Infiltrating Rising Sun, Holy Light Remembers Old Friends

The orders from the council hall had been finalized. The nine-person squad each gathered their emotions and prepared to depart.

Outside the window, the sky had only just begun to brighten. Dawn had yet to pierce the heavy clouds, and all of Shrek City remained steeped in silence.

Elder Xuan had already set out first, leading Shrek's veteran elders and powerful upperclassmen toward the border between the Sun Moon Empire and the Heaven Soul Empire. Though the smoke of the main battlefield had yet to rise, everyone knew that before long, border harassment operations would erupt in full force, forcibly drawing away most of the Sun Moon Empire's main forces and tearing open their only sliver of survival.

Nine figures silently departed Shrek Academy, skimming along at low altitude the entire way and avoiding all official roads, checkpoints, and town surveillance zones.

At the very front of the group, Huo Yuhao spread his spiritual sense across ten li, meticulously scouting every danger ahead. At the center of the team, Tang Wulin's green robes fluttered lightly in the wind. He appeared to be merely traveling casually alongside them, but in truth, the vast spiritual domain of the Spirit Domain Realm had silently unfolded, enveloping, isolating, and concealing the auras, soul power fluctuations, and life signs of all nine members.

Huo Yuhao's detection was meant to perceive external things.

Tang Wulin's Spirit Domain was meant to conceal themselves.

One scouted while the other hid. With two god-level spiritual powers backing them up, this infiltration squad's concealment capabilities had already surpassed any infiltration mission of the same level in the original story.

The wind swept past them as the group sped onward, and Tang Wulin's gaze once again inadvertently fell upon the white-clad figure beside him.

Ye Guyi stood tall and moved lightly, her brows carrying an innate holiness and solemn dignity. The holy light of her Divine Angel Martial Soul flowed around her, incomparably pure—warm but not scorching, righteous but not sinister. A faint radiance lingered around her body, possessing a natural power to restrain and suppress all evil, darkness, and wicked soul master energy.

That strand of holy light again.

A faint melancholy stirred in his heart.

Ten thousand years stood between them.

Before his eyes was Ye Guyi of the Unrivaled Tang Sect era, yet the figure that surfaced in his mind was Yue Zhengyu from the Dragon King era—a flamboyant golden-haired youth, forever as passionate as fire.

The same Divine Angel, the same ultimate holy light.

One was quiet and solemn, suppressing evil with her own body. The other was proud and forthright, protecting his friends with light.

If Yue Zhengyu had been born in this era, he surely would have charged into this dragon's pool and tiger's den without hesitation, saving people from fire and water.

Unfortunately, that old friend had long since turned to dust, annihilated amid the artillery fire that destroyed Shrek ten thousand years later.

Tang Wulin exhaled softly, suppressing the loneliness of being separated by ages that surged in his heart.

The old friends were gone, but the present still remained.

He could not reverse the past, but he could protect those before him.

After traveling at high speed, the nine detoured by sea, completely avoiding the Sun Moon Empire's heavily defended land borders. They silently entered Sun Moon territory and settled in a small frontier town outside Rising Sun City.

According to the original plan, they rested after arriving and immediately divided up to gather intelligence.

Jing Ziyan's smoke martial soul excelled at stealth and reconnaissance. As night approached, she took Ji Juechen into the city first. Using smoke to conceal themselves, they quietly set up interference soul tools and mapped out the city's patrol patterns, mech shift rotations, and the locations of hidden sentries.

Ji Juechen's sword heart was clear and his senses sharp. No killing intent, restraint, or ambush could escape his sword intent's detection. Together, the two made a nearly perfect stealth reconnaissance team.

The rest remained hidden outside the city, waiting for the intelligence to return.

Night completely blanketed the earth, and Rising Sun City's enormous outline glimmered with a cold metallic sheen beneath the darkness.

There was not the slightest trace of ordinary life in this city. It had been constructed entirely for military use. Smooth, hard alloy walls towered overhead, packed with detection soul tool arrays, warning soul cannons, and thermal capture devices. Soul tool military units constantly patrolled the skies at low altitude, and the hum of machinery could faintly be heard from several li away.

