Long Xiaoyao's expression turned grim as he stared at the massive blade of light that grew nearly a hundred meters tall. That kind of attack—there was no way a Spirit Emperor should be able to produce it!
Feeling the divine resonance of law from that blade, Long Xiaoyao immediately abandoned any casual attitude. He wanted to dodge—he could dodge. It would've been easy. After all, Zhu Ziyang's strike, while powerful, was a straightforward, rigid slash—nothing fancy. And besides, Long Xiaoyao was a Limit Douluo. Dodging a Spirit Emperor's attack should be effortless.
But... out of pride as a top-tier powerhouse, he chose not to dodge. He chose to take it head-on.
Behind him, nine spirit rings lit up one by one: yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, red, red. His seventh ring flashed brilliantly—and his body vanished.
In his place appeared a massive dragon covered in jet-black scales with wings spanning over a hundred meters.
Martial Soul True Body—Dark Sacred Dragon!
"ROAR!"
The Dark Sacred Dragon unleashed a thunderous roar that echoed across the plain. The sheer force of it caused even the bystanders to instinctively retreat a few steps.
"…What?" Elder Lin and the others were stunned. They couldn't sense the divine law hidden within Zhu Ziyang's strike—all they saw was Long Xiaoyao unleashing his martial soul's true form. And that puzzled them. If he agreed to give Ziyang a chance, why go so far as to activate his martial soul true body? Wasn't that just bullying?
If Long Xiaoyao could've heard their thoughts, he would've exploded in indignation: "Me? Bullying him?! This kid is the one bullying me—an old man over two hundred years old!"
Since when could a Spirit Emperor use an attack infused with law?! Even an Ultimate Martial Soul shouldn't be able to break the rules like this!
In short—Long Xiaoyao felt wronged. Deeply wronged. Because of the wager, he had no choice but to take Ziyang's strike head-on without using any soul skills. For an offense-type Soul Master like him, that was the equivalent of being stripped bare.
He crossed his massive wings in front of him, condensing his soul power into a barrier. Then, the brilliant blade of light descended, slamming directly into the Dark Sacred Dragon's colossal form.
Light and Darkness collided.
A massive energy vortex erupted at the point of impact, forming violent turbulence that ravaged the entire plain. The chaotic energy waves surged outward, striking everything in their path.
Zhu Ziyang, having poured all his soul power into that attack, collapsed immediately afterward. If not for Mu En's swift action, pulling him back just in time, he would've been swept up in the storm.
As the shockwaves slowly faded, silence returned to the battered plain. Only the scorched, scarred ground bore witness to the ferocity of the clash.
When the dust cleared, the massive dragon had vanished. In its place stood Long Xiaoyao—clearly worse for wear. He no longer had the graceful, elegant composure from before. His face was pale, and a faint trace of blood lingered at the corner of his mouth.
He was injured?!
The Dragon Emperor Douluo—injured by a Spirit Emperor?!
This… This was beyond shocking.
"Cough…" Long Xiaoyao let out a rough cough and gave a wry smile. "I lost."
Truthfully, the moment Ziyang launched that attack, he had already lost. Any strike that forced him to activate his martial soul true body and retreat a step… was a loss in itself.
"You're hurt, Brother Xiaoyao?" Mu En's eyes widened in disbelief—though they also glinted with pride. "Looks like Ziyang gave us all a big surprise!"
"Haha…" Long Xiaoyao managed a twisted smile, one that looked more like a grimace. "Truly enviable… Fine, that's that. I'm leaving."
With that, Long Xiaoyao turned and left the battlefield without another word.
"Brother Xiaoyao…" Mu En called after him, but Long Xiaoyao had already vanished from sight. Mu En could only sigh and turn to the others. "Alright, it's time to wrap things up. Lin'er, Mei'er, go bring the rest of the children back. No need to trouble the Star Luo royal family. I'll take Ziyang back to the Academy first."
As soon as he finished speaking, Mu En and Zhu Ziyang disappeared from the vast plain. Everything happened so quickly, Ziyang didn't even have time to react. The last thing he heard before fading out was the faint sound of someone screaming in misery—clearly, someone was about to get into serious trouble.
