North Sea City, outskirts.
A massive cloud descended from the sky, from which emerged six young men and women—one man and five women. The man was handsome and dashing, while the women were stunningly beautiful and charming, their extraordinary demeanor making it clear they were no ordinary people.
They were none other than the Shrek Seven Monsters, led by Jing Shaoyu.
"Shaoyu, what's next?" Wu Siduo asked. "Should we explore North Sea City, or take the Soul Guidance Train straight back to the academy?"
"Well..." Jing Shaoyu pondered, about to speak when he was interrupted.
Xu Xiaoyan and Mo Hentian clung to his arms from either side. Xu Xiaoyan pleaded eagerly, "Brother Shaoyu, let's explore North Sea City a bit. Last year when we came, we barely had time to look around. We can't just leave like this again."
"Yeah! Sister Xiaoyan is right!" Mo Hentian chimed in. "We rarely get to visit North Sea City—who knows if we'll ever come back? Let's stay a few days before heading back!"
Jing Shaoyu rubbed his temples helplessly and glanced at the others. "What do you all think?"
"No objections here," Wu Siduo said.
"Fine by me," Ye Xinglan nodded.
"Hehe, I wouldn't mind wandering around North Sea City either," Lan Fozi added with a grin.
"Alright then, we'll spend a few days in North Sea City before returning to the academy," Jing Shaoyu decided, seeing no opposition.
"Yay!" Xu Xiaoyan and Mo Hentian cheered immediately.
The group lingered in North Sea City for three or four days before boarding the Soul Guidance Train bound for Shrek City.
Traveling from the northernmost part of the continent to its center, even the fastest Soul Guidance Train took two to three days. To pass the time, Jing Shaoyu and his companions prepared plenty of entertainment.
One of the few advantages of the Soul Guidance Train for high-level Soul Masters was comfort. Compared to flying through the frigid skies, the train might be slightly slower, but it offered plush, comfortable seats and required no effort—just lie back and arrive at the destination. Unless pressed for time, most high-level Soul Masters opted for the train.
The train Jing Shaoyu and his group boarded had sixteen carriages. They were seated in the ninth carriage, right in the middle, with two rows of seats facing each other—perfect for chatting and games among the six.
As the train raced smoothly and swiftly forward, the world outside the windows gradually darkened into night.
Mid-conversation with the girls, Jing Shaoyu suddenly sensed something and sharply looked out the window.
"Kid, trouble's coming!" At the same time, a sultry, alluring voice echoed in his mind. "I know this aura all too well!"
The owner of the voice was none other than Dark Phoenix Douluo Leng Yulai, who had become a Soul Spirit and been contracted by Jing Shaoyu. Over the past year, Jing Shaoyu had hidden nothing from her, and her initial resentment and resistance had long since turned into submission.
She clearly understood Jing Shaoyu's ambitions, which filled her with excitement. As his Soul Spirit, if Jing Shaoyu truly became a god and established a God Realm in the future, she might not obtain the Divine Throne that mortals dreamed of, but at the very least, she could become an immortal deity!
Therefore, she began actively demonstrating her value to Jing Shaoyu. Since she was already bound to him for life, the sooner she gained his attention, the more beneficial it would be for her. She even found herself missing Leng Yaozhu somewhat.
Leng Yaozhu was truly her good sister!
This was Leng Yulai's heartfelt thought.
"Be careful, we're under attack!" Jing Shaoyu shouted sharply. The five girls beside him, including Xu Xiaoyan, froze for a moment before tensing up completely.
As soon as his voice fell, the Soul Guidance Train jolted violently. The next moment, the entire train uncontrollably tilted to one side. The screeching of metal and terrified screams instantly filled the entire carriage—no, the entire train.
The high-speed Soul Guidance Train had collided with an obstacle mid-journey, causing it to be flung sideways and hurled into the air.
This sudden accident caused the sixteen-carriage train to disintegrate mid-air in an instant. The carriages scattered like blossoms in the wind, crashing down beside the tracks.
What was happening?
Xu Xiaoyan and the others were shocked. Thanks to Jing Shaoyu's warning, the moment the train was thrown, all five of them released their Martial Souls and Soul Rings, bursting out of the train and hovering in the air as they witnessed this surreal scene, their hearts filled with disbelief.
Jing Shaoyu had also activated his Martial Soul immediately, spreading his Soul Power throughout the ninth carriage. Though it was flung into the air like the others, it landed smoothly, ensuring the passengers inside suffered minimal harm.
However, their mental state wasn't as stable. Their eyes were vacant, as if they had been scared out of their wits.
This was understandable—anyone would be terrified after surviving such a disaster. Those with weaker constitutions had already fainted.
Jing Shaoyu paid no further attention to the passengers. He flew out of the carriage and regrouped with Xu Xiaoyan and the others. He knew this was no accident—it was a terrorist attack. He had clearly sensed a fleeting trace of sinister energy moments ago!
