In the following promotion matches, Huo Yuhao did not participate himself. Instead, he rotated between regular and reserve team members, reassigning lineups daily and developing new tactics, ensuring everyone had the opportunity to gain experience.
The others didn't disappoint either—every match was won in a crushing fashion.
Even against stronger teams, with Xu Sanshi—a Soul Emperor with divine beast blood—on their side, there was virtually no chance of losing.
If it ever got tricky, they could just "move" Jiang Nannan a bit, and Xu Sanshi would explode into action himself. So far, though, that move hadn't been necessary.
Huo Yuhao spent his time with Xian Lin'er, Cai Meier, and others, traveling to observe matches in different regions. This was partly for intelligence gathering, and partly to monitor other teams with Soul Sages.
In truth, for Huo Yuhao, the main purpose was simply to accompany the others and act like he was doing his job.
He didn't have much else going on anyway, so while watching the matches, he would casually absorb luck—sometimes even Dragon Qi, Phoenix Qi, or Qilin Qi.
Most of the contestants' martial souls and bloodlines were already on Huo Yuhao's radar. If he found any worth harvesting, he could always wait and collect later.
During this time, his relationships with the three women who didn't know him well before—Cai Meier, Wu Ming, and Hua Yao—had significantly deepened.
He'd also come to understand them better:
Cai Meier often carried herself with the air of a dean, but was actually easygoing and far more lively than the stern Xian Lin'er. Occasionally, she would display girlish charm without realizing it. With the face of a young noblewoman and the personality of a cheerful maiden, it was no surprise she had once rivaled Xian Lin'er.
Still, Cai Meier was no naive woman. Otherwise, she wouldn't have once overshadowed Xian Lin'er.
Now, the two women were like frenemies—constantly bickering but never truly fighting.
Huo Yuhao found watching their spats far more entertaining than watching rookies peck at each other on stage.
Then there was Wu Ming. Perhaps because both she and Ma Xiaotao had fire-type avian martial souls and divine beast bloodlines, they shared certain traits—but they were also quite different.
Both Wu Ming and Ma Xiaotao exuded fiery tempers and noble airs. Ma Xiaotao was like a raging wildfire and a greedy lustful flame cloaked in royal dignity, whereas Wu Ming's flame was a golden blaze that burned everything yet remained under her control—her nobility was innate and sovereign.
After discovering Huo Yuhao's "innocent" side, Wu Ming quickly moved past the initial awkwardness and started teasing him more and more.
She wouldn't stop until his face turned bright red—and her teasing only grew bolder over time.
Lastly, Hua Yao was as gentle and graceful as a lotus, but her eyes carried sorrow and longing due to the loss of someone she secretly loved.
Beneath that sadness lay a hidden strength and resolve—a soft exterior wrapped around an iron will.
Lately, she had been subtly asking Huo Yuhao about how to increase her strength.
Clearly, she wanted to grow stronger quickly—strong enough for revenge—even if it meant paying a price.
Huo Yuhao and the others had also been watching the matches of the other teams that had Soul Sages.
He knew where these Soul Sages came from and how they reached their current level, but upon seeing them again, it was clear they had changed drastically.
Not all of them participated in every match, though.
For example, the Body Sect was similar to Shrek Academy. After having their three Soul Sages win in one-sided fights, they let the rest of the team take over and cruised to victory—perhaps even more cleanly than Shrek's own team.
But there were exceptions.
Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen from Mingdu Royal Soul Engineering Academy, and Xu Tianzhen from the Star Luo Xu family, appeared in every single match.
They needed the battles to adjust to their dramatically increased strength.
These three had become Soul Sages thanks to the Third Prince, who provided them with rare pills and 100,000-year soul bones.
The so-called secret medicine was simply alchemical pills. The Third Prince, being fire-elemental, naturally dabbled in alchemy, and Huo Yuhao planned to have him craft some less-important pills.
After all, he had clones now—there was no need for his main body to personally refine pills unless they were high-level or for cultivating the mind.
With those pills and soul bones, the trio rose from Soul Emperor to Soul Sage in about a year, without harming their foundations—their potential and combat power were greatly enhanced.
Their physical qualities and soul power purity were on par with average Soul Sages from the Douluo Three Kingdoms. But since they spent most of that time leveling up instead of fighting, their combat experience didn't yet match their strength, so they used real battles to gain experience—even if they were one-sided wins.