Mu En moved with astonishing speed. The scenery around Ziyang changed only twice—first the open plains, then the cityscape.
They had returned to Shrek Academy and headed straight to the Sea God's Pavilion on Sea God Island.
Inside, Mu En reclined naturally in a wooden chair, smiling warmly. "Good child, you've worked hard. Go get some rest. We can talk after you've recovered."
"I understand, Teacher." Ziyang was surprised, but didn't ask any questions. He simply nodded. "Then I'll head back to my dorm. Goodbye, Teacher."
"Go ahead." Mu En chuckled. "Don't leave the Academy for the next half year. Wait until everything has settled down."
"Alright!" Ziyang agreed.
As he walked back toward his dorm, Zhu Ziyang couldn't help but feel surprised. He had prepared himself to explain how he managed to unleash a law-infused attack—but Mu En didn't even ask. Instead, he told him to rest.
That trust… really moved him.
When he arrived at his room and opened the door, Xingcai came flying out and pounced on him. Fortunately, Ziyang reacted quickly and dodged—otherwise, she might've knocked him flat.
He smiled and reached out to stroke her head and neck gently, combing through her fur as he said, "It's been a while, Xingcai. How have you been this past month?"
Xingcai lowered her head and rubbed her face against his cheek. "Mhm! I've been great! I get to run around the Academy every day. People bring me Golden Tree leaves to eat. Oh! And that chubby human gave me a collar that stores things. It's so useful!"
Ziyang immediately knew who she meant. Qian Duoduo. No one else would give Xingcai a soul tool like that.
As he looked at the light yellow collar that matched her fur perfectly, he couldn't help but sigh—Senior Brother Qian really has too much time on his hands.
And just as he thought of him—Qian Duoduo appeared.
"Junior Brother!" Qian waved enthusiastically and appeared at his side in an instant. "Congratulations! You've become famous across the entire continent!"
"Third Senior Brother? You already know the results?" Ziyang was surprised. As far as he knew, Qian hadn't left the Academy—and he was the first contestant to return. He hadn't told anyone about the results… so how did Qian know?
"Of course!" Qian said proudly. "The afternoon the competition ended, Shrek City received the results and the final report. Junior Brother, you really were hiding your strength! Five 100,000-year spirit rings?! I don't even have one!"
"Heh…" Ziyang scratched his head shyly. "Information travels that fast?"
"Naturally. Our Academy's intel system is top-notch!" Qian grinned. "Come on, I'll take you to meet someone."
"Meet someone? Who?" Ziyang blinked, confused.
"Hehe. You'll see." Qian smiled mysteriously and offered no further explanation.
That only piqued Ziyang's curiosity. If someone important enough for Vice Dean Qian to personally escort was looking to meet him… could it be the Emperor of the Heavenly Soul Empire?
Following Qian Duoduo, Ziyang was led to a courtyard in Shrek City's residential district. And once he saw who was inside—
His jaw nearly hit the floor.
"Dad? Mom? What are you doing here?!"
That's right—inside the courtyard were none other than Zhu Changhe, Liang Ying, and Zhu Ziguan—Ziyang's parents and little brother.
It turned out that long ago, when Shrek Academy formulated the "bait plan," Elder Mu En had personally ordered Qian Duoduo to bring Ziyang's family to Shrek City and purchase a special courtyard for them to live in. The purpose was to prevent any faction from using them as leverage against Ziyang.
Although Zhu Changhe and his wife missed their hometown and relatives, they accepted the arrangement with open hearts. They had come to realize just how outstanding their son had become—and all that was left in their hearts was pride and comfort.
Oh—and Jiang Nannan's mother had also been brought to Shrek City by Qian Duoduo. She still lived next door to Ziyang's family. Qian Duoduo and Xian Lin'er were married, and Xian Lin'er was the daughter of Elder Song. Since Jiang Nannan was her only disciple, both she and Qian Duoduo had always taken special care of her. Bringing her mother to Shrek was a natural decision.
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