Though I Stand Against Ten Thousand, What Have I to Fear? Fifth Soul Skill, Bell of the Dead!

The gale tore at the ink-black clouds, and above those suffocating heights, two figures stood suspended in midair.

Very soon, sharp-eyed Inner Court disciples below cried out in alarm.

"Look at the sky! That person... she looks like Senior Sister!"

"It really is Senior Sister! But who's that man beside her?

His aura is terrifying. Could Elder Chen have been killed by him?"

"Impossible!"

Another disciple immediately refuted him.

"Elder Chen was a Titled Douluo, after all. Even if he was advanced in years, it wouldn't have been easy for an ordinary Titled Douluo to take him down. How could it have been done by some nobody?"

"Whether he did it or not, trespassing onto Sea God Island is a capital offense!

We have to capture him immediately and make him answer for it!

If word of this gets out today, outsiders will think Shrek Academy is somewhere any stray dog or cat can run wild. Where would the dignity of the number one academy for ten thousand years be?"

"Mm, that makes sense! We must take him down!"

"..."

At the same time, as Qian Jue released his aura without restraint, several Sea God Pavilion elders who had rushed over upon hearing the news instantly recognized the face they had seen ten years ago.

"Qian Jue? That wretch dared to break into Shrek? What exactly is he trying to do?"

"Hmph, what else could he want? He's just here to extort some Gold Soul Coins.

Look, he's even taken that girl Lexuan hostage. How utterly vile."

A Sea God Pavilion elder snorted coldly, his eyes filled with disdain.

Qian Duoduo beside him wore an equally mocking expression.

"This brat is far too arrogant. He dared to force his way onto Sea God Island alone.

Does he think that just because he used some underhanded trick to plot against Elder Xuan, he's qualified to come cause trouble at Shrek?"

In his view, if he encountered Qian Jue outside, he might still fear him somewhat.

But this was Shrek!

The sacred land of ten thousand years of glory!

A dragon had to coil up upon arriving at Shrek; a tiger had to lie down.

Did he really think Shrek's Sea God Pavilion had no one left?

Held aloft in Qian Jue's single hand, Zhang Lexuan listened to the shameless boasts of the disciples and elders below, feeling as though the blood throughout her body had frozen.

She desperately wanted to shake her head and scream, "Run!" "Shut up!" But under Qian Jue's almost tangible pressure—

She couldn't even move a finger, nor could she make the slightest sound from her throat. She could only watch helplessly as these people frantically tested the edge of the abyss.

"Underhanded tricks? Extorting Gold Soul Coins? Stray dogs and cats?"

Qian Jue looked down at the enraged Shrek crowd below. There was no anger in his deep black eyes, only the pity and mockery one reserved for ants.

"Ten thousand years of comfort have turned your brains into useless scrap fit only for barking.

Since you care so much about Shrek's dignity..."

Qian Jue slowly raised his right hand, his long fingers aimed at Sea God Island Square below before pressing down sharply.

"Boom—!!!"

There was no flashy soul skill, only the absolute Fallen Angel pressure of a Super Douluo pouring down.

In that instant, the air above Sea God Island seemed to be sucked dry, while gravity surged by hundreds and thousands of times within milliseconds!

"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The Inner Court disciples who had just been righteously clamoring to capture Qian Jue alive were smashed into the ground in droves like flies struck by invisible hammers.

The crisp sounds of shattering bones merged into one. Countless people spewed blood, collapsing unconscious on the spot before they could even scream.

"What?!"

Qian Duoduo and the elders who had been spouting such bold words moments earlier went pale.

The instant the pressure descended, the Soul Power within their bodies seemed to encounter its natural enemy and froze completely. They couldn't even summon their martial souls!

"Creak... creak..."

Qian Duoduo clenched his teeth tightly, his eyes wide as he tried with all his might to straighten himself.

But before this terrifying power, his cultivation was laughably fragile, like paper.

"Thud!"

With a dull, thunderous impact, Qian Duoduo's knees slammed heavily into the ground, blasting two deep pits into the earth. The agonizing pain of shattered kneecaps instantly swept through his body.

Then, the other elders around him fell one after another like dominoes, forcibly pressed to their knees until they couldn't even lift their heads.

The entire square fell deathly silent, leaving only the chilling sounds of cracking bones and pained gasps.