To build combat familiarity, they avoided using soul tools and fought solely as soul masters.
Their performance made the rest of Shrek think that all of the Sun Moon Empire's Soul Sages were just "pill-poppers."
But the Xu family of the Sun Moon Empire still drew attention from Xian Lin'er and Cai Meier.
That was because none of their other members had revealed any useful information—just like that mysterious Soul Sage from the Douling Xie family.
Even when using the "2-2-3" lineup, aside from Xu Tianzhen, the other fighters wore grey robes, never revealed their martial souls or soul skills, and still managed to win using sheer physical power and battle techniques.
They seemed a bit like the Body Sect, but even if the Body Sect was morally ambiguous, they would never betray the continent and side with the Sun Moon Empire.
In the end, Xuanzi could only sigh—after being away from the world for a while, he found it harder and harder to understand what was going on.
While Shrek Academy remained puzzled in Mingdu, disaster was already approaching back home.
That night.
In the mountains near Shrek City, the Death God Envoy opened his eyes inside a hidden valley. Crawling out of his blood-red coffin, he stood bathed in moonlight—actually absorbing the moon's energy to cultivate.
It was a rare full moon night.
But tonight was not for cultivation.
"The time has come~"
"ROAR!!!"
With a hoarse roar from the Death God Envoy, the entire forest stirred.
Careful listeners would notice—the forest had been eerily silent, not even insect sounds. But after that roar, a rustling sound came from every direction.
The ground began to churn, as if something was trying to crawl out from beneath.
One after another, grotesque, decaying, and terrifying zombies clawed their way out of the cold, damp earth—covered in mud but completely unfazed.
These zombies all raised their heads and howled at the moon.
Not a single one was a mindless corpse—they were all true undead, and all had evolved into the formidable Green Zombies!
This was the fruit of the Death God Envoy's long labor.
Over a hundred zombies emerged, each one infused with soul master traits—mutant zombies with far greater combat power than their peers. Their physical strength rivaled average Titled Douluo, and they had evolved innate abilities resembling soul skills.
They could rightly be called—Soul Zombies.
To create so many Soul Zombies, Huo Yuhao had only provided part of the resources. The rest had been collected by the Death God Envoy through the White Lotus Sect.
Special thanks went to those "heretics" who refused to serve the White Lotus. Their wives and daughters were sacrificed to the Bright King, while those with talent were turned into Soul Sages or Soul Douluo—before being zombified. The less gifted became fodder for the zombies' growth.
After awakening the horde, the Death God Envoy gave a single order:
"All units—attack! Target: Shrek Academy!"
"ROAR! ROAR! ROAR!"
The zombies surged forward, flooding out of the forest.
A massive zombie dragon flew out from behind the Death God Envoy. He leapt onto its head and soared into the sky, leading the undead like a shepherd guiding his flock.
Humans—such valuable beings.
In the hands of evil cultivators, humans could be disassembled and used in parts—or even used whole.
Back when the White Lotus Sect was rising in power, they encountered many "heretics." Those "heretics" could only atone for their sins by offering up themselves and their families.
Women with strong talent were offered to the Bright King, becoming his attendants.
Men with high potential were trained into Soul Sages and Soul Douluos, then drained of all their abilities and transformed into zombies to join the Death God Envoy's zombie army.
Those without talent—regardless of gender—became nourishment. This was the largest group.
Their souls were either absorbed by Huo Yuhao's Hao Emperor Banner, devoured by Eunuch Gao, or used by the Third Prince to cultivate his Yin Claw Technique.
This didn't just help the Death God Envoy break through to the rank of Titled Douluo; it also improved Eunuch Gao's power and made the Third Prince's Yin Claw Technique even stronger. The Death God Envoy's zombies also gained significant power.
The zombie army previously had reached the White Zombie level (ranks: Purple, White, Green). However, White Zombies lacked mobility. But even a standard undead army was enough to trouble the Sun Moon Empire.
So, these "elite products" were further cultivated by the Death God Envoy.
Later, the Death God Envoy took them to the Star Luo Empire, found a few secluded corpse-nurturing spots, and quietly continued his work.
The elders of Shrek Academy couldn't locate the Death God Envoy because he was hiding in deep mountain corpse farms—places nearly impossible for ordinary people to find.
