Titled Douluo Blood Shadow Assault, Evil Fire Phoenix's Debut!

The Holy Spirit Cult gave Huo Yuhao no time to finish investigating the clues.

The attack came without warning. The three sensing towers along Shrek's northeastern outer wall went dark at once. Even the alarm only sounded half a note before dense black soul power swallowed it whole. Huo Yuhao, Dong'er, and Qiu'er had been reviewing the residual-wave records in Soul Tool Laboratory No. 3.

The instant the sensing towers went dark, Huo Yuhao jerked his head up.

"Someone's here."

The moment his Spirit Eyes spread out, he saw thirty-seven black streaks burrow underground from the forest outside the city, heading straight for Wang Qiu'er. Farther away, a Titled Douluo's mountain-heavy aura had her firmly locked on.

Xuan Lao's voice rang out through their spiritual sharing at the same time. "All inner courtyard disciples, fall back to the second line! Yuhao, take Dong'er and Qiu'er to Sea God Lake. Don't confront them head-on!"

But Huo Yuhao did not retreat at once, because that Titled Douluo aura had targeted only Wang Qiu'er from the very beginning.

Black mist churned outside the window, and a colossal blood-red shadow of a scorpion tiger took shape in midair. It had no physical form, yet it carried a savage pressure powerful enough to crush one's mind. Behind the blood shadow came a hoarse, chilling laugh:

"The Three-Eyed Golden Lion took human form and truly hid in Shrek."

Wang Qiu'er rose to her feet, her golden eyes as cold and sharp as blades.

Huo Yuhao's voice sank. "Scorpion Tiger Douluo, Zhang Peng... His true body isn't here. This is his blood-shadow soul fragment."

As Zhang Peng's laughter fell silent, more than a dozen evil soul masters rushed from the black mist. Their target was clear—not Huo Yuhao, not Wang Dong'er, but Qiu'er alone. Blood patterns specially made to strip away fate were embedded in their soul chains. If they could take her away, they would; if not, they would kill her on the spot. Several black soul chains shot through the window array in an instant, lashing toward Qiu'er's neck and wrists.

Wang Qiu'er shattered the first chain with a thrust of her spear, but the second burst from beneath her feet, reeking with blood patterns. Dong'er's Light Butterfly God aura slashed down at the same time, while Huo Yuhao unleashed his Ice Jade Scorpion Martial Soul and froze the array's footing. Qiu'er used the opening to charge out, her Golden Dragon Spear blasting the foremost evil soul master into the wall. But at that moment, the scorpion tiger blood shadow descended. This was not merely a gap in strength—it was the overwhelming suppression of a Titled Douluo-level evil soul master against a Soul Sage. Huo Yuhao's spiritual detection was violently knocked back, pain lancing through his brow as the Eye of Destiny nearly went out of control.

"Don't look at him head-on." The Ice Empress's voice turned icy. "The Blood Fiend Imprint will backlash."

Zhang Peng's laughter grew even more sinister. "The Eye of Destiny is here too? Excellent... The Three-Eyed Golden Lion and the Eye of Destiny. What a lively day."

The black mist abruptly split apart, one stream clawing at Wang Qiu'er, the other stabbing straight toward Huo Yuhao.

Dong'er spread her light wings and stepped directly in front of Huo Yuhao. The light aura shook violently under the black mist's impact, yet she did not retreat a single step. Huo Yuhao's gaze steadied. His Spirit Eyes no longer looked directly at the blood shadow; instead, he traced the soul chains in reverse to find their anchor point. Three breaths later, he saw it. The scorpion tiger blood shadow's true anchor was not outside the city, but underground beneath the academy's old training ground.

Just then, a streak of dark-red fire cut across from afar.

The flames passed through the black mist, burning the blood fiend soul chains pressing before Wang Dong'er until they snapped inch by inch. The air temperature soared, and a woman in red landed before Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu'er. Her long hair swirled in the firelight, and her striking features were as brilliant as an unsheathed blade.

Ma Xiaotao.

"Holy Spirit Cult scum, you dare reach into Shrek?"

She looked up at the blood shadow in the sky, her smile cold and grim. "Zhang Peng, your true body doesn't dare come, and you think a mere soul fragment can take someone away?"

Phoenix Flame surged. She was the most outstanding senior sister of the previous inner courtyard class, not some decorative vase brought in to intensify the chaos. The instant her fire wings unfolded, every disciple around the training ground felt a tyrannical pressure. Dark-red flames forcibly tore open a breach in the scorpion tiger blood shadow. Huo Yuhao seized the chance immediately. He used Ultimate Ice to stabilize the recording plate, locked onto the underground anchor with his spiritual interference domain, then used the breach burned open by Ma Xiaotao's Evil Fire to drive a spiritual shock into the scorpion tiger blood shadow's core.

Boom!