"A... a Titled Douluo!" Only after Jing Shaoyu had left did the passengers in the ninth carriage gradually regain their senses. Staring in the direction he had gone, they cried out in trembling voices, their faces filled with gratitude and awe.
Once the first voice rang out, others quickly followed. Soon, all the surviving passengers in the carriage—whether Soul Masters or ordinary people—shouted in unison, "Your Excellency!"
"Shaoyu, what's going on?" Xu Xiaoyan asked nervously as soon as she saw him.
"Should we go down and help?" Mo Hentian asked with deep compassion.
By now, the tracks had turned into a living hell. The entire Soul Guidance Train had derailed, with nearly ten carriages split in half and scattered everywhere. Countless unprepared passengers had been thrown out—Soul Masters might still have a chance, but ordinary people weren't so lucky.
Blood was everywhere. So were screams of agony. The once-clear night now seemed bleak and eerie.
"No!" Ye Xinglan objected to Mo Hentian's words, her voice grave. "This is far too abnormal! A train wouldn't derail without reason—there must be something wrong here! I suspect this was man-made!"
It had to be said, Ye Xinglan's personality was indeed well-suited for investigative work.
"Xinglan's judgment is correct," Jing Shaoyu said, a trace of anger in his tone. "This was an attack by Evil Soul Masters!"
Jing Shaoyu was truly furious. What was this? Did they mistake him for Tang Wulin? Attacking a Soul Guidance Train? The Holy Spirit Church truly needed to be eradicated!
"Evil Soul Masters?!" At Jing Shaoyu's words, the girls' eyes filled with rage and hatred. They had all just experienced the Shrek explosion, and their loathing for Evil Soul Masters had reached its peak. Hearing news of them now naturally filled them with righteous indignation.
At that moment, faint beams of light flickered in the distance. The beams weren't strong, appearing purple in color, and under the cover of night, they were hard to notice. But Jing Shaoyu and the others were no ordinary people—they spotted them immediately.
Wu Siduo murmured, "I'll go check it out first. Wait for my signal!"
With that, her figure flickered, transforming into a black streak of lightning as she vanished into the night.
Seeing this, Jing Shaoyu waved to the others and then followed Wu Siduo's trail.
Xu Xiaoyan, Ye Xinglan, Mo Hentian, and Lan Fozi exchanged glances, unsure whether to follow or wait. In the end, Xu Xiaoyan made the decision. "We can't just stand here. Let's go after them!"
With someone taking the lead, the other three found their resolve and agreed without hesitation.
Thus, the four of them followed as well.
Wu Siduo and Jing Shaoyu arrived at the source of the beams one after the other. Wu Siduo wasn't surprised to see Jing Shaoyu catching up. She moved closer to him and whispered, "It's definitely Evil Soul Masters. There are between fifty and sixty of them, slaughtering the wounded."
"Hmm." Jing Shaoyu nodded with a frown.
Just as Wu Siduo had said, the group of Evil Soul Masters was numerous, all clad in black and wielding Soul Guidance Ray Guns. Each moved with practiced ease, agile as ghosts in the night, not at all resembling typical Evil Soul Masters but rather well-trained soldiers.
Yet their actions were truly demonic!
Purple Soul Guidance Rays shot from their guns into the overturned train cars, followed by brief, agonized screams. They wore helmets, obscuring their faces, but their exposed eyes burned with fanaticism and bloodlust.
"Animals! Take them out!" Jing Shaoyu said darkly to Wu Siduo and the newly arrived Xu Xiaoyan and the others.
Wu Siduo had already been holding back. In an instant, she lunged forward, one hand transforming into razor-sharp cat claws that tore into a black-clad figure. Three horrific gashes appeared on the man's chest, piercing his heart—he died instantly.
Wu Siduo's action was like a battle cry, triggering a chain reaction. Ye Xinglan, Mo Hentian, and Lan Fozi joined the fray, each instantly killing a black-clad enemy.
Such a large-scale movement naturally provoked a counterattack from the black-clad figures. The nearest group of them immediately turned their weapons and fired soul guide rays at them while simultaneously releasing their Martial Souls and Soul Rings—they were all Evil Soul Masters at the Soul Grandmaster and Soul King levels!
"They're actually Nether Warriors!" Leng Yulai's surprised voice rang in Jing Shaoyu's ear.
"What are Nether Warriors?" Jing Shaoyu asked curiously as he raised his hand, summoning a golden bolt of lightning from the sky.
"Nether Warriors are the personal guards of the Nether Emperor, Halosa—a group of carefully trained disciples of the Holy Cult," Leng Yulai explained. "There are three divisions of Nether Warriors, each consisting of eighty-one members, including one Titled Douluo, eight Soul Douluos, and seventy-two Soul Masters at or above the Soul Grandmaster level. They are a force that obeys only the Nether Emperor."
