A little below the battlefield in the sky.
The Body Sect's Soul Douluos all unleashed their Soul Power.
Joining forces, they formed a Soul Power barrier large enough to cover the entire field and part of the campus, securely shielding the students in Zhou Yi's class, along with some other students and teachers.
"Are you people from Shrek made of wood?! What are you standing around for?!"
The big-headed Lang Ya shouted at Shrek's Titled Douluos, "Hurry up and protect the academy! Do we really have to remind you of something like this?!"
Yan Shaozhe wanted to seize the opportunity to capture Huo Yuhao alive.
But at that moment, a towering, majestic radiance of Soul Power had already risen around Xuan Zi.
The attacks of the two Super Douluos, Jin Peng and Hong Yue, and the other eight Titled Douluos from the Body Sect collided thunderously with the powerful Soul Skill Xuan Zi unleashed in his Martial Soul Avatar state.
And that was without even mentioning the battlefield of Du Busi and Mu En, whose clash came roaring from high above.
If they did not act to protect the academy now, Shrek Academy would likely be caught in those terrifying aftershocks.
Gritting his teeth, Yan Shaozhe flew aside. His dazzling Bright Phoenix Martial Soul raised its head and cried to the heavens.
Surges of mighty Soul Power wove into a net in the air, connecting with the Soul Power of the Body Sect's Soul Douluos to form an immense defensive barrier that covered every area the aftershocks might reach.
High above, the Radiant Sacred Dragon Mu En had become charged straight down with unparalleled momentum.
Yet Du Busi barreled forward, his ferocious Soul Power erupting like a volcano. Without a care for anything else, he met the Radiant Sacred Dragon with a straight punch of tremendous weight and force!
Boom-
Two enormous pillars of light spanning heaven and earth abruptly rose above Shrek Academy!
White and green filled the firmament!
Dazzling colors tore through the air!
The air burned fiercely, the clouds evaporated into nothingness, and in the end, nothing remained in sight but searing light!
Heaven and earth fell silent.
Then two explosive reports rang out almost simultaneously!
Deafening explosions resounded through the clouds!
Utterly savage waves of Soul Power swept madly in every direction from the points where Du Busi collided with Mu En and the Body Sect clashed with Xuan Zi!
Even the sky seemed to be torn apart at that moment. Stars suddenly filled the clear daylight sky, and pitch-black spatial rifts spread rapidly.
The Soul Power barrier jointly erected by the Body Sect's Soul Douluos and Shrek Academy shuddered violently, emitting teeth-grating cracks as it buckled under the strain.
"Reinforce the barrier! The second shock wave is almost here!"
Azure Shadow Divine Eagle Song Yunzhi, whose cultivation was the highest, shouted sharply.
Everyone hurriedly poured Soul Power into the barrier.
The destructive waves produced by the two explosions grew increasingly violent. Grinding against each other, they actually seemed to merge into one.
A hair-raising shock wave far surpassing the first swept out thunderously like a great ocean tide.
Du Busi was drenched in blood. The arm with which he had exchanged punches with Mu En was bent at a horrifying angle, exposing stark white bone.
He opened his mouth and coughed up a fragment of an internal organ. All his viscera seemed to have been churned to pulp in his violent clash with Mu En.
Yet Du Busi seemed utterly unaware.
He stared fixedly at Xuan Zi, who was being held by Jin Peng and had already lost consciousness completely, and burst into utterly deranged laughter. "Mu En! This time, your Shrek has lost!"
"Body Sect, withstand the shock wave!"
Mu En's expression was dark as still water, the flesh of the five fingers on his right hand torn and curled back. For the first time, he felt the urge to kill Du Busi.
But in the end, he suppressed the killing intent surging within him.
There was no other reason: as things stood, Shrek simply could not afford to offend the Body Sect, which held the moral high ground.
Then Mu En raised his arm toward the Sea God's Pavilion.
The Golden Tree released a wave-like shower of golden light. Its gentle radiance enveloped all of Shrek Academy and even Shrek City, making it resemble a city of gold.
The violent shock wave vanished without a trace, and everyone in midair who had joined forces to maintain the barrier breathed a sigh of relief.
