Unrivaled Tang Sect Volume 31

Book 31: The Evil Emperor's Anger

Chapter 388: Offering! Emperor Beast

Wang Qiu’er stood up straight in Huo Yuhao’s embrace as she spoke. She was tall in the ﬁrst place, and so they were staring into each other’s eyes as she grasped Huo Yuhao’s shoulders with both hands.

“Have you kissed Dong’er before, Yuhao?” Wang Qiu’er smiled, her exceptionally enchanting face shining radiantly, like a hundred blooming ﬂowers.

Huo Yuhao nodded lightly.

Wang Qiu’er gradually closed her eyes, and her lengthy and curly eyelashes touched her lower eyelids. She raised her head gently, and her red lips seemed exquisite and alluring as she whispered, “Kiss me.”

Huo Yuhao chuckled. He could feel his own weakness. All the strength and might that he had possessed throughout his entire lifetime was coming to an end. They had travelled more than ﬁfty kilometers out within such a short time; not even

Titled Douluo could ﬁnd them unless they executed a large- scale hunt.

An unspeakable warmth and passion instantly travelled from Qiu’er’s lips. Huo Yuhao was already extremely weak, and he suddenly felt as if he were a little lost.

And it was in this moment that, as they kissed each other, Qiu’er’s forehead was facing forward and pressed tightly against his. Their opened Eyes of Destiny touched.

In that instant, Huo Yuhao felt as if his entire brain was about to explode, and strange scenes ﬂashed by in his mind one after another.

He was looking a large, dense forest, where countless ancient trees that reached high into the sky blocked off the sunlight completely. In that world where plants were everywhere, there was a small golden ﬁgure lying prostrate on the ground.

This is… This is…

“Haven’t you always been curious about why Dong’er and I look identical, and why I look so similar to the Goddess of Light produced by your martial soul fusion skill with her?”

“The reason is because I presented myself before the two of you according to what the Goddess of Light looks like.”

“Do you know who I am now?”

That tiny golden ﬁgure gradually raised its head, and in that moment, Huo Yuhao felt as if his brain had been struck by an enormous hammer. All that doubt, suspicion, and unsurety in his mind were suddenly cleared in this instant.

He ﬁnally understood why she looked so similar to Dong’er, and why she was closer to the Goddess of Light in his heart.

He ﬁnally understood why she could move around in the Great Star Dou Forest unhindered, and why she had such peculiar feelings for soul beasts, to the point where she would save those Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bears.

He ﬁnally understood why he would feel a sense of familiarity with her now and then, and why she possessed an Eye of Destiny like he did.

He ﬁnally understood why she would always appear by his side every time he was in danger.

He ﬁnally understood why she knew everything about him, and why she was just so familiar with him, and why she would appear beside him continuously.

That was because she wasn’t a human in the ﬁrst place!

That was because she was the one that had given him his Eye of Destiny!

That was because she was the one that controlled destiny, and was the envoy of destiny.

That was because she had looked into his memories a long time ago.

She was the Three-Eyed Golden Lion!

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion had left a profound impression in him in the Great Star Dou Forest, and had given him his Eye of Destiny. The lion controlled the entire Great Star Dou Forest’s fate and fortunes, and was greatly beneﬁcial and helpful to all other soul beasts within the forest.

The Ten Great Savage Beasts and other similarly powerful soul beasts protected her in the Great Star Dou Forest.

Qiu’er… Qiu’er is actually the Three-Eyed Golden Lion!

Huo Yuhao’s spiritual sea was about to be incinerated completely at this very moment, but this sudden information caused his spirit to tremble from all that astonishment. He had been about to pass on the Ice Empress, the Snow Empress, and the Skydream Iceworm to Qiu’er, but now he had no choice but to stop.

“Qiu’er, you…”

“Yes, I am the Three-Eyed Golden Lion. I am that silly and foolish Three-Eyed Golden Lion who developed an interest in you, and stepped into the world of humans.

“When you forcefully imprinted my Eye of Destiny, you were destined to be the bane of my destiny. When you read my memories that time, I did the same to you – you can only see the grand and drab forest, the Great Star Dou Forest. But in your memory, I saw the countless aspects and expressions of humanity, and I saw its beauty.

“I’m different from other soul beasts. I’m not even limited by destiny, and I don’t have that bottleneck at one hundred thousand years like they do. I can continue living if I am willing to, and even though I can’t become as strong as Di Tian and the others, even the true dictator that’s slumbering in the Great Star Dou Forest will only take good care of me. He won’t let any harm come to me.

“But I experienced too much boredom in my several thousand years of life. How could I resist that curiosity after seeing the beauty of humanity?”

“Therefore, I used the only chance I had in my entire lifetime to transform into a human, and I became that Goddess of Light in your memory. After my transformation, I was destined to only be able to transform between the Three-Eyed Golden Lion and the Goddess of Light, and even my name, Wang Qiu’er, was created based on Wang Dong’s name.

“I walked into your world of humans, and I used the partial Golden Dragon blood in my body, and replicated the Golden Dragon by imitation. The world of humans was so novel and interesting to me, but it was also very unfamiliar at the same time. I gradually began to feel fear after my very brief happiness and curiosity, because I didn’t understand you, and everything about the world of humans, at all. Even I don’t know why I went to Shrek Academy like that, and why I appeared in front of you.

“We met yet again, but I had become a human. You didn’t recognize me, but I recognized you, and that feeling was so peculiar and magical at the same time. Perhaps because of the connection between our Eyes of Destiny, my fear disappeared when I was by your side, and I felt especially safe and assured. Therefore, I entered Shrek Academy, and arrived by your side. I wanted to see how you lived your life, and what differences there were between you humans and us soul beasts.

“At that moment, I discovered that the fellow who was a good friend to you was actually a girl, and the two of you had actually become lovers. I had a sour feeling in my heart at that time, and only then did I realize that the appearance that I had transformed into was how she would look when she grew up.

“I was beginning to feel a little overwhelmed and at a loss once more. During that time, I wanted to leave and return to the Great Star Dou Forest because the origin power of my destiny came from the Great Star Dou Forest, and because I had snuck out in the ﬁrst place. However, I couldn’t bear to leave this opportunity to enter the world of humans behind. I knew that if I left just like that, returning to your side would almost be impossible even if I wanted to.”

“Therefore, I remained, and followed you guys into the Great Star Dou Forest so that we could ﬁnd a suitable soul ring for you. I am a soul beast, yet I was helping you hunt and kill soul beasts. Wasn’t that just comical? Even though I am typically bloodthirsty, and I like to kill, those soul beasts were my kin, my brethren, after all!

“Afterwards, I listened to you recount your story with your mother. Going through your memories and listening to you telling your story was so different, and in that moment, I

suddenly realized that soul beasts and humans are just different; we are fundamentally different in our emotions and in our feelings. The emotions that humans possess are things that us soul beasts do not have, and it was in that moment that I was determined to remain. I wanted to try and see if I could be better than Dong’er in your heart.

“I quickly discovered how unrealistic this thought was. After going through life and death with you, even I didn’t know that you were becoming more and more important to me, and your impression had become stronger and stronger in my heart. Because of the mutual connection and pull between our Eyes of Destiny, you were my greatest predestined fate. I was starting to like you. I liked to see you, and I liked being by your side. However, you started to reject and ostracize me because of Dong’er. Perhaps you felt that way because the threat that Dong’er felt from me was overly intense and overwhelming. I was even a little proud at that time. So what if we looked identical? I would be stronger than she was, and so I would snatch you from her hands.”

“But I had no idea how to make you like me, how to make you fall in love with me. I was very lost at that time, till one day, when I watched you impatiently leave the Academy with a look of anxiety and worry. My curiosity was piqued, and my curiosity made me follow you into some faraway land.

“Your intelligence, your determination, and your stubbornness towards Dong’er was continuously moving me. When I watched you swallow the Blazing Sunspring’s water, which was hot enough to melt metal, into your belly so that you could spit out some of your own blood, do you know how I felt?

“That was the ﬁrst time I felt heartache, and it was so, so painful. And it was then that I understood what love was… you could disregard your own life and sacriﬁce yourself for Dong’er, but did you ever think about how much pain I felt in my heart when I was by your side, and when I watched you become like you were? When I vomited some blood of my own and plucked another Yearning Heartbroken Grass for you, I knew that I had already fallen in love with you, and irrevocably so.

“Even I felt that I was so silly and foolish, because we are different in the ﬁrst place. You’re a human, and I’m a soul beast. We should be completely dichotomous, but I am just so foolish, as if I am a moth being attracted to a ﬁre, and ﬂying straight into the ﬂames.

“You hurt me so much every time, and I felt so much pain, but I couldn’t bear to leave you every time...”

“Only in that moment when Dong’er died for you did I realize that her love for you was so much deeper than mine because I had hesitated at that moment. I contemplated that if she died, I could be with you forever. My love for you ultimately has that bit of selﬁshness, but hers doesn’t. Her love for you is pure. She could sacriﬁce her own life for you without any hesitation at all, just like you had done for her.

“I seemed to understand in that moment, that I was always just an outsider between the two of you, and I was never anything else but an outsider. Therefore, I left, and I returned to the Great Star Dou Forest. I made a promise to myself that I would never see you again, and I would bury everything that happened between us in the past, and I would let bygones forever be bygones.

“I had learned how humans love each other, but I didn’t learn how to forget. I couldn’t forget about you

“Therefore, I came once I felt that you were in danger. This time, Dong’er isn’t by your side, and we aren’t inside the Yin- Yang Love Querying Valley. This time, I will not lose to her.

She is in a deep sleep, so there is no way she can compete with me.”

Wang Qiu’er presented everything through her consciousness into Huo Yuhao’s mind, and he felt like his brain was in complete disarray. Even though his spirit was already exceptionally weak, every single word that Qiu’er uttered to him in his mind stunned and astonished him at an unimaginable level. Huo Yuhao didn’t realize that his spiritual power, which was burning up continuously before this, had actually stopped burning.

Wang Qiu’er could feel saltiness ﬂow into her mouth through the corners of her lips, and tears were already streaming down her face. However, she was still holding Huo Yuhao’s head as tightly as she could, so that his forehead was still closely pressed against hers.

“Qiu’er…”

Wang Qiu’er’s consciousness traveled into Huo Yuhao’s mind once more.

“Hehehe... actually, I like how you are now because you won’t resist, and you will just take everything in silence. How I wish I could spend eternity with you like this! Thank you, Yuhao, because you have ﬁnally told me that there is space for me in your heart. In the end, I didn’t waste my experience of

that love that humans have. Perhaps I have become more like a human at this point.

“Thank you, Yuhao. Perhaps this is the best outcome for us.

No matter what, we will never be separated again.”

Illusory golden light ﬂickered rhythmically on her body. Both Nan Qiuqiu and Nan Shuihui, who were protected beneath this golden light, realized to their surprise that their bodies had become like statues, and they couldn’t move a single inch.

They could see that the golden light emanating from Wang Qiu’er’s body began to resemble ﬂames, while heaven and earth seemed to lose all color at that moment.

Wang Qiu’er’s entire body became a little blurry, and she transformed into a ball of light that resembled the shape of a human. Afterward, she melted through the spot where her

forehead was tightly pressed against Huo Yuhao’s forehead.

She slowly melted into Huo Yuhao’s body, bit by bit…

“No, Qiu’er…” Huo Yuhao couldn’t shout, because his lips were still tightly locked with Wang Qiu’er’s lips.

At this moment, Nan Shuishui and Nan Qiuqiu could clearly hear his shouts, those hysterical exclamations that came from his spiritual world, but they couldn’t do anything to stop this process, which was almost like a divine ceremony.

Streaks of light ﬂowed into Huo Yuhao’s forehead continuously!

Wang Qiu’er seemed like liquid gold, and she gently spread to every part of Huo Yuhao’s body. She tenderly integrated herself into his body, and Huo Yuhao’s entire body was covered with golden hues.

Huo Yuhao’s own projection hovering above his head discreetly and quietly vanished. The raging spiritual ﬂames were extinguished by those golden colors that ﬂowed into him.

Wang Qiu’er’s body continued ﬂowing into Huo Yuhao’s body until only her virtual self remained. She still looked like she had, but she had become transparent.

An enormous vertical eye stood as a backdrop behind her, and the Three-Eyed Golden Lion’s projection ﬂickered. However, the lion was looking up at the sky at this moment, and there was only satisfaction in her three eyes.

“Don’t do this, Qiu’er!” Huo Yuhao felt as if lava was ﬂowing through his body as heat surrounded every inch of him. All his weakness was replaced by strength at this moment, and he felt as if his entire being was fusing with another.

Huo Yuhao’s spiritual sea became plentiful once more as golden seawater ﬂowed torrentially through it. Everything was brilliantly golden in color and exceptionally eye-catching.

Three projections glimmered and hovered above his spiritual sea one after another. They transformed, respectively, into a handsome youth and two ladies.

The handsome youth had long white hair, and ten golden halos circled around his body. One of the ladies wore a ﬂowing jade-green dress, and there were tinges of unruliness and unyieldingness amid her beauty. The other lady bloomed with cold arrogance as if she were a winter sweet in harsh ice.

“Concrete-material realm... a realm that not even I was able to reach after one million years of cultivation, but this realm has been realized at this moment,” the handsome youth muttered under his breath, and he went down on one knee in the next moment. He placed his right hand on his chest and closed his eyes, as if in prayer.

The other two ladies made the same motion, but they didn’t close their eyes. Their enchanting eyes were full of reverence and longing.

There was no question that this handsome youth was the Skydream Iceworm, while the other two ladies were the Ice Empress and the Snow Empress.

The Ice Empress had become like she was back then, and she seemed to have recovered some of her memory. These three powerful beings weren’t excited or overjoyed about their

transformations at all at this moment. Instead, they were ﬁlled with some indescribable emotions.

Of course they knew what had just happened. In that moment, not even they knew how to extinguish Huo Yuhao’s burning spiritual ﬂames with all their power and strength. However, Wang Qiu’er did it, and they were kneeling for her.

Huo Yuhao wasn’t the only person that Wang Qiu’er had saved – they were saved as well, and even though they could have continued to survive within Wang Qiu’er’s spiritual world, that outcome wasn’t something that they had wanted.

In terms of age and cultivation, even though Wang Qiu’er was the Emperor Beast, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, she only had several tens of thousands of years of cultivation. Naturally, she couldn’t take these three powerful beings, who all had at least four hundred thousand years of cultivation each. But these three powerful beings knew that what Wang Qiu’er ha done for Huo Yuhao wasn’t something they could do, and so they knelt for her out of respect.

Sacriﬁce! Yes, only a Sacriﬁce could produce such tremendous changes.

Wang Qiu’er was the human form of the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, who was also the Emperor Beast, and the god-beast of Destiny. No matter how much her appearance, personality, and emotions resembled those of a human, she was still empirically a soul beast in the end.

Soul beasts always became soul rings after death, and human soul masters could absorb them once they reached their bottlenecks. Soul masters depended on soul rings to break through their bottlenecks.

However, there was a very special situation amongst soul beasts. If a soul beast was willing to sacriﬁce itself to become a human’s soul ring, then its soul ring would fuse with the soul master at the highest possible level. However, this soul beast would lose its life in the process, and even its spirit would be completely integrated into that soul master’s spirit during this fusion process. The soul beast’s spirit would disappear forever.

This fusion process that required death without any reciprocation at all was known as Sacriﬁce.

Wang Qiu’er wanted to save Huo Yuhao, and she wanted to make sure that he wouldn’t die after his spiritual sea was incinerated, so she chose the most intense, cruel, resolute, and passionate method.

The Skydream Iceworm, the Snow Empress, and the Ice Empress didn’t dare to do so, but Wang Qiu’er did so for Huo Yuhao.

Just as she said, she didn’t want to lose to Wang Dong’er again, and she would never lose to Wang Dong’er again in this moment.

She knew that even though that she took up some space in Huo Yuhao’s heart, she could never compare to Wang Dong’er. This ceremony was the only way for her body, spirit, and everything that she was to be integrated into his body so that she would never be separated from him.

She offered herself to Huo Yuhao not just to save him. At the same time, she did so because of that burning passion in her heart. She chose the proudest method to announce her sovereignty over Huo Yuhao.

After this divine ceremony was complete, Wang Qiu’er and Huo Yuhao would never be apart. They had truly become one body.

Perhaps this was their destiny from the moment Huo Yuhao’s forehead pressed against hers, from the moment he obtained his Eye of Destiny from her.

She was the god-beast of Destiny, but she couldn’t escape fate and the pull of destiny in the end.

Huo Yuhao’s spiritual sea and his soul power were sublimated into hers, and everything that he had was fusing with her rapidly. His burning spiritual sea regained its original shape, and it was even more voluminous than before. His spiritual sea fully stepped into the concrete-material realm, and in terms of Huo Yuhao’s spiritual strength, he was now amongst the most powerful beings in the world.

A halo quietly appeared on Huo Yuhao’s body, and it drew out ﬁve other circles that were respectively white, purple, black, black, and black. This most recent soul ring aligned itself at the back, but it had a peculiar golden color. It shone with faint rosy

colors but retained the brilliance and dazzling elements of gold.

This was the third time that a peculiar soul ring that transcended normal soul rings had appeared on Huo Yuhao’s body. His glossy white million-year soul ring, his orange-gold soul rings that represented the Snow Empress’ spirit, and this newest rose-gold soul ring made Huo Yuhao seem like he was a being that came from another world as if he wasn’t a soul master from the Douluo Continent.

Finally, all those golden colors integrated into his body completely, and the spheres of light that were rotating rapidly ﬁnally stopped, and gradually descended to the ground.

Everything around them was still black and white while rolling thunder boomed in the sky. Violent and hysterical winds billowed through the air as mountains shook and the earth trembled at that moment, and lightning sparkled and ﬂashed in the heavens. Rolling thunder echoed continuously, as though heaven and earth were about to shatter into a million pieces.

A dash of blood-red light ﬂickered far off on the horizon, and an indescribable and enormous pressure caused all the soul beasts in the Douluo Continent to raise their heads at the same time.

……

Inside the Great Star Dou Forest...

Thunder continued to boom as heavy rain poured from the sky. The entire Great Star Dou Forest witnessed torrential rain that they wouldn’t see more than once in a century… but strangely, there wasn’t a single dark cloud in the sky. There was only a patch of blood-red color at the other end of this rainstorm, and the sky above the entire Great Star Dou Forest was stained this same blood-red.

Shadows that carried powerful auras rose into the sky one after another and rushed through the trees from the Great Star Dou Forest’s Core Region.

They were in various shapes and sizes, but every single one of them emanated unrivaled and frightening auras. Their auras became increasingly frightening the closer these shadows came to the Great Star Dou Forest’s Core Region, and every single being that dared to ﬂy out of the Great Star Dou Forest were the strongest individuals in this place, where the most powerful soul beasts in the Continent gathered and roosted.

A man in a long black robe hovered silently in the sky above the Great Star Dou Forest’s Core Region. Every single aura around him was incredibly powerful, but not a single being dared to hover higher than him in the sky.

This man wore a grave, stern, and resolute look on his face. His ﬂowing black hair draped behind him and stretched perfectly to his ankles without a single inch of discrepancy at all.

Two locks of golden hair were especially glaring amidst all his black hair, and they hung in front of him silently.

He was looking up at the colors of blood in the sky at this moment. He suddenly lifted his right hand and grabbed at something in the air.

A frightening aura that couldn’t be any more terrifying suddenly burst forth from his body, and his grabbing action seemed as though he was tearing the sky apart. The entire Great Star Dou Forest trembled faintly, and the sky contorted vigorously for a moment.

A black gash that was a hundred meters long appeared in the sky just like that. This black gaping hole seemed as though it had boundless suction power, and all the other powerful beings around him hurriedly retreated for fear of being sucked into this gash.

However, after a moment, nothing happened within that tremendous black gash before it closed up once more. The blood colors in the sky didn’t change, and nothing appeared from within that black gash.

At this moment, a jade-green ﬁgure soared through the sky from a distance, right towards this black-haired male.

This jade-green ﬁgure appeared before the black-haired male in the blink of an eye as if it had transcended space and time. She was a stunningly beautiful lady, and her long jade-green hair was draped behind her head. Her eyes were also jade- green, and her ﬁgure was long and slender, while her long light green dress brought out her slender ﬁgure perfectly. She had snowy white hands that resembled tender lotuses, and a pair of wings that seemed like they had been sculpted from jewels and gems extended from behind her back.

Her wings were jade-green as well, and every single feather was dazzling and eye-catching. Those brilliant and vivid green colors were ﬁlled with life energy, and all that made her seem like a moving and enchanting Goddess.

This exceptionally beautiful lady’s eyes were conspicuously worried and anxious. She stopped before the black-haired man after ﬂying rapidly towards him and asked, “What’s wrong, Di Tian? What has happened, exactly?”

Yes, the handsome man who had black hair that extended all the way to his ankles was known as the strongest Savage Beast in the world today. He was the leader of the Douluo Continent’s Ten Great Savage Beasts, and he was the Great Star Dou Forest’s dictator. He was the king of beast kings, the Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King, Di Tian!

Di Tian glanced coldly at the beautiful lady who was emitting life energy as he lowered his voice and said, “Something’s happened to the Auspicious Beast.”

“What?” The beautiful lady exclaimed in surprise. “No wonder I feel so stiﬂed. What’s happened to the Auspicious Beast?”

Di Tian lowered his voice and said, “Her life energy is ﬂowing away at an alarming rate. I attempted to use Descent to bring her back, but it didn’t have any effect at all.”

The beautiful lady’s expression changed drastically. The Emperor Auspicious Beast, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion’s existence, was exceptionally important to the entire Great Star Dou Forest.

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion’s abilities enabled normal soul beasts to grow faster, and she enabled them to become powerful beings quicker than normal. However, she was even more important to these top-tier beast kings! It was a lot safer for them to break through their bottlenecks every hundred

thousand years with the Three-Eyed Golden Lion’s control over destiny. Furthermore, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion also allowed their cultivation to grow faster than usual. In the past several millennia, the Great Star Dou Forest’s overall strength had been greatly boosted because of the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, and they had consolidated and maintained their position as the number-one habitat on the Douluo Continent.

How could this beautiful lady not be shocked when Di Tian mentioned that something had happened to the Three-Eyed Golden Lion? She wasn’t the only one who was astonished. The other beast kings around them who had heard Di Tian’s words saw each other’s expressions change drastically as well. Those who were relatively hot-tempered couldn’t hold themselves back, and they roared and howled angrily into the sky.

Instantly, countless beasts prostrated themselves, and a stern aura gushed forth from the Great Star Dou Forest.

The beautiful lady’s breathing was a little rushed, and her busty chest heaved up and down. “If only I had been by her side, I could have saved her life no matter what. Di Tian, can you use Descent to send me over?”

Di Tian shook his head and said, “No, we’re too far away. There’s no way I can lock onto her exact position unless she cooperates with me. However, there’s no way she can cooperate with us, because she is the one who’s causing her own life energy to ﬂow away. If my feelings are right, I’m afraid the Auspicious Beast is…”

He stopped for a moment, and his ﬁnal words were uttered soundlessly, and only the beautiful lady beside him could hear.

“What? How is that possible?” the beautiful lady exclaimed in shock once more, her enchanting jade-green eyes ﬁlled with incredulity.

Di Tian’s eyes were grave and stern. “Humans, humans! Jade Concubine, you can’t attempt to stop me this time. We are the ones who should rule this world. Humans have threatened our species’ survival for the last time.”

“Myriad Demon King, Bear Lord, and Scarlet King! Pass on my order…”

------

Boom, boom, boom!

Blood-colored lightning descended from the sky, covering several dozen square kilometers all around. Heaven and earth seemed to have descended into a sea of blood, and that horrifying sensation felt like the end of the world.

Amidst those large patches of blood-colored lightning, there was only one patch of ground, less than ten square meters in size, which was untouched.

Huo Yuhao was standing in that space, and his eyes were ﬁlled with incredulity as tears dripped continuously from his eyes. However, there was nothing he could do at this moment. He couldn’t even utter a single word.

Wang Qiu’er was still standing in front of him in her virtual form. Her pretty face was almost transparent, and no longer had that coldness that she typically wore. All that was left was a faint, warm smile.

“Don’t be sad. You aren’t that handsome in the ﬁrst place, and you’re even uglier when you cry. Actually, you should blame me for being selﬁsh – Dong’er has died for you once, but her death wasn’t as complete as mine! Hehe, I have completely integrated myself into you as one body this time. If you miss me, then you should take good care of yourself, and you should be kind to the abilities that I have granted you. For some reason, I don’t feel a single ounce of longing and yearning for this world even though I am about to leave it. I even feel like I haven’t died at all, and I have obtained a new life instead. What’s happening?

“Even though I’m not a hundred-thousand-year soul beast, I will grant you two soul skills just like normal hundred- thousand-year soul beasts. At the same time, I believe that nobody else is more suitable than I am to become your head soul bone. You will obtain the true Eye of Destiny, and you will have power over destiny.

“I have to go, my dear. I won’t be like you – I won’t allow someone who loves me to forget about me right before I die. I hope that you will remember me forever, and you will always miss me.

“Something might happen in the Great Star Dou Forest after I leave. You should go there soon to take a look. I have offered everything I have to you, and even if they ﬁnd you, they won’t do anything to you... because the Great Star Dou Forest’s fortunes will end if you die.”

Wang Qiu’er suddenly paused as she uttered these words. Her eyes were overﬂowing with tears as she stared at Huo Yuhao, and she smiled mournfully. “I can’t bear to leave you. Don’t forget about me… I love you!”

“Hum!” The blood-colored lighting in the sky that rained down upon the earth suddenly halted at this moment, and Wang Qiu’er’s illusory ﬁgure erupted with light. Intense golden light expanded to the ends of the earth as if it were about to swallow the entire world, and then it withdrew in the next moment, leaving only a golden skull that was about as large as a ﬁst. This golden skull hovered before Huo Yuhao quietly.

Huo Yuhao’s Eye of Destiny opened on his forehead, and a golden ray shot out from his Eye of Destiny, to land on that golden skull.

The golden skull immediately became transparent and resembled a golden water crystal as it gradually drifted forward. The skull became increasingly small as it did so and ﬁnally ﬂew up in front if Huo Yuhao as it transformed into a golden ray that disappeared into his Eye of Destiny.

Huo Yuhao’s body suddenly quivered, and an indescribably frightening aura burst out from his body. The blood colors in the sky became golden as an enormous golden pillar descended from the sky and slammed into Huo Yuhao’s head.

Huo Yuhao’s eyes went blank, and he was instantly rendered unconscious.

Nan Shuishui and Nan Qiuqiu weren’t far from him, and they could clearly see that Huo Yuhao’s entire body was shining with streaks of golden lightning after he was struck by that golden pillar. Transformations began to happen on his body – his black hair was gradually covered by a golden layer, and eventually became a peculiar dark gold color. An enormous

vertical eye appeared behind his back. This eye was gold, but its pupil was black and white. The black and white ﬂickered alternately as if they were tangible and material.

Another beam of light descended from the sky and landed on his body right at this moment. This time, the beam was scarlet- red, as if it were a beam of ﬁre.

Subsequently, orange, yellow, green, indigo, blue, and violet beams of light descended from the sky one after another, forming the colors of the rainbow along with the red light beam that came before.

Small changes would happen to Huo Yuhao’s disposition after every beam of light descended on his body, and even his appearance was transforming subtly. He wasn’t considered very good-looking before this, but now he was becoming more handsome.

Nan Qiuqiu was standing right beside him, and she had the strongest feelings about everything. Huo Yuhao was still the same as the person in front of her, and she could still recognize him with one look, but he had become more handsome and different from before.

A peculiar layer of light appeared on Huo Yuhao’s body after the seven colors of the rainbow anointed him in succession. This light had seven colors, and it gradually carried him into the sky, where his unconscious body crossed his legs and sat down. Afterward, that vertical eye transformed into rays of

ﬂowing light that ﬂowed continuously through the Eye of Destiny on his forehead.

Nan Qiuqiu’s eyes were completely lifeless and frozen as she looked on. “Is this fellow still human? What… what’s happening, exactly?” Nan Qiuqiu and Nan Shuishui couldn’t hear Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu’er’s conversation, but everything that was unfurling before their very eyes was far too astonishing for them.

Chapter 389: Changes in All Parties

Nan Shuishui hugged her daughter and heaved a faint sigh. “Let’s protect him. Even though I don’t know what’s happened to him, if my guess isn’t wrong, his female partner must have sacriﬁced herself for whatever it is that’s happening to him. I have no idea why such peculiar things are happening to him, but they shouldn’t be bad for him. But I feel so much pity for his female partner… and they’re doing it all to save me… haih…”

Nan Shuishui knew that the Earthdragon Sect was deep in Huo Yuhao’s debt this time. Huo Yuhao had saved every one of the Earthdragon Sect’s members, including her, the sect leader. His partner’s life had been sacriﬁced in the process. How was she going to repay a favor as large as this?

------

“What?” Ma Xiaotao stared at the Third Elder and the Fourth Elder. Her entire body had become lackadaisical.

For her, what she had just heard from them was like bolts from the blue.

Huo Yuhao had been ambushed and surrounded, and he ﬁnally burned his spiritual sea. He employed some special abilities to break out, and was now nowhere to be found.

He burned his spiritual sea? Burned his spiritual sea!

What did this mean? Ma Xiaotao came from Shrek Academy, so how could she not know what this meant?

Yuhao! Yuhao!

Ma Xiaotao’s body quivered faintly, and frightening auras erupted from her body continuously.

“Are you alright, Holy Lady?” Zhongli Tian asked softly.

Evil lights ﬂickered in Ma Xiaotao’s eyes, and she glanced coldly at the Third Elder and Fourth Elder. She didn’t mince

her words, and paused after every word. “Two Titled Douluo can’t hold back a single Soul King. The two of you are so capable! After him! Chase him down! If he’s alive, I want to see him in front of me. If he’s dead, I want to see his corpse.” She stretched out her phoenix wings as she spoke, and immediately

transformed into a humongous ﬁre phoenix as she ﬂew rapidly in the direction that the Third Elder had said that Huo Yuhao had disappeared towards.

------

Inside Seajoy City...

The city’s port was bustling as usual, and goods and cargo were being transported here and there while boats and ships entered and left the harbor.

There was a relatively large transport ship, and the ship’s crew was currently accounting for their ship’s members.

There were many people lying down around the ship’s spacious cabin. Those who were in a relatively better state of mind could forcibly sit up with their legs crossed. However,

everyone’s eyes ﬂowed with excitement, whether they were lying down or sitting up.

They were excited because they were free!

Xu Sanshi, He Caitou, Ye Guyi, and Jing Ziyan were accounting for their ship’s members. Their faces were grave and solemn at this moment, and Ji Juechen stood guard outside the ship’s hold to prevent any unforeseen accidents.

Their rescue operation could be said to have been exceptionally smooth and successful… or, at least it seemed so. The operation had been carried out and completed entirely according to Huo Yuhao’s plan.

They had saved almost six hundred people. In order to confuse their enemies, a little more than a dozen elders and seniors from those various sects and academies had remained to draw their enemies away. More than ninety-ﬁve percent of the hostages had been rescued, and everyone hurried to Seajoy City to rendezvous with the others.

Everyone was a little exhausted and fatigued because they had been ﬂying at full speed, and because their bodies had been treated badly in the water prison. However, with sufﬁcient food and water supporting them, it didn’t take long for them to recover their full ﬁghting strength.

But even so, Xu Sanshi and the others couldn’t feel any joy at all, because Huo Yuhao and Nan Qiuqiu hadn’t returned yet. This also meant that they couldn’t rush to Seajoy City to meet up with the rest in time.

Huo Yuhao had already accounted for a situation like this. As long as the hostages were all here, they would immediately cast off and depart, while he and Nan Qiuqiu would ﬁnd another way to return to the Academy.

Everything had been pre-arranged, but He Caitou’s news still gave everyone a heavy heart. A single Beast Lord-ranked soul engineer legion entering the fray had changed the situation, and nobody knew what was happening with Huo Yuhao and Nan Qiuqiu because they couldn’t communicate with them at all.

Naturally, they hoped that they could wait for them to return before they departed, and only then would everyone be in high spirits. Only then could their operation be considered perfect and without any blemishes at all.

“Are you guys from Shrek Academy? Thank you.” An elderly man who was about sixty years of age stood up and came up to Xu Sanshi, who was still accounting for everyone, and spoke to him in a voice full of gratitude.

Xu Sanshi suppressed the anxiety and unsettledness in his heart and replied with a faint smile, “You’re welcome, but you don’t have to be so polite. The Sun Moon Empire is very scheming and treacherous, and they disregarded the tournament’s rules that have been passed down across millenia within the Continent by forcefully imprisoning so many people. How can Shrek Academy and the Tang Sect sit by and watch?”

Cold light ﬂickered in the elderly man’s eyes. “The Sun Moon Empire… the Sun Moon Empire! Do they really think they can dominate the entire continent by relying on their soul tools? That’s just wishful thinking. How can the Sun Moon Empire compare to the Douluo Continent’s foundations and history?”

Xu Sanshi nodded and said, “We have to come together as one. Even if the Sun Moon Empire launches an invasion against us, we may not lose to them. You should get some rest, senior. We will be casting off shortly.”

“Alright, thanks. The Lone Heaven Sect will always remember what you guys have done for us. Shrek Academy just has to call for us in the future, and we will never shy away from whatever you guys need from us.”

The Tang Sect’s reputation was still too small, and paled in comparison to Shrek Academy, which had been established for ten thousand years. Therefore, even though Xu Sanshi mentioned several times that the rescuers didn’t just come from Shrek Academy, and that they also came from the Tang Sect, most of the hostages pinned this favor on Shrek Academy.

He Caitou walked over from the other side and checked his headcount with Xu Sanshi. There were about twelve people who hadn’t arrived yet, but it was obvious that these people would probably never arrive.

“It’s about time, Sanshi.” He Caitou uttered these words with much difﬁculty.

He Caitou was before Xu Sanshi in seniority, but Xu Sanshi’s status within the Tang Sect was a little higher than his.

Xu Sanshi grit his teeth as he glanced at the hostages in the ship’s hold, lowered his voice and announced, “Start the ship!”

Several minutes later, an enormous iron anchor was gradually pulled up. The sailors and hands that the Tang Sect had hired worked together, and the colossal transport ship slowly departed the harbor and sailed towards the endless ocean…

------

In the Sun Moon Empire’s royal palace...

“What? The hostages are gone?” Xu Tianran’s typically calm voice was suddenly excessively penetrating, causing the entire hall’s ceiling to tremble.

Xu Tianran was wearing a long, bright yellow robe, and his face was grave and gloomy at this moment. He stared coldly at several people who were kneeling down before him, and his eyes were ﬁlled with killing intent.

The Evileye Tyrant Soul Engineer Legion’s commander was kneeling before him, along with the commanders of the two soul engineer legions who had been stationed around Sunrise City.

“Speak! What happened? Tell me everything in detail,” Xu Tianran said plainly, not taking long before he regained his composure. However, everyone could feel that this was just the calm before the storm, and if anything wasn’t explained properly, or if errors were made throughout the process, someone’s head would probably be immediately sent rolling across the ground.

Ju Zi was sitting beside Xu Tianran, her expression a little black as well. The Holy Ghost Church and two soul engineer legions were watching over those hostages, along with the Evileye Tyant Soul Engineer Legion, which was the legion most adept at speed among the Beast Lord-ranked soul engineer legions, to assist them, and yet several hundred

hostages had still managed to run away. This was extremely humiliating!

Furthermore, those hostages were extremely valuable to the empire, because they restrained the Douluo Continent’s three native empires. At the same time, these hostages remaining in the Sun Moon Empire was also equivalent to greatly restricting the three empires’ future top-tier soul masters’ strength. Now that they were all was gone, the Sun Moon Empire’s plan and strategy had to be changed, and their borders were in danger of being assaulted by these three empires in revenge at any moment.

These commanders immediately began their reports, everyone responsible for one part. Their reports, when added together, explained the entire process of how their hostages managed to escape in detail.

“Someone please invite the Imperial Tutor to discuss matters.” Xu Tianran passed on an order after listening to the three commanders, and a servant immediately ran frantically to fulﬁll his command.

Xu Tianran’s eyes closed into slits, and his eyes ﬂowed with a contemplative look. The Holy Ghost Church was in charge of the most crucial parts of watching over the hostages, and they even used drugs that can dispel a soul master’s soul power. But every single hostage ran away... what were those guys doing? Two evil Titled Douluo couldn’t even guard that place properly? They couldn’t even buy enough time for reinforcements to arrive?

Furthermore, they had managed to surround one of the rescuers at the end, but even this person got away. Two Titled Douluo couldn’t hold back a single Soul King… who would believe that?

“Have you investigated who that person is? I’m talking about that person who burned his own spiritual power to escape!” Xu Tianran asked coldly.

The Evileye Tyrant Soul Engineer Legion’s commander, Wang Yiheng, said respectfully, “We’ve already investigated as much as possible. Tthat person should have come from Shrek Academy, or the Tang Sect. Not long ago, he represented the Tang Sect and participated in the Continental Elite Youth Soul Master Tournament.”

Ju Zi was expressionless at the start, but her expression changed drastically when she heard these words, as an ominous feeling rose in her heart.

“That person participated in the tournament, so some of my subordinate soul engineers recognized him. His name was Huo Yuhao, but he was in a wheelchair when he fought in the tournament. His movements were normal when he appeared last night, but we are sure that these two are the same person. The city wall was broken through by someone who controls ice-type abilities, and according to our investigation, Huo Yuhao possesses Ultimate Ice.”

Ju Zi almost fainted when she heard these words, and nearly slid down from her chair. Hearing about Huo Yuhao’s appearance was supposed to be good news for her, because she hadn’t heard anything about him ever since he and the others had disappeared into the Yin-Yang Love Querying Valley. In the months afterwards, Ju Zi had even discreetly sent someone over to search for them, but her efforts had been futile. However, even though Huo Yuhao had appeared once more, he was in an excessively dire situation!

Yuhao... it’s Yuhao! Why was he here to save those hostages? And he even burned his own spiritual power? He… how is

he…?

Ju Zi couldn’t maintain her composure anymore, and she felt as if she were sitting on pins and needles at this moment.

Xu Tianran was over the top with anger and rage, but he was momentarily stunned when he heard Wang Yiheng’s words. He pondered for a moment, then said, “I have an impression of him. Yes, he was sitting in a wheelchair when he participated in the tournament. He was the one that led the Tang Sect to create miracles again and again, and they even managed to defeat the Holy Ghost Sect’s team in the end! He disappeared without a trace, along with everyone else from Shrek Academy, afterwards!”

Xu Tianran’s eyes closed into slits as cold light ﬂickered in them. “He actually came back to rescue those hostages? That means he didn’t die in the Western Mountain’s valleys. They actually came out of that strange place alive? Commander Wang, you can get up. You were only responsible for the reinforcements. The situation was already ﬁxed when you arrived. This matter has nothing to do with you.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.” Wang Yiheng got to his feet and stood off to one side.

Xu Tianran was seething with rage at this moment, and he really wanted to kill the three commanders before him to vent his anger. However, his rationality allowed him to control this impulse. No matter what, these three commanders were top- tier soul engineers, especially Wang Yiheng, who was a Class 9 soul engineer.

The Sun Moon Empire had an overwhelming number of soul engineers, but even so, Class 9 soul engineers were considered strategic existences.

Wang Yiheng commanded the Evileye Tyrant Soul Engineer Legion, and he was one of the ﬁngers of the Hand that Protects the Nation. He was a Titled Douluo, of course, and his title was the Mad Bull.

The Mad Bull Douluo, Wang Yiheng, had quite a reputation in the world of soul engineers.

The other two commanders were both Class 8 soul engineers, and Xu Tianran couldn’t bear to kill them, no matter what had happened. However, he had to let them kneel for a little while longer.

It didn’t take long for the Holy Ghost Church’s Leader, who was also the Sun Moon Empire’s Imperial Tutor, to arrive. He was clad in black, and Ma Xiaotao had once told Huo Yuhao that his name was Zhong Wu. He was the descendant of the previous Leader of the Holy Ghost Church, the same person who had disturbed and troubled the Twin Holy Dragons of Black and White: the evil soul master, Ye Xishui.

Zhong Wu didn’t come alone; the Third and Fourth Elders accompanied him.

Ma Xiaotao had quickly vanished without a trace after she ran out hysterically yesterday, and hadn’t returned since then. The Elders were helpless about that, and had no choice but to return to Radiant City. They reported this to Zhong Wu as soon as was possible.

Zhong Wu knew that Xu Tianran would deﬁnitely seek him out. Therefore, he decided to bring his two Elders along while the three Zhong brothers were here.

The Holy Ghost Church’s Leader, Zhong Wu, tilted his head slightly in greeting when he saw Xu Tianran.

Xu Tianran’s expression warmed a little as he said, “Sit down, Imperial Tutor.”

Zhong Wu sat down on the seat beneath Xu Tianran, and didn’t wait for Xu Tianran to ask as he took the initiative. “Your Majesty, I already know about everything. This matter is too sudden, and there is something odd about it. I will allow my subordinates to explain things to you ﬁrst.” Zhong Wu waved at several of his subordinates as he spoke.

The Third Elder and the Fourth Elder were the main narrators as they began to explain the story at once. The three Zhong brothers added in from one side, and everyone detailed the entire process according to what they knew.

Xu Tianran squinted after listening to their accounts, and said, “That means someone dispelled the poison given to those hostages. However, Imperial Tutor, I remember you mentioning to me that only you possess the antidote for the Soul Eradicating Powder’s intense poison. Someone actually managed to create an antidote independently? Furthermore, Sunrise City’s defenses were tight and strict, so how did these people sneak into the city and discover where the water prison was located?

“They had a meticulously detailed plan, and they even attacked Sunrise City by ﬁring large amounts of soul tools into the city. In the end, they even destroyed the soul tools that they didn’t bring away. The entire process was speciﬁcally delegated, and they carried out their rescue operation impeccably. Without discussing these people’s ﬁghting strength, how scheming they are is astonishing! Furthermore, what makes me furious is the fact that they managed to install so many soul tools within Sunrise City, including Class 8 stationary soul cannon shells, without our patrols discovering anything at all. Since that’s the case, does that mean that if

someone installs stationary soul cannon shells inside Radiant City, will I also possibly be blown into smithereens at any moment?”

At this point, Xu Tianran’s hostility, and all the murderous air that he had suppressed before this, permeated the room once more. The two commanders kneeling beneath him could feel sweat breaking out on their foreheads.

“Calm down, your Majesty,” Zhong Wu lowered his voice, continuing, “This matter has far exceeded our expectations. We are spying on and monitoring most of the powerful individuals who belong to the Douluo Continent’s three native countries. They managed to sneak into our empire and execute a rescue operation such as this, and eventually brought every single hostage away. This operation can’t have been completed by one or two people, so I’m certain that they must be backed by immense wealth, labor, and material resources. Where does their manpower come from? After we received the news, we sent out another two Beast-ranked soul engineer legions in pursuit. According to our leads, they should be heading towards the ocean. Once they pass proper intel back to us, I will let Xiao Feng lead some of my sect’s sharpest and most elite members to cooperate with your soul engineer legions to pursue those perpetrators. We must catch them before they leave your country’s borders.”

Xu Tianran nodded and said, “We can only mend the fold after the sheep have been stolen. Hopefully, we can intercept them in time.”

“Report! Your Majesty, urgent news from the border.” A guard knelt down outside the hall and reported respectfully.

“Send it in.” Xu Tianran was in a terrible mood, and everything he was afraid of happening was happening.. Had something happened at the border again?

A sealed letter was quickly passed into his hands.

After a few moments, Xu Tianran’s face turned black as he slammed his palm into a table beside him, smashing it to pieces. “The border has reported that all of the powerful individuals from Shrek Academy have disappeared without a trace, and the other powerful individuals above the Soul Douluo rank from the Star Luo Empire, the Heavenly Soul Empire, the Dou Ling Empire that we have been monitoring vanished along with them. There is no question that these people must be going to reinforce those hostages.”

The Holy Ghost Church’s Leader was quiet as he listened to Xu Tianran’s words. This plan was too perfect. Its perpetrators didn’t give them any chances at all!

“The hostages were rescued before the news of those powerful individuals disappearing came,” Xu Tianran muttered angrily, “Who are these people who rescued the hostages? Are they inconspicuous and unassuming individuals within the world of soul masters? Imperial Tutor, it looks like the Holy Ghost Church really has to be reorganized and tidied up.”

Xu Tianran’s tone wasn’t too overboard, but even the Holy Ghost Church’s Leader, who he had always respected, was berated amidst his seething rage.

Zhong Wu was equally indignant. He got to his feet and lowered his voice as he said, “I will give you an explanation, your Majesty.” He turned to the Third Elder, the Fourth Elder, and the three Zhong brothers as he spoke.

“The big toe of your right foot.” Zhong Wu’s voice was very calm, but it was also cold and eerie at the same time.

Blood erupted into the air as all ﬁve members of the Holy Ghost Church tore off the big toes of their right feet one after another, and tossed them to the ground. Fresh blood immediately splashed all over the ground. Two of them were Titled Douluo, and three of them were Soul Douluo! Zhong Wu

uttered but one sentence, and they had no choice but to harm themselves like that.

Zhong Wu walked forward and came before the two soul engineers who were kneeling on the ground. “Your defenses have failed, and you were played by the enemy however they wished. You concentrated a lot of resources on the city, but the enemy managed to sneak in anyway. The two of you are responsible.”

The two soul engineers raised their heads subconsciously as they heard his grave and chilly voice. Their eyes were ﬁlled with fear as they subconsciously glanced at Xu Tianran. One of them blurted out, “Your Majesty…”

Zhong Wu made his move before Xu Tianran could say anything. A pair of skeletal claws that were as black as ink sprang from nowhere and clawed into these two Class 8 soul engineers’ heads. Powerful auras emerged from Zhong Wu’s

body, and he suppressed the two soul engineers forcefully, so that they couldn’t resist him at all.

These two soul engineers were eight-ringed Soul Douluo, but their soul tools had been seized before they came to see Xu Tianran. Furthermore, they were soul engineers, and they paled in comparison to soul masters of the same rank when they didn’t have their soul tools. There was nothing else to say when they were confronted by a mighty evil soul master like Zhong Wu.

The two soul engineers didn’t even make a sound as they collapsed to the ground, lifeless. Two panicky and frightened spirits were forcefully extracted from their bodies, and were compressed by black air streams coming from Zhong Wu’s hands. They became two spheres ﬂickering with faint white light, and eventually disappeared into thin air.

Zhong Wu turned around and said to Xu Tianran, “Your Majesty, the matter has already reached this stage, so we can only think of a solution as quickly as possible. We shall wait for my subordinates, who are chasing those perpetrators, to return, and will pass any news to you as soon as possible. You have to make plans at once as well; war might be inevitable at this point. Farewell.” With that, he turned to leave, and the

other ﬁve evil soul masters resisted the intense pain with great difﬁculty as they followed Zhong Wu away.

Xu Tianran’s face was black, and his breathing was evidently a lot coarser and heavier than usual. His ﬁsts were clenched tightly as he stared at the two corpses on the ground.

The Mad Bull Douluo, Wang Yiheng, couldn’t hold himself back anymore and shouted angrily, “Too wanton! Your Majesty, he’s too outrageous and unbridled.” Those two Class 8 soul engineers weren’t his subordinates, but they came from the same system, after all. The Holy Ghost Church’s Leader had killed them right in front of Xu Tianran, and he couldn’t help but feel distressed for others of his kind.

Xu Tianran grunted coldly and said, “Go and rest, Commander Wang.”

“Your Majesty…”

“Leave!” Xu Tianran’s eyes widened as he yelled at Wang Yiheng, and intense hostility instantly permeated the entire hall.

“Yes.” Wang Yiheng forcefully suppressed the anger and fear in his heart as he bowed respectfully, before turning and leaving

Several servants immediately streamed in and carried the two corpses away.

Xu Tianran said plainly, “They have died in the line of duty, and will receive a generous burial. Compensate their families generously.”

Ju Zi’s emotions had calmed down at this point, and she hid her intense grief and anxiety deep within her heart. She had always been rational, and she was very clear that if Huo Yuhao didn’t have other methods, or if luck wasn’t on his side after he burned his own spiritual power, he was probably dead. She had always had a kind of blind conﬁdence in Huo Yuhao, and she kept telling herself, This fellow is so good at creating miracles. He can’t possibly die so easily. He must be alive, he must be!

Ju Zi got to her feet, walked behind Xu Tianran, and gently massaged his shoulders, which had become a little tense due to his rage.

Xu Tianran’s black face warmed a little when he felt the strength and warmth from Ju Zi’s tender, small hands. He gently patted her soft hands and said, “Only you don’t talk too much; you never speak more than you have to.”

Ju Zi continued to massage him as she whispered, “Take care of your body, your Majesty. Don’t let anger damage your body.” Yes, she was never one to speak too much in front of Xu Tianran, because she understood how intelligent he was. He knew everything, and he would understand everything without needing her to say anything at all.

Xu Tianran laughed coldly and said, “The Imperial Tutor is trying to give me a show of strength. Good, very good! One day… Hmph!”

Ju Zi still said nothing, and just continued massaging him gently.

“Ju Zi—make a trip to the military and pass on my orders. I want all captains and above in Radiant City here for a meeting. I’m afraid war is really coming.”

“Yes!” Ju Zi stopped massaging him and withdrew her hands. She walked around in front of him ﬁrst and curtsied subtly before briskly walking away.

Xu Tianran stared at Ju Zi’s back as she disappeared. He mumbled under his breath, “The Star Luo Empire and the Heavenly Soul Empire will not let a great chance like this slip between their ﬁngers. They will take the initiative and launch an invasion. However, the Sun Moon Empire isn’t sufﬁciently prepared at this point. What do I do? How should I deal with this?”

------

Seven days later, in the Sun Moon Empire’s northwestern regions...

Seven days. Exactly seven days had passed, and Huo Yuhao was still sitting there with his legs crossed as Nan Shuishui and Nan Qiuqiu watched over him. Seven-colored lights continued orbiting his body.

Nan Qiuqiu had personally witnessed the power of those seven-colored lights. It had been raining a few days ago, and the rain came up too suddenly, so the two of them couldn’t shelter Huo Yuhao in time. However, they quickly realized, to their astonishment, that the rainwater evaporated immediately once it touched that seven-colored light, and not a single trace remained. It didn’t take long before Huo Yuhao became a sphere of light completely cocooned in water vapor.

Huo Yuhao’s face no longer showed any grief. He was just sitting there with his legs crossed, and he seemed solemn and digniﬁed.

His dark golden hair had become a lot longer over these few days, and it now almost stretched to his waist behind him. What was even stranger was that his skin had become a lot fairer than before, and he had also become a lot more good- looking.

He was still Huo Yuhao, but he gave them a different feeling now.

Faint golden patterns that resembled the sun appeared around the Eye of Destiny on his forehead. The patterns swam as black and white colors ﬂickered incessantly in his Eye of Destiny. They seemed to represent life and death.

Huo Yuhao’s six soul rings, which were white, purple, black, black, black and rose gold, sparkled alternately on his body. His soul power undulations were being strengthened every day over these last seven days.

Every last trace of Wang Qiu’er had disappeared. Heaven and earth had returned to normal after the seven-colored light descended from the sky on the ﬁrst day, but nobody knew how long this process would take.

“Mom, what rank do you think his soul power will be when he wakes up?” Nan Qiuqiu whispered to her mother.

Nan Shuishui shook her head and said, “I’m not sure. The seven-colored dome of light around him is too tightly sealed,

and it has sealed his aura, so I can’t feel anything from him at all. However, I am sure that he won’t simply be Rank 60. I’m more curious about his rose-gold soul ring, because this is the ﬁrst time that I’ve seen a soul ring of that color.”

Nan Qiuqiu said, “There are too many strange things about him. His other martial soul has an orange-gold soul ring! He’s a Soul Emperor! When can I become a Soul Emperor? Wang Qiu’er passed away for some unknown reason, and she bestowed some abilities to him, but why has another soul ring appeared on his body? Wang Qiu’er wasn’t a soul beast!”

Nan Shuishui’s eyes suddenly stared straight at her daughter, and Nan Qiuqiu felt a little uncomfortable and unsettled underneath her gaze. “Why are you looking at me like that, mum?”

Nan Shuishui’s voice sounded a little strange. “My daughter, I think you may have unintentionally guessed the right answer. What if Wang Qiu’er was actually a soul beast? Wouldn’t that explain everything?”

“She was a soul beast? How is that possible?” Nan Qiuqiu was in disbelief. “Soul beasts can take human form? They need to

have at least a hundred thousand years of cultivation, and they also have to give up their own cultivation for that to happen, right?”

Nan Shuishui continued, “Wang Qiu’er was likely in that situation. Soul beasts can take human form if they have more than two-hundred-thousand years of cultivation after they break through their bottleneck, but otherwise, they have to choose rebirth. Out of ten hundred-thousand-year soul beasts, not even one will make it to two hundred thousand years, and choosing rebirth is very likely when they are not conﬁdent in breaking through the two-hundred-thousand-year bottleneck. But the prerequisite is that they cannot be discovered by their own kind, and they also can’t be discovered by humans. Otherwise, they may die very easily. For soul masters, meeting such a hundred-thousand-year soul beast who has chosen rebirth is considered the luckiest circumstance. Soul masters can obtain a soul ring and a soul bone from killing these soul beasts, and the process will be a lot easier than otherwise.”

Nan Qiuqiu was momentarily stunned. “Then Wang Qiu’er and Huo Yuhao…”

Nan Shuishui heaved a faint sigh and said, “I don’t know about them. The truth is, many soul beasts don’t survive after

they chose rebirth, because they are too pure and naïve. The world of humans is far too dirty and wretched in comparison to their past. Therefore, soul beasts are very likely to be exposed after they take human form, and you already know what will happen to them once they’re exposed.”

Nan Qiuqiu nodded gently and said, “Soul beasts are quite pitiful. Now I am starting to feel that Yuhao’s research on those spirits is very necessary. Otherwise, at the rate that humans are increasing in number, soul beasts will go extinct sooner or later. If soul beasts go extinct, then there won’t be soul masters anymore.”

Nan Shuishui glanced at her daughter in surprise. “It seems you’ve learned quite a bit in the time that you’ve spent with the Tang Sect. What are spirits?”

Nan Qiuqiu put on a serious look and said righteously, “This is top-secret information that belongs to the Tang Sect and Shrek Academy. You belong to the Earthdragon Sect’s inner circle, so you shouldn’t be probing about this.”

“Silly girl!” Nan Shuishui smiled for the ﬁrst time since she had been rescued as she raised her hand and pinched her

daughter’s cheek.

Nan Qiuqiu dodged a few steps away, but her eyes were still ﬁxed on Huo Yuhao. “Haih, I wonder when he’ll wake up. Mum, we owe him such a huge favor for this… what should we do?”

Nan Shuishui said plainly, “His girlfriend died because of this, so you can marry him. My daughter isn’t that ugly, so I’ll let him take this unfair advantage.”

Nan Qiuqiu blushed and snapped at her mother, “What advantage? Are you overly eager to sell me away? Even if you want to sell your daughter, he must be willing to have me. Qiu’er is so beautiful, but he didn’t want to have her for the longest time before today. He likes Dong’er, who is still in a deep slumber, so there’s no business for me there. Sister Guyi knows that this endeavor is too difﬁcult, and she’s backed away. I won’t think about such impossible things. You should think of other solutions.”

Nan Shuishui thought for a moment, then squinted. “Qiuqiu, what do you think about the Earthdragon Sect merging with the Tang Sect?”

“Ah?” Nan Qiuqiu was astounded. “Are you for real, mum? You’re talking about our ancestors’ foundations and establishments! No matter what, the Earthdragon Sect has been around for several centuries. Are you not afraid of meeting your ancestors in another world after you die, and having them beat you until your buttocks explode?”

Nan Shuishui’s face twitched. “Why can’t you wish me good fortune instead? You’re cursing me to die for no reason! Are you even my daughter?”

Nan Qiuqiu was a little sheepish as she replied, “I’m saying all this for your own good.”

Nan Shuishui grunted and said, “I’m not that stupid. What I mean by merging is not a complete integration. I think the Earthdragon Sect and the Tang Sect can join forces and work closely with one another. The Tang Sect hasn’t been established for long, right? Even though they are growing rapidly and becoming stronger, their foundations aren’t stable. I intend to create a branch of the Earthdragon Sect to be left in Shrek Academy, and I will send our most elite members there. You will be in charge of this branch, and you will work

together with the Tang Sect. Afterwards, we will purchase some soul tools from the Tang Sect. What do you think?”

Nan Qiuqiu thought for a moment, then said, “That’s a feasible solution. However, even if that happens, I don’t think our cooperation with the Tang Sect can be considered close and intimate, because we’re not really helping them. You don’t know this, but the Tang Sect’s soul tools are very popular and in demand at the moment. Their supply can’t even meet all that demand, and nobody knows when our turn will come to purchase their soul tools.”

Nan Shuishui looked her daughter up and down and said, “Are you not trying to give yourself to him? You haven’t given him your body, but your heart is with him, no? Are you thinking about the Earthdragon Sect from the perspective of a future heir?”

Nan Qiuqiu stretched her neck and said, “I’m just judging the matter as it stands. The Tang Sect has Shrek Academy supporting them, so why would they work closely with us unless the arrangement is sufﬁciently beneﬁcial for them? Your daughter isn’t worth this price, and the Tang Sect has so many more prodigious and talented individuals than we do.”

Nan Shuishui’s mouth twitched, and she replied “Alright, alright. Don’t I know you? You are at the Tang Sect, and even your heart is at the Tang Sect – you’ve already forgotten where your home is. Don’t worry, I’m not that stupid. Since I’m branching out over there and sending our elite youths over, we

aren’t just maintaining our relationship with the Tang Sect, we also need the Tang Sect and Shrek Academy to train and nurture our elite youths. This is the Earthdragon Sect’s future direction for development, and only then can we obtain sufﬁcient beneﬁts so that the Earthdragon Sect can become stronger.”

Nan Qiuqiu widened her eyes and said, “Mum, do you have a fever? We are the ones who owe him a big favor, not the other way around. Why do I feel like you’re…”

Nan Shuishui cut her off and said, “Let me ﬁnish. Everything I’ve just mentioned has a big prerequisite, and this prerequisite is proﬁt and beneﬁt. We can only survive for a long time if we combine feelings and beneﬁts. We owe the Tang Sect such a huge favor, and we deﬁnitely have to repay them for this favor. The Earthdragon Sect has always kept a deep secret, and we only have to share this secret with the Tang Sect. Everything I’ve said will naturally be successful when the conditions are right. With our understanding of the Tang Sect and Shrek

Academy at the moment, we’re not afraid of them swallowing this secret by themselves.”

“Deep secret? Why don’t I know about this?” Nan Qiuqiu stared at her mother with a curious look on her face.

Nan Shuishui snapped, “Nonsense. Since it’s a secret, how can we let so many people know about it? Only the sect leaders of every generation are worthy of knowing this secret.”

Nan Qiuqiu scampered over to Nan Shuishui’s side and hugged her arm. “Mum, I’m also the future sect leader of the Earthdragon Sect, and you only have one daughter. I’m sure everything will be alright if you tell me this secret. Don’t worry, I won’t tell any outsiders. Tell me, quickly. You know very well that I’m a very curious person.”

Chapter 390: Awakening, Fusion, Evildemon Forest

Nan Shuishui glanced at her and said, “You? You’ve never been able to keep secrets. Telling you is equivalent to telling the entire continent. Forget it. When Huo Yuhao wakes up, I’ll follow all of you to the Tang Sect if he’s ﬁne. This is a top secret of our sect, and we can only share it with the sect leader of the Tang Sect.”

Nan Qiuqiu twisted her lips, and seemed very displeased.

At this moment, a strong wave of soul power caught their attention, and they both turned towards Huo Yuhao at the same time.

The light from the seven-colored barrier slowly weakened, and the huge vertical eye behind Huo Yuhao that had disappeared re-surfaced again. The sunray patterns around the Eye of Destiny on his forehead became weaker, and his Eye of Destiny, which was shining with intersecting black and white lights, suddenly revealed a gentle charm

A gentle rose-gold color subtly appeared in this vertical eye. The black and white lights intersected before retracting, turning into a pupil.

Even though they only took one glance at it, Nan Shuishui and Nan Qiuqiu felt like their spirits had been pulled out of their bodies. Nan Shuishui’s reaction was extremely fast. She quickly lifted her hands and covered her and her daughter’s eyes.

The weakening seven-colored barrier suddenly became stronger just as it looked like it was going to disappear. Following this, it turned into a seven-colored beam that shot into the sky.

Suddenly, a pleasant voice echoed in the air. The visible sky had turned completely golden at this moment.

The earth was set off by the sky, and turned golden too. Huo Yuhao’s body seemed as if it were made of pure gold, and his Eye of Destiny turned back to black and white. It was as if death and life took turns ﬂashing in his eye.

The transformations in the sky didn’t last too long. Suddenly, the golden sky seemed to turn into clouds, which rapidly spun around. The golden light retracted, and changed into a huge golden funnel. It started to gather towards Huo Yuhao’s head, which formed the center.

The golden light disappeared, and Huo Yuhao’s vertical eye returned to its rose-gold color, while heaven and earth turned black and white.

It was a very strange process. Even Nan Shuishui, who was a Soul Douluo and wielded the Annihilation element, felt like she was being strangled, and couldn’t breathe.

During this short process, she became even more determined to work closely with the Tang Sect. She saw the Tang Sect’s unlimited potential in the future through the strange occurrences that kept happening to Huo Yuhao.

Suddenly, a ball of golden light appeared above Huo Yuhao’s head and charged towards the sky. A black slit was torn open in the air, and the golden light quickly entered this slit. As the slit closed up, the golden light disappeared.

Nan Shuishui and Nan Qiuqiu only roughly saw that the golden light was in a shape of a small beast.

------

On a mountain peak that extended all the way to the clouds, a towering ancient castle...

In a quiet room, a ravishing beauty lay quietly and peacefully on a bed. She was beautiful and quiet. Her white dress accentuated her powdery-blue straight hair, making it seemed even more dazzling and eye-catching.

Her ﬁngers were crossed, both her hands on her chest. No matter what angle one looked at her from, she seemed perfect.

It was a pity that she was too quiet. If not for the slight rise and fall of her chest, she would seem like the perfect sculpture.

Suddenly, everything in the room started to distort slightly. It felt as if a scorching ﬂame had just swept past, and the air started to ripple.

A black slit appeared as ripples formed in the air. Following this, a streak of golden light drifted down and gradually landed on this young lady’s chest, before slowly fusing with it.

Suddenly, there was an additional golden halo around her. Her powder-blue long hair started to light up with a glow of the same color, resonating with the streak of golden light on her chest.

That streak of golden light slowly took form and turned into a long, golden staff, or rather a long, golden handle, drifting in the air.

An image of a golden trident also surfaced on her forehead.

That golden trident started to shine brightly, and changed into a streak of golden light drifting up. This streak of golden light turned into the head of a trident and slowly linked up with the golden handle in the air.

When the handle and the head of the trident connected, the entire room turned golden.

Amid the intense golden light, a blue butterﬂy subtly opened up its wings. A golden dragon slowly revolved around it…

The young lady was still sleeping very soundly. The outside world didn’t seem to affect her at all. However, her straight hair started to slowly curl, and formed wavy shapes.

------

Heaven and earth slowly regained the color they had lost, as if a sketch was being painted with colors. Huo Yuhao’s strange, yet terrifying vertical eye also slowly shut, and his forehead was smooth again.

Huo Yuhao slowly opened his eyes again. His eyes appeared shinier and more ethereal.

“Qiu’er…”

“Qiu’er!”

As he called three times, he also seemed to jolt himself awake. Two streams of tears ﬂowed down from his bright eyes. Nan Shuishui and Nan Qiuqiu were astonished that his tears glowed a faint gold. They shone brightly under the illumination of the sunlight.

A spiritual intent ﬁlled with sorrow started to spread from him. Nan Qiuqiu’s tears also started to ﬂow uncontrollably after a momentary daze as she was affected by this spiritual intent of his.

Nan Shuishui’s expression changed in astonishment. The intent that he reveals unwittingly can even inﬂuence people around him. Qiuqiu is almost at the level of a Soul Emperor. However, she can’t even resist it. His spiritual power must be very great!

Nan Shuishui was certain that Huo Yuhao’s spiritual power was greater than hers. Even if he had just obtained his sixth soul ring, he should still only be a Soul Emperor!

However, he was able to leave her so terriﬁed, even though she was a Soul Douluo! This was something unheard of in the world of soul masters.

She didn’t even see what Huo Yuhao did. He just drifted gently to the ground. When he looked over, the tears in his eyes suddenly changed into countless ice ﬂowers that scattered away. An icy light ﬂashed across his eyes before it disappeared.

“Holy! Ghost! Church!” He seemed to shout these three words from between his teeth. His earlier aloofness instantly turned into a terrifying chill. Even Nan Shuishui turned pale from the suppression that he produced, and took a step back.

Nan Qiuqiu was in a worse state. Her body shook, and she fell to the ground on her butt.

This…

Using purely spiritual power to judge this, Nan Shuishui was stunned to realize that none of the Titled Douluo she knew were as dominating as Huo Yuhao. She could conﬁrm now that Huo Yuhao’s abilities couldn’t be judged through his soul

power. His terrifying spiritual power had already enhanced him to a higher level, and it wasn’t just one level. As for how strong he was, that could only be determined by facing him directly.

Huo Yuhao’s expression was very cold as he looked in the direction of Radiant City. However, his eyes were still ﬁlled with torment.

“Qiu’er, Qiu’er…”

How can I repay you for everything you’ve done for me?

Huo Yuhao stopped crying. When sorrow reached a certain level, tears were unable to ﬂow anymore.

After a brief moment, the chill that he released from his body gradually faded away. However, his face turned stiff, and he no longer had any expression on his face. He turned back calmly and looked at Nan Shuishui and Nan Qiuqiu. “Thank you for protecting me. I’m ﬁne.”

Nan Shuishui had already lifted her daughter up at this moment. She opened her mouth and wanted to claim that Huo Yuhao was deﬁnitely not ﬁne! However, she didn’t say it. No, she didn’t dare to do so. The icy-cold look in Huo Yuhao’s eyes and his indifferent expression caused her to shudder. She was more willing to see a bawling Huo Yuhao than she was to see him in this state.

There was nothing sadder than a withered heart. Wang Dong’er was asleep, and Wang Qiu’er had sacriﬁced herself for him. After being dealt two heavy blows, Huo Yuhao was already strong if he had not gone. However, he was already at his limit. If he was dealt any further blows, would he collapse?

Nan Shuishui was a sect leader. Although she sighed in her heart, she wasn’t as weak as her daughter. She walked in front of Huo Yuhao and didn’t discuss anything related to Wang Qiu’er. She only asked, “Yuhao, where are we going next?”

Huo Yuhao seemed to have a plan in mind, and said, “Sect leader Nan, you can return with Qiuqiu ﬁrst. I need to go to a place ﬁrst before I return to the Tang Sect.”

Nan Shuishui said, “No words can express my gratitude. I also have a few things to discuss with your sect leader. You can get busy with your stuff ﬁrst. I’ll send Qiuqiu back to the Tang Sect, and let’s meet at the Tang Sect later.”

Huo Yuhao nodded. “Alright. I’ll need to trouble you to tell my eldest senior that I’m ﬁne, and that I’ll return soon. After this, tell him that Qiu’er was the Auspicious Beast in the Great Star Dou Forest, and she sacriﬁced herself for me. I’m afraid that the soul beasts in the forest will take revenge. The Academy must take precautions. After I complete one more task, I’ll return.”

Nan Shuishui wore a gentle look as she looked at him and said gently, “Kid, don’t be too hard on yourself. You must always look forward. Let’s go to the Tang Sect immediately. Take the words that you said back.”

Huo Yuhao was in a daze as he looked at Nan Shuishui’s gentle gaze. He suddenly felt that he had seen his mother’s face. Instantly, he was about to tear up, and struggled to stop himself from calling out for his mother. He nodded gently and pointed his toes to the ground before turning around and leaping away. He used his Butterﬂy Wings as he ﬂew into the distance rapidly.

Nan Qiuqiu walked a few steps to her mother’s side. “Mom, can’t I follow him? His current condition…”

Nan Shuishui sighed gently and said, “He’s much tougher than you imagine. This kid is bound to achieve lots of success in the future if he can overcome this psychological barrier. He’ll deﬁnitely be a leading ﬁgure that can terrorize the entire continent. Perhaps these ordeals are the best whetstones to shape him into a great character.”

The rims of Nan Qiuqiu’s eyes turned a bit red, and she said, “It’s just that this is too cruel. The person he loves is unconscious, and the person who loves him died for him. If I were him, I would have already broken down.”

Nan Shuishui hugged her daughter and said, “This is why you’re not him. You’ll never reach the heights that he’ll reach in the future. I just hope that you’ll do your best to chase after him as you remain by his side. After some time, you’ll discover that you’ve widened the gap between you and others of the same age, even though you ﬁnd yourself lagging further and further behind him. Just like I said to him, you must always look forward.”

“Okay.” Nan Qiuqiu seemed to understand something, and snuggled beside her mother. However, her mind kept on returning the teary look in Huo Yuhao’s eyes before he left.

As he unleashed his soul power, Huo Yuhao’s speed was lightning-quick. A formless protective barrier that was formed using his spiritual power helped to resist the strong winds coming from the outside world. No matter whether one used their naked eyes or any type of surveillance soul tool, they wouldn’t be able to discover his presence in the air.

Right now, Wang Qiu’er’s words before she died kept on playing in Huo Yuhao’s mind.

Everything that she had left behind had already fused with his body. The sixth soul ring of Wang Qiu’er’s Eye of Destiny couldn’t be appraised using its ‘limit’, while the Skull of Destiny was an astonishing soul bone.

After he completed his perfect fusion with these strengths that Wang Qiu’er left behind, he was enhanced until he reached another level entirely.

This should be an extremely happy thing to any soul master.

However, could Huo Yuhao really be happy?

Dong’er was in a deep sleep, but he had never once blamed Wang Qiu’er for it. When Wang Qiu’er sacriﬁced herself for him, he could clearly feel Wang Qiu’er’s apology towards Wang Dong’er.

The more it was like this, the more tormented he felt internally.

“I learned how humans love each other, but I didn’t learn how to forget. I couldn’t forget about you.”

“Therefore, I came once I felt that you were in danger. This time, Dong’er isn’t by your side, and we aren’t in the Yin-Yang Love Querying Valley. This time, I will not lose to her anymore

– she is in a deep sleep, so there’s no way she can compete with me.”

“Actually, I like how you are now, because you won’t resist, and just take everything in silence. How I wish I could spend eternity with you like this! Thank you, Yuhao, because you

have ﬁnally told me that there is space for me in your heart. In the end, I didn’t waste my experience of that love that humans have. Perhaps I have become more like a human at this point.”

“Thank you, Yuhao. Perhaps this is the best outcome for us – no matter what, we willnever be separated again.”

Yes, we’ll never be separated again! I’ve fused with everything from you. We’ll really never be separated again.

Huo Yuhao pursed his lips tightly. His immense spiritual power gave him an extraordinary memory. This was why he could clearly recall the entire process of Wang Qiu’er’s sacriﬁce for him.

Wang Qiu’er used the most extreme method to ﬁnally be together with him. It could even be said that she had forced him to be together with her. The sorrow he felt in his heart would never disappear.

“Qiu’er, don’t worry. I’ll continue to live strongly for you and for Dong’er. You are already a part of my body. By continuing

to live strongly, it’s the same as you being together with me. I’ll protect everything that you’ve given me.”

After he ﬁnished muttering these words, he gradually retracted the sadness in his eyes. Yes, he had to be strong! It was only by doing so that he wouldn’t let down everything that Wang Qiu’er had done for him.

Huo Yuhao only wanted to do one thing right now from the depths of his heart. He wanted to go to the Clear Sky Sect to see Wang Dong’er. He had already lost Wang Qiu’er, and he really wanted to be by Wang Dong’er’s side and protect her. He wanted to stay with her until she woke up!

However, he couldn’t do so. At least not now.

This was because he had something more important to do.

He recalled what Wang Qiu’er had said to him at the ﬁnal moments before she died. As the Emperor Beast and god beast of Destiny, Wang Qiu’er had offered herself to save Huo Yuhao. This greatly affected the entire Great Star Dou Forest. There was bound to be some kind of reaction, and it might even

catalyze a disaster. He needed to rush back to the forest. It was only by inheriting Wang Qiu’er’s power of destiny that he could settle the core of this issue.

The reason why Huo Yuhao didn’t choose to return to Shrek City with Nan Qiuqiu and Nan Shuishui immediately was because he knew that he wasn’t strong enough.

Even though his spiritual power had been greatly enhanced, he still wasn’t strong enough. He wanted to become even stronger. This process wouldn’t take too much time either.

He wanted to proceed towards a place which wasn’t too far from where he had absorbed Wang Qiu’er’s Sacriﬁce. It was a place in the Sun Moon Empire.

As Huo Yuhao ﬂew, he called, “Brother Skydream.”

A streak of dim gold light ﬂashed, and a ﬁgure appeared beside him. It was a handsome man with short white hair, curly eyebrows, and golden eyes. There were even golden halos around his body.

“Yuhao.” The eyes of this youth looked a little lost, but they were also ﬁlled with comfort and gentleness. Yes, this was the human form of the Skydream Iceworm. When Huo Yuhao’s spiritual power transformed from the concrete-immaterial realm to the concrete-material realm, the Skydream Iceworm, Ice Empress and little Snow Lady’s Spirit had all evolved.

Their spiritual bodies were in Huo Yuhao’s body. As Huo Yuhao’s spiritual sea evolved, their abilities, or rather the strengths that they had been suppressing for fear of overloading Huo Yuhao’s spiritual sea, were all released. This was also the reason why the Skydream Iceworm could adopt a human form and use his spiritual power as a foundation to materialize his form next to Huo Yuhao. At this moment, the ring on Huo Yuhao’s ﬁnger that was formed using the Skydream Iceworm’s spirit had already disappeared.

Huo Yuhao said, “Brother Skydream, I’m ﬁne. How far are we?”

The Skydream Iceworm replied, “We should be going in the correct direction. That fellow lives in a forbidden region of the Sun Moon Empire known as the Evildemon Forest. Although it isn’t as huge as the Great Star Dou Forest, it’s still the largest forest within the borders of the Sun Moon Empire. It’s located

roughly to the west of the Jing Yang Mountain Range that you’ve been to before. There shouldn’t be any problem as long as you continue ﬂying in that direction. With your current speed, you’ll be able to see it in at most two hours.”

“Alright. Thanks, Brother Skydream.” Huo Yuhao nodded.

The Skydream Iceworm sighed and said, “Do you still have to stand on ceremony with me? Yuhao, do your best. All of us believe that you are the best. You were right earlier. It’s best to not let Qiu’er down by living well. To a certain extent, Qiu’er didn’t die. She’s only spending the rest of her life with you. You are her, and she’s you.”

“Yes, I understand. I’ll tough it out.” Huo Yuhao nodded at the Skydream Iceworm again.

The Skydream Iceworm gave him a comforting look before turning into a streak of golden light and fusing into his body.

Yes, Huo Yuhao had to go to the Evildemon Forest, where the strongest soul beast in the Sun Moon Empire resided. There was an extremely strong soul beast species in that forest – the

Evileye Tyrants! Their leader was the Evileye Tyrant King, who was also known as the Evil Emperor.

He was also the only living creature over the past hundred thousand years that dared to challenge the Beast God Di Tian, who was extremely terrifying.

Before Huo Yuhao proceeded to the Sun Moon Empire, the Skydream Iceworm and Ice Jade Empress Scorpion had already advised him that he should go to the Evildemon Forest to hunt an Evileye Tyrant which was of a sufﬁcient cultivation to obtain his sixth soul ring. Evileye Tyrants were extremely strong spiritual-type soul beasts. Huo Yuhao’s spiritual power wasn’t strong enough in the past, but he was qualiﬁed now, as his spiritual power had been enhanced.

Right now, Huo Yuhao had already obtained his sixth soul ring due to Wang Qiu’er’s Sacriﬁce. However, he still needed to go to the Evildemon Forest. That was because his soul power wasn’t at Rank 60, but Rank 70!

After he ﬁnished fusing with the origin energy of Ultimate Ice earlier, his soul power had already crossed Rank 60. Even he himself didn’t know what rank his soul power was at. When

he absorbed Wang Qiu’er’s soul ring and soul bone, his Spirit Eyes fused perfectly with everything from Wang Qiu’er, as she had offered herself as a sacriﬁce for him. The immense power of destiny that the Emperor Beast possessed greatly enhanced his soul power. As a result, he immediately discovered that his soul power had reached another bottleneck again – the Rank 70 bottleneck.

Ever since he had reached Rank 50, his soul power had been increasing at an extremely slow pace. He could only cultivate silently as he watched his teammates break through to become Soul Emperors.

With the origin energy of Ultimate Ice that the Snow Empress’ Spirit put in him, and his perfect fusion with Wang Qiu’er, things ﬁnally paid off for him. As long as he obtained his seventh soul ring, he could ﬁnally make the jump from the mid-tier to the threshold of the top tier and become a Soul Sage.

Huo Yuhao was actually very impatient right now. He wanted to return to Shrek quickly. That was because he clearly recalled that Wang Qiu’er had mentioned that the Great Star Dou Forest would react harshly to her death.

Whether he returned as a Soul Emperor or a Soul Sage wasn’t just a concept. He knew that only he was capable of settling this issue. His abilities would carry an important weight in what was to come. That was why he quickly thought of what he had to do. After weighing the pros and cons, he decided to proceed towards the Evildemon Forest, which was nearby, to obtain his seventh soul ring before returning to

Shrek.

Wang Qiu’er’s death was bound to leave the savage beasts in the Great Star Dou Forest astonished and furious. However, they still needed time if they wanted to take action. The savage beasts in the Great Star Dou Forest couldn’t just attack Shrek City, as the strength of Shrek Academy would make them think twice.

Huo Yuhao couldn’t predict exactly what was going to happen. He could only try to deal with the situation through the most suitable plan.

He was in fact a very emotional person. However, after he fused with this Three-Eyed Golden Lion skull, gusts of refreshing cold would seep into his spiritual sea and force him back to his rational state every time he lost control over his emotions.

