Mu En, you've grown old

"Today, I shall test the Dragon God Douluo’s Moves!"

Golden light erupted from Du Busi, eventually forming the phantom of a hundred-meter-tall golden giant behind him.

The next instant, the golden giant's phantom merged with Du Busi's body. His previously dark-green body now faintly radiated a golden halo.

He looked like a divine statue, solemn and majestic.

Facing the Dragon God Douluo, Mu En, Du Busi dared not hold anything back. He immediately unleashed his strongest trump card: Golden-Level Body Martial Soul Second Awakening.

Although Golden-Level Body Martial Soul Second Awakening consumed enormous amounts of soul power and even burned through his vitality, that tremendous expenditure brought a terrifying three-hundred-percent boost!

At that moment, strengthened by Golden-Level Body Martial Soul Second Awakening, Du Busi had already reached the level of a Limit Douluo.

Power as vast as the sea coursed through his godlike, demonic body. His terrifying aura even forced away the Golden Tree's power that had enveloped him.

Space itself buckled beneath his domineering power, splitting into countless pitch-black cracks.

Even the white clouds overhead were churned apart.

Across the vast Shrek Academy, buildings rumbled. Some houses, built of weaker materials and lacking the protection of soul tools, spewed dust as cracks split their walls, exposing the steel reinforcement and beams within.

The students of the Shrek Outer Court turned deathly pale at the spectacle. Led by their teachers, they hurried into sturdy underground shelters and basements.

None of the students could have imagined that Shrek, the world-renowned number-one academy on the continent, would one day come under attack. It was simply inconceivable.

Inside the home of Mu Jin, an Outer Court teacher, Qian Renxue watched the battle in the sky through a window, inwardly shaken.

"So this is Shrek Academy's hidden strength? They probably have more than twenty Titled Douluos alone.

And that stooped old man called Mu En is ridiculously powerful. His power actually covers all of Shrek City. He must be only one step away from godhood."

Through reading books in the library these past few days, Qian Renxue had learned that soul masters ten thousand years later had refined their cultivation methods far beyond those of her era.

The creation of the soul core method, in particular, had greatly enhanced the strength of Titled Douluos while also widening the gap between each subsequent level of cultivation.

Those at Level 99 were even called Limit Douluos, hailed as the pinnacle of mortal attainment, whom only gods could slay.

From the earlier exchange, Qian Renxue had gained a rough understanding of the situation and immediately began turning it over in her mind.

"The Body Sect came storming into Shrek Academy for Chen An, demanding that the academy hand him over. Shrek Academy refused, so both sides came to blows."

Chen An really is a coveted prize. Wherever he goes, someone has their eye on him, Qian Renxue thought.

Remembering that she had awakened Chen An's martial soul and uncovered his talent with her own hands, Qian Renxue could not help feeling a surge of pride.

As expected of someone she, Qian Renxue, had chosen. He drew attention wherever he went.

Qian Renxue even hoped that the battle between Shrek Academy and the Body Sect would grow fiercer still.

Ideally, Shrek Academy would suffer a crippling blow. That would greatly reduce the resistance she faced when she rebuilt Spirit Hall in the future, and would count as an indirect act of vengeance for Spirit Hall.

Just as Qian Renxue was filling her head with happy prospects, a mature, attractive teacher with a shapely figure appeared before her.

This was none other than Mu Jin, the teacher assigned to look after Qian Renxue.

"Xiao Xue, I'll take you down to the basement for shelter. It's dangerous outside right now."

Before Qian Renxue could speak, Mu Jin scooped her up and carried her into a basement.

Qian Renxue had been thoroughly enjoying the spectacle and did not want to go underground at all. She still wanted to see which of those two supreme experts in the sky would emerge victorious.

But children had no say. How could the six-year-old Qian Renxue resist Mu Jin, a Soul Emperor? She could only sit in the basement, feeling thoroughly aggrieved.

On Sea God Island, beneath the Golden Tree.

Seated in his wheelchair, Mu En watched Du Busi unleash Golden-Level Body Martial Soul Second Awakening and said softly, "It seems we must fight after all."

No matter how fierce Du Busi became, Mu En would never hand Chen An over to the Body Sect.

Ever since Chen An had been brought back to Shrek Academy, Mu En had paid close attention to him, despite never meeting him.

Everything Chen An did at Shrek Academy was reported to him.