They exchanged glances, then immediately revealed expressions of utter disgust.
Lang Ya spat. "I never thought there would come a day when we'd actually work with you."
"An organization that can't even keep its second-strongest fighter in line-where do you get the nerve to call yourselves the best on the continent?"
"Still," he quickly added with a sneer, "Shrek Academy understands the greater good and is willing to join the Body Sect in apprehending the culprit, Xuan Zi. Such an act of putting righteousness above your own deserves to be celebrated throughout the world."
Yan Shaozhe's face was livid, and the fury in his eyes seemed ready to erupt.
He clenched his fists tightly, his body trembling slightly.
Just as Yan Shaozhe was about to rebuke him, Mu En's voice came from the sky.
Mu En's voice was frighteningly calm. "Du Busi, just what does your Body Sect want?"
Du Busi wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and straightened his back, his eyes shining brightly.
Many years ago, his elder brother Du Bisou had been killed by Mu En, forcing the Body Sect to seal its gates for years.
Today, the Body Sect had returned to the world. Even if they had forced Shrek Academy to swallow defeat through a clever ploy, it was already enough to greatly ease the resentment that had festered in Du Busi's heart for years.
"What do we want?"
Du Busi grinned, revealing bloodstained teeth. "Xuan Zi, the commander of your Shrek Inspection Corps, openly attacked Di'ao Academy not long ago. Do you really expect us to let the matter drop?"
Everyone from Shrek Academy remained silent.
Xuan Zi's impulsive temper and reckless behavior had long been a headache for Shrek's senior leadership.
Regarding the matter of Huo Yuhao that Bei Bei had reported, Xuan Zi had outwardly promised not to do anything out of line.
Yet in secret, he had still gone to Di'ao Academy alone, attempting to bring back Huo Yuhao, whose original destination he believed had been Shrek Academy. That was what had brought about today's disaster.
Shrek's senior figures all turned their gazes toward Huo Yuhao beside Du Busi.
"If he weren't a member of the Body Sect, things wouldn't have come to this today."
Anyone with discerning eyes knew that the Body Sect's return was unquestionably tied to Huo Yuhao.
A Body Martial Soul, a fully awakened True Dragon level Ultimate Martial Soul...
Given Du Busi's temperament, it would have been strange if he had acquired such a successor to the Body Sect and not brought him out to show him off.
And using Xuan Zi's wrongdoing as grounds to attack, trampling on Shrek Academy to build Huo Yuhao's sense of belonging to the Body Sect, was certainly a fine way to kill two birds with one arrow.
"Du Busi." Mu En shifted his gaze away from Huo Yuhao. "Tell me, what do you intend to do?"
Du Busi gave a thoroughly satisfied laugh. "First, Xuan Zi comes back with me."
Mu En frowned. "Xuan Zi was indeed in the wrong in this matter. But he is still one of Shrek's people. I cannot let you take him back to the Body Sect to be dealt with."
"Do I need you to remind me of that? Do you think I'd be stupid enough to take that old ox back to the Body Sect and give you a chance to make an issue of it?"
Du Busi sneered. "I'll escort him under guard to Heaven Dou City and let the imperial family decide how to deal with this fellow who offended the dignity of the Heaven Dou Empire."
Mu En fell silent for a moment, then finally nodded slowly. "Agreed."
Du Busi continued, "Second, Shrek Academy will compensate Di'ao Academy for every loss Xuan Zi caused. That includes, but is not limited to, damage to buildings, damage to reputation, and compensation for teachers and students. Not a single Copper Soul Coin less!"
This time, Mu En did not hesitate. "As we should."
"As for the third..."
A smile curved Du Busi's lips. He patted Huo Yuhao's shoulder with his uninjured arm. "For the Heaven Dou Empire to produce a genius like Yuhao is the greatest blessing in the fight against the Sun Moon Empire."
"When it comes to cultivating a Body Martial Soul, you don't even qualify as a half-full bottle rattling around. But Yuhao will copy your secret manuals on cultivating Ultimate Martial Souls and take them with him."
Mu En fell silent.
With his silence, the already restless atmosphere in the sky grew even more explosive, like oil seething over a raging fire.