Metallic clanging rang out without cease as Shrek City's guards cornered Bei Bei in a narrow alley thick with the smell of blood.
The ranks slowly parted, and Shi Xing, lord of Shrek City, walked into the alley in splendid robes.
He surveyed the carnage, then looked at Bei Bei leaning against the stone wall, and could not help sighing.
"Were you the one who fired Shrek Academy's highest-level danger flare just now?"
Shi Xing looked up at the sky, where the flare had already faded.
He had been resting at home when the alert sounded. The moment he stepped outside, he saw the blood-red signal in the sky.
It was the Inspection Corps' highest-level alarm. Once fired, it required a Titled Douluo to respond.
As the Titled Douluo closest to Shrek City, he was the one who had to come every time. That was practically set in stone.
The smell of blood hung in the air, mingled with the sulfurous odor of burnt gunpowder. "After all these years," he said, "I never thought I'd see it a second time in my life."
"Bei Bei, tell me what happened. And where did you get a highest-level warning flare?"
"I didn't fire it," Bei Bei answered, still leaning against the wall and catching his breath. "The person who did is dead."
The guards exchanged glances, and Shi Xing's expression turned grave.
"Who dared murder a member of our Shrek Inspection Corps in Shrek City? I will never spare them!"
Shi Xing swept his gaze over the devastated alley. At last, it settled on the girl whose body had been mutilated almost beyond recognition.
"An Evil Soul Master?"
The three words slipped slowly from his lips.
"No wonder. You fought an Evil Soul Master and barely won."
"How strong was she, to