However, this wasn’t a comfortable feeling, as his emotions were being suppressed by his rationality. However, Huo Yuhao couldn’t resist this rationality in the current situation he was in. The crisis that Wang Qiu’er had brought about was probably

more terrifying than the Sun Moon Empire capturing hundreds of hostages. And he would be the most important ﬁgure in resolving this crisis. How could he possibly be relaxed?

Just as the Skydream Iceworm had said, a huge forest appeared within his vision after he ﬂew towards the north for less than two hours.

The Great Star Dou Forest was very close to the center of the Douluo Continent, and so it had a temperate climate, but this forest was closer to the north, and thus was coniferous.

Furthermore, this coniferous forest was ﬁlled with dark- greyish branches and leaves. It was extremely dark. Before entering it, a sense of suppression had already swept over him.

This was deﬁnitely the Evildemon Forest. Huo Yuhao slowly descended from the sky and landed on the ground.

Soul masters with common sense wouldn’t attempt to ﬂy over a forest where there were many soul beasts. That was no different from suicide.

Huo Yuhao didn’t even stop to analyze the situation. He quickly entered the forest and immediately rushed toward the center of this forest based on the direction that he had determined while in the air earlier.

This was self-conﬁdence, his self-conﬁdence in his own abilities.

If it was ﬁve years ago, he would have been very cautious, and wouldn’t have dared to venture into the forest. However, he was completely different now. He possessed immense spiritual power that surpassed even that of Titled Douluo, and the abilities of the god beast of Destiny. He was now completely able to summon good fortune and avoid calamities.

He didn’t need to deliberately unleash his soul skills. His spiritual power was already like a ﬁne web that had been scattered, rapidly spreading into the distance.

Very soon, Huo Yuhao discovered that the concentration of soul beasts here was greater than in the Jing Yang Mountain Range. It was indeed the place in the Sun Moon Continent that had the most soul beasts.

To prevent wasting time through ﬁghting, Huo Yuhao used a summon.

“Ice Empress.” A streak of golden light ﬂashed, and a jade- green ﬁgure appeared beside Huo Yuhao.

This was Huo Yuhao’s ﬁrst time seeing the Ice Empress in her human form. Her delicate looks made her seem less arrogant than the mature Snow Empress, but she was much cooler and more elegant. There were four streaks of demonic patterns on each of the sides of her captivating, silky-white face. Her long dark green hair ﬂowed behind her back, but her snow-white skin looked as if it were transparent. Jade-green light shone beneath her skin. When she appeared, the surrounding temperature started to decline signiﬁcantly.

The Ice Empress’ height was similar to Huo Yuhao’s. She looked very cold, and her gaze only turned gentler when she looked in Huo Yuhao’s direction.

“I’ll have to trouble you.” Huo Yuhao nodded slightly to the Ice Empress.

“Don’t worry.” The Ice Empress’ voice was crisp and pleasant, but there was a chill in it that seemed to originate from her bones. She didn’t do anything apart from advancing with Huo Yuhao. An aura that was special to the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion was also released from her body.

She controlled the aura that she released very well. She didn’t unleash it fully. With her cultivation before she fused with Huo Yuhao, she might really draw the Evil Emperor out if she unleashed her real aura. If that happened, there would be huge trouble.

She only subtly exuded slight traces of the aura of a hundred thousand year soul beast, which managed to suppress and immobilize the nearby soul beasts, who were of weaker cultivations. The soul beasts that were closer to her were even worse off.

Huo Yuhao could see through his Spiritual Detection that the soul beasts within a few thousand square meters had all retreated as he advanced. Those who were weak were even paralyzed, and collapsed to the ground.

Huo Yuhao wasn’t willing to kill soul beasts because of Wang Qiu’er. This was why he used the Ice Empress’ aura. Although the Ice Empress didn’t become his Spirit like the Snow Empress and Skydream Iceworm, she could still materialize into a physical form through Huo Yuhao’s spiritual power and remain outside of his body for long periods of time. She controlled her own bloodline and aura in Huo Yuhao’s body, which helped Huo Yuhao conserve his energy.

Right now, Huo Yuhao didn’t lack spiritual power.

When necessary, the Ice Empress could help him ﬁght. However, she would have to use his soul power to do so. How much of her abilities she could use depended on how much soul power she could take from Huo Yuhao. After all, the Ice Empress had given him his Ice Jade Empress Scorpion, and not his Spirit Eyes. As for the Skydream Iceworm, he could help Huo Yuhao ﬁght and use his spiritual power. However, he wasn’t very adept at ﬁghting. Rather than ask him to ﬁght, it was better for Huo Yuhao to control his own spiritual power to ﬁght.

It was just that an extra form of intelligence and control could help Huo Yuhao do things ordinary people couldn’t at special moments.

Huo Yuhao was venturing into this forest in a straight line. What he needed to do now was use the shortest time possible to ﬁnd a soul beast that was suitable to be his seventh soul ring. He would hunt and absorb the soul ring before quickly returning to Shrek.

Very soon, he had already passed the outer regions of the forest, and the soul beasts around him gradually became stronger. Hundred year soul beasts were everywhere, while thousand year soul beasts were occasionally present. It was just that they avoided Huo Yuhao and the Ice Empress because of the Ice Empress’ aura.

Four hours later.

“Yuhao, be careful. We’ve entered the core region of this forest. There will be ten thousand year soul beasts here. In addition, we might even face stronger existences. Perhaps you can ﬁnd what you are looking for.” The Ice Empress warned Huo Yuhao.

Huo Yuhao also understood what she was saying, and nodded. He replied, “Thanks for your help. I can take over

from now.”

If the Ice Empress continued to stay outside, his presence would become too obvious. There was a high possibility that he might meet a strong soul beast as he entered the core region of this forest. Traces of the aura of a hundred thousand year soul beast might not deter the soul beasts in this region. On the contrary, it might even attract stronger soul beasts. This was why Huo Yuhao decided to adopt a low-proﬁle from here on out.

A gentle halo formed distorted light patterns around his body. Very soon, he melded with everything around him, and his own aura was also blocked by this halo. It seemed as if he had vanished into thin air.

He was still using his spiritual power to unleash his Imitation. However, he was truly concealing himself right now. Even if he had to enter Sunrise City again, he could ﬂy into the city without fear of being discovered. Unless he was scanned by a Class 8 surveillance soul tool, or something stronger, it was almost impossible to detect him. In addition, a Class 8 soul engineer was also needed to operate a Class 8 surveillance soul tool capable of detecting him. There weren’t too many soul engineers in the entire continent that were at least Class 8!

As for soul beasts, only hundred thousand year soul beasts would be able to detect him through their own innate gifts.

Huo Yuhao started to become more cautious as he ventured deeper into this forest. He didn’t expand the area that his Spiritual Detection covered, but shrank it instead.

The more experienced one was, the lesser bold he would become. The Evileye Tyrants resided in the Evildemon Forest. They were rare spiritual-type soul beasts and were naturally more sensitive to spiritual undulations. As a result, Huo Yuhao didn’t dare to be careless.

His soft-heartedness and carelessness led him into a crisis which eventually cost Wang Qiu’er her life. He would rather be overly cautious than slip up again.

He advanced carefully. Suddenly, there were chaotic undulations of soul power in front of him. There are soul beasts ﬁghting?

Huo Yuhao thought of something, and immediately stopped in his tracks. He quickly retreated a few steps and arrived beside a large tree. Using his Imitation, he assimilated himself with his surroundings.

His spiritual power had evolved to the concrete-material realm. He was conﬁdent that only a savage beast could possibly detect him in this position. Otherwise, he couldn’t be detected by weaker enemies, given his Imitation, if he didn’t shift his position.

He could only consider himself unfortunate if the soul power undulations that were getting closer and closer to him came from the Evileye Tyrant King. If he was so unfortunate, he wouldn’t have beneﬁtted from the Sacriﬁce of an Emperor Beast. Rather, he would have suffered from the Sacriﬁce of a Divine Mourning Emperor.

The chaotic undulations of soul power were getting closer and closer. Very soon, the creatures who were generating such undulations appeared within the region covered by Huo Yuhao’s Spiritual Detection.

There are indeed soul beasts ﬁghting. Huo Yuhao squinted. It was exactly as he had predicted earlier.

The soul beast that was charging in front had thick scales covering its entire body. This soul beast’s lower limbs were extremely thick, and it moved in an upright manner. Its upper limbs were short and small. It only had three ﬁngers on each limb, but it had sharp claws that shone with cold light.

The thick scales on its body were dark blue, and there were at least three layers of them. They looked extremely thick. It was four meters in height, and seemed extremely muscular. Its head was also unusually large, and occupied one-third of its body. It dragged a thick, three meter-long tail behind it.

Chapter 391: Fiery Evil Tyrant

Even though he came from Shrek Academy, Huo Yuhao still hesitated a little after he saw this soul beast. He quickly tried to recall everything that he had learned so as to recognize what this soul beast was.

This was a Devouring Dragon, which was also known as a Mini-Tyrant Dragon.

Tyrant Dragons were considered one of the strongest among Earth Dragons. A mature Tyrant Dragon would grow to more than ﬁfteen meters in height. Above a ten thousand year cultivation, they could even reach more than thirty meters in height. They were deﬁnitely considered one of the largest soul beasts. Their physical offense and defense were also very strong, and they could compare to a true Giant Dragon.

However, Tyrant Dragons weren’t adept at long-range attacks. Their outstanding physical abilities also restricted them in other aspects.

This Devouring Dragon in front of Huo Yuhao was very similar to a Tyrant Dragon in terms of its appearance. However, it was easy to tell them apart from their sizes. A Devouring Dragon was also very good at defense, but it was different from a Tyrant Dragon in the sense that its innate soul skill was extremely domineering. Its innate soul skill was called Devouring Heaven and Earth. It was innately bloodthirsty; it could recover its energy and evolve by devouring its enemy after killing it.

Even in the world of soul beasts, Devouring Dragons weren’t too popular. That was because they were too brutal. In the eyes of a Devouring Dragon, every creature was just a target to kill and devour. It didn’t matter whether one was a soul beast or a human, or whether one was a strong opponent. It would only stop its rampage after killing and ﬁlling its stomach. After this, it would enter a deep sleep.

A Devouring Dragon grew much faster than ordinary soul beasts. In general, they needed only a thousand years to reach the cultivation of an ordinary ten thousand year soul beast. However, they were usually killed when they met a stronger opponent due to their bloodthirstiness.

Apart from a Devouring Dragon, there were also other types of soul beasts that relied on devouring their enemies’ strength to evolve. One of the most notable and the strongest among these was the Darkdemon Evil Tiger. It was just that a Darkdemon Evil Tiger possessed extremely high intelligence, whereas a Devouring Dragon’s intelligence was usually very limited, and it relied on its instincts to kill. As a result, Devouring Dragons were considered inferior to Darkdemon Evil Tigers.

This Devouring Dragon could be considered quite large. From the color of its scales to the length of its tail, it was easy to tell that it was a Devouring Dragon with a cultivation in the ten thousand year bracket. As for its speciﬁc cultivation, it was roughly between ten thousand and twenty thousand years.

At such a level, the abilities of a Devouring Dragon were rather terrifying. However, this dragon seemed to be staggering forward as it advanced. The sides of its body had obvious burn marks, and it also looked very frantic. Evidently, whatever was chasing it had to be something stronger.

An intense beam of red light was shot out from behind it at this moment. This beam of red light was extremely thick, at

least a meter wide. Wherever it passed, all obstacles were instantly turned into ﬂying ashes.

The Devouring Dragon could evidently sense the threat to its life, and charged forward with all its might. At the same time, all its scales stood on end, and a layer of dark-blue light was released from its body, forming a protective barrier.

The beam of red light came too quickly, and it also covered a large area. While this Devouring Dragon reacted very quickly, it still took a grazing hit.

As its dark-blue light contacted this beam of red light, the protective light barrier distorted quickly, and started to undulate. After this, it burst like a bubble, and the remaining red light swept past the Devouring Dragon’s back. A plume of smoke immediately burst up.

This Devouring Dragon screamed in pain and rolled on the ground before it leaped up again. This time, it turned around and raised its head. As it opened its bloody mouth, it roared furiously into the sky.

It seemed to know that it couldn’t escape. From its stance, it was obvious that it was ready to go all-out and risk its life.

A ball of dark-blue gas instantly took form in its mouth, and the center of this ball of gas was pitch-black. It was its innate soul skill, Devouring Heaven and Earth.

Within a region that covered a hundred meters, everything turned eerily dark, and a terrifying devouring power turned all life in this region into ash. Their energy was devoured regardless whether they were worms or plants.

The strongest part of this Devouring Dragon’s Devouring Heaven and Earth was its attack. Just with this innate soul skill and its immense physical strength, a Devouring Dragon was able to gain an absolute advantage in front of most soul beasts.

Huo Yuhao felt helpless right now.

Just as this Devouring Dragon attacked, Huo Yuhao was immediately enveloped by its Devouring Heaven and Earth, as he was only several dozen meters away.

Huo Yuhao only felt that everything around him had turned eerily cold, and a strange force was maniacally sucking his life energy away. It felt as if his bones and ﬂesh were about to be torn apart, and his entire body would be crushed into powder.

Of course, this feeling only lasted for an instant before it ended.

Huo Yuhao’s Imitation was deactivated, and a layer of gold isolated that terrifying, devouring aura. Of course, Huo Yuhao also revealed himself from his invisible state.

His Imitation wasn’t an all-around skill. Against such an area of effect skill, he eventually still had to reveal himself.

Huo Yuhao felt a little depressed. What’s going on? I was just trying to watch this intense ﬁght, but I’m being dragged in now.

As a dim light ﬂashed, Huo Yuhao revealed a helpless look on his face. He immediately sprang up into the air and drifted back like a snowﬂake. His greatest hope was that these two soul beasts hadn’t noticed him, and would continue their ﬁght.

This was why he tried his best to retract his aura and suppress his presence.

However, it was a pity that soul beasts were most sensitive to humans. Just as Huo Yuhao revealed himself, a piercing scream resonated in the air. He also ﬁnally saw the ﬁgure of the second soul beast that had unleashed the earlier beam of red light.

This soul beast had a very strange appearance. It was drifting in the air, and looked like a balloon. It was a pity that it wasn’t a balloon, but a huge, bloodshot eye that was a meter across.

There were clusters of brown stripes around this huge eye, and it had six tentacles that drooped onto the ground, which supported it in the air. As these tentacles dragged the eye, they left rotten ditches behind along its path.

Out of these six tentacles, three were green, while the other three were red, and they were clearly separated. When it appeared, it was already staring at Huo Yuhao.

Evileye! While it wasn’t easy identifying a Devouring Dragon, it was much easier identifying this soul beast. That was because it was Huo Yuhao’s target on his journey into this forest.

However, Huo Yuhao was a little depressed, because this Evileye wasn’t a pure spiritual type soul beast even though it seemed to already be as powerful as a sovereign king. It seemed to be a mix of different types.

When he was in Shrek Academy, there had been a special lesson taught about Evileyes.

Not all Evileyes possessed the same abilities. There were different species of Evileyes. Among the Evileye species, those with fewer abilities were actually stronger. This meant that the fewer innate soul skills they possessed, the greater their abilities.

The Evileye Tyrant King only had one elemental type – spiritual. It could use countless spiritual-type soul skills with its immense spiritual power. In addition, the area that it could cover with its attacks was frightening, even exceeding that of the Beast God, Di Tian.

Right now, Huo Yuhao could tell that this Evileye possessed at least three different elements from the attack it had unleashed earlier and from the colors of its tentacles. It was spiritual-type, ﬁre-type and corrosive-type.

Its red tentacles were ﬁre-type while, its green tentacles were corrosive-type. Along with the huge, ﬁery-red eye that it had, it was obvious that ﬁre was its main element.

An Evileye with a cultivation exceeding ten thousand years could be considered an Evileye Tyrant. This Evileye Tyrant was very well suited to its name.

However, it was a pity that it wasn’t what Huo Yuhao needed right now. Huo Yuhao needed a pure spiritual-type Evileye. This meant that it had to be an Evileye that possessed the same innate gifts as the Evileye Tyrant King, or one that was mainly spiritual-type and had other auxiliary elemental types. It was best if it had as little of the other elements as possible.

That scream earlier was released by this Fiery Evil Tyrant. Its mouth was behind its pupil. As it screamed, it also drifted forward faster.

The strange thing was that the Devouring Dragon that was about to ﬁght it earlier also turned around and faced Huo Yuhao with its mouth wide open.

Surely not? They’ve turned from enemies to friends in such a short time, and are treating me as a joint target? Huo Yuhao furrowed his brow and also descended to the ground.

After this, he saw that Fiery Evil Tyrant’s eye brightening up. Rings of strange distorted patterns started to spread from it. It was as if the surrounding brown stripes around it had turned illusory.

Everything within a region that spanned several hundred meters in diameter started to distort.

This was an innate soul skill of an Evileye, Spiritual Forceﬁeld. Anyone whose spiritual power was weaker would be suppressed. Depending on one’s cultivation and spiritual power, he would experience different intensities of dizziness, dullness, fatigue, dispiritedness, weakness and other states. This was also one of the best crowd-control skills that Evileyes were capable of.

It was rumored that the Evil Emperor’s Spiritual Forceﬁeld could cover a region that spanned thirty kilometers. Simply put, he could cover half of Radiant City.

When this Fiery Evil Tyrant unleashed its Spiritual Forceﬁeld, the Devouring Dragon charged towards Huo Yuhao. As it opened its mouth wide, a beam of black light that glowed dark blue at the edges shot towards Huo Yuhao. It was its Devouring Heaven and Earth.

Not only did these two soul beasts reconcile, but they even reached an agreement to attack Huo Yuhao together in such a short period of time. They were coordinating rather well too.

If it was some ordinary Soul Emperor, he wouldn’t feel comfortable facing this Fiery Evil Tyrant’s Spiritual Forceﬁeld even if he wasn’t completely suppressed. It was a pity that this Fiery Evil Tyrant was facing Huo Yuhao; the Eyes of Asura whose spiritual power greatly exceeded his soul power and was already at the standard of a Titled Douluo.

The look in Huo Yuhao’s eyes was very cold. His determined look didn’t waver at all even against the control of this Fiery Evil Tyrant’s Spiritual Forceﬁeld.

“Since the two of you are courting death, I shall grant you your wishes!”

Huo Yuhao didn’t bother with the Devouring Dragon that had unleashed its Devouring Heaven and Earth at him. He was focused on the Fiery Evil Tyrant instead. Suddenly, his eyes turned purplish-gold. Yes, his eyes had turned a completely transparent purplish-gold.

Everything around them seemed to slow down, and the Fiery Evil Tyrant’s Spiritual Forceﬁeld suddenly stopped. It was as if the space around it had been instantly locked.

“Spiritual! Shock!” Huo Yuhao stood quietly in place and spoke each word with a pause in between.

As he spoke, the Fiery Evil Tyrant’s eye seemed to be in a daze, whereas the Devouring Dragon continued to unleash its Devouring Heaven and Earth. However, it scattered amidst the distorted air.

A ring of purplish-gold light started to spread from Huo Yuhao’s head. More accurately speaking, it spread towards those two soul beasts in a fan shape.

The air was illuminated in the same color as this purplish- gold light passed.

The Devouring Dragon that was charging in front suddenly stiffened and instantly went into a daze. The bloodthirsty and crazed look in its eyes turned still. Following this, its eyes dimmed.

“Chi!” Its eyes, nose, mouth, and ears started to shoot out reddish-white gore. Its head didn’t blow apart from the explosion, but its brain and spirit were crushed under the effects of Huo Yuhao’s terrifying Spiritual Shock!

The purplish-gold light continued to spread. When it landed on the Fiery Evil Tyrant, its eye suddenly turned purplish-gold, and there was an astonished look in it. However, rings of red, green and gold light surged from its eye, trying to resist the force of Huo Yuhao’s Spiritual Shock.

“Hmph!” Huo Yuhao snorted coldly. He immediately retracted his Spiritual Shock before focusing it all on the Fiery Evil Tyrant.

Suddenly, all the lights that had resisted his Spiritual Shock were destroyed. The Fiery Evil Tyrant’s eye started to shine brightly with a purplish-gold light. In the next instant, another explosion occurred!

Two black soul rings rose in succession, ﬂashing in the air.

Huo Yuhao seemed to possess some invisible suction force that guided those two soul rings towards him.

Huo Yuhao shook his head scornfully and waved his right hand, dispersing these two black soul rings that most soul masters would have craved.

Originally, he didn’t want to kill any soul beasts. For Qiu’er’s sake, he didn’t want to commit too many sins. However, those two soul beasts had attacked him with all their might immediately after they discovered him. Huo Yuhao was in sorrow and pain because of Qiu’er’s death. The moment he unleashed his abilities, he immediately killed his opponents.

However, he hadn’t expected his spiritual power to be so strong right now. He didn’t shift from his position at all. Using only the ﬁrst soul ring of his Spirit Eyes, he unleashed his Spiritual Interference Domain and Spiritual Shock to kill those two soul beasts that were considered some of the strongest ten thousand year soul beasts in existence.

“What standard has my spiritual power reached?” Huo Yuhao muttered to himself. He wasn’t too happy right now just because his spiritual cultivation was extremely powerful.

The strength of his spiritual power had also helped to enhance his overall abilities to a standard that he wasn’t clear of either. This also meant that obtaining his seventh soul ring was going to be much more difﬁcult than expected. It was deﬁnitely not going to be easy to ﬁnd a soul ring that was ﬁt to be his seventh soul ring. His spiritual cultivation was simply too strong. If he were just ﬁnding a soul ring to become a Soul Sage, it wasn’t going to be beneﬁcial to his future development.

Must I really make a move on a hundred thousand year Evileye Tyrant?

However, can I ﬁght an Evileye Tyrant of that cultivation?

“Oh?” Just as Huo Yuhao was pondering, he suddenly felt a weird trace of spiritual aura rising in front of him. After this, he instantly turned around and disappeared.

This spiritual aura came from the Fiery Evil Tyrant that he had just killed.

As his ﬁgure ﬂashed, Huo Yuhao immediately came to the position where the Fiery Evil Tyrant was blown apart.

He saw a diamond-shaped crystal entity on the ground. This crystal entity was dark red, and there were greenish ﬂowery patterns on it.

What’s this? Is this the crystal core of this Fiery Evil Tyrant? The spiritual aura that it released seems to have come from this. Don’t tell me that this is its spirit?

Evileyes belonged to the Sun Moon Continent. As a result, Shrek Academy didn’t have much information on them. At most, only a few ordinary Evileyes with hundred year or thousand year cultivations were killed and recorded in the academy. There wasn’t any information on ten thousand year Evileye Tyrants.

Huo Yuhao squatted down and picked up the crystal entity. He poured his spiritual power into it and immediately discovered that there were remnants of spiritual power in this crystal entity. He was immediately enlightened.

It seemed like the spirits of Evileyes would be enhanced when they reached a certain cultivation before forming such a crystal. After this, the spiritual origins of these Evileyes would be hidden in such a crystal.

Even though he had used his immense spiritual power to kill the Evileye Tyrant earlier, a shred of its spirit in this crystal still managed to ﬂee. Evileyes indeed had specialized spiritual abilities! Even a Fiery Evil Tyrant that wasn’t pure spiritual- type could escape with a shred of its spirit if it was killed.

Does its escaped spirit possess any memories? Will it be able to draw the Evileye Tyrant King?

I don’t think so. As the ruler of this Evildemon Forest, what kind of an existence is the Evil Emperor? Will he personally show himself just because someone from his species was killed? If he does, he must be too bored. Furthermore, the Ice Empress and Brother Skydream once said that this Evileye Tyrant King should be about to face his eighth bottleneck. It’s difﬁcult to tell whether he’ll be able to break through this bottleneck. If he can’t, he’ll die. Naturally, he wouldn’t have time to be bothered with something as trivial as this.

As long as the Evileye Tyrant King didn’t appear, Huo Yuhao was conﬁdent in facing any form of crisis. Evileyes were adept at spiritual power, but so was he. An Evileye which didn’t have at least a hundred thousand year cultivation was unlikely to pose any threat to him. As for those that had exceeded a hundred thousand year cultivation, Huo Yuhao was conﬁdent of escaping from them.

Of course, he wouldn’t just wait here foolishly. What if a hundred thousand year Evileye really appeared?

After pondering for a moment, he drifted towards the perimeter of the core region of this Evildemon Forest. He had a subtle feeling that the Fiery Evil Tyrant he had just killed would bring him some trouble.

This premonition was very clear and strong. It came from the Skull of Destiny that he had obtained from the Three-Eyed Golden Lion.

When he focused his thoughts on this skull, Huo Yuhao could sense that countless threads seemed to be released from his head, and each thread seemed to be connected to a destiny that was bound to happen. They gave him clues.

The blessing of destiny helped him to usher in good fortune and avoid calamities. Huo Yuhao suspected that Wang Qiu’er had predicted that he was going to be in big trouble before she went to Sunrise City to ﬁnd him. By going there to ﬁnd him, she was going to face a calamity because of him. However, she still proceeded without any hesitation and sacriﬁced herself.

There was a simple reason why Huo Yuhao ran outward – this Evildemon Forest was the territory of the Evileyes. He was safer the further he was from the core region. He had to wait until the feeling that he had disappeared before he entered the core region again.

As he ﬂed, Huo Yuhao was thinking continuously.

After he ﬁnished his cultivation and moved off, his mind was still ﬁlled with Wang Qiu’er and Wang Dong’er. He didn’t think about the current state of his mind. However, he had calmed down after the ﬁght just now and was temporarily free from his sorrow.

It was extremely important for him to think.

As he calmed down, he started to sense his current condition.

He discovered that his spiritual sea had undergone a transformation.

It was still a spiritual sea, but there was now an additional island in it. It was a splendid and magniﬁcent island. This island was very large, and it was at the center of his spiritual sea. The Ice Empress, Snow Empress, and Skydream Iceworm were all on this island.

There were pavilions, terraces, and courtyards on this island.

It seemed like a mansion owned by a noble family.

When Huo Yuhao took a closer look, he was stunned. That was because the building on this island was actually the Duke’s Mansion.

This was… a spiritual reﬂection!

This was a spiritual reﬂection that had appeared in his spiritual sea after his spiritual power materialized. Spiritual reﬂection occurred when the most basic thing in his heart was reﬂected on a particular situation.

Huo Yuhao had just reached this level and didn’t know how to adjust his spiritual reﬂection yet. However, he could subtly sense that the growth of his spiritual reﬂection would determine the direction of his future abilities.

He still had to ﬁgure everything out on his own. As he reached this level, Huo Yuhao was basically certain to become a Titled Douluo and even a Transcendent Douluo in the future. Once he obtained his seventh soul ring, the restriction of Ultimate Ice on him would cease to exist, and his cultivation speed would increase signiﬁcantly.

Huo Yuhao was only eighteen years old right now. With his current condition, he could have nine rings in ten years at most. He could become a nine-ringed Titled Douluo with an Ultimate martial soul! He would be extremely powerful then. Moreover, he possessed extraordinary spiritual power. Even though he possessed an Ultimate Ice martial soul, it still couldn’t compare to his Spirit Eyes, which possessed great spiritual power.

Qiu’er, what is the soul skill that you gave me when you fused with me?

Everything that Wang Qiu’er had left for Huo Yuhao was in his body, including her soul bone and soul ring. Wang Qiu’er had mentioned before that she possessed the abilities of a hundred-thousand-year soul beast even though she wasn’t that old, because she was the Emperor Beast. She would have given Huo Yuhao two soul skills from her soul bone and ring.

Just as Huo Yuhao was trying to sense the abilities that came with his sixth soul ring, a weird emotional undulation suddenly surfaced in his heart.

They were negative emotions, ﬁlled with hatred, fury, and the urge to kill. When they ﬁrst surfaced, Huo Yuhao immediately felt like he was about to go crazy.

Gusts of cold were instantly released from his Skull of Destiny, and seeped into his spiritual sea. They quickly suppressed the manic feeling, and he also stopped moving.

There was something wrong with his surroundings.

The scenery was still the same, but he could clearly feel that something wasn’t right.

It was still the Evildemon Forest, but Huo Yuhao felt as if he were in another world now. It felt like he was being forced out of the normal world by some kind of weird force.

This was…

A Spiritual Dreamland? A domain-type spiritual ability?

Huo Yuhao was astonished. Even with his current spiritual power that was in the concrete-material realm, emotions still poured into his heart, and caused him to enter some kind of Spiritual Dreamland. His opponent’s spiritual power was undoubtedly very strong.

Was he really so unfortunate? Did he really draw the Evileye Tyrant King over?

If that was really the case, he was going to die without any chance.

As he focused his gaze, his entire aura changed. Immense spiritual power instantly started to surge out from his body and through his head, like ﬂowing water.

The six soul rings of his Spirit Eyes revolved around his body as they shone brightly, especially the last, rose-gold soul ring, which was extremely blinding.

Rings of distorted light also started to spread out from Huo Yuhao’s body.

When the lights from his body contacted the air from the outside world, Huo Yuhao suddenly felt as if he had drawn open curtains, opened a window, and entered another world.

Everything around him turned illusory, and started to ripple. After this, they changed into countless projections of strong soul beasts leaping towards him maniacally.

Huo Yuhao wasn’t moved, and just stood where he was. He shut his eyes and pressed his right hand against his forehead. After this, he coldly shouted, “Spiritual! Shock!”

The tone of the second word sounded gloomier and rougher.

At each word, his aura soared higher.

Reciting the name of his soul skill was an ability that Huo Yuhao ﬁgured out when he went into closed-door cultivation in Sunrise City. He combined the spells and incantations that Electrolux had passed to him with his soul skills, and used those incantations to enhance the strength of his soul skills.

He didn’t originally succeed in his research into this ability. It was only when his spiritual power achieved a qualitative increase and reached the concrete-material realm that he managed to achieve his target in his ﬁrst attempt at using this ability.

The names of his soul skills had become incantations. Even though it was limited to his Spiritual Shock right now, it was still very beneﬁcial to him.

A purplish-gold glow started to spread from Huo Yuhao’s forehead. It looked like ripples across the pond of reality. Wherever these ripples passed, those distorted projections were all shattered like mirrors that had been smashed.

“Good, very good. An interesting human. No wonder you dare to step into my territory. So it turns out that you are adept at spiritual abilities. It seems like you are specially here to hunt those from my species. It’s a pity that you’re doomed today, even though you’re a spiritual-type soul master.”

Everything around him became normal again. Huo Yuhao used his Spiritual Detection to look in the direction the voice had come from.

He turned around. When he saw the owner of that voice, he straightened his gaze, and his expression immediately became serious.

It was an Evileye; a strange, but powerful Evileye.

Just from its color, it was clear that it was much more arrogant than the Fiery Evil Tyrant earlier.

The body of this Evileye, or rather its huge eye, was silver- white.

Its size was even more terrifying. It was more than three meters across. The Fiery Evil Tyrant earlier seemed like a little kid in front of him.

Huo Yuhao was even more shocked that this Evileye had sixteen drooping tentacles.

The number of tentacles was also a semi-deﬁnite way of determining the strength of an Evileye. The more tentacles an Evileye had, the stronger it was.

The Fiery Evil Tyrant earlier had only had six tentacles, but it was already very strong offensively. If Huo Yuhao hadn’t used his Spiritual Shock to destroy it, he would have found it very difﬁcult to resist its specialized ﬁre-type attack, the Fiery Gaze.

However, this Evileye actually had sixteen tentacles, and they were all silver-white, just like its body. This also meant that

this Evileye only possessed one element, or possibly two elements.

It was deﬁnitely a spiritual-type soul beast. As for whether it had a second element, Huo Yuhao couldn’t tell yet. From the spiritual-type soul skill that it had unleashed earlier, it was likely to be from the same bloodline as the Evil Emperor. Evileyes from this bloodline were purely of the spiritual element, and they held a very high status among Evileyes as the most noble. In addition, their abilities were extremely powerful. Huo Yuhao was in luck!

Hundred-thousand-years! Is this a hundred-thousand-year Evileye Tyrant?

Huo Yuhao twisted the edge of his lips. Aren’t I too unbelievably fortunate? I’m getting whatever I want. It’s just that I have to be able to handle this ‘dish’ that’s been presented to me! And it doesn’t seem like it’s going to be so easy…

“We’ll only know who’s dead and who’s alive after ﬁghting!” While this was a crisis, it was also an opportunity. If this were a hundred-thousand-year Evileye of a different type, Huo

Yuhao might have just ﬂed. He wasn’t skilled enough to resist a hundred-thousand-year soul beast right now.

However, things were different if this Evileye was really a pure spiritual-type Evileye. Huo Yuhao’s soul power couldn’t compare to his opponent, but he was conﬁdent in taking on such a hundred-thousand-year Evileye, given his spiritual cultivation. Moreover, he had even inherited Wang Qiu’er’s Emperor Beast abilities. To a certain extent, he possessed a part of the Emperor Beast’s abilities, even though he was a human.

Huo Yuhao naturally wouldn’t stand still and chat with such a strong opponent. As he spoke, he had already made his move. He knew the importance of seizing the opportunities presented to him.

White, purple, black, black, black, rose-gold. Six soul rings rose in succession.

When this hundred-thousand-year Evileye Tyrant saw his rose-gold soul ring, its pupil shrank slightly.

Just like how humans were familiar with soul beasts, this hundred-thousand-year Evileye Tyrant naturally understood human soul masters, given its cultivation.

Huo Yuhao’s luck was simply too good.

The Fiery Evil Tyrant that he had killed earlier was this Evileye Tyrant’s concubine. The shred of spirit that the Fiery Evil Tyrant had escaped with might not be enough to resurrect it, but it was sufﬁcient to inform this Evileye Tyrant of Huo Yuhao’s location. Since his concubine had been killed, this Evileye Turant was naturally furious. He quickly pursued Huo Yuhao, which was also the reason why Huo Yuhao felt a suppressive and ominous feeling in his heart.

As his soul rings rose, Huo Yuhao’s eyes brightened, and his ﬁrst soul ring shone with white light. His eyes immediately turned purplish-gold, and two streaks of materialized, purplish-gold light shot out towards the Evileye Tyrant.

After his spiritual power experienced its qualitative increase, Huo Yuhao was able to manipulate his Spiritual Shock and make it domain-type or unidirectional. The two streaks of

purplish-gold light instantly shot forward several hundred meters and landed on the Evileye Tyrant.

This Evileye Tyrant’s pupil dilated, and rings of silver light patterns started to spread outwards from its body.

As a top-ranked spiritual-type soul beast, it was clearly aware that a strong spiritual-type soul skill couldn’t be avoided, and so it didn’t even bother evading. Just like Huo Yuhao was conﬁdent in his own spiritual power, it wasn’t afraid of facing a Soul Emperor, given its cultivation. Even though it could tell that Huo Yuhao was a little weird, and he was able to break out from its spiritual control, it still didn’t regard Huo Yuhao highly.

The two streaks of purplish-gold light stopped in the air as they collided with the rings of silver light patterns, immediately creating surging ripples of energy.

Huo Yuhao and this Evileye Tyrant were at both ends of a spiritual storm that had erupted between the two of them.

As Huo Yuhao was the one who had started the attack, this spiritual storm was more concentrated around the Evileye Tyrant.

The destructiveness of this spiritual storm was different from the destructive capability of soul power. As it raged, the air between Huo Yuhao and the Evileye Tyrant warped drastically, and everything seemed to turn unreal. All the plants in the region started to wither at an alarming rate. They weren’t destroyed directly, but their internal structures were messed up under the effect of the clashing spiritual powers, and their biological integrity was affected.

The silver undulations started to become stronger. They began to buzz, and a series of terrifying spiritual explosions occurred. Intimidating explosive forces were unleashed in random directions.

The withered plants were blown apart and scattered everywhere.

Huo Yuhao squirmed like a withered leaf and was ﬂung backward as he suffered from the shockwaves of these explosions.

There was no expression on his face, but a dim light ﬂashed across his eyes. He shut his eyes as his third and fourth soul rings shone in succession.

A white skeletal head appeared above the Evileye Tyrant. Even with its abilities, it was still affected by Huo Yuhao’s Enfeeblement even as it went up against his spiritual power.

@Chapter 392: Complete Suppression! The Eye of the Asura Reveals Its Might

The Evileye Tyrant was about to charge ahead at full speed but suddenly slowed in midair. A dim golden whirlpool appeared above its eye as it stopped completely in place.

Mass Enfeeblement, Spiritual Confusion.

Two control-type soul skills were unleashed, completely revealing Huo Yuhao’s immense control abilities.

Although the Evileye Tyrant appeared to be a little confused, it seemed more callous and ferocious. Its aura soared as if it were conﬁdent of crushing Huo Yuhao in the next moment.

The truth was that it really was that conﬁdent. While Huo Yuhao’s spiritual attacks were strong, it could clearly sense that Huo Yuhao’s soul power wasn’t even at the level of a seven- ringed Soul Sage yet. Huo Yuhao was much too inferior compared to it!

Even a Transcendent Douluo would ﬁnd it difﬁcult to ﬁght a hundred-thousand-year Evileye Tyrant. No soul master was willing to face the immense spiritual power and innate soul skills of this hundred-thousand-year soul beast.

Although this Evileye Tyrant had only just broken through to a hundred-thousand-year cultivation level, it possessed the purest bloodline of the Evileyes. It was also absolutely conﬁdent in its own abilities. While it was stunned that Huo Yuhao’s spiritual power was in the concrete-material realm just like its, it was conﬁdent of crushing Huo Yuhao due to the huge gap between their overall abilities. One or two control-type soul skills could only temporarily restrain it. When it unleashed its full power, it was conﬁdent of easily defeating this puny human!

However, it didn’t know that it had made the mistake that most soul beasts made when facing human soul masters… it had underestimated its opponent!

At times, a soul master’s abilities couldn’t be completely explained using the number of soul rings they possessed. Although this was only a rare occurrence, a soul beast would be in deep trouble if it met such a soul master.

Two control-type soul skills were used on this Evileye Tyrant in succession, and the air in front of Huo Yuhao was warped and distorted. Huo Yuhao was interfering with this Evileye Tyrant’s spiritual senses!

This time, his Interference didn’t cover a large area, but just a small spot in front of him. He was using it to block the Evileye Tyrant’s observation of him!

To the Evileye Tyrant, Huo Yuhao’s body seemed to contort and bend. It couldn’t possibly see what Huo Yuhao was doing under the effect of his Mass Enfeeblement and Spiritual Confusion.

However, it wasn’t worried at all. It managed to regain its movement in the next second. Furthermore, it was already prepared beforehand. While Huo Yuhao’s two control-type soul skills had managed to take effect on it, their effects wouldn’t be nearly as good in the future.

Its huge ﬁgure was now ﬂying at an extremely rapid speed and completely unobstructed since all obstacles had been destroyed by the spiritual storm earlier.

As it ﬂew, the silver patterns around its eyes started to shine brightly. Its sixteen tentacles opened wide, and every tentacle was ﬂashing with intense silver light.

All living matter, including plants, immediately met with disaster once they touched his tentacles because his tentacles could devour spirits. Once they struck something living, they could unleash a spiritual explosion that would enter an opponent’s body and destroy their spiritual world. After that, it would devour his opponent’s shattered spirit devoured to nourish itself.

A pure-blooded Evileye Tyrant like itself didn’t need to ingest any food. What it needed was pure spiritual power! Huo Yuhao looked like great nourishment to it. Right now, the look in its eye had turned from arrogance to greed. Any Evileye would be extremely delighted to see such a tonic right in front of them!

A terrifying beam of silver light three meters wide shot out from this Evileye Tyrant’s eye in the next moment.

Evileye Gaze! This was one of the strongest innate offensive soul skills of an Evileye Tyrant and the most frightening ability of a pure spiritual-type Evileye Tyrant. Its effect was similar to

Huo Yuhao’s Spiritual Shock, its strength varying depending on the abilities of the Evileye Tyrant unleashing it.

It was rumored that the Evil Emperor had used it on the God Beast Di Tian once, causing Di Tian to stop moving for around ﬁve seconds. In those ﬁve seconds, he could only passively take blows from the Evil Emperor.

This memory came from Wang Qiu’er.

The huge beam of silver light quickly closed on Huo Yuhao. The Evileye Tyrant was deliberately merciful and didn’t unleash its full strength. It was afraid that it wouldn’t be able to devour Huo Yuhao’s spirit if he was destroyed.

However, it suddenly saw an eye open when that beam of silver light was less than a meter from Huo Yuhao. It was a vertical eye covered in rose-gold sunray patterns, and it released black and white lights.

Huo Yuhao’s rose-gold soul ring shone at the same time.

Not only this, but a wheel of light suddenly shone behind Huo Yuhao. This wheel of light seemed very weird. Although it was an illusory existence formed from light, there seemed to be patterns carved onto it. It was an image of a Three-Eyed Golden Lion, and a dancing golden dragon.

The huge beam of silver light struck Huo Yuhao’s body the moment that rose-gold wheel of light appeared.

An extremely weird scene appeared at the next moment. Huo Yuhao’s body turned illusory, and the beam of silver light passed through his body.

This beam of silver light lasted for several seconds before it disappeared. As it ranged out, a corridor several hundred meters long formed in the forest, surrounded by withered plants.

Huo Yuhao’s illusory ﬁgure turned real again after this beam of silver light passed through his body. He wasn’t hurt at all!

One black and one white light shot out from his Eye of Destiny. The hundred-thousand-year Evileye Tyrant was

shocked that Huo Yuhao was able to survive its Evileye Gaze without being harmed at all, and was struck by these two streaks of light.

It felt slightly dizzy before it returned to normal. It seemed as if nothing had happened at all.

However, Huo Yuhao could see that its eye was no longer silver. It was now black and white.

The world that Huo Yuhao saw was different from the world that this Evileye Tyrant saw. In his eyes, he initially saw countless threads of destiny around this Evileye Tyrant. However, they had been snapped at this moment. Not only this, but this Evileye Tyrant was also weakening at a shocking speed. It wasn’t just its soul power that was weakening, but its spiritual power, too!

Huo Yuhao’s Eye of Destiny turned back to rose-gold and a layer of distorted, rose-gold ripples started to spread from Huo Yuhao’s Eye of Destiny.

When this strange layer of rose-gold ripples appeared, everything around them turned rose-gold, too. On close observation, even the dust drifting in the air paused as the rose-gold ripples passed over it.

This Evileye Tyrant was extremely sensitive and felt that something was amiss. Subconsciously, it tried to use its spiritual power to unleash its soul skills

However, it discovered that it couldn’t do anything, and couldn’t even move its body. It was like its spiritual power had been frozen. The most terrifying thing was that it ﬁnally discovered that there was something wrong with its body. It could sense the black and white aura on it.

“Ah!” It let out a tragic scream and struggled. It wanted to break free from the mounting fear seizing it.

It managed to succeed, as the two soul skills that Huo Yuhao used on it could only hold it in place for a second each. When combined, they could still only restrain it for three seconds.

Changing his attack, Huo Yuhao also circulated his soul power. His rose-gold ripples weren’t released rapidly. They only managed to reach the Evileye Tyrant after the three seconds were over.

The moment it regained control of its body, the Evileye Tyrant tried to retreat without any hesitation. However, it discovered that it was moving at a pathetic speed like its entire body had deteriorated. It was even more horror-stricken that there was an additional piece of granite on the ground right now, a piece of granite that seemed to have miraculously survived his clashes with Huo Yuhao earlier. This piece of granite wasn’t very large, but it still ran into it as he tried to avoid Huo Yuhao’s attack.

Even though it immediately crushed the stone to pieces, its body still stopped without any control. It was also at this instant that the rose-gold ripples reached its body.

Its body immediately froze, and there was now another layer of rose-gold on it.

Huo Yuhao was adding more colors to its body as they fought, and managed to succeed in doing so each time.

The rose-gold ripples spread another several hundred meters before they stopped. Within this region that now spanned ﬁve hundred meters in diameter, a rose-gold ocean drifting in the air seemed to appear, with Huo Yuhao at its center.

The sky above the Evildemon Forest suddenly turned gloomy. However, the dark clouds reﬂected golden light amidst this gloominess.

“Spiritual Blast!” Huo Yuhao shouted coldly.

OM OM OM!

The rose-gold ripples started to shake, but they were very gentle and didn’t cause any destruction. Even the parts of the forest that were further away and affected by it didn’t suffer at all.

However, wrinkles started to appear on the Evileye Tyrant’s eye when this tremor reached it. After that, its body started to shake tremendously.

Boo boo boo boo boo boo boo! A series of weird noises sounded, somewhere between popping and blowing. Holes burst open on the Evileye Tyrant’s Body, and silver gases ﬂowed from those wounds. It was like a huge balloon had just popped open in several places at once.

All this time, the Evileye Tyrant’s eye was ﬁlled with disbelief. It couldn’t believe that its opponent’s spiritual power could hurt it even though it had a higher cultivation. This was completely unbelievable!

Huo Yuhao rubbed his forehead with his hand. The sunray patterns around his Eye of Destiny ﬂared with light, and a streak of rose-gold light shot out.

This streak of light seemed like it came from another world. It disappeared the moment it shot out from Huo Yuhao’s Eye of Destiny. When it appeared again, it was directly in front of the Evileye Tyrant.

Chi…!

Bloody silver light splattered on the ground. The streak of rose-gold light had pierced through the Evileye Tyrant’s eye, and only left remnants on the outside.

The Evileye Tyrant’s body was shaking uncontrollably now. Although its silver blood stopped splattering, it was still ﬂowing out uncontrollably from the wounds on the Evileye Tyrant.

Even at this stage, Huo Yuhao didn’t dare to let down his guard. This was his ﬁrst time facing a hundred-thousand-year soul beast!

Lights shone brightly on his back, and soul thrusters propelled him forward. In an instant, he traveled several hundred meters and arrived in front of the Evileye Tyrant.

The cold look in his eyes turned gentle, and they were now ﬁlled with a look of remembrance.

He clenched his right ﬁst at his waist, and all the light in heaven and earth seemed to gather towards his ﬁst. His eyes, including his vertical eye, were shining brightly at this

moment. A strong spiritual undulation caused countless thin slits to appear in the surrounding space.

The Fist of Remembrance, a ﬁst which contained a surging feeling of remembrance!

Boom!

Huo Yuhao’s ﬁst struck empty space, and a huge beam of golden light hit the Evileye Tyrant’s body.

The countless spatial slits started to take effect on its body. They combined with Huo Yuhao’s soul and spiritual power, causing another blast to occur.

“Chi!”

A huge wound more than a meter long appeared on the Evileye Tyrant’s eye. It had been directly pierced through.

The spiritual suppression that the Evileye Tyrant had unleashed around its body stopped, and its sixteen tentacles all froze in mid-air.

Huo Yuhao trembled, but he quickly managed to stabilize himself. A streak of golden light ﬂew back from this huge wound in the Evileye Tyrant’s eye and landed in his hand.

It was the Golden Dragon Spear, which had belonged to Wang Qiu’er!

Immense life energy was surging towards Huo Yuhao through the Spear. The part of the Spear that was drawn out of the Evileye Tyrant was carrying a silver glow, as it continued to draw out the life energy of the Evileye Tyrant and nourish him.

The color on Huo Yuhao’s pale face was slowly returning to normal. However, he thought of something, and quickly took a step forward. He grabbed the spear with his left hand and waved his right hand. His Darkgolden Terrorclaws appeared and clawed out at a streak of silver light that was about to rise and escape!

Chapter 393: Rage of the Evil Emperor

It was a silver crystal body, and there were extremely dense spiritual undulations inside it.

Huo Yuhao’s Darkgolden Terrorclaw was incredibly sharp, but even it couldn’t break this crystal open. That ﬂourishing and immense spiritual power was instantly withdrawn as the silver crystal shone and ﬂickered.

So hard! Huo Yuhao raised his Golden Dragon Spear with his left hand and poked at the silver crystal, but even the Spear did nothing to it. The silver crystal had a powerful spiritual barrier protecting it.

Since that’s the case, my Life Guardian Blade that’s good at consuming life energy probably can’t do anything to it, either. However, if your spiritual origin is hidden inside, do you really think there’s nothing I can do to you?

Huo Yuhao wasn’t trying to ruthlessly exterminate this Evileye Tyrant. The Evileye Tyrant’s body had been killed, but since a soul ring didn’t appear, it meant the soul beast wasn’t

truly dead. Furthermore, Huo Yuhao really needed his seventh soul ring. His adversary was the one who had chased him down and attacked him ﬁrst, and thus he didn’t feel his actions were inappropriate at all.

It was possible that no one else in this world was as handy as Huo Yuhao when it came to dealing with spirits. Unfathomable incantations were voiced as a swathe of clean white ﬂames gradually took form in front of him.

This small ball of ﬁre had almost no warmth at all, but it gradually became material. The silver crystal, which wasn’t afraid of Huo Yuhao’s Darkgolden Terrorclaw or his Golden Dragon Spear before this, began to ﬂicker vigorously after this white ﬂame appeared. The Evileye Tyrant’s ﬂustered and exasperated voice rang out.

“You’re dead if you dare to kill me! My father will avenge me, he will avenge me! If you let me go, I can guarantee you safe passage out of here! No, don’t do it!”

Huo Yuhao seemed like he couldn’t hear its voice at all. His Darkgolden Terrorclaw held the silver crystal down, and the

small cluster of white ﬂames drifted onto the silver crystal just like that.

The silver-white crystal was so hard and tough, but sharp and shrill agonizing cries could be heard when this utterly unassuming white ﬂame touched it. The tough silver crystal began to break apart like melting ice and snow, and silvery air streams could be seen emerging from within. However, none of it could escape the white ﬂame, and every single wisp was absorbed and incinerated.

These were Purifying Flames, and this ﬁre was speciﬁcally designed to purify spirits. Spirits would rise into the air after death, and if they didn’t dissipate by themselves, they were likely to become vengeful spirits. These Purifying Flames were the perfect medicine against vengeful spirits, and such spirits would be absolutely countered by Purifying Flames, no matter what rank they were. Huo Yuhao was probably the only person across the entire Douluo Continent who could release Purifying Flames directly. Furthermore, he could only channel Purifying Flames within such a short period of time after his spiritual power was raised to the concrete-material realm.

A blood-red soul ring was ﬁnally released after the silver crystal melted completely. Huo Yuhao was momentarily

stunned as he stared at this soul ring’s light and subsequently pursed his lips tightly.

He wasn’t in a hurry to absorb this soul ring. Instead, he used his Golden Dragon Spear to search the Evileye Tyrant’s carcass, and he quickly found a small and delicate silver skull.

Just as the Skydream Iceworm and the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion said, Evileye Tyrants almost always produced skull bones if they produced one because the soul beast’s whole body was basically just a head.

Just as Huo Yuhao was preparing to put this skull bone away and bring it back to his companions, the Eye of Destiny on his forehead suddenly lit up. A rose-gold beam of light burst out and landed on the silver skull.

The silver skull was immediately covered with rose-golden hues before it ﬂew towards Huo Yuhao’s Eye of Destiny. The skull shrank rapidly as it was drawn through the air.

This is…

Huo Yuhao felt a dash of coldness in between his eyebrows as a rich and powerful wave of spiritual power ﬂooded into his spiritual sea. In the next moment, this wave of spiritual power was cocooned by another even more domineering and overbearing existence.

And after that? The sensations just stopped...

Huo Yuhao’s facial expression instantly became a little strange. The sensation he had just felt made him feel as though his Eye of Destiny had gobbled up the Evileye Tyrant’s skull!

No… it wasn’t gobbled up by my Eye of Destiny. It should have been eaten by Qiu’er’s Three-Eyed Golden Lion Skull Bone, right?

Huo Yuhao suddenly recalled his impression when he had ﬁrst met Wang Qiu’er, back when she was still the Three-Eyed Golden Lion. Back then, she seemed to consume other soul beasts’ brains as food, so did the skull bone that originated from her also eat other skull bones?

What was going to happen after it ate them? Did this mean that part of Qiu’er’s consciousness remained?

When Huo Yuhao realized that some remnant of Wang Qiu’er’s consciousness might still remain, his heart began to heat up.

However, he had yet to feel his skull bone when the Skydream Iceworm’s voice rang out in his mind.

“We can’t stay here for long. Absorb the soul ring and leave!”

Yes! He was deep in the Evildemon Forest, and there was nobody around to protect him. He couldn't stay here for long.

Huo Yuhao ﬂipped his right wrist as he thought until this point, and a small, delicate soul tool appeared in his hands.

This soul tool was blood-red and looked like it was sculpted and engraved from a special crystal body. There were countless sophisticated patterns on it.

Huo Yuhao pressed on the soul tool’s surface, and the entire spherical soul tool lit up as circle after circle of red light expanded outward. These circles quickly touched the blood-red soul ring hovering in midair.

Those red waves acted like they had instantly found a target, and wrapped themselves around the soul ring. Strangely, the blood-red soul ring was formless and had no substance, but it was actually pulled down by those red waves and was quickly absorbed into that small, delicate soul tool.

It’s so useful! Teacher Xuan is a truly a genius amongst geniuses. Huo Yuhao exclaimed in admiration inside before he leapt into the air and soared into the distance.

The soul tool that he had just used was called a soul ring storage tool. It wasn’t very big and was made from only the rarest metals. Xuan Ziwen had expressly crafted this soul tool for Huo Yuhao after he brought all those rare metals back from Radiant City. This soul tool was Class 8! It could use certain special undulations from its constituent metals under guidance from its formation arrays to temporarily store soul rings. It could store a maximum of nine soul rings at once, and these soul rings could be maintained and stored for one week.

This soul tool was far too expensive to craft en masse, a product of Xuan Ziwen’s research. Back then, Xuan Ziwen had used this research product to become the Illustrious Virtue Hall’s chief researcher. It was a pity that the materials that this soul tool needed were excessively expensive. Crafting this soul tool was also very difﬁcult because it was a Class 8 soul tool. It was practical and useful, but its usefulness was still a far cry from how expensive crafting this soul tool was to many people.

Xuan Ziwen was recognized for his research, but his research product wasn’t promoted or popularized within the Sun Moon Empire. Practically speaking, it couldn’t be promoted at all.

----

Huo Yuhao was ﬁnally starting to relax as he ﬂew away…

Suddenly, an indescribably frightening sense of danger gradually rose from behind him!

A forceful and bold voice ﬁlled with seething rage seemed to echo from every corner of the Evildemon Forest.

“Who?! Who killed my son? Who was it?!” This voice was purely projected as thought via spiritual power, and both humans and soul beasts could clearly feel the indignation, along with the voice’s unrivaled and terrifying spiritual power.

More than a third of the Evildemon Forest began to twist and contort, although the plants weren’t hurt or damaged.

Countless soul beasts clutched their heads in agony at this moment and crumpled to the ground.

Huo Yuhao’s body slowed conspicuously, and his heart ﬁlled with fear.

Huo Yuhao hadn’t thought too much when he heard the Evileye Tyrant claim that its father would take revenge for it and had believed that the Evileye Tyrant was just trying to threaten him. A defeated hundred-thousand-year soul beast calling for its father… that was simply too laughable!

However, after he had calmed down from the ﬁght, and with that furious howl, he suddenly realized something.

There could be someone in the Evildemon Forest who could be a hundred-thousand-year soul beast’s father, who could have been this Evileye Tyrant’s father!

With that entity’s age and cultivation rank, didn’t it ﬁt the bill?

Huo Yuhao was actually very lucky. In terms of obtaining soul rings, no other soul beast was more suitable for him than the one he had just used all his strength to kill. However, his luck was so “good” that it was unbelievable... the soul beast he had just killed was the youngest son of the Evildemon Forest’s true dictator, the Sun Moon Empire’s number one savage beast, and the entire Continent’s number two savage beast: the Evileye Tyrant King, who was also known as the Evil Emperor!

Even though Huo Yuhao had intercepted that hundred- thousand-year Evileye Tyrant’s spiritual origin, the Evil Emperor’s terrifying spiritual power allowed him to maintain spiritual connections with every single one of its children. The Evileye Tyrant’s spiritual origin was naturally obliterated after Huo Yuhao killed it, and even though the Evil Emperor was in a deep slumber, how could it not be startled awake when one of its children’s auras suddenly vanished? It was the reason the Evil Emperor had exclaimed so furiously.

Huo Yuhao’s scalp began to go numb, and his hair started bristling when he guessed who that horrifying voice belonged to. He didn’t dare to hold back anymore and activated everything he had as he ﬂew forward with all his might.

At this moment, many soul beasts were frightened by the Evil Emperor’s ferocious roar, and few soul beasts came forward to intercept him.

Huo Yuhao’s heart was a little twisted. He didn’t know why his luck in recent days was so terrible. Even after Qiu’er’s auspicious Sacriﬁce, this fact didn’t change…

However, now was obviously not the time for complaints and resentment. Huo Yuhao continued ﬂying with every ounce of his strength as he unleashed all of his spiritual power. He activated Imitation and Spiritual Interference to their highest possible levels to mask himself. His fervent hope was that the Evil Emperor’s awakening required a process and that it couldn’t lock onto him as soon as it woke up!

What happened proved that his thoughts were wonderful, but reality was cruel.

An enormous red pillar surged into the sky in the deepest regions of the Evildemon Forest!

That red pillar was more than a hundred meters in diameter, and even people outside the Evildemon Forest could see it clearly.

The pillar surged several thousand meters into the sky, and the clouds swiftly gathered towards it.

The enormous pillar broke through the clouds and tainted everything around it a blood-red color. The clouds gradually dispersed, revealing a colossal blood-red eye.

This blood-red eye hung thousands of meters in the sky as it looked down on the Evildemon Forest, and the forceful voice from before rang out once more.

“Child, my child, where are you?!”

This exclamation contained exceptionally strange and sinister spiritual undulations. These undulations descended onto the forest from thousands of meters up in the sky and

expanded outward, with the Evildemon Forest’s core region as the epicenter. The spiritual undulations covered an ever-larger area of effect, almost two-thirds of the entire Evildemon Forest.

Huo Yuhao was running away with incredible speed, but he was still far from escaping its area of effect!

When those strange spiritual undulations landed on his body, he felt the soul ring storage tool hidden on his body warm up.

Shit!

Huo Yuhao immediately understood that he was in trouble.

The Evileye Tyrant King couldn’t instantly ﬁnd the location where his son had died, but he was using this exclamation charged with spiritual undulations to ﬁnd the hundred- thousand-year Evileye Tyrant’s spiritual undulations!

Huo Yuhao had puriﬁed that Evileye Tyrant’s spirit, but the soul ring that it had left behind still contained some of its spiritual undulations!

Huo Yuhao almost didn’t have any time to plan or to think of anything as the Eye of Destiny between his eyebrows lit up. The wheel of light behind his head that had formed when he faced off against the hundred-thousand-year Evileye Tyrant glimmered once more.

---

In the next moment…

The colossal blood-red eye in the sky seemed to refract as a blood-red pillar a hundred meters across refracted downwards from several thousand meters in the sky.

Things like the Sunmoon Divine Needle were just a small toy compared to this horrifying red pillar of light!

Boom, boom, boom!

Somewhere in the Evildemon Forest, or rather at Huo Yuhao’s location, a humongous mushroom cloud surged into the sky.

Anybody looking down from the sky could see that a region of the spacious Evildemon Forest had been washed entirely blood-red. Afterwards, the lush green in that region melted away just like that…

This region was at least a thousand meters in diameter, and not a single inch of vegetation remained.

The red colors in the sky gradually faded away, and the blood-red light receded and fell back into the Evildemon Forest’s core regions. A dense and grievous will traveled out from that place as powerful emotional ripples blanketed the entire forest, and countless soul beasts cried out and teared up as a result.

The area that was just bombarded by that terrifying red light began to lose all those red hues, and not a single soul beast would dare to enter that region for a month.

The forest wasn’t the only thing obliterated by that horrifying spiritual power. The earth had sunk down by several dozen meters, as if the very stones and soil had been stripped of life.

---

However, in the middle of this region that was temporarily considered forbidden ground…

“Cough, cough, cough!” A wave of intense coughing sounds could be heard.

A battered and wretched ﬁgure slowly stood up. His entire body was covered with a layer of dirt, and his appearance was completely obscured, while his clothes were conspicuously torn and tattered... but he was alive!

He sighed at his own luck.

“I’m still alive?” Huo Yuhao’s face twitched as intense dizziness struck his head. He had formidable spiritual power,

but he currently felt as if his entire spiritual sea had been sucked dry. His body was soft and weak, and he struggled to even continue standing up straight. His entire body was in a bad state.

Yes, he was still alive; still alive after taking a hit from the Evil Emperor, who had eight hundred thousand years of cultivation!

How unimaginable was this? The Evil Emperor, who had just unleashed that attack, had no reason to expect that this human was still alive. When he had discovered Huo Yuhao with his Spiritual Detection, he could already tell how strong he was. From the Evil Emperor’s perspective, this attack was enough to obliterate Huo Yuhao from the face of the earth!

The Evil Emperor’s arrogance meant he couldn’t be bothered to check the aftermath. Furthermore, he was in the most crucial time of his closed-door cultivation, so he didn’t have the time and energy to investigate.

The Skydream Iceworm’s hopeful words from back then clearly didn’t come true. The Evil Emperor wasn’t far from the limit, but he wasn’t there, after all, and he was still alive. He

was the Continent’s second strongest savage beast as long as he was still alive, and one of the most frightening existences on the Continent.

It feels great to be alive! Huo Yuhao heaved a sigh inside. “You’ve saved me yet again, Qiu’er.”

The reason why he was still alive naturally wasn’t because he had enough strength to withstand that all-out attack from the Evileye Tyrant King. How could the Evil Emperor’s spiritual sweep have any judgmental errors?

The reason why he was alive was because of the skull bone that he had obtained from Wang Qiu’er, the Auspicious Beast’s skull bone.

The Auspicious Beast’s skull bone possessed a special ability besides bestowing two powerful soul skills upon Huo Yuhao. This ability was called Spiritual Immunity!

Huo Yuhao could make himself immune to all kinds and levels of spiritual attacks three times a day. Unless Huo Yuhao was faced with a God who had the ability to change destiny,

Huo Yuhao could render himself immune to all sorts and levels of spiritual attacks.

Huo Yuhao had relied on this ability, which was basically against natural law in the spiritual realm, to challenge the hundred-thousand-year Evileye Tyrant. He had used this ability to gain the advantage against his adversary in a perilous battle, and had eventually managed to kill it.

Huo Yuhao could use Spiritual Immunity three times when he was in peak condition. After using this ability once, he would have to replenish his skull bone with spiritual power through his own cultivation. Of course, he could use another method to replenish his skull bone – he could consume other skull bones, just like how he had consumed the hundred- thousand-year Evileye Tyrant’s skull bone!

Huo Yuhao would need at least a month to fully replenish his skull bone to three instances of Spiritual Immunity if he didn’t consume any skull bones.

Spiritual Immunity didn’t seem like much when one considered that one month was a very long time. But in reality, this ability was very useful to Huo Yuhao. Huo Yuhao had had

to use Spiritual Immunity to defend himself against a spiritual- type attack at his level of spiritual power, so just how powerful did that attack have to be?

Everything that had just happened proved this point. No matter how powerful the Evil Emperor was, Spiritual Immunity had still protected Huo Yuhao from its attack.

However, Huo Yuhao also had sufﬁcient experience through this attack that not everything was absolute. The Evil Emperor’s attack didn’t kill him, but his spiritual sea was immediately sucked dry in that instant, and even his skull bone was sucked dry.

Huo Yuhao felt very fortunate that his Auspicious Beast Skull Bone had consumed the Evileye Tyrant’s skull bone before this. The spiritual power from consuming that skull bone was currently replenishing him slowly. Otherwise, he would have fainted, and he had no idea how long it would have taken him to wake up if that happened.

I have to leave this place as quickly as possible! I must! Otherwise, if the Evil Emperor dusts its hands and comes down to take a look, I’m dead!

Huo Yuhao would have trouble ﬁghting even a single thousand-year soul beast in his current state, let alone the strongest individual among all the Evileye Tyrants!

Huo Yuhao bit down on the tip of his tongue, and intense pain reinvigorated his spirit and pumped adrenaline into his system. He quickly checked his soul ring storage tool.

That thing was worthy of being a Class 8 soul tool, and wasn’t destroyed while under the protection of Huo Yuhao’s Spiritual Immunity. The hundred-thousand-year soul ring that was contained inside was also intact. At least he didn’t take that attack for nothing!

Huo Yuhao retrieved a small bracelet from his storage ring and put it on his wrist. Afterwards, he began to activate this bracelet with his soul power.

He had consumed too much spiritual power, but his soul power’s situation was relatively good. The silver bracelet swiftly shone with a layer of gentle silver light as Huo Yuhao infused soul power into it, and this silver light wrapped

backwards and stretched up along his wrist. The silver light quickly formed a silver bracer cocooning his left arm.

Rows of silver light shone from his bracer, and ray after ray of silver light ﬂickered as metal pieces covered by that silver light hovered in front of Huo Yuhao.

Huo Yuhao took a deep breath and released his soul power to produce vigorous kinetic forces, and attached those rays of silver light to his body. The silver lights rapidly covered his body, and it didn’t take long before his entire body was covered by a human-shaped soul tool.

This human-shaped soul tool was a lot prettier and more elegant than the one that he had crafted in the tournament not too long ago. This set was streamlined all over, and very simplistic and generous. A pair of wings arched behind his back, and quickly became three layers of golden wings as he infused soul power into them. Every layer of golden wings had six blasting holes, the higher wings narrower than the ones below.

Every other part was matched to Huo Yuhao’s frame, every component intricately and ﬁnely assembled. Huo Yuhao only

looked a little bigger after donning this suit, and there were no redundancies at all.

This was the human-shaped soul tool that Xuan Ziwen had personally crafted for Huo Yuhao. Xuan Ziwen had considered that Huo Yuhao was still a Soul King back then, and so had done all he could with this soul tool to ensure that it could maintain its strength as a Class 7 soul tool, and that Huo Yuhao could still use it as a Soul King.

Huo Yuhao didn’t have time to wear this suit when he faced off against the Holy Ghost Church’s powerful individuals because everything had happened too suddenly. So this was the ﬁrst time he had used it. In truth, there wasn’t any practical use to wearing this suit against those evil Titled Douluo.

However, his situation was very different at the moment. With this soul tool, he could use the twelve miniature compressed Sealed Milk Bottles attached to it to sustain himself for another round of high-intensity combat. With this suit, Huo Yuhao would have no problems protecting his life even if he encountered another hundred-thousand-year soul beast. At the same time, he could use this suit to get out of the forest as quickly as possible!

Huo Yuhao didn’t ﬂy into the sky, because he was still inside the Evildemon Forest. He activated the soul thrusters on his back and propelled himself forward at breakneck speed. His goal now was to leave the Evildemon Forest as quickly as possible, and then ﬁnd somewhere safe so that he could absorb his seventh soul ring, the one from that one hundred- thousand-year Evileye Tyrant, and become a Soul Sage!

Shrek City, the Tang Sect...

“Bam!” A dull slap could heard as Bei Bei stood up with a grave and gloomy look on his face. Xu Sanshi, He Caitou, Ye Guyi, Jing Ziyan, and Ji Juechen sat on both sides of the table, along with Xiao Xiao, Jiang Nannan, Na Na, and Mo Xuan. Besides Xuan Ziwen and Gao Dalou, almost all of the Tang Sect’s inner circle was here.

“Three days! You guys have been back for three days, and we still haven’t heard anything from our little junior brother. In terms of time, he should have returned before you with his ﬂying-type soul tool, whether he travelled across the ocean or land. But so many days have gone by, and where is he? Who can tell me where he is?” Bei Bei’s voice became higher, and anger that was seldom seen on him ﬁlled his scholarly face.

Xu Sanshi and the others had successfully returned with the hostages, and came back to the Tang Sect a few days ago. However, their elation and joy from successfully accomplishing their mission quickly dampened as they discovered that Huo

Yuhao hadn’t returned, and they hadn’t heard a single thing from him.

Bei Bei had received all their reports, and then consoled them before he went to Shrek Academy with a gloomy face.

Three days had gone by, and nobody from either the Tang Sect or Shrek Academy had heard anything from or about Huo Yuhao.

For the Tang Sect, every single hostage added together wasn’t as important as Huo Yuhao. This was the same for Shrek Academy, too!

What was even more disadvantageous for them was that the Sun Moon Empire had increased their monitoring and surveillance of the Douluo Continent’s three native empires exponentially, as well as on Shrek Academy, which had rescued the hostages, and continued to send army after army towards their borders.

The Star Luo Empire and the Heavenly Soul Empire did the same. Their hostages had been saved, and the Sun Moon

Empire hadn’t recovered their strength. This was the best opportunity for these two empires to deal a heavy blow to the Sun Moon Empire, and neither empire was stupid. What were they waiting for, if not for this chance to weaken their enemy?

The Dou Ling Empire was positioned behind the other two empires, but their survival was closely related to the other two. The Dou Ling Empire had already deployed a huge army with seven Titled Douluo towards their borders, and a great war could break out within a short period of time.

Under such circumstances, both Shrek Academy and the Tang Sect would have an exceptionally difﬁcult time if they wanted to send someone into the Sun Moon Empire to search for Huo Yuhao.

Therefore, they could only choose to wait for now. They had waited for three days, and those days had gone by without any news of Huo Yuhao. Starting from the time Xu Sanshi and the others had separated from Huo Yuhao, eight full days had gone by, and the rage that Bei Bei had been suppressing in his heart ﬁnally erupted uncontrollably.

Bei Bei didn’t mention it explicitly, but everyone understood that Huo Yuhao’s decision to return to Sunrise City so that he could help Nan Qiuqiu save Nan Shuishui wasn’t a wise one. However, the mission was empathic and righteous. Could they blame Huo Yuhao? No, because everyone else would have done the same if they had been in his shoes.

Xu Sanshi forced a laugh and said, “If only I had stayed behind then.”

He Caitou said, “How could you have stayed back? Our plans outside required you to transport us over long distances, and who could have taken over for you? Yuhao’s decision was right. He is adept at concealing himself, and he was the least likely to run into trouble by staying behind amongst all of us. We have to trust him, and trust that no danger will happen to him. Eldest senior brother, don’t be too impatient and ﬂustered. Being ﬂustered will accomplish nothing, because we can only continue waiting. The borders have been locked down so tightly, so it’s normal that little junior brother is taking a little longer to return.”

Bei Bei’s expression settled down a little, and he returned to his seat. “I’m sorry, I haven’t been in the right state of mind over the past few days. Actually, I should be the one to blame

for this matter. I should have been the one following him. Little junior brother has been through so much hardship recently, and Dong’er is still in a deep slumber. I’m really afraid that something’s happened to him. If something does happen to him, how do we explain it to Dong’er after she wakes up?

“The Academy is even more worried than I am, and Elder Xuan sends people almost every day to inquire if Yuhao has returned. Yuhao is younger than us, but he’s always been so steady, no matter what he does. He naturally understands that we worry about him, and he will return as quickly as possible if he’s alright. The tight surveillance soul tools of all kinds on the borders would spell great trouble for us, but he possesses formidable spiritual power, and he’s by himself. I’m sure it won’t be difﬁcult for him to hide and make it back discreetly. Therefore, even though I’m not willing to admit this, I can be almost a hundred percent sure that he’s run into some kind of trouble. I just don’t know whether he’s run into a big problem, or a small one.”

Xu Sanshi said, “Sister Xiaotao is in Sunrise City too, and she has regained her mind and her consciousness with Yuhao’s help. She has eight soul rings, and her element is as close as it gets to Ultimate Fire. Yuhao should have a chance to escape with her help even if he’s caught by evil soul masters. Let’s wait for another two days, and if we still have no news about him,

we will invite the Academy to come out. No matter what, we have to ﬁnd some way to inﬁltrate the Sun Moon Empire to search for him.”

Bei Bei nodded and said, “That’s all we can do.”

“Boom, boom, boom!” A thunderous boom rang out right at this moment. This deafening boom startled the Tang Sect’s members even though they were inside a conference room.

He Caitaou glanced out of the window confusedly and muttered, “Such loud thunder. Eh, why is the sky getting dark?”

It was still morning, but everyone could see that the sky outside the conference room’s window was darkening at an alarming rate, to the point where the conference room also darkened.

“Let’s take a look outside.” Bei Bei got to his feet and swiftly stepped outside, and everyone else followed behind him.

Everyone walked out, and their expressions grew solemn.

Their judgment from inside the conference room was right. The sky was getting dark, and it was getting dark really quickly. However, there was an abnormal feeling about this phenomenon.

If the weather were changing, dark clouds would roll over the skies, winds would blow, and they would gradually appear randomly. The sky would become gloomy and darken as a whole.

However, what they could see were neat black colors far beyond the horizon, and this black mass was swiftly spreading towards Shrek City, as if an enormous army were invading them.

This scene seemed as if there was a curtain in the sky that was slowly being pulled up, and causing the entire world to go dark.

“Something is wrong. Caitou, quickly inform teacher Xuan. Sanshi, you will immediately head to the Academy to ask about

what’s happening. Nannan, Xiao Xiao, you two will proceed to the top of the city wall, and relay any information as quickly as possible. Use ﬂying-type soul tools to travel there and back. Quickly gather the Tang Sect’s other members, and get everyone to prepare for any unforeseen circumstances.” Bei Bei seemed especially calm, and swiftly delegated duties to everyone.

The Tang Sect’s members began to move immediately.

However, Xu Sanshi had just gotten off his feet when a dense voice boomed across the entire city.

“Every disciple from Shrek Academy’s inner courtyard, assemble at the southern city wall!”

This voice was all too familiar to the Tang Sect; it came from Elder Xuan! A jade-green ﬂare surged into the sky at the same time, exploding high in the sky and transforming into an exclusive avatar of Shrek as green light permeated the heavens. It was very eye-catching.

Many of the people here were from Shrek Academy, and their expressions immediately changed when they saw this ﬁrework. This signal didn’t just signify danger; it meant that voluminous amounts of enemies were about to invade the city!

How could that be? Shrek Academy was located within the Douluo Continent’s core regions, and the Academy had very good relationships with all three empires. Where did these enemies come from? Even if it was the Body Sect attacking them, they wouldn’t suddenly launch an invasion against Shrek Academy at a time when the Sun Moon Empire posed a great threat to everyone.

Shrek Academy had always been fair to everyone, but they were an Academy, after all. They accepted talents and prodigies from all over the world, and they produced similar talents. They weren’t like sects, who would only nurture and develop their own strength. For as long as Bei Bei could remember, this was the ﬁrst time that Shrek Academy had released an emergency signal such as this one.

What is happening? Bei Bei could hear that Elder Xuan’s voice was stable, but there was a thread of anxiety and worry amidst that steadiness. What did the sudden change in the sky bring?

“What do we do, Bei Bei?” Xu Sanshi asked Bei Bei.

Everyone’s eyes turned towards Bei Bei, and he lowered his voice as he said, “Get on the southern city wall, everyone. Na Na, you will remain, and when teacher Xuan comes out, kindly ask him to lead our brethren from the Tang Sect’s Soul Tool Hall to transport the soul tools that we have crafted and stockpiled to the southern city wall. Be quick.”

“Yes,” Na Na nodded hurriedly.

Bei Bei waved his hand and immediately led the Tang Sect’s members towards the southern city wall.

------

At Shrek Academy’s southern city wall...

Ever since Shrek City was established, the highest part of the city wall and the strongest and most meticulous defenses across the entire city had always been on the southern side of

the city. The reason was simple: this direction was facing the Great Star Dou Forest!

Ever since the Great Star Dou Forest’s uprising, the southern city wall had been further fortiﬁed.

The southern city wall was ﬁfteen hundred feet tall, and two hundred feet wide. It stretched across more than ﬁve kilometers, and it could accommodate more than ten thousand people to ﬁght on its walls at the same time.

Shrek City’s army was more or less connected to Shrek Academy. Shrek City didn’t have a lord; the city’s defense fell to Shrek Academy’s Sea God’s Pavilion. Almost every city defense ofﬁcer was a powerful individual who had graduated from Shrek Academy.

If someone had to choose a city across the Continent with the highest concentration of soul masters, Shrek City would undoubtedly take the top spot!

The soul engineers in the Sun Moon Empire’s Radiant City could also be called soul masters, but Radiant City was densely

populated, and their soul engineer to citizen ratio couldn’t compare to the density of soul masters in Shrek City!

Shrek City’s current chief defense ofﬁcer was named Shi Xing. He was a tall middle-aged man, looking a little more than forty years old. He had a square and ﬂat face, big eyes, and thick eyebrows. He had a muscular frame, and he gave others a towering and imposing feeling with his mere presence.

He was forty-eight years of age, and could be said to be in the prime of his life. When he was studying at Shrek Academy, he had once had a nickname, “the Time Magician”. Afterwards, when he became a Titled Douluo, his title was Time; the Time Douluo, Shi Xing!

Three years ago, the previous chief defense ofﬁcer had resigned and returned to Shrek Academy’s inner courtyard to enjoy his retirement, and Shi Xing had become Shrek City’s chief defense ofﬁcer with a unanimous vote from the Sea God’s Pavilion. He was responsible for everything that had to do with the city’s defenses.

Their city defense ofﬁcer was actually a Titled Douluo. Possibly only Shrek City could afford to have such a luxurious

arrangement.

At this moment, the Time Douluo, Shi Xing, was standing on the city wall and gazing far into the distance with a dour look on his face. More accurately, he was staring to the south!

Chapter 394: Beast Tide! Beast God!

The pitch-black sky was spreading from south of the city. At this moment, the black sky’s forward progress seemed to slow a little, but the pressure that came from those clouds made everyone feel quite breathless.

Shrek City’s city defense army was hard at work on the city wall, and everyone was nervously setting up all sorts of defensive soul tools.

Shrek City hadn’t participated in a war for many years, but the city defense army was very organized and disciplined. The pressure that came from the sky made everyone ghastly pale, but they grit their teeth and continued with whatever they had to do.

There were a hundred thousand people in Shrek City’s army, thirty percent of them were soul masters. Most of these soul masters had graduated from Shrek Academy’s outer courtyard, and they chose to enlist in the city defense army when they failed to enter the inner courtyard so that they could train for several years more.

Shrek City’s city defense army had quite a reputation. They had only participated in a little more than ten wars across their ten-thousand year history, but they accomplished feats and miracles that shook the entire continent in every instance.

For example, when the Sun Moon Continent clashed with the Douluo Continent all those years ago, the Sun Moon Continent started a Holy War. The Sun Moon Continent’s ﬁghting style with all their soul tools was too unique at that time, and they successively defeated the Douluo Continent’s native empires across many battles.

