The Phoenix Shatters, and Everyone Turns Against Him

Boom!

With a muffled explosion, Black Dragon Douluo Qian Duoduo flew straight out of the restaurant's top floor.

He slammed heavily into the street.

"How is that possible?"

"How is that possible?"

Qian Duoduo climbed to his feet and stared toward the restaurant's top floor, his eyes full of shock and disbelief.

His peak level-eight Soul Tool had crumpled so easily before Heavenly Fiend Douluo.

With one punch, the man had shattered the Spatial Barrier and overwhelmed him as well.

Qian Duoduo had tried to use the Soul Tool to move Heavenly Fiend Douluo, only to find he could not budge him an inch.

He was a Titled Douluo himself, and that Soul Tool was almost level nine, yet it had done nothing to Heavenly Fiend Douluo.

Was the gap between them really that vast?

If the man had not held back, Qian Duoduo would already have been crippled.

In that instant, he had truly felt death closing in.

Qian Duoduo was right: Huang Jinxu had held back.

The reason was simple. Earlier, when Huang Jinxu had scanned the area with his Spiritual Power, he had noticed Qian Duoduo quietly forming a Spatial Barrier beside his daughter.

Qian Duoduo had clearly meant to protect her. Otherwise, when he tried to stop Huang Jinxu, that punch would not have struck the Soul Tool. It would have landed squarely on him.

The time Qian Duoduo had bought finally let Yan Shaozhe react. He activated Martial Soul Possession.

The power of a level-ninety-five Super Douluo burst forth.

Being driven back by Huang Jinxu's single blow had been a terrible humiliation for Yan Shaozhe.

But he did not believe Heavenly Fiend Douluo was simply that strong. The man had caught him off guard, and he had not activated Martial Soul Possession in time. That was all.

Now that he had activated it, he refused to believe Heavenly Fiend Douluo could bring him down in one move.

Besides, all the senior figures of Shrek Academy stood beside him. Yan Shaozhe did not believe Huang Jinxu would dare hurt him again under these circumstances.

In fact, he hoped Huang Jinxu would attack. Then there would be no explaining away anything he did next.

When that happened, Huang Jinxu would never become master of the Sea God Pavilion.

"The Bright Phoenix is such a magnificent Beast Martial Soul, yet it ended up with a useless fool like you."

"In that case, it has no reason to exist."

Seeing Yan Shaozhe complete his Martial Soul Possession, Huang Jinxu smiled faintly. His expression remained unchanged, but as he spoke, his power erupted.

Boundless Stellar Power and gravity that reversed again and again struck Yan Shaozhe head-on.

Boom!

A dull crash rang out. Much of the restaurant collapsed, blood streamed from all seven of Yan Shaozhe's orifices, and his Bright Phoenix Martial Soul shattered on the spot.

He was crippled.

That punch had not only grievously injured him and broken most of the bones in his body; it had destroyed his Martial Soul outright.

Nor had the crushing blow sent Yan Shaozhe flying. It held him in place and forced him to take its full force, with no chance to bleed off the impact.

To prevent Yan Shaozhe from using his Martial Soul's unusual properties to heal and reform it, Huang Jinxu had also transferred all the power he had kept restrained against Huo Yuhao onto Yan Shaozhe as he struck.

That severed any possibility of Yan Shaozhe recovering and becoming a Soul Master again.

It had all happened too suddenly.

Aside from Yan Shaozhe, who had already been preparing to use his Martial Soul against Nan Qiuqiu, and Qian Duoduo, who had been preparing to stop him, none of the other Titled Douluo had reacted.

Even Divine Eagle Douluo and Taotie Douluo, whose cultivation was highest among those present, had failed to react in time.

Just like that, Yan Shaozhe had been crippled.

"Qiuqiu, you've suffered all these years."

After crippling Yan Shaozhe, Huang Jinxu ignored everyone else and went straight to his daughter. He looked at her, his face full of apology and guilt.

Another fight might break out, so he had to bring her under his protection at once.

"Dad... Daddy..."

As Nan Qiuqiu watched him come toward her and felt the affection she had longed for day and night, she could no longer hold back her tears.

She burst into sobs.

Mom never lied to me. Dad really did have his reasons. He didn't abandon us.

"Qiuqiu, stay behind me for now. Once I've settled everything, I'll explain it all to you."

Huang Jinxu's Spiritual Power sensed the fluctuations of the other Soul Masters' Soul Power at once. He pulled his daughter behind him and sheltered her.

Then he turned toward the others.

More precisely, his gaze settled on Soul-Breaking Douluo Cai Mei'er, Yan Shaozhe's wife.

"I'll kill you..."

Cai Mei'er had watched her husband get crippled before her eyes. The moment she came to her senses, rage consumed her. Without a trace of hesitation, she summoned her Break Evil Dragon Soul Spear Martial Soul and moved to attack Huang Jinxu.

"Cai Mei'er, stop!"

Just as Cai Mei'er was about to attack, Divine Eagle Douluo Song Yunzhi checked her.

She had not intervened because she intended to let Huang Jinxu go. She was saving Cai Mei'er.

The power Huang Jinxu had just shown far surpassed that of a level-ninety-seven Titled Douluo. Cai Mei'er stood no chance. Even if Song Yunzhi and Xuan Zi joined forces, they could not be certain of defeating him quickly.

If Cai Mei'er charged in recklessly, she might become the next Yan Shaozhe.

"Elder Song, don't stop me... I'll kill him..."

Even held back, Cai Mei'er seethed with hatred and fury. She would not listen.

"Go see whether Yan Shaozhe can still be saved."

Song Yunzhi said no more to Cai Mei'er. After that cold command, she ignored her and turned to Huang Jinxu.

The sharp rebuke snapped Cai Mei'er back to her senses. She hurried to examine Yan Shaozhe, who lay like a dead dog. Life Douluo Zhuang Yusen went with her.

"Little Xu, don't you owe us an explanation for what you've done today?"

Elder Song fixed her gaze on Huang Jinxu and demanded an answer.

"You dealt with Yan Shaozhe so viciously. Are you really a spy for another faction?"

Xuan Zi stepped forward and stood beside Song Yunzhi as he questioned Huang Jinxu.

They looked ready to fight at the first wrong word.

Standing behind Huang Jinxu, Nan Qiuqiu grew worried for her father in the face of them all. She gripped the hem of his clothes without thinking.

"Don't worry. As long as I'm here, the sky won't fall!"

Sensing his daughter's anxiety, Huang Jinxu turned with a smile and gently smoothed her hair. Only then did he face Song Yunzhi and Xuan Zi again.