Dai Hao took a deep breath. It was as if he forced all his emotions back down, leaving only the final iron-blooded dignity of a soldier.
He clapped Dai Yueheng heavily on the shoulder and spoke in a low voice.
"We're too far in now—saying anything more is pointless. Since we're here… we fight."
He straightened his blood-stained back. His eyes were like torches as he swept his gaze over the surrounding enemies. His voice rang out across the battlefield like a tiger's roar.
"The White Tiger Duke's Mansion has never feared death or clung to life! Today, I, Dai Hao, together with my eldest son, Dai Yueheng, stand here. For the Star Luo Empire, we will spill our last drop of blood. All of you, follow me—fight to the death!"
"Fight to the death! Fight to the death! Fight to the death!"
The remaining Star Luo soldiers were infected by Dai Hao's resolve. They raised one final roar, and a tragic aura surged toward the sky.
Yet none of them—not even Ju Zi—knew that, not far from the battlefield, in the distorted shadows of space, a black-robed figure was quietly watching this scene.
It was Huo Yuhao.
Through spiritual detection, he clearly and vividly saw the scene of "fatherly love and filial piety" between Dai Hao and Dai Yueheng, saw them preparing to die shoulder to shoulder.
Dai Hao's courage and his determination to sacrifice his life for his country stirred a wordless pride in Huo Yuhao's heart—Look, this is the source of his bloodline, a man who dares defy the heavens, a fearless commander.
But at the same time, jealousy and rage, like poisonous snakes, crazily gnawed at his heart, nearly overwhelming his reason.
Why?
Why could Dai Yueheng stand openly at his father's side, fighting together, being scolded and protected?
Why had Dai Hao never cared about the safety of Huo Yuhao and his pitiful mother, letting them be bullied at home, until his mother finally sank into depression and died?
Everything he had now—just a fraction of it—had once been something he didn't even dare to hope for: this father-and-son bond, now paraded before his eyes in dazzling, mocking clarity.
The muscles on Huo Yuhao's face twitched uncontrollably. Beneath the black robe, his hands clenched so hard that his knuckles crackled.
Hidden in the shadows, his eyes were now full of boundless anger and pain, twisted by a tangle of near-distorted emotions.
He watched as Dai Hao desperately tried to protect Dai Yueheng and his men, and as Dai Yueheng in turn took risks to save his father… This moving tableau was, to him, the sharpest sarcasm and the cruelest punishment.
"How touching… What a great father and son bond…"
Huo Yuhao squeezed the words out between his teeth in a hoarse, low voice, like a storm on the verge of breaking.
He might once have hesitated. But at this moment, after witnessing all of this, the flames of "revenge" in his heart burned fiercer than ever.
He no longer wanted only to destroy Duke White Tiger's faith and career. He wanted this "great" father to taste a despair deeper and more painful than what his mother had suffered.
The death net the Sun Moon Empire had so carefully woven finally began to close mercilessly.
Under Ju Zi's command, the Evil Sovereign and Fire Phoenix Soul Engineer Legions coordinated perfectly with Starry Sky Douluo Ye Yulin's grade-9 soul tools to begin the final strangulation of the encircled Star Luo remnants.
High above, countless detection-type soul tools hovered like cold eyes, feeding every tiny movement and soul power fluctuation of the Star Luo forces directly back into Ju Zi's command network.
In the face of this technological superiority, which felt almost like a dimensionality-reduction attack, the famed military talent of Duke White Tiger Dai Hao suddenly seemed pale and powerless.
"Break through on the left wing. Xuanguang Douluo, I'm counting on you!"
Dai Hao was covered in blood. His White Tiger True Body had already collapsed, yet his roars still carried authority.
"Don't worry, Duke!"
Xuanguang Douluo bellowed. His Xuanguang Domain was unleashed to its limits, trying to punch a hole through the encirclement.
But what awaited them was the link-type soul tool formation the Evil Sovereign Soul Engineer Legion had long since set up.
Countless dark rays wove together into a net of death, shredding the Xuanguang Domain in an instant. At the same time, multiple grade-9 soul cannon beams struck from different angles. Xuanguang Douluo's protective soul power shattered like paper paste. This powerful Titled Douluo didn't even have time to scream before he turned to flying ash in the blinding light.
"Xuanguang!!"
Lieyang Douluo's eyes nearly burst from their sockets. Flames raged wildly across his body as he struggled to fight, but he was tightly bound by starlight chains cast by Starry Sky Douluo Ye Yulin. Meanwhile, the Fire Phoenix Legion's fiery bombards drowned him in a sea of explosions.
