Chapter 102: No~
Seeing Xuan Zi summon his Martial Soul, the Holy Spirit Church no longer wasted words and immediately activated their Martial Souls. Feng Ling's soul ring configuration was three purple, five black, and one red. Her Martial Soul was the Evil Phoenix, a mutated Dark Phoenix.
Zhang Peng's Martial Soul was the Scorpion Tiger, and he was a ninety-sixth rank. Both of them attacked Xuan Zi simultaneously. There was nothing Xuan Zi could do but temporarily put Ma Xiaotao down and hand her over to Bei Bei, Ling Luochen, and the others.
As for He Caitou—sorry, he was a transparent character. His talent was insufficient, and who cared if he died or not? Xuan Zi certainly didn't.
Xuan Zi's actions fell right into the Holy Spirit Church's trap. Nangong Wan, who had long been ambushed in the dark, immediately made her move as the two sides fought. Bei Bei and the others could only watch helplessly as Ma Xiaotao was abducted by the Evil Martial Soul Master.
However, the Holy Spirit Church clearly knew not to push too hard. If they directly killed the young ones like Ling Luochen and Bei Bei here, Xuan Zi would become furious and fight to the death.
Surrounding a point to draw out reinforcements and leaving some hope was the way to avoid completely enraging the enemy.
Seeing that the person was already in their grasp, Feng Ling continued to entangle Xuan Zi, preventing him from disengaging from the battle. Only after Nangong Wan had completely taken the person and escaped—disappearing from everyone's perception—did she use her Ninth Soul Skill to widen the distance between them.
Xuan Zi also recovered from his rage. Seeing that Ma Xiaotao was gone, he instantly roared to the sky.
"No~!!"
In contrast, Feng Ling and Zhang Peng were excited. The former also knew that this old man had fallen into a frenzy and was preparing to flee after leaving a message.
"Old man, give that bastard Yan Shaozhe a message for me. Her disciple, I, Evil Phoenix, have taken her. If he's unwilling, tell him to come find me."
After saying this, she and Zhang Peng disappeared. Their mission was complete, and they had no desire to waste more time here with the old man Xuan Zi.
Xuan Zi? This old man couldn't even catch up to a Soul King Evil Martial Soul Master. Besides, Bei Bei and Ling Luochen still needed protection. What if it were a Holy Spirit Church conspiracy? He still couldn't do anything!
"Elder Xuan..." Bei Bei was at a loss. Sister Xiaotao had been abducted by an Evil Martial Soul Master. What should they do?
"It's all my incompetence. Let's go. I'll take you back to the academy first. Everything will be handled by the academy."
There was nothing he could do. No one could take the blame for him now. He was the strongest here, and he couldn't shirk responsibility.
Returning to the academy, what awaited him was certain confinement. He had let down Shaozhe, Elder Mu, and even Shrek's ancestors.
However, the one who abducted Xiaotao was Feng Ling, Yan Shaozhe's old lover. She definitely wouldn't harm Xiaotao. He would go get her back later.
He knew that even if he rushed back to Star Luo City now to seek help from the Star Luo Empire, it would be useless. It was better to return to Shrek. Perhaps at the Sea God Pavilion, they might find a solution.
(Huang Jinxu: You're covered, old geezer. If you dare ask for help, just wait and see if I cause you trouble.)
Xuan Zi left with Bei Bei, Ling Luochen, He Caitou, and Zhu Lu. His already desolate and defeated back looked even more bleak.
Thus, Xuan Zi could finally fully call himself a disgrace to the senior generation.
At this moment, Xuan Zi had accumulated many labels: speaking empty words, showing off, making absurd analogies, being rude, irresponsible, repeatedly being slapped in the face, exhibiting fractured behavior, having strange ideas, and being a complete burden—all in one person.
The slide among top powerhouses, the catalyst for Shrek's decline, and the only true god showing off outrageous moves across the continent—Taotie Douluo—Xuan Zi!!
The day after the tournament concluded.
Star Emperor Hotel.
Because the award ceremony on the Star Luo side was not open to the public, the final award ceremony on the Sun Moon side did not cause much stir.
