Three great powers converged-just who was he?

Zhao Wuji trembled all over, his bell-sized eyes filled with unprecedented shock and terror. He grabbed Flender, whose face beside him was ashen:

"Flender!! Did you see that clearly? That's Chrysanthemum Douluo!! A trusted elder of Spirit Hall's Pope's Hall! He's actually protecting Su Chen in secret himself! Su Chen... just who is Su Chen?"

Flender clenched his teeth, the muscles in his face twitching violently. Only now did he fully understand what the Shadow Guard who had effortlessly shattered Li Yusong's Dragon Pattern Staff outside Shrek Academy yesterday truly represented.

The Pope's Hall had intervened directly, with a Titled Douluo accompanying him as his protector. Yet Shrek had actually dreamed of keeping such a true dragon in that ramshackle village by force. What an absurd joke!!

High above, the golden petals filling the sky slowly drew together.

Tang Hao's massive body was blasted backward more than a hundred feet through the air. He took several steps against empty space before barely steadying himself.

The old injuries he had suppressed for more than a decade suddenly surged out of control under that all-out collision. Blood rose in his throat, and he forcibly swallowed a mouthful of dark, stagnant blood.

"Yue Guan!! Does Spirit Hall truly intend to fight my Clear Sky Sect to the death?!" Tang Hao's eyes were bloodshot as he gripped the trembling Clear Sky Hammer, his killing intent almost taking solid form.

Yue Guan stood in midair, his long, slender fingers gently toying with the Heavenly Chrysanthemum suspended before him. A mocking, ruthless smile curled his lips. "Tang Hao, by secret order of His Holiness the Pope, Young Master Su Chen is Spirit Hall's most honored guest. With me here today, if you dare touch a single hair on his head, I wouldn't mind settling our old scores once and for all here in the Star Dou Great Forest!!"

The auras of the two Titled Douluo tore savagely at each other in midair, and the raging energy storm turned the center of the gorge into a forbidden zone for all living things.

At the very bottom of the storm, Yu Xiaogang, who had long since collapsed on the ground, was crushed beneath that world-destroying divine might. His frail body was hurled dozens of meters away like a scrap of cloth.

The violent sonic boom instantly ruptured both his eardrums, sending blood gushing out. Under the crushing pressure, the ribs in his chest shifted and shattered one after another, leaving him convulsing on the brink of death!

"Xiaogang!!"

Just as the shock waves were about to tear Yu Xiaogang apart completely, an utterly savage dragon's roar erupted from deep within the distant forest!!

A raging bolt of blue-violet lightning as thick as a water vat tore through the clouds. Accompanied by deafening thunder, the phantom of a colossal dragon wreathed in blazing lightning charged across the sky and forced its way into the storm's edge. An enormous claw covered in dragon scales swept down, snatching the dying Yu Xiaogang and Tang San back from death's threshold by the narrowest margin!!

The lightning dispersed, revealing a middle-aged man in dark blue robes standing before the two of them, his face imposing yet touched by age.

Eight Soul Rings flashed violently around him, and his right arm had transformed completely into a ferocious Thunder Dragon Claw. He was none other than the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's second-in-command... Yu Luomian!!

Yu Luomian had weathered one of the collision's shock waves head-on. His blood and energy churned violently within him, and lingering terror filled his face.

Now, the auras of the supreme experts from the continent's three greatest powers-the Clear Sky Sect, Spirit Hall, and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan-collided thunderously within this tiny gorge, their murderous presence shooting straight into the highest heavens!

Tang Hao's icy gaze swept over Yue Guan, then glanced at Yu Luomian, whose aura was in disarray. Finally, it settled on Su Chen, who had remained composed from beginning to end, like a sovereign gazing down upon the mortal world.

He knew his old injuries were far too severe. If he fought Chrysanthemum Douluo, who was at full strength, to the death here, not only would he fail to kill Su Chen, but Tang San would certainly die as well.

Just as Tang Hao prepared to force his way out with the others, Tang San, who had lain lifelessly in his arms all this time, suddenly began emitting a chilling aura of death that made the heart quail!!

It was an unknown, drastic transformation born of absolute despair and towering envy, deeply catalyzed by the Divine Slaughter's Domain...

The trash martial soul Blue Silver Grass, which had become withered, yellow, and shriveled after absorbing a ten-year Deadwood Vine, now burst wildly out of Tang San's body.

Infused with scarlet killing intent, the fragile blades turned entirely black, as dark as the abyss. Rows of tiny, sinister barbs sprouted along their edges, radiating an evil, baleful aura that hungered to devour the flesh and blood of living beings!

Dark devouring mutation!

Sensing the twisted, vicious, evil vitality within Tang San, Tang Hao's pupils contracted, and resolve and madness filled his face. Since Su Chen had utterly severed the path of a righteous prodigy, the only choice left was to enter that Asura deathland of mountains of corpses and seas of blood!!

He seized Tang San, his cold voice exploding beside Tang San's ear. "Go! Come with me... to Slaughter City!"

Boom!!

Black light blazed from the Clear Sky Hammer, tearing through space. Carrying Tang San, who had fallen completely into darkness, Tang Hao became a streak of bloody light and vanished beyond the horizon in the blink of an eye.

Seeing this, Yu Luomian dared not linger another moment either. He shot a vicious glare at Flender and Zhao Wuji, who were watching from afar, grabbed the already unconscious Yu Xiaogang, and fled in panic as a streak of lightning.

By now, the once-arrogant Shrek faction had utterly fallen apart, retreating in disgrace like dogs driven from their homes.

The storm dispersed, and deathly silence returned to the gorge.

The golden chrysanthemums filling the sky quietly faded away, and Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan drifted down several dozen feet in front of Su Chen.

The Titled Douluo whose name resounded across the continent offered no further words. He withdrew all his effeminate, savage aura and nodded slightly to Su Chen with a solemn expression. Placing his right hand over his chest, he performed Spirit Hall's highest secret salute, reserved for its most exalted divine sons. Then his figure warped like a phantom, and he silently vanished once more into the shadows of the void.

Su Chen stood on the bluestone, his expression as composed as ever. With a slight movement of his fingertips, the eight imposing Dark-Gold Dragon Spider Spears behind him became eight streaks of light and slid smoothly back into the bones of his spine, leaving only eight faint golden markings on the back of his white robe.

Just then, the treetops of the dense forest ahead stirred slightly, and a charming, nimble figure came leaping over on supple vines.

Dressed in a short pink-and-white dress, Xiao Wu landed gracefully before Su Chen.

The girl's aura was seamless and condensed. Three dazzling Soul Rings-two yellow and one purple-circled up and down around her feet, while she kept the pressure of a level thirty-one close-combat Soul Elder fully contained.

At the sight of the devastation strewn across the ground, a trace of worry appeared in Xiao Wu's eyes. But when her gaze met Su Chen's deep, gentle Purple-Gold Double Pupils, all her fear turned into wholehearted affection.

"Brother Su Chen!" Xiao Wu hurried forward and naturally linked her arm through his, gently resting her little head against his shoulder.

Su Chen raised his hand, his long fingers gently slipping through the girl's smooth Scorpion Braid as he stroked her hair. All the coldness in his eyes melted into tenderness. "Did your breakthrough go smoothly?"

"Yes!! I'm a Soul Elder now too! From now on, I can help you beat up bad guys, Brother!!" Xiao Wu tilted up her delicate, fair face and smiled sweetly, her eyes filled with unreserved trust and admiration.