To be honest, while the Death God Envoy was raising corpses in the Star Luo Empire, he didn't cause much direct harm—aside from slaughtering a few villages for fresh blood to feed the corpses. The two strongest people he killed were both inner court disciples of Shrek Academy, one of whom was the crush of Hua Yao.
The Star Luo Imperial Tomb that Huo Yuhao had once visited was later occupied by the Death God Envoy and his zombies for a whole month, during which they absorbed all remaining foul energy before leaving.
The Star Luo royal family had indeed discovered the tomb had been robbed—but what could they do? They never expected anyone to revisit it and rob it again. As a result, it was left unguarded.
Today, the Star Luo Imperial Tomb is just an underground complex. Its dragon aura and foul energy have been completely drained, all burial items looted, and the corpses of past emperors taken by Huo Yuhao. Even the elite guard troops of the tomb were wiped out by Huo Yuhao.
All the royal family could do was investigate and issue wanted notices, and consider where to build the next tomb—one that wouldn't be robbed again.
Now, after all this time:
All those White Zombies had evolved into Green Zombies. They no longer suffered from mobility issues. They could emit corpse aura, spread corpse poison, jump incredibly fast, feared neither people nor animals—only sunlight.
Even more terrifying, they had mutated into Soul Zombies—possessing innate soul skills and bodies as tough as those of Titled Douluo from the assault system.
Night falls on Shrek Academy.
While Shrek City remained lively, Shrek Academy was unusually quiet.
After a long day of training and work, the students and staff were all resting.
Those few students still bursting with energy had gone to enjoy the bustle of Shrek City. But such students were rare—not everyone was as at ease as Huo Yuhao. Anyone who slacked off too much would be eliminated in assessments and expelled.
Only the city defense troops guarding the academy were still on duty, facing the peaceful night as usual.
Unless another beast tide occurred, who would dare invade Shrek Academy? The night guards remained relatively relaxed.
But in the darkness, pairs of blood-red eyes darted forward, swiftly approaching Shrek Academy.
Over a hundred zombies moved—far quieter than a marching army, yet even faster than cavalry.
The Death God Envoy stood atop a zombie dragon, looking down at Shrek Academy from the skies. Hidden by the night, he wore a cruel smile.
He raised his staff, muttered an incantation, and released a vast black mist, shrouding himself and the zombies below—masking their presence entirely.
Even watchful guards couldn't detect the approaching horde.
And so—the zombies broke into Shrek Academy.
The tall walls were no obstacle.
In the blink of an eye, over a hundred zombies had vaulted over.
By the time the guards noticed something was wrong, zombies had already leapt onto the walls and, using strength rivaling that of assault-type Titled Douluo, seized the guards—then sank their fangs into their throats.
"AHHHHH!!!"
One by one, the guards were drained of blood and life amid screams. Only then did the Death God Envoy slowly arrive on his zombie dragon, shaking a small soul banner to collect the souls of the dead.
The guard captain, no weakling, activated a warning beacon with his last ounce of soul power as a zombie bit into his neck.
Immediately, a sharp alarm echoed across Shrek Academy, shattering the night's silence.
"What's going on? Are we under attack?!"
"That's the academy's emergency alarm!"
"No good—someone's invaded the academy!"
From Sea God's Pavilion to the ordinary students, all were roused.
As students threw on clothes and ran from their dorms, they saw powerful figures flying from Sea God Island toward the academy walls—all were Titled Douluo, some even Super Douluo elders.
When the elders arrived, they witnessed a brutal scene.
The city guards were locked in one-sided slaughter. The zombies harvested life rapidly, devouring blood.
The elders recognized these undead creatures—evil soul masters had similar zombie spirits or could create zombies. But they'd never seen ones this strong.
The only reason the battle wasn't over already was that Yan Shaozhe and Qian Duoduo had arrived early and were barely holding off the bulk of the zombies with their attack and defense combo.
Yan Shaozhe's Light Phoenix martial spirit was especially effective against zombies. Otherwise, they would've been torn apart already.
Without that attribute advantage, how could two Titled Douluo withstand dozens of powerful zombies?
Even so, it was only a temporary defense.
Yan Shaozhe, anxious, called out as soon as he saw the elders:
"Elders! It's bad—zombies have invaded the academy!"
"What?!"
The elders turned pale.
If the zombies slaughtered the city guards so easily, what might happen to the students?
