The Mingdou Mountain Range.
The Death's Hand Bandit Group was a formidable force. It had cunningly planted spies in the army, thwarting the Western Legion's repeated attempts to wipe it out.
Since the area lay on the border between two great empires, the Sun Moon Empire was sensitive to any activity there. The Shrek Inspection Corps had arrived at just the right time. With Xuan Zi, a Level 98 Titled Douluo, leading them, they were sure to win a resounding victory right out of the gate!
To give the new Shrek Seven Devils some experience, Xuan Zi overruled every objection and brought everyone along, making them face slaughter and hardship head-on so they could mature sooner.
Early the next morning, they set out for the heart of the mountain range. The bandit group had over three hundred members, a tenth of whom were Soul Masters. They could find no information on its leader, knowing only that he had the cultivation of a Soul King.
They still had the Soul Master Tournament to attend, and time waited for no one. Xuan Zi urged everyone to hurry while he stayed in the rear drinking wine and eating meat, shouting at them every so often.
Dai Yueheng and Chen Zifeng took the front, with the control and support members behind them. Their captain, Ma Xiaotao, issued the orders.
Dressed in the green school uniforms passed down through ten thousand years of Shrek's history, they felt heroic pride surge through them. They looked forward to slaying demons and vanquishing evil up ahead, determined to make the world remember them forever!
Using Huo Yuhao's spiritual power to scout the way, they entered the cave in the dark. Its entrance was small, but the interior was exceptionally spacious, with corpses strewn everywhere, near and far.
"Ow!" Dai Huabin suddenly cried out.
Thinking he had been attacked, everyone hurriedly turned to look. Dai Yueheng, who was at the very front, reacted particularly strongly and ran over to check on him.
"Huabin, what's wrong?"
Zhu Lu tended to him from the other side. Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao, Ling Luochеn, and Ma Xiaotao looked over one after another, their steps unconsciously slowing.
Dai Huabin clutched his stomach in pain, wailing nonstop. "My stomach hurts! I think I've been poisoned!"
They did not understand what was happening, but it sounded alarming. Everyone was astonished by how troublesome these bandits were. Without even showing their faces, they had already taken down a member of the Shrek Inspection Corps!
Just as they ventured deeper into the cave, clearing out Evil Soul Masters along the way, the strongest Soul King-the Death Messenger-made his dazzling entrance!
The once-quiet cave erupted with an earth-shaking roar. Black smoke intertwined with green mist, turning the cavern into a boundless sea of blood as a foul, blood-reeking stench surged over them.
Boom, boom, boom...
Wave after wave of blasts battered them. Without any time to react, the Shrek Inspection Corps suffered devastating losses. The attack came out of nowhere, and their fledgling experience left them unable to mount any effective resistance. They could only leave their fate to heaven.
The Death Messenger, whom Shrek had never taken seriously, had challenged a towering tree with the body of a mere Soul King ant-and somehow won a tremendous victory, inflicting grievous casualties on the world's greatest academy!
Combined with Corpse Explosion, the various soul tool bombs planted inside the cave and the poisonous mist produced power that went off the charts. Screams rose one after another.
"Aah-!"
"Watch out!"
"Everyone, fall back!"
All those voices tangled together until no one could tell who was crying out, or whether they were pleas for help or wails of anguish.
At the critical moment, Xuan Zi's true nature as a Grand Elder awakened, earning the Holy Spirit Cult yet another glorious achievement. He had been nowhere to be found when the explosions began and only hurriedly raised a Soul Power barrier once the crisis struck. Even unleashing his Level 98 Soul Power at full force, he actually failed to protect everyone!
He swallowed a chicken drumstick whole and nearly choked to death. Only after draining the wine in his flask did he manage to force it down, then charge into the cave. All that back-and-forth wasted so much time that the daylilies had gone cold several times over.
At the tragic sight before him, Xuan Zi froze in horror.
The main team members had been walking at the front, closest to the center of the explosions, and their fates were utterly miserable.