One after another, generals and noble powerhouses loyal to the White Tiger bloodline fell, like candles in the wind, under the crushing disparity in power and overwhelming advantage in technology.
They fought desperately, then retreated, then fought again, retreating for dozens of miles, leaving behind a trail of blood and corpses of Star Luo soldiers. Yet they still couldn't break through the iron-barrel encirclement.
"Father, be careful!"
Dai Yueheng shoved the exhausted Dai Hao aside, his own chest pierced by a sharp soul beam in his place.
The White Tiger armor on his body shattered like porcelain. Blood spurted forth like a fountain.
"Yueheng!!"
Dai Hao caught his son's soft, collapsing body. His tiger-like frame shook violently, his voice hoarse with desperation.
Blood spilled endlessly from Dai Yueheng's mouth. He stared at his father, eyes full of reluctance and attachment. Finally, his head lolled to the side, and his breath stopped.
Watching his son die in his arms, and seeing his generals fall one after another, Dai Hao's mind nearly collapsed.
He looked up at the sky and let out a beast-like howl of grief. One by one, his last guards fell beside him.
In the end, there was no one left by his side. Only him, standing alone in a mountain of corpses and sea of blood, surrounded by countless soul masters and the cold muzzles of the Sun Moon Empire's soul cannons.
The White Tiger phantom behind him finally dissipated, revealing his true body—covered in wounds and caked in blood.
He barely managed to hold up his broken battle knife and glanced around at the enemies' indifferent or mocking gazes.
After a miserable smile, firm resolve settled on Dai Hao's face.
He knew that if Duke White Tiger of the Star Luo Empire were captured alive, it would deal a devastating blow to the Empire's morale.
"Your Majesty… I have done all I can…"
He muttered in a low voice, then suddenly lifted the battle knife in his hand and, without hesitation, slashed it toward his own throat.
The sharp edge cut into his skin, and beads of blood seeped out.
On the high platform, Ju Zi watched calmly. Her heart was tranquil, even with a hint of relief.
She did not order anyone to stop him. Capturing him alive would indeed be better. Yet deep down, she still wanted to see the blood of this "enemy" who had entangled half her life spilled right here, to witness the end of that blurred childhood hatred.
But at that critical instant—
A strange black shadow that seemed to devour all light swept across the center of the battlefield at a speed beyond perception.
The next second, centered on Dai Hao, the space within a radius of several hundred meters suddenly twisted and distorted.
Every soul master and soldier within that area, even the mighty Starry Sky Douluo Ye Yulin, felt their vision blur. Their consciousness plunged into an endless dark abyss. Countless eerie whispers and illusions echoed in their ears.
They saw their deepest fears, what they desired most, their most painful memories… In that moment, the entire elite encirclement plunged into a collective spiritual illusion.
"Who is it?! What evil spirit dares throw my army into chaos?! Break it!!"
Ye Yulin was a top-tier expert. Less than three seconds after falling into the trance, he suddenly awoke with a roar. Starlight erupted from his entire body, and a violent shockwave of soul power blasted out like a storm, shattering the spiritual illusion around him.
With his roar, other soul engineers and soldiers began snapping out of the muddy confusion as well.
But in this one or two seconds of extreme chaos—
The Duke of White Tiger, Dai Hao, who had been about to commit suicide in the center of the encirclement, had vanished without a trace along with that strange black figure.
Only the half-embedded broken battle knife and a few not-yet-dried drops of blood remained on the ground.
"Where is he?!"
Ye Yulin was both shocked and furious. His formidable spiritual power swept across the battlefield like quicksilver, but he could no longer sense Dai Hao's presence.
Standing on the platform, Ju Zi's expression truly changed for the first time.
The killing game she had so carefully arranged had ultimately failed.
Who possessed such bizarre means that they could snatch someone away, right under the eyes of Starry Sky Douluo and two elite soul engineer legions?
All possible forces flashed through her mind.
The Star Luo royal clan?
Impossible.
Xu Jiawei and Xu Jiujiu had already reached a tacit understanding with Jing Hongchen: the White Tiger line and its branches were abandoned pieces on the board. They were hoping to borrow the Sun Moon Empire's hand to get rid of Dai Hao; there was no way they would send someone to rescue him.
The Heavenly Soul Empire?
They could hardly protect themselves. They'd almost been wiped out on the Jadefield Plains. How could they spare any strength to cross the border and save a foreign duke?