Two elders immediately turned back toward the academy to chase and eliminate the zombies that had broken through.
At that moment, a mighty pressure descended upon Shrek Academy. The elders looked up—to see the Death God Envoy riding his zombie dragon.
The dragon was a transformed sub-dragon soul beast, specifically a Storm Sub-Dragon. Despite being a sub-dragon, it had wings and could fly.
Now, as a zombie dragon, it retained its flight ability, gained immense physical strength, and matched the power of a true dragon—now possessing strength and aura equivalent to a 100,000-year soul beast.
As the Death God Envoy and his mount descended so dramatically, Yan Shaozhe and the others immediately realized—this was the mastermind.
"He's an evil soul master?!" Yan Shaozhe said at once.
Elder Lin shouted, "You're from the Holy Spirit Cult?!"
"I was," the Death God Envoy replied politely, smiling. "But not anymore."
"Hmph! Whether you're Holy Spirit Cult or not—you dared invade Shrek Academy. That's a death sentence! Tell us your goal!" Elder Song demanded.
It seemed they skipped capturing him and went straight to interrogation.
Still, the Death God Envoy remained polite.
"My goal? I heard that Shrek Academy houses three living 100,000-year Beast Kings. I'm... very interested~"
"Damn it! You dare covet the Beast Kings of our Shrek Academy? This evil soul master must not be allowed to live! Die!"
Elder Song roared in fury, immediately merging with her Azure Shadow Eagle martial soul. She led the charge against the Death God Envoy, leaving behind a trail of green afterimages as she moved at incredible speed.
Elder Zhuang, Elder Lin, and another Elder of Super Douluo strength followed closely behind, joining Elder Song in the attack.
Four Super Douluos were besieging the Death God Envoy!
Their goal: to kill him as quickly as possible.
Once the Death God Envoy was eliminated, the zombie horde under his control would become uncoordinated. Even if the zombies couldn't be fully stopped, their strength would definitely decrease. After all, they were mindless and much easier to take down without a commander.
A single zombie soul creature might possess physical strength at the level of a Titled Douluo, but with proper coordination, a few Soul Douluos could delay or even defeat it.
A Titled Douluo of equal level could easily fight multiple such zombies. Especially someone like Yan Shaozhe, whose attributes countered the undead—he could potentially hold off a dozen or even twenty zombies alone.
The problem was that the Death God Envoy had more than a hundred zombies, and over twenty had already broken into the Academy, heading straight for the Beast Enclosure.
Even though two Super Douluo-level Elders had gone to intercept them, there was no telling if they could make it in time.
Meanwhile, the other Titled Douluos and Soul Douluos had to work with Yan Shaozhe and Qian Duoduo to fend off the remaining ninety-plus zombies.
In truth, the fact that Yan Shaozhe and Qian Duoduo were able to hold them off at all was intentional on the part of the Death God Envoy. He used his massive undead army to tie up Shrek Academy's elite forces.
This way, he could move undetected behind the scenes.
The real main player today wasn't the Death God Envoy himself.
But Shrek's defenders didn't know that.
Without a definitive powerhouse leading them, the Academy's forces opted for a common strategy: capture the king to win the war.
Yet even as four Super Douluos surrounded him, the Death God Envoy remained unnervingly calm.
Before he even made a move, the zombie dragon beneath him let out a hoarse, draconic roar and unleashed a breath of corpse miasma, aimed precisely at the rapidly approaching Elder Song.
This so-called corpse breath was a blend of zombie miasma and dragonfire—more sinister than ordinary dragon breath, imbued with corrosive and deadly force.
Elder Song had no time to dodge—nor did she intend to. Her soul rings flared, and she summoned a wind barrier to shield herself while continuing to charge through the breath, determined to kill the zombie dragon and its rider.
But as the corpse breath met her wind shield, the wind element was quickly corroded and dissolved. In mere moments, her protective barrier was shattered.
Seeing this, Elder Song immediately turned into a blur and retreated far back, narrowly escaping the breath's effects. She looked at the zombie dragon, eyes filled with deep wariness, and quickly shouted,
"Be careful, everyone! That dragon can corrode elemental energy!"
Her warning made everyone's expression turn grim.
At that moment, the zombie dragon dove straight for Elder Zhuang, the healing-type soul master.
Naturally, the first target in a siege is the support!