Yao Haoxuan's Martial Soul was an ape. After Martial Soul Possession, his enormous body had no way to dodge. The shock wave engulfed him in an instant, and he vanished into the boundless sea of fire without leaving so much as a scrap of bone.
Chen Zifeng, who had lost an arm in the original story, and Gongyang Mo, who had lost a leg, followed Yao Haoxuan to the grave. Their bodies were blasted skyward, tracing two parabolic arcs before landing neatly side by side.
They were a little luckier than their teammate, whose ashes had been scattered. At least they left intact corpses behind.
Another main team member, Xixi, had been severely poisoned. She lay on the ground, breathing out more than she breathed in, and looked to be on the verge of death.
Dai Yueheng was relatively lucky. He should have been at the front bearing the strongest impact, but he had been busy looking after his younger brother. The damage had shifted onto Yao Haoxuan, Chen Zifeng, and Gongyang Mo instead. That was why their ending was even more tragic than in the original story: all three had been offered up to heaven.
After those three bodies had weakened the shock wave, Dai Yueheng blocked it with Martial Soul Possession alone. He also protected Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu behind him, escaping without particularly serious injuries himself.
Ling Luochеn had fallen a few steps behind, giving her enough time to react. The ice-type Soul Bone Xiao Zi had given her came in handy. Its Soul Bone Skill was Ice Seal, which formed an ice wall in front of her, protecting her while also saving Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao.
Influenced by her Martial Soul, Ma Xiaotao's first instinct was not to dodge, but to save people. Although she failed to save anyone, thanks to those three meat shields, Yao Haoxuan and the others, she suffered only minor injuries.
The reserve team was farther away. With the Grand Elder's less-than-timely rescue, none of them suffered serious injuries, though they received quite a fright. The aftershocks knocked them unconscious, leaving them sprawled on the ground, oblivious to everything.
Except for Huo Yuhao.
Dai Huabin's continued stomachache had secretly delighted him; he thought Dai Huabin was getting his just deserts. His good mood quickened his steps, and with his spiritual power probing their surroundings, he had unknowingly moved to the very front, abreast of Yao Haoxuan and the other two.
Fortunately, Fortune Power smiled upon him, transferring the damage to Yao Haoxuan, Chen Zifeng, and Gongyang Mo. That, too, had played a part in the three men's deaths.
Admiring this epic victory, the Death Messenger lurking in the shadows grew even more contemptuous. He decided Shrek was nothing special and became still more brazen.
Right before a Level 98 Titled Douluo's eyes, he seized Huo Yuhao, intending to use him to nourish the altar and unleash another massive attack.
Xuan Zi was like some impotent-you know what. He had just been about to rescue the injured students when he saw Huo Yuhao being snatched away.
This boy was highly valued by the Dragon God Douluo, Mu En, someone who truly could threaten him. The Grand Elder was so terrified that his soul nearly fled his body. He shot off like an arrow loosed from a bow, abandoning everyone where they stood.
The poor students had lost their protection again. Fortunately, there was only one Death Messenger. Had a few more appeared, the whole group would probably have been wiped out.
Meanwhile, Xuan Zi pursued him to the center of the altar platform, where he saw the Death Messenger holding Huo Yuhao hostage, intending to sacrifice him for power.
Fortunately, the Child of Fate had plenty of cheats. With the remnant soul of the Holy Necromancer, Electrolux, safeguarding him, the Death Messenger could not succeed. Seeing Xuan Zi drawing ever closer, the Death Messenger was frightened by his Level 98 Soul Power. He abandoned Huo Yuhao and fled in panic.
What a pity. After all, given the Grand Elder's standing in the Holy Spirit Cult, if the two had met, they surely would have appreciated each other's talents. They could even have exchanged some experience along the way, taking their future achievements to greater heights!
Returning to the matter at hand, Xuan Zi found Huo Yuhao. A Peak Douluo actually lost his nerve when faced with a measly Soul King, afraid that pursuing him might lead to another accident that he would be unable to explain to Mu En.
After looking him over from every angle and confirming that Huo Yuhao was unharmed, he took him back along the same route to rejoin Ma Xiaotao and the others, whom he had left stranded there.