To understand Chen An's character, he had even dispatched his subordinates directly to Qinghe Village to question every villager.

Through that investigation, Mu En had concluded that Chen An was kind by nature, grateful for kindness, and well worth nurturing.

Chen An's recent battle with Xiaotao, in particular, had given him an even deeper understanding of the boy's talent and potential.

His true self martial soul was uniquely blessed. Even before undergoing a body martial soul second awakening, he had defeated Xiaotao—a Soul Elder painstakingly trained by Yan Shaozhe—with only the cultivation of a Soul Master.

If he underwent a second awakening, his potential would surely undergo another qualitative transformation.

Even Mu En could not predict how far Chen An's potential would evolve.

Such talent, coupled with a clean background, an unblemished history, a grateful heart, and a kind disposition.

He was practically a gift bestowed upon Shrek Academy by heaven.

Mu En was already preparing to meet Chen An and accept him as his final disciple, the heir to his legacy.

He would raise Chen An to become the next Sea God Pavilion Master!

Then, after his death, Chen An's talent would surely allow the boy to succeed him and protect Shrek Academy.

After ten thousand years of development, Shrek Academy had grown into an enormous behemoth.

It had nearly thirty Titled Douluos alone, including as many as seven experts at the Super Douluo level or higher.

Then there were its many teachers and Shrek City's army.

And the Treasure Pavilion affiliated with Shrek Academy, trading caravans large and small, teams of soul masters who hunted soul beasts, apothecaries who cultivated spiritual herbs, Inspection Corps intelligence agents scattered throughout the Douluo Continent, and officials of the Shrek faction in the three nations...

With so many people and subordinate forces, anyone lacking sufficiently formidable strength would never be able to keep them in line.

Even setting those subordinate forces aside, Shrek Academy itself had two major factions: the Soul Tool Department and Martial Soul Department.

Although the two factions were not quite as incompatible as fire and water, they still quarreled endlessly over funding and promising students. Each also had the backing of elders at the Super Douluo level.

While he, Mu En, remained alive, he could still keep both factions under control. Once he died, however, nothing was certain.

Mu En feared that the moment he closed his eyes for good, the Soul Tool Department and Martial Soul Department would come to blows and tear Shrek Academy apart.

Moreover, the Sun Moon Empire's soul guidance technology had advanced by leaps and bounds in recent years. Its strength had swollen dramatically, and it had long harbored ambitions of unifying the entire Douluo Continent.

If the Sun Moon Empire seized that opportunity to launch a war while Shrek Academy was a host of dragons without a head, mired in internal strife, the academy might truly face destruction.

If that happened, he, Mu En, as the Sea God Pavilion Master, would die with his eyes still open in regret. Even in the underworld, he would have no face to meet Shrek Academy's predecessors and teachers.

Thus, before his allotted lifespan ended, Mu En wanted to raise a successor capable of holding everything together—someone who could resist the Sun Moon Empire's invasion from outside and suppress the two factions within.

The minimum requirement for that successor was the potential to reach Limit Douluo.

Without that potential, without the ability to break through to Limit Douluo in the future, how could anyone keep Shrek Academy's powerful experts in check?

How could anyone preserve Shrek Academy's standing in this era of treacherous waves and shifting clouds?

Before meeting Chen An, he had sought out countless promising youngsters, but none had satisfied him.

His great-great-grandson Bei Bei had decent talent, but unfortunately had inherited only part of his bloodline. Reaching Super Douluo would pose no problem, but becoming a Limit Douluo was utterly impossible.

There was also Xiaotao, whose talent was good, but the flaw in her evil fire phoenix martial soul meant that she, too, would struggle to reach Limit Douluo.

Lexuan possessed considerable talent and a suitable temperament, but ultimately she was not outstanding enough. She lacked that air of sweeping all opposition aside, unrivaled beneath heaven, and her chances of reaching Limit Douluo were slim.

Just when he could find no suitable successor and faced dying with unresolved regrets, he had encountered Chen An, a boy of peerless talent, a clean background, and a grateful heart.

How could he, Mu En, not rejoice? How could he not be excited? This was practically an arrangement of fate!

To guard against any possibility of trouble, he had even investigated the little girl beside Chen An inside and out.

Thus, even if he had to expend the Golden Tree's power and wage war against the Body Sect today, he would not hesitate!