Elder Song and Elder Lin rushed to intercept, while the third Elder launched a surprise attack from the rear.
Thus, the zombie dragon engaged in fierce combat with the three Elders—and surprisingly, it held its own, even pushing them back. Without Elder Zhuang's healing support, the other three would've already started losing ground.
And the Death God Envoy hadn't even joined the fight yet.
He had slaughtered many wild and unprotected soul beasts—but no zombie soul beasts had ever appeared, because all that essence was fed to the zombie dragon beneath him.
No wonder the zombie dragon's strength was immense.
Its current quality was just slightly inferior to a hundred-thousand-year Tyrant Dragon. Relying on its massive body, it could clash with Super Douluos head-on—for a while at least.
And of course, trading injury for injury was no issue.
After all, the zombie dragon felt no fear or pain.
Meanwhile, inside the Academy, two Elders and a group of high-ranking staff and Inner Court students were hunting the twenty or so zombies that had infiltrated.
Most of the zombies were successfully intercepted.
But despite Gong Changlong's desperate efforts, three zombies slipped through, using underground tunnels to sneak into the Beast Enclosure.
They charged straight toward the containment area of the three Beast Kings.
Though it was called "containment," the area was actually quite comfortable—no cages, just a walled-off zone forming a habitat.
Fortunately, a team discovered the intruding zombies just in time and blocked their path.
The team consisted of Lan Luoluo, Lan Susu, Cui Yajie, and Lulu, led by their Inner Court senior Han Ruoruo.
They had originally been sent to assist the Outer Court.
But sensing that the zombies were targeting the Beast Enclosure, Han Ruoruo rushed ahead—and indeed intercepted the stragglers.
She had no confidence in defeating three zombies alone.
Thankfully, with Lan Susu and the others, the five women could at least delay the enemy, even if they couldn't win.
Forced to fight while retreating, they hoped to buy time until help arrived.
But Han Ruoruo soon realized she was too optimistic. It didn't take long for the zombies to corner them against the wall of the Beast Enclosure—they had nowhere left to retreat.
And help had yet to arrive!
Frantic, Han Ruoruo finally made a decision.
"If we can't hold them back, you all escape. I'll stay behind!"
The four girls exchanged glances, their eyes strangely calm. Then they said in unison,
"We leave together. No one at Shrek abandons their comrades!"
Their words moved Han Ruoruo deeply. She steeled her resolve: even if she died here, she'd protect them.
She thought of Wang Yan—whom she'd just gotten engaged to—and silently apologized.
Looks like he'll be a widower before the wedding...
But what Han Ruoruo didn't realize was: the other girls were acting strangely.
Because they weren't here by accident.
Huo Yuhao had instructed them beforehand: if Shrek Academy is invaded, go to the Beast Enclosure—a great opportunity awaits.
Loyal to Huo Yuhao, they followed his instructions without hesitation.
Only Han Ruoruo was the unplanned extra.
The four girls exchanged nods—they had a backup plan. Plan B, just as Huo Yuhao had arranged.
At that moment, inside the walls, the three Beast Kings opened their eyes, as if awakened by the commotion outside.
A golden light flickered in their eyes.
The time had come.
Back at Shrek Academy's main gate...
The fierce battle between the Academy and the zombie horde continued. Many buildings had been destroyed. Both sides suffered casualties.
The zombie dragon and the four Elders were still deadlocked.
Suddenly, everyone's attention was drawn to a spot deep within the Academy.
From that direction, three powerful soul energy waves erupted.
Even the zombies froze momentarily.
Then—three blood-red beams of light shot into the sky.
Everyone stared, stunned. No one understood what had just happened.
Only the Death God Envoy let out a furious cry:
"Ten-thousand-year soul beast sacrifice?! That's impossible!!"
Inside the beast circle.
It wasn't until the sacrificial ritual began that Gong Changlong sensed something was wrong. He stopped intercepting other zombies and hurried toward the area where the three Beast Kings were imprisoned.
Then he saw it—
The three Beast Kings were sacrificing themselves to three students, while three zombies were being blocked outside by the power of the sacrifice.
The three students receiving the sacrifices were: Cui Yajie, Lulu, and... Han Ruoruo.
Lan Luoluo and Lan Susu, the twin sisters, were hiding behind them.
"What the hell is going on?" Gong Changlong rushed to the two sisters and asked loudly.
