek's upper ranks over the past ten years. "Qian Jue."

He suddenly raised his head, his gaze seeming to pierce through the barriers of space and lock directly onto Sea God Island. His heart sank sharply.

"Judging by the spatial coordinates he tore through... he's heading straight for the inner academy!"

The moment his words fell.

Above Sea God Island in Shrek Academy's inner academy, the once-clear, cloudless azure sky was suddenly swallowed by roiling black clouds without warning.

Even the surface of Sea God Lake was reflected into an oppressive, deathly black.

The sudden shift in the weather made the inner academy students and teachers on Sea God Island stop what they were doing and instinctively look up at the sky.

"What's going on? Is it going to rain?"

"What kind of weather is this? It was sunny just a moment ago. How did it change so suddenly without even a breeze?"

Some inner academy students frowned and complained.

"Drip."

A drop of warm liquid suddenly fell from the sky, landing precisely on an inner academy student's neck.

"Hm?"

The student froze for a moment and instinctively reached up to touch his neck, only to find the liquid somewhat sticky.

When he brought his hand before his eyes, his pupils instantly shrank to pinpoints.

That was not rainwater at all, but a streak of horrifying blood that was still faintly warm!

"Boom—!!!"

Before he could let out a cry of alarm, the black clouds overhead were suddenly ripped apart by a violent force.

Immediately afterward, accompanied by a piercing sonic boom, a black figure descended from the sky like a meteor.

With a bang, it slammed viciously into the center of the inner academy plaza!

The hard white marble tiles shattered instantly. Spiderweb-like cracks spread wildly in every direction as broken stone and dust filled the air.

When the dust settled slightly and they saw the scene at the center of the crater, every inner academy student stopped breathing.

It was a corpse.

A corpse that had died an exceptionally gruesome death, like a discarded sack of rags.

Its limbs were twisted in grotesque angles utterly contrary to human anatomy, with pale bone fragments piercing through its once-luxurious robes and exposed to the air.

Its entire chest had caved in completely, as though it had been crushed in a single blow by some irresistible, terrifying force.

Most scalp-numbing of all was its face. Extreme terror and despair had frozen upon it. Its eyes bulged outward violently, blood tears even spilling from their corners, as if it had seen some indescribable demon before dying.

After a brief dead silence, a student finally recognized those tattered robes and that twisted face.

"It's... it's Elder Chen!"

One student pointed at the crater, his voice turning shrill and miserable from overwhelming fear. "Elder Chen has been killed!!!"

"Enemy attack! A powerful enemy has invaded Sea God Island!!!"

Piercing alarms instantly rang out across the inner academy, and all of Sea God Island plunged into unprecedented panic and upheaval.

"Look at the sky!!!"

Accompanied by a despairing roar from someone in the crowd.

All the inner academy students, attendants, and even the elders who had just been startled into rushing outside instinctively raised their heads and looked toward the black heavens rolling like an abyss.