The Might of the Sun Moon Divine Needle, Wounding Xuan Zi

Xuan Zi glared at Ye Yulin and Zheng Zhan, the two Titled Douluo, his eyes blazing with fury. Especially when he noticed that they subtly regarded Yan Jingchuan as their leader, he could not help but curse loudly:

"You damned little bastard! How dare you defect to the Sun Moon Empire! How can you face Shao Zhe and your mother? How can you face Shrek? This old man will definitely kill you and purge the filth from Shrek!"

Nine soul rings—yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black, red—rose into the air. Behind Xuan Zi, the phantom of a creature with a goat's body, a human face, eyes beneath its armpits, tiger fangs, and human claws grew increasingly solid.

"Seventh Soul Skill, Taotie Avatar!"

The Taotie phantom threw back its head and roared. Just as Xuan Zi was about to charge forward again, countless crimson beads spread across the battlefield, forming a great formation that enveloped everyone within it.

"Shrek! You have gone too far!! Do you really think the Sun Moon Empire can be bullied however you please?"

Wang Yiheng activated his Martial Soul Avatar. Mad Bull stood amid blazing flames as the Blazing Heavenly Net Formation, a Level-Nine soul tool centered around him, was fully activated.

Even with the support of a Level-Nine soul tool, Wang Yiheng was no match for Xuan Zi.

A normal level-ninety-four Titled Douluo and a level-ninety-eight Hyper Douluo were worlds apart. The gap could not be erased by an ordinary Level-Nine soul tool.

The only reason he dared to rashly fight Xuan Zi was because Ye Yulin and Zheng Zhan were present. He refused to believe that the three of them together could not deal with one Xuan Zi.

It was a beautiful thought, but Ye Yulin and Zheng Zhan had no intention of helping him.

Wang Yiheng collided with Xuan Zi, and shockwaves rippled outward. The Ming Dou Mountains trembled slightly.

Those in the White Tiger Legion below Soul Sage rank could not even keep their footing. The soul cannons and tents throughout their position were all blown into the air.

A figure flew backward. Unsurprisingly, it was Wang Yiheng.

He crashed before the Evil Lord Soul Engineer Legion's formation and spat out blood. With great difficulty, he raised his head toward Ye Yulin and Zheng Zhan.

"Why aren't you attacking!? Are you just going to watch Shrek humiliate and look down on the Sun Moon Empire like this?"

Ye Yulin and Zheng Zhan said nothing. Their duty was to protect Yan Jingchuan and the others, and without orders, they would not intervene.

Besides, they believed in Yan Jingchuan's arrangements. They knew he would not remain idle forever.

Seeing that the two of them would not even acknowledge him, Wang Yiheng, overwhelmed by fury, ordered the Evil Lord Soul Engineer Legion behind him.

"Evil Lord Soul Engineer Legion, heed my command! Attack!!"

Xuan Zi was utterly disdainful. As a purebred Shrek man, he despised soul tools more than anything and intended to take on the entire Evil Lord Soul Engineer Legion alone.

"Elder Xuan! Elder Xuan! Stop!"

Zhang Lexuan struggled to her feet in a sorry state. She knew they absolutely could not let the army make a move. If mishandled, this could turn into a war.

Yan Jingchuan shared Zhang Lexuan's stance on this matter.

He was not afraid of war truly breaking out. It simply was not the right time yet.

Yan Jingchuan gave Zheng Zhan a meaningful look. Zheng Zhan understood at once and stepped in front of Wang Yiheng.

"Calm down! Everyone, stop!"

Wang Yiheng was furious and unwilling, but Zheng Zhan was extremely forceful. Coupled with Wang Yiheng's severe injuries, he was forcibly restrained.

Xuan Zi was likewise held back by Zhang Lexuan. No matter how she tried to reason with him, the irrational Xuan Zi refused to listen, insisting on teaching the Sun Moon Empire a lesson. In the end, Zhang Lexuan had to invoke Mu En's name before she managed to suppress him.

After placating the utterly unreasonable Xuan Zi, Zhang Lexuan turned toward Yan Jingchuan.

"Jingchuan, why did you join the Sun Moon Empire? Come back, all right? As long as you return, Elder Xuan will surely forgive you. Elder Mu and Dean Cai are both very worried about you."

Looking down at Zhang Lexuan's pitiful, pleading expression, as though she were thinking entirely for his sake, Yan Jingchuan shook his head. He understood that she could not be saved.

Zhang Lexuan, one of the rare normal people in Shrek, the senior sister of the inner court, someone Yan Jingchuan had once thought highly of, had ultimately been brainwashed into Shrek's loyal slave over more than a decade.

Yan Jingchuan did not find Zhang Lexuan as disgusting as the other Shrek people. On the contrary, he deeply sympathized with her childhood experiences.

When Zhang Lexuan was young, her family was persecuted and wiped out. Fortunately, she escaped. Later, she knelt and begged Mu En to avenge her. Mu En agreed, but his conditions were absurd: not only did she have to protect Shrek for the rest of her life, she also had to become Bei Bei's child bride.