The sisters exchanged a glance, then quickly explained the situation to Gong Changlong, pointing at the three zombies.
A look of fear flashed across Gong Changlong's face, but was quickly replaced by concern.
He was frightened that excellent students from the inner court were in danger and concerned that the sacrifices of the three Beast Kings might provoke the fierce beasts from the Great Star Dou Forest.
In fact, Huo Yuhao had left behind four contingency plans.
Plan A: If everything went smoothly, the three Beast Kings would sacrifice themselves to three of the four girls.
Plan B: If outsiders infiltrated the operation, determine whether to allocate sacrificial qualifications based on their suitability. If not, revert to Plan A.
Plan C: If multiple suitable outsiders appeared or unexpected events occurred, sacrifice to the top three strongest outsiders.
Plan D: If none of the above were possible—retreat and at least try to earn a minor contribution.
There were also four purposes behind these plans:
To increase the status of the four girls in Shrek Academy, so they could become Huo Yuhao's right-hand aides and help him control the Sea God Pavilion and the academy.
To stir conflict between Shrek Academy and the Great Star Dou Forest. Even if the sacrifices were justified, the forest's beasts could still hold Shrek accountable.
If outsiders received the sacrifices, it gave Huo Yuhao a means to directly control them.
After all, the three Beast Kings were under Huo Yuhao's command. Then wouldn't the soul rings they sacrificed become his "Taming Rings"?
To test Shrek Academy and the Divine King Tang San's surveillance and arrangements. Huo Yuhao wanted to see how deep Tang San's oversight truly ran.
The sacrifices of the Six-Winged Demon Tiger, the Crystal Dragon Beast, and the Eternal Giant Tortoise had already begun and could not be stopped.
The Six-Winged Demon Tiger sacrificed to Han Ruoruo.
The Eternal Giant Tortoise sacrificed to Cui Yajie.
The Crystal Dragon Beast sacrificed to Lulu.
Even though the three girls hadn't yet reached the level where they could absorb these soul rings, the beasts' sacrifices could make up for their lacking cultivation. The cost was that after breaking through their bottlenecks, their soul power growth would be greatly reduced.
The Six-Winged Demon Tiger possessed a golden bloodline, making it a perfect match for Han Ruoruo's Golden Rope martial soul as her ninth soul ring.
The Crystal Dragon Beast, being a gem-type soul beast, was well-suited for Lulu's Jade Fairy Wand martial soul.
Only the Eternal Giant Tortoise wasn't an ideal match for Cui Yajie's Nine-Tailed Jade Fox.
However, Cui Yajie and Lulu were only absorbing their seventh soul rings, so the mismatch wouldn't affect their soul skills too much. Both also had ways to continue evolving and mutating their martial souls, so even an imperfect seventh soul ring wouldn't impact their future growth.
Besides, having a hundred-thousand-year seventh soul ring, plus a matching soul bone, was bound to dazzle the academy's top officials.
As for Lan Luoluo and Lan Susu, who didn't receive any sacrifices, they had no complaints. They firmly believed that Huo Yuhao would give them equally powerful gifts. They had absolute trust in him.
The three zombies, seemingly drawn by the energy of the sacrifice, went berserk trying to attack the three girls. But the barrier created by the ritual kept them firmly outside.
After understanding the situation, Gong Changlong sighed, "At this point, we can only handle the crisis at hand and discuss with the Pavilion Elders later."
He then instructed the two sisters to stay hidden, before soaring into the air to engage the three zombies.
Elsewhere, at the academy gates—
The sacrifices of the three Beast Kings had rendered the Death God Envoy's plans useless—like drawing water with a bamboo basket. He appeared enraged.
"So this is Shrek Academy? Very well, let me show you my true strength!"
"I, the Death God Envoy, will become Shrek Academy's worst nightmare!"
Elder Zhuang exclaimed, "Death God Envoy?!"
All the Pavilion Elders turned pale. They knew—
It was this Death God Envoy who had kidnapped Bei Bei and nearly wiped out the previous generation of the Shrek Seven Devils.
Past grievances and new ones combined, causing the Elders to snap—they swore to kill the Death God Envoy on the spot.
The Death God Envoy activated his martial soul and revealed his soul ring configuration: Two purple, five black, and two red!
An extraordinary configuration that shocked all the Elders.
But this didn't match the intel they had!