"Logically, the Nether Emperor should be on the Star Luo Continent or the Heaven Dou Continent, and his guards should be by his side. Why would they appear here?"
Jing Shaoyu's eyes flickered slightly, but he made no comment on Leng Yulai's confusion. Her memories were still stuck a year in the past, so they could only serve as a reference. Still, the information about the Nether Emperor's guards was quite valuable.
As he pondered, he waved his hand again, and another golden bolt of lightning descended, effortlessly reducing a Soul Emperor-level Evil Soul Master to dust.
By now, more and more Soul Masters who had regained their senses and were in good condition had joined the fight against the Evil Soul Masters. However, the number of enemies was also increasing—it seemed more than just one division of the Nether Emperor's guards was involved in this attack, or perhaps other Evil Soul Masters had joined in as well.
The battle grew increasingly intense, gradually forming a large-scale battlefield. Among the chaos, Jing Shaoyu and his five companions stood out conspicuously—they were the strongest among the train's passengers. Even excluding Jing Shaoyu, the other five were all Soul Saints, whereas the captain of the train's security team was only a Soul Emperor.
However, precisely because of their overwhelming strength, they also attracted the most attention. Over twenty Evil Soul Masters had already targeted them, including several Soul Saints, though most were Soul Kings. This group of enemies simultaneously besieged Xu Xiaoyan and the other four, barely managing to halt their offensive.
As for Jing Shaoyu, he was already surrounded by two Titled Douluos and three Soul Douluos. His brutality was simply too overwhelming—with a casual wave of his hand, he could eliminate a member of the Holy Spirit Church. This made the higher-ups of the Holy Spirit Church unable to sit still.
"Daring to oppose our Holy Cult—you have a death wish!" A cold, sharp, and oddly effeminate voice rang out from one of the Evil Douluos. "Let your soul become an offering to the Holy Emperor!"
As he spoke, this middle-aged man—whose aura was more yin than yang—launched his attack. A cloud of black mist surged from his body, coalescing behind him into a massive black centipede. Nine Soul Rings—four purple and five black—appeared, with the fourth purple ring glowing brightly. Countless venomous needles shot from the centipede's body, raining down on Jing Shaoyu like a fine drizzle.
"Demon Centipede Douluo, Nangong Zao—a 95th-ranked assault-type Titled Douluo. His Martial Soul is the Evil Poison Centipede, and his attacks carry deadly toxins. Be extremely careful!" Leng Yulai quickly warned.
Jing Shaoyu gave a slight nod, leaning back slightly as the Natural God Wings on his back gave a gentle flap. Instantly, a gust of wind swept up from the ground, extinguishing all of Nangong Zao's poisonous needles. This scene made Nangong Zao's eyes widen in shock—he couldn't believe his fourth Soul Skill had been effortlessly neutralized by some young upstart!
Though his fourth Soul Skill wasn't his strongest attack, it was one of his most frequently used techniques. Now, seeing it shattered so easily by a kid whose Soul Power barely registered at the 91st rank, Nangong Zao couldn't help but feel humiliated—especially in front of his old rival.
"Keh keh keh, Poison Centipede, you really are getting worse with age," sneered a burly, sinister-looking middle-aged man, his voice dripping with mockery. "To think you'd be suppressed by some newly minted Douluo brat. Keh keh keh!"
"Abomination Douluo Beiming Kong, a 94th-ranked Assault-Type Titled Douluo. His Martial Soul is the Abomination, and he's one of the Nether Emperor's trusted subordinates. He has a personal grudge against Nangong Zao," Leng Yulai explained.
Jing Shaoyu nodded, a cold glint flashing in his eyes. He couldn't care less about the infighting between these two Evil Soul Masters—in his eyes, they were nothing more than damned fiends deserving of death.
With that thought, a golden bolt of lightning erupted from his pupils. The Natural God Wings unfurled behind him, and the nine dazzling Soul Rings at his back radiated brilliant light. A terrifying aura erupted from his body as he raised a single finger, summoning the might of heaven itself to descend upon the earth.
Without warning, the golden lightning shattered space, engulfing Nangong Zao, Beiming Kong, and three nameless Soul Douluos. In an instant, their presences vanished from this world without a trace.
"…" Leng Yulai was utterly dumbstruck, unable to speak. She knew Jing Shaoyu had grown formidable after advancing to Titled Douluo, but she never imagined he could casually erase two Titled Douluos—especially when one of them was a Super Douluo!
This… this was terrifying beyond belief!
Jing Shaoyu's expression remained indifferent, his detached demeanor sending a shiver down Leng Yulai's spine. She cautiously asked, "How did you do that?"
"Heaven's Thunder—to purge evil."
(End of Chapter)