Back then, Shrek Academy had deployed three thousand men from their city defense army. These men were known as Shrek’s Army, and they had hurried to the frontlines. They only had three thousand men, but they relied on themselves and the terrain to forcefully barricade the Sun Moon Empire’s great army for ﬁfteen days. They gave the Douluo Continent’s various empires sufﬁcient time to gather their armies, and gave everyone the chance for one last stand. The Douluo Continent’s native empires emerged victorious in the end.

Shrek’s Army had enjoyed their stellar reputation across the Continent from that moment onwards, and it was considered a glorious thing to become part of Shrek City’s city defense

army. Therefore, if the students from Shrek Academy’s outer courtyard couldn’t make it into the inner courtyard, they would try everything they could to join Shrek’s city defense army to serve for at least three years. This experience would become a glorious mark on their resumes, and greatly beneﬁcial for their future development.

Shrek City was just a city after all, so it wasn’t easy to sustain an army of a hundred thousand soldiers. It was easier for those soul masters who made up thirty percent of the army because they came from the Academy, so they didn’t receive any special treatment. However, the other seventy percent who were just normal soldiers Shrek City had to pay from its own pockets.

Large cannons lined the top of the city wall, pointed far into the distance. All kinds of stationary soul cannon shells were lifted to the top of the city wall, and three thousand soul masters took but a mere ﬁfteen minutes to assemble. Everyone was already on top of the city wall, and they were all preparing for battle in their respective positions. Of the remaining seven thousand soldiers, or auxiliary soldiers to be exact, three thousand served as one-to-one fallbacks for these soul masters, while the remaining four thousand soldiers prepared to reinforce their comrades.

The southern side of the city was their main defense zone. There was a lot less manpower assigned to the other three sides, but the number of defensive soul tools allocated were the same; when necessary, soul masters could rapidly switch positions to the other sides, and operate those soul tools. However, Shi Xing didn’t have to worry about the other three sides of the city wall, for now.

Over on Shrek Academy’s side, teams of students from the outer courtyard were proceeding toward the city walls on every other side as quickly as they could. Even though they were all younger than twenty, they had been through strict and rigorous training, and they had no trouble operating typical soul tools. This was especially true after the Tang Sect managed to create Sealed Milk Bottles, so even normal citizens could operate low-tier soul tools, let alone these soul masters who all had at least two soul rings.

Shrek Academy’s inner courtyard didn’t idle around either. Shadow after shadow swiftly proceeded from the eastern side of the city towards the southern city wall.

Shi Xing planted his hands on the battlements and gazed into the distance. He could taste bitterness from the corner of his mouth.

How many years has Shrek City not participated in a war, and now it’s here? He couldn’t remember, but what he could remember was that the previous two city defense ofﬁcers didn’t participate in a single war. He had been elected for only three years, and he had almost struck the jackpot; no, he truly did strike the jackpot.

Traces of their enemies gradually appeared across the horizon. Which force across the entire Continent could cause the skies to change, and could stomp towards Shrek City’s great army with such fanfare?

Only an empire could create a force on such a scale. However, how could the Douluo Continent’s three native empires make a move against Shrek City? If so, what other entities besides empires could do something like this? There was only one other place, and it was a place that was more frightening than any of the three native empires.

The army from that place wasn’t very intelligent, but they possessed impressive ﬁghting instincts. They were born with a taste for blood and an inclination to kill, and they were full of hatred for humans. Almost every single individual in that army was powerful, and there were almost endless numbers of them,

while some of the Continent’s strongest individuals were behind them, holding down the fort.

Yes, this frightening power came from Shrek Academy’s neighbor. Shrek had encountered them many times in the past, and almost every single member from Shrek Academy had been to this place: the Great Star Dou Forest!

The beast tide was here!

Masses of soul beasts that dotted the sky until it turned black were gradually bearing down on Shrek City. They weren’t moving very quickly, but they were organized and disciplined.

The soul beasts fanned forward, moving forward almost in tandem with the dark clouds in the sky. Gentle winds gusted through the air, and the faint smell from these soul beasts gradually travelled to the top of Shrek City’s wall.

Shi Xing was a Titled Douluo, considered one of the strongest individuals in the world today. However, he stared at the beast wave that was just so tremendous, and he couldn’t help but lick his lips as he in drew a cold breath.

Why were the Great Star Dou Forest’s soul beasts going crazy? What happened, exactly, that triggered them to launch an invasion? The Great Star Dou Forest had been very peaceful in recent years, and nobody had heard of anyone killing hundred-thousand-year soul beasts in the forest!

The Great Star Dou Forest’s Core Region had developed rapidly over the past few hundred years, and countless powerful individuals had emerged from within. Even Shrek Academy’s inner circle wouldn’t venture into that place for no good reason, while Shrek City and the Great Star Dou Forest had been enjoying peace for the past centuries.

So why were they doing this? Why did the Great Star Dou Forest launch an invasion on such a large scale, and why were they advancing on the city like an army? This couldn’t have been instigated by a small group of soul beasts. The army of soul beasts seemed endless, and without those few who resided in the Slaughtering Grounds mobilizing them, this army of soul beasts wouldn’t appear on such a large scale.

The beast army’s front lines were now less than ten kilometers away from Shrek City’s southern city wall. They maintained their steady forward movement, while the dark

clouds above their heads gradually blanketed the sky above them. The closer they came, the more pressure could be felt on the top of the city wall. If Shrek’s city defense army hadn’t been elite and outstanding, if another normal army was here, they would probably have tucked tail and run away in fear.

There was an uncountable number of soul beasts in this army!

Right at this moment, shadow after shadow descended from the sky and landed on top of the southern city wall. The leading person was tall, and messy white hair draped behind his head as he stepped towards the battlements with a solemn look on his face. He was Shrek Academy’s true number-one individual, the Master of the Sea God’s Pavilion, Elder Xuan!

The Sea God’s Pavilion’s other elders followed behind Elder Xuan. Everyone was on the scene, including the academy’s two Deans, Yan Shaozhe and Xian Lin’er. The only person who wasn’t here was the Sea God’s Pavilion’s youngest and weakest member, Huo Yuhao.

More than forty students from Shrek Academy’s inner courtyard followed behind the elders from the Sea God’s

Pavilion.

Shrek Academy’s teachers were split evenly into three groups, and they proceeded to the city’s three other walls to command the outer courtyard students who were stationed there. They were most familiar with those students, and hence the teachers commanding them would be most convenient and suitable.

Elder Xuan gazed into the distance, and his expression instantly became even blacker than before. He had risen into the sky before this to check out the situation, and only afterwards did he release that emergency signal. At this moment, the soul beast army was a lot closer to Shrek City, and Elder Xuan was very clear about how dire their situation was.

He was the only one who had gone through the previous beast tide among the various elders from the Sea God’s Pavilion. However, the situation that they were facing right now was more perilous than the previous invasion!

Elder Xuan didn’t have any time to contemplate why the Great Star Dou Forest would suddenly launch a beast wave, and why they would come to Shrek City ﬁrst. The only thought in

his mind was if Shrek Academy could defend themselves against an enormous army that consisted of more than a hundred thousand soul beasts?

During the previous beast wave, Shrek City had released a call for help as soon as they could. Elder Mu was the one directing things over in Shrek Academy, and they had the Body Sect helping them out. Even though the Body Sect and Shrek Academy weren’t on good terms, they had good chemistry and teamwork during that incident. They had managed to hold out until sufﬁcient reinforcements had arrived, and only then did they stop those soul beasts from advancing. Eventually they signed a peace treaty with the savage beasts.

However, the soul beasts had gone against their treaty on their own initiative, and had launched a beast wave against Shrek City. Elder Mu was no longer here, and they didn’t have the Body Sect to help them this time. Even though Shrek City had a lot more soul tools right now compared to back then, could they really hold off such a terrifyingly huge army of soul beasts?

The Sea God’s Pavilion’s several elders also looked very grave as they stared at the army in front of them.

Elder Song arrived beside Elder Xuan, and he lowered his voice as he said, “Why haven’t we seen any omens or warnings, and yet the Great Star Dou Forest launched a beast wave against us? What is happening, exactly?”

Elder Xuan lowered his voice and said, “There was an omen , don’t you remember? Several days ago, a mass of blood clouds appeared above the Great Star Dou Forest. I’m afraid this incident has something to do with that. Can it be that one of the Great Star Dou Forest’s important soul beasts, or perhaps a certain savage beast, has been killed by human soul masters, and they are infuriated because of that? The peace treaty that we signed back then stated that we could not attack the savage beasts, and those fellows who direct things inside the Great Star Dou Forest have always been honorable. It seems like something big must have happened!”

Elder Song tilted her head and said, “We can’t start the battle without knowing what’s going on. We have to ask them clearly before anything else. I’m afraid the Beast God, Di Tian, is personally directing an army of this scale.”

Elder Xuan squinted as he gazed into the clouds above. “He’s right there, right next to him is the Golden Eyed Black Dragon King. Who else could muster a force such as this? Let me go and meet him, and I’ll ask about what exactly has happened.”

Elder Song was a little worried as she said, “You must be careful, Elder Xuan. With Di Tian’s cultivation, even Elder Mu back then was weaker than the Beast God. He is the world’s number-one soul beast, and the leader of the Ten Great Savage Beasts isn’t someone who’s easy to interact with.”

Elder Xuan smiled plainly and answered, “So what if he’s not easy to interact with? Shrek’s honor and glory are up to us to uphold and defend. I will protect Shrek City as long as I have one breath remaining, and I will not let these brutes invade us. I’m going up, you’ll take over command.”

Elder Xuan took a step out as he spoke, and he just stood on the battlement like that as he stretched his arms to both sides and howled into the sky.

“Moo–” A dense and thick soundwave, like a torrential wave, burst forth with a powerful aura from Elder Xuan’s body.

This ferocious roar forcefully intimidated and caused the army of soul beasts in the distance to pause.

Elder Xuan’s body transformed into a ray of golden light and surged into the sky, like a shooting star as he blazed a trail of crystal-yellow ﬂames. Furthermore, this sphere of yellow light became larger in volume as it rose through the sky, and it quickly covered the sky above Shrek Academy with yellow hues. Yellow light stretched across the sky, which sparkled continuously as it went straight for those black masses of dark clouds without showing any weakness at all.

Elder Xuan’s move reinvigorated Shrek City’s morale and aura, and everyone widened their eyes as they looked on, especially the students from the outer courtyard. They would possibly only get this one chance in their lifetimes to witness this showdown between some of the strongest individuals in

the world, and the excitement in their hearts far exceeded their anxiety.

A colossal shadow over a hundred meters long ﬂickered amidst that golden light. Dragon patterns webbed over its enormous frame, and its twin horns pointed towards the sky: it was Elder Xuan’s mighty martial soul, the Godly Taotie Bull!

Elder Xuan hadn’t made that step into godhood yet, but he was the Taotie Douluo, a powerful Rank 98 soul master. He could still put up a ﬁght against the Dragon Emperor Douluo and the Darkness Holy Dragon, Long Xiaoyao.

The yellow colors high up in the sky quickly intertwined with the ink-like black luster. The black colors paused momentarily before they collided violently with the yellow clouds, and the sky dimmed and brightened alternately as they clashed against each other, powerful auras colliding incessantly. What was even stranger was that no matter how they clashed, their auras didn’t affect the army of soul beasts or Shrek City beneath them.

“Come out and talk, Di Tian!” Elder Xuan’s deep and dense voice echoed through the heavens. Even though he was the

only one talking, everyone from Shrek City and the army of soul beasts could hear him clearly.

“You’re the Taotie!” Another icy-cold voice resonated across the skies in similar fashion. However, when this voice appeared, the ﬁnal sounds of Elder Xuan’s voice were instantly shattered, as if someone had forcefully cut him off.

Black clouds riled up vigorously, and an enormous dragon whose size couldn’t be distinguished shimmered amidst the dark clouds. Its entire body was covered with pitch-black scales, but it shone with dark purple colors within those dark clouds.

“Yes, it’s me. Di Tian, you have gathered so many soul beasts from the Great Star Dou Forest to Shrek Academy without any consideration of the consequences. Why have you done this?” Elder Xuan asked loudly with a deep voice.

Di Tian’s icy-cold voice could be heard once more. “Why? You despicable humans are actually asking me why? Over these years, when have humans ever stopped harming and killing us soul beasts? Soul beasts have been living in seclusion within habitats like the Great Star Dou Forest, but humans have never

stopped disturbing us! Humans have been killing my kin and my brethren, and humans have mutilated their corpses so as to boost their own strength. Soul beasts have been dwindling in number from the beginning to the end, but there are more and more soul masters. If this is allowed to continue, in the long run, soul beasts will be extinct one day!”

Elder Xuan thought for a moment and said, “We are equally aware of this problem. Di Tian, you have to understand that humans don’t wish for that to happen, either. However, the existence of martial souls has formed this food chain, and soul masters have to hunt and kill soul beasts to obtain soul rings if they want to become stronger. We are thinking of anything we can do to substitute soul rings, and we are in the midst of such research right now. For now, however, it seems like there are still sufﬁcient numbers of soul beasts. Furthermore, are you saying that soul beasts haven’t killed humans before? The number of humans who have ventured into your habitats and gained something are far fewer than the number of soul masters that soul beasts have murdered. This matter has always been mutual.

“Furthermore, have you forgotten about the peace treaty we signed back then? You are the Beast God. Will you go against your word?”

Di Tian laughed coldly and said, “Don’t try to lie to me. The Dragon God Douluo didn’t ﬁnd a way to substitute soul rings back then, and I don’t believe you guys can do that, either. As for the treaty, you have the audacity to talk to me about that? If your memory still serves, you should remember that there was an extremely important existence within the Great Star Dou Forest, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion!”

“The Three-Eyed Golden Lion?” Elder Xuan almost felt his heart skip a beat when he heard this name, and an ominous feeling ﬁlled his heart.

Many soul masters were unfamiliar with this name, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, and even the elders within the Sea God’s Pavilion didn’t know about her existence. However, Elder Xuan knew her very well, and he had seen her before with his own eyes. He had even helped Huo Yuhao obtain part of the Three-Eyed Golden Lion’s power of destiny.

Of course, he understood how important the Three-Eyed Golden Lion was to the Great Star Dou Forest, and even the ﬁve great savage beasts who anchored down the forest’s Slaughtering Grounds were, in practice, not as important as the Auspicious Beast!

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion’s existence had allowed the Great Star Dou Forest to develop rapidly for the past ten thousand years. Human soul masters had hunted and killed soul beats continuously, but the forest’s overall number of soul beasts and their overall strength wasn’t weakened. In fact, the soul beasts’ overall strength had increased!

In some sense, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion was equivalent to an ampliﬁer for the Great Star Dou Forest, and her existence was the reason why the forest had the strength and scale that they did today. Back then, the Three-Headed Scarlet Devilmastiff, who was one of the Slaughtering Ground’s ﬁve savage beasts, had personally stayed by her side to protect her.

“Something’s happened to the Three-Eyed Golden Lion?” Elder Xuan asked with a tinge of incredulity. He didn’t quite believe it. The Three-Eyed Golden Lion was exceptionally important to the Great Star Dou Forest, and savage beasts had always personally protected her. Her status within the forest was comparable to Di Tian’s, and even though her strength was nowhere near that of the savage beasts, her status was equivalent to that of the father of a reigning emperor.

“Hmph!” Di Tian grunted coldly, and the dark clouds in the sky seemed to become a little gloomier than before. The

humans and soul beasts beneath him all began to feel their hearts beat faster.

“Unless something’s happened to the Auspicious Beast, why do you think I would go to such lengths and such trouble to start a war? Why do you think I would risk the lives of my kin and brethren to start a war like this? A few days ago, I felt the aura of the Auspicious Beast’s death!”

The huge black dragon circling around inside the dark clouds paused as he reached his last words, and two golden spheres sparkled brilliantly… they were his eyes!

The Beast God Di Tian’s original body was a Golden Eyed Black Dragon King who had more than eight hundred thousand years of cultivation. The Black Dragon’s blood was the purest next to the Golden Dragon and the Silver Dragon, and Di Tian was likely to be the only living being across the entire Continent who was a pureblood Black Dragon. He had been alive for eight hundred thousand long years, and he had seen almost every change that had happened to the Continent. Once that powerful aura was released, Elder Xuan felt his scalp tense, even with his cultivation rank.

“The Auspicious Beast is dead?” Elder Xuan drew a cold breath. If that was the case, the Great Star Dou Forest would have good reason to launch a beast wave like this. The Auspicious Beast was far too important, because she was connected to the future of the entire forest, and she was very

beneﬁcial to the savage beasts’ chances of breaking through bottlenecks.

This time, they were in deep trouble!

Elder Xuan took a deep breath. The yellow light around the Godly Taotie Bull became stronger at the same time as he said, “I’m very sorry, Di Tian, that the Auspicious Beast is dead. However, the Auspicious Beast has always been residing in the Great Star Dou Forest, and she’s personally protected by several of your strongest individuals. How could anything have happened to her? Are you saying that someone managed to kill the Auspicious Beast from underneath your protection?”

The ferocity emanating from Di Tian’s body receded a little. He muttered coldly, “Of course nobody would have been able to kill the Auspicious Beast inside the forest! The Auspicious Beast’s status in the Great Star Dou Forest transcended all else, and even I was unwilling to restrain her excessively. Not long ago, she used a fake body in closed-door cultivation, while her

own body secretly slunk out of the forest. She should have entered the world of humans, and even individuals like us won’t disturb her when she’s in closed-door cultivation. Who would have expected that such grievous news would come several days ago?”

The Auspicious Beast, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, had departed the Great Star Dou Forest, and had passed away in the human world?

Elder Xuan lowered his voice and said, “I express deep regret once more for the Auspicious Beast’s death. However, since she met her demise after she left the forest, how can you be sure that us humans did her wrong? I can understand your sorrowful emotions, but you cannot use the lives of countless humans and soul beasts to wash away your grief!”

“Hahahaha!” The Beast God, Di Tian suddenly laughed ominously, as if he had just heard some joke. “Nothing to do with humans? Do you know how the Auspicious Beast died? Let me tell you, my aura was intimately connected to that of the Auspicious Beast, and I could clearly feel the state that she was in when she died. She sacriﬁced herself for a human, and she willingly became someone’s soul ring. How can you say, then, that this has nothing to do with humans?”

“What?” Elder Xuan couldn’t maintain his composure anymore after this. Many different possibilities of how the Auspicious Beast might have met her demise had appeared in his mind over that short period of time. He understood, naturally, that the Auspicious Beast was likely to have died at

the hands of a human soul master. However, exceptions could occur, and he was still thinking about how he could convince Di Tian to withdraw his army, when he was met with such a reply!

Elder Xuan’s voice was evidently a little more rushed now. He said angrily, “Di Tian, even if you want to frame others for this, you have to ﬁnd a reliable and believable reason. The Emperor Beast, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, offered herself to a human soul master? Do you even believe your own words? You can try asking the other soul beasts in the forest... do they believe this? You are clearer than I am about what the Emperor Beast’s existence entails. Could she even offer herself to a human?”

Di Tian said coldly, “Nothing is impossible. The Emperor Beast was born with intelligence comparable to you humans, and she must have walked into the world of humans because she was curious. The Emperor Beast was born from the destiny of the heavens, and she has always acted according to destiny. There are far too many things that can taint and pollute her in the human world, and problems appeared in the Emperor Beast’s way of thinking because of these pollutions. Don’t try to absolve yourself of responsibility, the only humans that the Emperor Beast saw before she left the forest were you and your students! I heard from the Scarlet King that, back then, one of your students interacted with her. I am very sure that whatever’s happened to the Emperor Beast has something to do with that student of yours! Hand him over, and my army

will not invade Shrek City. Otherwise, we will wash Shrek with blood, and we will exterminate everything and everyone!”

Elder Xuan’s attitude changed a little as he listened to Di Tian’s words. There was no question that Huo Yuhao was the person who Di Tian was talking about! Elder Xuan was the perpetrator back then, so he knew, as he was the one who had helped Huo Yuhao obtain part of the Three-Eyed Golden Lion’s power of destiny, and he was the one who had helped Huo Yuhao open his Eye of Destiny.

Does this mean that the Three-Eyed Golden Lion offered herself to Yuhao? He thought about Huo Yuhao going missing recently in the Sun Moon Empire. He’s likely to have encountered danger of some kind. Perhaps, what Di Tian has said isn’t impossible. However, when did the Three-Eyed Golden Lion get together with Yuhao? Why has he never mentioned this to me before?

“Di Tian, I cannot agree to your request. That student you’re looking for isn’t even in the Academy, and even if he were, how could I give one of my Academy’s students to you?” Elder Xuan’s voice became plain and composed. He was very clear as he watched the way Di Tian was behaving that the beast wave’s invasion was inevitable. Even if he gave Huo Yuhao to Di Tian,

the Emperor Beast’s death was enough to instigate these savage beasts’ aggression and hostility. Even if they didn’t attack Shrek, they would attack other cities, and Shrek would have to take on the responsibility of ﬁghting them off.

Di Tian’s voice instantly grew cold. “Does this mean that you’re not willing to hand that rascal over at the cost of endless lives and bloodshed?”

Elder Xuan muttered coldly, “You wish to ﬁght, then let’s ﬁght! How can you step over Shrek’s glory as and when you want to?”

“You’re courting death!” Di Tian roared furiously into the sky, and dark clouds surged as he shouted ferociously at the top of his voice, “Charge!”

The soul beasts that had initially stopped outside Shrek City now began to move like a tsunami when they heard Di Tian’s order. All kinds of lights shone from these soul beasts, and every single one was ﬁlled with manic and crazy auras as they charged toward Shrek City.

“You dare, Di Tian!” Elder Xuan howled as the Godly Taotie Bull’s colossal frame began trotting through the sky. He stepped on yellow clouds as he charged toward Di Tian with his twin spiral horns.

Di Tian’s tremendous dragon wings stretched out as dark clouds rose from behind his back. He opened his mouth, and a huge black pillar of ﬁre more than ten meters in diameter erupted toward Elder Xuan.

Elder Xuan’s horns glowed at the same time, and his dark brown horns swiftly became glossy and transparent, as if they were sculpted from diamonds. Two diamond-like beams of light merged into one and went straight for that black ﬂame pillar.

Boom!

The mountains trembled and the earth shook in that moment. Even though they were ﬁghting thousands of meters in the sky, the world quivered along with their collision.

Di Tian didn’t move an inch, and hovered in the distance, but Elder Xuan’s forward momentum was halted forcefully after this clash. Evidently, there was still quite a gap between Elder Xuan’s cultivation and that of Di Tian.

Di Tian’s large golden eyes ﬂowed with disdain and indifference as he ﬂapped his huge dragon wings toward Elder Xuan.

The sky turned black in that instant. The yellow clouds were initially at a standoff against dark clouds, but this situation changed in the blink of an eye. Dark clouds loomed over the skies, and everything that was yellow was immediately swallowed in that moment. Even Elder Xuan’s body suffered the same fate, and the great earth was covered in darkness as countless purple lightning bolts ﬂickered and sparkled amongst the dark clouds. That immense pressure sufﬁciently portrayed the spectacular sight of the dark clouds bearing down on a city and threatening to overwhelm it.

The spectacular sight made Shrek City’s city defense army and everyone from Shrek Academy feel stiﬂed.

The number-one soul beast in the world, the leader of the Ten Great Savage Beasts, the Beast God, the dictator of the Great Star Dou Forest, the Golden Eyes Black Dragon King... there were just too many titles on Di Tian’s head!

This time, the death of the Emperor Beast, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, had ﬁnally infuriated this insanely powerful soul beast. He didn’t hold back from the moment he made his ﬁrst move.

Waves of dull thunder boomed continuously from the sky. However, the sky was still covered in darkness. Even the outer courtyard’s junior students could tell from this situation that Elder Xuan was absolutely the weaker one, and at a complete disadvantage.

That was the truth. Di Tian was the Douluo Continent’s strongest soul beast, and he was possibly the strongest individual across the entire Douluo Continent. Even if the Darkness Holy Dragon, the Dragon Emperor Douluo, Long Xiaoyao was here, he would probably be no match for Di Tian. He was an Ultimate Douluo, but his martial soul, the Darkness Holy Dragon, originated from the Black Dragon race. In terms of blood purity, how could he compare to Di Tian?

Back then, when the Radiant Holy Dragon, the Dragon God Douluo Mu En, was ﬁghting against Di Tian, he had relied on the fact that his element was a natural counter to Di Tian’s element, and he was only a little weaker. If Long Xiaoyao had been in his position, he would probably be in a worse situation than Elder Mu was. He was absolutely no match for Di Tian in control over darkness.

If Elder Xuan couldn’t hold Di Tian back, and if he eventually perished in his ﬁght against Di Tian, who else in Shrek City could hold back the strongest individual in the world? Would Shrek City really be laid to ruin?

“What are you looking at? Prepare your defenses, everyone! First wave of soul tools, prepare to ﬁre! All soul masters to their battle stations, and heed my commands!” Time Douluo Shi Xing shouted angrily, and his valiant voice ﬁnally pulled everyone out from those stiﬂing and suppressing sensations.

Morale would always be imperative in war. The faith for victory would exist if morale was high, and without morale, even an endless army might not be able to defend against their enemies.

Shrek’s city defense army had never lacked morale, because the glory and honor from Shrek’s previous generations shone on them, and this glory became their greatest courage.

They were faced with a formidable army of at least a hundred thousand soul beasts, and the Taotie Douluo was clearly at a disadvantage against the Beast God in the sky. But even so, the eyes of every soldier in Shrek’s city defense army quickly became sharp and determined under Shi Xing’s command.

This was a battle that they couldn’t lose, because loss meant death. This was a ﬁght between humans and soul beasts, and surrender was never an option on such a battleﬁeld!

Nobody had to explain for everyone to understand that they had to ﬁght to the very end in this battle. They could only beat back these soul beasts and protect Shrek City in order to survive!

Soul masters hustled, and heavy cannons were swiftly pulled into position, their mouths of their metal cannons pointed outside of the city.

The southern city wall was opposite the Great Star Dou Forest. Therefore, the best and strongest defenses were established on the southern city wall.

The Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons that the Tang Sect had manufactured were all successfully loaded, and every cannon came with four Sealed Milk Bottles.

Only the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons on Shrek’s city wall had such a conﬁguration, and each cannon was almost twice as costly as the cannons that the Tang Sect had sold to the Star Luo and Heavenly Soul Empires. These defensive soul tools that the Tang Sect had crafted for Shrek City were still sold at cost.

There were thirty-two Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons on the southern city wall. They were arranged in one row, and were very intimidating. These cannons were all Class 6 soul tools, and while they were very costly, they were also very powerful, and they could be used continuously in battle for a long time.

The students from Shrek Academy’s inner courtyard swiftly dispersed along the southern city wall under the command of

the Sea God’s Pavilion’s various elders.

None of these people had participated in the defense against the previous beast wave, but the Academy had gained much experience, and learned much about how to ﬁght against beast waves after their previous battle.

There was no question that Shrek City’s combined strength was a far cry from that of the Great Star Dou Forest. They could only rely on their tough city wall and Shrek Academy’s accumulated wisdom and experience over the past ten thousand years. Therefore, the city wall could never be allowed to break in their defensive endeavors, because everything would be over if the city wall was broken through.

The soul beasts’ ﬁghting style would always be different from that of humans. Normal soul beasts had subpar intelligence, and they only knew how to charge around violently, so there was no way they could follow complicated orders. For those savage beasts who were at a higher tier, they possessed intelligence comparable to humans, but they were proud and arrogant by nature, so they weren’t willing to use any tricks or schemes. The Great Star Dou Forest’s soul beasts thought they were invincible in their hearts. Because of this, their ﬁghting style was very simple: attack the city head on!

This fact was one of the most important points that Shrek Academy had concluded for speciﬁcally ﬁghting against soul beasts after the last beast wave!

Shrek City’s southern city wall didn’t even have a gate, and that was so they could defend against soul beasts attacking them from this front. The city wall had been heightened and thickened continuously over many years, and the city wall’s surface had been constructed with special materials and methods. Even soul beasts who had more than ten thousand years of cultivation would need a very long time to damage the city wall!

Other than that, Shrek City had many unique advantages, and they wouldn’t hold anything back against the beast wave.

“Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons, ﬁrst wave, ﬁre!” Shi Xing shouted at the top of his voice.

The beast wave surged forward, charging within three kilometers of Shrek City in the blink of an eye. The closer they came, the clearer their frightening numbers became!

Chapter 395: Mu En! Golden Tree!

Those beasts that were charging in front were either ten- or hundred-year soul beasts. They weren’t strong, and so were used as cannon fodder. Of course, this cannon fodder still possessed greater ﬁghting strength than most ordinary people. If a person wasn’t a soul master, they wouldn’t be able to resist them one-on-one.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh… Thirty-two Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons rapidly ﬁred off, and balls of glaring light shone down from above the top of the city wall.

The Cannons were equipped with wheels and tracks, allowing them to move freely along the city wall. Once they were moved into position, they could be ﬁxed in place mechanically.

Class 6 Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons were quite bulky. When Huo Yuhao, He Caitou, and the rest brought cannons to Sunrise City, they only brought those that were either Class 4 or Class 5. Their main reason for not bringing larger Zhuge

Divine Crossbow Cannons was because these cannons were simply too big.

However, these Class 6 cannons were very useful for defending the city. All of them had forty-eight barrels each, their calibers much larger than Class 5 cannons. Furthermore, they cooled down more easily due to their size.

Eighteen barrels from each of the thirty-two cannons were ﬁred at the same time. The blaring cannons took everyone by storm.

Countless streaks of red light formed a cascade of light in the air that shot towards the soul beast army.

Every cannon covered one region, and there weren’t any overlaps. Given the great number of soul beasts, there wasn’t any need to aim, either.

The internal formation arrays that these thirty-two cannons were equipped with were all explosive bombs. There weren’t any exceptions. Only explosive bombs could unleash the greatest ﬁghting strength on a battleﬁeld.

Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom…

Countless compressed soul energy bombs were ﬁred at an alarming speed towards the soul beasts, and a terrifying energy storm started to rage.

This energy storm was a rain of death. In an instant, tremendous booms echoed from the front half of the battleﬁeld. The tragic screams, furious roars, and groans of soul beasts could be heard, and the explosions that rang out caused countless soul beasts to be thrown into the air. Flesh and blood started to scatter and splatter on this battleﬁeld.

This was the ﬁrst time Shrek City’s Defense Army had witnessed the terrifying strength of all the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons being ﬁred at once. If the beast wave was like a ﬂood, this round of cannon blasts forcefully stopped that ﬂood. The surging beast wave was stopped, and many of the soul beasts at the front of the wave were killed.

Following this, something weird was revealed. Soul rings that were mainly white and yellow started to rise. From the

dense concentration of soul rings, it was evident that many soul beasts had been killed in the attack earlier.

Shi Xing rose up and drifted above the top of the city wall. He shouted furiously, “Did you see? This is Shrek’s strength! Shrek City’s Defense Army, let your passion burn for Shrek’s glory! For Shrek, we have to ﬁght until all of us are dead! We must use up every drop of blood in our bodies. Get ready to ﬁre the second round of the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons!”

Some of those whose morale was low were inspired after the ﬁrst round of the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons were ﬁred. As they saw the huge number of soul rings rising, their conﬁdence was boosted once again. Yes, Shrek couldn’t be defeated so easily!

Shrek Academy was the number one Academy in the world! The members of the ﬁrst generation of Shrek’s Seven Monsters were also believed to have become Gods. So what if they were facing a beast wave from the Great Star Dou Forest? Shrek wouldn’t be defeated, and all of them were going to ﬁght for Shrek’s glory!

“Kill, kill, kill!”

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…

The cannons ﬁred a second round. Again, several hundred explosive bombs rained down on the soul beasts.

Humans had been researching soul beasts ever since soul masters had existed. However, how much did soul beasts know about humans?

Almost everyone who went into the Great Star Dou Forest to hunt and kill soul beasts was a highly-skilled soul master. Soul engineers’ requirements for soul rings were lower. This was why soul beasts believed that soul masters were stronger. They were in the Great Star Dou Forest. Whether it was the Star Luo or Heavenly Soul Empire, they had never used extensive numbers of soul tools against soul beasts before.

That was why the front half of the soul beasts were either greatly hurt or killed three kilometers away when the ﬁrst round of cannons was ﬁred off. Not only was the soul beast army stunned, but their commanders were also shocked.

What soul skill is this? How is it so strong? How is it able to cover such a huge area, and produce such terrifying strength? Even a Titled Douluo can’t do this! Only a Transcendent Douluo might be able to! However, these soul beasts would have felt it if this were the work of a Transcendent Douluo.

There weren’t any soul power undulations coming from a Transcendent Douluo, apart from Elder Xuan and Di Tian who were ﬁghting in the sky.

Just as the soul beasts were still confused and astonished, the cannons were ﬁred for the second time.

Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom…

Terrifying explosions rocked the earth again, and tremendous booms echoed across the entire battleﬁeld. Those ten-year and hundred-year soul beasts couldn’t possibly survive against Class 6 explosive bombs. Even thousand-year soul beasts couldn’t escape when they faced multiple bombs at the same time.

Suddenly, the front of the soul beast army was cut down like wheat. Countless soul rings shone and rose up once again.

On top of the city wall, cheers began to erupt. The soul beast army could be defeated!

The strength of a Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannon was that it took a very short time to ﬁre because of its mechanical parts. This was especially true when they were used to ﬁre stationary soul cannon shells. There was only one problem with a Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannon, its vulnerability to high temperatures. A Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannon needed to cool down for one to three minutes before it could be used to ﬁre again. If it was ﬁred before it cooled down, its lifespan would fall.

As a result, Shi Xing decided to slow the ﬁring of these cannons after the ﬁrst round.

In the past ten years, Shrek’s development in soul tools had been quite signiﬁcant. This was especially true after Xuan Ziwei came to the Tang Sect. The completion of the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons, as well as other soul tools that contributed to the defense of the city, made Shrek City seem even more impregnable.

However, a jade-green ﬁgure from the soul beast army rose into the sky just as everyone from Shrek Academy was burning with passion and their ﬁghting wills were at its highest.

As she rose into the sky, layers of jade-green ripples started to spread out and engulf the entire beast wave.

Not only were there many dead soul beasts, but there were also countless injured soul beasts. Under the illumination of this jade-green light, the injuries of the hurt soul beasts started to heal at an amazing rate. More interestingly, the soul rings that had risen started to melt amidst this jade-green light, which made it even more glaring. Very soon, those injured soul beasts that were lying on the ground started to crawl up, and they roared out once again.

“Humans, you have researched all types of destructive weapons such as this. One day, you are going to use them on soul beasts. Originally, I didn’t support starting this beast wave. However, I have to agree that humans are threatening the survival of soul beasts. We’ll do our best in this Holy War.”

The ﬂying jade-green ﬁgure was clearer to see. She was a human-form Soul Beast and a ravishing beauty!

Her jade-green hair ﬂowed down behind her back, and her eyes were jade-green, too. Her ﬁgure was slender, and her light-green dress outlined it perfectly. Her snowy-white and slender arms were exposed. The strangest thing was that she had a pair of wings behind her, which seemed to be sculpted from gems.

This pair of wings was jade-green, and every feather looked extremely dazzling. The bright-green wings were ﬁlled with a captivating aura of life and made her look like a natural goddess.

The look in Elder Song’s eyes turned sharp, and she pointed her toes to the ground, her ﬁgure rising to the top of the city wall. She drifted there in mid-air, and an intense layer of green light shone from her.

Behind her, a projection ﬂashed into existence, revealing a pale eagle entirely engulfed in green light.

It was Elder Song’s martial soul, a Greenshadow Godly Eagle. It was a top-ranked beast soul of the wind element and a top- ranked agility-type martial soul.

Elder Song rose into the sky and faced the ravishing lady directly. She asked, “Are you Bi Ji, the Emerald Swan?”

This lady didn’t look at Elder Song, but at all the casualties from the soul beast army. Her eyes were ﬁlled with compassion.

“That’s right. I’m Bi Ji.”

Elder Song said, “Bi Ji, if I’m not wrong, you are known as the kindest soul beast. You are also one of the Ten Great Savage Beasts, and the only one that isn’t adept at ﬁghting. However, it’s recognized that your status among the Savage Beasts is comparable to even Di Tian’s because you have treated countless soul beasts and saved their lives. However, I need to ask you this... if soul beasts’ lives are considered precious, are humans’ lives considered precious, too? If we didn’t attack just now, and let all of you charge up the city wall, wouldn’t we all have been killed?

“You’ve also heard Di Tian’s orders. He wants to obliterate Shrek City. Your Emperor Beast has died, and we regret that, too. Perhaps it might be the work of a human, but you have

implicated the entire human race out of rage. Isn’t this too much? You are a compassionate creature, but why have you become so muddle-headed?”

Bi Ji’s actual form was an Emerald Swan, and she was a healing-type soul beast. There were very few Emerald Swans around.

They were even on the verge of extinction, and were rarer than Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bears. The reason why they were about to go extinct was because they were very weak, especially at a young age. They were easily targeted as prey. In addition, their bodies were ﬁlled with natural and pure life energy. The life energy of a hundred-thousand-year Emerald Swan could even compare to Life Gold. They were considered great nourishment to any soul beast.

As a result, an Emerald Swan was very likely to be killed before it matured into an adult.

Bi Ji was very fortunate. She had unintentionally saved an extremely weak and small soul beast when she was very young and her cultivation was very weak. Back then, she didn’t know what type of soul beast it was. It was only after that incident that she realized that the father of that soul beast was an extremely strong ten-thousand-year soul beast.

It was this ten -thousand-year soul beast that protected Bi Ji as she grew up for a thousand years.

After achieving a thousand-year cultivation, Bi Ji’s life energy became even greater. The result of this was that she started being targeted by many soul beasts. However, she wasn’t one to harbor any resentment. After her predators were defeated and hurt by her protector, she always persuaded her protector to spare them, and even treated their injuries.

Gradually, some of the soul beasts that had been healed by her before decided to stay by her side to protect her. With her treatment, they were able to live longer.

Bi Ji grew quickly under their protection. These soul beasts delivered the most energy-dense food from the various forests to her. Her cultivation grew signiﬁcantly as a result, and her healing abilities also became stronger and stronger.

There were wars between the many different types of soul beasts in the Great Star Dou Forest. As Bi Ji’s abilities grew stronger and stronger, she started to appear on battleﬁelds that involved these soul beasts.

She tried her best to prevent the outbreak of wars, and healed injured soul beasts. She did her best to maintain peace in the Great Star Dou Forest.

At the start, everything seemed very futile because of her lack of abilities. However, more and more soul beasts followed her as time passed. After her own abilities grew stronger, she started to gather all the Emerald Swans that were still alive and took them under her wing. They followed her as she completed her dream in the Great Star Dou Forest.

She was successful.

There was once a soul master who had tried to appraise Bi Ji’s cultivation. He had placed it between ﬁve hundred ﬁfty thousand and six hundred thousand years. In fact, Bi Ji’s actual age wasn’t greater than a hundred thousand years.

This meant that she was able to break through ﬁve bottlenecks in the short span of a hundred thousand years to reach a cultivation that was close to six hundred thousand years. Just in terms of cultivation speed, Di Tian was far inferior to her.

Especially in the past ten thousand years, Bi Ji’s abilities had grown even faster because of the Three-Eyed Golden Lion. Di Tian was able to overcome eight bottlenecks and reach an eight-hundred-thousand-year cultivation not just because of the presence of the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, but because Bi Ji was also around to protect him as he cultivated.

The Great Star Dou Forest was able to develop so quickly over the past ten thousand years not just because of the Three-Eyed Golden Lion. The Emerald Swans that advocated peace also played an important role.

There were many strong soul beasts around Bi Ji, especially in the core regions. She had greater inﬂuence than almost anyone else there. At times, even Di Tian had to consider her opinion.

Of course, there was a rumor that she was Di Tian’s wife, or at least, that they shared a very close relationship.

Among the Ten Great Savage Beasts, Di Tian was ranked number one. The Evil Emperor was ranked second, while the

Snow Empress was ranked third. Bi Ji, whose actual cultivation was around ﬁve hundred and eighty thousand years, was ranked fourth.

Di Tian fought in the sky, while Bi Ji appeared above the soul beast army. If even she, who was someone who loved peace, advocated war, this war was bound to become even more intense.

More than a hundred years ago, it was Bi Ji who had persuaded Di Tian to sign a peace accord with humans when the last beast wave started!

Bi Ji looked at Elder Song and gently shook her head. She replied, “No, you are wrong. Although we’ve been able to maintain an ecological balance in the Great Star Dou Forest over these years, humans are getting stronger and stronger. I felt greatly threatened by those weapons earlier. If we allow you to develop further, even ordinary people will be able to wield such destructive weapons, and the continent will no longer have any room for soul beasts. If we don’t weaken the humans, we’ll be the ones to die in the future.”

Elder Song sighed in her heart. She knew that humans would never gain the upper hand in this debate.

A soul master’s need for soul rings placed humans in a position that was on the wrong side of morality. However, how could they stop a soul master’s need for soul rings? Even Shrek Academy wasn’t capable of doing so!

The research on Spirits had gone on for some time. However, no practical progress had been achieved due to the lack of a suitable soul beast. Along with the huge changes that Huo Yuhao kept on facing, he didn’t have sufﬁcient time to discuss his research on Spirits with the Martial Soul Department.

If his research had yielded some progress, this beast wave might not have even started. But since this beast wave had arrived, Bi Ji had already made up her mind. Even if she hadn’t, she couldn’t possibly defy Di Tian’s will. All soul beasts would certainly stand on Di Tian’s side regarding the hatred they had for humans.

Bi Ji shut her eyes. After this, she waved her right hand forward.

Suddenly, the soul beast army made their move again. This time, they were even louder and more commanding than before.

“Fire the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons!” Shi Xing gestured with force, and the cannons were once again ﬁred towards the soul beast army.

However, Bi Ji acted at this moment. She pushed her thin palm forward, and her wings extended completely. In addition, they were enlarging quickly, and the jade-green projection expanded until it was boundless. She ﬂuttered her wings forward and made an embracing gesture, protecting the soul beasts that were in front.

Booms started to reverberate, but all the bombs were blocked by her wings. They only caused patches of jade-green light to ripple, but no explosive force was able to penetrate through Bi Ji’s wings.

Bi Ji wasn’t adept at ﬁghting, but her presence was equivalent to the Seven Treasures Glazed Sect. Whether it was in terms of auxiliary or healing abilities, she was extremely strong.

She brushed her wings forward, and they changed into countless streaks of jade-green light. When they landed on the soul beasts, every charging soul beast was covered by a layer of jade-green light. Their life energy was greatly enhanced, and all of them appeared to be very vibrant.

Just like that, Bi Ji managed to provide auxiliary support to more than three thousand soul beasts.

This Emerald Swan who was ranked fourth among the Ten Great Savage Beasts had revealed her strong abilities!

She couldn’t directly participate in a ﬁght, but the abilities that she revealed on a battleﬁeld were even more terrifying than her direct participation in a ﬁght could be.

Elder Song looked quite dismal, and green light started to shine brightly from her body. She knew that she needed to restrain Bi Ji. Otherwise, Bi Ji could provide the best logistical help to the soul beast army if she was allowed to unleash her full abilities. In addition, she was able to greatly boost the morale of all the soul beasts.

Elder Song immediately charged into the sky. Two yellow, two purple, and ﬁve black soul rings rose, and her seventh black soul ring shone extremely brightly. In the next moment, a hawk appeared in mid-air. It had wings more than six meters across, and it released green light from its body.

It was Elder Song’s Martial Soul True Body, the Greenshadow Godly Hawk!

As her ﬁgure ﬂashed forwards, an extra streak of green light appeared in the sky. This streak of green light was too quick. Even using Instant Teleportation wouldn’t yield such a speed. In the blink of an eye, she was in front of Bi Ji.

A pair of sharp hawk claws extended towards Bi Ji’s arms.

Bi Ji was shocked by Elder Song’s speed, but she didn’t panic. A layer of jade-green light spread from her body. When Elder Song clawed at her, she felt as if she had grabbed the thick skin of a bull. She was able to pierce Bi Ji’s arms slightly, but her claws were immediately deﬂected away.

“Courting death!” A deep, furious roar echoed, and a huge tiger suddenly charged into the sky. This tiger had six wings and dark-golden fur. It was extremely ferocious.

As it rose into the sky, it immediately leapt towards Elder Song.

Elder Song snorted coldly, and made a deft turn in the air. She swept her extremely sturdy right wing and ﬂung the hundred-thousand-year, six-winged dark-golden tiger that was twice her size a hundred meters away.

Among all the elders from the Sea God’s Pavilion, Elder Song was only inferior to Elder Xuan in terms of cultivation. Not only was she a Transcendent Douluo, but she was also the most experienced elder, since she was only younger than Elder Xuan. Her cultivation was Rank 97, and she was extremely strong. At the same time, she was also the mother of the Martial God Douluo, Xian Lin’er!

While a hundred-thousand-year soul beast was extremely strong among soul beasts, it was still inferior compared to a Transcendent Douluo like Elder Song.

After she ﬂung the six-winged dark-golden tiger away, she turned around and charged towards Bi Ji again. A streak of green light swept towards Bi Ji like a sharp blade in the air, generating an intense sonic boom along the way.

Although Elder Song admired Bi Ji, they were on a battleﬁeld, and she was responsible for the millions of lives in Shrek City!

Bi Ji’s expression became much more serious. Given her cultivation, Elder Song wouldn’t be her match if she was adept at ﬁghting. However, it was a pity that this wasn’t her strength. Her abilities were mainly used for mass healing or mass defense purposes. However, her own defensive strength was very weak.

“Don’t you dare!” a roar echoed in the sky. Following that, a streak of purple light appeared in the sky like a long whip, and blocked the green blade that Elder Song had turned into.

When the purple and green lights contacted each other, Elder Song immediately felt that something was wrong. It felt like the majestic and boundless aura from the purple light was about to devour her.

Fortunately it was her. When they collided, she suddenly twisted her body before shifting laterally at her highest speed, avoiding a direct clash with that purple light.

Even so, her Greenshadow Godly Hawk made a few rolls and turns in the air before she managed to stabilize herself.

However, Elder Song didn’t stop pestering Bi Ji. As her ﬁgure ﬂashed away, she reappeared on the other side of Bi Ji. Countless streaks of feather-shaped green light reached toward Bi Ji.

That purple light that came from the sky was undoubtedly unleashed by Di Tian. He was the only one that was able to

make her cut such a sorry ﬁgure.

Not only was Elder Song in a sorry state, but the victor of the ﬁght in mid-air seemed to have been decided just as Di Tian unleashed this strike.

As a groan sounded, the huge Taotie Godly Bull fell from the sky, its body was surrounded by purplish lightning. On his forehead, there was a pitch-black light surrounded by purple light. His eyes were also stained purple.

“Elder Xuan!” All the elders from the Sea God’s Pavilion were frantic. Yan Shaozhe leapt up to catch Elder Xuan.

However, Di Tian opened his dragon wings in mid-air, and his body shrank until his wings were only ten meters long. He turned into a deep-purplish meteor and pursued Elder Xuan. It was obvious that he was after Elder Xuan’s life!

While everyone from Shrek Academy knew that Elder Xuan wasn’t Di Tian’s match, they hadn’t expected him to only last for such a short time. Just as the soul beast army arrived

beneath the city, Elder Xuan had already been defeated by Di Tian!

No matter how strong the Shrek City Defense Army was, they couldn’t possibly resist an attack from the number one savage beast in the world!

Everyone’s heart sank. In a war in the Douluo Continent, the situation couldn’t be controlled if the abilities of two top- ranked individuals were too far apart from each other.

Soul beasts weren’t humans, and thus they naturally didn’t follow the rule that a Titled Douluo couldn’t directly participate in a war. Di Tian didn’t care about that rule at all. If he was given the liberty to do anything he wanted, he could quickly obliterate Shrek City on his own.

At that critical moment, an elderly-sounding voice suddenly resonated out. “Di Tian, don’t go overboard!”

A beam of golden light rose from the east of Shrek City. As this beam of golden light shot into the sky, it gradually grew in size and quickly turned into a huge, golden dragon. It ﬁrst

grabbed Elder Xuan’s body before dispelling the purplish-black ball in his forehead. After this, it turned around, and a huge dragon tail swept out and clashed against Di Tian, who was in hot pursuit of Elder Xuan.

Instantly, the earth turned golden, and the sky turned extremely dark and gloomy! A terrifying aura spread and ﬁlled the entire battleﬁeld. All the humans and soul beasts stopped at this moment, and turned their attention towards the sky.

The gold and black lights were divided into two layers, and they were even balanced out in the air as they were released. Both of the huge dragons also retreated at the same time.

“Dragon God Douluo Mu En, you aren’t dead?” Di Tian sounded astonished. His mighty aura seemed to be slightly curbed too.

“Di Tian, I’ll protect Shrek even if I’m dead. Shrek can’t be treated with disrespect. Don’t forget, all seven members of the ﬁrst generation of Shrek’s Seven Monsters have become Gods. How dare you be so brazen as to lead a beast wave to attack Shrek City? Aren’t you afraid of incurring the wrath of Heaven? At your cultivation, you should know that the realm

of Gods is real.” The elderly-sounding voice appeared to be slightly angry.

The Godly Taotie Bull also ﬁnally managed to stabilize himself. Elder Xuan’s body was covered in wounds, but they were quickly healing under the protection of the golden dragon.

“Eh, so you really are dead. You just used a special method to preserve a part of your spirit and powers. Mu En, you couldn’t think of stopping me even if you were alive. So what if the realm of Gods exists? Are they going to interfere in the affairs of the continent? I’ve no intention of becoming a God, either. What’s there to be scared of? I’ll destroy your spirit to avenge the Three-Eyed Golden Lion!”

As he spoke, Di Tian looked into the sky and roared. His black scales started to shine with purple light.

“Xuan Zi, Taotie!” Elder Mu’s voice was very stern. His appearance also caused Shrek City to be engulfed in a layer of gentle, golden light.

“Teacher!” Yan Shaozhe was tearing up uncontrollably at this moment. He kneeled down in the air.

All the elders from the Sea God’s Pavilion all bowed slightly. They greeted the Dragon God Douluo, who still continued to protect Shrek after he was dead.

Yes, Elder Mu wasn’t completely dead. What Elder Xuan had secretly told Huo Yuhao to help him out of his misery was true.

Elder Mu was physically dead, but he was an Ultimate Douluo. All the previous Ultimate Douluo were able to hide their soul power and part of their spirits in the Golden Tree, and lived along with the Golden Tree. Given the cultivation of an Ultimate Douluo, he could at least remain in the Golden Tree for a hundred years before he was absorbed by the Golden Tree and became nutrients for it.

Not all Ultimate Douluo chose to do so. After all, one’s spirit wouldn’t be able to reincarnate if he did this. He would eventually become a part of the Golden Tree.

However, Elder Mu chose this path with no future. He had sensed that Shrek was about to face a huge catastrophe in the next century. Initially, he felt that he had to protect Shrek because of Ye Xishui. Elder Mu was an open-minded person. To him, so what if his spirit couldn’t reincarnate? If he could reincarnate, he would still forget everything in his past life. There was no meaning to it. Moreover, he wasn’t one who believed in spiritual reincarnation. Perhaps he could still keep a shred of his consciousness if he depended on the magical Golden Tree. After all, he was probably Shrek Academy’s strongest soul master in the past thousand years.

Because of this, Elder Mu’s spiritual imprint and his soul power were concealed within the Golden Tree. It was just that he couldn’t unleash the same strength that he could as the Dragon God Douluo without his physical body. However, this didn’t change his determination to protect Shrek. Furthermore, he was the most familiar with Di Tian among all the strong individuals in Shrek Academy. His appearance immediately changed the disadvantageous situation Shrek was in.

After hearing Elder Mu’s command, Elder Xuan perked up, and the Godly Taotie Bull let out a deep roar. His body shone brightly with yellow light, and auspicious clouds rose underneath his feet as he ﬂew towards the sky once again.

At the same time, Elder Mu’s Radiant Holy Dragon also turned into a streak of ﬂowing light and spiraled towards Elder Xuan. As it surrounded him, intense golden light started to surge into Elder Xuan’s body.

The Taotie Godly Bull’s body started to transform signiﬁcantly. He gradually turned bright golden, and the earth and light elements perfectly fused with each other. Golden scales started to grow on his body, and his spiral-shaped horns started to twist before adopting the structure of antlers.

His four hooves started to become more human. A huge eye grew from each of his armpits.

His face became thinner, and Elder Xuan’s appearance was revealed. It was just that his eyes had an aura that belonged to Elder Mu.

His body shrank a little, and he no longer looked like a bull, but a goat instead. His head and jaws became extremely large. As he opened his mouth, he revealed sharp tiger’s teeth.

He now had the face of a goat and the teeth of a tiger. At this moment, Elder Xuan was no longer the Taotie Godly Bull. When his martial soul was fused in a different way by Elder Mu, and his dragon bloodline was made purer, he had now transformed into the Taotie, one of the Dragon God’s nine sons.

The Dragon God had split, and turned into the Golden Dragon and Silver Dragon. They had inherited the physical and spiritual strength of the Dragon God, respectively.

Before the Dragon God split, he had had nine sons, who had also inherited part of his abilities and bloodline. Among them, there was the ancestor of the Earth Dragons, and the chief of the Flying Dragons, while there were those who entered deep valleys and slept in volcanoes.

The Dragon God’s nine sons weren’t able to procreate. However, they were very strong once. When the Golden and Silver Dragon Kings were still young, they had once led the dragons to rule the Douluo Continent.

However, they passed away one by one, and their bloodlines were partially passed down to future generations.

The rule of dragons stopped when the Golden Dragon King died accidentally, and the Silver Dragon King disappeared, leaving the dragons leaderless. The soul beasts that they ruled started a rebellion and overthrew them.

However, even until this day, humans and soul beasts still recognized dragons as immensely strong. Human historians still believed that the dragons’ rule did not stop because of how strong the rebelling soul beasts were. Rather, it was because of some issues with the passing down of their bloodlines.

Chapter 396: Taotie's Descent

The purest dragon bloodline wasn’t passed down. Along with the fact that dragons found it very difﬁcult to breed, they weren’t able to maintain sufﬁcient numbers, and slowly lost their position in history.

Even so, some of the remaining dragon bloodlines were still very strong. The Golden Eyes Black Dragon King Di Tian was a very good example. He wasn’t the Golden Dragon King or the Silver Dragon King, which were both avatars of the Dragon God, and he wasn’t one of the Dragon God’s nine sons, either. However, he was still able to become the number one savage beast. It showed how powerful dragons were in the ancient era.

Right now, Elder Xuan had transformed into a creature with a goat’s body, a human face, and a tiger’s teeth and claws. He had taken the form of the Dragon God’s ﬁfth son, the Taotie!

It wasn’t going to be easy dealing with the Golden Eyes Black Dragon King, given that he had cultivation level greater than eight hundred-thousand-years. Elder Mu couldn’t do it in the past, and it was even more impossible now.

Before Elder Mu had passed away, however, he had conﬁrmed Elder Xuan as his successor. In fact, there was once a debate in the Sea God’s Pavilion regarding this matter.

Yes, Elder Xuan was the strongest after Elder Mu. However, he was an alcoholic, and was slovenly. In terms of managing the academy, he couldn’t compare to Elder Song. As a result, many elders had once suggested that Elder Song should succeed the position as the Master of the Sea God’s Pavilion, and take control of the Academy.

However, Elder Mu used one reason to overrule everyone’s opinion, and conﬁrmed Elder Xuan as the Master of the Sea God’s Pavilion. This reason was the bloodline of Elder Xuan’s martial soul.

A hundred years ago, Elder Mu had lost to the Golden Eyes Black Dragon King, Di Tian. After that loss, he had thought it over carefully. Given that Di Tian’s abilities were even above an Ultimate Douluo, which placed him half a step into the realm of Gods, what was the best way to curb him?

His bloodline had already brought him to the peak of the food chain in the Douluo Continent. It was almost impossible to surpass him in terms of bloodline.

Di Tian’s abilities were of Ultimate Darkness. Even Huo Yuhao’s Ultimate Ice couldn’t curb him. A hundred years ago, Elder Mu hadn’t expected to have a disciple in the future who possessed Ultimate Ice. Even if he knew, he wouldn’t have been too hopeful. That was because Huo Yuhao had to cultivate until he became an Ultimate Douluo. Otherwise, there was no way that he could ﬁght Di Tian.

From then on, Elder Mu had used all his efforts to nurture Elder Xuan. There was only one way to curb Di Tian: start from his bloodline!

No matter how strong Di Tian’s bloodline was, he was still a dragon. Among all dragons, those with bloodlines that were superior to him were the Gold and Silver Dragon Kings, as well as the Dragon God’s nine sons!

Elder Xuan’s Godly Taotie Bull contained part of the bloodline of the Dragon God’s ﬁfth son, the Taotie. It was just

that this bloodline wasn’t complete. Although it was very strong, it was still inferior to Di Tian’s bloodline.

Elder Mu and Elder Xuan weren’t able to unleash a fusion skill. However, things became different as Elder Mu’s life approached its end, and he was left with only the power of his spirit, and part of his soul power.

Elder Mu could enter Elder Xuan’s body using his immense spiritual and soul power as an Ultimate Douluo and forcefully suppress the bull part of his martial soul. He now used all his strength to unleash the full potential of Elder Xuan’s Taotie bloodline, which led to the current scene.

To a certain extent, Elder Xuan was like a Taotie that had descended right now!

Even with Di Tian’s abilities, he was shocked when he saw the change that Elder Xuan went through.

He had lived in this world for several hundred thousand years. Although part of his eight hundred-thousand-year cultivation was achieved through various methods, it wasn’t

far-fetched to say that he was the oldest soul beast on the continent.

He had personally seen the Dragon God’s nine sons before, and naturally could recognize the look of the Taotie. He was stunned, and recalled how the dragons had ruled the entire Douluo Continent several hundred thousand years ago.

“Uncle Taotie, is it really you?” Di Tian trembled slightly, and he became agitated. When he saw this powerful ﬁgure from the past, he couldn’t control his emotions even with his cultivation. However, he soon got over his initial shock.

“No, you’re not Uncle Taotie! Scoundrels, how dare the two of you commit such blasphemy!” Di Tian roared furiously, and his scales started to stand on end. Purple light ﬁlled his golden eyes, and the dark, gloomy clouds turned purple at this instant.

The entire sky seemed to be on the verge of collapse, and the entire world seemed like it was going to be destroyed under his rage.

This was Di Tian’s true ability, a terrifying strength capable of destroying heaven and earth!

However, a streak of golden light at the east side of Shrek City rose straight into the sky and struck Elder Xuan’s body.

Golden light shone behind him and refracted outward, forming a gentle golden barrier that engulfed the entire Academy. No matter how much Di Tian raged, he couldn’t reach a single inch past a ﬁve hundred meter region in the sky above Shrek City. Even the soul beast army that was charging towards Shrek Academy was deﬂected away by a gentle screen, and were unable to take even half a step forward through it.

This was strength that came from the Golden Tree. Under Elder Mu’s guidance, the soul of the Golden Tree was unleashed.

Some of the previous Masters of the Sea God’s Pavilion had chosen to fuse with the Golden Tree. Under the nourishment of their power, the Golden Tree protected the Sea God’s Pavilion, Shrek Academy, and even Shrek City.

Its power had accumulated for tens of thousands of years. Even though it could only be drawn upon within Shrek City, the Golden Tree was Shrek’s ﬁnal protector, and its existence was something even Di Tian’s strength couldn’t shake.

If Di Tian was one foot into the realm of Gods, then the Golden Tree was already half a God, given the immense soul power and energy that it contained. It was just that it didn’t have any consciousness. Furthermore, it recovered at a much slower pace than humans and soul beasts after it was drained.

When the ﬁrst beast wave arrived, the Golden Tree wasn’t utilized because the Body Sect was there to reinforce Shrek Academy. However, Elder Mu couldn’t be bothered with things like secrecy right now, given the situation they were in. Shrek City would be obliterated if Di Tian launched a direct attack against it.

The strength of the Golden Tree didn’t just protect Shrek. At the same time, it also further unleashed the potential of Elder Xuan’s Taotie bloodline.

Elder Xuan and Elder Mu’s powers were ﬁnally fused into the last stage as the power of the Golden Tree poured into the

Taotie’s body. Instantly, the Taotie’s body started to shine brightly with golden light. Di Tian’s powers caused the sky to collapse, while the golden light helped to mend the sky.

Even under the terrifying suppression of that purplish-black light, this golden light remained very resilient, and continued to spread outward. The Taotie’s body also slowly grew bigger

Di Tian seemed to sense something, and roared furiously. He shook his body forcefully, and his huge wings opened up. The light from the scales on his body dimmed slightly before expanding.

Suddenly, the sky was temporarily frozen. The parts of the sky that were about to collapse earlier started to show ﬁssures. From these ﬁssures, dragon heads started to poke out. Every dragon head looked identical to Di Tian. They opened their mouths, and terrifying purplish-black dragonﬂames spewed towards the Taotie.

This was an ultimate technique that Di Tian specialized in, Myriad Dragonﬂames! This attack was strong enough to annihilate an entire city!

However, Elder Mu had already started preparing to deal with Di Tian’s abilities a hundred years ago. How could Di Tian succeed so easily?

The Taotie had already grown larger than Di Tian. He slowly lifted his head and opened his mouth before unleashing a furious, earth-shaking roar!

As one of the Dragon’s God nine sons, the Taotie’s bloodline was naturally closer to the Dragon God than Di Tian. His mighty roar didn’t just stop all the dragon heads that were spewing dragonﬂames. At the same time, all the soul beasts with dragon bloodlines were crawling on the ground, shuddering, and didn’t dare disobey him!

A ball of intense golden light was released from the Taotie’s mouth, but it wasn’t unleashed towards Di Tian. It rapidly grew in the air and transformed into a huge head that was more than a thousand meters in diameter. It was a head identical to the Taotie’s own!

As it opened its golden mouth, it sucked in Di Tian’s Myriad Dragonﬂames.

All the dragonﬂames were sucked into its mouth. The terrifying force even seemed to suck the dragon heads out of the cracks in the sky.

Di Tian was shocked, and quickly beat his wings, turning around and sweeping his tail out. It was whipped towards the side of that golden projection with a terrifying aura.

However, he still underestimated the strength of the Taotie jointly formed by Elder Xuan, Elder Mu, and the Golden Tree.

The Taotie was currently around as strong as Di Tian, but his bloodline was purer.

Elder Mu had tapped into the pure strength in the Golden Tree, along with his own soul power, to unleash the strength of the Taotie. This Taotie was close to being half a God, and it might even be stronger than the real Taotie was back then.

The Taotie was adept at devouring things. He loved delicacies, which was the reason why his abilities were linked to devouring things. No one’s digestive abilities could compare to him.

After Di Tian’s Myriad Dragonﬂames were devoured, they were quickly transformed into purplish-black whirlpools, and clearly vanished within the golden light.

When Di Tian’s tail whipped over, the Taotie twisted his head to one side and opened his jaws wide before biting onto it.

Such a powerful whip was forcefully stopped, just like that. Furthermore, more than a third of Di Tian’s body, starting from his tail, was swallowed by the Taotie.

Di Tian was extremely furious, and he started to struggle with all his might, roaring madly as he tried to break free from the Taotie’s mouth.

However, the Taotie’s strength was beyond his expectations.

No matter how hard he tried, he wasn’t able to break free.

The Taotie’s body started to shine with bright gold light, and fused with the Taotie’s golden head. As this golden light continued to expand, it slowly devoured Di Tian’s body.

Di Tian was infuriated as he shouted, “Do you think you can avoid this calamity by using this enhanced strength to trap

me? Dream on! Even if you can trap me for an hour, it won’t be able to last for long! I really want to see what strength all of you have to protect Shrek! Those from the Great Star Dou Forest – attack! Attack and destroy this city in front of me! Kill!”

As Di Tian shouted out one last time, his huge body was devoured by the Taotie. Golden light ﬂashed, and the sky turned into a patch of gold.

However, the golden light that came from the Golden Tree seemed to have been used up, and vanished from the air. The patch of gold that had protected Shrek City also disappeared.

That majestic ﬁght had indeed astonished all, both humans and soul beasts.

This was indeed a duel between the best on the continent! The strength that both parties summoned had completely exceeded that of a peak Titled Douluo!

Shrek Academy had eventually managed to seal Di Tian with the power that they had accumulated over thousands of years.

However, Elder Xuan and Elder Mu’s abilities were also sealed right now. As for how long they could seal Di Tian, it wasn’t easy to tell.

Even so, Shrek’s revelation of its high-end strength, which wasn’t inferior to that of the Great Star Dou Forest, had a great effect in boosting the morale of Shrek City.

Di Tian’s last roar was his ﬁnal order to the beast wave from the Great Star Dou Forest. The barrier erected by the Golden Tree had disappeared. Instantly, countless beasts rushed towards the city.

“Fire the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons!” Shi Xing roared furiously into the air.

In the distance, Elder Song started to pester Bi Ji again using her speed. Figure after ﬁgure also started to charge towards the sky on one side of the forest to protect her. The high-end combat strengths of both parties started to clash.

The Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons were ﬁred again, and hundreds of high-explosive bombs were ﬁred rapidly into the

air. Shi Xing’s commands were very precise. The cannons weren’t ﬁred towards the soul beasts that were charging in front, but they were aimed slightly further back. In this way, the soul beasts would be separated.

Furthermore, these cannons were ﬁred with full force this time. They ﬁred three consecutive volleys, and more than sixteen hundred high-explosive bombs were ﬁred towards the soul beasts. They were divided into three different waves, the timing between each wave was less than ﬁve seconds.

After the previous lesson, these soul beasts were no longer so passive. Those whose cultivations were greater than ten thousand years instantly unleashed their innate soul skills towards the bombs that were approaching them when they saw the high-explosives coming.

Many bombs exploded in the air and didn’t strike any of them. However, Shi Xing’s attack was indeed quite vicious. As the cannons were ﬁred in three different waves, the intensity of the attack was three times stronger than earlier. As the soul beast army was unprepared, they still suffered a lot.

Close to two-thirds of the high-explosive bombs still struck the soul beasts. As tremendous explosions occurred, Shrek City seemed to be shaken as buzzes and groans echoed back and forth

The terrifying explosions caused the earth to shake, and the blood and ﬂesh of soul beasts splattered all around.

When she saw this scene, Bi Ji’s face turned cold. She couldn’t be bothered with Elder Song’s pestering, and unleashed her mass healing ability. A huge patch of azure light quickly engulfed the center of the region where the explosions had occurred.

However, Elder Song was extremely strong. Without Di Tian’s threat in the sky, she slashed open another wound on Bi Ji’s right arm, a streak of green light ﬂashing by just when Bi Ji was using her mass healing ability.

The four hundred-thousand-year soul beasts protecting Bi Ji roared out furiously at the same time, and an intense concentration of attacks was instantly directed at Elder Song.

However, Elder Song’s speed was simply too scary. As the fastest soul master in Shrek, she unleash her full strength through her Greenshadow Godly Hawk. A streak of green light could be seen ﬂashing through the air, but the powerful soul beasts weren’t able to see her clearly. They were helpless as she continued to pester them.

Elder Song used her actions to teach a lesson to all the soul masters from Shrek Academy. She was teaching them how an agility-type soul master should ﬁght!

In terms of abilities, Elder Song couldn’t compare to so many strong soul beasts working together. However, she managed to perfectly tap into her ungodly speed to terrorize her enemies. She didn’t have the intention to harm them overmuch, but only aimed to pester them. Her offensive strength would be lethal if one ignored her. However, their attacks would also be completely useless against her if they tried to make a move against her. They could only remain cautious around her. Instantly, all these powerful soul beasts were rendered completely helpless.

Bi Ji’s treatment was precise and just in time. She managed to save many of the soul beasts’ lives. However, there were simply too many explosive bombs, and countless soul beasts

still lost their lives. Even the ground was left with huge depressions that obstructed the soul beasts behind them.

In terms of intelligence, soul beasts couldn’t compare to humans. Those soul beasts who were leading the charge in front continued to charge towards Shrek City due to their excessive bravery. They didn’t even bother with the fact that their reinforcements behind had been obstructed.

These ferocious soul beasts arrived at the city wall and immediately started to scale them through various means.

At the top of the city walls were powerful soul masters from Shrek in formations, waiting for these soul beasts to come. Of the three thousand soul masters, a thousand moved forward in unison, and every one of them lifted a soul ray spear to their shoulders. Countless soul rays started to rain down the sides of the city walls as they were ﬁred towards the soul beasts scaling the walls.

The soul beasts that were charging in front were the weakest. There were very few among them that were adept at long-range attacks. Even if there were any that specialized in long-range attacks, they could still be easily overcome, given

the sheer number of powerful soul masters at the top of the city walls. However, these soul beasts still used their bodies to resist the soul rays.

The ﬁrst wave was instantly suppressed by the countless soul rays. As the soul beasts screamed in pain, they fell off the city walls. They were only able to leave behind scratch marks on the walls, even with their sharp claws.

The Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons also took this opportunity to cool down. When the soul beasts in the second ranks charged over later, those soul beasts that were originally in front had mostly been killed. As for Shrek City, it was completely undamaged!

Some of those who had just joined the Shrek City Defense Army were inevitably nervous earlier, when they saw the size of the beast wave coming towards Shrek City. However, their conﬁdence started to grow as time passed and the soul beast army suffered heavy casualties, while they remained completely unhurt.

At this point, the Tang Sect arrived at the top of the city walls. Bei Bei was leading them, and they met up with Dean

Yan Shaozhe.

“Reporting to Dean Yan.” Bei Bei brought everyone from the Tang Sect over in front of Yan Shaozhe and greeted him respectfully.

Yan Shaozhe said in a low-pitched voice, “It’s great that all of you are here. All of you can prepare here to serve as our backup. Remember, don’t get too far away from me. This time, your Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons have helped us greatly. Take a look.”

Yan Shaozhe looked very excited right now. He wasn’t excited because they had killed a large number of soul beasts. He was excited because of Elder Mu’s appearance! Elder Mu wasn’t dead, and his spirit was going to live forever. To him, he felt as if he had returned to his younger days, when he had listened to Elder Mu’s lectures.

When Elder Mu and Elder Xuan collaborated to seal Di Tian in the sky, Shrek Academy’s conﬁdence was greatly boosted. Against this terrifying beast wave, Shrek City had completely gained the upper hand.

Bei Bei laughed bitterly. “Dean Yan, we are actually here to ask for forgiveness.”

Yan Shaozhe was momentarily stunned, and then immediately realized something. He raised his right hand, and a streak of soul power started to expand. Both him and Bei Bei were engulfed by this streak of soul power, and all outside noise was isolated.

“What? What happened?” Yan Shaozhe asked.

Bei Bei laughed bitterly. “On our way here, we met Nan Qiuqiu, who was rushing back from the Sun Moon Empire. She’s the young sect leader of the Earthdragon Sect that we brought back from Radiant City. This time, she returned with her mother, Elder Nan Shuishui.”

“Nan Qiuqiu, Nan Shuishui?” Yan Shaozhe was stunned for a moment, but he soon reacted. “Are you saying that Yuhao returned to Sunrise City to save the two of them? Since they’re back, where’s Yuhao? What’s happened to him? Is he ﬁne?”

Huo Yuhao was simply too important to Shrek Academy. He was the Heir to the Sea God’s Pavilion! He was supposed to succeed Yan Shaozhe in the future! Furthermore, Huo Yuhao’s Ultimate Ice martial soul and the Spirits that he had researched were very important to the future of the Academy!

Right now, Bei Bei didn’t know whether he was supposed to be excited or depressed. On their way here earlier, they had stumbled upon Nan Shuishui and Nan Qiuqiu, who were both returning to Shrek City. As they returned, Nan Qiuqiu recounted everything that had happened between them and Huo Yuhao to Bei Bei.

After hearing them, Bei Bei was stunned for half a minute before he quickly led his comrades toward the southern city wall.

A beast wave had come from the Great Star Dou Forest, and Huo Yuhao was the one who had started this mess. This…

After listening to Bei Bei’s retelling of the events, Yan Shaozhe’s reaction was identical to Bei Bei’s reaction previously. He just stood there in a daze.

“Wang Qiu’er was actually the human form of the Emperor Beast! This is too unbelievable! Even Titled Douluo like us didn’t notice anything different between her and a human! No wonder she was the Emperor Beast... What about Yuhao? When is he returning?” Yan Shaozhe quickly questioned Bei Bei.

Bei Bei shook his head and said, “I don’t know, either. I heard Elder Nan Shuishui mention that Huo Yuhao had some important matters to attend to. He will return after he settles them. He should be able to guess that the soul beasts from the Great Star Dou Forest are going to retaliate. Considering his intelligence, I’m sure he’ll rush back as soon as possible, even though he’s affected by Qiu’er’s death. I believe that he has some kind of way to help us deal with this beast wave. Dean Yan, the Tang Sect can’t shirk responsibility for this matter. We are willing to use whatever strength we have to help the Academy resist this beast wave. I just hope that you can put in a few good words for us to Elder Xuan. This wasn’t what Huo Yuhao wished for. He has also been greatly affected, and he was also the passive one, too. This…”

Yan Shaozhe suddenly raised his hand to interrupt Bei Bei, stopping him from continuing further.

“What’s the point of saying all that now? Let’s force this beast wave back ﬁrst. Furthermore, did I say that I’m blaming Yuhao? This can only be considered an opportunity for him! Why would we blame him for something like this? He’s already very blessed, and he’s now obtained the strength of the god

beast of Destiny! He’s bound to grow even faster! We still can’t tell whether this is a good thing or a bad thing for the Academy.

“Let’s wait until he’s back. In addition, do you really think Di Tian would remain quiet, even without this thing as a trigger? The abilities of the soul beasts in the Great Star Dou Forest have been increasing signiﬁcantly over these past few centuries. The number of hundred-thousand-year soul beasts has been increasing, and their overall abilities have reached a new high. The Golden Eyes Black Dragon King is a rogue. In fact, the Academy had already guessed that he wouldn’t choose to remain quiet for long!

“The death of the Emperor Beast has only accelerated this process. The death of the Emperor Beast has also greatly restricted any future enhancements to the Great Star Dou Forest. This is not a bad thing for humans! Right now, let’s see how we deal with this crisis.”

Bei Bei was much more relieved after listening to Yan Shaozhe’s words. Dean Yan’s attitude basically represented that of the Academy. As long as they didn’t blame Huo Yuhao for bringing about this calamity, Bei Bei was satisﬁed.

Bei Bei straightened his gaze and asked, “Dean Yan, what do you need us to do now?”

Yan Shaozhe replied, “I don’t need all of you to ﬁght yet. Didn’t you say that you wanted to gather the Tang Sect’s strength to help the Academy? In that case, I’ll need you and your sect to bring out all the soul tools you have. The Tang Sect will be in charge of the deployment of its soul tools. Coordinate with Shi Xing regarding this!”

“Yes!” Bei Bei quickly agreed, and immediately turned around before gesturing to his comrades.

Xu Sanshi and the others had also heard what had happened to Huo Yuhao. They were also very worried about the Academy’s opinion. Right now, they felt more relieved after seeing Bei Bei’s expression. From Bei Bei’s face, it seemed like the Academy didn’t have any opinion on Huo Yuhao just yet.

“Let’s go and gather all the soul tools in the sect. Take out all our Sealed Milk Bottles and the various soul tools that we’ve just invented,” Bei Bei instructed them.

Huo Yuhao was important to Shrek Academy, but he was also equally important to the Tang Sect. He was everyone’s little junior, and had contributed greatly to the development of the sect. At this critical moment, Bei Bei only wanted to do one thing as the eldest senior of the Tang Sect: contribute as much

as he and the Tang Sect could to stop this beast wave, and make amends for Huo Yuhao’s mistake.

---

The battle had well and truly begun. The soul beast army didn’t stop their attack even though they had suffered heavy casualties. On the contrary, their attacks became even more ferocious.

Shi Xing was holding the fort at the center of the southern city wall, issuing orders continuously. After ﬁring the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons again, he had no choice but to let the cannons cool down for some time. Huge numbers of soul beasts started to scale the city walls again, and the long-range attacks that came from the soul beasts had also become stronger. Shi Xing immediately changed their ﬁghting strategy in response to all this.

“Activate our protective soul barriers and release the shock bombs!”

The soul masters who were the furthest back were each carrying a metal pole in front of them. They quickly pressed their palms against their poles and poured in their soul power.

Suddenly, a green barrier quickly rose over Shrek City, forming a strong isolation barrier. The soul beasts that were about to reach the top of the city walls suddenly realized that they weren’t able to grab hold of anything with their sharp claws, and immediately slid back down the walls. The long- range attacks that hit the barrier were immediately dispelled.

A hole suddenly opened at an inconspicuous spot on the south city wall. Balls of silver light instantly spread out from it.

Intense shockwaves started to surge outwards, and all the soul beasts that were climbing the city walls were engulfed in a net formed by these balls of silver light. Their bodies started to shine with silver light as they fell off the city walls.

Falling off the city wall wasn’t fatal for these soul beasts, considering how tough their bodies were. The shockwaves only temporarily stopped them, too. However, they crashed into the soul beasts underneath them as they fell off the city walls. The pulse that came from the shock bombs could be

passed on. Suddenly, a huge number of soul beasts beneath the city started to gather together, and they were all affected by the shock bombs, causing them to temporarily lose their offensive abilities.

“Throw!” Shi Xing’s shouted with an emotionless look on his face.

Balls of ﬁre were then rapidly thrown into the air by ordinary soldiers. These ﬁreballs weren’t ordinary, though. They were mixed with some medicine using special formulas to increase their combustion effect and viscosity.

Incendiary bombs!

They were specially invented by Shrek Academy, and were only used for defending the city. Most importantly, they just needed to be ignited before use, and would explode the moment they contacted something else. After exploding, they

would turn certain regions into seas of ﬁre, and these ﬁres would continue to burn for a long time.

Most soul beasts were afraid of ﬁre. Even though these ﬂames weren’t enough to kill them, their instinctive fear would still cause them to panic.

These incendiary bombs could also be used by ordinary soldiers. In an instant, countless Incendiary Bombs were thrown down from the city wall, creating a huge sea of ﬁre.

The soul beasts that were gathered beneath the city wall started to roar wildly. They struggled in this sea of ﬁre, and didn’t even care when they hurt other soul beasts. The rest of the soul beasts charging from behind couldn’t help but be deterred by the extremely high temperature.