The former was one thing, but the latter required Zhang Lexuan to become a child bride for a little boy. It was astounding that Mu En, a Limit Douluo, could even think of such a thing.

No wonder so many conspiracy theories had existed in his previous life, claiming that Mu En had been behind the massacre of Zhang Lexuan's family. It was not an unjust suspicion at all.

It was as though Mu En had deliberately caused her family's destruction in order to bind the talented Zhang Lexuan to Shrek, forcing her into a desperate corner where she had no choice but to beg him for help. It was exactly Shrek's utterly hypocritical style.

Thinking of this, Yan Jingchuan could not help looking down at Zhang Lexuan with pity.

As Zhang Lexuan met Yan Jingchuan's gaze, she naturally saw what his eyes contained. Though she did not understand it, an inexplicable stab of pain pierced her heart.

"Elder Xuan, are you determined to offend the Sun Moon Empire?"

No longer paying attention to Zhang Lexuan, Yan Jingchuan gave Xuan Zi one final confirmation.

"So what if I am! This old man simply looks down on the Sun Moon Empire's lot, relying on those petty tricks with soul tools!"

Xuan Zi was arrogant to the extreme. Pointing at Yan Jingchuan's nose, he shouted:

"And you, don't think two Titled Douluo can protect you. Get down here and accept your death obediently. This old man may even grant you a swift death."

Being called a little bastard again and again, Yan Jingchuan stopped Xiao Hongchen, who wanted to speak up for him. He did not seem angry at all.

"Since that is the case, I can only offer you a great gift. Elder Ye, make your move. Let him see whether soul tools are truly nothing more than petty tricks."

Ye Yulin smiled faintly. High in the sky, the Sun Moon Divine Needle, which had been concealed for so long, finally revealed itself completely.

"Putting on a show!"

Ignorance made Xuan Zi fearless as he prepared to seize Yan Jingchuan by force. He had already planned it out: first break Yan Jingchuan's limbs, cripple his Martial Soul, then bring him back to Shrek and torture him properly.

As his soul power surged, a sense of mortal danger suddenly descended.

How could this be!? How could three mere ordinary Titled Douluo make a mighty level-ninety-eight expert like me feel my life was in danger?

It must be another illusion created by some soul tool. It is all a lie! It has to be!

The next instant, the Sun Moon Divine Needle fired a golden beam directly at Xuan Zi.

The beam descended from the heavens!

The earth-shaking blast swiftly exceeded the limits of human hearing, leaving only intermittent fine static and ringing ears.

The defensive soul tools on Yan Jingchuan and the others activated one after another, ranging from Level Seven to Level Nine. Barriers of every color enveloped them.

Ye Yulin and Zheng Zhan took them away at top speed.

The Ming Dou Mountains shook violently as rocks shattered and flew everywhere.

The golden beam pierced heaven and earth, and for a time, the entire world fell silent.

"My god! Is this the power of the Sun Moon Divine Needle...?"

Jing Ziyan could not help turning back, her eyes filled with shock.

The others stopped at the Evil Lord Soul Engineer Legion's position and looked back toward the site of the incident, all of them staring wide-eyed with their mouths agape.

Yan Jingchuan had not expected the Sun Moon Divine Needle to be this powerful. He even felt that its current might was already close to that of a Level-Nine Fixed-Installation Soul Cannon.

Even if that blast could not kill Xuan Zi, it would still be enough to make him suffer badly.

And there was the White Tiger Legion. After taking a hit like that, their position definitely could not be preserved. How many people had survived was still unknown.

The golden beam faded and slowly disappeared. The explosion gradually subsided, while the hurricane caused by the aftershock blew everyone around unsteadily.

"Let's go take a look!"

Filled with intense curiosity, Yan Jingchuan was the first to fly over.

Everyone followed him back into the air above the White Tiger Legion's encampment.

A massive crater nearly thirty li wide appeared before them all.

At the bottom of the crater, the bedraggled Xuan Zi knelt on one knee. His clothes were in tatters, his body covered in wounds, and he appeared completely dazed.

"Looks like that old bastard was blown senseless."

Too lazy to continue pretending to be a polite, well-behaved child, Yan Jingchuan casually called Xuan Zi an old bastard.

Xuan Zi surviving was within Yan Jingchuan's expectations. After all, however weak he might be, he was still a level-ninety-eight Hyper Douluo.

If he truly wanted to kill him, he would probably still need a Level-Nine Fixed-Installation Soul Cannon.

Still, Yan Jingchuan was somewhat disappointed that Xuan Zi had not lost an arm or a leg. That old bastard was fully equipped with soul bones, after all.

Looking around, Yan Jingchuan spotted Dai Hao.

One arm and one leg had been blown off completely. Dai Hao lay sprawled on the ground like a dead dog, and it was unknown whether he was still breathing.