Mu En's Spiritual Power, which had reached the formed substance realm, surged into the Golden Tree, drawing upon its power.

Nurtured by generations of Shrek Academy's predecessors, the Golden Tree had developed a bond of attachment to the academy. Once one's Spiritual Power reached the formed substance realm, that connection could be used to draw upon the energy within the tree.

The immense energy within the Golden Tree had already reached the demigod level, surpassing even a Limit Douluo. It was only because the Golden Tree possessed little intelligence that it had not become the strongest being on the entire Douluo Continent.

Streams of golden energy gushed from the Golden Tree. At the same time, Mu En mobilized his own soul power and Spiritual Power, merging them with that force.

In an instant, a golden figure appeared before Mu En.

The golden figure looked exactly like Mu En, but unlike him, it did not stoop. Its back stood perfectly straight, and its entire body shone brilliant gold.

Although it was merely a figure of light, it seemed as solid as cast gold. It stood there quietly, yet everything around it turned completely golden. Dense light elements flowed through the air, and even space froze.

Because his body was paralyzed and he could not stand, Mu En used this method to fight.

Mu En controlled the golden avatar, sending it flying out of Sea God Island to face Du Busi.

Watching Mu En do this, Du Busi burst into laughter.

"Mu En, it seems your battle with my elder brother did leave you wounded after all.

You think you can kill me, paralyzed as you are? Today, I'll avenge my brother!"

Du Busi had originally been quite wary of Mu En. After all, Mu En was a Limit Douluo. Though Du Busi stood at the Peak Level 98, that single level was the difference between heaven and earth.

But when he saw Mu En leave his actual body motionless and form only an energy avatar, his fear instantly vanished.

The physical body was the foundation and vessel of Spiritual Power and soul power. Fighting without it, deprived of its support, was like battling with one's own hands and feet bound. Being able to exert even half one's strength would be impressive.

What did Du Busi have to fear from a Dragon God Douluo who had bound his own hands and feet?

"Mu En! Take this!"

Du Busi clapped his hands together, and countless streaks of dark-green light appeared around his body.

The surrounding space twisted violently, and enormous black holes appeared one after another. Their terrifying spatial power tore madly at Mu En's golden avatar.

Hearing Du Busi's words, Mu En snorted coldly. His injuries had nothing to do with Du Bisou. His paralysis had been caused entirely by the backlash of the Dragon Core's malevolent energy.

Mu En could not be bothered to waste words. He was drawing upon the Golden Tree's power, and every passing second depleted it. He naturally could not afford to waste time.

He immediately thrust out a palm, power surging!

"Roooar—"

A resounding dragon's cry rang throughout Shrek City!

"Dragon. Emperor. Quakes. The. Realm!"

A terrifying, enormous ring of light, dozens of kilometers in diameter, appeared in the sky.

The ring enclosed the entire sky above Shrek Academy.

At its center, an enormous dragon's head hovered proudly.

Within the ring, immense golden dragons appeared one after another.

Everything in the sky became a hazy expanse of gold.

Those golden dragons, at once real and illusory, let out roar after roar. All of them launched a lethal attack simultaneously.

They became streaks of golden lightning, sweeping imperiously through the golden ring before converging upon Du Busi.

Although Mu En was paralyzed and could not fight with his physical body, bolstered by the Golden Tree's demigod power, his combat strength still stood half a step beyond Limit Douluo.

Seeing countless dragons hurtling madly toward him, Du Busi immediately redirected his black holes to devour them.

The terrifying might of those black holes, which contained tremendous spatial power, had already been revealed during his earlier battle with Xuan Zi.

When the countless meteors Xuan Zi unleashed struck those black holes, they vanished like clay oxen sinking into the sea, unable to stir even a ripple.

Against Mu En, however, this move of Du Busi's seemed to have lost its effectiveness.

Under the bombardment of countless dragons, the unfathomable black holes actually seemed to be filling up.

In less than ten seconds, the pitch-black holes were stained gold. Then, with a thunderous explosion, they burst apart, blasting Du Busi more than a thousand meters away.

Mu En looked at Du Busi and said, "Du Busi, withdraw now, and I can let bygones be bygones."

Hearing this, Du Busi grinned. "Mu En, it seems you've truly grown old. You're no longer that decisive, ruthless Dragon God Douluo!

Everyone of the Body Sect, charge into Shrek and find Chen An!"