While Shrek City wasn’t as large as Radiant City, and didn’t have a Soul Engineering Legion, they had the most outstanding soul masters in the entire continent, and possessed an army with the greatest ﬁghting strength.

When the Incendiary Bombs landed, Elder Song’s attacking intensity increased. While she was encircled by several hundred-thousand-year soul beasts, she still managed to pester Bi Ji enough that she was unable to use her area of effect healing-type soul skill.

These soul beasts’ long-range attacks weren’t weak, but it was a pity that there were too many types of soul beasts in the Great Star Dou Forest, and they hardly lived together as a species. Under such circumstances, they weren’t able to coordinate with one another. Even the long-range attacks by the hundred-thousand-year soul beasts weren’t able to cause too much damage to the protective soul barrier on the city wall, as they didn’t coordinate and strike at the same time.

Shrek Academy was still waiting, while adopting a strict formation. Their current advantage didn’t mean anything. The beast wave that was coming still seemed to be endless. Furthermore, the truly strong soul beasts from the Great Star Dou Forest had yet to enter the ﬁght!

------

The soul beasts continued to charge maniacally towards the city, while the Shrek City Defense Army continued to defend the city resolutely. The ﬁght had entered a stalemate.

The soul beasts were using their lives to drain Shrek City’s resources!

The Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons had limited lifespans. Even with sufﬁcient time to cool down, their internal formation arrays would still be damaged after they were ﬁred a set number of times.

Stationary soul cannon shells had yet to be utilized. They were Shrek’s trump card.

Those from the Tang Sect were the busiest right now. They received the help of a ﬁve-hundred-man team assigned to them by Shi Xing. A huge amount of resources were being transported from the Tang Sect to the southern city wall right now.

After the ﬁght had gone on for an hour, Shi Xing saw a pile of stationary soul cannon shells behind him, and ﬁnally smiled

for the ﬁrst time since the ﬁght had started. The Tang Sect has a strong foundation, and they are willing to offer everything for us to use! I heard that they only grew to this scale because of the Academy’s support. The Academy deﬁnitely made a worthwhile investment.

The soul beasts had attacked for some time, but they weren’t able to reach the top of the city wall, as they were suppressed by soul tools.

The beast wave continued to surge strongly, but Shrek remained resolute. No matter how ferocious these soul beasts were, they still managed to resist them!

However, Elder Song seemed as if she was unable to hold on anymore. No one from Shrek went to reinforce Elder Song, including the Martial God Douluo Xian Lin’er, who was Elder Song’s biological daughter. It was because no one could match her speed.

With Elder Song’s cultivation, she could leave the battleﬁeld anytime she wanted to. However, she couldn’t last forever. Once a person was locked on by too many soul beasts, they would ﬁnd it very difﬁcult to escape.

Green light ﬂashed, and that dazzling green ray appeared in the sky again. Elder Song had returned to the top of the city walls, and revealed her form.

She looked as if she was ﬁne. However, on closer observation, it was evident that she was slightly out of breath.

The moment Elder Song left the battleﬁeld, Bi Ji’s mass healing immediately took effect. A huge patch of azure light engulfed the front portion of the beast wave, and greatly reduced the losses that the soul beast army incurred.

The soul rays from the top of the city walls were still ﬁring strongly, and temporarily suppressed the beast wave. The shock bombs weren’t used very often, only when the soul beasts were near the top of the city walls.

Elder Song was also shocked when she saw the huge number of stationary soul cannons that were massed at the top of the city walls, and asked Shi Xing, “Did the Academy prepare all these?”

Shi Xing laughed softly, and shook his head. He said, “No, they were sent here by the Tang Sect.”

Chapter 397: Fighting Furiously Against the Beast Tide

Elder Song looked at Bei Bei from the corner of her eyes. While she felt that something was amiss, she did not probe further. This was not the time for her to pursue the matter.

Xian Lin’er, the Valkyrie Douluo, asked in a low voice, “Mom, are you alright?”

Elder Song shook her head and said, “This Emerald Swan is powerful, indeed. With her pure auxiliary abilities, my attacks are unable to hurt her. In terms of cultivation, she is more powerful than me. She’s almost as powerful as an Ultimate Douluo. With her present, the beast tide’s strength is almost tripled. It’s a shame that there’s no way for me to ambush and kill her.”

Xian Lin’er asked, “Do you know how long Elder Xuan and Elder Mu can trap the Di Tian?”

Elder Song shook her head and said, “I don’t know. Only the Masters of the Sea God’s Pavilion know the secrets of the

Golden Tree. However, with the immense power stored in the Golden Tree, it won’t be hard for it to seal Di Tian for at least three days. This means that in these three days, we have to either push the beast tide back, or hope that rescue will come soon. Have we sent out the distress calls?”

Xian Lin’er nodded and said, “We have sent out distress calls to the three empires already. The beast tide came too suddenly. Furthermore, the three empires are focusing their strength on ﬁghting the Sun Moon Empire. Their armies are all massed there, so it will be hard for help to come quickly.

“This time, we’re really in a pickle. Right now, the situation is ﬁne for now, but once the soul tools have been completely depleted and this ﬁght comes to close-quarters, we’ll be in serious trouble.”

Elder Song sighed and said, “The only thing we can do is press on and wait for reinforcements. The launch of a beast tide by the Great Star Dou Forest should not be our business. However, if Shrek City is overrun, chaos and destruction will reign. While it’s important to ﬁght the Sun Moon Empire, internal stability is important, too. The damage caused by such a huge beast tide is not something that the three empires can bear. With the position of the Great Star Dou Forest, no one

knows where the beast tide will surge next. I believe that the three empires will make their own decisions. The only problem now is the timing of the reinforcements. I hope that in the next three days, the ﬁrst wave of reinforcements will be able to arrive.”

Xian Lin’er said, “I hope so, too. The Savage Beasts are sly, indeed. Among the ﬁve of them, other than the Beast God Di Tian and this Emerald Swan, the other three cannot be found. They did not send out any high-level soul beasts. Evidently, they are using the ordinary soul beasts to weaken us, and saving their strength while waiting for a better opportunity.”

Elder Song said in a low voice, “We must conserve our strength. Once the powerful soul beasts join the fray, we’ll face even more pressure. Please have two of the members of the Sea God’s Pavilion stay behind. The rest can go to the barracks to rest. Stay alert.

“Since they don’t want to send out their best, we’ll send Titled Douluo out to ﬁght once every hour. They can meditate afterwards to replenish their soul power. Each time, we’ll send out four Titled Douluo. The rest will rest when they’re not on shift. Don’t they want to play a game of attrition? They’re eating away at our foundations, while we’ll be eating away at

the lives of their soul beasts. I want to see who’ll give up ﬁrst. We from Shrek Academy have a ten-thousand-year-old foundation, something they can’t defeat so easily.”

“Yes,” Xian Lin’er replied, and went to make the arrangements.

In the absence of Elder Xuan, Elder Song’s rank was the highest. However, she would not command the troops personally. Instead, she would be commanding the powerhouses and experts participating in the battle.

The moment Elder Song issued her orders, the ﬁrst one to carry them was Shi Xing, the city defense ofﬁcer of Shrek City.

“Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock!” The clear sound of a stopwatch was audible. A huge silver plate hung suspended in mid-air. It only had a second hand, which moved slowly.

Every soul beast that was within two hundred and ﬁfty meters of Shrek City’s city walls started to slow down. Despite the Emerald Swan’s healing and support, they continued to move sluggishly.

A mysterious black gas started to appear in this area. When the black gas appeared, starlight started to ﬂash mysteriously within two hundred and ﬁfty meters of the city walls. The area emptied out, and every single soul beast in the area disappeared. Only some of the more powerful ones near the edges were able to escape.

Shi Xing, the Time Douluo, had a Space-Time Silverplate for his martial soul. Not only was he able to control time, but his powers even extended to space itself. He was able to control both time and space, to a certain extent.

Only he knew why he was called the ‘Time Douluo’. Sometimes one could not believe the titles of Titled Douluo. Craftier ones would purposely use their own titles to confuse their opponents.

Spacetime Turbulence. This was the power Shi Xing had just used.

This power enveloped an area with a radius of two hundred and ﬁfty meters. Even if there was a soul beast every ﬁve meters, one hundred soul beasts would have disappeared from

the battleﬁeld in the blink of an eye. Those who were left were at least ten-thousand-year soul beasts. This attack created a huge opening for them.

This happened extremely quickly, and was very strange. It was so jarring that the soul beasts, who were charging forward non-stop seemed confused by it, and their charge slowed visibly.

In the next instant, a ball of red light shot into the air. A huge number of red clouds surged into the sky. A powerful attack was about to be launched.

------

In the skies above the army of soul beasts, Bi Ji the Emerald Swan had an ugly expression on her face. They had grossly underestimated the strength of the humans.

One hundred years ago, during that beast tide, Shrek City’s defenses were much weaker than they were now. In just one hundred years, the humans were able to develop so many defenses. They were even able to seal Di Tian! While they did

not know how long Di Tian would be sealed, his absence greatly affected the soul beasts’ morale.

Noticing that another Titled Douluo was about to attack, Bi Ji did not dare to be slow. She opened her jade-green wings, and a shapeless barrier appeared in mid-air. It tried to block the airborne soul skills.

Faced with the blockade of red clouds, one’s natural response would be to advance skyward. This move was unleashed by someone who was at least a Titled Douluo. While Bi Ji was powerful, even she had to tread carefully!

However, the red clouds had yet to show their offensive prowess. The Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons on the city walls roared once more, and a huge amount of cannon shells landed down below. They burst open in the middle of a group of soul beasts.

Shi Xing looked at another old woman far away and clasped his hands before giving her a thumbs-up.

The old woman wearing a long red dress smiled faintly. The red clouds in the air ﬂoated around, but they showed no sign of attacking.

Bi Ji’s heart sank. She stretched another hand out, and her healing abilities enveloped the area. However, she felt that her efforts were lackluster. The humans were crafty, indeed. The soul beasts could not match their coordination. This was the most troublesome part.

The beast tide had just started, but their losses exceeded their projections and estimates. If this continued, how many more soul beasts would die?

However, according to Di Tian’s plan, the other powerful soul beasts of the Great Star Dou Forest, other than her, could not take part in the assault yet. It was far more important for the core of their ﬁghting force to remain in the Great Star Dou Forest. They could not lose them easily. Only after Shrek had been exhausted to a certain extent could they deal them a ﬁnishing blow.

Even the other members of her kind were not allowed to enter the battle. In general, Emerald Swans were not powerful.

Other than Bi Ji, the other members of her kind lacked the ability to defend themselves. Once they joined the fray, they would become sitting ducks for the powerful students of Shrek Academy.

The battle continued, and the advantages and disadvantages of the Great Star Dou Forest became more obvious. Millions of soul beasts lived in the vast forest. There were many of them, and as long as they were at least ten years old, they were able to ﬁght. In other words, almost every single soul beast was participating in this battle. Instructed by the higher-ranked soul beasts, they had no thought to resist. All they did was charge ahead and attack.

------

The ﬁrst assault ended after only six hours. The plains to the south of Shrek City were heaped with carcasses.

These carcasses were brought away by the soul beasts the moment they issued the order to retreat because they could still serve as food for the other soul beasts. This was the brutal law of the jungle, where one was either predator or prey.

To the south of Shrek City, all one could see was destruction and desolation. Entire swathes of land were scorched black. One could see holes in the ground, trenches, and multi-colored bloodstains from different soul beasts. It was a horriﬁc scene.

However, to Shrek City, this battle was undoubtedly a victory. While there were a few human casualties, most of whom were killed by long-range attacks from the soul beasts, less than ten humans had died in this battle. Fewer than a hundred of them had been injured. On the other hand, they had killed at least ﬁve thousand soul beasts!

Those soul beasts who died were killed in a single blow. Almost all of those who were injured were healed by Bi Ji. Without her, the casualties incurred by the soul beast army would have at least doubled.

The main problem facing Shrek City was that they lacked manpower, especially soul masters. Among the three thousand soul masters there, most of them had three to ﬁve soul rings. While they had trained for a long time, they were all quite young, and lacked actual battleﬁeld experience.

Perhaps this army of three thousand soul masters could not be matched by any other human force, as they could even rival the Sun Moon Empire’s trump card, the Imperial Soul Engineer Legion. However, they were now facing an endless beast tide.

All humans would tire eventually, regardless of whether one was a Titled Douluo or an ordinary soul master.

After this battle, everyone was physically and emotionally drained. Much of their soul power was spent as well. Shi Xing ordered all soul masters to rest immediately!

The defense of the city was now entrusted to some ordinary soldiers. Who knew when the next beast tide would come? The soul beast army only needed to make some minor adjustments. Perhaps they would return after they had consumed the carcasses of the fallen.

The Tang Sect’s delivery was completed. There were twenty- one Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons in storage, but these were not the custom-made heavy Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons on the city walls. While they were slightly weaker, these Class 5 Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons were much more agile.

During the six hours of battle just now, ﬁve of the thirty-two Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons on the city walls had been put out of action due to overheating. Right now, Hallmaster Xuan Ziwen of the Tang Sect’s Soul Tool Hall, who had rushed over just in time, was repairing them.

Bei Bei and the rest had solemn expressions on their faces. Yuhao was safe, which was excellent news for them. However, what could they do about the beast tide at the gates? No one

knew how long Shrek City could resist this beast tide. While they had not incurred many casualties in the battle just now, many of them were exhausted. Hundreds of Sealed Milk Bottles were being used to replenish their soul power. In this situation, even if they wanted to replenish their soul power, they could not recover all their soul power before the next beast tide. As for the shock bombs, which could only be used once, it was even harder to replenish them.

Other than the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons, the Tang Sect had also provided more than a hundred and ten other soul tools of different types. More importantly, the Tang Sect had also provided two thousand one hundred and ﬁfty-two stationary soul cannon shells. When the elders of the Sea God’s Pavilion saw this ﬁgure, they were all shocked. One had to know that this amount of stationary soul cannon shells would cost an astronomical ﬁgure! Where did the Tang Sect get its money from?

Helpless, Bei Bei could only tell them about how Huo Yuhao and the others robbed the Sun Moon Empire’s underground storage facility. The elders of Sea God’s Pavilion already knew of how Wang Qiu’er sacriﬁced herself for Huo Yuhao.

The elders did not say anything at ﬁrst. The Tang Sect, with its actions, proved their total support for Shrek City. Furthermore, just when Huo Yuhao was on the brink of death, an Emperor Beast had sacriﬁced herself for him. Could he be blamed for it? While he seemed to be the cause of the beast tide, the elders were reasonable people. None of them blamed him for it.

However, this made the Tang Sect, led by Bei Bei, even more determined to ﬁght to the death for Shrek City. For the Tang Sect, for Huo Yuhao, and for Shrek! They were Shrek’s Seven Monsters! Despite lacking two, there were still ﬁve of them! They would defend the honor that rightfully belonged to Shrek!

------

The second assault came a bit later than expected. The soul beasts looked tired, too. They had rested for four entire hours. The sky was turning dark, and the sun was setting in the west. Only then did the defenders hear the roars of the beasts as innumerable beasts appeared on the other edge of the plain.

The soul beasts were not dumb. The more powerful ones were as intelligent as humans. Fighting at night was more disadvantageous for the humans than ﬁghting during the day, as humans were normally not nocturnal beings. In the day, they would be much more focused. Furthermore, the vision of most humans was lower at night than in the day.

On the other hand, many soul beasts were nocturnal creatures. Fighting at night was more advantageous for them!

After a round of discussion among the Savage Beasts of the Great Star Dou Forest, they decided to launch their second attack under cover of darkness.

An endless beast tide surged forth once more toward Shrek City, which was akin to a solitary island in the sea. This time, the soul beasts were even more ferocious!

The Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons boomed once more. Elder Song ﬂew high up in the sky. By relying on her interference, the auxiliary abilities of the Emerald Swan Bi Ji diminished greatly, and the soul tools in Shrek City were able to do what they did best. The clash between the two sides was turning red-hot.

The soul masters fought bravely against the soul beasts who were charging toward them crazily. The outside of Shrek City was akin to a meat grinder, continually devouring the lives of soul beasts.

However, the attack of the soul beasts showed signs of improvement. Soul beasts which specialized in long-range attacks were split apart from those who specialized in short- range attacks. The latter charged at the front, and the former supported them from behind as they charged toward the city walls. The soul masters in charge of releasing the protective soul barriers were under immense pressure, as their soul power was rapidly depleting.

However, even so, with the support of many Sealed Milk Bottles, they were still able to hold their ground. On the city walls, the number of injured auxiliary soldiers increased, too. Under heavily-concentrated attacks, the protective soul barriers would falter at times. When an attack landed on the city, one could hear cries of agony, indicating that there were either casualties or fatalities.

The battleﬁeld looked even more brilliant at night. Soul skills of many different colors illuminated the dark sky as they

ﬂashed and exploded. If one looked down from the heavens, one could see what was akin to an eye-catching ﬁreworks display. Every single burst of light and color meant that lives had been lost, each display of ﬁreworks ultimately leading to blood.

War was cruel. This was the case for war between humans, as well as war between humans and soul beasts!

To resist the ferocious beast tide, the students of the inner courtyard and Titled Douluo from Shrek Academy took turns to attack. Only with them contributing could the soul beasts be suppressed.

Balls of intense light appeared on top of the city walls non- stop. Every single student of the inner courtyard guarded his or her post tightly as they did their part in the defense of the city.

------

The intensity of this battle was more than double that of the ﬁrst. When the beast tide ﬁnally receded, dawn broke. The

battle had lasted the entire night.

It was no longer quiet on the city walls. Moans and cries of pain could be heard everywhere. More than ﬁve hundred men had been injured or killed. While many of them were just injured, there were at least a hundred dead soldiers.

Shrek City’s city defense army only had around ten thousand men! While this was a casualty ﬁgure that was totally acceptable to the soul beasts, Shrek City could not afford so many casualties.

Of course, the night of ﬁghting did no good for the soul beasts of the Great Star Dou Forest either. They lost more than twenty thousand soul beasts, with many ten-thousand-year soul beasts falling in battle. At night, the light from countless soul rings could be seen very clearly. Together, they formed a peculiar sight, akin to wails of grief from the spirits of the many slain soul beasts.

The damage to the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons was severe, too. Fourteen of them had overheated and could not be used anymore, three of them had blown up, and six of them were destroyed by long-range attacks from the soul beasts.

These were Class 6 soul tools! Every single of them cost a great deal of money. The soul beasts hated them deeply, and so they had focus-targeted the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons.

More than half of the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons were damaged. The Class 5 Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons supplied by the Tang Sect had to be used.

The stationary soul cannon shells played a huge part in the battle at night. Using their long-range attacks, they split up their attacks and helped greatly in suppressing the soul beasts. However, there were now fewer than two thousand stationary soul cannon shells left, and they could not be replenished instantly. Every single one cost a great deal of money! The look on Xuan Ziwen’s face as they were used said it all.

And this was just the ﬁrst day of the beast tide. The loss of soul tools were not as important as the fatigue experienced by the combatants.

While they rested for a few hours in between, no one knew when the next beast tide would come. This short rest was not enough to replenish everyone’s strength. After that night of

ﬁghting, no matter how well-trained Shrek City’s city defense army was, every single of them collapsed to the ground, taking in massive breaths of air the moment the battle ended. They all wanted to ﬁll their lungs with air.

They were drained, both in terms of soul power and physical strength. Many of them were completely exhausted.

All of the Sealed Milk Bottles were depleted after last night’s battle, and had to be recharged before they could be used once more. While they had helped many of the three thousand soul masters maintain at least half of their soul power, the Sealed Milk Bottles could do nothing for their physical and mental fatigue.

All soul masters with six rings or more were taking turns to rest. No matter how intense last night’s battle was, the Titled Douluo did not really participate in it. They knew that once they joined the battle and exhausted their soul power to a certain extent, the true powerhouses of the Great Star Dou Forest would appear. They could only hold out longer against the beast tide if the Titled Douluo remained at peak strength.

When would reinforcements come?

Right now, Shrek City was completely cut off. While the pride of the soul beasts forced them to continue their attacks against the south gate, the soul beast army had in fact surrounded the entire city. The other three walls had all come under attacks of differing intensity. News from the outside world could not enter Shrek City, as only the Sun Moon Empire had long-range communication soul tools. Shrek Academy was still researching them.

A solitary city could only ﬁght to the death!

The civilians and merchants of Shrek City started to play their part too, delivering food and water. The moment the ﬁghting stopped, various types of food were sent to the top of the city walls.

Shrek City was extremely rich, and there was more than enough food stored in the city. A few important merchants led everyone in providing free and highly nutritious food to the soldiers on the city walls. Many merchants also sent their caravan guards to the city walls. All soul masters in the city were currently under Shrek City’s overall command.

They did not do so because they were generous, but for their own survival. A ﬁght between humans and soul beasts was different from a ﬁght between humans and other humans!

If the enemy was human, civilians and merchants still had a good chance of survival even if the enemy breached the city walls. However, their enemies were soul beasts! Once the soul beasts breached the city walls, the only possible outcome was a bloodbath and massacre!

At this moment, no amount of wealth could rival one’s life in importance. The merchants showed no stinginess. As long as their items were helpful, they brought them out and sent them to the city walls.

The auxiliary soldiers went down into the city to rest. However, Shi Xing had to ﬁrmly instruct all soul masters to remain on the city walls. The soul beast army was too fast. If they waited until the moment they attacked, they would not have time to gather everyone.

He issued a death order: no soul master was allowed to sleep! To rest, they could only meditate on the spot. This was the fastest way for them to rest mentally and replenish their strength. Once ﬁghting broke out, they could immediately be sent to the battleﬁeld.

The members of the Tang Sect had yet to participate directly in the ﬁght. They had thus far spent more time coordinating the logistical support they had provided. Bei Bei’s face was calm as he looked at the soul beast army in the distance. He knew that in the next attack, everyone from the Tang Sect would have to ﬁght, too.

No, someone from the Tang Sect had taken part in the ﬁghting already. That was Mo Xuan.

Mo Xuan was a pure auxiliary-type soul master. From a certain perspective, his role in the ﬁght was similar to Bi Ji’s. However, his auxiliary abilities were not as strong as those of Bi Ji, the Emerald Swan. Even so, his wide-range auxiliary abilities massively increased the power of the defending soul masters. This had allowed them to ﬁght far better than they would otherwise have been able to.

Shi Xing stood on the city walls with a severe expression on his face. As the City Defense Ofﬁcer, his role was the most tiring one. Not only did he have to command his forces, but he also had to personally take part in the ﬁghting, as well as manage the overall situation.

He had just ﬁnished surveying the city defenses. The situation was not optimistic. Many of his soldiers were exhausted, since the numerical difference in manpower had caused the ﬁght to be uneven since the start.

He had no doubt that reinforcements would come. Other than the many talented individuals Shrek Academy had nurtured over all these years, most of whom were now in high positions in the three empires, the close relationship between

Shrek Academy and the three empires meant that they had no option but to save the Academy.

The beast tide from the Great Star Dou Forest was not just Shrek City’s problem. If Shrek City fell, all of mankind would be in trouble!

The reason why the soul beasts from the Great Star Dou Forest chose to attack Shrek was to eliminate this powerful rallying point of mankind. While it might seem dumb to attack the greatest strength of one’s foe, was there anything wrong with the soul beasts’ decision?

Shrek City was a hard nut to crack. However, this nut was located at the center of the three empires, and had intimate ties with the original three empires of the Douluo Continent. Since their inception, they had always played in important role in the history of the continent. While Shrek Academy was just a school, it was the number one school in the world, and was fully capable of managing the ties between the three countries. If the beast tide were to strike one of the other countries ﬁrst, they would indeed be able to reap some beneﬁts at the start, but their rear ﬂank would be exposed to Shrek City. When that happened, Shrek Academy could organize the armies of the three empires, which, under the leadership of the powerful

soul masters from Shrek Academy, could inﬂict heavy casualties on the soul beast army.

More importantly, if Shrek City was cruel enough, they could attack the Great Star Dou Forest straightaway. What could the soul beast army do then? That was their home, and their ﬁnal shield. They were not scared of ordinary armies, but Shrek City had too many powerful soul masters. Their destructive powers could not be rivaled by any ordinary army.

Hence, even after a hundred years, the ﬁrst target of the beast tide was still Shrek City.

As long as they could overrun Shrek City, it would be extremely difﬁcult for the three human empires to form an army that could successfully resist them.

The soul beasts knew this, so how could the three original empires of the Douluo Continent not know it? Hence, they had to render aid to Shrek City. However, no one knew how long it would take for reinforcements to arrive.

Ordinary soldiers were useless against a beast tide. Only an army formed from powerful soul masters could help Shrek Academy resist the beast tide. However, for them to form such a powerful army, they would need time. Could Shrek City hold out until then?

Dark thoughts crossed Shi Xing’s mind. This time, the soul beast army was determined. The overnight attack had exhausted a lot of Shrek City’s resources. Resources, however, were secondary to manpower! He estimated that when the next assault came, it would devolve into a brawl. Once they started to ﬁght at close-range, the number of casualties would skyrocket. This would drain Shrek City even faster. He feared that just one day from now, the powerful hidden soul beasts would attack. At that time, could Shrek City still stand?

He understood these principles. However, he also knew that this was no time to think about them. What he could do right now was lead Shrek City’s city defense army to buy more time. Fortunately, the Tang Sect had provided many stationary soul cannon shells to provide assistance. If not, the ﬁght would have become a close-quarters brawl even sooner. The remaining two thousand stationary soul cannon shells were Shrek Academy’s last resort. While they could not truly turn the tide of the war, they could inﬂict massive casualties on the soul beasts!

The number of soul beasts in the Great Star Dou Forest was not inﬁnite. If they incurred too many casualties, the entire ecosystem of the forest would be affected. This was something the Savage Beasts had to bear in mind, too.

There were a few possible methods to force them to retreat. First of all, they could inﬂict so many casualties on the soul beasts that they had more casualties than they had predicted. This would force them to retreat. However, this was no mean feat!

Up to now, between twenty and thirty thousand soul beasts had been lost. With Emerald Swans there, the injured soul beasts could recover quickly. Most of the deaths were ten-year and hundred-year soul beasts, who were cannon fodder. Some thousand-year soul beasts had been injured as well, but very few ten-thousand-year soul beasts had died. They, however, were the main ﬁghting force of the Great Star Dou Forest.

Just as Shi Xing was doing his calculations, a calm voice sounded next to him, “Let the Tang Sect take care of the next round. We’ll ﬁght for at least two hours.”

Shi Xing turned his head to look. He saw a middle-aged man with disheveled hair and unkempt clothes. Grease stained his body, and he looked unwell. His sleeves were rolled up. Evidently, he had been working.

“Who are you?” Shi Xing asked suspiciously. He was familiar with Shrek City, but he did not know this man. However, if he was able to walk up next to him, he must be someone the Academy deemed important.

“I’m the Hallmaster of the Tang Sect’s Soul Tool Hall, Xuan Ziwen,” the middle-aged man said plainly.

“Xuan Ziwen?” When he heard the name, Shi Xing was shocked. “You made the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons?”

Xuan Ziwen shook his head and said, “No, I didn’t invent the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons, and I was not involved in their manufacture. However, I’m in charge of the Tang Sect’s Soul Tool Hall. For the next ﬁght, leave it to us.”

“We can hold them off for maybe two hours. This will give the troops more time to rest.”

Shi Xing ﬁnally listened to what he was saying. He replied doubtfully, “Are you saying that the Tang Sect will take over the entire defense of Shrek City?”

Xuan Ziwen’s mouth twitched as he replied, “Of course not! We don’t have enough men. I’m saying that we’ll take care of the southern city wall. We can deﬁnitely manage for two hours.”

As the City Defense Ofﬁcer, Shi Xing had to be careful. “Are you serious? This is no joke. The soul beast army is huge. How many people does the Tang Sect have?”

Xuan Ziwen replied plainly, “The Soul Tool Hall of the Tang Sect has sixty-one members in total. Coupled with the three hundred people coming over from the Academy’s Soul Tool Department, we will have three hundred and sixty-one people. Leave it to us. If the city falls, we’ll die together. I won’t boast in front of you.”

While Xuan Ziwen only had eight rings, he showed no fear when talking to a nine-ringed Titled Douluo. He had been

inﬂuential even in the Sun Moon Empire, much less now in Shrek City. His pride came from his abilities.

“Okay, let’s leave it to Teacher Xuan.” At this moment, another voice sounded. The Valkyrie Douluo, Xian Lin’er, walked over as she agreed to Xuan Ziwen’s suggestion.

As the Dean of Shrek Academy’s Soul Tool Department, no one knew how powerful Xuan Ziwen was more than Xian Lin’er. She was a Class 8 soul engineer too, but she could not even hold a candle to Xuan Ziwen’s brilliance. One could say that ever since Xuan Ziwen had joined the Tang Sect, both the Tang Sect’s research into soul tools and Shrek Academy’s Soul Tool Department had improved by leaps and bounds! Xuan Ziwen had brought countless brand-new theories with him, and also helped the Soul Tool Department establish an effective pedagogy. It could be said that he had saved the Soul Tool Department a hundred years of research and development.

Even the Valkyrie Douluo, a Transcendent Douluo, had to call Xuan Ziwen “Teacher”. While Xuan Ziwen did not want to admit it, he was already the Vice-Dean of Shrek Academy’s Soul Tool Department, and also the Executive Vice-Dean. After a period of familiarization, the Soul Tool Department had

approved every single one of Xuan Ziwen’s proposals. Anyone who dared to block his proposals would face the wrath of the two Deans, Xian Lin’er and Qian Duoduo!

With Xian Lin’er’s words, Shi Xing felt more at ease. He nodded and said seriously, “It’s up to you, then.”

Xuan Ziwen nodded and turned to leave without saying anything else.

As Xuan Ziwen walked away, Shi Xing could not help but ask Xian Lin’er, “Dean Xian, is he capable?”

Xian Lin’er smiled and said, “How did you resist the soul beast army just now? Was it through the soul skills of your soul masters? No, it was through soul tools. While many of the soul tools were made by the Academy, most of them were also made by the blood and sweat of the Tang Sect. The few soul tools we used just now could be operated simply by soul masters. Soon, I want to show you the true power of the Soul Tool Department.

“In a one-on-one ﬁght, a soul engineer will have a disadvantage against a soul master. However, on the battleﬁeld, we soul engineers rule. Why do you think the Sun Moon Empire is so powerful? Their strength comes entirely from their absolute advantage in terms of soul tools.”

Chapter 398: The Terrifying Red Ray of Light

Shi Xing nodded. He was someone who’d graduated from the Martial Soul Department, and thus knew quite a bit about the rivalry between the two departments. During recent years, the Soul Tool Department had grown at an increasing rate, and had signs of surpassing the Martial Soul Department. On the other hand, the Martial Soul Department was slowing down somewhat. Even Dean Yan Shaoze, who had strong views against the use of soul tools, seemed to have relented slightly, transferring a large amount of the Academy’s resources to the Soul Tool Department.

At this moment, a low roar suddenly rang out in the distance.

Right after that, countless beasts cried out in response.

Over two hours had passed since the light of dawn. Was the Great Star Dou Forest’s beast tide going to attack again?

The soul masters who were originally meditating opened their eyes with deathly pale expressions. Although they had resolute gazes, their eyes had a tinge of despair in them.

Shi Xing looked towards Xian Lin’er, who nodded back at him.

The fact that Shi Xing was chosen as the highest city defense ofﬁcer was not only a testament to how calm he was, but also how decisive he was. The moment he made a decision, he immediately handed down his orders.

“All soul masters in the City Defense Army, head down to your bunkers and continue resting. All auxiliary troops, retreat ﬁfty meters and rest on the city walls. Wait for further commands.”

The soldiers in the City Defense Army couldn’t help but look at each other after hearing Shi Xing’s command. They were at a loss for a brief period of time. The great beast tide was about to descend on them, but their commander was actually ordering them to rest. Just what sense did that make? Were they not able to hold the soul beasts back?

“I’ve already given my orders! Do you not understand?!” Shi Xing shouted angrily.

The job of a soldier was to listen to one’s superior. Although the City Defense Army didn’t quite understand the purpose behind their commander’s orders, the strict training they’d undergone every day made them move immediately. They quickly withdrew to the bunkers below the city walls. The auxiliary troops retreated as well, and quickly, the lack of soldiers on the city walls created a large gap.

Shi Xing, however, did not retreat. He was the City Defense Ofﬁcer, and regardless of how much he trusted Xian Lin’er, he had to remain to ensure that the Tang Sect truly did have the capabilities to hold back the next assault. If anything were to go wrong, he could command his subordinates to provide aid as quickly as possible.

The army of soul beasts from the Great Star Dou Forest made their move. A large number of soul beasts started charging wildly, causing clouds of dust to rise in the distance. Amid the wild roars coming from that direction, a large number of soul beasts rushed towards Shrek City.

When Shi Xing was ﬁnally able to see the large charging army clearly, his expression changed instantly.

This time around, the Emerald Swan Bi Ji wasn’t the one leading the great army of soul beasts; another soul beast was tasked with that. This soul beast was an existence that resembled an enormous lion ﬂoating in the sky, but it had three large heads, and glowed with a scarlet-red light. It was this soul beast that had let out that roar earlier.

Of the Ten Great Savage Beasts, this was the eighth-ranked soul beast: the Three-Headed Scarletdevil Mastiff, the Scarlet King!

Bi Ji also had to rest. This was especially the case after she went all-out assisting the entire soul beast army, which had taxed her soul power greatly. After an entire day and night of ﬁghting, the commander of the army of soul beasts had been swapped to the Scarlet King.

Shi Xing should’ve been slightly more relaxed due to the disappearance of Bi Ji, but the reason why his expression had changed earlier wasn’t because of the new commander of the soul beast army. Instead, it was because of the appearance of a dark cloud in the sky above the army; an army of ﬂying-type soul beasts had revealed itself on the battleﬁeld.

There were quite a few soul beasts who could ﬂy. However, there were relatively few ﬂying-type soul beasts in the Great Star Forest. This was because of the high chance of these soul beasts being shot down by ranged attacks if they ﬂew above the forest. Because of that, ﬂying-type soul beasts that didn’t live

near the very edge of the forest, or were very powerful, would ﬁnd it extremely difﬁcult to live in the Great Star Dou Forest.

There weren’t that many ﬂying-type soul beasts before them now, only a thousand or so. However, even a thousand soul beasts could form a black cloud in the air. There were various kinds of ﬂying-type soul beasts within the cloud, and they ﬂickered with different colors. There was no vanguard who led their charge. Instead, they all ﬂew steadily forward together.

An attack consisting of both aerial and ground attacks would clearly be much more difﬁcult to handle. The reason why the Great Star Dou Forest hadn’t used ﬂying-type soul beasts before was because they were extremely precious. At this moment however, they’d mobilized their aerial troops to increase the intensity of their attack, for the sake of defeating Shrek City in one shot. Although this aerial army wasn’t the strongest they could muster, their ability to harass Shrek City would deﬁnitely affect their defensive capabilities greatly.

Without the Golden Tree protecting the city, the soul tool barriers surrounding Shrek City could only block a frontal attack, they weren’t able to guard against aerial attacks. The harassment the aerial army of soul beasts could thus bring could be imagined.

The soul beast ﬂying in front of the aerial army was the one who had previously fought against Elder Song, the Six-Winged Deviltiger.

An aerial army led by a hundred-thousand-year soul beast couldn’t be underestimated. Moreover, the strength of the beast tide on the ground had at least doubled in strength. With Shi Xing’s eyesight, he was naturally able to tell that there were no longer any soul beasts that were weaker than a hundred years in the beast tide. The number of thousand and ten- thousand-year soul beasts had increased as well. The strong undulations of soul power coming from them made it seem as though Mount Tai was pressing down on them.

How are we going to ﬁght this? Shi Xing was deep in thought. If he were the one commanding the Shrek City Defense Army, the only way he could deal with this would be to use a large number of stationary soul cannons to launch a simultaneous attack on both the aerial and ground-based

armies. Only by launching an all-out attack that risked their lives would they have a chance of stopping this wave.

However, what would they do about the next wave if they did this? What could they do?

“Dean Xian, I’ll ask the soldiers to come back. Could you go and ask the elders to assist us? Otherwise, we won’t be able to defend against both the aerial and ground armies.”

Xian Lin’er glanced at Shi Xing and said, “Don’t just do things on your own. Trust the Tang Sect.”

“But…” Shi Xing was feeling somewhat anxious. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust the Tang Sect, but the beast tide in front of him and the previous two were completely different!

Just as he wanted to continue speaking, a series of sudden clangs caught his ear. Right after that, a number of huge creatures quickly rose from the area behind the walls, then quickly proceeded to the top of the city wall.

What is this? Shi Xing nearly choked on his words as he stared blankly at these monsters that were completely made of metal.

Right, these things could only be described as monsters. If one had to ﬁnd a living creature resembling these things, only a porcupine would ﬁt the bill. Only, did a porcupine have this large a head? Was there a porcupine that had a diameter of over two meters? Was it a hundred-thousand-year-one?

These enormous porcupines had eight metallic legs underneath their bellies. After they scaled the city walls, they rapidly moved forward.

Other than the metallic legs underneath their round bodies, there were various metal spikes protruding from them. There were conical-shaped ones, tube-shaped ones, and other spikes of various shapes. Every single porcupine had at least sixty of these protrusions. Amidst the sounds of clanging metal, they travelled forward quickly.

After a few breaths of time, around sixty of these metallic porcupines had scaled the city walls. Moreover, they quickly arranged themselves in a tidy manner.

Right after that, several hundred soldiers who were fully covered in metal began to quickly line up. There were a few of them who looked very young, but they were all able to move very quickly. Roughly ﬁve of them followed each single metallic porcupine as they lined up quickly.

Within a mere ten minutes, a total of sixty-one metallic porcupines were lined up in an orderly manner on top of the city walls, replacing the Shrek City Defense Army.

“Dean Xian, what are these?” Shi Xing couldn’t help but ask.

He was extremely curious.

“These are All-Terrain Self-Driving Forts, ATSDF’s. I’m a bit ashamed to say this, but they were invented by the Sun Moon Empire. Teacher Xuan brought them over to Shrek, then remodelled them for us. He reduced their ﬂexibility and removed various abilities, but was able to increase their offensive capabilities. Just watch.”

The things climbing up the city walls were All-Terrain Self- Driving Forts!

Unlike the original iteration of the All-Terrain Self-Driving Fort, the remodelled ones were slightly smaller. Furthermore, the materials used to construct them had been changed slightly. Instead of using rare metals, it used iron essence as its main material. Rare metals were simply too expensive. In Xuan Ziwen’s own words, using rare metals would be a waste of

resources.

Using iron essence to construct an All-Terrain Self-Driving Fort resulted in its defenses being equivalent to that of a Class 3 or 4 soul barrier. This was already enough for Xuan Ziwen. Unlike the outer casing of the fort, which he decided to skimp on, Xuan Ziwen demanded perfection in its formation arrays. Every single internal component and formation array of the All-Terrain Self-Driving Forts had been created by students of Shrek Academy and disciples of the Tang Sect, who had all been taught by him. They would only be mounted in the Forts after he had personally checked them.

The outer casing of these sixty-one All-Terrain Self-Driving Forts were all created using Shrek Academy’s resources. They were originally meant to provide immediate assistance in any battles that Shrek Academy would ﬁght in the future. However, nobody thought that they would ﬁrst be used to defend the city!

Naturally, credit had to be given to Huo Yuhao, who had brought back a large amount of rare metals from the Sun Moon Empire. This was why they were able to create so many All- Terrain Self-Driving Forts in such a short period of time. Their outer shells were ﬁnished much earlier.

However, Shrek Academy was only able to perfect their weapons and formation arrays after obtaining those rare metals. After just over a month, they were able to assemble the ﬁrst batch of Forts.

The Tang Sect hadn’t decided whether they would put them on the market yet. Shrek Academy had only ordered a hundred of them. Right now, they’d only completed sixty-one of the hundred, and thus hadn’t ﬁnished their order yet.

Every single All-Terrain Self-Driving Fort could ﬁt three people in it, or even four if they were squeezed together. A hundred, in turn, could ﬁt four hundred people. From the Academy’s point of view, these forts were quite good at both attacking and defending. Along with the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons, the All-Terrain Self-Driving Forts were projects that the Academy strongly supported.

At this moment, even Xian Lin’er wanted to see how powerful these Forts were. From her point of view, this was another way of ﬁghting with larger soul Forts!

Xuan Ziwen’s cold voice rang out from one of the All-Terrain Forts, “All units, pay attention! All units, pay attention! Charge your main cannons! Target the enemy’s air force! Charging, start!”

After hearing Xuan Ziwen’s words, all of the All-Terrain Forts started moving. The disciples of the Tang Sect were controlling them, and they had been with Xuan Ziwen for a very long time. They didn’t just respect their Teacher Xuan, they were also very familiar with his temper! If anyone were to mess up any orders this teacher gave, they wouldn’t be let off with a simple scolding, they would be punished corporally, as well!

Because of that, their movements were extremely tidy. All of the All-Terrain Forts planted themselves on the ground, then lowered their metallic legs, causing them to remain just centimeters off of the ground. After that, their ball-shaped bodies leaned thirty degrees forward, before revealing enormous ring-shaped cannons that were around two feet long.

These cannons were somewhat strange. They didn’t protrude too much, and unlike the ‘thorns’ on their main bodies, they were much, much smaller, only around a handspan long. However, the tips of the cannons started to look very unique as they started charging.

Rays of light started to form a pattern within the cannons. Quickly, hexagons made of light were assembled inside the cannons, and a dark red light started to surge within. Ripples immediately started to appear in the air surrounding the All- Terrain Forts. From this, it could be seen how terrifyingly hot the cannons were.

If Shi Xing were able to see the inner construction of the forts, he would’ve had a way different impression of how terrifyingly strong its main cannon was. A semicircle protruded from the roof of the All-Terrain Forts’s inner structure. This semicircle was around a foot long, and it practically covered the entirety of the All-Terrain Forts’s roof.

This cannon was a Class 6 soul tool! Moreover, it was a special one that Xuan Ziwen had personally modiﬁed!

---

The aerial soul beast army was also able to see these strange- looking creatures above Shrek City. The Six-Winged Deviltiger who stood at the very front of the army couldn’t help but feel somewhat weirded out. Just what are those metallic porcupines? Why are they lighting up? Could they be another

human-made weapon?

However, it didn’t feel any sense of crisis. Out of all of the soul beasts present, it was the ﬁrst hundred-thousand-year existence participating in this battle. As such, it naturally felt very conﬁdent in its abilities. A weapon made by humans could still be usable on ordinary soul beasts, but it was still far too weak to take on an existence such as itself. With it leading the charge, there wouldn’t be in too much danger unless a human Titled Douluo made a move.

And what if a Titled Douluo did make a move? There were a thousand of its little brothers next to it, all of which specialized in long-range attacks. If a human dared to soar into the air, he or she would have to taste the feeling of being shot at by all of them!

Human soul masters would never be able to beat soul beasts in sheer quantity. This was even truer when taking aerial

troops into account. Shrek Academy was considered the area with the highest density of soul masters in the world. However, there were only around a hundred or so soul masters who were Soul Sages or stronger. Naturally, four-ringed soul masters and above could ﬂy using the assistance of ﬂying-type

soul tools, but Shrek City had to face the entirety of the soul

beast army! Who could spare enough strength to deal with the aerial soul beasts in front of them?!

The Six-Winged Deviltiger had a very simple order: distract the humans and attack them alongside the ground-based soul beasts!

---

Shi Xing’s gaze was ﬁxed towards the outside of the city. The great soul beast army was getting increasingly closer, and they were now only ﬁve kilometers away from Shrek City. Once they got within a kilometer of the city, ten-thousand-year and hundred-thousand-year soul beasts would be able to reach the city using their long-range attacks. On the other hand, all of Shrek City’s soul masters had been sent away, and even soul barriers couldn’t be used! How would they defend against the soul beasts? Furthermore, the enemy’s aerial forces were getting closer and closer!...

If they didn’t ask for help now, there was a chance that they wouldn’t be able to in a bit!

“Dean Xian!” Shi Xing couldn’t help but cry out again.

Xian Lin’er acted as though nothing had happened as she said casually, “Don’t be impatient. Just watch. Even if something happens, aren’t we here?”

“Main cannon charging complete…”

“Main cannon charging complete!”

A somewhat young voice rang out, and quickly, sixty other voices followed, announcing the completion of their main cannons charging.

If anyone were to look in the direction of an All-Terrain Fort, they would discover that it had turned into a sea of red. However, one could faintly see a light gold hexagram in the middle of the sea of red.

Shi Xing could tell from the side that Xian Lin’er wasn’t worried at all. In any case, there was no use in him panicking alone!

---

Four kilometers. Three kilometers. The soul beast army’s long-range assault was about to start...

The larger and more powerful soul beasts within the tide had already begun to store up energy. Once they entered their effective attack range, a large number of long-range attacks would pour down on Shrek City.

Just at this moment, Xuan Ziwen’s indifferent voice rang out via his sound-amplifying soul tool, “Main cannons, ﬁre together at my command. All together… ﬁre!”

It seemed as though nothing in the world other than topics related to soul tools could pique Xuan Ziwen’s interest. He used an extreme disinterested voice as he announced the start of their attack.

A thin beam of red light that was completely unsynchronized from the main cannons surged into the sky. This beam looked way too weak, and it was only as thick as a thumb. If one didn’t carefully look out for it, they would not be able to notice its existence on this humongous battleﬁeld.

This beam was launched from the enormous cannon that had created the golden hexagram. It didn’t travel for long; instead, it stopped in mid air. However, it was only about ﬁfty meters away from the All-Terrain Fort that Xuan Ziwen controlled.

Immediately after the red light reached the peak of its path, a ball of light appeared in its place. This ball wasn’t too big, only around the size of a human head. Neither the humans nor soul beasts thought much of it. What could a red beam of light do?

However, sixty other thin beams of light shot out from every single All-Terrain Fort in the next instant, seemingly all at the same time. All of them seemed to be directed at the small red ball.

This ball quickly expanded, and within the blink of an eye, it was a meter wide...

Two kilometers. The great army of soul beasts was only two kilometers away from Shrek City’s walls. The distance at which they could launch their long-range attacks was getting closer and closer, and the aerial army led by the Six-Winged Deviltiger was approaching them at the same rate. For the sake of avoiding unnecessary losses, they in fact moved slower than the ground-based soul beasts. Once the ﬁghting below started, they would start their harassment via aerial attacks.

Without any prior warning nor any loud noise, a red beam of light a meter thick shot out from the ball of light. Its target wasn’t the ground, but the air.

The red beam of light was rather obvious on the battleﬁeld. Though it didn’t look powerful or dominating, the fact that it spanned the entire sky made it look breathtaking.

The soul beasts didn’t know how far human-made soul tools could reach, and neither did the soul masters in Shrek City.

Ordinarily, soul rays that could reach a distance of two hundred meters were considered rather good. Ordinary soul cannons could reach ﬁve hundred to a thousand meters. Different classes of soul tools had different ranges, but any soul tool that had a range exceeding a kilometer was at least Class 5.

If one wanted a soul tool that could attack something ﬁve kilometers away, only a Class 7 soul tool could do the job.

Stationary soul tools generally had longer attack ranges, because the cannon shells they used could be equipped with devices that helped them ﬂy longer, which would increase their attack range.

At this moment however, the bombardment Xuan Ziwen ordered exceeded everyone’s expectations. That powerful beam of red light was able to instantly cross over four kilometers, and was targeted at the massive number of soul beasts in the air.

Is that thing aimed at me? The ﬁrst thing that came to the Six-Winged Deviltiger’s mind was disdain as it looked at the red light approaching it.

Are these humans braindead? What meaning is there in directly attacking a hundred-thousand-year powerhouse like me?

A ball of white light quickly formed a shield in front of it. The Six-Winged Deviltiger had three Elements, one of which was Light. The Element of Light had its strong points when it came to defense, and although the Six-Winged Deviltiger held its opponent’s attack in contempt, it was able to tell that the red beam of light was ﬁre-based. Thus, using light to defend against it would have a rather decent effect.

It reacted quickly enough, and the red beam wasn’t quick enough to make it to the Six-Winged Deviltiger before it was able to complete its defense. By the time it reached the great soul beast, its defense had already been completed, and the red light and the white barrier collided with each other.

Even the soul beast in charge of leading the entire army of soul beasts, the Three-Headed Scarlet Devilmastiff, couldn’t help but curl his lips after looking at the humans’ seemingly feeble attempt to resist. What are they even trying to do with an attack of this level… What…?

Just as the feeling of disdain appeared in the Scarlet King’s heart, his eyes immediately widened in the next instant. What did he see? He saw an astonishing red light that instantly pierced through the sky.

The barrier of light that the Six-Winged Deviltiger had created instantly disappeared before the red beam of light. After that, its chest was directly pierced through!

Even a hundred-thousand-year soul beast wouldn’t be able to survive a meter-thick soul ray that pierced through its chest!

The Six-Winged Deviltiger only realized how terrifying that ray was after it hit him. All of the energy within this soul ray had been condensed into a single beam, and none of it had spilled out. This was why it had previously thought that the soul ray was no threat to it. Not only that, but the heat contained within this ray far exceeded its imagination. The terrifying attack power of this soul ray was simply too great, and the soul power protecting it only caused the red beam to pause for a moment before it pierced through the Savage Beast!

Regret? There was no longer any time for the Six-Winged Deviltiger to react, as it had lost all of its senses after the line of ﬁre burned it to ashes. Its enormous body was vaporized in midair.

After passing through the Six-Winged Deviltiger, the beam of red light reached the rest of the aerial soul beast army. Since even hundred-thousand-year soul beasts couldn’t block the attack, how else would the other weaker soul beasts fare?

A line appeared in midair. The corpses of aerial soul beasts fell wherever this line passed through.

What was even more terrifying was that this beam of red light didn’t disappear after that attack. Instead, it paused roughly ﬁve kilometers from the red ball of light. After that, it made a sweeping motion, like an enormous sword cutting through the air.

It swept from left to right, then back to its original location.

However, this back and forth motion was like a giant eraser in the sky that completely wiped away an uncountable number of dots there.

Over two-thirds of the thousand-man strong aerial army of soul beasts were obliterated by this sweeping motion.

The army of soul beasts had been too conﬁdent in themselves. After all, did it matter how concentrated they were, considering they were being led by a hundred-thousand- year soul beast? However, that red beam of light had come too quickly. By the time it started sweeping through the sky, none of the soul beasts had even noticed it. The entire sequence of events went very smoothly, and the terrifying beam of light disappeared immediately afterwards.

Only the luckiest soul beasts managed to escape with their lives intact. However, they nonetheless began to fall from the sky.

It wasn’t because they were injured, but because of fear, an overwhelming sensation of terror. The terrifying red light that

had obliterated their fellows instantly became a shadow hanging over their hearts.

All of this was simply too terrifying. Who would’ve thought that the proud ﬂying soul beasts courageously advancing would lose over two-thirds of their forces to humanity’s ﬁrst attack? None of the soul beasts who had touched the red beam of light had managed to avoid death, even the hundred- thousand-year soul beast who led the ﬂock!

A power like this had already exceeded the realm of knowledge of the soul beasts there. Even a powerhouse like the Beast God Di Tian would have a certain process to go through before launching an attack like that. However, the humans were simply far, far too quick.

Shi Xing stood atop the city wall, his mouth agape. He felt extremely exuberant, and all of his worries seemed to fade away...

This, this was simply too overbearing! A red beam of light swept through the sky, and everything was silent afterwards. The few surviving soul beasts that had fallen from the sky

started to turn tail and run away after landing. The depth of their terror destroyed their will to ﬁght.

The great Beast Tide was only one kilometer away from Shrek City’s walls. However, they were able to see everything that had occurred in the sky. The soul beasts that were originally prepared to assault the city now looked like fools, and it seemed they had completely forgotten about their assault. There were simply no long-range attacks being ﬁred at the city walls right now.

At this moment, Xuan Ziwen’s voice, an extremely unpleasant sound to the soul beasts, once again rang out from the sound-amplifying soul tool.

“All teams, ﬁre at will. Carpet bomb them.”

Clang, clang, clang…

With a series of metallic clangs, the cannons on the hedgehog-like All-Terrain Soul Forts lined up. The topmost part of the soul forts’ main cannons slid shut, and the eight legs below them started to prop them up.

Moving a few steps forward, they were now just behind the battlements. All their cannons were pointed towards the Beast Tide, and in the next instant, a rain of light started to descend.

Countless soul light rays and soul cannons started to pour down like droplets of rain from Shrek City’s walls. The sixty- one All-Terrain Soul Forts were just like sixty-one killing machines as they poured down the ﬁrepower.

The three hundred soul engineers guarding the rear of the soul forts raised the metallic rods on their shoulders, then pushed them into an aperture on the side of the soul forts. They began pouring their soul power into the soul forts.

The morale of the Beast Tide was brought to its lowest the instant the aerial army was devastated. That strike was simply too terrifying. The blood-colored soul ring left behind by the Six-Winged Deviltiger, as well as the soul bone that a hundred- thousand year soul beast was bound to drop, were still ﬂoating in mid-air!

All of this was simply too sudden, too shocking. To Shrek, that single strike was stunning; to the soul beasts, however, it

was a painting of death.

When the soul forts started launching their ﬁrepower, Shi Xing ﬁnally understood what was meant by a storm of carnage.

The Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons were considered extremely powerful weapons on the battleﬁeld. However, the All-Terrain Soul Forts had a wider range, the ability to continuously ﬁre, and were more accurate.

Several thousand rays of light were ﬁred from the city walls towards the army of soul beasts. They began sweeping through the army immediately, just like the red beam that had swept through the sky earlier.

A large majority of these soul rays were red in color.

Trauma, oh the trauma!

They were all red in color, but they didn’t have an overly strong appearance to them. However, who’d know if one of those rays was just as strong as the one from earlier?

Although the soul beasts acted like they weren’t afraid of death, they weren’t truly unafraid to die! This was especially true for a useless sacriﬁce. Who’d be willing to die that way?

The volley from the All-Terrain Soul Forts created a wall of death a kilometer away from Shrek City. Every single soul beast that dared to enter this range received a baptism of light rays. The number of casualties to the soul beast army immediately increased at a staggering rate.

Without the Emerald Swan to heal them, the soul beasts could only watch as they were annihilated by the soul rays.

Panic started to increase among the ranks of the soul beasts as their casualties increased. The ones in front had already started to turn tail in fear, but the ones behind them still continued to charge ahead.

This was the ﬁrst time since the start of the Beast Tide that chaos had occurred within the ranks of the soul beasts army. Soul beasts were savage by nature; if anyone blocked their path, they would chase them out of the way, or even kill them!

The soul beast army started to devolve into a mess as a result of the fear and panic that now engulfed them. A large number of them started to attack and trample their fellows, making them lose their bearings instantly.

The Three-headed Scarlet Devilmastiff let loose a series of wild roars, but how could he do anything about the situation? The deadly rays their opponents used were too terrifying, to the point where even though the soul beasts were terriﬁed by his might, they still didn’t dare to charge ahead.

Enraged, the Scarlet King started to ﬂy forward with a group of powerhouses. He intended to rush forward and launch a frontal assault.

However, the All-Terrain Soul Forts on the city walls bent down, revealing the enormous cannon on their heads. The center of the Soul Forts shot out small, unremarkable balls of red light.

This time around, the rays of light felt entirely different from the ﬁrst time. As though a glass of cold water had been poured over his head, the Scarlet King immediately came to his senses.

Who would be willing to send themselves to their own deaths! Looking at the current situation, they’d only suffer even more casualties if they continued ﬁghting. After calming down a bit, the Scarlet King let out another roar.

Retreat!

The great soul beast army had arrived quickly, but retreated even more quickly. Due to the chaos on the battleﬁeld, they left behind a large number of corpses which ﬂickered with the light of soul rings.

Shi Xing’s mouth was still gaping. He didn’t know what to say.

Xuan Ziwen had previously guaranteed to help stall the Beast Tide for two hours to allow the soldiers to get some rest. However, he was able to forcibly push back the Beast Tide instead!

Was, was this the awesomeness of the Tang Sect? By only relying on three hundred and sixty-one people, and sixty-one All-Terrain Soul Forts, they were able to force back an army of

soul beasts that numbered in the tens of thousands. A glorious result like that undoubtedly overshadowed that of the Shrek City Defense Army!

However, Shi Xing only felt excitement. With the Tang Sect’s strength, what was there to fear from that army of soul beasts? This was especially the case the moment they started ﬁring their main cannons. Since even ten-thousand year soul beasts couldn’t block them, who would dare to approach them? It seemed like there was hope of defending the city!

“Go down and collect those soul rings.” Xuan Ziwen handed down another command. Right after that, the All-Terrain Soul Fort he controlled suddenly leapt off the city walls and soared into the sky. After that, a few jet holes and a pair of wings appeared on his seemingly cumbersome All-Terrain Soul Fort. With a surge of soul power, it actually ﬂew him down to the battleﬁeld.

The other All-Terrain Soul Forts started moving as well. Though they didn’t have the capability to ﬂy, their long legs allowed them to descend from the city walls like enormous spiders. Their eight sharp legs allowed them to secure a foothold on the sturdy city walls and descend quickly towards the soul beast corpses.

“Dean Xian, what are they trying to do?” Shi Xing couldn’t help, but ask Xian Lin’er.

Xian Lin’er’s expression shifted slightly, and she said helplessly, “They’re probably trying to not waste anything.”

Right, they were trying to not waste anything. As Shi Xing looked on dumbstruck, a large number of soul rings started vanishing at a quick rate. It seemed like there was a mystical absorption force quickly absorbing the soul rings around them. Moreover, they were specially looking for purple and black soul rings, and were also rufﬂing through the corpses.

Xuan Ziwen, who had risen into the air, had a clear objective: the hundred-thousand-year soul ring and soul bone left behind by the Six-Winged Deviltiger! The instant he was within range, they immediately vanished.

After that, the Hall Master of the Tang Sect’s Soul Tool Hall turned his Soul Fort around and ﬂew back to Shrek City.

Chapter 399: The Treacherous Businessman, Xuan Ziwen?

Xuan Ziwen, who was sitting inside a self-driving fort, was looking much better now. It was very difﬁcult to estimate the price of a hundred-thousand-year soul ring. Furthermore, this hundred-thousand-year soul ring was destroyed by his energy- piercing ion ray, which was equivalent to a natural death. Anyone could absorb this soul ring. It was invaluable!

The Tang Sect had sacriﬁced a lot this time to deal with the beast wave. This thing was like a reward for them. It was good if the disciples were able to obtain some rewards.

Only a few minutes passed before all the All-Terrain Self- Driving Forts returned on their own. They scaled the city walls with their long legs as if they were walking on ﬂat ground. Shi Xing was wide-eyed in shock as he witnessed this.

This is too strong. Not only is their offensive strength terrifying, but their adaptation to all types of terrain is, too…

Shi Xing’s eyes turned slightly red. He suddenly turned around to look at Xian Lin’er before swallowing hard.

Xian Lin’er composed herself. “Shi Xing, what do you want?”

“Yes, Shi Xing. What do you want? Are you harboring any ideas about my wife?” The tall, burly, and bald Qian Duoduo had arrived at the top of the city wall, and quickly walked towards Xian Lin’er. He was nervous as he looked at Shi Xing.

Shi Xing’s lips twisted a little and he thought to himself, Only you can handle this Martial Goddess. Of course he didn’t dare to say that out loud. “Dean Xian, Dean Qian, don’t misunderstand.”

Qian Duoduo snapped, “Look at how red your face is! You look like you’re going to orgasm! How can I not misunderstand? Stand there and don’t move. Tell me whatever you need to.”

Shi Xing almost spat blood out and snapped, “Don’t worry, I won’t snatch your wife from you! Deans, I want this All- Terrain Self-Driving Fort! No matter what it costs, the Shrek

City Defense Army needs to be fully equipped! We’ll take whatever there is. It’s best if everyone has one! If that’s possible, we won’t be afraid of this Beast Wave, and I’d even dare to attack the Great Star Dou Forest itself!”

Xian Lin’er was amused. “I knew you wouldn’t be able to resist it. However, I’m sorry to disappoint you. Do you think it’s easy to get ahold of something like this? You’ve already witnessed how strong it is. It’s costly to manufacture one of these. Overall, all the self-driving forts, apart from Teacher Xuan’s own Class 8 soul tool, are all Class 6 soul tools. They are defensively weak, but their offensive strength and mobility are extremely great. Their manufacturing cost is…”

Shi Xing turned pale after Xian Lin’er muttered a number.

“So expensive? However, this is really good stuff! It’s ﬁne even if not everyone is equipped with one of it. Give me ﬁve hundred of them ﬁrst.” Shi Xing grit his teeth as he spoke. After all, Shrek City’s Defense Army was in charge of protecting Shrek City. They couldn’t skimp on their equipment!

A war was the best way to test whether they were well- equipped. What had happened earlier tempted Shi Xing to own one of these All-Terrain Self-Driving Forts.

Xian Lin’er replied, “We don’t even have ﬁve hundred of them. We ordered one hundred from the Tang Sect. These are all that we have. Currently, the Tang Sect has manufactured sixty-one of them, and they’ve already used up a large amount of rare metals. We haven’t even paid them!”

“They were the ones who paid for the rare metals. Furthermore, you’ve also seen how many stationary soul cannon shells the Tang Sect took out this time. Who knows how many of them will be left over once this war is over? Do you think the Academy has so much money to give them? Let’s not even talk about ordering another batch of these soul tools!”

“This…” Shi Xing was a little depressed. Yes! The Tang Sect had sacriﬁced a lot. Even if they didn’t ask for any rewards, they should at least recoup the costs that they had incurred. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be able to survive, much less grow. This ﬁght would also drain the Academy greatly. However, the All-Terrain Self-Driving Forts were simply too attractive to him. Instantly, the Time Douluo was stuck in a dilemma.

At this point, Xuan Ziwen left his self-driving fort and came over in front of all of them.

“Mission accomplished.” Xuan Ziwen said as he tossed and caught a red soul bone in his hands. This soul bone seemed to be an arm bone, but which arm it came from was unknown.

Xian Lin’er and Qian Duoduo’s eyes turned red when they saw this soul bone. It was a hundred-thousand-year soul bone that carried two soul skills!

A hundred-thousand-year soul ring and bone were considered the most valuable treasures in the world of soul masters right now. There wasn’t any way of putting a value on such a soul ring and soul bone.

Xuan Ziwen looked at them and said, “If the Academy puts out a suitable price or is willing to exchange rare metals with a similar value for them, we won’t mind selling them.”

The Tang Sect was the one who had provided all the resources and manpower in the earlier ﬁght. Xuan Ziwen

wasn’t going to give away this soul ring and soul bone. They deﬁnitely belonged to the Tang Sect.

Xian Lin’er laughed bitterly. “Alright, Teacher Xuan. You can keep it. We can’t afford them. Let’s talk about the rest after we survive this beast wave.”

“Hallmaster.” At this point, the disciples from the Tang Sect’s Soul Tool Hall all exited their Self-Driving Forts and quickly gathered around Xuan Ziwen.

Xian Lin’er saw that they were each holding some weird equipment that wasn’t very large.

Xuan Ziwen smiled and said, “We collected some soul rings without any owners. Most of them are thousand-year or ten- thousand-year soul rings. I wonder if anyone from the Academy or the Shrek City Defense Army needs them.”

“Soul rings without owners?” Shi Xing’s eyes opened wide again.

Xuan Ziwen nodded and said, “The soul tools that are used to kill soul beasts can be specially processed to alter their internal structures, which removes the aura of a soul master and makes any soul rings produced ownerless. We used soul ring storage tools to keep them, and we can provide them to any soul

master who wants to absorb them.”

“Yes! I want all of them. We can negotiate the price.” Shi Xing was completely decisive. He immediately expressed his wish in front of Xuan Ziwen before Xian Lin’er and Qian Duoduo managed to do so.

Yes! Of course he wanted all of them. They were all either thousand- or ten-thousand-year soul rings. He had witnessed how many of these soul rings the Tang Sect had collected earlier.

Thousand-year soul rings were already considered very good for the outer courtyard disciples of Shrek Academy. Ten- thousand-year soul rings were even more valuable!

The Academy didn’t have too high of a demand for these soul rings. After all, the students were encouraged to obtain their

soul rings quickly when their cultivations reached a bottleneck during the semester.

However, things weren’t that simple in the Shrek City Defense Army!

There were more than three thousand soul masters in Shrek City’s Defense Army. Most of them had either graduated or were eliminated from Shrek Academy’s outer courtyard. They remained in the city and joined the Defense Army to earn some experience. Out of these three thousand soul masters, there were many whose cultivations had reached a bottleneck. They were all born in Shrek City, and they were quite proud. As their cultivation gradually grew, they weren’t too anxious to obtain soul rings. If there weren’t any suitable soul rings, they wouldn’t easily absorb one.

However, Xuan Ziwen had collected countless soul rings this time, and they were even all either thousand or ten-thousand- year soul rings! They were considered great things by the soul masters of Shrek City’s Defense Army! Shi Xing wouldn’t be the one to foot the bill for all these soul rings, though.

How expensive were Shrek Academy’s tuition fees? Those who were able to study in Shrek Academy were well-to-do. Many of them were even disciples of sects. Of course they had to pay for the soul rings if they wanted them.

Xuan Ziwen nodded and said, “No problem. Later I’ll get my disciples to ﬁnd out the number of soul rings that we’ve collected. After that, I’ll need you to send some people to differentiate between the types of soul rings that we have, which will make it more convenient for your soul masters to absorb them. As for the price of these soul rings, I’m sure Shrek Academy will offer us a reasonable amount. It’s ﬁne even if your soul masters can’t pay up immediately. We just need to record their names in a register. I only have one request – I hope that the Academy can help us monitor the payments for these soul rings. We are also willing to exchange these soul rings for rare metals if you have them.”

Proﬁteer!, Shi Xing cursed silently in his heart. Even Xian Lin’er couldn’t help but shake her head silently.

Xuan Ziwen seemed like a generous person, but he wasn’t going to give any concessions. The Tang Sect had just forced a beast wave back. Under such circumstances, would Shrek Academy really dock the number of soul rings they’d collected?

Deﬁnitely not! As for the prices of the soul rings, would Shrek Academy dare to quote the Tang Sect a low price? At least they had to be reasonable, and offer prices recognized by the world of soul masters. These prices were based on the standard set by those who specially led people out to hunt soul beasts for soul

rings. They were deﬁnitely not low.

Different soul rings were priced differently. It depended on how many soul rings they had collected.

Money-wise, Xuan Ziwen passed the problem to Shrek Academy. Weren’t they trying to enhance the strength of the City Defense Army? If the soul masters paid for the soul rings on their own, they would ﬁnd it very difﬁcult to gather so much money at once. However, they just needed to sign a guarantee, and Shrek Academy would be their guarantor. If the money couldn’t be claimed in the end, the Tang Sect could just ﬁnd Shrek Academy instead of Shrek City’s Defense Army.

Was he really a soul engineer, and not a businessman?

Xian Lin’er, Qian Duoduo and Shi Xing all had this thought in their mind. Even so, this was still a good thing for Shrek. After fusing with these soul rings, the strength of Shrek City’s

Defense Army was bound to increase. At this critical moment, increasing one’s abilities would help one in his own survival!

Their opinion of Xuan Ziwen might become even more drastic if they found out that the soul ring storage tools could only preserve the soul rings for a short period of time!

However, no matter what, the beast wave had been pushed back temporarily.

Xuan Ziwen allowed some of the Soul Tool Hall disciples to follow Shi Xing to calculate the number of soul rings that they had collected. He himself didn’t leave, but asked Xian Lin’er, “Dean Xian, what do you think about our All-Terrain Self- Driving Forts?”

Xian Lin’er smiled and replied, “Of course they’re great! Didn’t you see how red the Time Douluo’s eyes were? That ﬁrst cannon strike of yours played a very critical role. Otherwise, the carpet attacks might not have been able to stop the soul beasts from charging over, even though they are strong. Most importantly, they were frightened by your ﬁrst attack.”

Xuan Ziwen laughed bitterly. “Do you know what price we had to pay for that ﬁrst cannon strike?” He intentionally lowered his voice as he spoke. While he was very immersed in his work on soul tools, he wasn’t a senseless person.

Xian Lin’er quietly stepped forward and asked, “What do you mean?”

Xuan Ziwen answered, “That strike was an energy-piercing ion ray that I invented. It causes high energy compression, and my Self-Driving Fort is the core of it. My Self-Driving Fort is actually a Class 8 energy-compression, auxiliary-type soul tool! The main cannons that the rest used are piercing cannons that have already been compressed. I used energy ions to integrate them before ﬁring and performing short-term control.

“I only developed this because I’m a Class 8 soul engineer who’s captivated by the strength of Class 9 soul tools. You also witnessed how strong it was; its destructive strength is even slightly stronger than most ordinary Class 9 soul tools. It’s even comparable to the Starsky Douluo’s Sunmoon Divine Needle. However, it can’t compare to the Sunmoon Divine Needle in terms of the effective range of its attack.”

Xian Lin’er said, “It’s already very great! Are there any ﬂaws?”

Xuan Ziwen nodded and laughed bitterly, “Yes, its ﬂaw is that it drains too much soul power. To compress and prevent the compressed soul power from exploding, more soul power has to be drained. That strike just now completely used up the soul power in one hundred and twenty Class 6 Sealed Milk Bottles. The soul rays that were ﬁred to suppress the soul beasts on the ground were actually powered by the students from the Academy’s Soul Engineering Department and my disciples from the Tang Sect’s Soul Tool Hall. They were only able to maintain their attack for ﬁfteen minutes, which means that our attacks would have ended if the enemies didn’t retreat within ﬁfteen minutes. We’ll need to change all of those Milk Bottles. Right now, we have less than two hundred Sealed Milk Bottles left, so we’ll only be able to last for another two hours.”

Xian Lin’er was shocked after hearing Xuan Ziwen’s words. One attack used up all the soul power in a hundred and twenty Class 6 Sealed Milk Bottles? The total soul power in a hundred and twenty Class 6 Sealed Milk Bottles was even greater than the soul power an Ultimate Douluo had. While that attack was ferocious, it wasn’t as strong as an all-out strike by an Ultimate Douluo.

Xuan Ziwen was telling her that the attack earlier couldn’t be replicated again. The price to pay was too great.

After taking a deep breath, Xian Lin’er gazed deeply at Xuan Ziwen as she said, “Teacher Xuan, you’ve already done very well. With this deterrence, I believe it’ll be a lot longer before the next attack arrives.”

Xuan Ziwen nodded and said, “I thought of that, too. Let’s recover our soul power as quickly as possible, and hope the beasts take a longer rest. This will give us time to charge our Sealed Milk Bottles.”

“Hopefully!” Xian Lin’er laughed bitterly.

Chapter 400: Bear Lord and Myriad Demon King

The terrifying strike that had drained the soul power from a hundred and twenty Sealed Milk Bottles left a deep impression on the soul beast army.

Not only was this attack extremely powerful and threatening, but it even caused the soul beast army to suffer heavy casualties. A hundred-thousand-year soul beast had lost his life, and several thousand soul beasts, including two-thirds of the the soul beast aerial army, were killed.

After this defeat, some conﬂicts ensued between the soul beasts, which led to a temporary retreat of the beast wave. Shrek City was ﬁnally given a breather.

The disciples from the Tang Sect’s Soul Tool Hall and the students from Shrek Academy’s Soul Tool Department started to get busy with this time that they had been afforded. They quickly repaired the damaged soul tools. The soul masters were also given time to rest. Once they recovered their soul power, they would immediately start charging the Sealed Milk Bottles. Even Soul Douluo from the Academy were charging

the Sealed Milk Bottles. On this battleﬁeld, one’s individual strength was considered very insigniﬁcant unless one was at the level of Elder Xuan or Di Tian.

The beast wave had lasted for a day and a half, but everyone in Shrek City knew that the earlier attack by the soul beast army was still just a probe. They hadn’t given their all yet, and were only weakening Shrek’s overall power. They were looking for the best opportunity to launch an all-out attack.

The beast wave pulled back for six hours, which gave everyone enough time to rest and recharge. However, everyone in Shrek City started to turn serious after the soul beast army returned, ready to attack again, after those six hours.

This time, the number of soul beasts was even greater. However, they didn’t deploy their aerial army like before, perhaps because their aerial army had been trounced earlier.

Furthermore, the soul beasts didn’t charge blindly and wildly towards Shrek City this time. They scattered, and slowly inched closer to the city. It felt as if they were forming a huge pincer that was about to clip onto Shrek City.

The soul beast army didn’t seem to be as dominant as before, but those who were sharp could tell that Shrek City was in trouble this time. It was because the soul beasts seemed to have forsaken their pride, and stopped charging directly to assault Shrek City from the front. The formation that they had adopted evidently signaled the fact that they wanted to encircle the city before attacking from all fronts!

On the top of the city wall, emergency discussions were held, and all the elders from the Sea God’s Pavilion ascended to the top of the city wall. After a brief discussion, they immediately acted.

The southern side of the city had the strongest defense. However, the defense of the city had to adapt if there were any changes to the offensive focal point of the soul beast army.

At such a time, the ﬂexibility of the All-Terrain Self-Driving Forts was very important.

The sixty-one All-Terrain Self-Driving Forts were spread out across the top of the city wall rapidly, and started to distribute themselves proportionally around the other three sides. As there were more Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons on the

southern side, the defense over there should be able to hold off the soul beasts.

However, the commanders of the soul beast army seemed to be smarter this time. Just as everyone in Shrek City expected, the soul beast army that comprised more than a hundred thousand soul beasts encircled Shrek City. However, they didn’t attack after encircling the city. They stopped around ten kilometers away from Shrek City, and they seemed to be resting.

Only very powerful stationary soul cannon shells could reach ten kilometers away. However, there were many strong soul beasts in the soul beast army too, who were also adept at long- range attacks. It wouldn’t be too difﬁcult for them to intercept the top-tier stationary soul cannons shells, since there wouldn’t be many of them, either.

As a result, Shrek didn’t do anything, and the soul beast army didn’t move.

However, the difference between them and the soul beast army was that the soul beast army could choose to attack at any time, but they couldn’t. They could only passively wait for

the soul beasts to attack. Without sufﬁcient troops, Shrek City was under great pressure from the soul beast army.

No one knew when the soul beasts were going to attack. They could only wait and remain alert.

Such a wait was torturous. Fortunately, what the soul masters needed now was rest.

However, the soul beast army didn’t give them much more time. Outside the southern city wall, a jade-green ﬁgure opened her wings and rose into the sky. It was Bi Ji.

After a few hours of rest and reorganization, she had already fully recovered. She opened her wings, and jade-green light shone brightly. Her jade-green feathers emitted bright light as they expanded. Very soon, her wings had extended more than a hundred meters in either direction.

Her appearance also caused the soul beasts close to the southern city wall to roar in excitement. They all stood up from the ground and stared at Shrek City with ﬁerce looks in their eyes.

To the east of the city, another ﬁgure gradually rose into the sky. This ﬁgure had three heads, and scarlet-golden fur grew on its head. Each head of this ﬁgure resembled a lion’s, but they were even more ferocious. It was the Scarlet King, who was a Three-Headed Scarlet Devilmastiff.

To the west of the city, yet another huge ﬁgure drifted in mid-air. In terms of aura, he appeared to be much stronger than the Scarlet King and Bi Ji. He was more than ﬁfteen meters tall, and there was thick dark golden fur on his body. His arms were extremely long, as they drooped along the sides of his body. Even given the size of his body, his arms were still long enough to extend below his knees. This meant that his arms were more than ten meters long, and they were also extremely thick. His shoulders were the most exaggerated, swelling up like little mountains.

To everyone from the Tang Sect, such a soul beast was very familiar. This was because there were two little fellows in the Tang Sect that were of the same species as this soul beast. It was just that the difference in their sizes was too great.

Yes, this extremely large soul beast was a Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear, which was often recognized as an

exterminator of forests and a destroyer in the world of soul masters. This bear was undoubtedly the ruler of all bears, the Bear Lord, who was ranked sixth among the Ten Great Savage Beasts.

He had a four-hundred-seventy-thousand-year cultivation. It was appropriate to call him the number one bear in the history of the Douluo Continent!

In terms of rank and cultivation, he wasn’t as strong as Bi Ji. However, the combination of Bi Ji and the Scarlet King wouldn’t even be comparable to him in terms of ﬁghting strength.

In fact, Di Tian was the only one in the Great Star Dou Forest who could tame the Bear Lord.

The northern side of the city, which was the furthest from the Great Star Dou Forest, was also being surrounded by the soul beast army right now. In mid-air, there was also another ﬁgure.

It was a human-shaped soul beast this time. He was aesthetically pleasing, like Bi Ji, and different from the Scarlet King and Bear Lord, who preferred to appear in their original forms.

He adopted the appearance of a middle-aged man. He wasn’t particularly handsome, and his face was slightly pale. His eyes were a deep jade-green that could penetrate through one’s soul. A jade-green glow shone amidst this depth and serenity, but this glow was starkly different from the elegant jade-green that Bi Ji emitted.

He wasn’t considered very large, but he was extremely slender. He was wearing a long, dark-green robe. It moved even without any wind, ﬂuttering slightly to and fro. His hair was also dark-green, but it was a little too long. It was more than ten meters in length as it ﬂowed behind his back.

To be able to become a commander of the soul beast army, just like the other three savage beasts, he was naturally a savage beast himself.

Five of the Ten Great Savage Beasts lived in the Great Star Dou Forest. Apart from Di Tian, Bi Ji, the Scarlet King and the

Bear Lord, there was one more soul beast.

It was the Myriad Demon King, a Demoneye Tree that was ranked ﬁfth among the Ten Great Savage Beasts.

According to the legends, the Myriad Demon King ruled over all the plant-type soul beasts in the Great Star Dou Forest.

Compared to animal-type soul beasts, plant-type soul beasts found it more difﬁcult to survive. They grew slower than animal-type soul beasts when they were young. Generally speaking, plant-type soul beasts had to reach a thousand-year cultivation before they could protect themselves, whereas animal-type soul beasts already possessed ﬁghting strength at a ten-year cultivation.

However, there were innately gifted plant-type soul beasts. When they grew, they were even scarier than animal-type soul beasts.