Severe, cold, oppressive, airtight.

It was indeed a prison fortress carefully built by Xu Tianran.

"Rising Sun City has three layers of defenses inside and out. Mechs, soul engineers, and regular military corps rotate in overlapping shifts, maintaining vigilance without a single blind spot."

Jing Ziyan and Ji Juechen silently returned, bringing precise intelligence.

"There are too many soul power detection devices in the city. An ordinary soul master would be exposed the instant they approached."

Bei Bei nodded slightly, his expression grave. "It matches the intelligence from the original story. Rising Sun City itself is both a prison and a trap."

Huo Yuhao's gaze turned faintly cold as he spread his spiritual power to its limit, penetrating the thick city walls and probing deep into the city.

The next instant, his brows abruptly furrowed, and shock and pain flashed through his eyes.

"I found... a Holy Spirit Cult stronghold."

Everyone immediately focused.

"Deep in the western dungeons, there is an evil soul master with ultimate dark attribute power imprisoned in chains. Her dark aura is overwhelming, but her remaining consciousness is weak... It's Senior Sister Ma Xiaotao."

The entire team's expressions changed at once.

Once a Shrek genius, a leading figure of the inner courtyard, and a core member of the Tang Sect, she had now become an evil soul prisoner imprisoned by the Holy Spirit Cult. It was truly heartbreaking.

"Besides that, I have already located the underground water prison." Huo Yuhao suppressed his emotions and continued in a deep voice. "All the competition hostages are imprisoned in a water cell one hundred meters underground. Soul-Annihilating Powder fills the water. Everyone's soul power has been sealed, their bodies are weak, and they are completely incapable of resisting."

The intelligence matched perfectly.

Next came the push forward.

Huo Yuhao decided to infiltrate alone in the dead of night, risk contacting Ma Xiaotao, and try to awaken her remaining consciousness, hoping to turn her into an informant on their side.

Tang Wulin silently watched Huo Yuhao set off and did not stop him.

He knew the plot well. He knew this was the only key to breaking the deadlock in the rescue mission.

After Huo Yuhao left, the night was quiet. Tang Wulin stood silently beneath the eaves of a house in the small town, his gaze once more falling upon Ye Guyi, who stood quietly in the distance.

Holy light flowed around the young woman, clear and pure, steadily suppressing the faint dark and evil aura drifting around them.

Another moment of daze.

Yue Zhengyu's figure, Ye Xinglan's sharpness, Xie Xie's cunning, Xu Xiaoyan's gentleness, Xu Lizhi's honesty...

One familiar face after another flashed through his heart like a revolving lantern.

Friends from ten thousand years ago—none remained.

Only he drifted alone through ancient and modern times.

"Brother Tang."

Sensing the fluctuation in his emotions, Ye Guyi spoke softly. "You seem... to have something weighing heavily on your mind."

Tang Wulin came back to himself, concealed all the weariness of countless years, and gently shook his head. His eyes turned toward the distant, icy Rising Sun City.

"I merely remembered some old friends."

Old friends he would never see again.

Ye Guyi seemed to understand, though not entirely. She nodded slightly and asked no more. Only the holy light around her grew warmer, silently protecting the area around them.

Tang Wulin raised his eyes. The melancholy in them faded completely, leaving only determination.

My old friends are gone. I will guard the road ahead.

Today, I wear Dragon Moon Whisper and command the Spirit Domain.

The pain of destruction from the past will never happen again.

Tonight—

We infiltrate Rising Sun, secretly gain an informant, and save the people!

The night was thick as ink as Huo Yuhao set out alone, silently making his way toward the Holy Spirit Cult stronghold on the western side of Rising Sun City.

Tang Wulin remained in the small town, his Spirit Domain continuously covering the outskirts and concealing the auras of those left behind. The moment a large-scale soul power fluctuation appeared in the city, he would sense it immediately.

Ye Guyi stood quietly to one side, faint holy light circling her body as she remained alert to the evil soul aura drifting through the air. Whenever Tang Wulin's gaze inadvertently swept over that pure holy light, Yue Zhengyu's figure would pass through his mind. That melancholy spanning ages lingered stubbornly in his heart, but he never revealed even a trace of it to anyone.

