Though the scene was tragic, with a Title Douluo present, the crisis was over. They were just a step too late.
Though they didn't know these people, their sacrifice hunting evil soul masters was admirable.
Ye Guyi had no intention of stealing the kill—even if purifying him herself would raise her level.
"Watch out!"
Suddenly, a half-destroyed corpse began to swell rapidly.
March 7th shouted a warning, her kind nature making her instinctively want to help, even strangers.
The swelling corpse was right next to the wounded—if it exploded again, more would die.
Dan Heng readied his wind but paused as Xuan Zi acted.
A yellow light enveloped the corpse, containing the explosion.
"Elder Xuan!"
Seeing the corpse vaporized, the Shrek team members cried out.
Wang Yan, a bespectacled young man, clenched his fists in self-reproach.
But another change occurred.
The captured evil soul master, seizing Xuan Zi's distraction, activated his fifth ring, turning into eerie black mist and escaping.
Even more shocking, he didn't flee—instead, he lunged at Huo Yuhao.
Caught off guard, Huo Yuhao was seized and whisked deeper into the cave.
Everyone was stunned. Who would have thought a Soul King could escape a Super Douluo, let alone snatch someone away?
"Yuhao!"
Wang Dong and others cried out in terror.
"Elder Xuan!"
Wang Yan shouted, urging Xuan Zi to rescue him.
Xuan Zi snapped back, but his punch only smashed a hole in the cave wall—the black mist was long gone.
"Hmph, Holy Radiance!"
Ye Guyi spread her golden wings, her four soul rings shining.
A giant female angel phantom appeared, sacred chants echoing, golden light flooding the cave.
"Ahhh!"
A shriek cut through the air—the black mist instantly dissolved under the holy light.
He didn't even have time to revert to his true form; the purifying power erased him utterly.
Such was the absolute dominance of the Holy Angel over evil soul masters.
Even if the Death God Envoy had ten levels on Ye Guyi, in mist form he was helpless.
Of course, had he been in his true body, he might have lasted longer.
The mist scattered, and Huo Yuhao tumbled down.
He was still dazed—he'd been about to call on Ice Empress and Skydream Iceworm's power, but someone had saved him.
"An angel!" Everyone stared at Ye Guyi in awe.
Under the holy light, the blood and poison quickly faded, the cave seemingly cleansed.
But soon, their attention returned to their fallen teammates.
"Teacher Wang Yan, how are they?"
Xiao Xiao and others were panicked—this was the main team for the tournament, and now disaster had struck.
"Yao Haoxuan is dead, Xixi is gravely wounded, Gongyang Mo lost both legs, Chen Zifeng lost an arm."
Wang Yan's voice was heavy. Of the seven main team members, only Ma Xiaotao, Dai Yueheng, and Ling Luochen could still fight—and even they were weakened.
Ma Xiaotao, now a Soul Sage, was only lightly wounded from the blast; Dai Yueheng was worse off but not critical.
Ling Luochen, protected by frost armor and being further from the center, was the least hurt.
Only these three could now participate in the tournament, and even they were far from peak form.
"It's my fault—I was too reckless," Ma Xiaotao said in pain.
"Now isn't the time for blame. We need to get Xixi and the others to the Academy for treatment, or they won't survive," Wang Yan said gravely.
"You're here for the tournament, right? Haiyuan City is nearby. If you don't mind, we can offer the best healing," March 7th said, recognizing the Shrek Academy badge.
"Thank you for your help. Who are you?" Wang Yan turned to the trio.
"We're from St. Freya Academy. I'm March 7th, and we came to hunt evil soul masters, but arrived late," March 7th explained.
"St. Freya Academy!" Everyone was shocked.
Before leaving, they'd been told that their biggest rivals, besides Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy, were St. Freya Academy—the team that had ended Shrek's thousand-year reign and won the last championship.
They never expected to meet St. Freya students here, let alone in such a sorry state.
"Elder Xuan, let's go to Haiyuan City. Xixi and the others won't last long, and it's too far to the Academy," Ma Xiaotao said urgently.
She knew Haiyuan City well—it was their tournament destination, after all.
"Right. Since Haiyuan City is hosting, they must have the best healing soul masters and tools," Dai Yueheng agreed.
As the next White Tiger Duke of Star Lou Empire, he trusted Haiyuan City's facilities.
"Alright, let's go," Xuan Zi said, dazed and at a loss.
…
"Brother, is this really a Star Luo Empire city, not our Sun Moon Empire?"
Meng Hongchen, a stunning white-haired girl, stared in shock at the luxurious 200-meter hotel.
Since entering Haiyuan City, she and her companions had been awestruck.
Before them lay rows of skyscrapers, soul-powered trams racing on tracks, ever-changing soul tool projections on building walls, and floating soul tool airships displaying huge tournament banners.
This was all new to them, hailing from the Sun Moon Empire.
To them, Mingdu was the continent's number one city—their greatest pride.
Yet Haiyuan City now rivaled it.
Though Haiyuan City was smaller and less prosperous, its soul tool technology was possibly even more advanced.
"When did Star Luo Empire's soul tool tech leap ahead like this?" Xiao Hongchen's face darkened.
Soul tool tech was the Sun Moon Empire's pride.
But seeing Star Luo with such advances, he felt uneasy. If Star Luo could reach this level, what did that mean for their own pride?
"This is Haiyuan City—Lady Herta's city. With her here, such advanced tech isn't surprising," said an old man in a cowboy hat, pipe in mouth, calmly.
But at the mention of Herta, respect shone in his eyes.
Among soul engineers, Herta commanded universal respect. Today, she was the most revered figure in the field.
The advent of the Simulated Universe was like a bomb, upending soul master training and combat.
It replaced traditional battle arenas, allowing safe, rich combat experience and greatly reducing deaths.
Its ability to simulate all materials made soul tool research vastly easier.
Thanks to the Simulated Universe, the Sun Moon Empire's soul tool tech advanced rapidly.
Many experiments once stalled by scarce materials or danger could now be done safely.
These breakthroughs accelerated their tech and made Herta's reputation soar—even though she wasn't from the Empire.
Among soul engineers, Herta was a pioneer, a trailblazer. Her origins didn't matter.
Anyone who brought the Simulated Universe to the world deserved their respect.
"No wonder. If this is Lady Herta's city, it all makes sense. It's just a shame she refuses to join our Empire," Xiao Hongchen sighed.
The Sun Moon Empire had tried to recruit Herta, offering her the highest honors—even Silver Moon Douluo Kong Deming was willing to step aside.
But they hadn't even met her before being refused.
Still, Herta's reputation remained supreme.
Unlike the original three Douluo countries, the Sun Moon Empire valued soul tools above all. To them, soul tools were the future.
So for someone who created the Simulated Universe and advanced soul tool technology so much, all soul engineers held Herta in the highest esteem.