The Myriad Demon King was an example. He was originally a Demoneye Tree that had grown at the edge of the forest. There was nothing special about his lineage. While Demoneye Trees

were considered a rare species in the Great Star Dou Forest, they weren’t considered very strong, even if they cultivated into soul beasts. This was because they were considered spiritual-type and were most adept at using their tree eye to numb and control their opponents. After that, they would gradually use their corrosive sap to kill them. While their opponents rotted away, they would turn into nourishment for

these Demoneye Trees.

In terms of lethality, Demoneye Trees weren’t special among plant-type soul beasts.

However, the Myriad Demon King was an anomaly. He was considered an anomaly because there were other types of plant-type soul beasts that grew around him. The Demoneye Trees’ survival rate was considered quite high among plant- type soul beasts, as they didn’t have any fruit that other soul beasts found extremely tempting. In addition, they even released a pungent smell. Generally speaking, it was not common for other soul beasts to take interest in them.

But there were a few rare types of plants that had lived around the Myriad Demon King, which included Immortal Spirit Grass!

Immortal Spirit Grass was naturally psychic. The moment they grew, they possessed intelligence that was similar to ordinary soul beasts. After some time, they would become stronger. At the same time, they were extremely nutritious, and were considered nourishment for both soul beasts and soul masters.

It was just that the growth conditions needed for Immortal Spirit Grasses were very strict. Even in the Great Star Dou Forest, which was an excellent natural habitat for soul beasts, they rarely appeared. A thousand-year Immortal Spirit Grass was already considered a treasure.

The greatest advantage the Myriad Demon King had over this Immortal Spirit Grass was that he was born ten thousand years earlier. He soon discovered that an Immortal Spiritual Grass had grown nearby. At that point in time, he already possessed his own intelligence. Furthermore, he had some abilities then, and could at least spread his scent over a larger area.

As a result, the Myriad Demon King took great care of this Immortal Spirit Grass.

No matter how gifted or intelligent Immortal Spirit Grass was, it was only like a piece of blank paper after it was born. Furthermore, Immortal Spirit Grass would only treat soul beasts and humans as enemies. It would never treat another plant like the Myriad Demon King as an enemy.

The Myriad Demon King protected this Immortal Spirit Grass using his pungent smell until it grew to a thousand-year cultivation.

At that point in time, this Immortal Spirit Grass already treated him as its best friend and even developed a heavy sense of reliance on him.

After tolerating it for a thousand years, the Myriad Demon King ﬁnally made his move on this Immortal Spirit Grass.

In fact, the Myriad Demon King didn’t know what the result would be after he devoured this Immortal Spirit Grass. He was just making a wild attempt because he was indignant. He

didn’t want to remain at the edge of the Great Star Dou Forest for his entire life. He was very envious and jealous of those strong soul beasts. This was why he took a gamble to see what beneﬁts he might possibly obtain from this Immortal Spirit Grass.

This thousand-year Immortal Spirit Grass was ultimately unprepared against the Myriad Demon King, who had plotted this for centuries.

Under the corrosion of the Myriad Demon King’s poison, it melted.

The Myriad Demon King uprooted it completely and turned into ﬂuid before smearing this ﬂuid on his body. To him, he would have only wasted a thousand years, even if he failed. To a plant-type soul beast, a thousand years wasn’t considered a long time.

From that point onwards, the Myriad Demon King entered an extremely long period of torment. While this Immortal Spirit Grass was dead, it carried a strong spirit of vengeance, which made it difﬁcult for him to fuse with it.

Normally, a Demoneye Tree and an Immortal Spirit Grass were two incompatible plant-type soul beasts. However, a miracle happened when this Immortal Spirit Grass’ vengeance and the Myriad Demon King’s persistence combined together. They started to fuse together in a very special way.

While the fusion was slow, it managed to change many of the Myriad King’s innate abilities. As time passed, he was no longer purely a Demoneye Tree anymore. This evolution process continued for a hundred years.

When the Myriad Demon King regained consciousness again, he discovered that he had become abnormally strong. He possessed the innate abilities of the most outstanding plant- type soul beast.

The Myriad Demon King was extremely determined, having tolerated a hundred years of pain to complete the fusion. He didn’t venture deeper into the Great Star Dou Forest after the fusion. He continued to cultivate where he was born, and slowly devoured soul beasts of lower cultivations.

The current Myriad Demon King was a result of his tolerance in the past. He had a ﬁve-hundred-thirty-thousand-year

cultivation now and was ranked ﬁfth among the Ten Great Savage Beasts. He was ranked lower than Bi Ji, but higher than the Bear Lord.

Of the ﬁve Great Savage Beasts in the Great Star Dou Forest, the Myriad Demon King was probably the one that most wouldn’t want to face if they had to ﬁght one of them if they understood all of their characters. He didn’t possess the power of Di Tian or the explosiveness of the Bear Lord, but he was as vicious as a venomous snake, and even possessed a forbearance that was superior to most ordinary soul beasts. He was deﬁnitely a terrifying enemy.

After Di Tian discovered his existence, he wanted to forcefully keep him within the Slaughtering Grounds so that he could monitor the Myriad Demon King. This was because the Myriad Demon King already ruled over the soul beasts in more than one-third of the Peripheral Region of the Great Star Dou Forest. With his help, the plant-type soul beasts were able to develop rapidly.

Di Tian didn’t kill him out of fear. Plants were considered the last line of defense for the Great Star Dou Forest. The Myriad Demon King ruled over most of the plant-type soul beasts, which made him extremely important to the Great Star Dou

Forest. Even Di Tian didn’t dare to kill him! Di Tian even believed that his existence was more important than Bi Ji’s.

Right now, there weren’t any plant-type soul beasts in the soul beast army underneath the Myriad Demon King at the northern side of Shrek City. This was also a requirement that Di Tian had for him before this war started. All the plant-type soul beasts that he commanded were not allowed to be part of this beast wave. The reason was very simple: they were needed to offer an escape route for the Great Star Dou Forest! If this beast wave failed and the soul beasts suffered heavy losses, the plant-type soul beasts that the Myriad Demon King controlled could at least protect the soul beast army as they retreated back into the forest.

An Emerald Swan, a Demoneye Tree, a Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear, and a Three-Headed Scarlet Devilmastiff. Right now, four of the Great Savage Beasts in the Great Star Dou Forest had appeared on this battleﬁeld.

These four Savage Beasts surrounded Shrek City, which meant that this war between the soul beasts and Shrek Academy was about to enter its climax.

Shrek City was waiting for reinforcements, and the ﬁve Great Savage Beasts naturally knew it. Shrek Academy was simply too important. If Shrek City was overrun, there would be one less force to restrain the soul beasts in the Great Star Dou Forest. The three empires in the Douluo Continent

wouldn’t be willing to see something like that happen. It was totally necessary to send reinforcements to aid Shrek Academy.

Shrek City was stalling for time, while the soul beasts were naturally ﬁghting for time. If they managed to breach Shrek City and destroy Shrek Academy before the reinforcements arrived, whatever reinforcements arrived after that would be meaningless and insigniﬁcant.

As a result, these four Savage Beasts decided to launch an assault against Shrek City even after the heavy losses they had suffered earlier. Of course, this didn’t mean that they would participate in the ﬁght directly. Instead, they were going to hold the fort in four different directions, and the intensity of their offense would vary.

The soul beasts were targeting the overstretched manpower of Shrek City’s Defense Army. Even if they had to forsake their pride, they had to seize this opportunity to destroy Shrek City.

This showed how determined they were. They wanted to welcome Di Tian back with a huge victory.

The Bear Lord unleashed a shocking and furious roar. He was at the western side of the city, and it was his side that made the ﬁrst move. The terrifying beast wave started to surge forward like a tidal wave. The commanders at each of the other sides also gave the order to attack. Shrek City was now being attacked from all sides, and it seemed as if a tsunami was sweeping toward the city from all directions.

This was the true strength of this beast wave. When they attacked all-out, they managed to fully tap into their absolute numerical advantage.

All of the elders of the Sea God’s Pavilion had gathered at the top of the city wall by now. They and the inner courtyard disciples were distributed along sections of the city wall. The All-Terrain Self-Driving Forts and Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons were also ready to be used.

The Time Douluo Shi Xing quickly rose into the sky, and his voice echoed as he used a powerful sound-amplifying soul tool.

“Warriors of Shrek City, teachers and students of Shrek Academy, I am the City Defense Ofﬁcer, Shi Xing. The soul beast army is coming for us. This is a ﬁght that we can’t back away from. The result of failure will be death. It’s not just us that will be dead; all the civilians in Shrek City will also be

dead along with us. For Shrek’s glory, and for ourselves, I implore all of you to bring forth your greatest courage and strength to ﬁght!”

He shouted the last few words in fury.

“Long live Shrek! Long live Shrek! Long live Shrek!”

“Glory to Shrek! Glory to Shrek! Glory to Shrek!”

“Let’s ﬁght for Shrek’s glory!”

They were burning with passion now. At this moment, everyone from Shrek, regardless of whether they were a soldier, a student, a teacher, or an elder, whether they came from the inner or outer courtyard, all came together as one. They only had one goal: force the beast wave back. It was the only way that they could ensure their survival.

Shrek’s strength was ﬁnally unleashed at this moment. Under Shi Xing’s orders, the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons ﬁred.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…

A piercing sound echoed as streaks of dazzling light shot above the city wall. These streaks of lights were scattered in all directions. Even with Bi Ji’s abilities, she couldn’t cover them all.

This time, the cannon shells seemed to be larger than before. They didn’t just cover a region that spanned a ﬁve-kilometer radius with the city wall at the center. Rather, they were targeted toward further distances. Every streak of dazzling light left a resplendent plume behind it as it moved in the air.

The stationary cannon shells that came from the Tang Sect were ﬁnally being ﬁred!

Stationary soul cannon shells weren’t just strong. They were also able to cover long distances and drained the cannons the

least. They wouldn’t cause the cannons to overheat, as they were propelled forward using their own strength. They also didn’t exhaust too much soul power.

The stationary soul cannon shells were used ﬁrst, for fear that the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons wouldn’t be able to be ﬁred if they overheated.

The Tang Sect had provided around two thousand stationary soul cannon shells. Shrek Academy also had several hundred stationary soul cannon shells of different classes. More than ﬁve hundred shells were ﬁred in this ﬁrst round, since there were many Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons available.

If their monetary value was measured, it would take a long time to count the number of zeroes in the number generated.

The Soul Tool Department’s Dean Xian Lin’er, Vice-Dean Qian Duoduo, and Xuan Ziwen from the Tang Sect’s Soul Tool Hall contorted their faces in reluctance after this ﬁrst round. Even if they won this war, they would need to save up for a long time before they could obtain so many stationary soul cannon shells again!

The soul beasts were a little surprised by the range of the humans’ attack. However, the shells were ﬁred into the distance. The soul beasts that were charging in front towards the city wall weren’t affected. Very soon, the soul beast army was already beneath the wall.

The Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons were ﬁred once again. This time, their strength was unleashed. As a large number of cannon shells rained down, explosive bombs started to engulf and strike the charging soul beasts.

At this moment, the booms generated from the detonation of the ﬁrst round of shells had just echoed in the air.

Around one-third of the ﬁve hundred shells were intercepted. The remaining two-thirds managed to detonate successfully. The tragic screams of soul beasts could be heard amid the terrifying booms caused by the explosions. While some of these shells were intercepted, their explosive strength was still superior to the regular explosive bombs of the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons.

As a Class 7 stationary soul cannon shell landed among the soul beasts, the space in the entire region affected by the subsequent explosion completely collapsed. A black halo started to spread, and only stopped when it reached a diameter of three hundred meters. Then, this black region started to distort tremendously, and countless bolts of lightning surrounded this region. An airﬂow ﬁlled with a destructive aura started to spread.

The name of this Class 7 stationary soul cannon shell was Lightning of Hell. Its terrifying destructive power instantly took the lives of thousands of soul beasts.

While the rest of the Class 4, 5 and 6 stationary soul cannon shells were weaker, each of them still managed to hurt and kill many soul beasts.

Very soon, Shi Xing discovered that the Tang Sect’s stationary soul cannon shells were much stronger than the shells produced by the Academy. There were practically no Class 4 shell and hardly any Class 5 shells. Most of them were either Class 6 or Class 7. The explosion of every shell managed to affect a large region. They were extremely lethal, and he was struck breathless as he watched the explosions unfold.

As the defenses of the other three sides of the city were weaker, they were reinforced with more stationary soul cannon shells.

Right now, the four Savage Beasts were all astonished as they watched the various cannon shells exploding. They hadn’t

expected humans to possess such terrifying weapons. Ordinary soul beasts were unable to resist such weapons!

After the ﬁrst wave of stationary shells exploded, more than ﬁfteen thousand soul beasts were either hurt or killed. Most of them were dead; there were very few injured soul beasts. The number of soul beasts that became casualties after this attack was much greater than the losses the soul beasts had suffered after the earlier confrontations.

The four Savage Beasts started to get depressed. All of them had different characters, which naturally meant that their reactions were different. Compared to the Bear Lord’s irritation, the Myriad Demon King’s gloominess and the Scarlet King’s fury, Bi Ji was feeling cold in her heart right now.

Humans actually possess such terrifying weapons? Since when did this happen?

Shrek City is probably the most difﬁcult city to attack among all the human cities, but it’s still only one of the many cities around! How many of these weapons are present in the three human empires? Are the soul beasts from the Great Star Dou

Forest capable of resisting these weapons with their ﬂesh and blood, and eventually attaining victory?

Perhaps it might not be difﬁcult to annihilate Shrek City. However, it’s going to be extremely difﬁcult to annihilate the entire human race!

The losses they had suffered from attacking Shrek City thus far had exceeded their earlier estimations. However, it was impossible for them to stop halfway. There was no way they could retreat anymore.

“Emerald Swans, start healing with all your abilities,” Bi Ji spoke in a strange voice. Following her words, jade-green ﬁgures started to quickly rise into the sky not far away from her.

They were swans that were covered by bright jade-green light. After they rose into the sky, they immediately ﬂew in all four directions. Each of them released a gentle, jade-green light from their bodies, and they started to heal the soul beasts that were injured by the explosions.

They were from the same species as Bi Ji. All these years, she had been protecting and nurturing them to become the healing team of the Great Star Dou Forest.

Emerald Swans lacked defensive strength, and there were only a hundred of them. They weren’t supposed to appear on a battleﬁeld, as the Forest couldn’t afford to lose any of them. However, Bi Ji had no choice but to summon them, given the great number of casualties right now. She couldn’t possibly heal all the soul beasts by herself!

The only good news for the soul beast army was that the frontline soul beasts had already charged their way to Shrek City’s wall now.

Countless long-range attacks were targeted towards the top of the walls right now, as if they were meteor showers.

All the soul masters did their best to activate their protective soul barriers to defend against the long-range attacks. However, the four Savage Beasts were determined this time. The soul beasts that were charging in front were thousand- year soul beasts, and they were led by a large number of ten-

thousand-year soul beasts. Hundred year soul beasts weren’t even allowed to join the frontline.

This managed to greatly increase the soul beasts’ defensive and offensive strength, and the destructiveness of the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons fell greatly. ten-thousand-year soul beasts still found it ﬁne to resist the attacks of explosive bombs. If a large number of ten-thousand-year soul beasts defended together, they would greatly reduce the lethality of the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons, while the thousand-year soul beasts behind the ten-thousand-year soul beasts unleashed relentless long-range attacks towards Shrek City.

They weren’t just attacking the top of the city walls; they were also attacking the city walls.

Tremendous booms echoed as different colors of light waves and soul power undulations could be seen encircling Shrek City.

The ﬁght had reached an intense stage right from the start.

“Dean Xian.” Shi Xing immediately turned to look at Xian Lin’er after unleashing his Spacetime Turbulence.

Xian Lin’er gritted her teeth, and her cheek muscles trembled a little. After this, she shouted, “Fire all the stationary soul cannon shells. Don’t hold any back!”

The soul beasts’ attack was too ferocious. The ten thousand and thousand-year soul beasts on their frontline placed immense pressure on Shrek City.

Under such a circumstance, she couldn’t place any sentimental attachment on the cannon shells anymore, and had to use them all!

Stationary cannon shells were ﬁred towards the distance once again, and they scattered in different directions to stall the reserves of the soul beast army from following the frontline soul beasts.

The sixty-one self-driving forts were also thrown into the ﬁght, and they were resisting the attacks of the soul beasts on the other three sides of the city wall.

Everyone from the Tang Sect was now at the southern city wall. Without a doubt, this was the side of the city that faced the greatest pressure. While the attacks being launched against the other three sides of the city were also very strong, the greatest number of ten-thousand-year soul beasts were charging towards the south side of Shrek City.

Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, Jiang Nannan, He Caitou, Xiao Xiao, Ji Juechen, Jing Ziyan, Na Na, Mo Xuan and the others were all waiting as they adopted a strict formation.

Mo Xuan had entered the battleﬁeld under the protection of an elder from the Sea God’s Pavilion. He was given priority access to Sealed Milk Bottles, as he was needed to offer all- around auxiliary support on the battleﬁeld. With him around, the overall ﬁghting strength of the soul masters could be raised by twenty percent!

Not far from everyone from the Tang Sect were a few familiar faces: Dai Huabin, Zhu Lu, Ning Tian, Wu Feng, Xie Huanyue, Cao Jinxuan, Zhou Sichen and the Lan sisters. They were also all ready to ﬁght.

After all, there was a limit to how long their soul tools could last. Once the Sealed Milk Bottles were drained, a brutal close- contact war was bound to ensue.

The elders from the Sea God’s Pavilion and the teachers from Shrek Academy were facing the strongest soul beasts. There were even more of those ten-thousand-year and thousand-year soul beasts that relied on the strongest soul beasts from the Great Star Dou Forest to protect them.

Bei Bei turned around and said to his teammates, “Later, we’ll have to stick together as we ﬁght. Brother Ji, you’ll take the front. Sanshi and I will protect your sides.”

Ji Juechen nodded and held his Judgment Sword as he walked to Bei Bei’s side. Right now, he was extremely excited. To him, a war was like a ﬁght, and his ﬁghting will had long been infused in his blood.

Bei Bei then said to the rest, “Nannan, Ziyan, the two of you will be supporting and coordinating at the sides. Na Na, you’ll coordinate from the back while Xiao Xiao will be the main controller behind Brother Ji. Caitou, you’ll be watching and managing the situation from behind Xiao Xiao.”

“What about us, Eldest senior?” Nan Qiuqiu and Ye Guyi started to approach him from beside Nan Shuishui.

Bei Bei didn’t task them with anything. This was because of their lack of chemistry with everyone else from the Tang Sect. At this critical moment, they couldn’t affect their team unity.

“Elder Nan Shuishui, you, Qiuqiu, and Gu Yi will be our backup. Our formation can’t be too large, we’ll run the risk of encountering too many soul beasts at once. If Ji Juechen isn’t able to hold out in front, I’ll need you to replace him, Elder Nan Shuishui! Guyi and Qiuqiu, this is the same for the two of you! You must constantly monitor our situation. Once someone has been drained too much or is injured, the two of you will be replacements.”

Nan Qiuqiu and Ye Guyi were displeased that they weren’t immediately sent onto the battleﬁeld. Just as they were about to debate it, they were pulled back by Nan Shuishui.

Nan Shuishui nodded at Bei Bei and said, “No problem. Let’s follow the sect leader’s instructions.”

Bei Bei took in a deep breath and revealed a lost look on his face. Little junior, when are you returning? It would be great if we had you around...

Chapter 401: The Savage Beasts Enter Battle

He wasn’t the only one with this thought in mind. Whether it was the Tang Sect or Shrek’s Seven Monsters, everyone was used to ﬁghting with Huo Yuhao as the main control-type soul master. His Spiritual Detection shared with everyone in battle was the most important guarantee for everyone’s survival. However, nobody knew where Huo Yuhao was, and he was nowhere to be seen even until now.

Bei Bei rubbed his ﬁsts forcefully, and a determined look appeared in his eyes. He lowered his voice and said, “Whether or not this beast wave has anything to do with Yuhao, he will always be a part of the Tang Sect, and he will always be the most important part. I will use our sect’s strength to protect him no matter what the cost may be. I hope you guys can understand.”

Xu Sanshi said lazily, “Why are you saying all that? Do you think any of us will object? The new generation of Shrek’s Seven Monsters are one, and the Tang Sect is one. One man’s glory is everyone’s glory. Furthermore, Yuhao’s role in the beast wave was lighting the fuse, at most.”

Bei Bei scanned everyone’s faces, and could tell that nobody had any intention to object. He heaved a sigh of relief inside. Wasn’t he also carrying a heavy burden on his shoulders?

Deafening booms echoed out once more as stationary soul cannon shells began to show their fearsome powers explosively. Different beams of light glowed one after another, and large masses of soul beasts perished with each instance.

The Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons were still ﬁring crazily from the top of the city wall. The other soul tools and shock bombs that Shrek Academy and the Tang Sect had provided were being unleashed onto the battleﬁeld without any reservation at all.

However, the soul beasts were forging ahead, and still drawing closer and closer to Shrek City. The smell of smoke from guns permeated the air, but the wild stench spreading from those soul beasts was even more penetrating.

Right at this moment, the four Savage Beasts who were hovering in midair ﬁnally made their move. Except for the Emerald Swan, who was moving forward slowly, the other three Savage Beasts were ﬂying towards the top of Shrek’s city

wall with lightning speed. They weren’t the only ones moving; every Savage Beast had twenty to thirty soul beasts of many different kinds following behind them and moving along with them. There was no exception, and all of those soul beasts possessed the ability to ﬂy.

They were able to follow the Savage Beasts into battle, and this meant their strengths were worthy. Ferocious shadows gradually appeared one after another in the sky, and they were all soul beasts who had at least ﬁfty thousand years of cultivation. Some of them had more than a hundred thousand years of cultivation.

This group was the true main force of the soul beast army; the main force that could determine the outcome of this battle.

The frightening force of the stationary soul cannon shells had unsettled these four Savage Beasts. They discussed with each other via their own special communication methods unique only to them, and they decided to attack with full force.

The deaths of normal soul beasts didn’t really affect the Great Star Dou Forest, but if too many soul beasts died, the forest would still be shaken to its very roots. In the end, top-

tier soul beasts were once low-tier soul beasts, and which soul beast didn’t need an ascension process to become a powerful individual? Would the Great Star Dou Forest still have a future if too many low-tier soul beasts perished?

Therefore, even though they knew very well that Shrek City wasn’t sufﬁciently spent or exhausted, they had no other choice but to activate their main force that could truly determine the outcome of battle. They had to send out their truly mighty beasts!

Everyone from Shrek City was as solemn as could be as they watched the large masses of powerful soul beasts ﬂying toward them in the sky.

Of the four different sides, the Emerald Swan ﬂew behind everyone else toward the southern city wall, and over thirty mighty soul beasts ﬂew in front of her. There were seven or eight soul beasts who had at least a hundred thousand years of cultivation, and there were more hundred thousand year soul beasts in this group than the other three sides. The Emerald Swan was a Savage Beast, but her direct ﬁghting strength wasn’t that strong. In terms of her auxiliary powers and her healing abilities, however, not a single human could match her might. With her around, these formidable soul beasts’ ﬁghting

strengths undoubtedly doubled! Nobody was willing to start a ﬁght like this, but did Shrek City have a choice?

There were relatively few hundred-thousand-year soul beasts on the other three sides, but they were charging toward the city with the Savage Beasts who were more adept at ﬁghting.

The Savage Beast who was charging at the fastest pace was the king of the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bears, the Savage Beast who was known for his violent and ﬁerce temperament: the Bear Lord!

The Bear Lord’s tremendous frame and aura alone gave everyone in Shrek City a feeling as if a mountain was bearing down upon them. Among the defenders on this side, two members of the Sea God’s Pavilion rose up to meet this Savage Beast: the Valkyrie Douluo, Xian Lin’er, and her husband, the Vice-Dean of Shrek Academy’s Soul Tool Department, Qian Duoduo.

The Bear Lord’s body was simply too massive. Even though he could rely on his formidable cultivation to soar through the sky, he still looked a little clumsy.

The Bear Lord had four hundred and seventy thousand years of cultivation, and that meant he was more powerful than the Ice Empress even when she was at her peak condition. The standards of the Bear Lord’s soul power was close to that of a Rank 97 Titled Douluo. Furthermore, he was a Darkgolden

Terrorclaw Bear! A Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear with four hundred and seventy thousand years of cultivation possessed such formidable direct ﬁghting strength that a typical Ultimate Douluo wouldn’t be conﬁdent of defeating him. The Bear Lord was an overbearing presence in the Great Star Dou Forest that nobody dared to disturb.

Xian Lin’er stood on the battlement calmly. The long-range attacks that those soul beasts beneath her ﬁred were immediately sliced into pieces by a formless power when they reached within a hundred meters of her. Their attacks vanished into thin air, and could no longer cause any damage.

Xian Lin’er arrived on the western side of the city after she decided to use all the stationary soul cannon shells, her goal being to challenge the Bear Lord.

Initially, this task didn’t fall to her. She was giving herself more pressure.

Ever since she broke through Rank 95 and became a Transcendent Douluo, she felt that raising her soul power even further was unbelievably difﬁcult, and she ﬁnally understood why Yan Shaozhe spent so many years after reaching Rank 95 to ascend another rank. Yan Shaozhe had only recently

reached Rank 96, and he was lauded as the number-one prodigy of their generation!

Reality proved that Shrek Academy had never lacked talent, but even talented and gifted individuals would have exhausted all their talent by the time they became Transcendent Douluo.

Every further step after Rank 95 was incredibly challenging, but every rank also meant an immense increase in strength at the same time. Xian Lin’er had once asked Elder Xuan how she could go even further. Elder Xuan told her that humans were like receptacles, and only sufﬁciently strong pressure could give them enough push and motivation to ignite their potential.

How many people could give Xian Lin’er this pressure in the world today? With Shrek Academy’s environment and surroundings and her status, they would never allow her to take this risk!

However, Shrek no longer had a way out in their current circumstances. The soaring Valkyrie was already full of boundless belligerence and ﬁghting intent. Therefore, she found the Bear Lord, who possessed the strongest frontal ﬁghting strength amongst the four Savage Beasts, and who was also the king of the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bears.

Qian Duoduo didn’t stand on the top of the city wall like Xian Lin’er did. He quietly stood at a position further back on the city wall, but a layer of formidable soul power undulations permeated his surroundings.

Qian Duoduo’s cultivation rank was lower than Xian Lin’er’s. He had been stuck at Rank 94 for quite some time. Furthermore, he could feel that he would never break through this threshold and ascend to Rank 95 through his entire lifetime, if he didn’t run into some miraculous encounter.

Therefore, he channeled more of his time and energy into researching soul tools. Ever since Xuan Ziwen had arrived, Qian Duoduo had lowered his attitude, and he had long become a frequent guest of the Tang Sect’s Soul Tool Hall. He seemed to have found a direction to break through from Class 8 to Class 9 in recent days. In the end, he was a true Titled Douluo, and he wasn’t like the Sun Moon Empire’s Class 9 soul

engineers, who became Titled Douluo through various cheap methods. Qian Duoduo’s solid soul power rank meant there were many things he could do when he became a Class 9 soul engineer.

There was a row of metal barrels of many different colors planted on the ground in front of him at this moment. There were seven in total, and they were all of varying lengths, thickness, and colors, while every single one seemed to have their own unique characteristics. He was just standing calmly behind these seven barrels as he silently watched Xian Lin’er, who was standing on the battlements. His face was as calm as ever, and there were many other people standing on top of the city wall on this side. This group included seven teachers from the inner courtyard, and another elder from the Sea God’s Pavilion, along with some students from the inner courtyard.

Wu Ming, whose martial soul was a Golden Crow, was part of this group, along with the boyfriend that she had walked away with from the Sea God’s Fate, Chu Qingtian. More accurately put, Chu Qingtian was her husband now.

Wu Ming and Chu Qingtian stood shoulder to shoulder. Chu Qingtian seemed a little melancholic, but Wu Ming’s eyes were ﬁlled with excitement, as if there were ﬂames dancing in her

eyes. She was one of the Demon Ladies from Shrek Academy’s inner courtyard, and she had always possessed a thirst for battle.

Wu Ming hugged Chu Qingtian across the shoulders and whispered, “Relax a little, don’t be so nervous. Haven’t we been cultivating hard so that we can ﬁght? A big occasion like this isn’t something that we can encounter at any time.”

Chu Qingtian laughed bitterly and said, “I would rather never face a big occasion such as this for my entire life!”

Wu Ming patted him on his back and said, “Don’t worry. I will do my best to protect you later on.”

Chu Qingtian rolled his eyes and said, “Please, I’m the one who should be saying that, right?”

Wu Ming giggled and said, “Who will protect who isn’t determined by gender, it’s determined by ﬁghting strength.”

“…”

The soul beasts ﬂying through the sky had arrived as the two of them exchanged words.

The Bear Lord was within one kilometer from Shrek City, and Xian Lin’er shouted as she applied strength through the tips of her toes, and soared into the sky like an arrow.

The sky was the battleﬁeld for powerful individuals at their level.

Two beams of red light emerged from the Bear Lord’s eyes, and he could clearly feel intense provocation from Xian Lin’er. This human female’s soul power undulations were inferior to his own, but she possessed a unique quality that attracted his attention.

The Bear Lord roared furiously into the sky as he stretched out his arms, and his massive frame shook as he rose through the air. That wasn’t all; his frame was already humongous, but he became even larger as he gradually raised his arms into the air. Frighteningly long Darkgolden Terrorclaws sprang out, and streaks of black light that resembled cracks in the sky appeared around his sharp talons. He hadn’t sliced out with his sharp claws yet, but his claws’ aura alone tore through the air.

Scorching green ﬂames erupted from Xian Lin’er’s body. She was growing taller, and became more than ﬁve meters tall in the blink of an eye, even as green armor appeared on her body.

Her armor covered her entire body like scales as two yellow, two purple, and ﬁve black soul rings rose from beneath her feet. Her enlarged version seemed to make her younger, as if she were a young girl who was in her twenties, and she had an aura full of belligerence and valor.

Her current form was the true appearance of the soaring Valkyrie. Xian Lin’er’s martial soul was the Greenﬂame

Dragon, and even though her body was releasing green ﬂames, her martial soul’s Element was wind. Those ﬂames were produced after wind-type energies were swiftly converted and compressed, and possessed immense disintegrating properties.

The Greenﬂame Dragon was considered a species of ﬂying dragon, and her formidable martial soul was on the same level as the Ruby Dragon that Nan Shuishui and Nan Qiuqiu had inherited within the Earthdragon Sect. The Ruby Dragon’s Element was Annihilation, and that Element directly obliterated everything, while the Greenﬂame Dragon’s disintegrating qualities were more focused on slicing and dispersing.

The Greenﬂame Dragon was theoretically considered a direct descendant of the Golden Dragon, and even the spear in Xian Lin’er’s hands came from her martial soul at birth, similar to the Golden Dragon Spear.

The Valkyrie would never wait on the battleﬁeld. The Bear Lord was becoming larger as he rose into the sky towards her, and Xian Lin’er’s eyes sparkled with intense green light at the same time as she spun around in the air and plummeted downwards. She moved like a green shooting star as she plunged towards the king of the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bears.

Green ﬂames seemed to seep out of her eyes as she soared through the sky, and she arrived above the Bear Lord in a ﬂash of green light.

The Bear Lord made his move, and he made a move that was strength personiﬁed: he swung his enormous arms in front of him and clawed out with his palms facing out.

Terrifying dark golden hues tainted the sky in the next moment. Just what kind of claws were they? Every single talon transformed into a horrifying dark golden blade that was more than a hundred meters long, and his massive Darkgolden Terrorclaws seemed as if they were about to tear the heavens apart. This petrifying sight immediately shook the soldiers who were on Shrek City’s western wall.

The air was completely torn apart wherever these ten sharp talons crossed, and howls could be faintly heard from those torn spaces; one could see faint dots of starlight amid the eerie darkness.

This was the might of a Savage Beast! Even strong individuals like Di Tian and the Evileye Tyrant King were unwilling to

take a swipe from the Bear Lord’s Darkgolden Terrorclaws head-on. The Bear Lord was the true king of destruction!

However, something completely unexpected happened. The Valkyrie chose to meet force with force against the Darkgolden Terrorclaws that not even the Beast God himself was willing to meet head-on!

Yes, she chose to meet force with force!

A beam of golden light suddenly shot out from the top of Shrek’s city wall and instantly landed on her green ﬂames. In that instant, the green ﬂames that were descending from the sky were layered and protected by a blurry layer of golden light.

Hazy mist surrounded all that golden light, and everything seemed a little unreal in that instant.

The Bear Lord’s terrifying Darkgolden Terrorclaws swiped across her in a ﬂash. A strange scene occurred when his claws touched that golden light. The bear’s sharp claws skidded away, and the hazy golden light immediately became surreal

and illusory in that moment. The green ﬂames’ downward swoop seemed to pause momentarily, as if they had been layered with grease, and they slipped through the cracks between all that dark golden light.

However, the Darkgolden Terrorclaws were simply too destructive. Even though the golden light was ﬁlled with spatial power, all that golden light was still torn to pieces as the green ﬂames slipped past his claws.

But that wasn’t important. What was important was that the Valkyrie had achieved her goal.

She slipped through the bear’s deadly claws, and indignant dragon roars echoed throughout the entire battleﬁeld. The green ﬂames became conical, and they went straight for the space between the Bear Lord’s eyebrows.

She broke through just like that.

Back on top of the city wall, Qian Duoduo stared closely at the battle in the sky, and gradually lowered a golden cannon in his hands.

That was Light of Spatial Protection, a Class 8 soul tool.

This soul tool was known amongst Class 8 soul tools as The Unbreakable Fortress, and was a stronger version of the Invincible Barrier. This soul tool allowed the user to temporarily enter another dimension when taking a hit, but even so, the Bear Lord’s Darkgolden Terrorclaws still managed to tear through space itself, which meant hiding in another dimension couldn’t entirely evade his attack. It wasn’t hard to imagine how frightening the Bear Lord’s attacking strength was. That was just pure offensive strength!

However, their plan was successful in the end. They had been married for many years, and Qian Duoduo and Xian Lin’er’s chemistry and teamwork was so good that they were almost the same person.

They were very clear that in terms of strength, they were no match for the Bear Lord even if they teamed up. They could only make use of the Bear Lord’s unfamiliarity and lack of understanding toward soul tools at the start of the battle to catch him by surprise so that they would have a chance to strike.

That was the reason why they had come up with such a ﬁghting strategy, and Xian Lin’er chose to meet force with force when everyone thought she would avoid the bear’s sharp claws.

The Bear Lord’s frame was too massive, and his excessively large body meant he wasn’t very agile. After he grew bigger, the bear was a hundred meters tall, while Xian Lin’er moved with incredible speed. The Bear Lord’s arms had just swung through the air when the conical green ﬂames reached the center of his eyebrows, and he didn’t have a chance to respond.

However, the Bear Lord chose a response that surprised every onlooker.

He didn’t even attempt to dodge this attack. His dark golden eyes ﬂickered with blood-red colors, and were ﬁlled with disdain and indifference as he lowered his head, usign his forehead to clash against the conical green ﬂames.

That was an all-out attack from Xian Lin’er, a Rank 95 Transcendent Douluo, who was known as the Valkyrie! Even though she didn’t use her strongest soul skill because she desired speed, could the Bear Lord’s body just forcefully clash

against her formidable attack that possessed disintegrating qualities?

BAM!

Green ﬂames scattered in all directions in the sky, and Xian Lin’er’s ﬁgurereappeared in the sky as she spiraled through the air. The tremendous impact rendered her unable to control her own body, and she channeled soul power continuously to stabilize herself as she ﬂew backwards rapidly.

And the Bear Lord? He simply arched his large head backwards, and several strands of dark golden fur drifted down from his forehead. He used the back of his paws and rubbed his forehead before he howled furiously. It seemed like all he took was a little pain, and he didn’t suffer any real injuries at all.

The soul masters watching from the top of the city wall were astounded when they saw this. Nothing happened to the Bear Lord when he clashed forcefully with an attack from a Transcendent Douluo? He didn’t even shed a single drop of blood. That was simply too unbelievable! Were the Bear Lord’s defenses that ﬁerce and formidable?

Yes, the bear’s defenses were indeed that strong.

Xian Lin’er felt this the most because she was the one who had attacked him. When her Greenﬂame Spear stabbed into the Bear Lord’s forehead, she felt as if she had actually clashed with a shooting star. Terrifying strength instantly sent her hurtling through the air, and her right arm that was holding onto her Greenﬂame Spear was all sore and numb.

One could only understand whether the opponent was strong or weak in an actual encounter.

Not a single beast wasn’t worthy of their reputation, and the Bear Lord lived up to his name as number ﬁve of the Ten Great Savage Beasts! There was no question that he possessed the strongest offensive capabilities among today’s four Savage Beasts.

The Bear Lord’s muscular chest bulged as he swung his arms outward. His thick arms stretched out at his side, and he howled furiously as he suddenly raised his Darkgolden Terrorclaws high into the sky. All his fur began to shine with intense golden light, and in that moment, he sparkled and shone like a sun.

His roars were extremely thick and dense, and they resonated through the heavens like dull thunderclaps. His roars shook the soul masters and soldiers standing on the city wall beneath him until they felt dizzy, while the soul beasts that were attacking the city became exceptionally excited. Their attacking momentum became ﬁercer than before, and the soul tools on top of the city wall seemed like they couldn’t hold those soul beasts back any longer.

Xian Lin’er’s expression instantly became serious and solemn. She had the strongest feelings about the Bear Lord because she was facing him directly. She couldn’t really withstand the Bear Lord’s frightening pressure, which resembled that of a mountain, even with her cultivation rank, and the green dragon scales on the surface of her body rippled continuously to dispel that pressure.

Is the Bear Lord using his signature move from the get-go?

What kind of ﬁghting style is this?

Xian Lin’er didn’t dare to neglect her opponent. The Bear Lord was stronger than she had predicted, and she grit her teeth as she raised her Greenﬂame Spear high into the air. The green ﬂames on her body ﬂourished at the same time, and

waves of dragon roars could be heard. Her seventh soul ring glowed as she instantly transformed into a giant green dragon and circled in midair. She unleashed layers of green ﬂame again and again, and these ﬂames formed a colossal green dragon head in front of her as she stared at the Bear Lord opposite her in the distance.

Qian Duoduo didn’t idle around, either. Xian Lin’er was evidently unable to stop the Bear Lord by herself, and he tapped the ground with the tip of his foot as he swiftly ﬂew out from the city. This time, he didn’t carry his soul tools. Nine soul rings glimmered on his body, and his seventh soul ring sparkled as black light gradually cocooned his body while he rose into the sky. He transformed into an enormous shield, and swiftly rose to Xian Lin’er’s side.

This shield was squarish, and there were black dragon patterns on its surface. A Black Dragon seemed to shimmer on the shield’s surface, but the dragon’s eyes weren’t golden like that of the Beast God, but red instead. The shield’s surface seemed to be inlaid with two red gems.

This was Qian Duoduo’s martial soul, the Black Dragon Shield!

Back in the day, Qian Duoduo, Cai Mei’er, Xian Lin’er, and Yan Shaozhe were known as Shrek’s golden generation because their martial souls were all powerful, and they possessed formidable strength. Yan Shaozhe was the strongest among them, and Xian Lin’er came next, and Cai Mei’er after her. Qian Duoduo was weakest one, but he was a defense-type soul master, and his defensive capabilities were the most outstanding among them. This was also the most important reason why he chose to become a soul engineer in the end. There was a part of his past that was very regrettable, and he craved offensive power.

Faced with a powerful enemy, Qian Duoduo ﬁnally chose to ﬁght using his own martial soul. He was willing to become Xian Lin’er’s shield.

Xian Lin’er, who was in her Greenﬂame Dragon form, glanced at Qian Duoduo beside her. Faint light ﬂickered in her eyes as she lowered her voice and growled, “Be careful, old Qian.”

“Don’t worry.” His Black Dragon Shield’s dragon mouth opened and closed.

The Bear Lord made his move at this moment. The thick and dense golden light on its body suddenly all concentrated toward his twin claws, and his initially dark golden claws instantly became brilliantly golden. Streaks of light that resembled waves ﬂowed on the surface of his razor-sharp claws, eventually stopping at the edge of his claws.

“Go to hell, the both of you!” the Bear Lord shouted ferociously as he slashed his sharp claws towards Xian Lin’er, as if he were cutting open heaven and earth.

A terrifying scene appeared. Ten razor-sharp golden blades that were at least a thousand meters long appeared on his Darkgolden Terrorclaws, and ten enormous gashes were instantly torn open in the sky as the bear’s frightening claws slashed toward Xian Lin’er.

The Bear Lord was furious, and the consequences were serious.

Xian Lin’er’s spear did injure him. Even though his wounds weren’t serious, the Bear Lord was irascible and had a terrible temper. He had dominated the Great Star Dou Forest for so many years, and it had been a long time since he was last hurt. His ﬁght had just begun, and his opponent had already injured him! That was incredibly humiliating to him. He was one of the most arrogant kinds of soul beasts, and he didn’t give face to anyone except for Di Tian. Everyone feared him in the Great Star Dou Forest.

The Bear Lord was hurt when he had just started his ﬁght today. It infuriated him!

The attack that he was unleashing at the moment wasn’t one of his innate abilities. Instead, he had managed to grow it over time, and by relying on his formidable strength. This was similar to a human soul master’s self-invented ﬁghting technique, yet this attack was even stronger than those self- invented ﬁghting techniques, because the Bear Lord was raising his Darkgolden Terrorclaw’s destructive power to its strongest possible level.

The Bear Lord’s giant thousand-meter claws actually tore open the sky. Those deep and hideous gashes produced enormous vacuum forces, and Qian Duoduo and Xian Lin’er were being forcefully sucked towards them. They hurriedly channeled their soul power, and only then could they barely stabilize themselves.

The green dragon head that had condensed in front of Xian Lin’er before this ﬂew forward uncontrollably. Xian Lin’er hadn’t expected the Bear Lord’s attack to have such effects, and she had no time to control her dragon head further. She gritted her teeth and activated all her soul power to propel that green dragon head further.

Dragon roars echoed throughout the sky as the Greenﬂame Dragon’s head rose through the air. Tremendous disintegrating powers tainted the sky with bluish-green hues, and everything seemed exceptionally gorgeous.

It was a pity that this gorgeousness didn’t last for very long. When those frightening thousand meter-long claws tore through the sky, the bluish-green colors were swiftly consumed by the space that had been slashed open. Xian Lin’er’s green dragon head was almost instantly torn into a million pieces.

The Bear Lord had coined this attack his Skytear Claw. He had once attempted to challenge Di Tian’s authority, and had relied on this attack to severely wound Di Tian. Of course, Di Tian taught him a very, very painful lesson afterwards because of this very fact. Di Tian treasured the Bear Lord’s strength, so he didn’t kill him for this affront. Otherwise, the Bear Lord would have become Di Tian’s food a long time ago.

The Bear Lord’s Skytear Claw only paused momentarily in the air when Xian Lin’er’s Greenﬂame dragon head blocked it. Its intense golden light dimmed momentarily before it continued slashing down towards Xian Lin’er.

Xian Lin’er growled as bluish-green light circles glowed on her Greenﬂame Dragon form one after another, and surged out continuously. The Bear Lord’s razor-sharp claws had arrived, and these light circles forcefully blocked those claws.

However, the light circles didn’t last for long. The Bear Lord’s Skytear Claw cut through and shattered those light circles one after another, like a hot knife cutting through butter, and his sharp claws were coming closer and closer to Xian Lin’er.

The green lights on Xian Lin’er’s body became stronger, and the green ﬂames burning on her body caused the air around her to twist and contort. But even so, she still couldn’t stop those sharp claws from descending upon her.

Xian Lin’er understood in this moment that she was wrong from the start, and her choice to meet the Bear Lord’s force with force was her gravest mistake. The Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear was most adept at breaking through defenses, and his offensive capabilities were just far too strong. She didn’t stand a single chance meeting force with force, and she should have chosen hit-and-run tactics. Perhaps then she would have been able to hold the Bear Lord down for a longer time.

Unfortunately, understanding everything now was far too late. The Bear Lord’s claws tore open the sky, and those deep gashes in the sky possessed immense suction force. The reason why this attack was terrifying was because his opponent would know that the Bear Lord’s Skytear Claw possessed frightening attacking strength, but the deep gashes in the torn space would pull his opponent in, so his opponent had no choice but to meet force with force.

Am I going to die just like this?

Right at this moment, Xian Lin’er suddenly felt her entire body lighten, and the pressure in front of her abruptly disappeared. She could see a huge patch of black in front of her.

An enormous black shield blocked for her, and the Bear Lord’s sharp claws slashed against this shield with ear-piercing slicing sounds.

Black Dragons circled around the shield, and waves of dragon roars sounded like laments as nine soul rings sparkled continuously. They released soul skills one after another in an

attempt to block the terrifying sharp claws, but the shield itself was quivering violently. Xian Lin’er was behind this shield, but she could clearly see cracks starting to appear one after another.

“No!” Xian Lin’er shouted at the top of her voice, and bolted forward in a ﬂash so that she could continue blocking those Darkgolden Terrorclaws.

However, a ray of black light shot out from behind the shield and cocooned her. Black light burst out from the shield immediately afterwards.

Vigorous booms rang out continuously as the Bear Lord’s Skytear Claw ﬁnally erupted into golden dots that dissipated into the sky, and the deep gashes in the sky closed up at the same time.

Black light descended from the sky, and plummeted to the top of Shrek City’s western wall.

Everything happened too quickly, to the point where Shrek Academy’s various powerful individuals were too late to

reinforce Xian Lin’er even if they wanted to. They could only watch everything unfurl before their very eyes.

The Bear Lord’s radiance was conspicuously dimmer than before after he unleashed his Skytear Claw. His chest heaved up and down as he panted faintly. Even with his four hundred and seventy thousand years of cultivation, he still had to take a breather after using all his strength in one attack.

A green beam of light surged into the sky above Shrek City and blocked the Bear Lord. It was Elder Song, who had a furious look on her face.

Elder Song hadn’t participated directly in the ﬁghting. Instead, she had coordinated with everyone and supported them from one side so that she could respond to any emergencies or dangers that might occur on any front.

Xian Lin’er hadn’t expected the Bear Lord to use his signature move from the get-go, and Elder Song didn’t see that coming either. She was originally focused on another side of the city. From her perspective, with her daughter and her daughter’s husband teaming up against the Bear Lord, they would be able to hold him back even if they couldn’t defeat

him. Who would have thought that the Bear Lord wouldn’t follow conventional behaviour and unleash his Skytear Claw at the start of the ﬁght?

Xian Lin’er and Qian Duoduo had already clashed with the Bear Lord’s Skytear Claw by the time Elder Song realized what was going on.

Elder Song instantly transformed into a green beam and rocketed towards the Bear Lord, using her martial soul true body, her Greenshadow Godly Hawk.

The truth was that Elder Song’s abilities were the best counter to the Bear Lord. She could best evade the Bear Lord’s destructiveness with her speed.

---

Back at the top of the city wall...

The black light struck the city wall and revealed its original form... Qian Duoduo.

Both he and Xian Lin’er were back in their human form at this point. Xian Lin’er was in his embrace, but Qian Duoduo’s tall and strong body was full of cuts and gashes that wove across his entire frame. Flesh and skin rolled and folded, and glaring white bones were revealed on many parts of his body, as if he were a man made of blood.

“Wah...” A mouthful of blood spurted from Qian Duoduo’s mouth onto Xian Lin’er’s body. His muscular frame swayed as he forced himself to put Xian Lin’er on the ground before he crumpled down next to her.

“Duoduo.” Xian Lin’er hugged him tightly, and her eyes were ﬁlled with tears.

Of course she knew what Qian Duoduo had just done. In order to block the Bear Lord’s attack, Qian Duoduo chose to detonate his Black Dragon Shield. He had relied on the formidable offensive strength that a Titled Douluo could produce by detonating his martial soul to dispel the Bear Lord’s frightening Skytear Claw.

However, Qian Duoduo was severely injured because of that. Was detonating one’s martial soul that easy? Martial souls were a part of any human on the Douluo Continent, and the stronger one’s martial soul was, the more intimate its fusion was with one’s body. To say that one’s martial soul was the most important part of one’s body for Titled Douluo couldn’t possibly be wrong.

Qian Duoduo didn’t just detonate his own martial soul , as he had to take the rest of Skytear Claw’s remaining force as well.

Fresh blood fountained from Qian Duoduo’s mouth. His pupils were already starting to grow slack and disorganized, but his face was strangely full of smiles.

“Duoduo, how are you? Duoduo?” Xian Lin’er wasn’t good at healing at all, and she didn’t know how to help him. “Why are you so foolish? Why did you take the brunt of everything by yourself? You…”

Xian Lin’er was sobbing uncontrollably at this point.

“Lin… Er. Heh… heh. I’ve always… wanted… to call you… that. Except… I never… dared to… on normal days. But… at a time… like this… I dare… Because, if I don’t… call you that now… I may never… get the chance again…” Qian Duoduo’s voice was quivering, but he tried his best to steady his voice.

Blood continued ﬂowing from his mouth as he spoke, and even his nose and ears were bleeding profusely. The Bear Lord’s attack wasn’t just razor-sharp, it also possessed immense vibratory force!

Right at this moment, a shadow swiftly ﬂew over to Xian Lin’er and Qian Duoduo and landed right next to them. He pressed his hand down on Qian Duoduo as countless verdant bluish-green vines surged out from his hands and quickly attached themselves to Qian Duoduo’s body. Nine soul rings emerged from beneath his feet and circled around his body. His ﬁrst, fourth, and sixth soul rings glowed ﬁrst as gentle bluish- green light ﬂowed continuously into Qian Duoduo.

This man who came forward in time to treat Qian Duoduo was the only elder of the Sea God’s Pavilion who was adept with healing and treatment: Elder Zhuang, who was an auxiliary-type Titled Douluo.

Chapter 402: Qian Duoduo and Xian Lin'er

He was the one who had helped to stabilize Huo Yuhao’s injuries along with Elder Xuan when Huo Yuhao returned after plucking a Yearning Heartbroken Grass.

On the battleﬁeld, he also became the busiest person, moving to treat whoever was injured.

As Qian Duoduo suffered a critical injury, he naturally rushed over as quickly as possible.

When Xian Lin’er saw Elder Zhuang, it was as if she had seen a life-saving straw. “Elder Zhuang, save him, quick, save him! How’s Duoduo?”

Elder Zhuang looked very gloomy and gently shook his head. “Difﬁcult!”

When Xian Lin’er heard that, her tears started to ﬂow uncontrollably once again. If even Elder Zhuang, who was the most adept at healing in Shrek Academy, claimed that saving

Qian Duoduo was difﬁcult, more than half of Qian Duoduo’s life was already gone!

“Duoduo, you can’t die. You, how can you die? You are so strong! You’ll be able to survive. You’ll be able to, right? Tell me. Tell me that you’ll be able to survive.” Xian Lin’er grabbed onto Qian Duoduo’s hand tightly, and her voice was hoarse from all the crying.

Qian Duoduo coughed twice and spat out two foamy mouthfuls of blood. He looked slightly better after being treated by Elder Zhuang.

At this point, two other ﬁgures rushed over. They were Yan Shaozhe and Cai Mei’er, the two deans of the Martial Soul Department.

They were shocked when they saw Qian Duoduo, and they also noticed the situation on the west side of the city. Xian Lin’er and Qian Duoduo were both struck down by the Bear Lord’s all-out attack. As they didn’t know how the two of them were faring, they naturally rushed over to check out the situation immediately.

“Old Qian, how are you?” Yan Shaozhe squatted down on the other side of Qian Duoduo.

Qian Duoduo chortled, “I’m… ﬁne. It’s… pretty good like this. The two of you… came at the right time. I’ve some things… to say since I’ve some… time left.”

Xian Lin’er’s eyes were ﬁlled with tears as she said, “Duoduo, stop talking. Focus, and let Elder Zhuang treat you properly. You mustn’t die. You…”

Elder Zhuang seemed to have used up a lot of soul power as he treated Qian Duoduo, and Qian Duoduo’s voice slowly became smoother. He laughed bitterly. “Although my cultivation can’t compare to the two of you, do you really think I don’t know my own condition? Let me ﬁnish talking.”

Xian Lin’er was sobbing as she said, “You, you can say anything you want…”

Qian Duoduo’s gaze turned gentler as he looked at her. “Lin’er, I like you very much. It’s true. From the day I entered the Academy, I’ve always liked you. However, you should know

that I’m not good enough for you. You’re so pretty, and you capture everyone’s attention. I can only hide my liking for you deep in my heart, and I can only watch you from afar. Even so, I’m already very satisﬁed.”

Xian Lin’er was in a daze as she looked at Qian Duoduo. Her face turned slightly pale. Although they had been married for years, Qian Duoduo had never said anything like this to her before.

Qian Duoduo had a reminiscent look in his eyes, “Then, I could see you every day in the Academy, and it was the greatest blessing for me. However, this blessing soon faded away. As I silently observed you, I discovered that you’d already developed a liking for someone else. You liked Yan Shaozhe. Both of you are assault-type soul masters. He’s handsome, talented, and has a strong martial soul. There were so many students in our class that had a crush on him then!”

Yan Shaozhe’s face turned red as he heard this, and he twisted his head to look at Cai Mei’er. Cai Mei’er acted like she didn’t hear anything and only smiled slightly at him to hint that she didn’t mind.

“Yes, Shaozhe is much more outstanding than me and is better than me in all aspects. At that point in time, I became slightly jealous. I was jealous that he was able to capture your heart. To surpass him, I gave my all in the hopes of catching up to him. However, a nightmare happened to me. After a

temporary, preliminary selection by the Academy, we were about to be placed in different classes. As a defense-type soul master, I couldn’t possibly be in the same class as you. I really hated myself then for being a defense-type soul master. I really wished I was also an assault-type or a control-type soul master!

In that way, I could continue to see you every day.

“The rules of the Academy couldn’t be changed, and I was eventually separated from you. After I went to another class, I thought to myself that I had to give my all. Even if I couldn’t obtain your love, I had to defeat Shaozhe. At least in terms of abilities, I had to be better than him.

“I cultivated tirelessly every day. Once classes were over, I would always quietly walk past the front of your class. If I was lucky, I could take a glance at you, which left me very happy.

“However, a bigger nightmare occurred. After some time, I heard some of your classmates mention that you were dating him and that the two of you had become a couple. It was a huge

blow to me then. I was extremely upset for a couple of days. I really wanted to charge in front of you and tell you that I liked you. However, I was never courageous enough. When I looked in the mirror and saw myself, I only felt inferior.

“Do you still remember? During the ﬁrst internal competition of the Academy, I ﬁnally had the chance to defeat Shaozhe. I faced him during the semiﬁnals. I fought extremely hard for that ﬁght, and we fought for two hours until our soul power was drained.”

“I still lost in the end, though. However, I was surprised when all the teachers believed that I was unyielding, and was willing to ﬁght. They believed that I had great potential, and started to nurture me.

“After that, I made my way into the inner courtyard and became a disciple there. I ﬁnally had more time to see you. However, I was extremely tormented every time I saw you because he was always with you. Shaozhe’s talent was indeed too great. I kept on chasing after him, but I wasn’t able to catch him. Every time we fought, I always lost. I started to believe that there was something called ‘talent’ in this world. After he became Elder Mu’s disciple, he managed to widen the gap

between us. I knew then that, perhaps, I wouldn’t be able to surpass him in this life.”

Yan Shaozhe sighed as he silently listened to Qian Duoduo’s words. He said, “Duoduo, do you know? I was also giving my all at that point in time because you were chasing me too hard. I had no choice to place all my focus on my cultivation and studies to prevent being surpassed by you. In fact, you’d already succeeded then. As I was too focused on these two things, I spent very little time with Lin’er.”

Qian Duoduo chortled and said, “Is that so? That’s great, then.”

If it were any other time, Yan Shaozhe might have turned sarcastic. However, Qian Duoduo was extremely pale right now, and his life aura was getting weaker and weaker. Even though they hadn’t shared a harmonious relationship in all these years because of Xian Lin’er, Yan Shaozhe couldn’t say anything harsh to Qian Duoduo at this point.

Qian Duoduo twisted his head to look at Yan Shaozhe, and the gentleness in his eyes turned into fury, “If it were me, I wouldn’t have left Lin’er for even a minute. I would have

protected and taken care of her forever? What about you? You are a scoundrel that only knows how to hurt her. You said that you cultivated tirelessly because I was hot on your heels, but why did you have so much time to ﬂirt with other girls? Why did you hurt Lin’er? Even so, she stayed true and continued to love you deeply. Do you know that?”

Yan Shaozhe was half-red and half-pale. When he looked at Qian Duoduo, who was getting weaker and weaker, he wasn’t able to muster a reply. In fact, Qian Duoduo wasn’t wrong.

Cai Mei’er walked to Xian Lin’er’s side and gently patted her shoulder. After this, she turned around and left. She didn’t care about Yan Shaozhe and Xian Lin’er’s past. However, she was one of the girls that Yan Shaozhe had ﬂirted with. In addition, she was the victor out of all the girls. She wasn’t willing to listen any further. Furthermore, they belonged to the same golden generation. Seeing that Qian Duoduo was on the verge of death, she couldn’t control herself.

Qian Duoduo glared at Yan Shaozhe, and his face started turning red. It seemed as if he had regained some vitality due to his fury, “You hurt Lin’er time and time again, but she forgave you time and time again! It was only when she saw you

getting intimate with other women that she decided enough was enough and left you.”

Yan Shaozhe lowered his head in pain. “Yes, I wasn’t resilient enough. However, I realized my mistake after Lin’er left me. I searched everywhere for her, but I didn’t manage to ﬁnd her. I only wanted another chance. It was only after losing her that I realized how much I loved her. However, she had already become your wife after she returned. Do you know how much pain I felt then?”

“You deserve it!” Xian Lin’er suddenly lifted her head and shouted at Yan Shaozhe.

Yan Shaozhe seemed to have lost all his energy, and his head drooped.

“Lin’er is right. You deserve it! After she returned, did you persist? You chose to be a coward and quickly got together with Mei’er before marrying her. Have you ever admitted your mistake to Lin’er? Did you try to seek her forgiveness? No, you didn’t. You are a coward!” Qian Duoduo’s voice was trembling right now and he started to speak choppily, “Yan Shaozhe, let me tell you something. My marriage with Lin’er was actually a

result of her desire to make you infuriated. Nothing has ever happened between us. Even after being married for years, we’ve remained clean until now. Lin’er is still a virgin. It’s because she loves you that she couldn’t handle the pain you brought to her, and thought of such a method to test your love for her. What about you? What did you give her in return? Your gift to her was your marriage to Mei’er!”

“What, what did you say?” Yan Shaozhe opened his eyes wide and grabbed the front of Qian Duoduo’s shirt. There was an unbelievable look in his eyes.

Bang! Xian Lin’er slashed her palm towards Yan Shaozhe and roared furiously, “Don’t touch him! If you dare touch him, I’ll ﬁght it out with you!”

Yan Shaozhe struck a battlement after he was hit by Xian Lin’er. Given his cultivation, he shouldn’t be in such a sorry state as he fell to the ground. However, he seemed as if he had lost his soul right now.

Xian Lin’er was holding onto Qian Duoduo’s shoulder with one hand and letting him rest on her body. She used her other hand to hold his hand and sobbed as she asked, “Why are you telling him all this? What’s the point?”

Qian Duoduo suddenly turned pale, and a wave of weakness caused him to even be unable to lift his eyelids. He slowly shut

them, and his voice also became weaker. “Because… I won’t have the time… to say… it if I don’t… say it… right now. You… suffered so much… for him… in your heart… all these years. How… can he… not learn it? Lin’er… get together… with him… if… you still love him. I never, ever… thought of… stopping you. All these years, we were only… a couple in name… but we aren’t a true couple. You’ve always… remained pure. In fact… I’ve always wanted to… muster the courage to ask you… whether you even like me a little. However, I’ve… never dared to. I’m afraid that… I won’t be able to see you… every day anymore. It’s true… did you know that? All these years, I was… most afraid that… you’d suddenly… end… this marriage. Although it’s… not… really a true… marriage… I was still very comforted by it… in my heart. I’m… going soon. Lin’er, take good… care of yourself. I’ve… never… had the courage……to say anything, but I… ﬁnally… have it… now. I love… you. I really… love… you… more than… myself.”

After he ﬁnished speaking, his body trembled slightly, and he leaned his head in Xian Lin’er’s embrace before he stopped breathing.

“Duoduo, Duoduo…” Lin’er exclaimed anxiously. However, Qian Duoduo didn’t react to her at all.

“Duoduo, you’re so silly. Why didn’t you tell me all this earlier? You… why are you so silly? Why did I fall in love with that scoundrel? I’ve already lost all hope for him in my heart. I know how well you treat me. It’s just that I’ve been unable to cross the barrier in my heart. We were both too silly. I made

you wait for so many years because I was too reserved. Duoduo,

I’m sorry…

“Duoduo, will you wake up? I’ll answer your question now. You also belong in my heart. I don’t know if this is love, but humans have feelings. You’ve been with me for years, and taken meticulous care of me. How could I not know this? I’m also a person with a heart. My heart has already been quietly reformed by you. It’s just that I’ve been unwilling to admit it. I don’t know if that feeling is love, but I really can’t do without you. I can’t leave you. Duoduo, don’t die. Wake up. As long as you wake up, I’ll be your real wife. I’ll accompany you forever. Duoduo…”

Xian Lin’er was weeping, and Yan Shaozhe was in a daze as he sat where he was. There was a depressed look on his face. He silently lowered his head and didn’t even dare to look at Xian Lin’er and Qian Duoduo. In terms of relationships, he was a complete failure.

As he slowly stood up, Yan Shaozhe walked up to Qian Duoduo and Xian Lin’er. He muttered, “Old Qian, you’ve won. I’ve won in terms of abilities. However, you’ve won in terms of relationships. In that regard, I’ve lost to you utterly. You used your persistence to trounce me completely. You’re right. I don’t

deserve Lin’er’s love, and I don’t deserve to be with her. Old Qian, I admire you.”

As he spoke, he bent his waist and bowed respectfully at a ninety-degree angle.

“Cough cough.” At this moment, unfriendly coughs suddenly sounded.

Elder Zhuang stood up and walked to Xian Lin’er’s side. He patted her shoulder and said, “Alright, stop crying. Send Duoduo back to rest.”

“What?” Xian Lin’er was stunned, and lifted her head to look at Elder Zhuang.

Elder Zhuang acted as if nothing had happened, and said, “He’s lost too much blood and even detonated his martial soul.

He’s hurt badly, and can’t drain too much energy. This is why I’ll have to let him sleep for a while. I’ll feed him some medicine when he returns. Given his physical condition, I’m sure he’ll be ﬁne in around ten days’ time.”

“Ah?” Xian Lin’er blinked. There were still tears in her eyes. However, she was completely in a daze. This turn of events was simply too sudden.

Xian Lin’er was in slight disbelief, and her lips were shaking as she asked, “You, didn’t you say just now that…?”

Elder Zhuang smiled and replied, “You were too frantic because you were too concerned about him. Although he has fainted and his pulse is weak, he’s not gone! I said that it was more difﬁcult to treat him given his critical injuries. I didn’t say they were untreatable. Alright, quickly, send him back. The soul beasts are attacking the city with even greater intensity. I’m going to treat the others. Come back to ﬁght too, and be careful not to be careless again.”

After he ﬁnished speaking, Elder Zhuang drifted into the air and disappeared…..

After watching Elder Xuan disappear, Xian Lin’er took a look at Qian Duoduo again. She sensed his body more carefully, and saw that it was true that Qian Duoduo wasn’t dead, although his breathing was weak. She stopped crying, but her face turned slightly red.

Earlier, everyone around could clearly hear her confession. She wasn’t even able to preserve her greatest secret anymore! However, it was truly wonderful that Qian Duoduo wasn’t dead!

Xian Lin’er didn’t dare to look at the others around her, and she carried Qian Duoduo into the air and disappeared towards Shrek Academy.

Elder Zhuang drifted to another place where there were other injured people. He wore a smile on his face. As he treated the wounded, he muttered to himself, “These two kids were really worrisome. Duoduo, you really owe me a huge favor! Haha!”

------

Xian Lin’er and Qian Duoduo’s relationship ﬁnally bore fruit after a life-and-death situation. However, Shrek City was in a disastrous situation right now.

Qian Duoduo was critically injured at the western side of the city, and Xian Lin’er had no choice but to temporarily leave the battleﬁeld. Although the Greenshadow Douluo Elder Song managed to pester the Bear Lord using the speed of her Greenshadow Godly Hawk, the Bear Lord’s terrifying offensive and defensive strength were simply too dominant. Elder Song found it very difﬁcult to hold him off.

The eastern side of the city was in slightly better condition. The Scarlet King’s abilities were slightly inferior, and he was resisted by a Rank 96 elder. The attack of the soul beasts from the east side was also not very ferocious.

However, the northern and southern sides were getting into more and more trouble.

The southern side was where the soul beast army’s main attack was concentrated. Under the leadership of Bi Ji and her immense healing abilities, the soul beasts weren’t afraid of death. Soul tools weren’t able to completely suppress them

anymore. While the explosions of stationary soul cannon shells managed to cause huge losses to the soul beast army, they also strengthened the resolve of the soul beasts. There were already soul beasts that were charging up towards the top of the city wall and starting to engage in close-combat. The students from Shrek Academy were also slowly ﬁnding themselves in melee.

Things were equally bad at the northern side of the city. The Myriad Demon King couldn’t compare to the Bear Lord in terms of offensive strength, whose abilities could completely curbed his own. However, the Myriad Demon King was much more effective on a battleﬁeld then the Bear Lord.

If the Bear Lord was like an assault-type soul master, then the Myriad Demon King was like a control-type soul master.

The Myriad Demon King continuously unleashed countless vines from his body and swept them towards the top of the northern city wall. Although there were elders from the Sea God’s Pavilion who tried to stop him, he was simply too strong, and also very sly. He kept moving around, and the two elders that were attacking him were helpless against him. Given that the soul beast army was approaching from beneath the city wall, they didn’t dare to venture too far away. They could only keep on slashing the Myriad Demon King’s vines.

Even so, more than half of the large soul tools used to defend the city were destroyed by the Myriad Demon King. Furthermore, the vines also became ladders for the soul beasts to climb up the city wall. The northern city wall was in a critical situation. There were more soul beasts charging up towards the top there than on any other side. More and more of the elders from the Sea God’s Pavilion had no choice but to

proceed towards the northern city wall to hold the fort.

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Southern city wall...

The Tang Sect was slowly being integrated into the battle. Ji Juechen was standing in front, and he held his Judgment Sword in both hands.

A lion-shaped, ten-thousand-year soul beast charged up towards the city wall and roared furiously into the sky. He shook the ordinary soldiers off-balance with his roar.

Ji Juechen pointed his Judgment Sword at him, and a sharp streak of sword light shot out. It transformed into a longsword that slashed toward this lion.

However, this lion was very cunning. After sensing the sharp sword intent, it turned around and jumped off the city wall. It was undoubtedly the best way of dodging.

However, the strike of a Thunderous Dragon Claw came down diagonally and blocked its path. A huge cauldron also fell from the sky.

It was struck with paralysis and shock, causing it to freeze in mid-air. A black light shone, and its head was chopped off.

A huge lizard suddenly leapt up from the bottom of the city wall towards the Tang Sect’s formation. It was charging at Jiang Nannan.

Xu Sanshi pulled Jiang Nannan and shifted their positions before his Xuanwu Shield was unleashed. A boom rang out from his shield.

While the huge lizard had charged with ferocious momentum, it was now unable to move even an inch closer, blocked by the Xuanwu Shield. Xu Sanshi pulled Jiang Nannan with his left hand while he unleashed his shield with his right hand. Jiang Nannan exploited the momentum of his pull to ﬂip her body up before she did a handstand on his head. After this, she bent her waist as if she had no bones in her body. Her toes touched the top of the soul beast’s neck.

Her second soul ring lit up, and a strange yellow glow spread from her legs. After this, Jiang Nannan started to spin rapidly, using her body as a pivot.

Jiang Nannan’s second soul skill was called Gravity Control. She wasn’t just controlling her opponent, she was also controlling herself.

The huge lizard’s head was slammed against the wall. Jiang Nannan exerted force with her toes, and directly crushed the central nerves of this thousand-year lizard. Its body started contorting, and it was unable to crawl forward anymore.

Nan Shuishui, Nan Qiuqiu and Ye Guyi followed the members of the Tang Sect, ready to reinforce them if needed. Nan Qiuqiu and Ye Guyi were still ﬁne. They fully understood the abilities of everyone from the Tang Sect, but this was the ﬁrst time Nan Shuishui had witnessed them in action.

She was very impressed with all these young people who possessed six-ringed and even seven-ringed cultivations. Not only did they possess the best combination of soul rings, but each of them had specialized in something. When they unleashed their soul skills, they were extremely strong, and their control was even more frightening. They didn’t waste a single drop of their soul power, and were always able to defeat their enemies with the simplest method.

Ji Juechen was still the most lethal among everyone. When he slashed his Judgement Sword, thousand-year soul beasts were completely unable to resist his strength. Wherever his sword light passed, all the soul beasts that attempted to climb the city wall were killed. Ten-thousand-year soul beasts were only able to resist him slightly before they were overwhelmed. While the movements of his sword were very simple, he was deﬁnitely not inferior to an eight-ringed Soul Douluo in terms of lethality.

More and more soul beasts were charging up towards the top of the city walls. As physical combat started to break out, Shrek Academy fully demonstrated its strength. Every teacher and student possessed great ﬁghting strength!

Furthermore, they shared great chemistry with one another. The assault-type, agility-type, defense-type, auxiliary-type and control-type soul masters coordinated very well with one another. They suffered very few casualties as they managed to ﬁght off the assault of the soul beasts.

The soul rings that the Tang Sect had obtained under the leadership of Xuan Ziwen earlier played a very important role right now. Many of the Shrek City Defense Army’s soul masters were strengthened because of those soul rings, and the overall abilities of the army had greatly increased as a result.

All the stationary soul cannon shells had been ﬁred, and the soul beast army had suffered great casualties. From the air, it was clear that the soul beast army was no longer dense; there were empty spaces in many parts of the army.

Bi Ji had already given her best. However, she was helpless, since many of the stationary soul cannon shells weren’t ﬁred in

her direction.

Soul tools were still very effective even though the battle had now begun to be fought through physical means. Over the past few years, Shrek Academy had started to value the use of soul tools by soul masters. In the Martial Soul Department, there were even special classes designed to instruct soul masters on the use of soul tools.

They weren’t just taught how to use long-range soul tools, but also taught how to operate close-combat soul tools. Along with the help of the Self-Driving Forts, Shrek Academy was able to hold off the onslaught of the soul beasts, even though they were under great pressure.

Different sparks could be seen in the sky and on the ground. The sky was the battleﬁeld of the strong soul masters and soul beasts. From the elders of the Sea God’s Pavilion to the inner and outer courtyard teachers, those that had seven rings or more mainly fought in the sky. Their opponents were soul beasts with cultivations of ﬁfty-thousand-years or more.

Soul masters fought based on their intelligence, abilities, and the help of soul tools. While there were more wounded soul

masters, very few of them died. Once someone was injured, he was immediately replaced while he sought medical attention. After being treated, he would be sent out to ﬁght once again.

The amount of medicine that Shrek Academy had stored could rival that of an empire. It was the result of ten thousand years of accumulation!

Time passed, second after second, as the battle became more and more brutal. The soul beast’s aerial army became even more determined. Even after paying such a huge price, they still weren’t willing to retreat.

------

Two hours passed. Four hours passed…

More and more casualties started to appear on Shrek City’s walls. The carcasses of soul beasts started to pile up, and various colors of soul rings started to appear. Some of them were extremely valuable.

Shrek was on the verge of collapse, but what about the soul beasts? From Bi Ji’s pale face, it was evident that the soul beast army had suffered great losses as well.

As this was an all-out attack, the soul beasts that were charging in front were either thousand-year or ten-thousand- year soul beasts. However, these powerful soul beasts were greatly drained right now. The hundred-year soul beasts that followed behind them were obviously lacking in terms of abilities. Bi Ji knew that the Great Star Dou Forest would have to bear heavy losses even if they won this battle. Although there hadn’t yet been any great losses to their higher-end combat strength, they would lose too many hundred, thousand, and ten-thousand-year soul beasts. If they were struck by the stationary soul cannon shells, they were completely wiped out.

The two thousand stationary soul cannon shells had wiped out a third of the soul beast army. It would take centuries to replenish this number of soul beasts!

However, there was no way out of this war right now. The eyes of all the soul beasts had turned bloodshot by now. It was too difﬁcult to retreat. Only the blood of Shrek City could wash away this hatred of theirs!

Up in the sky, Di Tian was still restrained by Elder Xuan and Elder Mu. At times lights ﬂashed in the sky, showing that Di Tian was struggling.

Six hours of the afternoon had passed!

------

Night descended once again. Shrek City was shaking, and looked like it could collapse at any time. However, it managed to persist for another hour even as it shook. It seemed like there were some special force protecting it that prevented it from collapsing completely.

This special force was called faith. It was a faith in Shrek, and a faith to protect Shrek’s glory.

It had only been two days since the beast wave appeared. However, Shrek City was brought to its knees in just those two days.

A hundred years ago, Shrek Academy’s soul tool development hadn’t reached its current state when the last beast wave appeared. However, Shrek Academy had the Body Sect’s help then, which had enabled them to survive until reinforcements arrived. Furthermore, Bi Ji wasn’t present then, so that beast

wave was naturally not as strong.

Two days. It had only been two days! Even if the reinforcements came at top speed, they couldn’t arrive so quickly.

Even though Shrek was already proud of how they had been performing, as they made the soul beasts who were lying on the ﬂat ground outside the city and on top of the city wall pay a painful price, was Shrek City still going to walk the path of destruction?

The lights of their soul tools had practically disappeared. Almost all the soul tools used to defend the city had been destroyed. The Self-Driving Forts had also retreated into the city due to a lack of Sealed Milk Bottles to power them. The soul engineers driving them drained their own soul power to bring these Self-Driving Forts back into the city.

At the eastern side of the city, Elder Song and Xian Lin’er fought the Bear Lord, but they were continuously being forced back. At the southern city wall, the ﬁghting was already spread across the top of the city wall.

The soul masters were exhausted. Against such a large number of soul beasts, their soul power was continuously drained even though they had the upper hand and kept on killing soul beasts.

Everyone knew that the collapse of Shrek City could happen at anytime. Once one side of the city fell, a chain reaction would begin. All of them grit their teeth and persisted. Even though they knew they were going to die, they didn’t want the collapse of Shrek City to start from their side.

“Boom!” A deafening boom echoed across all of Shrek City. Even those who were busy ﬁghting couldn’t help but turn their attention towards the origin of that deafening boom.

It came from the eastern city wall.

Elder Song’s speed was slowing down as time passed, and as a result of her age. She didn’t manage to dodge one attack, and was struck to the top of the eastern city wall by the Bear Lord’s Darkgolden Terrorclaw.

Suddenly, a huge, irregular hole that was around twenty meters wide appeared in the city wall.

Doomed! The soldiers defending the eastern city wall turned extremely dismal. They were already in such a dire situation. If the city wall was damaged, they would lose the only thing they could depend on. Was the ﬁnal breach going to occur here?

The Bear Lord roared excitedly. The soul beasts outside the eastern side of Shrek City risked everything and charged towards this huge hole.

Shrek City’s soldiers were too fatigued. Even though they knew they had to give their all to plug this hole, they didn’t have the energy to even move their legs. Their soul power had been completely drained. While they really wanted to cover this hole, they were completely helpless right now.

Were they really doomed?

At this critical moment, a beam of gentle golden light suddenly spread out from within Shrek City, coming from the direction of Shrek Academy.

That beam of golden light spread very quickly. In an instant, it reached all the way to the city walls.

All the humans felt warmth as they were immersed in this golden light. They felt an indescribable comfort, and their energy and soul power started to quickly recover. All the soul beasts were also pushed off from the city walls by a strong force.

Surprised cheers sounded from all four sides of the city walls at the same time. Even the stronger soul masters from Shrek quickly retreated to the region covered by the beam of golden light.

Even when the Bear Lord, Myriad Demon King, and Scarlet King attacked with all their might, they weren’t able to shake

this beam of golden light. Right now, the entirety of Shrek City seemed to have been engulfed by an Invincible Barrier.

While the soldiers and soul masters were cheering, the elders from the Sea God’s Pavilion weren’t delighted. Only they knew where that force came from.

It was the strength of the Golden Tree! This strength was the ultimate strength that the ancestors of Shrek had left behind to protect Shrek after they fused with the Golden Tree. It could only be tapped into in the direst of situations!

Chapter 403: Army of Spirits

Elder Mu had used the powers of the Golden Tree once before to support him and Elder Xuan in restraining Di Tian. At this time, the Golden Tree’s powers were used once more to protect the entire city and to help Shrek City’s warriors recover. The amount of energy that this endeavor consumed from the Golden Tree was astounding!

The battle wasn’t over, and the soul beast army remained just outside the city. They were still charging against the wall as if they felt no exhaustion, and the Golden Tree’s energies were being continuously spent. This also meant that Elder Mu and Elder Xuan were drawing less energy from the Golden Tree on their side, and this also meant they would seal Di Tian for a shorter period of time. It was a desperate method to solve their problems at hand without any consideration for the consequences, a solution that they could only turn to when they had no other choice!

Elder Song hovered in midair and felt her soul power regenerating as she gazed into the sky and muttered, “If the Golden Tree is used like that one more time, we may no longer be able to maintain that seal in the sky.”

Unleashing the Golden Tree’s energies directly affected the seal in the sky. The light ripples in the sky were now visibly stronger than before, as if Di Tian’s struggles had become much more intense.

This protection would only allow Shrek’s warriors to last for another two to four more hours. But what about afterwards?

Shrek Academy’s senior individuals were contemplating this problem, and were almost hopeless.

Suddenly, the Valkyrie Douluo, Xian Lin’er pointed to a certain direction and asked, “Mum, look – what’s that?”

She was pointing towards the northwest. She was high in the sky, so she could see clearly, and even though the night was dark, the dark green light that shone faintly from that direction were unnaturally obvious and glaring. Those dark green hues were tinged with dark red and white, and seemed very drifty and ﬂeeting as they moved towards Shrek City.