Inside the city, layer upon layer of soul tool warning devices covered the streets and alleys.

Huo Yuhao silently froze the ground's sensory array patterns with his Ultimate Ice. He compressed his spiritual detection to the limit, avoiding patrol after patrol of mechs and soul engineer squads as he smoothly infiltrated deep into the Holy Spirit Cult stronghold.

The dungeon was cold and damp, and a dense aura of dark flames rushed toward him.

Thick Mysterious Iron chains pierced through four limbs, firmly binding a fiery red figure.

Ma Xiaotao's long hair was disheveled, and black evil light glimmered deep in her eyes. Her Dark Phoenix Martial Soul constantly spilled violent evil energy outward. The Holy Spirit Cult continuously eroded her consciousness through wicked methods, wearing away at her original heart day after day.

"Senior Sister Xiaotao."

Huo Yuhao called softly.

Ma Xiaotao abruptly raised her head. Black flames swept over her body, carrying a violent intent to destroy everything. "Get out! Every outsider must be burned to ashes by me!"

Rampaging Dark Phoenix flames rushed at him. Huo Yuhao had been prepared. Undead magic slowly unfolded, and gentle spiritual power continuously seeped in, awakening again and again the memories buried deep in her mind—memories of Shrek and the Tang Sect.

He kept speaking of the academy's old days, of Elder Mu and Bei Bei, and of the times they had cultivated and fought side by side.

The fierce struggle continued for a long time. The black flames around Ma Xiaotao flickered between bright and dim. Her mad killing intent gradually subsided, and the blackness in her eyes slowly faded, revealing a trace of weak clarity.

"Huo Yuhao... it's you..."

Her voice was hoarse and filled with endless pain. "I'm about to lose control of myself. The Holy Spirit Cult wants to use this Dark Phoenix power of mine to create a weapon of slaughter."

"I came to seek your help," Huo Yuhao said bluntly. "Several hundred participating soul masters from various nations are imprisoned in the underground water prison, suffering from Soul-Annihilating Powder. We plan to rescue them. If you cooperate with us, our chances of success will greatly improve."

Ma Xiaotao fell silent for a moment before gritting her teeth. "The power I have left is limited. The Holy Spirit Cult has two Titled Elder-level experts stationed here. I cannot openly rebel against them. But I can secretly relay the water prison's shift changes and defensive weaknesses. When necessary, I will move to stop those two elders and buy time for your breakout."

The two secretly finalized their plan for an inside informant and agreed upon the signal to use when the operation began.

After their brief discussion ended, Huo Yuhao did not linger. He silently withdrew from the dungeon and returned all the way to the small town outside the city.

Upon seeing the others, he immediately recounted the agreement he had reached with Ma Xiaotao.

Bei Bei's expression relaxed somewhat. "With Ma Xiaotao as an inside informant, our chances of success have increased by several degrees. Now, we carry out the next stage of the plan."

He Caitou began checking the various soul tool bombs he carried, planning their detonation points. Once the battle began, they would create chaos throughout the city and divide the defending forces. Xu Sanshi analyzed the structure of the underground waterways beneath the water prison, considering how to open an escape route. Jing Ziyan and Ji Juechen entered the city once more to confirm the exact timing of the night guards' shift change.

Tang Wulin stood to one side, quietly listening to everyone's arrangements. His Three-Word Battle Armor, Dragon Moon Whisper, lay dormant within him, ready to manifest at any moment. The spiritual power of his Spirit Domain Realm continued to spread, covering the entire area and preventing any sudden reconnaissance.

He knew clearly that this was merely the prelude.

Xu Tianran had laid down a net from which none could escape. Rising Sun City had been a trap from the start. When the hostages prepared to break out, the true bloody battle would finally erupt.

The prison closed its net, and Dragon Moon gave its first cry.

The night was deep, and the appointed time for the operation arrived as scheduled.

Jing Ziyan and Ji Juechen returned from the city once more, bringing the latest shift-change intelligence. It matched the information Ma Xiaotao had secretly relayed without the slightest discrepancy.

"Begin the operation!" Bei Bei shouted in a low voice.