The known configuration for the Death God Envoy was different!
Since they'd acquired a method to enhance soul ring ages, of course they would give it to him. His greatest flaw had always been in his soul ring setup.
Now, he had not only made up for the weaker early soul rings, but his ninth ring had also reached 100,000 years.
As he activated his martial soul and soul rings, the Death God Envoy tapped his staff on the Zombie Dragon's back. His rings began to glow one by one.
First Soul Skill: Corruption!
Third Soul Skill: Evil Necromancy!
Fourth Soul Skill: Mourning Drain!
Sixth Soul Skill: Decay Transformation!
The first, third, and sixth soul skills all had dual effects. When cast on enemies or corpses, they caused damage or hastened the transformation into undead. When used on undead, they acted like buffs—enhancing undead combat abilities.
Just like how holy light could heal the living but severely harm undead.
The fourth soul skill empowered undead to absorb enemy life force and strengthen themselves.
With these four buffs, the Zombie Dragon's power surged. Its previously weakened state was instantly revitalized—like it had taken a stimulant—stronger and tougher than ever!
The four Elders fighting it suddenly felt immense pressure.
But it wasn't over—
The Death God Envoy joined the battle himself. And now, he wasn't just a regular Title Douluo—he was a Level 95 Super Douluo!
He waved his staff, firing four gray beams at the Elders. The beams had homing properties, making them nearly unavoidable.
When they struck, the Elders felt no pain—only a gray aura coating their bodies.
But when Elder Song clashed again with the Zombie Dragon, he screamed in agony and plummeted to the ground, clearly gravely injured.
The Death God Envoy smiled wickedly.
This was his Second Soul Skill: Damage Amplification!
It marked enemies so that the next attack they received would deal 20% more damage.
Don't underestimate 20%. When the base damage is high, 20% more can be devastating.
As panic spread among the four Elders, the Death God Envoy's eighth soul ring—another 100,000-year ring—began to glow, enveloping him in ominous power.
Then he leapt into the center of the four Elders.
In the next instant, he unleashed his Eighth Soul Skill—
Devil's Dread!
The Elders didn't have time to react.
Ominous power flooded the area. Horrifying screams echoed in everyone's minds. The targets weren't only the four Elders, but also other Title Douluo, Spirit Douluo, and Soul Sages fighting the zombie horde.
Some Soul Sages died instantly from fright. All the Spirit Douluo collapsed in terror, and even some Title Douluo were stunned. The zombies swarmed them in an instant.
One area-of-effect skill completely shattered Shrek Academy's defensive line!
During the cultivation journey of soul masters, one common weakness is a lack of strength in spiritual power.
Although absorbing spirit rings does require some level of mental strength, unless a soul master's martial soul is spiritually inclined or they've had special training or opportunities, most—including Titled Douluo—have very shallow knowledge of spiritual power.
There are mainly two ways to enhance spiritual power:
Absorbing a head soul bone,
Letting it grow naturally with one's strength.
This is why, in the original work, Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Detection was nearly unstoppable, and Spiritual Sharing was practically a divine ability.
Even someone as powerful as Dragon Douluo Long Xiaoyao could only vaguely sense spiritual probes.
In the original, Mu En's strong spiritual power came only because of his physical issues which halted his soul power cultivation, forcing him to turn to spiritual research with the help of the Golden Tree—a helpless decision.
At this point in Douluo Continent, spiritual power wasn't even formally classified, much less trained.
While this was the norm for traditional soul masters, it wasn't the case for:
Body Sect soul masters,
Sun Moon Empire soul engineers,
Or Holy Spirit Sect evil soul masters.
Body Sect soul masters required spiritual power for certain techniques. Soul engineers sharpened their minds while crafting soul tools. Evil soul masters, naturally, were skilled in manipulating souls and mental energy.
Thus, those traditional soul masters who couldn't keep up were the ones most likely to be eliminated.
The Death God Envoy's eighth soul skill, Devil's Terror, was a spiritual-type attack—a 100,000-year soul skill.
Against soul masters with no mental defenses, it was a devastating weapon on par with a ninth-level fixed-installed soul cannon.
Once activated, even ordinary Titled Douluo struggled to resist.
Anyone below Titled Douluo was either killed or crippled, usually due to mental collapse and soul fragmentation.
Even if they didn't die instantly, they lost all combat power and would take a long time to recover—if they ever could.