These dots were still quite sparse and dispersed in the beginning, but they swiftly grew in number within her ﬁeld of

vision. They became dense and compact as they tromped towards Shrek City, and even though they weren’t moving very quickly, they were deﬁnitely moving towards Shrek City.

“What are those things? Are they our reinforcements?” Elder Song focused her attention towards those lights. The night was dark, and those lights were still quite a distance away, so she couldn’t see very clearly.

Xian Lin’er forced a laugh and replied, “My only wish is that those things aren’t reinforcements for the soul beast army.”

The army of soul beasts didn’t seem to sense the arrival of those unwelcome guests, because the golden light that suddenly emerged from Shrek City caused quite a disturbance among them. The Bear Lord, the Myriad Demon King, the Scarlet King, and the other powerful soul beasts were attacking that golden light with every ounce of their strength.

There were quite a few of them now, and it didn’t take long before many different colors dotted the horizon densely in the distance.

Xian Lin’er swiftly descended back into the city. She retrieved a telescopic soul tool and then gazed towards the northwest again, and her face quickly became ghastly pale.

“What are those things? Tell me. What can be worse than total annihilation of Shrek City?” Elder Song laughed bitterly as she spoke.

Xian Lin’er was momentarily stunned. “I can see skeletons, jiangshi, headless horsemen, and many different strange and peculiar creatures. They seem like…”

“The Holy Ghost Church?” Elder Song was also taken aback. If the Holy Ghost Church interfered at a time like this, they were deﬁnitely not here to aid Shrek City. Shrek City was currently besieged by a great army of soul beasts, and the Holy Ghost Church would have only one goal if they were here: they wanted to reap unfair gains from this battle!

There were a spectacular number of soul beasts who had perished on the battleﬁeld, and quite a number of Shrek City’s soldiers were also dead. Those spirits and corpses had always been what the Holy Ghost Church liked best.

“That’s not right! If they were here to reap unfair beneﬁts, they wouldn’t have appeared so quickly. They would have waited until both sides suffered heavy losses before making a move so that they could maximize their proﬁts and gains. Furthermore, they would have to defeat this powerful beast tide. The Holy Ghost Church can’t be that stupid. Can it be that they’re unafraid of the beast tide attacking them?” Xian Lin’er was full of doubts and confusion.

Elder Song’s expression was solemn as she said, “Unless the Holy Ghost Church has something to do with this beast tide from the Great Star Dou Forest... perhaps this has been their arrangement from the start.”

Xian Lin’er snapped around at her mother and said, “Mum, your speculation is too frightening. However, the Great Star Dou Forest’s soul beasts should hate the Holy Ghost Church more than they hate us. How can those soul beasts work together with them?”

Elder Song heaved a sigh and said, “It doesn’t matter whether my guess is frightening or not. The only thing we can do is resign ourselves to fate.”

The Golden Tree’s golden light dome was becoming increasingly weaker, and Shrek’s soul masters had recovered to about ﬁfty percent of their physical energy and their soul power. They had another shot in this battle, but could they really see the light at the end of the tunnel?

Right at this moment, the soul beast army ﬁnally discovered the masses of unwelcome guests that were coming from the northwest. Shrek Academy’s powerful individuals who were hovering and watching in midair heaved a sigh of relief when they saw the soul beasts’ reaction.

A pack of soul beasts separated from the back of the great army outside the western and northern city walls and charged towards those unwelcome guests. Apparently, those unwelcome guests seemed ferocious and unfriendly to them as well.

Elder Song suddenly raised her voice and hollered in the sky, “Our reinforcements are here! Hold on, everyone. Victory is in sight!” Her voice was very loud, and sound waves resonated throughout every corner of Shrek City.

She soared through the sky as she spoke, transformed into a Greenshadow Godly Hawk once more, and ﬂew towards the Bear Lord.

Elderly people had the most experience and the most wisdom. Temporarily disregarding the fact that Elder Song was the strongest individual in Shrek City’s camp for now, her calm response during a crucial moment to utilize these unwelcome guests so that she could galvanize Shrek’s warriors created very important effects.

At this point, Shrek City’s warriors were all fatigued and exhausted. The Golden Tree could only help them recover part of their physical strength and soul power, but it couldn’t take away their fatigue and their exhausted minds. What else was better to boost morale other than reinforcements?

Reinforcements meant hope, the hope to survive!

The Golden Tree’s protection quietly dissipated, and the battle erupted once more after that temporary pause. Shrek’s soul masters had managed to recover part of their strength via the Golden Tree’s powers, and they seemed like they had been injected with steroids as their morale ﬂourished. The

coordination and teamwork that they seemed to have lost due to their fatigue and exhaustion seemed to return, and the soldiers managed to suppress the soul beasts to the point where they couldn’t charge onto the top of the city wall.

This was the ﬁghting strength that morale brought; word of reinforcements had reignited the ﬂames in everyone’s hearts!

The pack of soul beasts who had separated from the army clashed with the strange mass of unwelcome guests in the distance. Both parties started to ﬁght, but they were quite a distance away, and nothing much could be clearly seen. However, everyone could see beams of light glowing here and there, and the soul beasts were clearly unleashing various soul skills to ﬁght those unwelcome guests.

The ﬂickering lights that came from those unwelcome guests in the distance were quickly extinguished, but they seemed like the beast tide when they attacked the city, there were just so many of them! It didn’t take long before the pack of soul beasts were overrun, and the mass of unwelcome guests began to pick up the pace as they charged towards Shrek City.

Xian Lin’er helped her mother ﬁght back soul beasts while she monitored those unwelcome guests in the distance. Reinforcements? Are they really reinforcements? How can those spectral creatures be reinforcements for Shrek City? But they are clearly ﬁghting the army of soul beasts. How else can these forces be explained other than that they are reinforcements?

Furious howls could be heard continuously from within the soul beast army. Orders came down from the higher-ranked soul beasts, and the army didn’t separate any more forces to ﬁght those unwelcome guests. They continued to attack Shrek City arrogantly with everything they had.

The enormous army of spectral creatures were coming closer and closer, and they quickly arrived near the edge of the soul beast army.

Fortunately, the night was dark, and Shrek City’s soldiers couldn’t see anything at all as they fought on the city wall, they could only see dots of light. Under such circumstances, nobody could tell who was here to reinforce them and where they came from. However, everyone had a lot of faith and trust in Elder Song’s words, and they also believed her because they

were craving reinforcements to arrive too much in their hearts.

The spectral army began to launch an offensive. Their point of entry was very coincidental: they charged in from a position between the western and northern fronts at the start of the battle. The soul beasts on these two fronts were led respectively by the Myriad Demon King and the Scarlet King, and they would deﬁnitely ﬁght back if they were attacked. However, they were currently besieging the city with their full strength, and they didn’t have much coordination between them. This external force had actually forced its way deep into those soul beasts’ ranks.

The soul beasts at the back of the army were relatively weaker, most of them being ten-year and hundred-year soul beasts. The spectral army charged through the army of soul beasts like a hot knife through butter.

------

At this moment, there were nine large pitch-black gates located about twenty kilometers northwest of Shrek City that

nobody could see, and these gates were spurting out spectral creatures continuously.

There were skeletons, liches, and frightening headless horsemen among these spectral creatures. Occasionally, there would be enormous creatures like abominations that possessed frightening ﬁghting strength, but there were no creatures stronger than those entities.

There was a tremendous scarlet-gold vertical eye positioned in the sky in the center of and behind those nine gates, the eye ﬂickering with eerie and chilly light.

This vertical eye’s pupil was entirely white like snow, and deathly grey colors ﬁlled the space around it. There were streaks of scarlet-gold colors with sun patterns around those grey hues.

This vertical eye emanated intense spiritual undulations. Mufﬂed incantations could be heard as those scarlet-gold lights transformed into patterns that connected those nine gates together so that they could be opened continuously.

Eye of the Asura, a martial soul true body.

Yes, Huo Yuhao was here. He had returned when Shrek City needed reinforcements most.

He had arrived before evening, but he didn’t rush towards Shrek City as soon as he reached it.

He could clearly see what was happening to Shrek City high up in the sky from a distance. Huo Yuhao wasn’t hasty and impulsive when he witnessed that terrifying beast tide, and he didn’t head down to assist Shrek City despite his roiling emotions.

He was very clear that even though he had become a Soul Sage, and he was far stronger than typical Soul Sages, he was still by himself after all. Could he deal with that tremendous army of soul beasts by himself? He couldn’t, and he would have a very slim chance of charging inside Shrek City and meeting up with his companions, and doing so wouldn’t help the situation. Killing several soul beasts from the outside wouldn’t solve Shrek City’s problems at all, so he had to think of other ways to resolve Shrek City’s dire situation.

Therefore, he began to prepare after studying the situation carefully… preparing for necromancy.

Huo Yuhao was very clear that using necromancy and summoning spectral creatures to the Douluo Continent were the abilities of an evil soul master in everyone’s eyes. However, he couldn’t be bothered with his reputation at a time like this, and helping Shrek out of their siege was more important than anything else in the world.

He began his necromantic spells. He relied on his formidable spiritual power and unleashed one of the strongest necromantic spells that the Calamity Necromancer Electrolux had left on his spiritual imprints: Spectral Calamity!

He couldn’t unleash the full strength of Spectral Calamity because he wasn’t strong enough, so he could only summon those relatively weaker spectral creatures. Under such circumstances, they were the limit he could reach with his current strength.

Those large black gates opened one after another and connected to the demiplane Electrolux had left behind for him. Huo Yuhao began to control and command those spectral creatures when they appeared, one after another.

He didn’t mobilize his spectral army as soon as they appeared. The spectral army needed time to accumulate, and when the day was still bright, he was afraid that his spectral army would cause chaos and panic in Shrek City when they appeared on the battleﬁeld. Therefore, he waited until nightfall and the sky was completely dark, so nobody could clearly see the ﬂatlands from a distance. Only then did Huo Yuhao command the spectral army that the Spectral Calamity had summoned towards Shrek City.

Huo Yuhao had transformed into the Eye of the Asura, and he had released as much spiritual power as he could. He relied on the demiplane that Electrolux had left behind for him to summon a great many spectral creatures within a short period of time.

Huo Yuhao understood that his spectral army would be no match for this beast tide because he couldn’t summon any top- tier spectral creatures. However, what he had to do now was buy time for Shrek, and he had to delay and hurt the soul beast

army as much as possible! Only then could he create an opportunity for Shrek to survive. This method was a lot more meaningful and practical than just throwing himself onto the battleﬁeld.

Just as Huo Yuhao had predicted, his spectral army appeared at the most opportune time because of his meticulous calculations. This army of reinforcements came very suddenly but at the right time! Huo Yuhao managed to galvanize and reinvigorate Shrek City’s morale. Furthermore, as luck would have it, he had mobilized his spectral army right when the Golden Tree was healing Shrek City’s warriors. Shrek City’s dire situation was instantly greatly ameliorated.

------

Over on the eastern front, the city wall had been broken through, but earth-type soul masters swiftly repaired it. The battle was still at its peak.

Huo Yuhao chose to charge in from the northwest because he had discovered that Bi Ji was too adept with healing on the southern front. Even though he didn’t know she was the Emerald Swan, who was ranked number four amongst the Ten

Great Savage Beasts, he was unwilling to face an adversary like that. His spectral creatures weren’t afraid of death, and his most important task was to deal as much damage to the soul beast army as possible. Huo Yuhao’s spectral army would achieve a far smaller effect if he attacked on Bi Ji’s front.

Huo Yuhao’s strange spectral army burst onto the battleﬁeld, most of them were skeletal soldiers and jiangshi, who were low-tier undead. However, even though they were considered low-tier, they were still strong; two or three such undead stacked together had ﬁghting strength comparable to a ten- year soul beast. Other undead, like those headless horsemen and abominations, were considered especially ferocious in battle. Furthermore, these undead were far less afraid of death than even soul beasts, and they didn’t know what pain and fear were. All they cared about was attacking manically.

Under such circumstances, the situation was gradually developing towards one that was beneﬁcial for Shrek City.

Huo Yuhao’s spectral army was rapidly spent, but the undead creatures spawned continuously from behind. At this moment, the entire spectral army had charged onto the battleﬁeld, and seemed endless as they charged madly towards the northwestern front.

The Scarlet King and the Myriad Demon King had realized where the problem was at this point, but they still had to deal with the elders from the Sea God’s Pavilion!

Every single elder from the Sea God’s Pavilion was a veteran of battle; their age had given them a multitude of experience, and made them quite resilient. Even though they could see what their reinforcements consisted of from the sky, it didn’t matter why these unwelcome guests were here right now; the enemy of their enemy was their friend. Currently, the army of soul beasts was the greatest threat to Shrek City. Therefore, they tried their best to preoccupy and restrain those powerful soul beasts so that they couldn’t direct the soul beast army, and so that they wouldn’t participate in the battle against the undead creatures.

------

The Eye of the Asura quivered and ﬁnally descended from the sky, landing on the ground as it reverted to Huo Yuhao’s original ﬁgure.

The black gates closed up one after another, Huo Yuhao’s spiritual power was almost completely spent. He had no choice but to stop the Spectral Calamity.

Huo Yuhao still felt a little afraid as he stared at the immense army of undead. He knew that his body couldn’t keep up with his current spiritual power. If he used this necromantic spell as a Titled Douluo, he would probably be more frightening than any evil soul master, as he would possess an army of undead that was truly endless.

If he could have powerful undead like liches and bone dragons, he could directly convert living beings into undead after death, and he would possess the strength to ﬁght against powerful opponents.

This thought disappeared as soon as it appeared in Huo Yuhao’s mind. The pursuit of strength and greatness made him momentarily excited, but he broke out in a cold sweat in the next moment, because he remembered something that Electrolux had told him before.

Electrolux had told him that he couldn’t rely on this powerful ability to control undead. Otherwise, disaster and

bloodshed would befall the Continent if Huo Yuhao lost control of his undead army! That was very much something that he did not want to see!

Huo Yuhao crossed his legs and sat down. He turned his sight inwards and withdrew his soul rings into his body. After his last rose-gold and red soul ring entered his body, he became entirely transparent, before he disappeared into the air, just like that.

Concrete-material spiritual power allowed his million-year soul ring from the Skydream Iceworm to evolve once more. Imitation had become part of his innate abilities, and even though his spiritual power was almost entirely spent, Imitation would still naturally protect him.

Huo Yuhao could not be thinking about how much damage his undead army could do to the army of soul beasts. His top priority at the moment was to recover his spiritual power as quickly as possible so that he could continue working hard to defend Shrek City.

------

Bi Ji could see what was happening on the northwestern front, but she couldn’t leave her own side behind because they needed her protection. Intel passed from soul beast to soul beast and eventually to her, and she quickly found out the details about what was happening. The Emerald Swan’s elegant face became ghastly pale.

Where did this army of undead come from? Are they controlled by humans? If so, how frightening is that?

She felt her heart ache as she watched soul beasts die one after another. Their losses had far exceeded their previous estimations.

The Beast God Di Tian knew that Shrek would be hard to deal with. Therefore, he had personally engaged in battle as soon as possible so that he could take out Shrek’s most ferocious ﬁghting strength as quickly as possible.

Soul beasts weren’t entirely shut off from the world. At the very least, they knew about Elder Mu’s death.

However, Shrek’s hidden strength still exceeded their judgment. Elder Mu’s spirit was still around, and he had teamed up with Elder Xuan to seal Di Tian away. This had rendered the army of soul beasts leaderless, and they could only ﬁght independently in terms of commandeering their fellow soul beasts.

That wasn’t all. Those stationary soul cannon shells ﬁred from Shrek City brought unimaginable pain and damage to the army of soul beasts. Many soul beasts, even top-tier soul beasts, didn’t know what was going on before they were turned into dust.

Several thousand stationary soul cannon shells! These shells had caused more damage and injuries to the soul beasts than the frontline combat.

More than a million soul beasts resided in the Great Star Dou Forest, but most of them were between ten to one hundred years old, while some couldn’t even be considered soul beasts.

This time, even though the Great Star Dou Forest’s soul beasts had swarmed out, they had only mobilized about four hundred thousand soul beasts. Among them had been more

than three hundred thousand soul beasts who had between ten to one hundred years of cultivation.

But now? How many soul beasts were left? There were less than two hundred thousand soul beasts remaining, which meant more than forty percent of the soul beast army had perished on the battleﬁeld.

They were only assaulting a single human city! Shrek City wasn’t considered a large-scale city, like the various empires’ capital cities, but it had already caused so much damage to the Great Star Dou Forest’s soul beasts. More than a hundred thousand of the soul beasts who had perished died from those stationary soul cannon shells.

At this moment, the ﬂatlands all around Shrek City were strewn with the carcasses of soul beasts. Some soul rings had been extinguished due to time, but new soul rings drifted out from other soul beasts who had just died.

So what if they emerged victorious in this battle? Could they still charge into the human world like they had imagined at the start so that they could weaken humans as much as possible?

It was no longer possible!

Bi Ji was clear that even if they won this battle, the soul beasts wouldn’t gain much from this victory. After all, there wasn’t much in the human world that soul beasts desired. The soul beasts were only ﬁghting for their survival.

But what were they going to do after this battle? Were they to continue ﬁghting? Unless they didn’t want the Great Star Dou Forest to survive, continuing to ﬁght would only lead to their own death and destruction.

Di Tian was powerful, but he couldn’t ﬁght against the entire world by himself! Shrek Academy had their ways to restrict him, but did the other empires in the Douluo Continent not have similar methods? Therefore, even if the soul beasts could annihilate Shrek City, the Great Star Dou Forest’s soul beasts could only retreat back into the forest!

This beast tide had become meaningless after their losses amounted to more than forty percent of their total forces. They didn’t weaken the humans! Instead, the humans dealt a heavy blow to the strength accumulated over ten thousand years by the Great Star Dou Forest!

What do I do? What should I do?

Bi Ji was lost. She could only command her kinsmen as she unleashed healing soul skills one after another so that she could save as many of her compatriots’ lives as possible.

The undead army was still ﬁghting. Their battle against the soul beasts was like the soul beasts’ battle against Shrek City’s warriors; the army of undead suffered massive losses, and ten undead had to die to kill one soul beast. But so what?

Huo Yuhao had relied on his formidable spiritual power and the demiplane that the Calamity Necromancer Electrolux had left behind for him, and summoned a hundred thousand low- tier undead creatures.

If these undead clashed with the army of soul beasts in a frontal battleﬁeld, those undead would be rapidly overrun.

However, the soul beast army had been ﬁghting for two days and two nights, while the top-tier soul beasts were currently preoccupied in battles with Shrek Academy’s elites on the other side. Under such circumstances, what could the other

soul beasts do? A hundred thousand undead charging through their ranks and the disturbance they caused was enough to affect the tide of battle.

Furthermore, even though those undead didn’t know how to cooperate, injuries didn’t really affect their ﬁghting strength. Their point of entry was excellent, and the army of soul beasts on the western and northern fronts descended into chaos. Their assault on Shrek City was now conspicuously weaker than before.

Reinforcements... reinforcements were here! Shrek’s warriors on the city walls didn’t know that an army of undead was their reinforcements, but the soul beasts’ slowing charge reinvigorated their spirits. The soul beasts who had climbed to the top of these two sides were forced back down, and some soul masters who were no longer preoccupied took this temporary break to recover their soul power.

A furious and deafening roar echoed high up in the sky. Golden-yellow clouds rolled in the sky, and an enormous ﬁgure could be faintly seen struggling in the clouds.

Di Tian couldn’t participate in the battle below, but his formidable strength meant he still had a connection to the army of soul beasts, and he could still feel their situation. He had discovered that things were going wrong, and he redoubled his efforts to break through the Taotie Seal that

Elder Xuan and Elder Mu were using together to hold him down.

The army of undead began to dwindle in number, and new ones no longer charged in from the distance. There were fewer and fewer undead, but the army of soul beasts that they were attacking was also dwindling!

Time continued to pass as the soul beasts attacking on the northern and western fronts had their ﬁghting strength greatly weakened.

Boom, boom, boom...

Black lighting detonated throughout the glowing clouds high up in the sky. Cracks began to appear in the sky; Di Tian was ﬁnally about to break out from his seal!

Elder Mu and Elder Xuan had restrained Di Tian for three days with the Golden Tree’s support. However, the Golden Tree had consumed a lot of energy when it had healed the city’s soldiers, and when it forcibly repelled the soul beasts which were ﬂooding in. Furthermore, Di Tian could feel the dire situation that his kinsmen were in, and he couldn’t be bothered with his own injuries as he tried to break out of the seal at any cost. The seal was about to crumble!

The soul beasts were galvanized a little when they heard Di Tian’s roar.

The Emerald Swan communicated with the other three Savage Beasts across the battleﬁeld, and ﬁnally gave the order to temporarily retreat.

------

The swarming beast tide gradually retreated, but they circled around Shrek City to the northwest as they retreated.

They would have to resolve the problems behind them if they wanted to exert any pressure in front of them. Even though

they didn’t know where the army of undead had come from, these things were far too irritating. Their assault on Shrek City could stop for now, but they had to exterminate these unwelcome guests, no matter what!

What happened afterwards proved the gap between the undead army and the soul beast army. When the army of soul beasts from all four fronts surrounded them, it didn’t take more than ﬁfteen minutes for them to overrun the army of undead, until there wasn’t a single unliving creature left. Even now, not many people could see who their reinforcements were from the top of Shrek City’s walls.

------

The soul beasts had retreated, but they didn’t move too far away. They began to eat the carcasses of the soul beasts that had died to replenish themselves.

The four Savage Beasts ﬁnally rendezvoused with one another. They didn’t speak at all, and their faces looked as black as could be. They had lost this battle, and the immense losses they had sustained were heavy blows to the Great Star Dou Forest’s vitality. This was especially true since the

Auspicious Emperor Beast, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, had passed away.

They were all waiting for Di Tian to break out of his seal. Only the Beast God could make the ﬁnal decision about whether they should attack or retreat.

------

The top of Shrek’s city walls were wretched and in tatters.

In the same moment that the army of soul beasts retreated, everyone slumped to the ground on the city walls. This included soldiers, soul masters, and even Shrek Academy’s students and teachers from the inner courtyard.

They had been locked in bitter combat for a day and a night, and they had consumed far too much energy in both mind and body.

At this moment, there was hardly anyone who could still stand on Shrek’s city walls.

The boost to morale brought about by the arrival of reinforcements vanished with the soul beasts’ retreat, and only surging exhaustion and fatigue were left behind.

The four Savage Beasts didn’t know this, but if they had continued with another assault at this moment, they would probably have achieved impressive results!

Everyone from the Tang Sect was also slumped limply on the ground. This group included Nan Shuishui, Nan Qiuqiu, and Ye Guyi. Everyone’s clothes were stained with the blood of soul beasts.

Reality proved that the battle strategies that Bei Bei had arranged were very sensible. They relied on their mutual chemistry and how close they were to each other to maintain themselves as one body even in the toughest of times.

Nan Shuishui was a Soul Douluo, and in addition to Ye Guyi and Nan Qiuqiu, the three of them became effective reinforcements. Even though everyone was injured, everyone managed to survive.

Ji Juechen became the most brilliant celebrity on the southern city wall after this battle. He had killed countless soul beasts with his Judgement Sword, and there were many warriors and soul masters from Shrek’s city defense army who were hollering, “Sword God!”

At this moment, their Sword God couldn’t keep himself together anymore, and he panted heavily as he leaned against the battlement. However, not a single tinge of exhaustion could be seen in his eyes, there was only excitement.

Yes, he had managed to achieve a better understanding of swordplay through this battle, and had achieved some breakthroughs with his own strength.

Ever since he got together with Jing Ziyan, many new things had been added to his life. This time, he had relied on this continuous battle and danger to infuse these new elements into his sword intent. For him, doing so was more important than raising his soul power.

Bei Bei was also panting in similar fashion, but there was a look of anxiety on his face as he stared into the sky. Shrek’s perils hadn’t been completely resolved.

“Look, what’s that?” Xu Sanshi suddenly raised his hand forcibly and pointed into the sky.

Everyone followed the direction his ﬁnger was pointing, and could see a shadow soaring through the air in the distance. This shadow came straight for Shrek City, and descended to the city wall. A trail of green ﬂames ﬂickering with strange images followed behind this shadow.

The green ﬂames were the mark of Shrek. It also meant that this person, who was ﬂying back from a distance, was friendly!

“Reinforcements?” Everyone’s eyes sparkled when they thought about Elder Song’s exclamation from before. Shrek’s city walls were swimming with victims who were wounded and exhausted, but the soul beasts had suffered far, far heavier losses than Shrek did. Quite a few soul masters had perished in battle, but there were a lot more who had survived.

The Tang Sect’s members quivered when they felt a wave of peculiar spiritual undulations, and the shadow that was ﬂying through the air landed beside them.

The night was dark, but this shadow carried Shrek’s green signal, so his soaring ﬁgure was glaringly clear. This person quickly descended from the sky and landed on top of the city wall. Furthermore, he landed amid the Tang Sect’s members.

“Yuhao!” Everyone from the Tang Sect was mired in extreme exhaustion at this moment, but they couldn’t help but exclaim in pleasant surprise when they saw him.

Yes! Wasn’t that Huo Yuhao who was descending from the sky?

Huo Yuhao had recovered his spiritual power and sensed the changes in Shrek City at the same time. He had managed to escape from under the Evileye Tyrant King’s nose, so it wasn’t hard to imagine how strong his spiritual power was.

When he discovered that the army of soul beasts had temporarily retreated, he ﬂew to Shrek City without hesitation. Of course, he took a long detour to avoid the soul beasts that were concentrated on the northwestern front, and arrived on the southern side of the city. He used Spiritual Detection and quickly found his buddies.

“Eldest senior brother, second senior brother, third senior brother... I’m back.” Tears welled up in Huo Yuhao’s eyes when he saw his buddies strewn all over the ground. However, he didn’t sob out loud. Instead, he swiftly released his spiritual power to check on everyone’s wounds.

He heaved a sigh of relief when he was sure that everyone was more or less ﬁne, and sat down beside Bei Bei.

Bei Bei stared at Huo Yuhao and forced a laugh as he said, “You’re back after all, Yuhao. You’ve really caused quite a disaster this time!”

Huo Yuhao forced a laugh too and said, “I know, and I’m sorry. Eldest senior brother, I…”

Xu Sanshi said, “That’s enough, Bei Bei. How can you blame Yuhao for this disaster? He didn’t know that Qiu’er was the Three-Eyed Golden Lion! Are you saying that our Yuhao was supposed to die instead?”

Bei Bei turned towards Huo Yuhao and sighed faintly. “You shouldn’t have come back.”

Huo Yuhao gazed back at Bei Bei and said, “I had to come back, eldest senior brother.”

Bei Bei glared at him. “The beast tide is still here. Haven’t you considered that you’ll create a spark for Shrek and the Tang Sect?”

Huo Yuhao looked up at the gash in the sky that was becoming larger and larger. “Is that Elder Xuan sealing away Di Tian? This beast tide should be ending soon.”

Excitement ﬂowed in Bei Bei’s eyes. He shook his head and said, “No, Elder Xuan isn’t the only one. Our ancestor is also there.”

“Ancestor?” Huo Yuhao was momentarily stunned before he recovered. His eyes sparkled as he asked, “You… you’re saying, our teacher is there, too?”

Huo Yuhao’s emotions rippled, and everyone from the Tang Sect around him instantly felt a wave of ﬂourishing spiritual pressure radiate from his body, shaking everyone’s hearts.

Bei Bei exclaimed in astonishment, “Yuhao, your spiritual power…!”

Chapter 404: The Berserk Beast God

Huo Yuhao couldn’t care about anything else and quickly rushed over in front of Bei Bei before squatting down. “Eldest senior, did you mention earlier that teacher sealed the Beast God Di Tian?”

Bei Bei nodded and answered, “Yes! Although my great- grandfather has already passed away, he sealed his spirit in the Golden Tree. When the beast wave started, and Di Tian attacked, Elder Xuan wasn’t able to handle him on his own, and my great-grandfather used the power of the Golden Tree to seal Di Tian along with Elder Xuan!”

“Teacher!” Huo Yuhao peered into the sky and the emotions that he had been suppressing ﬁnally burst out. His tears ﬂowed, and he knelt down as he continued staring up into the sky.

At this point, a deafening boom echoed across the sky. Following this, a huge golden ﬁgure separated itself from the sky before descending towards Shrek City. The entire sky instantly turned dark, and an indescribable, yet terrifying aura descended from the sky.

Di Tian had ﬁnally broken the seal! Furious dragon roars resonated across the sky, and patches of purple burned in the sky around him.

That golden ﬁgure that had separated itself from the sky turned back into its human form. It was Elder Xuan, and the projection of Elder Mu subtly surfaced beside him. However, he was much, much weaker than before. He also seemed very pale, and there were fresh bloodstains around his lips.

Sealing the Golden Eyes Black Dragon King, whose cultivation exceeded eight hundred thousand years, had over- stimulated his blood, and Elder Xuan was also greatly drained in the process.

Just like Di Tian could sense what was happening in the outside world, Elder Mu and Elder Xuan could do the same, too. Even they didn’t expect that Shrek City could hold on without reinforcements, given the ferocious beast wave. They had also inﬂicted many casualties on the Great Star Dou Forest’s side.

More than forty percent of the soul beast army had been killed! This was an extremely heavy blow to the forest!

While Elder Mu and Elder Xuan were very proud of Shrek’s ﬁghting strength, they didn’t think this was a good thing. This situation virtually compelled Di Tian and the Great Star Dou Forest to wipe out Shrek completely. Even if the soul beasts had to retreat, they wouldn’t be willing to spare Shrek after the immense losses that Shrek had inﬂicted on them.

Di Tian was so furious that he was close to going berserk.

There was no point in saying anything else at this moment.

While the soul beast armies on the northern and western sides were greatly fatigued, the Beast God’s mighty aura was ﬁnally felt again, and they distributed themselves once again under the command of the four Savage Beasts. The soul beast army on the western side displayed an attacking formation and was waiting for Di Tian’s order.

At this point, spots of light started to appear in the distance. These spots were very attention-catching, though there weren’t many of them. At least, there weren’t more than the spectral army Huo Yuhao had summoned. However, they

managed to ﬂy over rapidly even as they faced Di Tian’s immense suppression.

This was especially true for a green spot that was ﬂying in the front. It was like a shooting star. Furthermore, it expanded in size as it charged forward. Slowly, it turned into a huge, green ﬁreball. Even against Di Tian’s suppression, it still continued to burst forward.

“Di Tian, you have to see whether I agree if you want to destroy Shrek! Let’s ﬁght again after a hundred years!” a vigorous voice called out, resonating across the entire sky, and a huge patch of green light instantly ﬁlled the sky. Di Tian’s immense suppression was forcefully resisted just like that.

After hearing this voice, Elder Xuan’s tense face relaxed a little. Reinforcements had ﬁnally arrived. He was both very disgusted and irked by the owner of that voice. However, it sounded extremely cordial to him right now.

How many people were there in the Douluo Continent that could resist the Beast God’s suppression on his own? The owner of that voice was none other than the sect leader of the Body Sect, the Body Douluo Du Busi!

Yes, the Body Sect had arrived as reinforcements!

Whether it was Elder Xuan, Elder Mi, or the elders from the Sea God’s Pavilion, no one had expected the Body Sect to be the ﬁrst to arrive as reinforcements.

Shrek Academy and the Body Sect didn’t share a harmonious relationship. The ﬁght between Elder Mu and Du Busi’s brother was a painful and tragic memory for both parties. Elder Mu’s back was bent out of shape following that ﬁght, and he eventually passed away from his condition, while Du Busi’s brother died early.

While this hatred between both parties wasn’t unforgettable, it was still deeply remembered.

However, Du Busi actually arrived just when Shrek Academy needed help the most. It hadn’t even been two days! Even if news was passed down to them immediately, and they set off immediately, they might not have been so quick.

Du Busi’s cultivation was slightly superior to Elder Xuan’s, and he was already an Ultimate Douluo. Even though he had just become an Ultimate Douluo, and his abilities were weaker than the Darkness Holy Dragon and the Dragon Emperor Douluo Long Xiaoyao, he was still one of the strongest soul masters in the world right now.

Even though Di Tian, who was already hurt after breaking the seal, could still defeat him, he wouldn’t be able to do it quickly. With Du Busi’s presence, Di Tian was going to be kept busy, and there was no better news than this.

“Du Busi, it’s you again! Since you’re courting death, I’ll fulﬁll your wish!” Di Tian’s furious roar echoed across the entire sky. The dark night sky suddenly turned purple. Even the green that Du Busi released couldn’t conceal this purple glow. All of Shrek City and the carcasses of soul beasts outside the city were dyed purple.

Huge purplish bubbles started to descend from the sky, each of them with a diameter of more than ten meters. They released thick purplish fog, and these bubbles engulfed the entire surface area of Shrek City together.

Outside Shrek City, the soul beast army led by the four Savage Beasts quickly retreated. The soul beasts quieted down and ceased their furious roars. Every soul beast from the soul beast army seemed to have its mouth sealed, and didn’t dare to utter any sound.

Du Busi had just arrived. He initially thought that he could scare Di Tian slightly along with the rest of the strong soul masters from Shrek. He hadn’t expected the Beast God to make a move immediately.

He didn’t understand why Di Tian was so furious, either.

When Di Tian was sealed earlier, he could only sense that the soul beast army had suffered heavy losses, but he couldn’t completely tell what the extent of those losses was. Earlier, he had immediately used his spiritual sense to scan the entire area. When he saw the devastation and discovered that more than forty percent of his army had been killed, he was infuriated!

Just like Elder Xuan and Elder Mu believed, this ﬁght couldn’t be reversed anymore. Even if the beast wave retreated, this blood vengeance still had to be avenged!

Di Tian was naturally aware of Du Busi’s abilities. However, he was already extremely furious. No matter who came, he would still take action. He was willing to sacriﬁce everything to destroy Shrek!

Du Busi wore a serious look on his face. As he moved, he transformed into a hundred-meter tall giant in the air. Intense green lights shone from his body. Amidst these green lights, there was a subtle golden glow. From the looks of it, this giant was like a serious and solemn godly statue.

He didn’t dare to hold back against a strong opponent like Di Tian. The moment he appeared, he immediately activated the second awakening of his Body Soul.

He unleashed his terrifying ﬁghting strength and mimicked a lifting action. Streaks of green light were released from his body as they attacked the purplish bubbles in the sky. Every streak of green light managed to accurately locate a purplish bubble. Similarly, the streaks of green light engulfed the entire place.

Green and purple were clearly separated. However, Di Tian’s purplish bubbles seemed to overwhelm the green lights unleashed by Du Busi.

It was Di Tian’s Black Dragon Annihilation, which was also his strongest area attack. He rarely used this soul skill. Every time he used this soul skill, he would lose some of his longevity. Even though he had already lived for more than eight hundred thousand years, his regard for his own life was still greater than other Savage Beasts. Right now, he used this soul skill because he was furious. This showed the extent of his hatred.

Du Busi’s green lights weren’t weak, either. They were called Banquet of Death and were his eighth soul skill. Every streak of green light was ﬁlled with poison, and it was one of his strongest area attacks.

Green against purple, Banquet of Death against Black Dragon Annihilation. Both parties clashed at this moment.

The purplish bubbles were unexpectedly weak. They burst immediately after contacting the green lights. However, the purplish bubbles transformed into countless, smaller bubbles

after bursting, and descended at an even quicker speed. It was as if the bubbles were raining down.

The green lights also transformed after contacting the purplish bubbles. They turned into green whirlpools, and their corrosive strength instantly spread out.

Many small purplish bubbles were devoured by these green whirlpools, but the whirlpools were also quickly destroyed after devouring the bubbles.

This was a clash of strength. There wasn’t any ﬂashiness in it.

The green lights and whirlpools were eventually all put out by the purplish bubbles. There was still one-third of the initial purplish bubbles remaining, and they continued to descend from the sky towards Shrek City.

Streaks of light were released from Shrek City to resist these purplish bubbles. They were the work of the Titled Douluo from Shrek Academy.

However, the purplish bubbles were too strong and domineering. Tremendous booms started to echo from every corner of Shrek City.

Groans started to sound from all directions. The purplish bubbles managed to hurt six to seven Titled Douluo to varying degrees, and drained their power.

This was the strength of Di Tian, the Golden Eyes Black Dragon King, and Beast God!

In mid-air, Du Busi also appeared extremely dismal as he suffered the greatest impact. He groaned and picked himself up before charging towards Di Tian. He now stood before the Beast God!

At this point, the reinforcements arrived. The strongest soul masters from the Body Sect were ﬂying in front. All of them had at least seven rings, and there were even eight Titled Douluo among them. It was practically the entire strength of the Body Sect. This help that they were offering was extremely critical!

Furthermore, it wasn’t just the Body Sect that had arrived. There were more than a hundred soul masters behind them, and they all had at least six rings. Among them, ﬁve were even Titled Douluo!

This meant that there were thirteen Titled Douluo in this wave of reinforcements. In addition, all these soul masters were top-tier soul masters!

After they arrived in Shrek City, they quickly dispersed to the four walls.

All the Titled Douluo rose into the sky and watched as the Body Douluo fought the Beast God.

One of the Titled Douluos arrived in front of Elder Xuan. “Elder Xuan, I hope we’re not too late.”

Elder Xuan recognized this person. He was the Golden Body Douluo from the Body Sect, and his martial soul was his trunk. His cultivation was extremely high; he was a Rank 96 Transcendent Douluo. In the Body Sect, he was only inferior to Body Douluo Du Busi!

“Old Jin, all of you came just in time. If you were any later, we wouldn’t have been able to hold them off anymore. We really owe you a big favor!” Elder Xuan laughed heartily.

The Golden Douluo Jin Peng replied, “Alright, if you really want to talk about favors, you don’t owe us anything. Do you think we came here willingly? To be honest, our sects aren’t close enough for us to do this.”

Elder Xuan was stunned, but admitted, “That’s true. This is why I was surprised to see all of you. This…”

Jin Peng said, “Shrek Academy performed a good deed by saving everyone from the Heavenly Soul Empire who was captured during the Continental Elite Youth Soul Master Tournament. Those who were captured were all young talents of our empire. We have to return this favor. It was that kid

called Huo Yuhao from your Academy who came to our capital to seek help. He left immediately after leaving that information.

“However, those who were rescued recognized him as the one who brought people to Sunrise City to carry out the rescue mission. As a result, the sect leader was summoned by His Majesty. After a brief discussion, we quickly rushed over. As time was tight, we sent our best people ﬁrst. There will be more reinforcements arriving at a later point. Our troops are at the border and they can’t make it over, but we still have a thousand soul masters who have been deployed.”

Yuhao, it was Yuhao? Elder Xuan was delighted when he heard that Huo Yuhao was the one who had sought help for them. This meant that Huo Yuhao was still alive! This was great news, and the reinforcements even arrived just in time! With the Body Sect and the Heavenly Soul Empire’s help, Shrek would be able to last for another few days even if the soul beast army attacked Shrek City with all its might.

Furthermore, could the soul beasts from the Great Star Dou Forest bear such huge losses?

Jin Peng continued speaking, “The Star Luo and the Dou Ling Empires should receive your SOS soon. Their reinforcements will arrive in at most two days. What’s going on with the Great Star Dou Forest? Why is there another beast wave? Regardless we’ll take it that we’ve returned the favor after this.”

Elder Xuan naturally didn’t stand on ceremony right now. He nodded and replied, “Alright. Thanks a lot.”

This was karma! Shrek Academy had done its best to save the hostages from the three empires, and now they were repaying Shrek’s favor. No wonder the Body Sect was here, they came here because of the Heavenly Soul Empire. Right now, the Body Sect was the sect in charge of protecting the Heavenly Soul Empire, and they shared a close relationship with the imperial family.

Of course, the Heavenly Soul Empire’s timely help to Shrek Academy was also an attempt for them to get into the good books of Shrek Academy. To some extent, Shrek Academy was

located in the Heavenly Soul Empire’s territory, and most of its students also came from the Heavenly Soul Empire. Many of the students that left Shrek took up senior positions in the Heavenly Soul Empire. The imperial family of the empire deciding to send help to Shrek Academy was undoubtedly a

way of expressing their goodwill, and an attempt to pull Shrek Academy to their side. They were killing two birds with one stone.

The most important thing was that Huo Yuhao managed to deliver the information in time. He had evidently guessed that there would be some kind of reaction by the Great Star Dou Forest. However, if the beast wave didn’t arrive…

Elder Xuan sighed in his heart. It would have been a story of the boy who cried wolf. Of course, that would still have been better than this. At most, they would have continued as enemies with the Body Sect.

“Is Di Tian crazy?” Elder Mu’s voice suddenly sounded beside Elder Xuan.

Elder Xuan quickly lifted his head and look into the sky.

Di Tian’s body with burning with deep purplish ﬂames. He acted like he wanted to pierce the skies with every attack, and Du Busi was forced to retreat. It seemed like Du Busi couldn’t hold on anymore. Di Tian’s majestic aura was extremely overwhelming.

Elder Xuan’s voice cracked as he asked, “Is he, is he burning his own life energy?”

Elder Mu replied, “No, he should be exhausting all his powers. He has evidently discovered our reinforcements, and is planning to use his strength to turn the situation around! If Du Busi can’t handle it anymore, let’s replace him. We need to restrain Di Tian at all costs. We won’t have to be afraid of them in two days’ time when all our reinforcements arrive. The combination of all the elite soul masters and soldiers from the three empires should be enough to suppress all the soul beasts from the Great Star Dou Forest.”

BAM!

Before Elder Mu and Elder Xuan could rise into the sky, an explosive boom sounded above them.

Du Busi was struck from the sky. His body was ﬂashing with bolts of purple lightning, and he spat out blood. Di Tian had several wounds on his body, too. He was willing to be hurt in order to deal a heavy blow to Du Busi!

“All of them have to die! We have to avenge the Emperor Beast and all the soul beasts! Even if I die here today, I must wipe all of them out!” Di Tian’s voice echoed across the entire city. He peered into the sky and roared furiously, while the purple ﬂames on his body gradually turned purplish-gold.

Elder Xuan and Elder Mu’s expressions changed. Given Di Tian’s eight-hundred-thousand-year cultivation, Shrek was bound to suffer heavy casualties even if the Body Sect was here to reinforce them. It might even be possible that the city would be destroyed, and everyone would be annihilated. After all, there were still a hundred thousand soul beasts outside the city!

“Di Tian, don’t you dare. If you dare to destroy Shrek, I’ll stop the legacy of the Great Star Dou Forest from being passed down.” At this point, a strong spiritual intent was suddenly transmitted from Shrek City’s southern city wall.

This spiritual intent immediately spread across the entire sky above Shrek City. All the Titled Douluo could hear it clearly, as could Di Tian.

Following this, a ﬁgure that exuded golden light slowly drifted above the southern city wall. Behind him, a rose-gold projection slowly revealed itself. It had the appearance of the Emperor Beast, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion!

“Yuhao?” Elder Mu and Elder Xuan exclaimed at the same time.

The shining spiritual intent and the person who rose into the sky was indeed Huo Yuhao. Right now, seven of his soul rings glowed. They were white, purple, black, black, black, rose- gold, and red. Everyone was shocked by the weird colors of his soul rings.

As he rose into the sky, several ﬁgures leapt up one after another and followed him. Yan Shaozhe, Cai Mei’er, Xian Lin’er, and the rest protected him in the center.

Among them, Xian Lin’er was the ﬁrst to realize that Huo Yuhao had returned. Only she could guess that the undead army that had dealt a huge blow to the soul beast army and bought time for Shrek had something to do with him.

Xian Lin’er was glaring furiously as she shouted, “Yuhao, don’t fool around! How can you intervene in this higher-end ﬁght?”

Huo Yuhao looked at her and took in a deep breath before saying, “Dean Xian, everything started because of me. I can’t watch as Shrek is obliterated! Believe me, I can resolve this.”

“No!” Xian Lin’er shouted and reached out her hand to grab him.

However, a strange halo suddenly spread from Huo Yuhao’s body. Xian Lin’er, Yan Shaozhe, and Cai Mei’er felt slightly dizzy as they were caught off-guard, and everything in front of their eyes turned white.

Even though they were drained, Xian Lin’er and Yan Shaozhe were Transcendent Douluo! However, they momentarily lost

their awareness.

Huo Yuhao exploited this opportunity to increase his speed as he ﬂew into the sky. The projection behind him also became more material.

On his forehead, his Eye of Destiny opened, and immense spiritual undulations openly surged towards Di Tian. Rose-gold light started to burn on his body.

Comparing the purplish-gold ﬂames from Di Tian’s body to the light on Huo Yuhao’s body was like comparing a full moon to a ﬁreﬂy. However, the space around Huo Yuhao started to distort slightly when this little scarlet-gold light started to burn.

In the distance, the silent soul beast army started to cry out in lamentation.

The ﬂames on Di Tian’s body suddenly froze, and he started at Huo Yuhao with his golden eyes. His furious roar turned into shock, “You, you are the one who made the Emperor Beast an Offering. It’s you!”

Huo Yuhao raised his head and replied, “Yes, it’s me. Qiu’er sacriﬁced herself for me and turned into my sixth soul ring. I also fused her abilities as the Emperor Beast into myself. You should know that the Three-Eyed Golden Lion carries the entire destiny of the Great Star Dou Forest! While Qiu’er is dead, the legacy of the Emperor Beast is still here, with me. Her Eye of Destiny is also with me! If I die, this power of destiny will be completely destroyed, which means that the destiny of the Great Star Dou Forest will also be destroyed. You should know what kind of result that will bring.”

“Ridiculous!” Di Tian roared and reached forward with his claws. A strong purplish-gold claw projection reached for Huo Yuhao.

Elder Xuan, Elder Mu and the various elders from Shrek Academy charged towards the sky at the same time, trying to save him.

However, Huo Yuhao suddenly shouted at this moment, “No one comes over!” A terrifying spiritual intent was suddenly unleashed from his body, and everyone felt their spirits shaking. Even though their cultivations were more powerful than his, they still couldn’t help but stop in the air.

Di Tian’s attack was extremely quick. In an instant, his purplish-gold dragon claw had already landed on Huo Yuhao; he had captured Huo Yuhao!

However, Huo Yuhao didn’t resist at all. There was a calm look on his face, as if he wasn’t bothered about this number one Savage Beast that was in front of him. He lifted his head and pushed his chest out. There was only a relieved and arrogant look on his face.

As Di Tian’s purplish-gold dragon claws landed on Huo Yuhao’s body, a terrifying force was transmitted into his body, and the rose-gold ﬂames were extinguished.

This was Di Tian’s strength. Even the Emperor Beast Wang Qiu’er couldn’t do anything when Huo Yuhao ignited his spiritual sea. However, Di Tian managed to stop it easily.

Yes, Huo Yuhao had ignited his own spiritual sea when he tried to break free from Xian Lin’er and Yan Shaozhe earlier. Otherwise, there was no way he could have scared off so many Titled Douluo with his Spiritual Blast no matter how strong his spiritual power was.

Right now, his spiritual sea that was burning had been extinguished. As Di Tian retracted his claws, Huo Yuhao was also brought in front of him.

Huo Yuhao wasn’t even half as tall as Di Tian’s golden eyes.

He looked extremely small in front of Di Tian.

“Bastard! You were the one who seduced the Emperor Beast and made her sacriﬁce herself as a Sacriﬁce for you. Do you not

believe that I have countless ways to torture you and make your life worse than death?” The terrifying pressure that came from him caused the space around Huo Yuhao to start cracking. The immense suction force that came from Di Tian even threatened to pull Huo Yuhao’s spirit out. He started feeling intense pain throughout his entire body and spirit.

However, Huo Yuhao had been through a lot of pain before. The pain that Di Tian inﬂicted on him couldn’t compare to the excruciating pain he had suffered when he fused with the Ice Empress. It also couldn’t compare to the pain he had suffered when he consumed the water from the Blazing Sunspring for Wang Dong’er. As for the pain that he felt in his spirit, how could it compare to the pain of watching Wang Dong’er enter a deep sleep, and seeing Wang Qiu’er sacriﬁce herself for him?

Huo Yuhao was very calm. The intense pain he felt caused beads of perspiration to stream down his forehead. However, his face was still ﬁlled with arrogance as Di Tian grabbed hold of him. He didn’t cry out in pain, and he wasn’t going to beg for mercy. He just stared at Di Tian calmly. It was like the death that could come at any time meant nothing to him.

Seeing Huo Yuhao willingly land in the hands of Di Tian, Elder Xuan was extremely infuriated, and shouted furiously

into the sky, “Di Tian, I swear on my status as the Hallmaster of the Sea God’s Pavilion that I’ll completely wipe out all the soul beasts in the Great Star Dou Forest if you dare to harm him!”

Yes, the beast wave might have come because of Huo Yuhao. However, how much had Huo Yuhao contributed to the Academy during these years?

He had created Spirits, which had never existed before, and played a huge role in helping Shrek Academy’s Soul Tool Department thrive. He, Bei Bei, and the rest had established the Tang Sect, and helped the Academy achieve the highest glory in the previous two Continental Elite Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournaments. He was also an heir to the Sea God’s Pavilion, chosen personally by Elder Mu. He had an Ultimate martial soul, and was the pride of Shrek Academy.

He had even led the Tang Sect to save almost all the hostages that had been imprisoned by the Sun Moon Empire. It was an accident that the Emperor Beast had sacriﬁced herself for him. This calamity that descended upon Shrek was just fate! Just as this calamity was about to be fully unleashed onto Shrek, he appeared once again, and was willing to sacriﬁce himself to

overcome this calamity. How could Elder Xuan watch him die without doing anything?

Di Tian coldly replied, “I never intended to let Shrek off! I’ll kill all of you! I’d really like to see how you plan to turn the entire Great Star Dou Forest into corpses.”

“I can do it!” Huo Yuhao suddenly said coldly. Even under Di Tian’s pressure, he still tolerated the agonizing pain, and this spiritual intent was still accurately passed into Di Tian’s mind.

“I have the legacy of the Emperor Beast’s Sacriﬁce. I now control the power of destiny that she once controlled. Perhaps I’m unable to defeat you or decide your fate. However, I can at least decide my own fate. I can end my own destiny with a thought, and die just like that.

“When that happens, I’ll end the destiny of the Great Star Dou Forest too. Beast God, do you believe in destiny?” Huo Yuhao uttered that last sentence word by word. Every word that he said was ﬁlled with immense spiritual power.

“Are you threatening me!?” Di Tian roared furiously.

Huo Yuhao calmly replied, “You can say so. If Shrek is destroyed, the Great Star Dou Forest will follow it! As the Beast God, aren’t you going to think about your subjects?”

Di Tian furiously said, “Shrek City has harmed my subjects for years! This blood feud can only be washed clean with human blood!”

Huo Yuhao snapped, “All of you deserved it. If you hadn’t lead the soul beast army to attack us, you wouldn’t have suffered such heavy losses. However, you still have half of your subjects. The Great Star Dou Forest can still maintain its ecological balance. Let’s ﬁrst ignore the fact that my death will end the destiny of the Great Star Dou Forest. Ask yourself, how many of the soul beasts outside the city right now will be able to survive after you destroy Shrek? Will the three empires in the Douluo Continent let all of you off? To them, the Great Star Dou Forest is a huge treasure vault. Even after you destroy Shrek, the forest will still have suffered great losses. The three empires will ﬁnd it a fantastic opportunity to move on the forest.

“The Great Star Dou Forest is doomed if Shrek is destroyed!

You’ll still have hope if you retreat now.”

Di Tian suddenly calmed down, and his golden eyes also deepened. He stopped roaring, and interacted with Huo Yuhao using his spiritual intent too.

“Yes, you are right. Shrek’s destruction might catalyze the Great Star Dou Forest’s annihilation. However, are you sure humans won’t destroy us, even if we retreat now? You are wrong! They’ll still continue to target us! Humans are greedy! When there were only soul masters, a large number of soul rings were already required! Now that there are soul engineers, some of the ordinary soul masters that originally weren’t supposed to advance to higher tiers can also improve through some special methods! Even if the quality of the soul rings that they require are lower, they still have to kill soul beasts to obtain those soul rings!

“Now that the Great Star Dou Forest has suffered greatly, we’ll be unable to protect ourselves in the future. As your soul tools become stronger, will there be room for the survival of soul beasts? While the Emperor Beast’s Sacriﬁce is one of the reasons we started this beast wave, it’s not the only reason! More importantly, we’ve found it necessary to stop your evolution before we become your slaves and are destroyed!”

Huo Yuhao was shocked by Di Tian’s sudden composure. He no longer sounded as crazy as he was earlier… or perhaps he had actually never gone berserk at all.

“Beast God, I have a question for you.” Huo Yuhao tried his best to keep calm. He was clear that Di Tian would be able to clearly sense any spiritual undulations from him no matter how slight they were.

“Ask me,” Di Tian replied. However, Huo Yuhao could see a trace of loneliness in his huge golden eyes.

Huo Yuhao asked, “You’re the king of all beasts, the protector of all soul beasts and the number one Savage Beast, as appraised by humans. However, you’ve got to admit that humans are much more intelligent than soul beasts. Am I right?”

Di Tian replied, “Yes, you are right. Otherwise, humans wouldn’t have been able to evolve from their position as prey to what they are today in a short few tens of thousands of years. Even though I’m not willing to admit it, humans are indeed the rulers of the entire continent.”

Huo Yuhao said, “Do you really think that humans didn’t realize the imbalance that was arising between humans and soul beasts as soul engineers became popular and the number of both soul masters and soul engineers increased? Perhaps most soul masters and soul engineers ignore this because of

their own interests, but there are bound to be some with great foresight that have recognized this problem, right? After all, what good does it do for humans if soul beasts are destroyed? We’ll lose our source of soul rings. If there aren’t any soul masters in the future, this profession will forever be lost to

history, right? That will be extremely harmful towards the development of both soul masters and soul engineers.”

After remaining silent for a brief moment, Di Tian said, “So what? Are humans able to stop the greed of soul masters and soul engineers? And stop hunting and killing soul beasts?”

Huo Yuhao replied, “I’ve no way of doing so.

“Every living creature is greedy in his own way. No one is willing to give up an opportunity to become stronger. Your wish is that humans will stop pursuing soul rings, but that’s impossible. We can only settle a problem about interest using interest.”

Di Tian was stunned, “Using interest? Are you saying that you have a way of settling this problem regarding soul rings?”

Huo Yuhao replied, “I’m not certain, but we could give it a go. Can you relax your suppression of me? I won’t run. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have appeared. I’ve something to show you.”

Chapter 405: Convincing the Beast God

Seeing how sincere Huo Yuhao was, Di Tian slowly nodded, and relaxed his grip on Huo Yuhao. At the same time, he retracted some of the suppression that he had forced on Huo Yuhao.

Huo Yuhao felt more relaxed at this point. Even though he had made a good start, he didn’t dare to slack off. He was clearly aware that the Beast God might erupt any time if he said or did anything wrong.

Things were also very quiet down below. Elder Xuan, Elder Mu and the other strong individuals from Shrek were watching tensely. Di Tian’s sudden silence left them slightly weirded out, but they didn’t make any moves, seeing that the Beast God hadn’t killed Huo Yuhao yet.

The Body Douluo Du Busi had already crawled back to his feet. He looked very miserable right now, not expecting the Beast God to be so strong. When Di Tian unleashed his full strength, Du Busi had felt that he was completely irresistible.

The teachers from Shrek Academy were quickly organizing the students, while the Shrek City Defense Army meditated and rested. No one knew what was going to happen next, but every bit of soul power they recovered would earn Shrek an extra glimmer of hope.

A streak of white light shone from Huo Yuhao’s Eye of Destiny. In the next moment, a petite ﬁgure appeared in front of Huo Yuhao.

It was a young lady who looked to be around fourteen or ﬁfteen years old. Her dress was a spotless white as it swayed in the wind. Her genie-like deep blue eyes oozed a boundless, chilly intent, but there seemed to be a lack of quick-wittedness within them.

“This is…” Even though Di Tian was experienced and knowledgeable, he was still stunned when he saw the Snow Lady. After all, she was released from Huo Yuhao’s eyes! Furthermore, he could tell that this wasn’t some sort of soul skill!

Huo Yuhao’s martial soul had been switched. One red and four orange-gold soul rings slowly rose around him!

As he looked at the different glows that came from his soul rings before looking at the Snow Lady in front of him again, Di Tian’s golden eyes revealed a confused look.

“I am a different soul master. I possess twin martial souls, and this is my second martial soul, the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion.” Huo Yuhao could also make the Ice Empress and Skydream Iceworm appear, but he didn’t do so. When he had faced Di Tian earlier, he could sense the Skydream Iceworm’s hatred towards him. It was unforgettable! Undoubtedly, Di Tian was the mastermind who had forcefully tried to snatch the Skydream Iceworm’s million-year accumulation.

As for the Ice Empress, Huo Yuhao wanted to hide her existence, because the Ice Empress was conscious. If he revealed anything suspicious, things might turn counter- productive.

Di Tian nodded as he sensed the aura of Ultimate Ice coming from Huo Yuhao’s body, “It’s indeed the aura of the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion. You are indeed blessed by Ultimate Ice. Is this the Icesky Snow Lady? Can your soul ring produce a summoning-type soul skill?” After ﬁnishing this last sentence, he also became a little uncertain.

Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, “From the colors of my soul rings, you can tell that this isn’t a simple soul skill. Can’t you tell who she is?”

With a thought from Huo Yuhao, the Snow Lady moved. She lifted her right hand, and a streak of deep-blue sword light shot out like a bolt of lightning towards Di Tian’s forehead.

As the sinister chill approached, Di Tian’s eyes shone with golden light before the sword light was crushed. However, he immediately opened his eyes wide as he realized that it was a familiar chilly intent.

“Is this, is this the Snow Empress’ Unparalleled Chill? You, you are the Icesky Snow Lady?” Di Tian couldn’t help but exclaim as he looked at the Snow Lady in front of him.

The Snow Lady drifted in the air, but she didn’t move from her position. She naturally wouldn’t react to Di Tian’s question.

Di Tian’s gaze quickly shifted to Huo Yuhao’s body, and it turned sharp. “How is this possible? Why is the Icesky Snow Lady in your body? What is the relationship between you? She seems to be unaware?”

Huo Yuhao nodded gently. “The Snow Empress’ situation represents hope for the future between humans and soul beasts. I met her at…”

Huo Yuhao started to recount how he had ﬁrst encountered the Snow Empress’ embryo, and transformed the Snow Empress into a Spirit. He didn’t even conceal the truth about Electrolux’s existence. He even went so far as to talk about his spectral demiplane.

It wasn’t easy to earn the Beast God’s trust. Huo Yuhao had no choice but to do this. Di Tian would have certainly sensed the presence of the undead army earlier. He needed to prove that everything he said was true beyond the shadow of a doubt. Without his spectral demiplane, he couldn’t have summoned an army of a hundred thousand undead, given that he was only a Soul Sage. He only hid the existence of the Ice Empress and Skydream Iceworm.

Di Tian listened silently to Huo Yuhao’s story, but his emotions were undulating throughout. However, he hid them very well, and Huo Yuhao couldn’t tell anything from his emotions or the look in his eyes. What Huo Yuhao was certain about was that the Beast God heeded his words.

“However, you still failed in the end. The Snow Empress lost her spirit and her awareness. How can this Spirit that you talk about be considered a success?”

Huo Yuhao calmly replied, “Yes! You are right. I can’t guarantee that the conversion into a Spirit can be successful. However, how can we determine the success of this experiment just through one try? We can only ascertain the possibility of success with more attempts. However, at least we’ve found a new route that we can take!

“The Snow Empress gave me four soul rings. I didn’t kill any soul beasts for these four soul rings. They were willingly offered to me by the Snow Empress. In addition, the existence of my Spirit is more beneﬁcial to me than having soul rings. This is what I mean when I said that a problem of interest can only be resolved with interest.

“If a soul master can obtain a Spirit, he won’t need a soul ring at that particular rank. In addition, it’s even more beneﬁcial for him. Don’t you think he’ll agree to this arrangement?

“At the same time, a Spirit can bring more than just one soul ring to a soul master, and it can even be controlled by a human and a soul beast together. A soul master might pursue a higher- tier soul ring, but what about soul engineers? Furthermore, if a top-tier soul beast is used to fuse with a soul master to create a Spirit, and this soul beast is compatible with me, why wouldn’t I be willing to obtain more soul rings from it? These are what we have been researching. It’s a pity that we can’t complete this research by ourselves. The reason is very simple: we ﬁnd it very difﬁcult to ﬁnd soul beasts that are on the verge of death, and are willing to trust us!

“To a certain extent, the Snow Empress’ Spirit failed because the Snow Empress’ embryo was stuck in a special situation, in which it was on the verge of exploding. At that time, it was already difﬁcult for us to ensure that she wouldn’t die. However, I’m conﬁdent of succeeding if we establish a pact. This is why I hope to receive the help of soul beasts for my future research in this aspect. If you’re willing to personally ﬁnd a few soul beasts who are in this state to fuse with a few of our human soul masters that have reached their bottlenecks,

you can help to prolong the lives of those soul beasts. Even though they might only be able to survive for another hundred years by following a human soul master or soul engineer, they’ll at least be able to experience this world in a different way. Their lives can be extended for a slightly longer period of

time, which should be better than just dying.

“If this research is successful, soul masters will have more choices in the future. Every soul master can even wait until their soul power accumulates to a sufﬁcient standard before fusing with a Spirit. I even hope that if Spirits can provide enough soul rings for us, we can let these Spirits leave these soul rings behind of their own accord. When soul masters and soul engineers need them at some stage, they can actively fuse with these soul rings. In this way, humans and soul beasts might not remain enemies in the future, but friends that rely on each other. I’d be satisﬁed if we could achieve such a result.”

Huo Yuhao didn’t continue speaking. He knew that his ideals were slightly contradictory to those of both soul beasts and humans. The Beast God needed time to think and understand his intentions. He stopped talking and waited quietly. When he ﬂew up from the southern city wall today, he had already disregarded his own life. No matter what others thought, he believed that he was the one who had brought this calamity to

the Great Star Dou Forest. If he couldn’t stop this calamity, he was willing to die for Shrek.

Huo Yuhao, who was much calmer than he had been in the past, had another thought. The greatest barrier to the research on Spirits was what he mentioned earlier; there weren’t enough dying soul beasts that were willing to cooperate. If he could convince the Beast God, it would be extremely beneﬁcial to his research on Spirits!

Di Tian remained silent for a while. After some time, he slowly lifted his head. “I’ve never heard of the things you’ve mentioned to me. I don’t know if you’re trying to trick me. However, I can tell you that I’ll risk everything to destroy Shrek City if you are lying to me. This time, we’ve indeed suffered great losses. However, Shrek City will no longer have the protection of the Golden Tree if there’s a next time. Are you willing to follow me into the Great Star Dou Forest to attempt your research? You need to prove your words with actions.”

“I’m willing.” Huo Yuhao replied without any hesitation.

Di Tian nodded and said, “Alright, then you shall follow me and remain in the Great Star Dou Forest. The Three-Eyed Golden Lion is dead, and you carry the destiny of the forest with you. From now on, if you remain in the forest and continue your research on Spirits, I’ll retract this beast wave right now!”

Huo Yuhao remained silent for a moment, then said, “Beast God, I’ll deﬁnitely continue my research into Spirits. However, I can’t always stay in the Great Star Dou Forest. There arestill many things that I have to do, and thus I can’t make that promise to you.”

Di Tian’s aura suddenly became more dominant. “Do you think that I’m negotiating with you?”

The look in Huo Yuhao’s eyes also turned sharp. “I’m not negotiating with you, either.”

The two pairs of eyes that met were completely disproportionate. However, Huo Yuhao didn’t seem to lose to Di Tian in terms of aura. If the Beast God could maintain his cool, it meant that he was willing to think about the future of the Great Star Dou Forest. At least, he wouldn’t just kill Huo Yuhao outright. This was what Huo Yuhao was depending on right now.

Di Tian said, “Follow me back to the forest ﬁrst.”

“Wait a minute.” Huo Yuhao suddenly said.

“What else do you want to say?” The Beast God’s emotions seemed to be on the verge of ignition.

Huo Yuhao answered, “I want to say a few words to my elders and seniors from Shrek Academy ﬁrst. If you just take me away like this, I’m certain that the Academy will move on the forest when they recover their vitality. They might even invite all the strong individuals from the entire continent to target the forest. Do you really want to see that happening?”

Di Tian was startled for a moment, then nodded slowly. “That makes sense, and you’re also qualiﬁed to do so. Alright, I’ll give you a few minutes. You can speak to them now.”

As he spoke, he released Huo Yuhao.

Huo Yuhao had no intention of absconding. In fact, trying to escape from the most terrifying soul beast in the world right now would be a stupid move.

“Teacher!” Huo Yuhao shouted at the top of his voice and kneeled down in mid-air. He kowtowed towards Elder Mu.

When he shouted the word ‘teacher’, he was no longer as calm as before. Tears started to stream from his eyes.

Elder Mu was also slightly shocked after hearing Huo Yuhao’s exclamation. “Yuhao, what’s wrong? Are you ﬁne? Di Tian, let him off! Otherwise, I’ll destroy the entire Great Star Dou Forest!”

Di Tian snorted coldly, but didn’t say anything.

Huo Yuhao hurriedly said, “Teacher, don’t be rash. I’ve convinced the Beast God to retract his army and end this beast wave. This beast wave started because of me. I would like to say a few words to you and the various elders.”

After Elder Mu, Elder Xuan and Elder Song heard his words, they were stunned. He has convinced the Beast God to retract his army? Di Tian went berserk earlier. Can he really be convinced with words?

When they looked at the Golden Eyes Black Dragon King again, Di Tian was indeed much calmer than before. Even the purplish-gold ﬂames on his body had disappeared.

Huo Yuhao continued, saying loudly, “Teacher and elders, as we expected, the most important reason why this beast wave was started is because of the survival of soul beasts. I recounted the progress of our research into Spirits to the Beast God just now, and managed to convince him that I’ll produce results for him to see. In this world, we and soul beasts are all part of the food chain. It’s only by surviving together that we can maintain the ecological balance. This time, the Great Star Dou Forest has already suffered heavy casualties!

“Please trust me and let me dispel this hatred between humans and soul beasts. At the same time, I also obtained permission from the Beast God to work with him to further our research of Spirits. If it succeeds, humans and soul beasts will no longer be enemies in the future, but partners!”

All the elders and strong soul masters from the Body Sect couldn’t believe it. Huo Yuhao had actually managed to persuade the Beast God by himself? It was too unbelievable. The entire Body Sect was lost, including Du Busi. They were all thinking, What are Spirits?

Elder Mu was a little doubtful as he replied, “Yuhao, you…”

Huo Yuhao said with certainty again, “Teacher, don’t worry. I’ll do my best to complete this task for Shrek, and for peace between humans and soul beasts. I hope you can ﬁnd some volunteers in the Academy that have reached their bottlenecks and need soul rings. I’ll lead them to carry out my experiment on Spirits in the future. Right now, I’ll follow Di Tian back into the Great Star Dou Forest. Don’t worry, I’ll be ﬁne with Di Tian’s protection!”

“No!” After hearing that Huo Yuhao was going to return to the Great Star Dou Forest with Di Tian, all the elders shouted in unison.

Di Tian snorted coldly and said, “None of you have any say in this at all. His words have moved me today. On his account, I’ll temporarily withdraw my army. If his words are lies, hmph!”

After he ﬁnished speaking, he grabbed Huo Yuhao tightly and beat his wings forcefully. As he exuded a majestic aura, he ﬂew towards the direction of the Great Star Dou Forest. At the same time, he let out a deafening dragon roar.

The soul beast army outside Shrek City started to move. Under the command of the four Savage Beasts, they left with the injured soul beasts, and tried their best to drag some of the soul beast carcasses with them as they retreated back into the Great Star Dou Forest.

After seeing that the beast wave was retreating, the entire city descended into silence. After a brief moment, someone shouted, and cheers started to ring from all four sides.

--------------

The sky turned brighter, and the sun slowly rose in the east. The rays of sunlight that fell as dawn approached illuminated the large number of soul beast carcasses outside Shrek City. At the same time, they illuminated Shrek City, and shone on the fatigued yet excited faces of everyone in the city.

Shrek had emerged victorious! They had relied on slightly more than ten thousand soldiers to resist the onslaught of a beast wave from the Great Star Dou Forest for two days and two nights.

As the beast wave retreated, Shrek City was preserved. Shrek had won!

More than one-third of the soldiers and twenty percent of the soul masters from Shrek had been killed in this battle, and almost everyone was hurt. In addition, all the soul tools defending the city had been destroyed, and all the stationary soul cannon shells had been used up.

In spite of all this, Shrek had still managed to attain victory! This was a victory in a battle between humans and soul beasts. This was a victory that belonged to all of Shrek!

Elder Mu stared in the direction the Golden Eyes Black Dragon King had left in. There was a lost look in his eyes.

Elder Xuan respectfully asked, “Elder Mu, what should we do? Yuhao…”

Elder Mu’s lost look slowly turned into a comforted one. “That kid didn’t disappoint me, he has really grown up. Let’s just follow his words. Let’s compensate the families of those who have sacriﬁced their lives in the line of duty and quickly

restore order in the city. At the same time, we’ll have to treat the wounded.

“While the beast wave has retreated, this matter has only just begun. Let’s announce our research on Spirits to the soul masters of the Body Sect and Heavenly Soul Empire that came here to assist us, and ask for volunteers while we await news from Yuhao. This war might actually not be a bad thing. If Di Tian is willing to coordinate with us in our research, soul beasts and humans might actually become friends.”

“Yes!” Elder Xuan acknowledged his words.

Elder Mu took another look at Di Tian, who was slowing disappearing into the distance. Under the illumination of the sun, his elderly face was stained with an extra trace of gold, and he also wore a gentle smile on his face.

A halo descended, and he returned to the Golden Tree once more.

Du Busi had been standing beside Elder Xuan and Elder Mu throughout this exchange. Elder Mu didn’t conceal anything

from him when he spoke to Elder Xuan earlier. Du Busi clearly heard everything that Elder Mu had said.

Spirits? What exactly are Spirits? This secret regarding Spirits was actually able to drive that berserk Beast God to retreat. I’ve never been so curious about this Ultimate Douluo!

Elder Xuan turned around and said to Du Busi, “Let’s go. Follow me to the Sea God’s Pavilion. I’ll tell you everything about Spirits.”

Du Busi laughed and said, “Never did I expect that I’d be able to enter Shrek Academy in my entire life, under the condition that there’s no loser between the Body Sect and Shrek Academy. Interesting! Xuan Zi, that kid who was taken by Di Tian earlier must be the kid with his eyes as his body soul, am I right?”

Elder Xuan nodded slightly.

Du Busi twisted his lips. “I last saw him a few months ago, but he now has seven rings instead of ﬁve? Shrek Academy is indeed the number one Academy on the continent!”

Elder Xuan laughed bitterly. “Alright, that’s enough. You can keep your sarcasm to yourself. He just came back today. When he left, he only had ﬁve rings. I don’t know why he suddenly has seven rings now.” He naturally wouldn’t reveal to Du Busi that Huo Yuhao’s enhancement was likely to be related to the

Emperor Beast’s Sacriﬁce.

Shrek City started to settle down again. This time, the Great Star Dou Forest’s vitality was greatly hurt along with Shrek Academy! However, Shrek Academy had managed to obtain huge rewards from this episode compared to the soul beasts.

Not to even mention soul rings, the number of soul bones that were gathered after this battle exceeded the total number of soul bones that had been gathered in the entire history of Shrek.

More than two hundred thousand soul beasts had been killed! Even if the possibility was only one out of a thousand, how many soul bones would still be produced? Moreover, soul bones were more likely to appear from ten-thousand-year soul beasts. The value of these soul bones and soul rings, as well as the soul beasts’ carcasses that weren’t dragged away, could more than make up for the Academy’s losses!

A few days later, caravans started to stream out of Shrek City and proceed in different directions. They only had one mission: exchange whatever Shrek had obtained during the war for rare metals!

Soul tools had played a very important role in this battle. Without the Tang Sect and Shrek Academy’s soul tools, as well as the Tang Sect’s stationary soul cannon shells from the Sun Moon Empire, Shrek would have fallen under the attack of the soul beast army even before the reinforcements arrived!

Within a few days, large numbers of reinforcements arrived in batches. The ﬁrst to arrive were the soul masters from the three empires. When they learned that the soul beast army had retreated, they still remained in the city for a time. Suddenly, the entire city became extremely crowded.

As Shrek Academy had suffered huge losses this time, they didn’t offer some of the rewards that they had obtained during this war to these soul masters that came. They weren’t being petty. They just needed a lot of resources in order to rebuild the city.

However, these soul masters deﬁnitely didn’t come for nothing. Shrek Academy took this opportunity to share a very important research topic with them.

Spirits!

All information relating to Spirits, including Shrek Academy’s current research progress and even Huo Yuhao’s temporary agreement with the Beast God, was disseminated to

all the soul masters that arrived. The soul masters from the Heavenly Soul, Star Luo, and Dou Ling Empires found out for the ﬁrst time that there was something that could replace soul rings. Furthermore, this thing was even stronger than soul rings!

Shrek Academy deliberately exaggerated the effect of Spirits. Although Shrek Academy didn’t have an example to prove their words, Huo Yuhao did reveal the Snow Lady during the Continental Elite Youth Soul Master Tournament. Many of the soul masters who were here to reinforce Shrek competed in that tournament and were even saved from the Sun Moon Empire by Huo Yuhao. They naturally knew about the magical Snow Lady, especially when Huo Yuhao defeated the seven- ringed evil soul master Gu Long even though he only had ﬁve rings back then.

Wasn’t it because of the combined strength of the Snow and Ice Empresses? This was all attributed to the strength of a Spirit!

Suddenly, the word ‘Spirit’ became very popular across the entire continent. There was a new term in the world of soul masters. The only pity was that Shrek Academy didn’t publicly announce the incantations needed to fuse with a Spirit. They

only mentioned that Shrek City would be designated as a pilot site for the conversion of Spirits, and it would serve all soul masters. At the same time, Shrek Academy also gathered soul masters that had reached bottlenecks in their cultivation among all the soul masters that arrived in Shrek City. There wasn’t any requirement, but there were only one hundred

available slots. The chosen hundred participants didn’t need to

pay for anything, but there wasn’t any guarantee that the fusion of Spirits would be successful. In addition, there was some element of risk involved.

There was always bound to be risk involved. Among the thousands of soul masters that came, there were many who had reached bottlenecks in their cultivation.

Eventually, ﬁfty-six people signed up for this experiment that was risky, yet potentially groundbreaking. The remaining forty-four slots were ﬁlled by Shrek Academy.

Among these hundred soul masters, the weakest had a three- ringed cultivation, while the strongest had an eight-ringed cultivation. Most tiers of soul masters were included in this experiment. These volunteers temporarily remained in Shrek City to wait for news from Huo Yuhao.

Shrek Academy once again faced the entire world of soul masters on the Douluo Continent with an unselﬁsh attitude. Of course, this was where they were clever. If their research succeeded, the existence of Spirits would be spread by word of mouth. This was also what Shrek Academy was trying to

achieve!

The beneﬁt of Spirits was the future developments it would be able to support. It was only through letting all soul masters realize how good Spirits were that would be it possible for everyone to stop hunting and killing soul beasts. In exchange, humans and soul beasts could undergo a different form of fusion. This might also be the key to removing the hatred and conﬂict between soul masters and soul beasts.

Shrek Academy was arranging everything in full swing.

-------------

As the battle ended, Huo Yuhao was also brought to the Slaughtering Grounds in the Great Star Dou Forest by the Beast God.

Di Tian retracted his wings as he entered the Great Star Dou Forest. His body also quickly shrank in size. Very soon, he looked like a human once more. A streak of black light was released from his body and encircled Huo Yuhao, which helped him to ﬂy.

The two of them ﬂew towards the Slaughtering Grounds together. They looked like brothers right now, instead of a human and a soul beast.

There were millions of soul beasts living in the Great Star Dou Forest. However, Di Tian only led those with ﬁghting strength out for the battle. However, his army had still comprised most of the ﬁghting soul beasts in the forest.

The losses they had incurred had greatly hurt the vitality of the Great Star Dou Forest!

---

Huo Yuhao ﬁnally arrived at the Slaughtering Grounds. Di Tian led Huo Yuhao past the thick canopy and slowly drifted down.

Huo Yuhao was immersed in his thoughts earlier. However, he was jolted awake when the scenery around him suddenly changed. Following this, he was surprised when he looked around.

The Slaughtering Grounds in the Great Star Dou Forest was recognized as one of the most terrifying places in the entire continent. No soul master dared to venture into this area. In other words, it was like a forbidden ground for humans.

Huo Yuhao had always wondered what it was like in the Slaughtering Grounds of the Great Star Dou Forest. When he was younger, he had always imagined there to be all types of ferocious beasts here. However, what was it like in front of him now?

He ﬁrst saw a lake. Although it wasn’t very huge, considering that he could see the opposite side of it, it felt like the Sea God’s Lake.

The surface of the lake was extremely smooth, and the dim- green water resembled the most beautiful piece of natural jade. It ﬂashed with green lights that were ﬁlled with life. Around

the lake were ancient trees that reached into the clouds. There was a slight layer of mist above the lake, and the moist air swept over to them by a light breeze, carrying the fragrance of plants along with it.

There was a strong aura of life here. The life energy here was extremely prosperous, several times stronger here than in the outside world. There were also many natural elements, and they were even concentrated, not inferior to the Iceﬁre Yin Yang Well that he had been to before.

This place was like the source of all life. It was like all life in the Great Star Dou Forest was nurtured by this place. The principles of heaven and earth seemed to ﬁll this place, and even the slightest sound threatened to destroy the peace and beauty of this place.

Was this really the Slaughtering Grounds? To Huo Yuhao, this place was more like a paradise for all living creatures!

The black air around him disappeared, and Di Tian stood quietly beside Huo Yuhao. “Do you sense it? Isn’t it beautiful?”

Huo Yuhao replied without any hesitation, “It’s too beautiful. This is like a mortal paradise. It seems like this is where the goddess of nature lives.”

Di Tian said, “Yes, this is a place that nurtures life. This lake that you are seeing contains the holiest Water of Life in the Great Star Dou Forest. This lake has existed for more than a million years. This is the lake that nurtures all life in the Great Star Dou Forest. It’s a miracle on its own. It gave the forest its own ecological balance over a million years. Initially, I…” He stopped when he reached that part. He revealed a sense of loss in his eyes, as well as an awed look.

