Ever since the [evil Spirit Hall] was destroyed ten thousand years ago, Shrek Academy had been the undisputed star of every All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Fighting Tournament.
In this tournament, almost every match saw members of the Shrek Team kill people from other Soul Master academies and sects.
Yet no one dared seek revenge, nor could anyone take revenge on Shrek Academy, for it was the sacred ground where the Divine Realm's supreme god had once risen to prominence. This was Shrek's glory!
This little beast clearly knows Shrek's name. I'm certain of that, or he would never have held back when he struck Xiaotao just now, Xuan Zi thought.
Compared with those who've never seen the world and don't know how deep the waters run... he's much easier to keep under my thumb!
As Xuan Zi summoned his martial soul, the Taotie Divine Bull, and unleashed the surging soul power of a Super Douluo, dark golden light shot from his eyes. His hair grew immensely heavy, as though a single strand could crush a building.
At that moment, Xuan Zi seemed to have become a black hole capable of dragging the world into itself. Any spectator below the rank of nine-ring Titled Douluo felt as though they were drunk after merely glancing at him, their entire body drained of strength.
The pressure that Xuan Zi's eruption of soul power exerted on Huo Yuhao naturally made his whole body tremble.
Yet Huo Yuhao's expression remained unchanged. Although such might was terrifying to this body of his, which was only at the level of a Level 5 Soul Engineer, trying to shake the soul of someone who had once been a God King was nothing but a fool's dream.
Looking at Xuan Zi before him-the successor to Headmaster Mu En in his previous life-Huo Yuhao was filled with countless thoughts.
Had he still been his former self, Shrek's most fanatical supporter bar none, seeing Xuan Zi stand up for a student like this would have left him beside himself with excitement.
But in this life, witnessing a similar scene made him feel deeply uncomfortable.
"Xuan Zi, isn't it rather unbecoming to bully someone so much younger?" As that voice echoed through the air, darkness suddenly fell over the arena.
A colossal black dragon appeared in the Soul Fighting Arena, with a serpent's body, a horse's head, a tiger's eyes, a deer's antlers, a carp's whiskers, an eagle's talons, a fish's scales, and a lion's mane. A man clad entirely in black armor stood firmly upon the dragon's body.
Dragon Emperor Douluo Long Xiaoyao! One of the world's three Limit Douluos, one of the three beings closest to godhood, had actually appeared here.
Long Xiaoyao merely raised a hand gently, black currents swirling around his slender fingers, and all the oppressive might Xuan Zi had unleashed vanished without a trace.
Xuan Zi's expression froze, and he inwardly lamented this ill turn of events.
"You misunderstand, Brother Long. I was merely offering this young fellow a little instruction," Xuan Zi told Long Xiaoyao, seemingly having forgotten his earlier words. By then, Yan Shaozhe and Xian Lin'er had stepped forward to stand beside him.
Xuan Zi said to Long Xiaoyao, "Mu En has been searching for you all this time, Brother Long. To think that when we finally meet today, I would find you working on the Sun Moon Continent, having abandoned the Douluo Continent."
Long Xiaoyao smiled. "I'm merely making myself at home now that I'm here..."
With Long Xiaoyao's appearance, Xuan Zi had no choice but to temporarily shelve his original plan to break both of Huo Yuhao's arms, or even kill him.
He turned and left with the people from Shrek Academy, who glared at Huo Yuhao with faces full of venom.
Once the Shrek Academy group had withdrawn, only Long Xiaoyao and Huo Yuhao remained in the arena, standing opposite each other.
"I am Huo Yuhao. Thank you, Senior, for helping me out of this predicament!" Huo Yuhao bowed to Long Xiaoyao.
"To dare strike a Divine Descendant at your age... how interesting." Long Xiaoyao studied Huo Yuhao for a while, then turned to leave without saying much more. "But though I protected you for a moment today, who can protect you for a lifetime?"
Long Xiaoyao left him with only those words.
Huo Yuhao's gaze then slipped discreetly toward Xu Tianran in the stands. He noticed the faint upward curl at the corners of Xu Tianran's mouth.
No wonder the lineup of Clear Sky Sect experts escorting Tongtong to watch the matches yesterday was so extravagant. After leaving the Soul Fighting Arena, quickly changing his clothes, and hurrying back to Room 411 of the Mingyue Hotel, Huo Yuhao glanced at Snow Girl, who was using a Milk Bottle to restore her soul power, then lay down on the bed to reflect on the day's events.
"Yuhao, did your match go all right today?" Sensing Huo Yuhao's presence, Snow Girl quickly stopped meditating and looked him up and down. Only after confirming that he was uninjured did she breathe a sigh of relief.
Snow Girl could not understand why Huo Yuhao had urged her not to watch his match.
"Mm... it went all right. You could say I have good connections." Huo Yuhao gave her a reassuring look.
Seeing that Snow Girl still looked puzzled, Huo Yuhao recounted what had happened that day.
"Really... that's what happened? Even after that goddess revealed her identity to the world, Xu Tianran didn't completely bow down?" Snow Girl was astonished.
Huo Yuhao shrugged. "He probably still underestimates the gods of the Divine Realm. Having won Long Xiaoyao over, he thinks he has the backing to face the twenty-four nine-ring Titled Douluos at that goddess's side without fear."
Seeing the fatigue on Huo Yuhao's face and the apparent apprehension in his eyes, Snow Girl said softly, "All right, let's leave it at that. You're tired. Get some rest."
Meanwhile, in the Shrek students' lounge, everyone looked livid, from the older generation's Xuan Zi and team leader Wang Yan to students such as Chen Zifeng and Dai Huabin.
"Has Sister Xiaotao still not woken up?" Xiaoxiao looked worried.
"She's fine! She only fainted because that bastard named Huo Yuhao hit her with soul power brimming with blood vitality," Dai Huabin said.
As fellow Divine Descendants, Dai Huabin, Ning Tian, and the others were undoubtedly enraged by what had happened to Ma Xiaotao at the Soul Fighting Tournament that day!
A lowborn nobody of unknown origins had actually defiled the exquisite body of Ma Xiaotao, a Divine Descendant...
They knew that with Ma Xiaotao's lofty pride, she would never swallow this humiliation once she woke up.
Xuan Zi suddenly asked Wang Yan, "Have you figured out how to kill that brat during the Soul Fighting Tournament?"
Dai Huabin and the others said, "That strange brat may be strong, but he seems to be alone. Even if he has teammates, there probably aren't many, or they aren't particularly good."
"In that case, the team match will be his hour of death!"
"If all else fails, we'll have to resort to means outside the competition," Xuan Zi said, his expression darkening.
"Means outside the competition? We're in Sun Moon, Xuan Zi. What do you mean?" Seeing how ruthless Xuan Zi had become, Xiaoxiao looked curious.
Realizing that he had let something slip, Xuan Zi hurriedly said, "Nothing. When the time comes-when you become Elders in the future, you'll understand."
While Shrek's senior figures and the noble Divine Descendants present discussed matters in this fashion, Chen Zifeng, who came from a commoner's family, could no longer contain himself.
"Senior brothers and sisters, junior brothers and sisters, rest assured. I have a Soul Chasing Sword that can slay that scoundrel Huo Yuhao!" Chen Zifeng thumped his chest in assurance.
As someone of common birth, he was desperate to get ahead and could not wait to prove himself.
Seeing the resolute expression on Chen Zifeng's face, Xuan Zi nodded in satisfaction. "Your cultivation is among the highest in the younger generation, so those words are no idle boast. We at Shrek have the genius Chen Zifeng, who can slay Huo Yuhao!"
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