After all, people with little understanding of mental energy can't be expected to heal it.
Once the soul skill's effect ended, only a few remained combat-ready:
Yan Shaozhe,
Qian Duoduo,
And four elders including Elder Song, who had just attacked the Death God Envoy.
Qian Duoduo, despite not being a Super Douluo, stayed conscious because he was a defense-type soul master and had a head soul bone.
The other Titled Douluo were dizzy and in pain, barely conscious—certainly not in fighting condition.
Below Titled Douluo, the Soul Douluo and Soul Sages suffered heavy casualties.
Those who weren't killed outright were soon devoured by the invading zombies.
Thankfully, no soul masters below Soul Sage level participated in this defense.
Even so, the sudden loss of so many Soul Sages and Soul Douluo was a severe blow to Shrek Academy—they were the academy's core combat force.
As the mental fog cleared and the damage became visible, Yan Shaozhe and the others' eyes turned bloodshot.
"AHHHHH!!!"
Yan Shaozhe let out a heart-wrenching roar.
Before leaving, Xuanzi had entrusted Shrek Academy to him.
Now, with so many deaths and injuries under his watch, he felt he had failed Xuanzi's trust, Mu En's teachings, and the academy's training.
In his grief and rage, Yan Shaozhe went all out—activating his Martial Soul Avatar and burning his soul power without reservation.
A massive Radiant Phoenix Martial Soul Avatar emerged, unleashing a flood of light-attribute power. It looked like a golden sun rising above Shrek Academy, illuminating the entire area.
This light attribute energy burned indiscriminately—but it was deadly to evil soul masters.
Under his desperate onslaught, the zombie dragon screamed in agony as large patches of its skin burned. Its wings were nearly scorched through.
The Death God Envoy, in pain, returned to the zombie dragon's back and waved his staff. His fifth soul ring lit up.
"Fifth Soul Skill—Smoke Magic!"
Under the radiant light, he turned into smoke, enveloped the zombie dragon, and fled from Shrek Academy.
"Where do you think you're going?" Elder Song roared coldly. "Pursue him!"
After suffering such a devastating attack, letting the enemy escape would disgrace Shrek's honor.
Elder Song, the fastest among them, immediately chased after the Death God Envoy to stall him for the others.
Earlier, when Yan Shaozhe unleashed his Radiant Phoenix, the Death God Envoy had already commanded his zombies to retreat. But in the end, less than half managed to escape.
Only twenty-some zombies made it over the academy's walls. The rest were burned into charcoal, utterly destroyed.
But the cost was immense. As soon as the final zombie perished, Yan Shaozhe's Martial Soul Avatar shattered, and he fell from the sky, pale and barely breathing.
"Old Yan!" Qian Duoduo cried out in panic, rushing forward to catch him as they both landed.
Though they had once been rivals in love, and though their departments (Martial Soul vs. Soul Tool) often clashed, Qian Duoduo always stood with Yan Shaozhe on major issues.
And for this display, he truly admired Yan Shaozhe.
This kind of outburst likely damaged Yan Shaozhe's foundation. Even if he recovered, his future cultivation path would be much more difficult.
"Old Yan, are you alright?" Qian Duoduo asked urgently.
But Yan Shaozhe, still conscious, shoved Qian Duoduo away. Though weak, his bloodshot eyes locked onto the fleeing Death God Envoy with murderous intent.
Gritting his teeth, he growled, "Don't mind me—go chase him! He must be killed, or we'll suffer endless troubles!"
Having calmed down, Yan Shaozhe finally realized the Death God Envoy's full danger.
He was no longer the lowly Soul King from before, but now a Super Douluo-level evil soul master, capable of mass-producing powerful zombies—enough to threaten Shrek's survival.
If he escaped, he would only grow stronger—possibly even reaching Limit Douluo level one day. The devastation then would be unimaginable.
Just then, Qian Duoduo saw Gong Changlong and the other elders rushing over. With Yan Shaozhe's explosion having cleared the battlefield, reinforcements could finally help.
Qian Duoduo didn't hesitate any longer. He nodded, saying,
"I won't let him escape alive!"
He then soared over the walls in pursuit of the Death God Envoy.
Yan Shaozhe, meanwhile, sat weakly and despondently on the ground—surrounded by the corpses of Shrek's elite, and dozens of charred zombies. His gaze turned blank.