"Now..."

Qian Jue's icy voice echoed over Sea God Island like a funeral bell. "Tell me, have I coiled this dragon correctly?"

Just as Qian Jue was preparing to crush these people's spines further, an aged, weary sigh containing boundless light suddenly drifted out from the depths of Sea God Pavilion.

"Sigh... Qian Jue. Why involve innocent people...?"

With that sigh, a dazzling golden sun rose from the top of Sea God Pavilion.

The brilliant power of light formed a golden barrier, forcibly opening up a sliver of breathing room for the people below amid Qian Jue's ink-black pressure.

Above the dark clouds, Qian Jue narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked at the hunched figure slowly rising into the air, becoming somewhat more serious.

"Innocent people?"

Qian Jue lowered his gaze, the smile at his lips turning increasingly sinister.

"Who here is innocent?

Since you all placed the label of 'Evil Soul Master' on me from your lofty heights, wouldn't it be letting that title down if I didn't kill a few people?"

Upon hearing this, pain and sharpness flickered through Mu En's clouded eyes as he sighed softly.

"Qian Jue, your cultivation is indeed formidable, even beyond this old man's expectations.

But Shrek's ten-thousand-year prestige is not something you can trample upon.

Release Lexuan and leave Sea God Island at once. This old man can pretend none of this happened."

Hearing those words, Qian Jue seemed to have heard the greatest joke in the world and burst into laughter.

"Hahahaha! Pretend none of this happened?

Mu En, if you were still at your peak before your spine was broken, and had the Golden Tree below to aid you, perhaps I would fear you somewhat."

Qian Jue's laughter abruptly stopped, his gaze piercing Mu En like a blade.

"But now, you're merely a dying man with one foot in the grave, desperately clinging to life! A pile of dry bones dares put on airs before me?!"

The moment his words fell, Qian Jue clenched his hand in the air.

"Buzz—!"

Amid a terrifying hum that seemed capable of collapsing space itself, nine Soul Rings erupted from beneath his feet.

Black, black, black, red, red, red, red, red, red!

No fewer than six glaring crimson 100,000-Year Soul Rings dyed the entire sky in the colors of mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

Then, the fifth 100,000-Year Soul Ring beneath his feet suddenly erupted with a soaring, demonic crimson glow.

"Fifth Soul Skill, Bell of the Dead."

The black clouds above were violently torn apart by a pair of invisible giant hands.

A hundred-zhang-tall phantom of a Fallen Angel with six wings descended from the heavens.

In the arms of that demonic shadow was an ancient bronze bell engraved with countless demonic runes.

"Dong—!!!"

The Funeral Bell rang, and a dull, distant toll filled with endless deathly silence instantly swept out from Sea God Island across the entirety of Shrek Academy.

This toll was not a physical sound wave, but the sound of laws that struck directly at the soul, carrying a demonic curse!

The instant anyone with Soul Power lower than Qian Jue's heard the bell, their Soul Power would be forcibly reversed and instantly detonated!

"Not good! Everyone, seal your hearing! Suppress your Soul Power!"

Mu En roared, his eyes nearly splitting apart.

Dazzling Radiant Sacred Dragon power erupted from his body, transforming into an enormous golden barrier as he tried to shield the crowd below.

But it was too late.

How could the curse of laws be fully blocked by a hastily formed barrier of light?

On the square below, the Inner Court disciples, stewards, and even some weaker teachers who had been witnessing this earth-shaking confrontation just moments ago stiffened violently as the bell entered their ears.

"Boom!"

Without any warning, an Inner Court disciple at the six-ring Soul Emperor level instantly swelled like an inflated balloon before exploding violently!

This was only the beginning.

"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom—!"

A chain of explosions erupted across Sea God Island.

Those Inner Court elites whom the continent had praised as its greatest geniuses, whom Shrek had taken such pride in—

Could not even scream before they exploded one after another under the Funeral Bell's curse, becoming clusters of scarlet blood mist!

Within just a few breaths, the once sacred and solemn Sea God Island Square had completely become a living hell.

Thick, pungent blood stench rose into the heavens, while the rain of blood drifting through the air stained the white marble tiles a shocking dark red.

Severed limbs and mangled flesh mixed with blood, slowly flowing down the square's steps into Sea God Lake.