He Caitou's figure flickered as dozens of specially made interference soul tool bombs silently separated from him. Under the cover of night, he threw them toward the four gates of Rising Sun City, the mech rest camps, and the vicinity of the soul tool energy cores.

Boom! Boom!

A continuous series of explosions erupted, and flames soared into the sky, tearing apart the night. The violent impacts disrupted the citywide detection soul tool arrays. Large numbers of patrolling mechs and defenders were drawn toward the explosions, rushing over in panic. Countless gaps were instantly torn open in the city's defenses.

"Move!"

Using the chaos as cover, the nine figures swiftly rushed into Rising Sun City.

Tang Wulin's vast Spirit Domain fully expanded. An invisible barrier enveloped everyone, isolating their life auras and soul power fluctuations as they avoided the remaining warning devices. Huo Yuhao's spiritual detection spread in fine detail, guiding their route as they sped directly toward the underground water prison.

Inside the underground water prison, murky lake water glimmered with faint dark light, and Soul-Annihilating Powder continued to diffuse through it. Several hundred hostages soaked weakly in the water. After days of medicinal erosion, most of them found even lifting a hand incomparably difficult.

Over the previous days, Huo Yuhao had slowly mixed the antidote into the lake water through the flow of water. Its effects were gradually taking hold. Feeling the restraints inside their bodies loosen, hope ignited in the eyes of the imprisoned soul masters.

"Everyone, we are from the Tang Sect and Shrek, here to rescue you. Follow us when we break out shortly!" Bei Bei transmitted in a low voice.

The hostages suppressed their excitement and silently waited for the order to escape.

Xu Sanshi activated his martial soul. Heavy water-element power surged forth, altering the underground passages beneath the water prison and opening a route for everyone to evacuate.

Everything proceeded in an orderly fashion. It appeared that the rescue operation was about to be successfully completed.

Just as most of the hostages rose to their feet and prepared to withdraw through the passage.

Buzz—

The entire ground of Rising Sun City shook violently, and countless bright lights abruptly flared from every direction.

A cold, mocking voice rang throughout the entire underground prison. "Little ones of Shrek and the Tang Sect, do you truly believe you can take away the pieces I have prepared so easily?"

Xu Tianran's voice spread in all directions through soul tool amplifiers.

"From the moment you entered Rising Sun City, you had already fallen into my trap."

The Sun Moon Empire's heavily armored corps, which had lain in ambush for a long time, surged in from all sides alongside large numbers of high-ranking soul engineers. Above them, more than a hundred mechs sealed every escape route. Two figures radiating terrifying pressure slowly stepped forward. They were the two Titled Elder-level experts stationed here by the Holy Spirit Cult.

The trap had fully closed its net.

"This is bad!" Bei Bei's face darkened. "We still underestimated Xu Tianran's scheming!"

Ma Xiaotao's figure suddenly charged out from the side. Black Dark Phoenix flames swept outward as she faced the two Holy Spirit Cult Titled Elders head-on.

"I'll hold them off! Hurry and lead everyone out!"

The raging black flames collided with evil soul power, shaking loose rubble from the tunnel ceiling. But Ma Xiaotao had suffered long-term corrosion from evil power, leaving her in an incomplete state. Facing two enemies alone, she quickly fell into a disadvantage and was forced back step by step.

"Split up!" Bei Bei gave the order swiftly. "Yuhao, lead the hostages out through the waterways! He Caitou, keep detonating soul tools to contain the enemy forces! Ji Juechen, Jing Ziyan, Ye Guyi, come with me and stop the pursuers from the front! Brother Tang, I'm counting on you to protect the escape route and hold back the mech formations!"

"Leave it to me."

Golden light burst from Tang Wulin's eyes.

With a thought, brilliant golden-blue streams of light surged from his body. The Three-Word Battle Armor, Dragon Moon Whisper, instantly covered his entire body. Dragon patterns wound around the armor, flowing across its surface like ripples in water. The armor forged from the fusion of eight rare metals released immense pressure.

The only Three-Word Battle Armor in the world appeared. Golden dragon might spread outward, making many low-ranking soul masters and mech pilots tremble inwardly.