Huo Yuhao didn’t look at him. He was completely astonished by the beauty of the scenery that was in front of him.

The Water of Life. Yes! That was only this name that could express the beauty of it!

“I didn’t expect this! Who would have thought that the core region of the Slaughtering Grounds was actually so beautiful?”

Di Tian said with a sense of loss, “This is the work of nature. It’s the source of life that nature offered to this world. I hope that everything you said today is true.”

Huo Yuhao nodded, turned to Di Tian and said, “Soul beasts are a part of this world. Without soul beasts, there naturally wouldn’t be soul masters. I’m afraid such a beautiful place wouldn’t exist, either.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll do my best. You should know that I’m wagering my life. Just like soul beasts, humans only have one life.”

At this moment, a furious roar sounded, and a dark-golden ﬁgure ﬂashed to their side in an instant. “Why, Di Tian, why?”

This ﬁgure had adopted the human form of a muscular man. He was more than two meters tall, and his muscles were extremely well-developed. When he saw Huo Yuhao beside Di Tian, he lifted his hand, and terrifying, sharp, dark golden blades extended out. He clawed towards Huo Yuhao.

Huo Yuhao stood in place without moving. He knew how insigniﬁcant he was here.

Di Tian furrowed his brow. “Bear Lord, don’t cause trouble.” As he lifted his right hand, a black barrier appeared in front of Huo Yuhao. As a piercing scratching sound resonated, the Bear Lord’s attack was blocked.

This muscular man was the human form of the Bear Lord!

The Bear Lord glared furiously at Di Tian and said, “Di Tian, do you know how many of our brothers and sisters were killed? How many of our compatriots are dead? Those despicable humans were about to fall to us! Why did you give the order to retreat? Why?”

Di Tian’s eyes suddenly brightened. He exuded a threatening might from his bright golden eyes. The sovereign-like suppression that came from him materialized into a layer of golden light that trapped the Bear Lord.

The Bear Lord went silent. He was astonished. He unleashed a layer of his own dark golden light as he tried to resist Di

Tian’s suppression.

“Remember, I’ll have your palm for breakfast if you dare to talk to me in that tone again,” Di Tian said very slowly.

The Bear Lord’s arrogance had evidently been restrained, and he lowered his head, “I’m sorry Di Tian. It’s just that too many of us were killed. I…”

Di Tian also retracted his suppression. “I know that. Do you really think I’m not heartbroken? This time, the humans’ abilities were beyond my expectations! Furthermore, they had reinforcements! Have you even thought about how the three empires would react if we destroyed Shrek City at all costs? We’ve already been drained. If we continued, we’d have faced a catastrophe.”

The Bear Lord was stunned. His intelligence was much weaker than his offensive strength. He was immediately stunned by Di Tian’s words.

A few projections ﬂashed past, and a few other soul beasts appeared in front of Di Tian. They were Bi Ji the Emerald

Swan, the Myriad Demon King, and the Scarlet King!

Chapter 406: His and Her Story

Huo Yuhao stood to one side as he took in the scene before him in awe. Five of the ten great Savage Beasts, feared by all soul masters, were present. The Beast God himself, who was ranked ﬁrst among the ten great Savage Beasts, was here. Including the Icesky Snow Lady inside him, who was ranked third, and the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion, seven of the ten great Savage Beasts were present. It was an unprecedented gathering!

The terror in his heart disappeared. He became unusually calm. While an experience like this was extremely dangerous, how could it not be exciting, too?

The Myriad Demon King and the Scarlet King both had ugly expressions on their faces. Bi Ji’s head was lowered, and her face was pale. Sadness ﬁlled her beautiful eyes.

“Take a seat,” said Di Tian plainly.

The other four Savage Beasts looked at him. Upon hearing his words, they all sat down in front of him.

Di Tian turned his head to look at Huo Yuhao and said, “You may sit, too. Repeat what you told me. Release the Snow Empress, too.”

“Okay,” agreed Huo Yuhao, nodding. He sat down where he was, unleashed his Eye of Destiny, and released the Snow Empress. He repeated the words he had said to convince Di Tian, including the conversation he had had with him.

“…War will only lead to destruction. Only by creating something of greater value can we resolve the problem at its root.”

When she heard Huo Yuhao’s words, Bi Ji the Emerald Swan’s gaze became more focused. The Myriad Demon King appeared to be in deep thought. The Scarlet King and the Bear Lord, however, only understood a bit of it. The Scarlet King would furrow his brows occasionally, while the Bear Lord would look at Huo Yuhao ﬁercely. He seemed to be on the verge of attacking him at any moment.

Huo Yuhao remained fearless as he spoke.

Di Tian said, “You heard what he said? If what he says can be achieved, the situation of the entire continent will change. The Emperor Beast offered herself up for him, and hence, he inherited the Emperor Beast’s fortune. In other words, if he dies, the fortune of Star Dou will end.”

Upon hearing Di Tian’s last sentence, the Scarlet King and the Beast Lord appeared to have understood. The most obvious indicator of their comprehension was the Bear Lord looking at Huo Yuhao differently. His gaze became much less severe. No matter how powerful he was, he would not risk his home!

Bi Ji looked at Huo Yuhao. At such a close distance, her emerald-green eyes were moving. “What happened between you and the Emperor Beast? Why would the Emperor Beast offer herself up for you? Can you tell us about how you two met?”

Huo Yuhao paused for a while, and a look of pain ﬂashed across his eyes. In the past few days, to keep calm, he had tried not to think so much. He did not want to remind himself of Qiu’er’s death.

Now, when this Emerald Swan asked him, he could not help but think about it. The ﬁve Savage Beasts looked at him. Undoubtedly, the other four Savage Beasts wanted to know the response to Bi Ji’s question, too.

The Emperor Beast, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, was the highest existence in the entire Great Star Dou Forest. Even Di Tian would not presume to be better than her! However, none of the ﬁve Savage Beasts could understand why would she willingly offer her life for a human.

Huo Yuhao took in a deep breath, and said, “I met Qiu’er in the Great Star Dou Forest. At that time, I had gone to the forest to get soul rings. Elder Scarlet King, do you remember the ﬁrst time we met the Emperor Beast, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion?”

A look of shock crossed the Scarlet King’s face as he said, “Are you the one who wanted me to send soul beasts out in exchange for the Three-Eyed Golden Lion? At that time, the Taotie Douluo came with you, right?”

Huo Yuhao nodded and said, “That’s right. That time, Elder Xuan brought Dong’er and me into the Great Star Dou Forest. Coincidentally, we met the Three-Eyed Golden Lion there.

Elder Xuan captured her, and my forehead touched hers. A peculiar change happened between us. Our brains received each other’s memories. That was when my Eye of Destiny was activated, which greatly increased my spiritual-type abilities.

“After I left the Great Star Dou Forest, the impact of this incident on me became more severe. While the memories of the Three-Eyed Golden Lion were in my mind, her memories were way too pure. They were just memories of her cultivating in the forest, and there weren’t many changes. Hence, I did not take a closer look at them. However, unlike me, she told me that that contact made her see how exciting the human world was. So she chose to take a human form and enter our human world.”

When they heard him say this, the faces of the ﬁve Savage Beasts turned ugly, especially that of the Scarlet King. For a long period of time, he was in charge of looking after the Emperor Beast. However, none of them knew that the Emperor Beast had left.

Huo Yuhao continued, “When she entered the human world, she followed my memories and transformed into the most beautiful person in my mind. Then, she entered my life…”

He started to talk about the ﬁrst time he had met Wang Qiu’er, as well as the ups and downs of his relationship with Dong’er. This time, he recounted his tale very carefully. Unknowingly, he became completely engrossed in his own memories. Qiu’er and Dong’er ﬂashed past in his mind. All of

his memories were crystal-clear.

After the battle, the ﬁve Savage Beasts were angry and tired. However, as Huo Yuhao told them his story, they all calmed down. Even the ferocious Bear Lord gradually became engrossed in the story of Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong’er, and Wang Qiu’er.

Huo Yuhao told his story passionately. At that moment, he bared his heart. When he talked about how Wang Dong’er chose suicide to save him in the Yin-Yang Love Querying Valley, which caused her to fall into a coma, the Emerald Swan could not help but exclaim as if she had personally experienced it. When he told them about how he had burned his Spiritual Sea to save Qiu’er, and how he was eventually revived by Qiu’er’s Sacriﬁce, the ﬁve Savage Beasts were all dumbstruck.

Of the ﬁve Savage Beasts, even the weakest one, the Scarlet King, had lived on this world for two hundred and sixty thousand years. Naturally, they could tell that Huo Yuhao’s

story was completely true. His spiritual power made this tragic love story feel even more real for them.

When they ﬁrst heard that the Three-Eyed Golden Lion had sacriﬁced herself for a human, the ﬁve Savage Beasts all thought that she had been tricked. None of them had expected such a complex process.

Was there deception in this process? All there was in this story was love, something which soul beasts found hard to fathom.

Tears fell from Bi Ji’s eyes. The Scarlet King’s brows were furrowed. The Myriad Demon King appeared lost in thought, and the Bear Lord’s face brimmed with righteous anger. In the eyes of the Beast God, Di Tian, there was nothing but dejection. Despite their different expressions, they were all deeply engrossed in his tale.

“Qiu’er, Qiu’er…” Huo Yuhao pursed his lips tightly, but they could not help but twitch. No matter what, Dong’er was still alive, and he could still think of her. However, Qiu’er was gone forever. Not even her corpse was left.

A leaf, which was about as big as two palms, was delivered to him. On the leaf, one could see a glistening puddle of the Water of Life.

Huo Yuhao turned his head. What he saw was Bi Ji’s tear- streaked face.

“Thank you.” After he received the Water of Life, Huo Yuhao slowly drank it. A thick life energy ﬁlled his body, but it could not take away his pain.

Di Tian sighed softly. His eyes were sorrowful. “I never expected the Emperor Beast to die like this.”

Bi Ji lowered her head and said, “I don’t know why, but I think her choice was right. Even though she only had a short period of time, she experienced the most intense emotions.”

The Bear Lord snorted and said, “Humans are complicated.

Why don’t they just snatch someone to mate with?”

The Myriad Demon King’s mouth twitched, and he said, “All you know is how to mate. Human emotions are far more complex.”

The Bear Lord glared at him and said, “So what if I mate? Mating is natural. If I don’t mate, how can I ensure the continuity of my line and the entire Great Star Dou Forest?”

The Myriad Demon King snorted. However, he could not risk offending him, and so, he said nothing more.

The Scarlet King kept quiet. Compared to the other four Savage Beasts, his position was much lower.

Di Tian said, “The Emperor Beast is dead. We can’t save her now. However, what do you think of this matter about Spirits?”

The Myriad Demon King said, “It’s believable. At least, we have the example of the Snow Lady. However, will they lose their consciousness after they had been transformed into Spirits? Isn’t this the same as dying? Boy, how conﬁdent are

you that we soul beasts can maintain our consciousness even after we have been turned into Spirits?”

Huo Yuhao said, “I am about seventy percent sure. The Snow Empress’ situation was unique. When her powerful energy exploded, I would have been dead if not for my otherworldly teacher, who burned his own divine sense. In a normal Spirit Fusion between a soul beast and a human, this problem will not occur. Hence, I’m quite conﬁdent of success.”

He was not boasting. The Snow Empress was not the only Spirit in his body. The Skyworm Icedream existed, too! He was fully conscious, and right now, he was cursing the ﬁve Savage Beasts furiously from inside his Spiritual Sea. However, Brother Skydream dared not show himself now. If he did, Huo Yuhao would be in serious trouble.

Bi Ji said, “I feel that we can give it a shot. After this battle, many of us have been severely injured, beyond curing. All they can do is to wait for death. I’ve already ordered the Emerald Swans to gather them together and treat them. However, for many of them, they are inches away from death. They are the best candidate for this Spirit experimentation.”

Di Tian nodded and said, “Alright, go ahead. Huo Yuhao, may you succeed.”

Huo Yuhao wiped the tears from his face and nodded. He could sense the chill in Di Tian’s voice, and he understood the consequences of failure.

However, this was the best possible time, for both humans and soul beasts. His spiritual power had increased by a lot, and he was conﬁdent.

“Elder Bi Ji, before the process of Spirit Transformation begins, may I trouble you to convince the soul beasts that will be taking part in this ceremony? They are injured because of humans, and it’s likely that they are ﬁlled with hate for us humans. For Spirit Transformation to work, both parties need to be willing. If not, if either party is unwilling to do so, failure will ensue. You need to assure them so that there can be a possibility of success.

“At the same time, I have one suggestion. Other than asking the soul beasts which have been severely injured in the war, can we ask soul beasts who are nearing the end of their lives, but did not participate in the war? Soul beasts are

straightforward, and I fear they may not let go of their hatred so easily. On the other hand, for soul beasts who are naturally near death, I feel that they will be calmer. This is an experiment, and hence, we need to consider various factors.”

Bi Ji looked at Di Tian. Di Tian nodded and said, “Yes, it’s ﬁne. Do as he says.”

“Scarlet King, send word to Shrek to bring their participants in this experiment to the edge of the Great Star Dou Forest.”

The Bear Lord’s mouth twitched as he asked, “Will they dare to come?”

Huo Yuhao looked at him seriously and said, “All cooperation is built on the sincerity of both sides. This beast wave brought death and destruction to both sides. If we can’t let go of this hatred, there’s no future for either of us.”

Di Tian said coldly, “He’s right. When you head back, rein in all your subordinates. This matter concerns the future of Star Dou. If there are any slip-up, don’t blame me for being unforgiving. While I am still ten thousand years away from my

Ninth Metamorphosis, don’t think you can do what you want and get away with it. Just try me!”

As he said that, he looked intently at the Bear Lord. Despite the Bear Lord’s strength, he did not dare to lift his head.

In the Great Star Dou Forest, other than Di Tian, the strongest being was the leader of the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bears. Right now, Di Tian was telling him not to act rashly!

The Myriad Demon King looked at the Bear Lord from the corner of his eyes. He evidently did not respect him. In terms of ﬁghting strength, he was weaker than the Bear Lord. However, he never once viewed him as a worthy foe. What use was a fellow with all brawn and no brain? Even if Di Tian died in his next Metamorphosis, the Great Star Dou Forest would not be controlled by the Bear Lord. The Myriad Demon King, Bi Ji, and the Scarlet King had all already agreed to this.

Faced with Di Tian’s pressure, the Bear Lord could only lower his head. However, there was clear resentment in his eyes.

Di Tian turned to Huo Yuhao and said, “Rest next to the Water of Life. The rest of you can return to your territories. Bi Ji, start the preparations.”

“Yes,” Bi Ji agreed quickly.

The four Savage Beasts all left. Di Tian looked at Huo Yuhao, and then, as if his entire body was weightless, ﬂoated toward the center of the lake made from the Water of Life. What shocked Huo Yuhao was that the moment his body reached the center of the lake, his body turned fainter and fainter, until it ﬁnally disappeared...

Chapter 407: Conversation with the Beast God

Huo Yuhao crossed his legs and sat down by the lakeside. He retrieved some food from his storage-type soul tool and began to eat as images ﬂashed by in his mind, one after another. His emotions wouldn’t calm down for a very long time.

He didn’t know whether he could return after entering the Great Star Dou Forest this time, but there were some things he couldn’t leave behind. The thing he wanted to do most right now was visit the Clear Sky Sect and see Dong’er.

His eyes became gentle and tender when he thought about Dong’er, but the thoughts in his heart became increasingly determined and resolute.

He couldn’t stay here forever. Him being imprisoned here indeﬁnitely was no different from death! But he couldn’t leave now, he had to complete his experiments with Spirits and resolve the conﬂict between Shrek City and the Great Star Dou Forest before he could leave. After that happened, he could leave with no worries at all.

He had thought about many things on the road back, and had made a plan for his future.

Huo Yuhao was clear that some people from the Academy had deﬁnitely seen his army of undead; that was an army of a hundred thousand undead! It was impossible that nobody saw it. Perhaps nobody was thinking about that for now, but what about when everyone calmed down? His buddies from the Tang Sect would know what was going on, and the Academy could guess as well.

Summoning undead was an ability that belonged to evil soul masters! He had made that decision with no second thoughts because he had thought it was the right thing to do, but he also understood that summoning an army of undead as large as that meant that he could no longer hide his secret of having a third martial soul, which held his Necromancy!

He wanted to leave some things behind for Shrek Academy and the Tang Sect before he left. Afterwards, he had so many other things to do! He wanted to look for Dong’er, and there was something else he had always wanted to do.

His emotions and his state of mind were unstable, but his formidable spiritual power allowed him to plan carefully and rationally. He had his own plans on how he would leave this place, and just like he had said to the ﬁve Savage Beasts, there were only eternal beneﬁts in this world. Under the pretext of having sufﬁcient beneﬁts, leaving this place wasn’t impossible.

Huo Yuhao sat down with his legs crossed, and began channeling his soul power to aid his recovery. He had faced down ﬁve great Savage Beasts, and the pressure that he had to take from Di Tian above Shrek City before this had exhausted much of his energy. Even his body was a little hurt, but his formidable life energy meant these wounds didn’t cause him any real damage.

Soul power circulated in his body as a rose-gold vertical eye gradually emerged behind his back. Light that resembled patterns of the sun shimmered around this vertical eye, and everything seemed very peculiar as gentle spiritual undulations expanded outward from Huo Yuhao’s body.

The Water of Life not too far from him rippled faintly because of the spiritual undulations coming from his body. Huo Yuhao could feel that the strength from his Life Gold was very greedy, and it wanted to absorb the Water of Life’s life

energy, but he forcibly suppressed it. Of course, he wanted to boost his own life energy, but this Water of Life was part of the Great Star Dou Forest’s core, and it contained immense life energy, far larger in volume than his Life Guardian Blade and his Life Gold. If he dared to absorb the Water of Life’s life energy at a time like this, he would be shaking the Great Star Dou Forest at its very roots! Di Tian would never let him get away with that if he did so!

After Huo Yuhao had left the Evildemon Forest, he had hurriedly absorbed his seventh soul ring and immediately travelled to the Heavenly Soul Empire. He was smart enough not to inform the Body Sect directly. Instead, he went to look for the Heavenly Soul Empire’s royalty, Princess Wei Na, and returned to Shrek City as soon as possible after passing that information to her. He had used his full strength to unleash his necromantic spell and summoned his army of undead afterwards.

Only now did he take the time to ﬁnally stop and catch his breath. At the same time, he felt the changes in his body after he became a Soul Sage.

Huo Yuhao felt as if he were weak, like a lamb to the slaughter, when he was up against someone like Di Tian, who

was stronger than even Ultimate Douluo. But he was calm now, and focused on sensing the transformations in his body. Only now could he see what had actually happened to him.

The soul power ﬂowing through his body had become a gentle purplish-gold color. He understood that his soul power hadn’t evolved by itself. Instead, his soul power had changed qualitatively after Qiu’er had offered herself to him.

At the same time, Huo Yuhao could clearly feel that after he fused with Qiu’er’s strength after her Sacriﬁce, his physique had become many times stronger than before, especially in terms of strength. His strength had grown exponentially!

Qiu’er was the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, and she was thick with blood descended from the Golden Dragon. Otherwise, she couldn’t have pretended that she possessed a Golden Dragon as her martial soul! Right now, her Golden Dragon’s strength had merged completely with Huo Yuhao’s soul power, and had become part of him. Compared to that, his soul power’s evolution was secondary, and the changes to his body had undoubtedly built a stable foundation for Huo Yuhao’s future progress.

Soul power wasn’t the only thing restraining soul masters after they became Soul Douluo, their bodies were limiting factors, as well! Overly immense soul power demanded more and more from a soul master’s body. Therefore, many Soul Douluo repressed their soul power growth rate while they used all sorts of methods to train their physiques, and only when their bodies attained higher levels of strength did they dare to try and raise their soul power to another level.

Once soul masters became Titled Douluo, they would be faced with such a situation at almost every rank of soul power. This also meant that towards the ﬁnal stages of a soul master’s progress, a soul master’s body became one of the most important factors that limited their development.

Huo Yuhao possessed immense life energy bestowed upon him by his Life Gold. That, in addition to the strength of the Golden Dragon that Wang Qiu’er had offered him, meant he wouldn’t have to be concerned about his body, at least before he became a Transcendent Douluo.

There was no need to mention his spiritual power’s qualitative changes. He had relied on his fusion with Wang Qiu’er and even killed a hundred-thousand-year Evileye Tyrant. Even though his element’s crushing superiority had

determined the outcome of battle, Huo Yuhao’s spiritual power was so frighteningly strong that it was also a substantial reason for his victory.

He had absorbed two soul rings within a short period of time, and his strength had grown to the point where he had become one of the stronger individuals on the Continent. Furthermore, he could feel that as he became stronger, he had managed to consolidate and understand much more about his personal abilities during the three months he had spent in closed-door cultivation. Following the passage of time, these understandings would help him grow even faster.

Dong’er was in a deep slumber, and Qiu’er had offered herself to him, and both incidents broke his heart. But he was a lot stronger than others of his age, and after Ultimate martial souls broke through seven rings, their initial limitations would swiftly disappear. His talents and his potential would be gradually revealed in the future.

Huo Yuhao brieﬂy sensed the transformations in his body before he slowly entered meditation. He was swiftly recovering his physical and mental strength amid the dense life energy released by the Water of Life.

-------------

One day passed before he woke up from his meditation. He opened his eyes, and felt invigorated and fully energetic. He took a deep breath, and thick life energy ﬂooded in through his nose. He felt so comfortable that he almost moaned.

Huo Yuhao began to understand why Di Tian could metamorphose eight times and become the king of the Savage Beasts with more than eight hundred thousand years of cultivation. Perhaps the Golden Eyes Black Dragon King hadn’t been alive for eight hundred thousand years, but he resided in a place where life energy was so dense, and he still had the Auspicious Emperor Beast and the Skydream Iceworm, among other external forces, amplifying him. It would be strange if he didn’t evolve.

A faint fragrance wafted from in front of him. Huo Yuhao lowered his head subconsciously, and saw several green fruits stacked up in front of him.

These are…

These green fruits were spherical, and there were ﬁne and compact golden dots on their surface. Thick aromas lingered around them, and they were very alluring.

Huo Yuhao came from Shrek Academy, and he was very knowledgeable. He was momentarily astonished before he immediately identiﬁed these fruits.

These were Goldenjade Fruits, considered very rare and exotic. Goldenjade Fruits were natural treasures that boosted a soul master’s physique and soul power. They were indeed treasures, as they were very beneﬁcial and nutritious for soul masters.

There was no doubt that Di Tian had ordered some soul beast to send these fruits to him.

Huo Yuhao wasn’t courteous at all as he picked one up and gobbled it up in a few bites. The fruit wasn’t very delectable, its ﬂesh was chewy, it oozed with juice, and it wasn’t sweet. Instead, it tasted bitter. But Huo Yuhao didn’t dare to waste even one bit of something this good, and he even ate the fruit’s outer skin.

He wasn’t greedy for more, and stopped after ingesting one. The effects of a Goldenjade Fruit were very potent, and he wouldn’t be able to absorb more even if he ate them. One was enough for now.

After a few moments, gentle and warm currents began to spread from his gut to every corner of his body. The soul power inside his dantian became a lot more lively, and Huo Yuhao didn’t have to activate it as they followed naturally and circulated along the path designated by his Mysterious Heaven Technique.

Huo Yuhao had seven soul rings, and this Goldenjade Fruit’s boosting effects weren’t that impressive. However, the fruit was very nutritious, and adding in his meditation during the past day, his mind and body were instantly raised to their peak condition.

Huo Yuhao took a step out as a layer of faint golden light glowed on him. He slowly punched out with his ﬁst, and his body instantly became brilliantly golden. Spiritual power and soul power immediately fused together, and that rose-gold vertical eye naturally appeared behind him.

He had simply concentrated for this punch, but Huo Yuhao discovered to his surprise that this ﬁst’s strength was comparable to the force of his Fist of Remembrance. Golden light radiated and didn’t dissipate, as if a golden whirlpool was consuming everything within ten meters of his ﬁst. The seamless fusion between soul power and spiritual power produced an all-new ability.

Huo Yuhao heaved a sigh of admiration inside. Just as teacher said back then, this is the feeling of a perfect Sovereign’s Descent, where spiritual power and soul power are seamlessly integrated!

He didn’t stop as he continued to think. He used Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track and the Tang Sect’s most basic ﬁst techniques at the same time.

His movements were very slow. He paused almost after every punch, and he focused on understanding and sensing the changes in his soul power and spiritual power. Huo Yuhao obtained better understandings of his own abilities after every movement.

But he was very careful throughout the entire process. He relied on his formidable spiritual power to skillfully control his attacking force so that he didn’t hurt the plants around him.

His movements slowly began to speed up, but the golden colors released from each punch became smaller and smaller. Initially, the golden colors stretched to more than ten meters, but they were gradually withdrawn to about seven to eight meters, and then to ﬁve to six meters. By the time his body became like an illusion moving at high speed, the radiance on

his ﬁsts had vanished completely, and even the undulations from his soul power and spiritual power were gone.

A shadow began to stretch out behind his back, but that shadow wasn’t his afterimage. Instead, it was the Goddess of Light.

The Goddess of Light moved in the same way that he did. However, she was reﬂected from his body, so the two of them seemed like they were moving together, as if they were dancing on the lakeside.

Huo Yuhao practiced this set of ﬁst techniques for two hours. When he withdrew his ﬁsts and stood up straight, the Goddess of Light appeared right in front of him and didn’t dissipate as she did the exact same thing.

Dense golden light gradually rose around Huo Yuhao and transformed into spirals above his head as they expanded out from him, one after another.

---

The past two hours had been very qualitatively transformative for Huo Yuhao. He had completely absorbed the Goldenjade Fruit’s effects, and he had used the past two hours to ﬁnally streamline and understand the changes to his body that his two new soul rings had brought about, truly grasping the strength of being a Soul Sage.

“Impressive ﬁst techniques,” a plain voice rang out, and Huo Yuhao snapped his head around and gazed into the distance. He was the only person by the lakeside before this, but there was someone else there at this moment. Wasn’t that the Beast God Di Tian, dressed in black?

Di Tian was in his human form. He stared at Huo Yuhao, and his eyes ﬂowed with faint approval.

Huo Yuhao bowed subtly in his direction and said, “You ﬂatter me. I’m like the light of a ﬁreﬂy in front of you, elder.”

Di Tian smiled plainly. He seemed just like a warm elderly man at this moment as he said, “No, you are outstanding enough. You’re probably not even twenty years old, or a little older than twenty, at most. It’s no wonder the Auspicious Emperor Beast gave you her approval. You possess many

special qualities that other humans don’t. You can still keep your composure in a dangerous place like this, and you can achieve one hundred percent concentration. You can already be considered very outstanding because of this.”

Huo Yuhao said nothing. He didn’t know how to continue the Beast God’s conversation, and the set of ﬁst techniques that he had just displayed just happened because he felt like it.

“Training by yourself is so uninteresting. Why don’t I accompany you?” Di Tian’s next sentence rendered Huo Yuhao speechless with slack eyes and widened jaws.

The Beast God had more than eight hundred thousand years of cultivation... did he really want to ﬁght Huo Yuhao?

“Elder, you…” Huo Yuhao stared lifelessly at Di Tian.

Di Tian smiled faintly and said, “We’re just having a practice ﬁght. Just try your best.”

Di Tian made his move before his words ﬁnished registering in Huo Yuhao’s mind, and he didn’t give Yuhao time to think about it at all. He took a step forward, his hands were still behind his back as he charged toward Huo Yuhao.

Huo Yuhao immediately felt a frightening and stiﬂing pressure slam him in the face from the moment Di Tian made his move. That feeling resembled the same feeling he had felt in the Yin-Yang Love Querying Valley, when he was completely crushed by that projection. When he was crushed back then, his body had crumbled into dust, and nothing was left!

However, Huo Yuhao wasn’t like he was back then. He didn’t use a single soul skill against Di Tian’s charge, because he didn’t have the time to activate his soul skills. He stood in place as he circled his hands before him with his palms facing out, and slowly pushed out.

Di Tian was as fast as lighting, while Huo Yuhao felt like a doddering old man.

However, because his movement was so slow, his palms pushed out at the same moment Di Tian arrived in front of him.

In that moment, Di Tian discovered to his surprise that Huo Yuhao had become illusory to his senses, as if he had integrated with nature around him. Huo Yuhao’s life energy and even his fortune was one with nature.

Bam!

Huo Yuhao was sent hurtling backward, and landed on the ﬂoor after ﬂying more than ten meters out. He stumbled as he hit the ground, and seemed like he was in disarray, but he used Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track and dispelled the impact bit by bit.

Di Tian stood where he was and didn’t pursue Huo Yuhao. He tilted his head at Huo Yuhao and said, “Now I believe that the Auspicious Emperor Beast has given all her destiny and fortune to you. It’s a pity that you’re not a soul beast, and you can’t bless the Great Star Dou Forest like she did.”

Huo Yuhao stopped moving as well. Di Tian clearly hadn’t used his full strength, but even so, he had felt as if his spirit and his blood were about to be forced out of his body from the

impact when Di Tian collided with him. It had felt like a mountain had crashed into him.

“Thank you for showing mercy, elder,” Huo Yuhao said as he bowed towards Di Tian.

Di Tian frowned and said, “You humans have so many formalities.”

Huo Yuhao’s answer was neither haughty or humble. “This is human culture that we have inherited over the generations: ﬁlial piety, respect for one’s seniors, loyalty, politeness, honor and shame. Those things form the foundations of human culture.”

Di Tian said plainly, “I don’t know about all that. However, we’re just starting. Try your best.” His body quivered as he spoke, and he charged towards Huo Yuhao once more. He moved a little faster this time.

Huo Yuhao didn’t dare to be careless. He understood from his previous experience that the Golden Eyed Black Dragon King wouldn’t deal him a fatal blow, and his footwork changed

subtly as he took two quick steps out and adjusted his position. His soul power circulated smoothly and at his whim within him, and a vertical eye ﬂickered behind his back as he merged all the forces in his body once more. His eyes turned rose-gold in color, and compared to the previous round, he managed to

enter his peak condition within a much shorter period of time this time around.

Bam!

They clashed again, and Huo Yuhao stumbled backwards. He was pushed more than ten steps backwards before he could regain his balance. However, his situation was a lot better compared to when he was sent hurtling backwards before.

Di Tian’s eyes ﬂowed with surprise, but he said nothing as he charged at Huo Yuhao once more in a ﬂash.

Huo Yuhao naturally didn’t dare to relax one bit. He was starting to readjust and harmonize himself when he was thrown backwards, and he made sure that his mind was calm so that everything in his body could come together as one. Huo Yuhao could feel that Di Tian’s strength was stronger in their second clash, but his own force had become a lot stronger as

well. Therefore, his defense was a lot better than during their ﬁrst collision. More importantly, that feeling where his spirit was almost shaken out of his body was gone, and his spiritual sea was unnaturally stable. A rose-gold vertical eye hovered above his spiritual sea.

The Skydream Iceworm’s original body was hovering in his spiritual sea. His Golden Eyes were ﬁlled with anger, and dense spiritual power ﬂooded out from him and integrated into Huo Yuhao’s spiritual sea.

However, a bluish-green ﬁgure appeared in front of him at the same time. This ﬁgure raised her hand and knocked him on the head as she shook her head at him.

The Skydream Iceworm seemed a little depressed as he stared at the charming yet dissatisﬁed face in front of him. He reluctantly stopped his actions and withdrew his spiritual undulations.

Huo Yuhao could feel everything that was going on clearly, but he couldn’t be bothered with thinking about them. Something else happened when he clashed with Di Tian for the third time.

Right before his palms pressed against Di Tian’s frame, his palms suddenly arched inwards as a gentle suction force appeared in his palms. Sucking Di Tian in with his current strength was probably futile, like an insect trying to move a tree, but Di Tian was momentarily startled when the gentle

suction force appeared because he didn’t expect Huo Yuhao to do such a thing. Di Tian instinctively controlled his own power, and his forward impact naturally weakened a little.

Bam!

Huo Yuhao only took ﬁve steps back this time. Furthermore, his yielding hands suddenly pushed out as he stumbled backwards, and a sphere of light ﬂew out and slammed into Di Tian, who was hot on his heels.

Di Tian’s movements didn’t stop. However, this was the ﬁrst time Huo Yuhao had retaliated!

The golden light vanished into thin air in front of Di Tian. Huo Yuhao and Di Tian clashed once more, but Huo Yuhao was sent ﬂying through the air because he was preoccupied with retaliation.

Huo Yuhao felt his chest tighten, but he didn’t feel discouraged at all. He was very determined, and he had already gone through so many of life’s tribulations.

Flying a distance through the air from the collision wasn’t all that bad. At least, he was able to put some distance between Di Tian and himself. A longing look ﬂowed from his eyes, and he seemed to turn transparent all over when he withdrew his right ﬁst.

Wang Dong’er’s projection appeared quietly behind him. However, she seemed different from before – this time, Wang Dong’er’s projection was colorful, as if she had actually descended beside Huo Yuhao. She was smiling beautifully, and her charming eyes were tinged with bashfulness as her long and pinkish-blue hair draped over her shoulders. She twirled her hair with her ﬁngers playfully, and there was even a subtle sassiness at the corner of her lips.

Yes, this was the most beautiful Wang Dong’er in Huo Yuhao’s heart. Dong’er was behind him, and she was also in his heart.

The Fist of Remembrance!

Di Tian could have slammed into Huo Yuhao one more time before he could unleash his Fist of Remembrance, but Di Tian deliberately slowed down this time. He allowed Huo Yuhao to raise his ﬁst’s aura to its highest possible level.

Di Tian watched that longing in Huo Yuhao’s eyes and that dash of anxiety at the corner of his mouth, and then studied the enchanting and elegant young girl behind his back. Even the Golden Eyed Black Dragon King was full of admiration at the sight.

Has this fellow raised human ﬁghting techniques to such a high level? Not even many Transcendent Douluo can reach a level of integration and fusion like this, can they?

Di Tian no longer held his hands behind his back anymore. He reached out with his left hand and opened his palm to block Huo Yuhao’s ﬁst.

He didn’t do so because his body wasn’t strong enough to take this punch. Rather, he did so out of respect.

Not a single sound was produced in this clash. Di Tian’s smooth white palm grabbed Huo Yuhao’s ﬁst, which was glistening golden.

However, Di Tian’s expression changed drastically in the next moment, and he swiftly released the young man’s palm, as if he had grabbed hot charcoal. Huo Yuhao’s Fist of Remembrance reached in deep just like that and slammed against Di Tian’s chest.

Golden light gathered, and there seemed to be a giant and formless hand with an iron grip on Di Tian’s body, such that he had no choice but to take a hit from this ﬁst.

The Beast God’s body quivered as dark golden light ﬂickered once on his body. The space around him that had collapsed was instantly shattered, and he transformed into a dark golden ray and withdrew far into the distance. Huo Yuhao’s punch didn’t hit anything in the end.

If a human or a soul beast had been watching this ﬁght, they would probably have been so astonished that their eyeballs would have popped out.

Who was Di Tian? He was the strongest Savage Beast in the entire Continent. He was the Beast God of the Great Star Dou Forest! Yet he was forced by a Soul Sage to the point where he had no choice but to evade his attack. If this was spread to the outside world, Huo Yuhao would become an instant celebrity.

Di Tian waved his left hand and frightening soul power undulations appeared in midair. An enormous pitch-black dragon claw appeared out of nowhere and grasped Huo Yuhao, sealing all the soul power that he wanted to activate in the next moment. Di Tian forcibly pulled him out from his longing emotions.

Huo Yuhao woke up completely as he sensed all that tremendous squeezing pressure around him. He gazed at Di Tian, and couldn’t help but feel a little dazed.

Di Tian himself seemed a little dazed at this moment. His expression was a little pale, but his eyes ﬂowed with a dash of tenderness. However, his expression swiftly returned to normal, and he didn’t seem very friendly when he looked at Huo Yuhao once more.

“Your spiritual power is stronger than I had imagined. This strength isn’t something the Auspicious Beast has bestowed upon you! Concrete-material spiritual power!”

Huo Yuhao was also a little dazed. He didn’t really understand why Di Tian was so afraid to interact with his Fist of Remembrance. With Di Tian’s strength, not even the Haodong Palm can hurt him even a little bit, let alone the Fist of Remembrance! But why is his expression so strange?

Di Tian said plainly, “You can train by yourself. However, you’ll have to make the necessary preparations for what you have to do two days from now.” With that, Di Tian vanished into thin air beside the lake, just like that.

Huo Yuhao didn’t move an inch as he watched Di Tian disappear, and he began to contemplate.

What can it be that makes even the Beast God afraid? It can’t be the strength of my Fist of Remembrance. Even if my spiritual power were twice as strong, I couldn’t possibly hurt him. Since he’s not afraid of my attacking strength, then…

Emotions!

Yes, he’s afraid of the longing feelings within my Fist of Remembrance.

My soul power is like an ant compared to the Beast God. However, the gap between our spiritual powers isn’t that great. When I’m longing for Dong’er, my spiritual power is raised to its highest possible level, to the point where I am unable to control it properly. This longing feeling is completely presented in my Fist of Remembrance, and it must be that emotion that affected the Beast God. It must be that emotion that triggered his memories, and everything that he misses so much, so that he evaded my ﬁst in the end.

Huo Yuhao was very intelligent. He understood the process after contemplating for just a short period of time. Who says soul beasts don’t have feelings? Seems like the Beast God has feelings and emotions deep in his heart!

Huo Yuhao’s thoughts stopped here, and a faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. His thoughts were full of wonderful goodness, as he thought about the joy of being together with Dong’er.

The greatest reason why his Fist of Remembrance was so powerful was because he would be immersed in his emotions. Back then, he had used this strength to defeat two evil Soul Douluo, and this was the very reason why he could accomplish that feat.

However, just as Xu Sanshi had said to him, he couldn’t rely on his Three Ultimate Haodong Skills in the future. Otherwise, once Wang Dong’er woke up and returned to his embrace, his cultivation would be greatly weakened. At the very least, his ﬁghting strength would be greatly reduced.

Di Tian was gone, but Huo Yuhao didn’t stop cultivating. He rarely had the opportunity to be in such a quiet place that was

so rich with life energy at the same time, in addition to the Goldenjade Fruit’s nutrition. He seemed to have returned to the days when he had just entered Shrek Academy with Wang Dong’er, when he didn’t sleep or rest so that he could meditate more.

Huo Yuhao discovered as he meditated that no matter what he did, Dong’er’s ﬁgure kept surfacing in his mind. He was in a bit of a daze. Yes! Ever since I left the Duke’s mansion, I’ve been together with Dong’er, and even though we’ve been separated from time to time, we were still thinking about each other and longing for each other. Don’t worry, Dong’er, I’ll deﬁnitely look for you when I settle some things!

He became more immersed in his meditation as thoughts spun through his mind. He felt and sensed the fusion between his soul power and his spiritual power, and every soul skill that he had absorbed.

Typical soul masters never had enough soul skills to use. They had to decide whether they needed control-type or assault-type soul skills when choosing soul rings, whether they needed soul skills for single targets or an area of effect. Questions like those always bugged them, but Huo Yuhao was in the opposite situation; he just had too many soul skills!

He was born with twin martial souls, and this meant he innately had twice as many soul skills as normal soul masters did. Furthermore, he had two hundred-thousand-year soul rings among his many soul rings, and he had another rose-gold soul ring that belonged to Qiu’er, which was equivalent to a

hundred-thousand-year soul ring. He had another one million-

year soul ring that gave him four soul skills, and he had several soul bones, as well!

Huo Yuhao wasn’t afraid of not having enough soul skills. Instead, there were too many of too many different kinds, and he always had certain problems choosing which soul skills to use. This was also what Huo Yuhao had to iron out at the moment.

His Three Ultimate Haodong Skills’ side effects were too great, so he had to use them as seldom as he could afford to in the future. Under such a situation, choosing soul skills and how he was going to ﬁght became Huo Yuhao’s most important matter at the moment.

Huo Yuhao didn’t want to add any soul rings to his second martial soul, the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion, at least for the moment, because there was no need for him to increase his

number of soul rings. Obtaining more soul rings would boost his physique, but he didn’t have to worry about that after assimilating the Golden Dragon’s strength.

He would rather work hard to improve his Spirit Eyes, and only when he became a Titled Douluo would he try his best to add higher-level soul rings to his Ice Jade Empress Scorpion. From his perspective, not even ten-thousand-year soul rings meant much to him; only hundred-thousand-year soul rings could satisfy his needs.

Huo Yuhao had no idea how many ranks above 70 his soul power was at the moment. After he absorbed his seventh soul ring, because that soul ring belonged to a hundred-thousand- year Evileye Tyrant, his soul power rose by quite a bit. He estimated his soul power to be at about Rank 72, more or less. He wasn’t even twenty years old, and yet his soul power was extraordinary. This also meant that if the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament was happening right now, he would still be qualiﬁed to participate in the tournament. He was a Soul Sage with an Ultimate martial soul! He also had twin martial souls! He could probably easily sweep most teams by himself, or perhaps every single team!

------

Two days passed as he meditated. Even though time was very ﬂeeting for soul masters and their cultivation, these two days had been very beneﬁcial for Huo Yuhao. He was starting to ﬁnd the path that belonged to him.

Di Tian didn’t reappear over these past two days, but nobody knew if that was because his emotions had been stimulated by Huo Yuhao’s Fist of Remembrance.

“Di Tian!” A respectful call rang out, and Huo Yuhao was jolted awake from his meditation. He noticed the Emerald Swan wasn’t far from where he was when he raised his head. He had no idea when she had arrived.

She lives up to her name as one of the Ten Great Savage Beasts! I didn’t notice her even with the sensitivity of my spiritual power.

Bi Ji was still relatively friendly towards Huo Yuhao, and she nodded subtly in his direction. Huo Yuhao hurriedly got to his feet and returned her greeting.

A black shadow drifted in from the center of the Water of Life. Di Tian’s appearance hadn’t changed since they’d last met, and he asked plainly, “Is everything prepared?”

Bi Ji nodded and said, “The people from Shrek have arrived. However, we have to hurry. I’m afraid our kinsmen won’t be able to control themselves.”

“Alright, let’s go.” Di Tian waved his hand, and Huo Yuhao immediately felt the space around him go dark. He was already soaring through the sky when he regained his senses.

Probably only these few Savage Beasts dared to ﬂy across the Great Star Dou Forest, and only the Beast God dared to ﬂy so outrageously.

There was a patch of dark clouds beneath Di Tian’s feet. Bi Ji, Huo Yuhao, and he were standing on these dark clouds as they soared towards the edge of the forest. They seemed like they were moving very slowly, but they were actually ﬂying at lightning speed.

Huo Yuhao was a little worried when Bi Ji mentioned that she was afraid her kinsmen couldn’t control themselves. Huo Yuhao understood what that meant; the Great Star Dou Forest’s soul beasts had just fought a violent battle against Shrek City, and both sides had suffered heavy losses. Under such circumstances, both parties deﬁnitely hated each other to the core.

Shrek Academy’s people were over at the Great Star Dou Forest’s edge, and it was possible that the soul beasts there would attack the humans because they couldn’t control their impulses.

Di Tian was ﬂying far too quickly. At least, he was faster than any soul tool that Huo Yuhao could think of. The dark clouds began to descend while these random thoughts were still spinning his head as cursing sounds and the howls of soul beasts rang out one after another in his ear.

A dull dragon roar echoed through the skies, and the sky darkened completely. The situation was a little messy a second ago, but it calmed down in the next moment.

The dark clouds landed on the ground, and Di Tian appeared in front of the soul beasts with an ice-cold expression on his face. He turned around and faced the masses of soul beasts being led by the Bear Lord, the Myriad Demon King, and the Scarlet King.

Chapter 408: Dragon King’s Claw

They were inside the Great Star Dou Forest’s Peripheral Region, and there were thousands of soul beasts in this place. Almost every soul beast that had at least a hundred-thousand- years of cultivation was concentrated here, and all of them were at least ten-thousand-year soul beasts. Most of these soul beasts had participated in the battle not long ago, and even those who hadn’t heard about the damage that the bitter and cruel ﬁght with those humans brought to them. Almost every soul beast’s eyes were ﬁlled with hatred and violence.

There were also many humans a thousand meters from them on the other side.

Every single elder from Shrek Academy’s Sea God’s Pavilion was here. Other than them, the Body Sect’s leader, Du Busi, led the soul masters who were here to reinforce Shrek Academy. In addition to the Soul Sages that the three empires had deployed to reinforce Shrek, there were at least several hundred other people here. Furthermore, their individual ﬁghting strengths were superior to the soul beasts. If the Beast God Di Tian was taken out of the picture, it would be hard to determine who would emerge victorious if both parties erupted into battle.

Elder Xuan heaved a faint sigh of relief when he saw Huo Yuhao, who naturally arrived at the same time as Di Tian. Quite a few people from the Tang Sect were here, beside the elders from the Sea God’s Pavilion.

Bei Bei, He Caitou, Xu Sanshi, Jiang Nannan, and Xiao Xiao were all here. Besides them, the Earthdragon Sect’s sect leader, Nan Shuishui was also here. Nan Qiuqiu and Ye Guyi were absent.

Everybody became a little excited when they saw Huo Yuhao.

Huo Yuhao signaled to his companions that everything was ﬁne.

“Di Tian, is this how you host your guests?” Elder Xuan’s voice travelled from far away, and every soul beast could hear him.

Di Tian turned around and faced the humans. “At least for now, you are not guests in the Great Star Dou Forest. You are still our enemy.”

Elder Xuan’s eyes grew focused. “Does that mean that you’re not sincere this time?”

Di Tian answered coldly, “Sincerity depends on whether your experiment is successful. What’s the point of sincerity if your experiments are unsuccessful?”

Elder Xuan said coldly, “Di Tian, don’t think we are afraid of you. There is an army of a hundred thousand soldiers gathered at Shrek City right now. We will follow you to the end if you wish to do battle.”

Du Busi and Elder Xuan combined could restrain Di Tian, even if they couldn’t defeat him. The reinforcements who had arrived in Shrek City over the past three days were numerous enough to the point where they had the strength to meet the Great Star Dou Forest head-on.

“Elder Di Tian, Elder Xuan, please calm down. The existence of Spirits is beneﬁcial for both parties. May I conduct the experiment before we begin negotiations?”

Huo Yuhao raised his voice and spoke as he walked over to Di Tian’s side.

Elder Xuan’s expression warmed a little when he saw Huo Yuhao. The soul beasts had suffered severe losses during the war, but did Shrek Academy not suffer in similar fashion? Even though Shrek Academy’s losses were relatively smaller compared to their adversaries, Shrek Academy had lost the greatest number of people in this war across the last ten thousand years. There were already more than a thousand dead from this battle alone.

Di Tian turned around towards Huo Yuhao and nodded as he waved towards Bi Ji.

Bi Ji unleashed a crisp call as various powerful soul beasts instantly stood to one side, and a group of soul beasts gradually walked out.

These soul beasts could only be described as frail and inﬁrm. Those who were severely wounded walked in front, and some of these soul beasts were carried by other soul beasts as the Emerald Swan and her kin treated them. The soul beasts who were positioned at the back seemed very lackadaisical, and

their soul power undulations were extremely weak. Evidently, their lives were about to end.

Elder Xuan gestured to the humans, and the crowd separated as the volunteers stepped out.

Huo Yuhao was surprised that not a single member from the Tang Sect appeared amongst these volunteers. Jiang Nannan and Xiao Xiao had recently broken through to Rank 60, but they had claimed their sixth soul rings before this. The Tang Sect’s other members hadn’t reached a bottleneck. Nan Qiuqiu was close, but she was still one step away.

However, Huo Yuhao wasn’t entirely unfamiliar with these volunteers. He actually saw someone he was very familiar with amongst the volunteers...Dai Huabin!

Dai Huabin’s soul power is at Rank 60 now? And he hasn’t obtained a soul ring?

Not just Dai Huabin stepped out; Ning Tian and Wu Feng were also there, and Ning Tian was dressed like a man as he walked out while holding hands with Wu Feng. Wu Feng was

no different from how she used to be, but her expression had become a lot gentler than before.

Several other students from Shrek Academy’s inner courtyard had also volunteered. Huo Yuhao could name most of them, while the rest of the volunteers consisted of individuals from those who came to reinforce Shrek City. They greeted and gestured to Huo Yuhao in the distance in unison as they walked out.

Huo Yuhao wasn’t very familiar with them, but he could vaguely guess that he had probably rescued most of these people from Sunrise City, and that was the reason why they recognized him.

The soul beasts and soul masters who had volunteered stepped out from their respective camps and stood at the front.

Huo Yuhao turned around and looked at Di Tian as he said calmly, “Elder Di Tian, please attach restrictions to me, but don’t hinder my circulation of soul power and spiritual power. You can give me poison if you like.”

Di Tian was momentarily stunned, but he immediately understood what Huo Yuhao was trying to say. He answered plainly, “No need. Go.”

He is worthy of being called the Beast God! Is he not afraid of me taking this opportunity to escape? Huo Yuhao couldn’t help but admire Di Tian as he stared at Di Tian’s calm expression. This was how the strongest individual in the world carried himself!

Huo Yuhao didn’t say anything ﬂattering, but bowed deeply in Di Tian’s direction before he turned around and strode towards the center of both parties.

The Bear Lord frowned and said, “Di Tian, this fellow is very slippery. What if…”

“Shut up!” Di Tian’s calm voice was full of unquestionable majesty.

The Bear Lord closed his mouth and said nothing more. His eyes were full of fury and resentment, but he didn’t dare to talk back to Di Tian.

Huo Yuhao walked to the center of both sides by himself and said, “Please send your respective representatives out.”

A soul beast was delivered in front of Huo Yuhao from the soul beasts’ camp. This soul beast was in a truly terrible situation – it was a tiger, and Huo Yuhao could judge from its shape and size that it had at least ten thousand years of cultivation. However, half its body was no longer there, and if the Emerald Swans hadn’t been continually supporting his life with healing soul skills, this tiger would have died a long time ago.

The one hundred human volunteers glanced at one another. They were a lot more anxious compared to the soul beasts, and nobody wanted to be the ﬁrst brave volunteer to take this risk. In the end, nobody knew whether creating Spirits would be dangerous, and they would be a lot nearer to those soul beasts if they stepped forward. If the soul beasts attacked, they would take the brunt of their assault.

At this moment, a cold voice declared, “Let me!”

Someone strode out from the group of humans, and he widened his strides, arriving in front of Huo Yuhao with a few leaps.

A complicated look ﬂashed across Huo Yuhao’s eyes when he saw this person, because this person wasn’t anyone else but his half-brother. At the same time, this person was the one who had caused his mother’s death, and was also his enemy... Dai Huabin!

Even though Dai Huabin’s mother was the real culprit, Dai Huabin had directly caused his mother harm. Dai Huabin had kicked Huo Yuhao’s mother when her body was already frail and weak. His mother’s condition had deteriorated from there, and she couldn’t be treated anymore afterwards. Huo Yuhao hated the Duke’s wife the most, but Dai Huabin was number two for sure.

He had suppressed this hatred deep in his heart over the years. However, his hatred began to surface as he became stronger and stronger all the way until they were inside the Yin-Yang Love Querying Valley.

Huo Yuhao and Dai Huabin had attempted to rescue their father in the Yin-Yang Love Querying Valley, and had eventually saved the White Tiger Douluo, Dai Hao. Afterwards, Dai Huabin didn’t hesitate to ruin his own physical appearance for Zhu Lu, and Huo Yuhao had ﬁnally developed a thread of respect for Dai Huabin. However, respect was only respect in the end, and his hatred had never been dispelled.

It wasn’t hard to imagine how Huo Yuhao was feeling as he stared at Dai Huabin.

From Huo Yuhao’s perspective, this was a great opportunity to exact revenge! As long as he was willing, he could make an accident happen when Dai Huabin was assimilating with his Spirit, and Huo Yuhao could end his life, just like that!

However, this thought only ﬂashed once in Huo Yuhao’s head before he gave it up. He arrogantly told himself, One day, I will use my own identity to stride back into the Duke’s Mansion, and I will exact my revenge uprightly and frankly. Murdering him in the dark is shameful, and I can’t bring shame to my mother.

With these thoughts in mind, Huo Yuhao swept away the dark shadow in his heart as he nodded in Dai Huabin’s direction.

Dai Huabin looked at him with an expression that was far better than before. “You saved my father back then, and I haven’t been able to thank you. Perhaps, thanking you is a little late, but I will always remembered this favor. You will not be my enemy in the future.” He pointed at his heart as he spoke.

Huo Yuhao felt his feelings ripple when he heard those words. He nodded and said, “Prepare yourself. After this, you have to be completely sincere and willing to fuse with the soul beast for it to become your Spirit. You can’t reject it in any form at all, because the process will fail otherwise. What I am about to use is an equality contract. If the fusion is successful, the soul beast will become your soul ring. I trust that you know how beneﬁcial Spirits are, so I won’t explain any further.”

“Alright, come.” Dai Huabin just stood there as he relaxed his body and unleashed his martial soul. Dense black and white fur began emerging from his body, and his frame became larger and burlier.

Huo Yuhao turned towards the soul beast and said, “I know you can understand me. This process will be the same for you. If you want to live, and if you want to allow your life to continue, then you have to follow through with this experiment. Do you understand?”

The tiger stared at Huo Yuhao with its remaining eye and slowly nodded its head.

Huo Yuhao took a deep breath and said, “You two have to relax at the same time. Don’t reject me in any way, and I will guide you both to complete this fusion ritual.”

Huo Yuhao released his Spirit Eyes as he spoke. More accurately put, his Spirit Eyes had transformed qualitatively into another existence after he fused with Wang Qiu’er; they were now the Eyes of the Asura!

An enormous rose-gold vertical eye appeared behind Huo Yuhao’s back as seven soul rings – white, purple, black, black, black, rose-gold, and red – gradually emerged and rose up.

A complicated expression ﬂashed across Dai Huabin’s eyes when he saw Huo Yuhao’s seven soul rings. He sighed inside, Seems like I will never be able to catch up to him. Seven rings... he’s a Soul Sage now, and he’s a Soul Sage with a hundred-thousand-year soul ring! Even though he didn’t know what had happened to Huo Yuhao recently, Huo Yuhao’s exponential advancement dealt quite a blow to Dai Huabin.

Huo Yuhao’s eyes shone with clear golden light as he gazed at the tiger. He reached over slowly with his spiritual power, and helped this soul beast condense its spiritual imprint and spiritual power before he helped adjust and regulate its blood so that it would be prepared for the contract. Huo Yuhao began to guide Dai Huabin only when he was done with the tiger.

Something unexpected happened right at this moment. The tiger’s dim and lifeless single eye suddenly sparkled with ﬁerce light as its crippled frame forcibly leapt off the ground, and it

opened its mouth and bit down at Huo Yuhao. Eye-catching red light shone from its body at the same time; it was triggering its own soul power, and seemed like it was going to self-destruct!

It wasn’t hard to imagine how powerful a ten-thousand-year soul beast’s self-destruction would be. Furthermore, he was right next to Huo Yuhao, and its intentions were very clear from his behavior. It wanted to hold Huo Yuhao down before it self-destructed, and then they would die together.

Unfortunately, he was up against the Eye of the Asura. Huo Yuhao had already realized that something was wrong when his blood began to surge inside his body. Huo Yuhao’s seven soul rings switched to ﬁve, and his fourth soul ring glowed as brilliant orange-gold light sparkled. Huo Yuhao slapped out with his right hand with lightning speed, and he touched the tiger’s body gently before he pressed it down from midair just like that.

The red light emanating from the soul beast was extinguished just like that. The tiger seemed like it had been frozen and plunked back on the ground, and it seemed to have been transformed into a statue. It didn’t move an inch at all.

The Snow Empress’ Three Ultimate Techniques, Snowless Glacier!

Before, Huo Yuhao had had to expend a lot of soul power and had to concentrate all his energy to unleash this attack. In this moment, Huo Yuhao used Snowless Glacier easily and casually, and everything seemed as smooth like rolling clouds and ﬂowing water. He wasn’t hindered at all.

“Bastard! He wants to take this chance to kill my kin.” The Bear Lord howled furiously as his body instantly enlarged, and he prepared to pounce at Huo Yuhao.

Right at this moment, an incredibly digniﬁed voice that was accompanied by terrifying soul power erupted from the Beast God.

“Let me see who dares to move.” Di Tian soared into the air as he spoke, and he turned a half round in the sky and arrived in front of the Bear Lord. His eyes were entirely golden as he raised his right hand, and purplish-gold ﬂames burned as Di Tian grabbed the Bear Lord’s Darkgolden Terrorclaw, which he was swinging at Huo Yuhao.

The king of the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bears possessed almost unrivaled strength, and his claws were razor-sharp, but his claws couldn’t move a single inch in Di Tian’s iron-like grip.

The Bear Lord howled, “Di Tian, you still want to protect that human at a time like this? He killed our kin!”

Di Tian stared at him coldly and said, “You have challenged me time and time again, Bear Lord. Do you actually think that I don’t dare to kill you? Even if you want to challenge me, you should be smarter about it. Since you want to die, I will fulﬁll your wish.”

The purplish-gold ﬂames on Di Tian’s hand became stronger as he spoke. Similar purplish-gold ﬂames began burning on his body at the same time, and he pressed the Bear Lord down from the sky just like that.

The indignation in the Bear Lord’s eyes became fear. He had always been known for his strength, but in this moment, the strength that was coming from Di Tian’s single hand was so strong that the Bear Lord couldn’t resist him at all.

Di Tian raised his other hand, which began to transform as he raised it up. His human hand became a dragon claw, dark as the night. However, that dragon claw looked like oblivion in the Bear Lord’s eyes as a trembling fear from deep within his heart surfaced. He could clearly feel that this dragon claw was

a frightening existence that could take his life!

This was the Dragon King’s Claw!

The group of restless soul beasts all quieted down when Di Tian’s pitch-black dragon claw appeared. They laid down on the ground, prostrate, their bodies quivering. Even the Emerald Swan, the Three-Headed Scarlet Devilmastiff, and the Demoneye Tree went down on one knee.

What was the Dragon King’s Claw? Legend had it that the Black Dragons were the Dragon God’s personal bodyguards. After the Dragon God separated into the Gold Dragon and Silver Dragon, the Black Dragons protected his two great avatars, and even the Ninth Dragon Prince didn’t dare to offend the Black Dragons for nothing. The reason for that was because the Dragon God had fondly recalled the Black Dragons’ loyalty, and he gave their leader the title of the Dragon King, and also taught the Dragon King’s Claw to the Black Dragons.

Only the leaders of each generation of Black Dragons could inherit this supreme innate ability!

The Dragon King’s Claw wasn’t that different from other powerful soul skills to humans. However, it was vastly different for soul beasts. The Dragon King’s Claw carried the Dragon God’s aura, and only the most powerful soul beast in the world could possess a skill like this. Once the Dragon King’s Claw was unleashed, every single soul beast that wasn’t similarly blessed by a God had to submit. Otherwise, they would perish, and disappear into oblivion in the face of the Dragon King’s Claw.

Di Tian had never used his Dragon King’s Claw before today, not even against the Evileye Tyrant King. But at this moment, he unleashed his Dragon King’s Claw, which meant that he was representing the Dragon God, and he was representing the Black Dragons who had protected him. Whoever resisted him, without considering the frightening force that the Dragon King’s Claw had against soul beasts, would be challenging every single soul beast in the world that possessed dragon blood.

All soul beasts that had even a thread of dragon blood were proud of that fact. Dragons had once ruled the Douluo

Continent: there were sky dragons, there were earth dragons, and there were many species who were relatives of the dragon race. Not even the Dragon God himself could count how many different species of soul beasts possessed dragon blood.

Therefore, not a single soul beast dared to resist the Dragon King’s Claw. The Bear Lord was scared shitless! He truly felt Di Tian’s intense killing intent!

“Di Tian, no, Di Tian, I was wrong. Forgive me, Di Tian. I promise I will never challenge your authority again.” The Bear Lord wasn’t an idiot, after all. He had been alive for several hundred thousand years, so what was more important than his life?

Di Tian muttered coldly, “This isn’t the ﬁrst time. You’ve gone behind my back in the past, and I’ve been too lazy to fault you for all those little things. However, today’s matter concerns the Great Star Dou Forest’s future, and yet you dare to stir up trouble. Are you really treating me like I don’t exist?”

Di Tian’s Dragon King’s Claw slashed down from the sky as he spoke, and went straight for the Bear Lord’s head.

“Mercy, Di Tian!” Bi Ji couldn’t help but exclaim.

Di Tian’s claw was going for the Bear Lord’s head, but he slanted his claw and struck the Bear Lord’s shoulder instead. The terrifying force of Di Tian’s Dragon King’s Claw was on full display.

Back then, the Valkyrie Douluo Xian Lin’er had used her full strength, but had only chopped a few strands of hair from the Bear Lord’s forehead with her Greenﬂame Spear. However, the Bear Lord’s frame seemed like it was made from tofu in front of Di Tian’s Dragon King’s Claw, and Di Tian’s claw cut into his shoulder just like that.

“Aargh –” A shrill and agonizing howl erupted from the Bear Lord’s mouth, and his muscular body began to tremble like a pendulum.

Di Tian was right in front of the Bear Lord as he stared into his eyes, which were already full of fear. “This will be the last time. If there’s a next time, I will use your life to wash away my wrath.”

He swung his left hand as he spoke, and the Bear Lord’s enormous frame was sent hurtling through the air like a cannon shell. The Bear Lord crashed through the Great Star Dou Forest, black lightning streaks ﬂickering on his body as if they were about to tear his body apart completely as he ﬂew through the sky. The Bear Lord continued to howl painfully as tough dark golden hair scattered in all directions in the air, and horrifying gashes appeared one after another on his body.

The entire place was deathly quiet.

Who would have thought that the Beast God, Di Tian would lash out against the Great Star Dou Forest’s second-strongest individual himself? Furthermore, he did so with such brutal force. Di Tian’s Dragon King’s Claw was so mighty that he suppressed the Bear Lord to the point that the Bear Lord couldn’t resist at all.

Bi Ji, the Myriad Demon King, and the Scarlet King, along with all the soul beasts on scene, were all prostrate on the ground. Nobody dared to move a muscle.

Di Tian turned around. His expression was ice-cold as he said plainly, “If anyone dares to go against my words, I will make

his spirit burn in hell forever.”

The soul beasts didn’t dare to make a sound. They were just lying there on the ground, quivering, and certain soul beasts who had relatively weaker minds even began to lose their bowels.

On the other side in the human camp, Elder Xuan and Du Busi wore solemn expressions. Dragon King’s Claw… Di Tian possessed the Black Dragon’s strongest esoteric ability. They weren’t sure what would have happened if Di Tian had hysterically unleashed his full strength that day!

Elder Xuan couldn’t help but admire Elder Mu even more. If Elder Mu hadn’t used the Golden Tree’s strength to trigger the Taotie’s powers in his body and forcefully imprison Di Tian, Shrek City would probably have been crushed to a pulp by the beast wave. Di Tian was a lot stronger than they had imagined!

Huo Yuhao saw everything Di Tian did. He was now comparing the Beast God with other powerful individuals he had met before, and he realized that besides that teacher of his who came from another world, the Calamity Necromancer Electrolux, nobody was as powerful as the Beast God. Not even

the Darkness Holy Dragon could compare to Di Tian. If Elder Mu were still alive and at his peak condition, he would probably only have a chance against the Beast God if he teamed up with the Darkness Holy Dragon.

Huo Yuhao was sure that Di Tian wasn’t a demigod like Electrolux. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have to worry about the dangers of his next metamorphosis. Demigods possessed abilities that transcended this world... Of course, Huo Yuhao couldn’t tell what that level was like right now...

“What happened wasn’t your fault – continue. You can choose any soul beast you want to cooperate with your experiment.” Di Tian turned to Huo Yuhao and spoke plainly, jolting Huo Yuhao awake from his fearful thoughts.

Huo Yuhao nodded and glanced at Dai Huabin beside him. Dai Huabin’s reaction was drastically different from his. At this moment, the half-brother with whom he shared a father only had excitement in his eyes. Dai Huabin stared at Di Tian as if he were gazing upon his idol, a pure worship of strength.

“Thank you for your trust.” Huo Yuhao bowed towards Di Tian before he walked towards the soul beasts who were representing the Great Star Dou Forest for the experiments.

Di Tian had heavily injured the Bear Lord and was also telling Huo Yuhao through his actions how important these experiments were, and how much emphasis he placed on them. Huo Yuhao didn’t know what the Beast God would do if his experiments failed.

There were many powerful individuals in the human camp, but from the strength that Di Tian had just displayed, he didn’t even consider these humans a challenge to him.

Huo Yuhao didn’t take long to choose a soul beast. He picked another tiger, but he didn’t pick from those who were injured. Instead, he picked from the group whose lives were almost at an end due to old age. This tiger was another ten-thousand- year soul beast, and from its appearance, it had about twenty thousand years of cultivation. With Dai Huabin’s talent, this tiger was very appropriate for his sixth soul ring.

Huo Yuhao brought this soul beast, whose movements were already a little sluggish, in front of Dai Huabin. This soul beast was a Black Tiger. Its entire body was pitch-black, and there was a white “King” etched onto its forehead. It was ﬁve meters long, and even though it was old and inﬁrm, one could tell see its power when it was in its prime. Its skeleton was large, and its four paws were especially thick and wide.

The Large-Palmed Black Tiger was a ferocious soul beast that was adept in melee. Tigers were typically highly regarded within the forest, but very few tigers could go further after reaching a hundred thousand years. It was because tigers were innately domineering and overbearing, and after breaking

through a hundred thousand years, they were likely to threaten the ruler’s sovereignty. Di Tian didn’t have to make a move; the Bear Lord and the Myriad Demon King wouldn’t allow any tiger to break through two hundred thousand years.

Huo Yuhao said to this Large-palmed Black Tiger, “I can sense that your life energy is about to be exhausted. If you complete your fusion with him, you will exist in another form. You will still be a king, and you can still accompany him into battle, and you will still be able to use your powers as a king. Are you willing to try?”

This Large-Palmed Black Tiger’s life had several months more to it, at most. The truth was that it had almost died at the hands of other soul beasts before it came forward today, and Bi Ji’s kindness had saved it.

Huo Yuhao chose soul beasts who were old and inﬁrm because they hadn’t participated in the beast wave, which meant they didn’t harbor that much hatred against Shrek City’s soul masters.

The tiger nodded slowly. Whether it was because of Di Tian’s forceful intimidation or because it wanted to prolong its life,

this tiger had no reason to object.

Huo Yuhao continued, “That’s good. In a moment, I will begin guiding your spiritual imprint to condense. You have to relax and cooperate with me so that I can fuse your innate abilities with your spiritual imprint. You have to do everything willingly, and only after that can I help you complete the contract.”

The Large-palmed Black Tiger growled, and its spiritual undulations became a little excited. However, it was still relatively calm.

Huo Yuhao turned to Dai Huabin and said, “Same goes for you. You have to accept this tiger from the bottom of your heart. The fusion after this will be a little painful, so you’ll have to hang on.”

“Come!” Dai Huabin had always been one of Shrek Academy’s individuals who craved strength the most, and even though his tolerance for pain and suffering wasn’t as good as Huo Yuhao, he wasn’t that far off due to this desire to strengthen himself.

Huo Yuhao reassured both parties before he stared at the Large-palmed Black Tiger, and the Eye of Destiny slowly opened on his forehead.

He had to use his full strength so that he could ensure success!

Spiritual power that wasn’t very intense, but gave others a sticky feeling, surged out from Huo Yuhao and encompassed both Dai Huabin and the tiger.

Huo Yuhao’s soul rings, that had transcended ordinary circumstances, rose from beneath his feet and attracted the attention of every single human and soul beast there.

A gentle golden light burst out from Huo Yuhao’s rose-gold Eye of Destiny and landed on the tiger’s forehead.

The tiger quivered once before it just lay there.

The tiger’s current physical situation meant there was no way it could release a burst of energy or use too much strength,

but it was best at relaxing.

Huo Yuhao’s formidable spiritual power wasn’t something it could ﬁght against. His spiritual power went straight in smoothly, and Huo Yuhao quickly found its spiritual imprint and spiritual origin.

Huo Yuhao wasn’t hasty, gradually releasing amiable will as he guided the tiger to control its own spiritual power at the same time.

A faint golden layer of light began to emerge from the tiger’s body. Under Huo Yuhao’s guidance, its spiritual origin, its spiritual imprint, and part of its purest soul power began to gather with the mysterious power contained within its innate bloodline.

This was a very long process. In the end, he was working on a soul beast that had more than twenty thousand years of cultivation. Furthermore, this was the ﬁrst time that Huo Yuhao was carrying out a material experiment. He didn’t dare to be careless at all, and he did everything meticulously.

Nobody knew more about Spirits than Huo Yuhao. Following the improvement of his spiritual power, Huo Yuhao gained an increasingly deeper understanding of the magic that Electrolux had left behind for him. Juxtaposed with the changes in his martial soul, his ability to control his spiritual power became stronger every time he underwent closed-door cultivation.

Both parties watched Huo Yuhao’s actions nervously, and not a single human or soul beast dared to make a sound.

They knew that if Huo Yuhao succeeded, he would make history on the Douluo Continent. He would have invented a formidable ability that could be popularized besides soul rings and soul bones!

---

Fifteen minutes later, the golden light on the tiger’s body became stronger, and everyone could see that golden light had begun to surge from its tail. Its body began to decay and darken wherever this golden light passed; its tail’s fur lost its shine ﬁrst, and its hind legs went next. The golden light that was slowly shifting forward became increasingly brilliant.

Finally, all that golden light concentrated on the tiger’s head and had become so intense that nobody could see its body anymore.

Huo Yuhao raised his left hand as the golden light condensed into a staff that appeared in his grip, and deep and drawn-out incantations could be heard.

Those incantations were very bright and clear, but nobody could understand what he was saying. The unfamiliar voice seemed to cause heaven and earth to tremble along with it.

A golden hexagon began to take shape on the ground. This hexagon encompassed Huo Yuhao, Dai Huabin, and the Large- palmed Black Tiger.

Huo Yuhao’s body slowly drifted into the air, the Eye of the Asura appeared behind his back as a vertical eye.

His chanting became sharper and higher in pitch as his seventh soul ring glowed, and the vertical eye behind him burst with light as that light swallowed him entirely, and he transformed into the Eye of the Asura.

Rose-gold sun patterns lit up several hundred meters around him, and intense spiritual undulations caused even the expressions of the Beast God, the Taotie Douluo Elder Xuan, and the Body Douluo Du Busi to change.

Rose-gold streaks of light ﬂickered one after another as Dai Huabin and the Large-palmed Black Tiger were pulled closer to one another.

A beam descended on Dai Huabin’s head, and another pulled on the tiger. Under the effects of Huo Yuhao’s chants, they were ﬁnally pulled to within one foot of one another.

Huo Yuhao’s will guided Dai Huabin, and Dai Huabin slowly raised his right hand and pressed it against the Large-palmed Black Tiger’s forehead. Dai Huabin began to chant something, as the tiger also began to make sounds that sounded like whimpering.

The hexagon beneath them became brighter and brighter as strange glyphs rose up one after another. These glyphs circled around their bodies as gentle spiritual and soul power undulations orbited them at the same time.

Di Tian, Elder Xuan, and the others who had seen many things and were very knowledgeable could clearly feel the peculiar transformations that were happening between Dai Huabin and that Large-Palmed Black Tiger.

The process was similar to absorbing soul rings. Dai Huabin was actually absorbing something from the tiger, while the tiger’s life energy was continuously slipping away. However, its body was integrating into Dai Huabin’s body, creating something that wasn’t a soul ring.

Both the humans the soul beasts could tell at this point that Huo Yuhao’s research into Spirits had its reason and rationality. Even though the process wasn’t yet complete, they knew that Huo Yuhao’s claims weren’t empty.

The Eye of the Asura slowly rose into the sky and retreated as Huo Yuhao returned to human form and ended his martial soul true body.

Huo Yuhao had already helped Dai Huabin and the tiger complete the necessary incantations. Now, he would have to wait and see if they could complete their fusion.

Huo Yuhao took a deep breath and watched everything that was happening in the hexagon nervously. This was an equal contract, so approval from both parties for each other was more important than anything else. If either had any objections during this approval process, the ceremony would fail.

At this moment, the beneﬁt of Huo Yuhao choosing this old and inﬁrm Large-Palmed Black Tiger began to show. The tiger was aging, and if it didn’t approve Dai Huabin and couldn’t become his Spirit, then the tiger would die for sure! These circumstances discreetly raised the tiger’s sincerity exponentially. Huo Yuhao couldn’t guess Dai Huabin’s mentality at this moment, so he could only resign things to fate.

Seconds and minutes passed as the light inside the hexagon became increasingly strong, while the glyphs became increasingly numerous.

Suddenly, all the glyphs paused in midair as the Large- palmed Black Tiger’s enormous frame slanted and collapsed inside the hexagon. It had lost every last bit of its life energy.

The soul beasts that were prostrate on the ground, especially those who were about to be experimented on, all stood up in unison and stared at Dai Huabin. Fear and anger began to surface in their eyes.

Chapter 409: Spirit Experimentation

However, at the very next moment, all of the symbols surged toward Dai Huabin like rivers emptying into an ocean. A black soul ring almost twice as big as a normal soul ring rose from underneath his feet. As it rose, his original ﬁve soul rings also became much darker.

“Rawr!” A ferocious tiger’s roar rang out from Dai Huabin’s mouth.

“Rawr!” Then, another excited tiger roar was heard!

Dai Huabin’s new black soul ring glowed brightly. His entire body became illusory, and with that, a ray of black emerged from his chest and landed in front of him.

Four huge tiger paws landed on the ground. Wasn’t that shadow that Large-Palmed Black Tiger? However, it was no longer near the end of its life. Instead, its body had become much stronger. Furthermore, its fur now glowed with a faint, golden light. Streaks of white tiger stripes appeared on its back, and the ‘King’ symbol on its forehead was much larger.

While its body looked illusory and incorporeal, it was otherwise indistinguishable from before.

“Rawr!” It roared excitedly once more. The Large-Palmed Black Tiger turned around, stood up, and placed its front paws on Dai Huabin’s shoulders.

Dai Huabin laughed, “It worked!” As he said that, he grabbed the front two paws of the Large-palmed Black Tiger and lifted it up strongly. Its paws landed on his back, and then both human and tiger paused. After Dai Huabin unleashed his White Tiger, the fur between its black and white stripes turned black. He slapped forward with his right hand, and in mid-air, a huge black tiger paw appeared. It smashed down onto the ground, creating a crater a few meters deep in the shape of a tiger’s paw.

The Large-palmed Black Tiger behind him lowered its head and charged. Dai Huabin and it were synchronized perfectly. He leaped into the air and landed ﬁrmly on his back. The four limbs of the Large-palmed Black Tiger brimmed with strength as it jumped up and down in the plains between the humans and the soul beasts. It was incredibly fast, and Dai Huabin laughed excitedly.

“Spirit, it really is a Spirit!” After a momentary calm, the soul masters burst into discussion as excited voices rang out everywhere.

The same thing happened on the soul beasts’ side. Instead of chattering, the many different types of soul beasts roared and grunted.

The chill in Di Tian’s eyes disappeared, replaced with an unusual excitement.

It had worked! The equal contract between Dai Huabin and this Large-palmed Black Tiger was successful. The Large- palmed Black Tiger was now his replacement for his sixth soul ring!

Both humans and soul beasts could see the massive advantage a Spirit had over a soul ring. First of all, a Spirit could provide a soul skill just like a soul ring. Just now, Dai Huabin’s Black Tiger Spirit Palm was able to demonstrate the strength of a soul skill. Furthermore, a Spirit had consciousness! Right now, it carried Dai Huabin on its back and served as his steed. How majestic was that?! Furthermore, this

Large-palmed Black Tiger could evidently ﬁght as well. This was way superior to merely possessing a soul ring!

“Wait a moment, I want to do an experiment,” Huo Yuhao said, as he sent spiritual intent out to Dai Huabin, who had already ridden away.

Instantly, the Large-palmed Black Tiger turned around and returned to Huo Yuhao.

The Large-palmed Black Tiger lowered its body, and Dai Huabin slid off it and stood in front of Huo Yuhao. Right now, his face was brimming with excitement. He had dared to take part in this experiment not because he trusted Huo Yuhao, but because he didn’t want to forgo any opportunity that could strengthen him. The ﬁrst person to do anything would face risks, but Dai Huabin was smart. As the ﬁrst person in line, Huo Yuhao would do his best to make sure that it went smoothly. Obviously, he was proven right!

This Spirit, a Large-palmed Black Tiger, was much better than he had expected!

Huo Yuhao turned to look at the soul beasts and said, “Elder Di Tian, please come forward.” Then, he looked at the human side and invited Elder Xuan forward as well

They were the representatives from the two sides!

Di Tian and Elder Xuan’s bodies shone, and in the next instant, they were standing next to Huo Yuhao.

Huo Yuhao said to Di Tian, “Elder Di Tian, please verify that this Large-palmed Black Tiger has retained its original consciousness.”

The body, or carcass, of this Large-palmed Black Tiger, still lay there. Next to Dai Huabin stood its Spirit.

Di Tian nodded as he looked at the Large-palmed Black Tiger.

With just one action, this twenty-thousand-year Large- palmed Black Tiger was able to demonstrate that it had retained its original consciousness to the Beast God. It

crouched on the ground and it straightened its tail into the air, like a pug wagging its tail to endear itself to the Beast God.

A deep growl emerged from the mouth of this Large-palmed Black Tiger. Huo Yuhao did not know what it said, but from its spiritual ﬂuctuations, he could guess that it was talking to the Beast God.

Di Tian listened for a while before nodding. Then, he lifted his right hand and placed it on Dai Huabin’s shoulder.

Dai Huabin’s body trembled for a bit as he tried to resist, but how could he defy the powerful Beast God? Elder Xuan and Huo Yuhao did not intervene to stop Di Tian from placing his hand on Dai Huabin’s shoulder.

Di Tian closed his eyes and sensed quietly. Dai Huabin felt his body going as still as a statue. There was no way for him to move.

The Large-palmed Black Tiger next to him looked at him occasionally. Its excitement turned into fear, an innate fear of the Beast God.

Elder Xuan looked at Huo Yuhao inquisitively, but Huo Yuhao just smiled and nodded at him. The moment the ceremony was completed, he was conﬁdent that it had succeeded.