The Dou Ling Empire?
Even less likely. They did not have any top-tier experts, much less anyone capable of such unpredictable methods.
"Who is it?!"
Ju Zi frowned, murmuring to herself.
Soon, however, a piece of top-secret information from Haiyuan City about the new leader of the Holy Spirit Cult surfaced in her mind.
"So it's… him."
Ju Zi immediately understood, but doubt in her eyes only deepened.
"According to our intel, doesn't he hate Dai Hao just as much? Why would he save him?"
She truly couldn't grasp Huo Yuhao's motives.
But in any case, the mission was not completely failed.
Ju Zi suppressed the distracting thoughts in her mind. Her voice turned cold again.
"The Evil Sovereign Soul Engineer Legion is to immediately begin a fan-shaped search. All high-altitude detection-type soul tools to full power. Search for any suspicious spiritual fluctuations or energy traces. Bring him back alive if possible, or bring his corpse."
"Yes!"
As she watched the soul engineer legion move swiftly, Ju Zi felt a surge of exhausted excitement.
She turned around and gestured to the Fire Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion.
"Let's go."
Revenge… had she gotten it?
Although Dai Hao's life and death were still uncertain, the foundation of the White Tiger bloodline had been severed. Dai Yueheng had fallen in battle, and the forces loyal to him had been almost completely eradicated.
The nightmare that had once weighed her down seemed to have finally vanished.
Yet, for some reason, there was none of the relief she had imagined would come after revenge. There was only endless fatigue and… emptiness.
She boarded the vehicle without once looking back at the blood-soaked, scorched earth.
It seemed that the war that belonged to her was over.
…
Consciousness struggled free from endless darkness and chaos, like a drowning man finally breaking through the surface of the water.
Dai Hao suddenly opened his eyes, breathing heavily. The last memories on the battlefield flashed repeatedly in his mind like a nightmare—blood-soaked earth, the desperate roars of his men, Xuanji Douluo's shattered umbrella, Lieyang Douluo's burning flames… and, most of all, the moment when Dai Yueheng shoved him away, his own chest lit by a beam of light, the burning sensation of blood splashing across Dai Hao's face, and his son's last reluctant, affectionate gaze.
"Yueheng…!!"
He growled in pain, hand flying unconsciously to his neck. There, he could only feel a shallow, dried smear of blood.
His memories stopped at him slashing his own throat—and then that ghost-like black figure approaching, followed by bizarre illusions and twisted space.
Who was it?
Who saved me?
He suddenly rolled over and sat up, scanning his surroundings warily.
He was on a desolate hillside. The gloomy sky hung low and heavy, and the air was thick with the scent of soil and grass.
His gaze was immediately drawn to a figure not far away.
A black-robed person stood with their back to him, quietly facing a lonely grave.
A grave…
Dai Hao's pupils shrank. It felt as though an invisible hand had clamped down on his heart.
How could he not recognize it?
It was the grave he had built many years ago—for the woman he had loved and failed, Huo Yun'er—filled with endless guilt and sorrow.
Why had he been brought here?!
Huge confusion and a faint premonition surged in his chest.
"Who are you?"
Dai Hao forced his battered body to stand. His voice was hoarse, laced with vigilance.
"Why did you save me? Why bring me here?"
The black-robed figure slowly turned around.
Under the hood, his face was obscured, but Dai Hao could feel a cold, razor-sharp gaze boring into him.
Without answering, the man lifted his hand and gently pushed back the hood. A pale hand also rose, holding a simple-style dagger that glinted with a cold, white light.
The moment he saw the dagger clearly, Dai Hao felt as if struck by lightning. His expression changed dramatically.
"The White Tiger Dagger?!"
He cried out. This was the symbol of the White Tiger Duke's bloodline. He could never mistake it.
"That's… why is that in your hand?!"
But the instant the words left his mouth, he froze. A terrifying thought crashed through his mind like a bolt of lightning.
He jerked his head toward the solitary grave, then back to the black-robed man's vaguely familiar face. At last, he connected it to a memory: a student from Shrek Academy, Huo Yuhao, and that Spirit Eye martial soul.
He clearly remembered that Huo Yun'er's martial soul was Spirit Eyes.
At the start of the tournament, he had been shocked when he first saw Huo Yuhao's Spirit Eyes. Later, when Huo Yuhao revealed his second martial soul, the Ultimate Ice, he had dismissed it as coincidence and forcefully suppressed that ridiculous guess.
Now…