The surrounding Sun Moon soul engineers cried out instinctively. "What kind of top-grade soul tool armor is that? We've never seen such a design!"

No one knew of the battle armor system. Everyone still regarded Dragon Moon Whisper as a one-of-a-kind custom soul tool armor.

Tang Wulin leaped to the exit of the escape passage, facing the mech formation swarming toward him.

Golden Dragon Shakes the Earth!

His foot slammed heavily down. Golden dragon-shaped soul power shook the ground, causing several mechs at the very front to lose balance and overturn. Dense cracks spread across their alloy shells.

Countless soul tool beams densely bombarded his body, all striking the surface of Dragon Moon Whisper. They produced only sparks, unable to leave even the slightest mark.

Ye Guyi fully unleashed her Divine Angel Martial Soul. Endless holy light poured forth, purifying the evil souls charging toward them. Wherever the holy light passed, evil soul masters screamed one after another. That pure radiance entered Tang Wulin's vision, causing his heart to waver again as he remembered Yue Zhengyu ten thousand years later. He gathered his thoughts in an instant. This was no time for remembrance.

Ji Juechen drew his longsword. Supreme sword intent condensed into a single line, sword light flashing in every direction as he continuously cut down soul engineers attempting to circle around and intercept them. Jing Ziyan released smoke across a wide area, obscuring the enemy's vision and splitting their formation apart.

On the other side, Huo Yuhao escorted the large group of hostages out at high speed. Flying soul tools had long been prepared on the outskirts. Batch after batch of hostages boarded the aircraft and scattered toward the Heaven Soul Empire.

But at that moment, Nan Qiuqiu shouted anxiously, "My mother, Nan Shuishui, isn't in the water prison!"

The words struck like thunder, and everyone's hearts sank.

Huo Yuhao's brows furrowed as his spiritual power expanded wildly to search. At last, he spoke in a deep voice. "A Holy Spirit Cult elder took Nan Shuishui away separately. She isn't in this area!"

Most of the hostages had escaped successfully, but Nan Shuishui remained in enemy hands.

"I'll go find her!" Nan Qiuqiu's eyes reddened, and she refused to retreat just like that.

Huo Yuhao struggled inwardly before finally gritting his teeth. "I'll go with you!"

"Yuhao!" Bei Bei called out loudly to stop him. "It's too dangerous to stay behind!"

"We can't abandon Nan Qiuqiu's mother."

Huo Yuhao had made up his mind. The two left the main group and returned to the city to search for Nan Shuishui.

Tang Wulin caught their movement from the corner of his eye and wanted to break free to support them. But a large number of mechs and high-ranking soul engineers had him tightly entangled, their attacks unceasing. He could not easily disengage at all. He could only activate Dragon Moon Whisper with all his strength, unleashing Golden Dragon Sweeps Its Tail and Golden Dragon Roar in succession. Dragon roars shook the enemy's minds as he firmly guarded the passage, covering the remaining hostages' retreat.

Large numbers of hostages boarded the flying soul tools and departed one after another, but the encirclement tightened ever further. Ma Xiaotao had expended too much strength, and her Dark Phoenix flames continued to weaken. Ye Guyi's holy light poured forth continuously, draining her soul power severely. Ji Juechen and Jing Ziyan had already been wounded.

The entire battlefield had fallen into a desperate situation.

Just as Huo Yuhao prepared to burn his own sea of spirit, cover Nan Qiuqiu as she searched for Nan Shuishui, and fight to the death as their rearguard.

A brilliant golden streak of light tore across the distant heavens.

The Golden Dragon Spear descended through the air, carrying supreme dragon might. Its spearpoint struck the ground, blasting open the layers of enemies surrounding them.

Wang Qiu'er, clad in a golden dress, slowly descended from the clouds. Her cold gaze swept over the battlefield.

"Huo Yuhao."

Reinforcements had arrived, tearing open a path to survival amid their desperate plight.

The battle had reached a turning point, but the danger was far from gone. Xu Tianran still commanded from the rear, the Holy Spirit Cult's threat had not been eradicated, and Nan Shuishui's whereabouts remained unknown.