Di Tian did not probe for too long. He retracted his right hand, and the Beast God opened his eyes once more. He looked at Huo Yuhao, and his severe expression softened. He nodded at Yuhao and said, “You have made history.”

These four simple words made Huo Yuhao feel as if a huge burden had been lifted from his shoulders. He replied to Di Tian, “I’m just glad that I didn’t let you down.”

Di Tian nodded and said, “Continue, let’s see what its success rate is like.”

Huo Yuhao nodded earnestly.

The success of a single experiment did not mean anything. If its success rate was only ten percent, then no matter how good a Spirit was, it would not be very effective. There would be no way for him to introduce it to the masses.

Huo Yuhao turned to Dai Huabin and said, “Please go back.”

Dai Huabin looked deep in his eyes and said, “Thank you, I owe you one.” With that, he leapt into the air, and his Large- palmed Black Tiger did the same, catching him in mid-air. Together, they turned into a bolt of black lightning as they quickly dashed back to the human’s side.

Dai Huabin was not the only excited one! This Large-palmed Black Tiger was just as excited. It had reached the end of its life, but it managed to live again using another method. Furthermore, it was at the peak of its strength. While its life was interconnected with Dai Huabin’s, this fate was much better than death. By tying its fate with Dai Huabin, it could even experience the wonders of the human world.

Dai Huabin’s success made both humans and soul beasts excited about the experiment. Even the soul beasts that were severely injured felt their hatred for humans decrease. After all, who did not want to live? One’s survival instinct was always stronger than the desire for revenge.

---

However, Huo Yuhao still did not choose an injured soul beast for his second experiment. Instead, he chose another old soul beast.

From the humans, he chose an outer courtyard student of Shrek Academy again, whose soul power had just reached Rank 30.

This fusion was exceptionally successful. This time, the entire contract ceremony took less than two hours to complete. A thick purple soul ring and a Purplejade Falcon became this student’s Spirit.

While a Purplejade Falcon could not be ridden like a Large- palmed Black Tiger, the two of them shared a mental bond, which made the student jump around excitedly.

The crowd was ignited by the two successes. The ﬁrst thing to change was the emotions of the soul beasts. Their intense enmity dropped visibly, and the soul beasts which were in line now showed signs of anticipation.

Huo Yuhao did not stop. He conducted experiments, one after another. His initial successes created a good foundation for his later trials. Not only did it make him more experienced, but he also earned the trust of both humans and soul beasts. As the two sides formed their contracts, it was less likely for any problems to occur.

However, not all contracts were successful. Among the soul beasts, some of them still tried to resist the humans. After twenty rounds of experimentation, Huo Yuhao failed twice. One of the soul beasts died, as its body was too weak.

However, this did not affect the overall results of the Spirit experimentation. A success rate of ninety percent answered many questions.

Huo Yuhao’s vast spiritual power prevented fatigue from setting in. He continued his experimentations from dawn until night. In between, he rested twice. When night fell, all one hundred experiments were completed.

Among them, eighty-six pairs were able to form their contracts successfully. Among the fourteen pairs that failed,

six soul beasts died because they were too weak. The other soul beasts which lived were in pretty bad shape, too.

Huo Yuhao did not end the experiment just like this. He helped the remaining eight soul beasts that survived form contracts again.

This time, ﬁve succeeded and three died.

In the end, the success rate stood at ninety-one percent. Ninety-one soul masters from Shrek Academy and the original three countries of the Douluo Continent now possessed their own Spirits.

The experiment could be considered a success, and the results were better than expected. The soul masters with Spirits all released their Spirits to interact with them and deepen their bond. As the others looked at how excited they were, they could not help but admire them.

However, not everyone was happy. The unhappiest bunch were the Titled Douluo. Their soul rings were all complete, and they could never possess a Spirit. When they saw their juniors with their Spirits, how could they not be envious of them?

While the experiment was successful, Huo Yuhao asked to remain with the soul beasts, standing distinctly apart from the soul masters.

---

The ﬁrst day of the experiment was a huge success, but it was not the end. They still had to do a lot of statistical research, such as the situation of a fusion between a soul master and a Spirit, the amount of spirit power drained, and the number of soul rings that could be formed, among other things.

The next question they wanted to investigate was how many Spirits a single human could fuse with.

Then, they wanted to research if Huo Yuhao’s equal contract could be done by the soul masters themselves. If they wanted to perfect the Spirit System, there were many things for them to do.

Of course, Huo Yuhao did not have to do all these things personally. Shrek Academy’s research in the area of martial souls was ranked ﬁrst on the entire continent. The many elders of the Sea God’s Pavilion and teachers of the Academy had already started their research and data collection. Once soul masters could form equal contracts by themselves, there would be a lot less things for Huo Yuhao to do.

Huo Yuhao’s hard work for the day had not been wasted. The most obvious change was that the enmity between the humans and the soul beasts was greatly reduced. They were no longer spoiling for a ﬁght, and the Bear Lord had yet to reappear.

The success of the Spirit experimentation helped to alleviate the unresolved conﬂict between humans and soul beasts. Even though further experiments were required, they had at least found a direction to work toward. Just like the Beast God Di Tian had said, Huo Yuhao had made history today!

As he smiled faintly, Huo Yuhao ﬁnally closed his eyes tiredly, and started to meditate. While his spiritual power was strong enough, he was completely drained after today.

Elder Xuan stood next to him to protect him while he rested. On the side of the soul beasts, the Myriad Demon King and the Scarlet King stood on either side of him, as well.

In the eyes of both humans and soul beasts, Huo Yuhao’s position had been greatly elevated. He was the only one who could currently complete Spirit Contracts.

The people who were the most excited were the soul masters who had already fused with their soul beasts. The signing of the equal contracts meant that they were the ﬁrst batch of soul masters to possess Spirits. As of right now, a Spirit was much more useful than a soul ring. Even if they could only possess one Spirit, this would greatly increase their strength. Some of them even hoped that the subsequent experiments would fail so that they would be the only ones who possessed Spirits. Of course, such a perverted mindset was only shared by a few of them.

---

Many soul beasts spent the night in admiration and regret, particularly those who had reached a bottleneck. This sentiment was shared by the soul masters who lacked the courage to be the ﬁrst batch of test subjects.

The soul masters from Shrek Academy were in a better mood. After all, Huo Yuhao came from Shrek Academy. They believed that they still stood a chance to get a spirit in the future. However, the external soul masters of were dejected. They could not remain in Shrek City forever. The moment they left, they would never be able to experience a Spirit Fusion! Obviously, there would be truckloads of soul masters hoping Huo Yuhao could help them fuse with Spirits. He could barely manage the soul masters from Shrek Academy by himself!

At this time, Shrek Academy demonstrated its magnanimity. The elders of the Sea God’s Pavilion indicated that the moment Shrek Academy achieved a breakthrough in Spirit research, they would attempt to spread it across the entire continent, and not keep it for themselves.

The reinforcements all acknowledged this promise. They knew that Shrek Academy would never go back on its word. In

the Douluo Continent, Shrek’s prestige and name were without equal. If they said they would do it, they would do it. If not, they would not even have shared the secret of Spirits with everyone in the ﬁrst place.

The vast majority of soul masters understood Shrek Academy’s mindset. After all, the conﬂict between soul masters and soul beasts had become increasingly aggravated. In the Douluo Continent, the habitats of all soul beasts, with the exception of the Great Star Dou Forest, had been shrinking for several thousand years, due to the increase in soul masters and soul engineers. In particular, the development of soul engineers affected even ten-year and hundred-year soul beasts. If this continued, what could humans do when they no longer had soul power? At that time, even the soul tools that required soul power would be useless, much less soul masters.

The appearance of Spirits helped to mitigate this perennial conﬂict between humans and soul beasts. As long as they could be propagated, it would slow the reduction of soul beasts and give them time to reproduce. Of course, the formation of Spirits still needed soul beasts, and very few soul beasts were on the brink of death. Hence, Spirits could not completely resolve the conﬂict between human and soul beasts, but only mitigate it to a certain extent. However, this was a good start. With its Spirit research, perhaps Shrek Academy would even

be able to obtain more breakthroughs. What if they found a better way to replace soul rings?

Before the appearance of Spirits, many soul masters would have snorted at this notion. However, the moment Spirits appeared, these same soul masters were in awe. The situation became completely different. They became much more conﬁdent in Shrek!

With the success of his research and experimentation on Spirits, Huo Yuhao was able to atone for his previous mistakes at Shrek Academy. Furthermore, the more radical elders of the Sea God’s Pavilion, such as Elder Song and Elder Xuan, did not even believe that this problem was Huo Yuhao’s fault.

------

The next morning, as the sky in the distance started to turn white, Huo Yuhao woke from his meditation and habitually unleashed his Purple Demon Eyes to start his cultivation.

He then surveyed the bodies of the Spirits and soul masters, and asked them how they felt. Then, he personally inspected

the level of coordination between each Spirit and soul master, as well as the degree of consciousness of each Spirit.

After a whole day, he was able to gather a huge amount of data. At night, he invited a few human representatives, as well as the Savage Beasts who represented the soul beasts.

“Everyone,” said Huo Yuhao, as he bowed to everyone present. After all, these characters were incredibly inﬂuential in the entire continent, particularly the Beast God Di Tian, who was probably the strongest being in the entire Douluo Continent.

Di Tian nodded at Huo Yuhao. He was noticeably warmer than before.

Huo Yuhao continued, “Elders, the success rate of the experiment yesterday is delightful. The success rate is above ninety percent, which indicates that my research has been successful. Today, I conducted even more research and further experiments, which show that the situation is optimistic. Right now, the soul masters and Spirits that have fused are very well- coordinated, particularly the soul masters whose martial souls share the same element as their Spirits. After their fusion,

their strength has increased visibly, and their Spirits have remained conscious and aware. Two Spirits, however, were the exceptions. Earlier on, they both suffered massive brain damage, and in the fusion process, they lost their consciousness.”

Di Tian nodded. He could accept some amount of failure. After all, this was just the beginning. With more experience, he believed that the process could be bettered.

Huo Yuhao continued, “Other than these two soul beasts, the other Spirits are in good shape. They can ﬁght according to their own will and can also assist their soul masters to a certain extent. Through my research, I have discovered that for hundred-year Spirits, they can only give their soul masters a single soul skill. This goes without saying. Furthermore, in the future, they can no longer give their soul masters any more soul skills. However, their demand for their soul masters’ spiritual power is the least, and this type of fusion is the most successful.

“For thousand-year soul beasts, when they sign their equal contracts with their soul masters, they will need a longer time to fuse. They have higher emotional demands of one another. When the two sides fuse, I can help to coordinate the two sides

to a certain extent. If not, the success rate will decrease signiﬁcantly. Furthermore, these fusions demand more spiritual power from both soul master and soul beast. According to my current studies, it is difﬁcult for a soul master to gain another Spirit after having fused with a thousand-year Spirit. Unless their mental cultivation is exceptional, it is not likely for them to experience a second successful fusion.”

Huo Yuhao mentioned the downsides of Spirit Fusion of his own accord. Both Di Tian and Bi Ji nodded when they heard this. They were satisﬁed with him. His words were enough to demonstrate the sincerity of his experiment.

Huo Yuhao continued, “When it comes to ten-thousand year soul beasts, it will be very hard for them to undergo a Spirit Fusion. I need to use a lot more of my spiritual power to control their emotions. This is because after a soul beast reaches the ten-thousand-year threshold, it will become sentient, and vastly more intelligent. Its emotions become harder to control.

“Furthermore, their own spiritual power and strength will increase, and hence, their autonomy will make them reject the contract to a certain extent. When they sign their contracts with soul masters, both sides will require more spiritual

power. Furthermore, the pain these soul masters must endure will be beyond the level a normal human can endure. Hence, in the process of completing this pact, the soul masters must demonstrate a very strong will.

“However, I am certain that unless a soul master has a spiritual-type martial soul like me, it is impossible for a soul master to fuse a second time after he or she has fused with a ten-thousand year Spirit.”

“However, a thousand-year Spirit and a ten-thousand-year Spirit are obviously more useful than a hundred-year spirit. Through my conversation with the soul masters and the Spirits, I realized that a thousand-year Spirit with two soul skills can fuse with a soul master. However, after fusion, its ﬁrst soul skill can fuse with its soul master, as well. In other words, the soul master can use another soul skill, exactly as if he had gained another soul ring. This soul skill can be used by the Spirit itself as part of its ﬁghting skills. The other soul skill will be hidden in the Spirit’s body. If a soul master’s cultivation reaches the bottleneck of the next rank, the Spirit can unleash its soul skill to be the soul master’s next soul ring. The precondition is that the soul master must accept it.

“From my perspective, it is highly likely that soul masters will accept it because their Spirit can only unleash the soul rings that it gives them. This will further strengthen his Spirit and compensate for the disparity between this soul ring and a higher-ranked one. At the same time, the higher the rank of that soul ring, the harder it will be to obtain it, and more difﬁcult to ﬁnd one that is suited for himself. Hence, why doesn’t he just use the soul skill the Spirit can give him? To many soul masters, this is not a hard choice.

“When it comes to ten-thousand-year Spirits, they are even more useful for a soul master. First of all, the biggest beneﬁt of a ten-thousand-year Spirit is that they are sentient. While it is harder to fuse with one, once completed, their intelligence will enable them to fuse their own ﬁghting abilities with their soul master’s, greatly beneﬁting the latter. In a ﬁght, the Spirit will be part of the soul master’s ﬁghting abilities, and that’s without it even providing a soul skill.

“A ten-thousand-year soul beast, according to its cultivation, can provide between three and four soul skills for its soul master, who has the option to choose. In comparison, a soul master can only depend on luck when fusing with a soul ring. Furthermore, when one obtains a ten-thousand-year Spirit when one already has six rings, one will choose the soul ring the Spirit brings along with it when they add a seventh ring. This will ensure that the soul skill will be implanted into the Spirit, giving the Spirit an additional ability. For soul masters, this is tantamount to obtaining a ten-thousand-year soul ring.

“A soul master’s seventh soul skill is his Martial Soul True Body, which does not carry a soul skill with it. This is something that perplexes us soul masters, especially because of the beneﬁts of a seventh soul ring. By giving the seventh soul skill to one’s Spirit, this problem will be eliminated. Even if a soul master cannot use the soul skill himself, it will still beneﬁt

him greatly! This is equivalent to having one extra soul skill, how great is that?”

Huo Yuhao described it very clearly, and the humans and soul beasts who heard him all nodded. On the soul masters’ side, many eyes gleamed. These powerful soul masters were all thinking how their disciples’ ﬁghting styles would change after they had obtained their Spirits.

As the ﬁrst batch of test subjects, they were already ahead of their time!

Di Tian said, “These beneﬁts are good. The problem now is, what’s the success rate of the soul masters forming these contracts themselves? If we can’t resolve this problem, no matter how good Spirits are, all they will bring to us soul beasts is more harm.”

Huo Yuhao nodded and said, “I’ve considered this problem. What I can be sure of now is that if they try to fuse with hundred-year soul beasts, the success rate will be similar to mine. However, if they try it with thousand-year soul beasts or ten-thousand-year soul beasts, the success rate will drop visibly. However, this may not always be the case.

“In signing a contract with a soul beast and completing the Spirit Transformation, a very important point is the spiritual power of the soul master involved. When the soul beast and the soul master are both willing, his spiritual power is extremely important. Hence, there’s one situation which is highly beneﬁcial to the Spiritual Fusion process. Not only can it greatly increase one’s chance of success, but it will also beneﬁt the soul master immensely.”

“Oh, there’s such a way? What is it?” Du Busi the Body Douluo asked. From his tone right now, he did not treat Huo Yuhao as his junior, but instead as his equal.

Huo Yuhao said, “The soul master has to delay obtaining his next soul ring. Let me give an example: when a four-ringed Soul Ancestor’s soul power reaches Rank 50 under normal circumstances, he will try and obtain another soul ring to become a ﬁve-ringed Soul King, right?”

“When he obtains his soul ring, the most powerful one he can obtain is a ten-thousand-year soul ring. He can’t obtain one that is twenty thousand-years or more. I won’t go into details, but everyone’s following me, right?”

The many powerful humans all nodded.

Huo Yuhao said, “So what if he doesn’t try and fuse with his soul ring at this moment? What will happen? Ten thousand years ago, the Grandmaster of Shrek Academy told us in his research into the ten core forces of the soul master world that soul power will continually accumulate until the soul master has obtained his next soul ring, before it will burst out. In other words, if one continues cultivating, one’s soul power will continually increase, but it won’t reveal itself.

“For many soul masters, they cannot bear such a delay. After all, by obtaining a soul ring, one’s soul power will increase tremendously, which is also accompanied by an improvement in the quality of the soul master’s strength. However, if a soul master does not obtain a soul ring at this moment and continues cultivating, he will not only improve his soul power, but also his spiritual power. For a normal soul master, his spiritual power will increase along with his soul power. The more he cultivates, the more he meditates, the stronger his spiritual power will be. If his soul power can be suppressed for a while, and he is given more time to improve, his spiritual power can fulﬁll the criteria easily when he fuses with his Spirit. At the same time, this kind of training will make a soul master more stable and resilient, traits which are important when it comes to Spiritual Fusion. The success rate will thus

naturally increase. Even without me, the contract can be completed.

“In an optimal situation, if a four-ringed soul master can increase his soul power to Rank 60 before obtaining a Spirit, I can guarantee that his success rate, even if it’s with a ten- thousand-year Spirit, will be more than eighty percent. Once it’s done, he can obtain two ten-thousand-year soul rings, which will allow his strength to increase massively.”

Du Busi nodded non-stop. The conditions that Huo Yuhao were laying out could deﬁnitely be met. In his Body Sect, there were soul masters who cultivated like this. For some of the more anxious and gung-ho disciples, he would purposely deny them their soul rings so that they could improve their personality.

Elder Xuan said, “Your contract seems very difﬁcult. How long will it take to master?”

Huo Yuhao said, “I’ve considered this, too. I believe that it’s not ideal for everyone to learn it. Once someone knows how to make a contract, a soul master will ﬁnd it hard to resist the temptation of ﬁnding a Spirit. They will go and search for soul

beasts, and the process of Spiritual Fusion is extremely difﬁcult. Once it fails, the soul beast will be injured, and the soul master will not escape unscathed, either. It’s best for someone like me to facilitate the process as an outsider. This maximizes the success rate and prevents either side from getting hurt. Furthermore, the conductor will also be able to bear a portion of the pressure placed on the soul master. This will make the contract process a lot easier.”

Elder Xuan frowned and said, “You are just one person. Will you help everyone?”

Huo Yuhao said conﬁdently, “Of course I can’t do it alone. However, I believe that there are some people who are competent enough.”

This aroused Di Tian’s interest, and he asked Huo Yuhao, “What kind of people?”

Huo Yuhao replied, “Soul masters with spiritual-type martial souls like me!

“Normally, they will cultivate their spiritual power. The more powerful their spiritual power is, the stronger their martial soul be. Hence, in terms of spiritual power, even a three-ringed Soul Elder will be have greater spiritual power than a normal Soul Emperor. With spiritual-type soul masters as the middleman, the chance of success will naturally be higher. Furthermore, after they learn the contract process

from me, it will increase their chances even more.

“While there are not many soul masters with spiritual-type martial souls, they are still a signiﬁcant portion of the population. However, there are only a few spiritual-type soul beasts, so it’s hard for them to become strong. If we can gather them, I’ll train them and guarantee that afterward, the success rate of a Spiritual Fusion mediated by them will reach seventy percent or more. The speciﬁc success rate will depend on the spiritual cultivation of the soul master. By then, I will have divided them by their cultivation. Those with more powerful spiritual power will help the higher-ranked Spirits and soul masters, and those with less powerful spiritual power will fuse the ten-year and hundred-year Spirits with lower-ranked soul masters. This will help to increase the chances of success.”

“This makes sense,” agreed Du Busi promptly. “Yuhao’s words make sense. Xuan Zi and I share the same opinion. The contract is rather complicated, and not something that an

ordinary soul master can master. Furthermore, as one makes the contract, it will drain one of their spiritual power. With a bunch of people dedicated to facilitating the contract process, the success rate will be higher. Those who possess spiritual- type martial souls are the best candidates.

“Good idea! We can try it once we get back. I have some soul masters like the ones you’ve described in my Body Sect. Let me tell you now that the Body Sect will learn from Shrek Academy.”

Huo Yuhao said nothing, but smiled faintly.

Elder Xuan’s mouth twitched as he said, “Old Poison, you sure know to beneﬁt yourself! Huo Yuhao is the only one who can administer the contract. You now plan on learning the skill for yourself!”

Chapter 410: Spirit Pagoda

Du Busi laughed heartily and said, “Isn’t that great? We’ll be saving Yuhao the trouble of traveling everywhere. Shrek Academy has already guaranteed that they will publicize this contract.”

Elder Xuan frowned and turned to Huo Yuhao.

Huo Yuhao seemed to have expected this situation to appear a long time ago, and Du Busi wasn’t the only one to have such thoughts. The other powerful individuals from the various sects and academies were all very interested in his contract.

Huo Yuhao smiled faintly and said, “You don’t have to worry, elders. I have a suggestion for that. First, we have to split the process into several steps. For the ﬁrst step, everyone will have to send someone from your respective sects and academies who has at least three soul rings and is a spiritual-type soul master to Shrek Academy, so that we can conveniently train everyone together. Since Shrek Academy has promised to release the method of contracting Spirits to the public, we will not go back on our word.”

Every powerful soul master’s face began to sparkle when he said those words. Their heads bobbed up and down, and their eyes were as friendly as could be as they stared at Huo Yuhao.

Huo Yuhao said, “But…”

Everyone’s eyes focused. They stared at him quietly; from their perspective, Huo Yuhao deﬁnitely had some conditions to fulﬁll. However, even if he proposed certain conditions in favor of Shrek Academy or for himself, everyone could only agree so that they could have contracts with Spirits. In the end, Spirits could be considered something that would change the course of history for the development of soul masters in the future! Whoever could be ahead of everyone could develop one step faster than everyone else. Who was willing to give that up?

Huo Yuhao continued, “But we need to have rules. First, the contract between soul masters and soul beasts must be established on the foundations of mutual willingness. Our rationale for researching Spirits from the beginning wasn’t so that we could boost the strength of soul masters even further. Rather, we researched Spirits so that we could reduce the number of soul beasts we have to kill, and so that we can reduce the conﬂict between humans and soul beasts.

“Both humans and soul beasts are a part of the Continent, and we are all part of the balance of life. Killing soul beasts excessively will move humans closer to our own extinction in the future. Therefore, I have to ask everyone to remember this point.”

Everyone that Huo Yuhao was facing were powerful Titled Douluo, but Huo Yuhao wasn’t timid at all. His face was very solemn and serious when he said those words.

The group of powerful individuals tilted their heads slightly. They were all substantially important people in the world of soul masters, and they were very clear about a future where the number of soul beasts in the Continent was greatly diminished, and where top-tier soul beasts were few and far between. Therefore, even though Huo Yuhao’s words seemed a little simple compared to the beneﬁts that Spirits would bring, they were still moved by his words.

Huo Yuhao continued, “Therefore, because of our original intentions, we cannot let the fusion of Spirits spread unchecked. All kinds of circumstances will arise if that happens, and Spirits will turn from a good thing into a bad one. Thus, I suggest that we establish an organization speciﬁcally for the fusion of Spirits and the contracts involved.

This organization will help reconcile humans and soul beasts, and we will ﬁx dates to execute fusions with Spirits.”

“Form an organization? What kind of organization do you want to establish?” Du Busi asked doubtfully.

Huo Yuhao answered, “This organization’s main function will be to supervise and take charge of the contract between soul beasts and soul masters. At the same time, only spiritual- type soul masters who belong to this organization can be taught the method of conducting this contract. These spiritual- type soul masters cannot withdraw once they join.”

The group of Titled Douluo couldn’t help but draw a cold breath when they heard his words. They were all intelligent people, and they understood what kind of immense strength this organization that Huo Yuhao was suggesting they establish would possess when it was developed.

The director who controlled all this would control all sources of Spirits! Everyone knew how practical Spirits were, and this was deﬁnitely the direction that soul masters would pursue in the future. Under such circumstances, if an organization

controlled everything to do with Spirits, how great would their power over soul masters be?

“This organization will belong to Shrek?” Du Busi spoke his doubts without hesitation. If this organization was in Shrek Academy’s hands, then Shrek Academy would no longer be the number-one academy in the world... they would skyrocket to become the number-one entity in the world!

Huo Yuhao shook his head and smiled, “Don’t worry, elders. Shrek doesn’t have this ambition. This organization will belong to everyone, and it will be managed by everyone. My suggestion is for all three empires to choose several sects and academies who will send out their representatives, and Shrek Academy will also send out our representative, and we will come together to form a conference hall for this organization. Every decision that this organization has to make in the future will have to go through this conference hall. As for the rules after joining this conference hall, they will be up to you, elders, and the three empires to determine.”

Everyone heaved a sigh of relief when they heard his words.

Elder Xuan smiled faintly, but he didn’t speak too much from the beginning to the end. This organization had been something that Huo Yuhao, Yan Shaozhe, and the others had considered when they ﬁrst began their research on Spirits.

If this organization wasn’t monitored and checked, its strength would spread unchecked. There were too many tricks and schemes that humans could use against soul beasts, and who could predict how this organization would change in the future? Therefore, certain regulations were necessary for executing the equal contracts. However, this wasn’t something that Shrek Academy could control on their own.

If Shrek Academy was the only one controlling this organization, perhaps Shrek Academy’s strength would swell rapidly in the short term, but when that happened, they would become the entire Douluo Continent’s enemy. Shrek Academy’s strength would arouse the envy of others!

Therefore, this organization could only belong to all three empires and Shrek Academy at the same time. The Academy seemed to be at a disadvantage in this agreement, but Shrek Academy only had their own city behind them, and their Academy was being lifted to the same status as the other three empires, so this was considered a success for the Academy.

Furthermore, Shrek Academy was the one who had done all that research on spirits, so the three empires had nothing to say. They would feel they were taking advantage of Shrek Academy.

Under such circumstances, nobody would object. Careful discussions and negotiations would have to take place in the future to determine how this organization would be monitored and managed.

Di Tian had been listening quietly from one side this entire time, and a smile appeared on his face as Huo Yuhao ﬁnished his speech.

Clap, clap, clap!

Di Tian began to clap for Huo Yuhao. “Supervise... this word is great. I hope you humans can achieve that. I think Yuhao is right. Soul masters contracting Spirits by themselves is almost impossible, and no matter what, soul beasts will always be enemies to humans. Only those Spirits who have completed a contract with a soul master and fused into that person’s body will become your true companions and friends. However, how are you going to ﬁnd suitable soul beasts? This task will be very

challenging for you, and only us soul beasts can help you with that. If you guys can establish an effective organization, then I will send a representative from my side to join in as well.”

The Titled Douluo’s eyes sparkled when they heard his words.

Soul beasts entering the organization wasn’t a bad thing. Actually, it was great! This meant Di Tian had basically approved this experiment, and when Di Tian eventually sent someone to this organization, the Great Star Dou Forest would naturally assign those soul beasts that needed this Spirit fusion. This meant the fusion of Spirits would become a lot simpler.

“Alright, let’s do it. The Body Sect supports this decision.” Du Busi contemplated momentarily before he suddenly slapped his thigh forcefully. He was the ﬁrst to express his approval.

Elder Xuan was sitting beside him. He twitched his mouth and said, “Even though I admire you giving your approval, can you not slap your thigh next time?”

“How painful can it be if I slap myself?” Du Busi didn’t seem embarrassed at all. Instead, he seemed very proud, and Elder Xuan shook his head in exasperation.

The other Titled Douluo deliberated for a moment before they also expressed their support, one after another.

Of course, their support was not enough. This matter was very important, and still required support from the Douluo Continent’s three native empires before it could be rolled out ofﬁcially.

The appearance of Spirits had changed the Douluo Continent irreversibly. No matter what, this process couldn’t be completed so quickly. The incumbents were incredibly efﬁcient for achieving an agreement like this within two days.

Huo Yuhao exhaled deeply and quietly. He had ﬁnally managed to take this step, and all sorts of reﬁnements and adjustments were coming, but his main task was to teach this contract to others and plan everything. He had to gradually withdraw from being the core of the research into Spirits.

Elder Xuan looked at Huo Yuhao with a pleasant and satisﬁed look in his eyes. Ever since Huo Yuhao took the initiative to step forward and handle this matter with Spirits, he had been very reasonable, and he had handled everything very well in all aspects.

However, a dark shadow ﬂashed across Elder Xuan’s heart. Elder Song and Xian Lin’e had told him about the army of undead. He did have some understanding about this ability of Huo Yuhao’s, but this army of undead came from an evil soul master’s powers, after all! If Huo Yuhao was to take over as the Master of the Sea God’s Pavilion in the future, a blemish like this would cause great inner conﬂict within the Sea God’s Pavilion. In the end, evil soul masters had great difﬁculty controlling their state of mind.

What was even more frightening was that Huo Yuhao was simply too talented and prodigious. If problems began to appear in his mentality when he became a Titled Douluo, disaster would follow. Such a disaster wouldn’t just include Shrek, but might also spell disaster for the entire Continent!

Elder Xuan wasn’t the only one with this worry. Elder Song and Xian Lin’er shared the same concerns. However, they didn’t spread what they knew about the army of undead, and

only the few of them knew about Huo Yuhao’s undead army within the Sea God’s Pavilion. In the end, the battle was very intense at that moment, and only those powerful individuals who were stationed on the northern and western fronts who were observing the soul beasts’ movements on the periphery could see this army of undead. However, only the three of them knew that this army had something to do with Huo Yuhao.

Elder Xuan no longer bothered with Du Busi. He turned to Huo Yuhao and said, “Yuhao, have you considered how you’re going to establish this organization? What will it be named?”

Everyone was discussing things among themselves, but now their eyes returned to Huo Yuhao. After Huo Yuhao rescued those hostages at Sunrise City and with his discovery of Spirits, Huo Yuhao shared the same status as those powerful Titled Douluo. They understood that this creative and ingenious prodigy from Shrek Academy would undoubtedly become one of the strongest individuals on the Continent in the future.

Establishing a supervisory body that was shared among the three empires and forming a conference hall of soul masters for decision-making was as generous as Shrek could be. The various powerful individuals wouldn’t say too much about how the organization was going to be established, what it was going to be named and whatnot because as the inventor of Spirits, Huo Yuhao had the most right to make these decisions.

Huo Yuhao thought for a moment, then answered, “The main purpose of this organization that we are going to

establish is to focus on reducing the killing of soul beasts by humans and to gradually change the relationship between humans and soul beasts. Doing so will catalyze the completion of the equal contract between humans and soul beasts, and Spirits will be a way for soul beasts to transmit their spirits on. Why don’t we call this organization ‘Spirit’? My teacher, the

one who taught me how to execute this contract, left another

secret method to create a magic formation in the shape of a tower so that the process of transmitting spirits will become easier, and so that a soul master’s spiritual power can be more condensed. Therefore, our organization will be called… the Spirit Pagoda. How’s that?

“I suggest that Shrek City construct the ﬁrst Spirit Pagoda. At the same time, the Spirit Pagoda’s headquarters will be located in Shrek City. Shrek Academy is recognized by all three empires as a public place, so establishing the tower’s headquarters in Shrek City will be most appropriate. After the ﬁrst Spirit Pagoda is completed successfully, the second batch of towers will be established within all three empires’ capital cities. These towers will serve as emblems for the organization, and they will also transmit spirits at the same time. My suggestion is for the third batch of towers to be established in cities that are relatively closer to soul beast habitats. This way, transmitting spirits will become a lot more convenient. As for how the organization will be established and what the rules

will be, I’ll have to ask you and the Academy to decide that with the empires’ top ofﬁcials.”

The Spirit Pagoda was called a tower, but in reality, more of how it was named was because Huo Yuhao wanted to commemorate his teacher, the Calamity Necromancer Electrolux, who had passed away. Electrolux once said that one of the proudest things that he had done in his life was that he had once erected an eternal tower.

Huo Yuhao had never seen that tower, but that tower was undoubtedly what his teacher liked most. He decided to name this new organization as a tower to commemorate him.

Elder Xuan tilted his head as he listened to Huo Yuhao’s words. He was very satisﬁed with Huo Yuhao’s suggestions; the organization’s name wasn’t that big a deal, as it was just a label. What was more important was that Huo Yuhao had suggested that the Spirit Pagoda’s headquarters be located in Shrek City. This meant that forces from all over the world would deploy powerful individuals to be stationed at Shrek.

At the same time, the second batch of Spirit Pagodas would come long after the ﬁrst one was constructed, because the ﬁrst

tower had to train sufﬁcient soul masters with spiritual-type martial souls so that they could expand their organization. After this period of time, Shrek City would undoubtedly wield absolute authority over anything with regards to transmitting spirits. If the Great Star Dou Forest cooperated with them, it

wouldn’t take long for Shrek City and Shrek Academy’s status to rise by yet another level on the Continent.

Huo Yuhao didn’t swallow the secret of Spirits by himself, yet he also helped the Academy develop rapidly. What he had done was the greatest beneﬁt that the Academy could reap. That gloomy shadow in Elder Xuan’s heart because Huo Yuhao possessed necromantic abilities dampened a little. At least, from what he could see right now, everything about Huo Yuhao was still normal.

Elder Xuan didn’t express his opinions directly. Instead, he turned to everyone else and asked them, “Does anyone have any objections to Yuhao’s suggestion?”

This group included Du Busi, and these powerful individuals shook their heads and expressed that they had no objections and that they approved of Huo Yuhao’s suggestions.

Shrek Academy had publicized the secret of Spirits, which was a very important one, to the outside world. They were also going to establish an organization that everyone could participate in. The most important issue had been resolved, and it would be extremely shameless if anyone still didn’t want

to let Shrek Academy reap some beneﬁts from this

arrangement.

Furthermore, Huo Yuhao was right. Shrek Academy had always been known for their independence, and they weren’t biased towards anyone. Establishing the tower’s headquarters in Shrek City was most appropriate, and even though Shrek City was inside the Heavenly Soul Empire, Shrek City was actually similarly distanced from all three capital cities.

Huo Yuhao turned towards the Beast God Di Tian, and Di Tian tilted his head in his direction. Di Tian also approved of his suggestions.

Huo Yuhao would have to continue with his experiments, and all kinds of sophisticated and strict research would have to come next so that he could base the abilities of Spirits on solid ground. Other than that, everyone would have to deal with the various and numerous administrative tasks needed to establish the Spirit Pagoda.

------

Those powerful individuals all returned to their respective empires. They brought their ﬁrst batch of soul masters who possessed Spirits to their empire’s royal families to convince them. Everyone began to work on everything that had to do with establishing the Spirit Pagoda.

Huo Yuhao spent most of the subsequent month on his experiments. Furthermore, experiments weren’t the only things he had to do; he also had to draw the Spirit Pagoda’s construction blueprints, and he had to record the spell for the equal contract and how to use it. This precious knowledge was sealed and stored inside the Sea God’s Pavilion.

Nobody asked Huo Yuhao about his army of undead, and Huo Yuhao didn’t return to Shrek Academy. Di Tian requested he remained in the Great Star Dou Forest to continue his experiments, which also meant that he could let Shrek Academy’s people see him, but they couldn’t bring him back.

Huo Yuhao didn’t object much to those requests, and he spent the subsequent month working hard at many different

tasks.

---

Shrek City was also very busy. They had sustained heavy losses when the beast wave washed over them. Repairs required quite some time and a lot of materials and resources.

Shrek’s merchants and businessmen began to work on all fronts. Furthermore, after those soul masters returned to their respective countries, it didn’t take long before the three empires sent diplomats to Shrek City to discuss matters regarding the construction of the Spirit Pagoda.

Just as Huo Yuhao had predicted, not a single empire could resist the appearance of Spirits. The diplomats sent forth by those countries were here to negotiate and discuss how exactly the Spirit Pagoda was to be established, and how this organization was to be controlled.

The incumbents underwent a long and drawn-out negotiation. Huo Yuhao didn’t even bother to ask about how the negotiations progressed, because these things were no

longer important to him. He believed that everything would be ﬁne with Shrek Academy at the helm.

In the end, those spiritual-type soul masters that the Spirit Pagoda produced in the future would be called Spirit Masters, which would be considered a new and separate profession.

The three empires dispatched representatives from their various sects and academies to become part of the Spirit Pagoda’s conference hall. Every empire had nine seats, and every member had to at least be a Soul Douluo.

Every empire had to ensure at least three people who were members of the Spirit Pagoda’s conference hall were stationed in Shrek City.

Besides these twenty-seven members, Shrek Academy would also choose nine people to become members. Their status was similar to that of an empire, as they participated in the Spirit Pagoda’s future development.

All thirty-six members would control the entire Spirit Pagoda’s operation and development, while the headquarters

would still be established in Shrek City. Huo Yuhao had discovered Spirits, so he was nominated as the hall’s thirty- seventh member. Furthermore, only he would be a member for life!

The Spirit Pagoda would have to choose four Pagoda Masters

– one main one and three deputies – to deal with daily administrative tasks and whatnot. Every ten years, the Pagoda’s members and its Pagoda Masters would be reelected, while no member could remain in ofﬁce for more than two terms. Only those who were members before could participate in the election to become a Pagoda Master.

---

The Spirit Pagoda’s ﬁrst conference hall meeting was carried out in the second month after Huo Yuhao’s successful experiment.

Everyone nominated the Master of the Sea God’s Pavilion, Elder Xuan, as the ﬁrst Pagoda Master. One Titled Douluo from each of the three empires who were of good moral standing and reputation were nominated as Vice-Pagoda Masters.

Huo Yuhao was a lifetime member, and he was appointed as the honorary Pagoda Master. He didn’t participate directly in the Spirit Pagoda’s management, but his status within the organization was exceedingly high as, after all, Spirits and the Spirit Pagoda wouldn’t be around if not for him.

At the same time, Shrek Academy fought hard to ensure Huo Yuhao become the only person who could participate independently in the election for the Pagoda Master in the future. In other words, he didn’t have to represent the four different parties in the election.

The Spirit Pagoda’s various rules, regulations, and systems were being completed. After discussing things with the Great Star Dou Forest, the Spirit Pagoda wasn’t constructed within Shrek City in the end. Instead, it was located ﬁve kilometers outside of Shrek’s southern city wall.

This meant the Spirit Pagoda would be open to humans and soul beasts at the same time.

Within the Spirit Pagoda’s conference hall, besides its thirty- seven human members, the Great Star Dou Forest had its representatives as well. Di Tian personally led this group, and

he was part of the conference hall, along with the Emerald Swan Bi Ji, the Demoneye Tree Myriad Demon King, the Bear Lord, and the Three-Headed Devilmastiff. Five Savage Beasts represented the soul beasts within the conference hall. One Savage Beast would be permanently assigned to the conference hall to participate in all sorts of discussions and administrative matters. Furthermore, the soul beasts’ representative would

have a special status, and this representative would have veto

power for the conference hall’s decisions. Of course, this veto power couldn’t come from just one of them – all ﬁve Savage Beasts had to make a decision before Di Tian could propose and use their veto power.

The Spirit Pagoda’s power and authority seemed split up, but in reality, the Continent’s three native empires, Shrek City, and the Great Star Dou Forest all supported it. This meant that there was no other organization across the entire Continent that could compare to the Spirit Pagoda’s backing.

The humans hustled, and the Great Star Dou Forest didn’t idle, either. Di Tian personally stepped out to communicate with several other soul beast habitats so that he could spread the situation about Spirits to these other habitats.

Huo Yuhao wasn’t worried about how far Di Tian could go. With the Great Star Dou Forest’s absolute status in the world of soul beasts on the Douluo Continent, convincing other soul beasts wasn’t difﬁcult at all. Probably only the Extreme North, which was a place of bitter cold, was relatively more challenging, but soul masters rarely ventured there to obtain soul rings in the ﬁrst place.

Three months quickly passed from the start of Huo Yuhao’s ﬁrst successful experiment, just like that.

The Spirit Pagoda began operating on all fronts. The ﬁrst batch of soul masters who possessed spiritual-type martial souls were selected by the three empires and sent to Shrek City afterwards. Huo Yuhao was in charge of teaching them how to conduct equal contracts.

Shrek Academy’s soul masters were the ﬁrst people to enjoy the beneﬁts of Spirits. Huo Yuhao directed everything personally, and more and more students from Shrek Academy who reached bottlenecks gained their own Spirits.

Over the past ten years, Shrek Academy had gone through two different stages of vigorous development, with both soul tools and Spirits, and Shrek City became increasingly powerful.

Furthermore, the relationship between Shrek City and the Great Star Dou Forest was being mended because of these new Spirits, and Shrek City took this opportunity to rebuild and expand their city’s surface area. They also made some long- term plans.

Shrek City would be considered an inner city, and they would expanded ﬁve kilometers out from its city walls. Five kilometers didn’t seem like much, but those ﬁve kilometers were extended from Shrek City’s original walls! Once these ﬁve kilometers were built up, Shrek City’s surface area would be equivalent to any large-scale city in the three empires.

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The Sun Moon Empire’s behavior over these three months was relatively peaceful. Because of the Spirit Pagoda’s establishment, the Continent’s three native empires didn’t make a move against the Sun Moon Empire, and this allowed

Xu Tianran to heave a sigh of relief, to his own astonishment. Time was also exceedingly important for the Sun Moon Empire. They had already spoiled their relationships with the other three empires, and a great war could happen at any time. The longer they could delay this war, the more time they had to prepare!

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“Elder Di Tian.” Huo Yuhao was still in the Great Star Du Forest’s Slaughtering Grounds inside its Core Regions, and he called out while standing beside the Water of Life as he faced the clean and limpid lake water.

Over the past three months, the Spirit Pagoda had begun to take shape thanks to his hard work and efforts. Furthermore, he was the most welcomed human being inside the Great Star Dou Forest. Just as how Wang Qiu’er was treated back then, the Scarlet King became his personal bodyguard. Huo Yuhao could proceed anywhere he wanted in the Great Star Dou Forest smoothly and unhindered. This place was considered a forbidden ground for humans, but this place was like his own back garden to him.

“You’re here.” Di Tian’s voice rang out, and a black shadow quietly appeared in the middle of the lake. This black shadow arrived by the lakeshore in a few ﬂashes.

Di Tian had already handed everything that had to do with Spirits over to Bi Ji for her to manage. Over the past three months, Huo Yuhao had taught the ﬁrst batch of Spirit Masters, while also helping multiple soul beasts who were near death to transmit their spirits at the same time. As of today, more than three hundred soul beats had been allowed to extend their lives. From the perspective of the soul masters that these soul beasts fused with, this fact was equivalent to avoiding killing over three hundred soul beasts. These soul masters would still choose Spirits to substitute soul rings in the future, and they would kill even fewer soul beasts.

Of the ﬁve Savage Beasts, with the exception of the Bear Lord, who rarely showed himself, the other four Savage Beasts, including the Beast God, were very satisﬁed with everything that Huo Yuhao had done.

Huo Yuhao bowed respectfully to Di Tian and said, “Elder Di Tian, the Spirit Pagoda’s foundations have been established. This is the ﬁrst pagoda, so its scale will be relatively larger. Therefore, I reckon it will take at least one to two years to

complete any follow-ups. There are forty-two soul masters in the ﬁrst batch of Spirit Masters, and their cultivation ranks vary from four to eight soul rings. Under my guidance and my teaching, they are all able to conduct the contract on their own.”

Di Tian nodded and said, “You humans are quite efﬁcient. I’ve heard about these things from Bi Ji.” Bi Ji was currently the ﬁrst Savage Beast to be permanently stationed in the Spirit Pagoda’s conference hall to represent all soul beasts.

After the conference hall’s ﬁrst meeting with the whole committee, there were over ten members who had been permanently stationed in Shrek City. Including the four Pagoda Masters, there were nine other members from the three empires, while Shrek Academy’s nine members were all members of the Sea God’s Pavilion at the same time. Naturally, they were around, but in Shrek City instead. As for Huo Yuhao, he had been living in the Great Star Dou Forest this entire time.

He had been very busy over the past three months, but the Beast God had treated him well. He had provided Huo Yuhao with all sorts of fruits that were full of spiritual qi, and in addition to the fact that Huo Yuhao was transmitting spirits

every day, his spiritual power became steadier and more consolidated, while his soul power was raised by another rank. He had used Shrek Academy’s soul power detectors to test himself, and discovered that his soul power was at Rank 73, which was a little lower than his original prediction. However, this fact also told Huo Yuhao that every subsequent soul power rank after Rank 70 was of great magnitude.

Huo Yuhao estimated that, with his current cultivation speed, and if he didn’t encounter any special circumstances, opportunities, or epiphanies, he would become a Titled Douluo when he was around thirty years old. That would be an absolutely outstanding feat among humans!

“You were looking for me. What do you want?” Di Tian asked Huo Yuhao.

Huo Yuhao contemplated for a moment, then said, “Elder, I have been accountable to you with regards to Spirits. I wish to leave.”

“Eh?” Di Tian’s aura instantly changed when he heard his words. His eyes suddenly became sharper, and he said, “What’s up? Is our Great Star Dou Forest not good enough for you? This

place is full of spiritual qi, and so dense with life energy. This place is most suitable for you soul masters to cultivate. If you are willing to, you can even stay beside the Water of Life to cultivate. Your future is boundless.”

Huo Yuhao raised his head and stared right into Di Tian’s eyes. “Then, how long do you plan to keep me here?”

Di Tian was momentarily stunned.

Huo Yuhao lowered his voice and said, “You should know, elder, that humans cultivate a lot faster than soul beasts. Otherwise, we couldn’t have dominated and conquered the entire continent within a few short tens of thousands of years. Yes, with my current strength, you can easily imprison me in the Great Star Dou Forest. However, I trust that you won’t restrict my cultivation, because that is the basis of my life in the end. Choosing death isn’t difﬁcult for me, but if you allow me to continue cultivation, I will become a Titled Douluo in about ten years, give or take. I will take thirty years more at most to become a Transcendent Douluo, and with the abilities that I possess, not even you may be able to stop me once I become a Transcendent Douluo if I want to leave.

“I am connected to the fortunes and fate of the entire Great Star Dou Forest, so you can’t kill me, and the most you can do is imprison me or seal me away. However, you should also understand my status in the human world. If you do that, the Academy will stop at nothing to turn the situation around, and the peaceful equilibrium that the humans have just established with your Great Star Dou Forest will change once more.”

“Are you threatening me?” Di Tian muttered coldly. That enormous pressure that felt like a mountain to Huo Yuhao appeared once more and pressed down on him.

Huo Yuhao forcibly resisted this pressure as he grit his teeth and said, “No, I’m not threatening you, I’m just stating facts. I will always be a friend to the Great Star Dou Forest, and I can even promise you that I will never kill a single soul beast in the Great Star Dou Forest ever again. However, there are still many things that I have to do, and I can’t stay here forever. If you insist on keeping me here, then I will choose death. Qiu’er has given the power of Destiny to me, and you can imprison me here so that I will never be able to leave this place, but not even you can stop me from severing my own fate and destiny. This means that nobody in this world can stop me if I choose to die.”

Di Tian suddenly withdrew his pressure. He placed his hands behind his back and stared coldly at Huo Yuhao. “Where do you want to go? What do you wish to do?”

Huo Yuhao forced a laugh and said, “There’s something that I have to do, and there’s someone that I have to visit afterwards. And then, I have to fulﬁll a wish that I’ve always had.”

Di Tian asked again, “And after you do all those things?”

Huo Yuhao was a little taken aback. He shook his head and said, “I haven’t thought much about afterwards.”

Di Tian said plainly, “Since that’s the case, then I only have one request; after you ﬁnish everything you have to do, you must return. You can choose to reside in Shrek City, the Spirit Pagoda, or the Great Star Dou Forest.”

“Alright,” Huo Yuhao answered subconsciously, and his eyes ﬁlled with pleasant surprise in the next moment. “Are you saying that I can leave?”

Di Tian was expressionless as he answered, “I know that I can’t keep you here, just like I couldn’t keep the Emperor Beast here back then. With your current strength, people will have a hard time trying to kill you. Here, take this.” Di Tian swung his hand as he spoke, and tossed something at Huo Yuhao.

Huo Yuhao grabbed the item subconsciously. He looked down, and realized that Di Tian had given him something like a pendant.

This pendant looked like a leaf, and it was about as big as an infant’s palm. It was black all over, and there were ridges on its surface. These ridges shone faintly with purple hues.

There was a single black line strung around this pendant, which didn’t seem very thick, but was very tough.

“Wear this on your neck. You’re not allowed to take it off. You can go now.” With that, Di Tian turned around and drifted across the lake’s surface.

Huo Yuhao grasped the pendant, which felt faintly fresh and cool. He stared at Di Tian, who was slowly moving further

away from him, and he instantly felt his mind and body relax. Waves of fatigue and exhaustion coursed over him as soon as he began to relax.

He had toiled far too much over these past three months, which had been very tiring.

Huo Yuhao hung the pendant around his neck. He wasn’t hasty to leave. Instead, he crossed his legs and sat down beside the Water of Life and started to meditate.

Huo Yuhao entered meditation very quickly because his mind and body were relaxed. Flourishing soul power ﬂowed through his body, and his immense spiritual power naturally rippled throughout his spiritual sea.

Chapter 411: Black Dragon Reverse Scale

“Yuhao, Yuhao…” Huo Yuhao’s consciousness was dragged back into his own spiritual world as his name was called.

“Brother Skydream, Ice Empress…” Huo Yuhao saw the Skydream Iceworm and Ice Empress drifting above his spiritual sea in their human forms after he entered his spiritual sea.

The Skydream Iceworm snorted and asked, “Do you know what Di Tian gave you?”

Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, “I’m not sure. However, I can imagine that it’s for my own protection. After all, my safety concerns the entire destiny of the Great Star Dou Forest.”

The Skydream Iceworm sighed and said, “Foolish kid. That thing is both beneﬁcial and harmful to you!”

Huo Yuhao was stunned, “It’s both beneﬁcial and harmful?

What do you mean?”

The Ice Empress said, “Di Tian gave you his reverse scale.”

“Reverse scale?” Huo Yuhao appeared to be thinking of something. “Dragons have a reverse scale, and they’ll be enraged and even go berserk if their reverse scale is touched. That scale?”

The Ice Empress nodded and replied, “That’s right. However, we discovered it too late. You’ve already worn it. Haih…”

Huo Yuhao asked, “What’s the problem if I wear his reverse scale?”

The Skydream Iceworm sounded very furious. “Of course there’s a problem! It’s a huge problem, too! Dragons have a reverse scale. Whoever touches their reverse scale will incur their wrath, that is the truth! This piece of his reverse scale that he gave you can protect you. He forms a piece of reverse scale after a metamorphosis every hundred thousand years

when he experiences Heaven’s Wrath. It contains his origin strength!

“As for what kind of protection it can offer you, I’m really uncertain about that. However, it won’t be weak. But you need to recognize that his reverse scale contains a trace of Heaven’s Wrath. With this trace of Heaven’s Wrath, you won’t be able to obtain a Godly Seat.”

“Godly Seat? What’s a Godly Seat?” Huo Yuhao asked in confusion.

The Ice Empress replied, “We followed you in the hope that you’ll reach that realm one day and become a true god. It is only then that we will be able to separate ourselves from your body. Furthermore, if we follow you into the godly realm, it’ll be equivalent to us breaking the barriers of this world with your help. We will no longer be limited by our lifespans. Although the chance is very slim, we think that it is possible, given your current development and cultivation progress.

“Obtaining a Godly Seat is the most important stepping stone to your ascension to the godly realm. We don’t know what the godly realm is like, but there have been legends about it.

Among all of them, the legend about Godly Seats is the closest to the truth. In this world, humans are on the path towards the godly realm the moment they become a Titled Douluo. Soul beasts are far less fortunate. Even if we reach a million-year cultivation, we’ll still ﬁnd it difﬁcult to become a god. This is

highly related to a Godly Seat.

“There are various explanations for what a Godly Seat is. The explanation that we agree on the most with is that the godly realm can only harbor a limited number of gods. Every god has a seat that belongs to him. One can only become a god after obtaining a Godly Seat. This is why all living creatures have to ﬁnd a seat that belongs to them in the godly realm if they want to become a god. One can then overcome the restrictions of the Douluo Continent through their connection with his seat and reach another level. Eventually, they can then ascend into the godly realm through their powers at that level.

“This thing that Di Tian gave you basically acts as a barrier that prevents you from connecting to a Godly Seat.”

Huo Yuhao was stunned, and asked, “Can’t I just take it off?”

The Skydream Iceworm laughed coldly. “You can try to do so when you return. Unless you die, you won’t be able to take it off.”

Huo Yuhao quickly calmed down. “Is there any other way that I can obtain a Godly Seat?”

The Ice Empress said, “Yes. By killing Di Tian. Can you do that?

“Another way is if your cultivation is beyond his. He is already at the limit of this world. You’ll be a god if you can surpass him. How will you be able to do so?

“Also, the seal of Di Tian’s reverse scale can be removed if a true god descends and does it for you. You can obtain a Godly Seat if any of these three possibilities occur. Which one do you think will happen? No matter how talented you are, you’ll still need a hundred years before you can reach Di Tian’s level. However, you won’t be able to defeat him, given that he possesses the Dragon King’s Claw. Although Di Tian isn’t far from his ninth metamorphosis, this ‘far away’ must be contextualized in the situation of a soul beast. Di Tian is currently suppressing his cultivation. Given his current aura,

he’ll be ﬁne even if he suppresses it for another ten thousand years. Can you survive for another ten thousand years? Once you die of natural causes, your power of destiny will dissipate from your body, but it won’t dissipate forever. As to what method he can use to accept this power of destiny, I am unsure. However, I believe there must be a way. This is why he wanted you to live near the Great Star Dou Forest after completing everything that you have to complete.”

After hearing the Skydream Iceworm and Ice Empress’ explanation, Huo Yuhao was completely shocked! Even though he knew that the conﬂict between soul beasts and humans was going to be very difﬁcult to mediate, he didn’t expect it to be so dangerous. He had been forgoing his sleep and diet over the past few months because he wanted to complete as many Spirit Transmissions as possible between humans and soul beasts. He had been completely selﬂess. However, he was ‘gifted’ with such a reward!

The Skydream Iceworm said, “It has always been rumored that a Godly Seat exists somewhere on the Douluo Continent. Did you forget how Shrek Academy’s collection records this? Your ancestor, Tang San, eventually became a god after he was recognized by a Godly Seat and passed the test upon discovering the Sea God’s Godly Seat. However, you are currently in a situation where you can’t advance any further

even if you come across an opportunity. Di Tian used such a method to kill off any possibility of you becoming a god. While humans are sinister, soul beasts are… hehe…”

The Ice Empress sighed and said, “To a certain extent, Di Tian isn’t wrong to do so. He is the king of soul beasts. He is only doing this for the Great Star Dou Forest’s legacy.”

The Skydream Iceworm cursed, “What do you mean he isn’t wrong? We are all soul beasts. Things are going well on his side, but he still chose to turn around and diminish our hopes. Idiot, idiot!”

“Brother Skydream, Ice Empress.” Huo Yuhao suddenly called. Hearing that his voice sounded a little weird, both of them couldn’t help but turn their attention towards him.

Huo Yuhao drifted calmly above his spiritual sea. However, both the Ice Empress and Skydream Iceworm seemed to realize something different about him at this moment.

He quietly remained where he was, but there was a towering feel about him. His eyes were shining brightly, and the look in

his eyes was very determined and persistent.

“Do the both of you believe me?” Huo Yuhao’s voice sounded a little weird as it echoed in his spiritual sea. Instantly, his surging spiritual sea instantly became calm and peaceful. It was so calm that there weren’t any ripples at all. It was like a still and sturdy surface.

Both soul beasts were stunned, and subconsciously nodded.

Huo Yuhao said, “Brother Skydream, if not for you, I wouldn’t be here today. My martial soul would have remain disabled. Even if I followed eldest senior and Teacher Xiao Ya to Shrek Academy, I wouldn’t have been able to achieve anything. I wouldn’t have been able to fuse with the Ice Empress. You gave me four strong soul rings and a second martial soul. All my achievements are a result of my fusion with you.

“Ice Empress, it’s the same for you. Your recognition of me allowed me to possess Ultimate Ice, such that I was able to develop a goal and outline in the aspect of assault. The soul rings and soul bones that you gave me have saved me on many

occasions. The two of you are my benefactors. Without you, Huo Yuhao wouldn’t exist today.

“Since the two of you believe in me, let me make a promise to you right now, today. Give me thirty years. Within thirty years, I’ll do my best in my cultivation and attain powers that can rival the Beast God. I’ll challenge him then. I’ll use my own abilities to remove his Black Dragon reverse scale from my body. In the future, I might not be able to obtain a Godly Seat. However, I promise that I’ll do my best to search for one. I won’t give up even if there’s only a glimmer of hope. I’ll do my best to fulﬁl your wishes. Alright?”

Huo Yuhao wasn’t very loud, but he spoke with vigor and determination. After hearing his words, the Ice Empress and Skydream Iceworm appeared much more at ease. They looked at each other, and the Skydream Iceworm took a deep breath before saying, “Yuhao, time isn’t a problem. Given your current condition, as well as the Auspicious Emperor Beast’s Sacriﬁce, you’ll at least be able to live for more than three hundred years. It’s too difﬁcult for you to defeat the Beast God within thirty years. We won’t restrict your goal. It’s great as long as you have the determination to defeat him.”

Huo Yuhao deeply said, “A man stays true to his word.

Whatever I promise to do, I’ll do my best to carry it out.”

The Skydream Iceworm and Ice Empress nodded. “We’ll do our best to help you, too.”

Huo Yuhao calmed down as he regained awareness of his actual body. After that, he surveyed the Black Dragon reverse scale around his neck through his spiritual power. However, the reverse scale was like a deep valley as it absorbed his spiritual power, even though there was only minimum contact between his spiritual power and the reverse scale. There wasn’t even any feedback. In addition, Huo Yuhao clearly discovered that this piece of reverse scale had completely stuck to the skin on his chest. It was as if it had become a part of his body.

Fortunately, Brother Skydream and the Ice Empress warned me. Otherwise, I would have thought that Di Tian was being nice to me. Huo Yuhao didn’t blame Di Tian. Di Tian was only doing this for the future of the Great Star Dou Forest’s destiny. From the perspective of his interests, Di Tian’s actions were justiﬁed.

However, he had a different opinion of Di Tian right now. Originally, he had developed respect for Di Tian after a hearty talk with him. However, he now had only the intention of maintaining a professional partnership with the Beast God.

Huo Yuhao silently left the Slaughtering Grounds after cultivating until the morning of the second day. The Three- Headed Scarlet Devilmastiff was already waiting for him. The Scarlet King escorted him as he left the Great Star Dou Forest and rushed towards Shrek Academy.

As his cultivation increased, he was now able to ﬂy using his soul power. However, using soul tools helped him to better conserve his soul power.

After ﬁfteen minutes, he reached Shrek City.

From the sky, it was clear that the city was under busy re- construction. The original Shrek City had become a fortiﬁcation, and the new city now expanded out from it. Far from the city, the Spirit Pagoda was already nearly complete. It was a huge tower! As the headquarters of the Spirit Pagoda, Shrek Academy had spent a lot of effort to construct the tower. The tower was in a hexagonal shape, and covered more than a thousand square meters. According to the plan, the tower would be thirteen stories and two hundred meters high. It would be big enough to hold more than ten thousand people.

This was all for the future development of the Spirit Pagoda. Currently, there weren’t even a hundred staff members at the Spirit Pagoda, and this number was unlikely to change in the short-term.

Not far from the Spirit Pagoda was the new designated region of Shrek City. Right now, the outlines of the new city walls were already being constructed along the perimeter. As the scale was too large, the construction of the city walls wouldn’t be complete anytime soon, only an area was being sketched out right now. However, even so, it was possible to tell how grand the city would be.

Hopefully Shrek City will become stronger and stronger in the future! Huo Yuhao revealed a smile on his face. At least my efforts have not been wasted over the past three months! If not for the fact that he had come to an agreement with the Great Star Dou Forest, how would Shrek City dare to carry out such a large expansion?

During the last beast tide, the Tang Sect’s soul tools drew the most attention, especially those two thousand stationary soul cannon shells. Their value couldn’t be measured with money.

After the beast tide ended, the Tang Sect was immediately promoted to a strategic partner of Shrek Academy after a decision was made during a conference of the Sea God’s Pavilion. In addition, both the Sect and the Academy worked closely with each other. It was no longer like it was in the past, where the Sect was sort of a subsidiary of the Academy. The Tang Sect’s position was recognized by the entire Academy for the ﬁrst time.

To thank the Tang Sect for their contribution during the beast tide, the Sea God’s Pavilion made an unprecedented decision: they offered the Sect a position in the Sea God’s Pavilion! This position naturally wasn’t offered to Huo Yuhao, since he was already a member of the Sea God’s Pavilion. Rather, it was given to the leader of the sect, Bei Bei.

As of now, the Tang Sect had two members in the Sea God’s Pavilion!

This wasn’t just beneﬁcial in terms of reputation. Shrek Academy had already informed the Tang Sect that the Sect could pick a base of their own after Shrek City was rebuilt. This would allow the Tang Sect to expand their inﬂuence in Shrek City.

By the time the Spirit Pagoda was fully constructed, the scale of Shrek City and the effect of the pagoda on its prosperity was going to be very great. In such a prosperous city, Shrek Academy was very generous in allowing the Tang Sect to choose a base of their own in the city. Furthermore, the Academy had already fully paid off the debt that they owed the Tang Sect. While they hadn’t paid for the two thousand

stationary soul cannon shells, they gave the Tang Sect a form.

After Xuan Ziwen received this form, he smiled very widely.

There was an inventory list on this form, which included all sorts of rare metals. It comprised roughly ﬁfty percent of all the rare metals that the three empires were willing to supply to the Academy.

The beneﬁts of Spirits for soul masters had been fully revealed after many experiments. Although Shrek Academy was very generous, they weren’t overly generous! Shrek City’s development required a large amount of money and resources.

As a result, the Sea God’s Pavilion had already raised a few terms and conditions when they negotiated with the envoys of the three empires.

Huo Yuhao had yet to impart the contract of equals. These terms and conditions were naturally regarded as stepping stones for spiritual-type soul masters from the various empires to join the Spirit Pagoda.

Shrek Academy had indeed incurred huge losses resisting the beast tide. Furthermore, the three empires were also not affected at all, because Shrek Academy had resisted the beast tide for them. From the tragic state of the battleﬁeld, it was obvious that Shrek Academy had utilized a lot of resources to ﬁght. It was only right for the three empires to offer them some aid.

In this way, both parties were happy. As the Tang Sect had made very special contributions, they were offered half of the rare metals. Teacher Xuan was ﬁnally pleased, given that he was extremely heartbroken after losing more than two thousand stationary cannon shells.

Of course, the Academy did make a new request of the Sect, which was that they had to prioritize the supply of soul tools to equip Shrek City and the Shrek City Defense Army.

Tapping into this opportunity, the Shrek City Defense Army started to expand for the ﬁrst time in its history. It originally consisted of ten thousand people, but it was about to be expanded to ﬁfty thousand. Among these ﬁfty thousand people, thirty-ﬁve thousand ordinary soldiers would be recruited, and the remaining slots were to be ﬁlled up by recruiting soul masters and soul engineers.

The City Defense Army had suffered huge losses during this battle and many were wounded. More than twenty-ﬁve hundred people lost their lives. Fortunately, the ratio of soul masters and soul engineers who had lost their lives was relatively low.

This time, the City Defense Army recruited people from all over the continent. The news was being disseminated, and interested applicants would be screened in batches and recruited within the next six months.

After the Shrek City Defense Army managed to ﬁght off the beast tide, its reputation was greatly boosted. The minimum requirements needed to join the army were naturally raised. In addition, Shrek City treated its army very well. Many people started to arrive from different places to apply for a position in the City Defense Army.

Spirits had also become very popular among the three empires in the Douluo Continent. Shrek City and Shrek Academy’s reputation improved greatly from all this talk about Spirits. The greatest pull factor for people wanting to join the City Defense Army was that they would be given priority to use the Spirit Pagoda.

Just this beneﬁt alone was able to draw many soul masters to apply to join the City Defense Army!

Shrek Academy managed to greatly maximize their beneﬁts because of this Spirits issue. The three empires didn’t know what to say about this.

Not long ago, the Spirit Pagoda had announced that it could only cater to two hundred soul masters every month, as it had just been established. This number would increase in the future, but this was the best they could do now.

On the one hand, it was because of the lack of soul beasts being supplied by the Great Star Dou Forest. On the other, the Spirit Transmission Masters had only just learned about

contracts, and they weren’t very ﬂuid with the process yet. They needed time to accumulate experience.

Furthermore, the pagoda was still under construction. As a result, the Spirit Pagoda decided that there could only be this number of Spirit Transmissions every month at Huo Yuhao’s request. At the very least, this number wouldn’t increase until after the pagoda was fully constructed.

At the same time, the Spirit Pagoda also disseminated another piece of information to reassure the Great Star Dou Forest. Huo Yuhao was the one who directly disseminated this information. It was very simple: it publicly announced Huo Yuhao’s earlier guess, and informed all soul masters that Spirits could give them more than one soul ring. As a result, one could obtain more soul rings if they suppressed their soul power.

The point of this information was to make soul masters less anxious about obtaining soul rings, and to accumulate their abilities instead. In this way, they would be less inclined to hurt soul beasts.

After these two pieces of information were disseminated, the existence of the Spirit Pagoda was quickly made known to the three empires of the Douluo Continent. There was a sudden rush of soul masters into Shrek City as a result of this news.

Shrek Academy had yet to begin its recruitment of new students, but many sects had already sent their disciples over to participate in Shrek Academy’s tests. Those who were over the age limit applied to the Shrek City Defense Army.

Their arrival caused Shrek City to become even more prosperous. Although it would take a long time to rebuild and develop the city, its bright future was evident from the people who had rushed over.

Huo Yuhao made some calculations, and came to a conclusion: it would take at most three years for Shrek City to rebuild. Even though only a portion of the soul masters that applied to join the City Defense Army would be retained, the entire city was bound to experience great changes if the Tang Sect and Shrek Academy’s Soul Engineering Department were given three years. When the time came, Di Tian wouldn’t be able to threaten Shrek Academy anymore, even if he unleashed another beast tide.

------

As he was about to enter Shrek City’s airspace, Huo Yuhao descended from the sky. Although Shrek City didn’t have clear aerial restrictions like the three empires, no soul master or soul engineer would ﬂy above Shrek City unless there was some kind of special situation, out of respect for Shrek.

Huo Yuhao entered Shrek Academy from the east gate.

Recently, he had become very reputable. When he entered the Academy, he was already recognized by the students. Before his juniors could come up to him, Huo Yuhao quickened his footsteps and hurried off. As he waved his hands to acknowledge them, he quickly rushed towards Sea God’s Lake. He moved forward above the water’s surface and reached the inner courtyard.

As a member of the Sea God’s Pavilion, he could enter the pavilion freely, and this was what he did.

He stopped in his tracks when he arrived in front of the Sea God’s Pavilion. When he saw the Golden Tree, which was

glowing dimly, he kneeled down once again and kowtowed three times before walking into the Sea God’s Pavilion.

“Yuhao? Di Tian was willing to let you out?” Elder Xuan was surprised. Very soon, a few elders in the Sea God’s Pavilion rushed down to the main hall.

“Greetings, elders!” Huo Yuhao hailed them respectfully.

Elder Xuan chortled and said, “You don’t have to stand on ceremony with us! Moreover, you are also a member of the Sea God’s Pavilion. How’s it going on Di Tian’s side? Why was he willing to let you out? Didn’t you say that you control the destiny of the entire Great Star Dou Forest? We were still discussing how we should go about saving you!”

Huo Yuhao smiled and said, “The Beast God can imprison me, but he cannot stop me from taking my own life. He can’t let me die, so naturally, he has no choice but to let me leave.” He didn’t talk about how Di Tian gave him the Black Dragon’s reverse scale. The conﬂict between Shrek and the Great Star Dou Forest was just starting to soften and settle down, and he didn’t want any new problems that could complicate things after he departed.

“I knew you always had an idea. Everything’s ﬁne, as long as you’re back! You’re already a Soul Sage, you should remain at the Sea God’s Pavilion and rest up. You’ve almost ﬁnished handling matters with the Spirit Pagoda, and I won’t let them disturb you if there are no special circumstances.”

“Elder Xuan, can I speak to you in private? Sorry, elders.” Huo Yuhao bowed respectfully at the other elders once more.

The elders smiled amicably before they nodded at him and left the two of them alone.

Elder Xuan’s expression changed slightly as he sat down at the long table that the Sea God’s Pavilion used for meetings and conferences. He pointed at a chair nearby and gestured for Huo Yuhao to sit down as well.

“Elder Xuan,” Huo Yuhao called out softly after he sat down.

Elder Xuan smiled faintly and said, “If you intend to apologize to me, there’s no need for that. The beast wave can’t be entirely blamed on you. You’re a smart kid, so stop wasting time on an insigniﬁcant issue. The Auspicious Beast’s death was just a fuse, and even if this fuse wasn’t there, the Great Star Dou Forest would probably have made a move within a few years anyway. Therefore, you don’t have to blame yourself.

“Furthermore, your experiments with Spirits have given the Academy and Shrek City unprecedented opportunities for development. I trust that it won’t take long for Shrek City to become one of the most famous cities on the Continent. Your contributions have been substantial! When that happens, we will be much more inﬂuential in the Continent, and we will be able to do so much more. This time, our main priority will be to expand the Academy and the Tang Sect, besides adding numbers to the city defense army. We will inject large amounts of manpower, resources, and money into the development of

these projects. This will be a great positive force for the Tang Sect’s future development!”

“Thank you.” Huo Yuhao lowered his head and continued, “But no matter what, if not for what happened between Qiu’er and me, the beast wave wouldn’t have come so early. If it had come after a few more years, and after our soul tools developed further, we wouldn’t have suffered such heavy losses. I am responsible for this. Furthermore, you should know that I summoned an undead army to attack the beast wave in order to save and reinforce Shrek City.”

When he said these words, a layer of gentle spiritual undulations emanated from Huo Yuhao’s body and enveloped them both, blocking any sound from traveling out of it.

Elder Xuan’s expression changed slightly. He hadn’t expect Huo Yuhao to take the initiative in discussing this issue.

“Yuhao, I only hope that you understand one thing: no matter what, the Academy has unconditional trust in you. Don’t hold any burdens in your heart. Those circumstances were special, and you only did that in order to rescue the Academy, and you did that to target soul beasts.”

Huo Yuhao forced a laugh and said, “But that cannot change the fact that I possess an evil soul master’s abilities. However, Elder Xuan, I can promise you that these abilities that I possess are different from those of an evil soul master. I will never be affected by these abilities.”

Elder Xuan stared deeply at Huo Yuhao. He was full of admiration inside, This child is just different!

Huo Yuhao continued, “These abilities of mine don’t belong in the boundaries of our world. Therefore, they are not considered abilities of an evil soul master. Instead, these abilities come from another plane. These abilities, along with the contract of equals, were passed down to me by that teacher of mine whose divine sense remnants I unintentionally fused with."

Huo Yuhao no longer hid anything as he detailed everything that had to do with the Calamity Necromancer, Electrolux. His explanation was much different from what he told the soul beasts. He detailed everything from when he ﬁrst fused with Electrolux, to the end after Electrolux had given him multiple things. Huo Yuhao’s explanation was very thorough.

Elder Xuan listened to his narration very intently, and surprised looks ﬂashed across his face from time to time.

“Because of my fusion with the Snow Empress’ Spirit, my teacher used the last of his power and left this world forever. He left behind that spectral demiplane and his Necromancy, but I will never use these powers unless I have no other choice. Furthermore, my teacher’s Necromancy utilizes the Element of light. Therefore, it doesn’t contain any other evil powers in itself.”

Elder Xuan said, “Since that’s the case, then you don’t have to think about this anymore. I will keep your secret, and I will not leave any record about this in the Sea God’s Pavilion. Just as you’ve said, all you have to do is avoid using these powers in the future as much as possible.”

Huo Yuhao exhaled deeply and smiled as he said, “I feel so much better after telling all the secrets hidden in my heart.”

Elder Xuan patted him on the shoulder and said, “I know what you’re worried about, my child. The truth is, doubt has surfaced in my heart before, but my doubts disappeared since I returned to the Sea God’s Pavilion. Do you know why?”

“Why?” Huo Yuhao asked curiously.

Elder Xuan answered, “Because you have been chosen by Elder Mu.”

Huo Yuhao eyes turned red when Elder Xuan mentioned Elder Mu. He pursed his lips, and he tried his best not to let any tears fall from his eyes.

Elder Xuan smiled and said, “You’re a good child, and you’ve done enough for Shrek already. Do you know that Shaozhe came to me half a month ago and told me that he wanted to give up his opportunity to take over as the Master of the Sea God’s Pavilion, and he wanted to let you take over directly instead of letting you take over in the subsequent generation.”

“What?” Huo Yuhao was astonished, and he hurriedly waved his hands in the air and said, “That’s not going to work! I’m still so young, how can I become Master of the Sea God’s Pavilion?”

Elder Xuan smiled and said, “Don’t be hasty. Shaozhe’s suggestion is very reasonable. I worked together with Elder Mu and sealed Di Tian away, and even though he managed to break out in the end, I’ve gained a deeper understanding of a Titled Douluo’s strength after the experience. I will enter closed-door cultivation once these worldly and mundane affairs have been settled.”

Huo Yuhao’s eyes lit up. “Elder Xuan, you have a chance to try and break through into that level?”

Elder Xuan chuckled and said, “Yes! I can’t let Elder Mu’s painstaking efforts go to waste.”

“That’s fantastic!” Huo Yuhao exclaimed excitedly.

Huo Yuhao was naturally referring to the level of an Ultimate Douluo. Elder Xuan was a Rank 98 Transcendent Douluo, one step away from reaching humanity’s limit. Even though Ultimate Douluo had differences in strength, Shrek Academy would once again possess a powerful individual who was at the pinnacle of the Continent. This was great news for the Academy and for Shrek City.

Elder Xuan smiled and said, “If I’m successful, and according to an Ultimate Douluo’s circumstances, I predict that I can live for another hundred years or more. I will not remain as the Master of the Sea God’s Pavilion for the rest of my life, but I should have no problem staying in this position for another several decades. When that happens, you’ll be all grown up. With your current prospects, you can deﬁnitely become a Titled Douluo within ten years, and you should have no problem becoming a Transcendent Douluo within twenty years. I will help you hold on for a little while more.

“As for Shaozhe, he’s had some revelations and understandings because of the development of Spirits. He’s passed the Martial Soul Department’s reins over to Mei’er, and entered closed-door cultivation. He’s given up his position as successor to the Master of the Sea God’s Pavilion, and that’s equivalent to him letting go of the greatest burden in his heart. This is great news for him. Shaozhe is extremely talented, and I hope that he can achieve something after his closed-door cultivation.”

“But, Elder Xuan, how can I become Master of the Sea God’s Pavilion? I…” Huo Yuhao said with some concern.

Elder Xuan waved him away and said, “Why are you worrying about this now? I’m not asking you to take up this responsibility right away. You should work hard at improving yourself, and we can talk about who gets to succeed me as Master of the Sea God’s Pavilion in the future. Did you look for me to open your heart to me?”

Huo Yuhao said, “I’m here to say goodbye.” A thread of grief ﬂickered in his eyes when he said the last word of his sentence.

“Goodbye? You’re leaving?” Elder Xuan was taken aback. Huo Yuhao had become a Soul Sage, and his spiritual power had improved exponentially, so he did have the ability to protect himself. However, he was far too important to Shrek Academy’s future. Elder Xuan didn’t want to let Huo Yuhao out of his sight if he could help it.

Huo Yuhao nodded and continued, “There are some things I need to do. I might leave for a relatively long time this time around, so I’m coming here especially to bid farewell to you.”

Elder Xuan lowered his voice and said, “If this is because you’ve summoned the undead army, then that is very unnecessary. I’ve said before that this matter ends here, and

nobody will talk about this publicly. We will all keep your secret.”

Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, “No, I’m not doing this because of that. There are some things that I must do. Furthermore, I want to visit Dong’er and see if she’s awake.”

Huo Yuhao’s emotions changed a little when he mentioned Dong’er. After Wang Qiu’er sacriﬁced herself for him back then, the ﬁrst thing he wanted to do as quickly as possible was visit Dong’er! Dong’er had been in a coma for so long, and he didn’t know what circumstances she was in. One could say that the fact that Wang Dong’er was still alive, even though she was in deep slumber, was Huo Yuhao’s emotional support. There was nothing more important than Dong’er to him.

Elder Xuan couldn’t help but nod when Huo Yuhao talked about Dong’er. Yes! I can’t just forbid him from visiting Dong’er.

A smile appeared on his face. “I’m really getting old, and I can’t bear for you to leave. Furthermore, some things are bound to happen every time you leave, and I’m really afraid of hearing any more bad news that concern you.”

Huo Yuhao scratched his head sheepishly and said, “Don’t worry, that won’t happen this time. I will be very careful about everything. After I visit Dong’er, I will bring her back if she’s awake, but if she’s still sleeping, I want to…”

Cerita silat IndoMandarin

Unrivaled Tang Sect Volume 31

Chapter 388: Offering! Emperor Beast

Chapter 389: Changes in All Parties

Chapter 390: Awakening, Fusion, Evildemon Forest

Chapter 391: Fiery Evil Tyrant

Chapter 393: Rage of the Evil Emperor

Chapter 394: Beast Tide! Beast God!

Chapter 395: Mu En! Golden Tree!

Chapter 396: Taotie's Descent

Chapter 397: Fighting Furiously Against the Beast Tide

Chapter 398: The Terrifying Red Ray of Light

Chapter 399: The Treacherous Businessman, Xuan Ziwen?

Chapter 400: Bear Lord and Myriad Demon King

Chapter 401: The Savage Beasts Enter Battle

Chapter 402: Qian Duoduo and Xian Lin'er

Chapter 403: Army of Spirits

Chapter 404: The Berserk Beast God

Chapter 405: Convincing the Beast God

Chapter 406: His and Her Story

Chapter 407: Conversation with the Beast God

Chapter 408: Dragon King’s Claw

Chapter 409: Spirit Experimentation

Chapter 410: Spirit Pagoda

Chapter 411: Black Dragon Reverse Scale

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