A violent explosion erupted beneath the old training ground. The anchor of Zhang Peng's soul fragment was utterly destroyed, and Phoenix Flame devoured more than half of the scorpion tiger blood shadow. In the distance, Xuan Lao's pressure descended like a mountain range, and the black mist finally began to collapse.

Zhang Peng did not continue the fight. His chilling voice came from deep within the black mist:

"Huo Yuhao, Wang Qiu'er... The Holy Spirit Cult will not let either of you go."

The black mist receded, and more than half of the evil soul masters were dead or wounded.

When Ma Xiaotao landed, her red robes fluttered and a smile still lingered on her lips. But Huo Yuhao's Spirit Eyes clearly saw that the Phoenix Flame behind her had not subsided. Instead, it burned darker and hotter—the baleful blood fiend aura from Zhang Peng had bitten into her flames. Ma Xiaotao's steps faltered slightly as she turned, and Huo Yuhao immediately stepped forward. "Sister Xiaotao."

Ma Xiaotao raised a hand and pressed it against his shoulder, as if borrowing strength, yet also as if deliberately leaning close. Her fingertips were scorching hot, and even through his clothes, he could feel the astonishing heat.

"Don't panic." Fine sweat beaded on her forehead, but her voice still carried a smile. "The fire's just a little disobedient."

Dong'er saw Ma Xiaotao's fingertips scorch the fabric at Huo Yuhao's shoulder, and her brows twitched slightly. Qiu'er, meanwhile, said directly, "Her fire is losing control." Ma Xiaotao glanced at Wang Qiu'er, her smile unchanged. "Sharp eyes, little girl."

Huo Yuhao immediately released Ultimate Ice, its icy-blue chill spreading up her arm from her wrist. The moment the Evil Fire touched his ice, it seemed to find the only thing it could latch onto and abruptly coiled around it. Ma Xiaotao's breathing instantly faltered.

The Evil Fire was temporarily restrained, and Ma Xiaotao collapsed weakly into Huo Yuhao's arms. Looking at him, she spoke in a low voice with a faintly enticing huskiness:

"Looks like Xuan Lao was right... You really can help me."

"Senior Brother Bei Bei, please take Sister Xiaotao to Isolation Array No. 3 first." Huo Yuhao stood up. "Zhang Peng's blood fiend aura has retreated, but the destroyed anchor proves he has other arrangements within the academy. I'll investigate first and clear them out as soon as possible."

Huo Yuhao grew increasingly uneasy. Why was there an anchor beneath the old training ground? When had Zhang Peng planted it? What did the time gaps among the shattered sand behind the mountain, the corridor runes, and the interference in the sensing arrays mean? He recalled Bei Bei's earlier judgment: perhaps the Holy Spirit Cult had never been waiting only for Wang Qiu'er. They had been waiting for the moment the Spirit Eyes and golden soul power appeared together.

And now, there was another thread—Ma Xiaotao's Evil Fire. The blood fiend aura Zhang Peng had secretly bitten into her flames was certainly not an impulsive move. He was testing whether Ultimate Ice could suppress multiple forces at once. Huo Yuhao had a feeling that this attack was only the beginning, and Zhang Peng had left behind more than one hook.

Ma Xiaotao lay at the center of the isolation array, her red robes spread around her as Phoenix Flame surged outward layer by layer. Her lips had already been burned pale by the Evil Fire. Huo Yuhao's Ultimate Ice had only temporarily suppressed it; both her body and spiritual power had been badly injured by the Evil Fire. After confirming Shrek's safety, Huo Yuhao returned to Isolation Array No. 3. He sat cross-legged beside Ma Xiaotao, closed his eyes, and opened his Spirit Eyes. Ultimate Ice turned into a fine thread and entered the center of the array, seeking to completely remove the hidden danger of Ma Xiaotao's out-of-control Evil Fire. At once, the heat felt by his Spirit Eyes surged at him like a dark-red tide. It was not a simple soul power rampage, but wicked intent mixed with Zhang Peng's blood fiend aura—biting, corroding, and carrying a restless agitation that made reason burn hot.

Huo Yuhao continued pressing forward with Ultimate Ice. The icy-blue thread entwined the dark-red Evil Fire, stripping the blood fiend aura from the Phoenix Flame inch by inch. Black-red flames exploded within the array, only to be forcibly frozen by Ultimate Ice. The soul tool recording plate lit up, fully recording the frequency of Zhang Peng's blood fiend aura.

Ma Xiaotao gradually awoke. Her shoulders trembled slightly, her fingers gripping the edge of the array platform until her knuckles turned white. Weakly, she called, "Yuhao..."

Huo Yuhao's throat tightened slightly. "Sister Xiaotao, you're awake."

"Looks like the next time my Evil Fire loses control, I'll have to find you again." Ma Xiaotao's lips curved upward.

Huo Yuhao did not think much of it. He put away the soul tool recording plate, but the instant it closed, a new coordinate appeared along the edge of its platinum patterns—southwest of the city, at an abandoned post road.

That was the next hook Zhang Peng had deliberately left behind before his soul fragment retreated.