But the benefits were still received: three Soul Bones of average value, some gold coins as symbolic prizes, and a few miscellaneous items, all awarded to the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy.
The Star Luo Empire would not open wide doors for the Sun Moon Empire like they did for Shrek, nor would they let the Sun Moon Empire freely choose their own Soul Bones. The Soul Bones were quite ordinary, with the highest lifespan not exceeding ten thousand years, and the other two being thousand-year Soul Bones. Neither Huo Yuhao nor Xiao Hongchen and the others found these Soul Bones particularly attractive.
Therefore, they were temporarily handed over to Lin Jiayi for safekeeping until they returned to Mingdu for further distribution.
Meanwhile, news of Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy winning the championship began to spread, causing quite a sensation. There were also dedicated personnel from Sun Moon reporting the news.
Many Star Luo citizens never expected their team to reach the finals. They also didn't expect Shrek, which had held the championship for tens of thousands of years, to fall to the top four, with Sun Moon Team claiming the title.
And many events during the tournament, though the Star Luo Empire tried to conceal them, could not be hidden with so many witnesses.
Countless rumors about Shrek began to spread everywhere, just as predicted. When a power stands at the peak for so many years, the more honor it enjoys, the more doubts it faces upon decline, and the more miserable its fall becomes.
Shrek's image, due to Xuan Zi's outrageous actions and their poor performance in this tournament, plummeted to rock bottom.
Star Luo Emperor Xu Jiawei planned to stop this trend. After all, dissatisfaction with Shrek was one thing, but the biggest external threat was the Sun Moon Empire. He could see Shrek suffer setbacks, but if Shrek's reputation collapsed, it wouldn't be good for the Douluo Three Empires.
Especially Kong Deming's speech during the tournament, and Huo Yuhao's self-revelation as the White Tiger Duke's son, not only damaged Shrek's reputation but also caused irreparable harm to the Star Luo Empire's image.
He could only do his best to salvage the situation, hoping things wouldn't worsen because of this.
But that was easier said than done. Hundreds of thousands of spectators, some of whom didn't even live in Star Luo City, along with foreign academies, paid little attention to the Star Luo Empire. Control was impossible.
At this point, the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament had fully concluded. Regardless of future developments, Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy had gained everything it fought for—honor and pride—and was preparing to return home.
Outside Star Luo City.
"Yuhao, are you sure you're not coming back with us? The environment in the Star Luo Empire is so complicated now. I worry if you stay here..."
Lin Jiayi frowned, looking at Huo Yuhao and the Hongchen siblings with concern.
"Don't worry, Teacher Lin. I'll return to the Sun Moon Empire once I've taken care of my own affairs. No need to worry."
Currently, not only Kong Deming but also Du Busi were secretly protecting Huo Yuhao. With two of the continent's top powerhouses as his teachers, as long as he didn't recklessly go into dangerous places, he could walk freely.
'Who dares to kill me? Who can kill me?!'
Thus, after the tournament, Huo Yuhao was eager to head to the White Tiger Duke Mansion.
A family should be together. That old boy Dai Hao left quickly, but that was exactly what he wanted. He planned to go to the White Tiger Duke Mansion to settle old grudges fully. This way, Huo Yuhao could also find peace.
"Alright, you two, be careful. We'll return to Mingdu first."
Lin Jiayi also knew that Huo Yuhao and the others had Kong Deming secretly protecting them, and perhaps even Du Busi. There was truly nothing to worry about.
As long as these kids didn't cause too much trouble, no one on the Star Luo side could do anything to them.
The Star Luo Emperor didn't even dare to speak harshly during his humiliation at the tournament. Everyone had seen the Star Luo Empire's weakness, so what was there to worry about?
Ma Rulong, Lin Xi, and others also came to exchange pleasantries, feeling surprisingly empty and even a little regretful that Huo Yuhao wasn't returning with them.
After all, Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy had won the championship. Upon returning, they would surely be personally honored by the imperial family. The Crown Prince, ministers, and even the old emperor might appear.
With Huo Yuhao, the core of this tournament, absent, they felt a lack of confidence.
But they also understood that Huo Yuhao had more important matters—more significant than any accolade.
—
End of Chapter