"Teacher Wang, can you still stand up?"
Supporting Wang Yan as he rose, the teacher rubbed his eyes and said weakly, "Thank you, Yuhao. You should be careful too..."
Before he could finish, a strange, gentle, water-like soul power flowed from Huo Yuhao's palm. It didn't clash with Wang Yan's own soul power; instead, he felt as comfortable as if he were soaking in a hot spring.
Only then did Wang Yan notice the eight deep-blue dragon wings behind Huo Yuhao. "You... you are..."
A possibility suddenly flashed through his mind, and he felt like slapping himself.
Something like this—I should have realized it long ago!
Huo Yuhao sighed. "Is now the time to talk about that? Teacher Wang, help me gather them together. I'll do my best to help treat them."
In just that short moment, Wang Yan felt his condition improve significantly; even his mental fatigue had eased.
Stunned, Wang Yan nodded repeatedly. "...Right, right! Yuhao, I'll leave it to you then."
Huo Yuhao first picked up Ma Xiaotao in a princess carry. Looking at the beauty in his arms, whose breath was as thin as a thread, and then at the blood-stained cave, he shook his head helplessly.
The two moved quickly, carrying the injured preparatory team members and the surviving official team members—Ma Xiaotao, Gongyang Mo, and Ling Luochen—out of the dark, narrow cave and onto the slope outside.
As for those who were already dead... it was best to focus on the living for now.
After settling everyone, Huo Yuhao sighed and extended his left hand. Deep-blue dragon scales instantly grew over his arm, shimmering with a magnificent luster under the sunlight.
Water benefits all things without contention; light and water constitute life. Ultimate Water, naturally, possesses healing effects similar to light.
Huo Yuhao released his Ultimate Water soul power as gently as possible. A light blue mist emanated from his hand, swirling around everyone's wounds to clear the corpse poison lingering there.
He gave special attention to Ma Xiaotao. Walking to her side, he leaned down and meticulously used his soul power to purge her toxins. To ensure no scars were left, Huo Yuhao even secretly used the life force from the Life Gold to fully heal her.
As for the others, he wasn't as close to them, so he didn't bother overextending himself. Their subsequent treatment was Shrek's responsibility; as long as they didn't die, it was enough.
...
The Death God Envoy clutched Lan Xuanyu with one hand while frantically slamming the buttons on the wall with the other, detonating the explosives hidden long ago.
A wily rabbit has three burrows. The fact that the Death God Envoy, a mere Soul King, could act so arrogantly in the Mingdou Mountains for so long was due not only to his overpowered nature but, more importantly, to his extreme caution.
It's the swimmers who drown—the Death God Envoy remembered this very well.
Almost the entire passage was collapsed by the blast. This was a backup plan he had set up since he first established his lair in the Mingdou Mountains, and it had finally served its purpose.
This infuriated Xuan Zi. That damned Death God Envoy actually tried to blow up or even bury this Elder alive!
I absolutely cannot leave you alive!
Lan Xuanyu had drifted back into a blurry consciousness, but he didn't dare speak. He merely forced his soul power to circulate to protect his internal organs, resisting the evil soul power surging into his body.
An indescribable fury and humiliation burned in Lan Xuanyu's heart.
Dammit!
In all his life, he had never seen such a garbage Super Douluo! Simply a waste!
Was I out of my mind to take such an idiot as a master? He's a teacher too, but how can he be so far behind Gu Yuena!
And a mere Soul King managed to make me this pathetic! If this were my past life, with the Dragon God bloodline, I wouldn't even look at this little piece of trash; his bit of evil soul power wouldn't even be able to enter my body.
No, it's too late for 'what ifs.' I need to think about how to save myself.
Forcing himself to calm down, Lan Xuanyu opened his tightly shut eyes a crack, inconspicuously observing his surroundings.
Great. He didn't recognize the path at all and had no idea what the situation was.
What to do... what to do...
"BOOM!"
A massive explosion erupted in the distance behind them. Immediately after, a figure soared into the sky—it was the enraged Xuan Zi.
Having crushed the corpse slaves the Death God Envoy left behind, Xuan Zi roared, "Unhand my disciple!"
Hearing Xuan Zi's shout, Lan Xuanyu's heart sank to the bottom. However, the Death God Envoy holding him burst into laughter.
This old guy's brain really isn't working right. Isn't he just telling me plainly that this kid in my hand is the perfect hostage?
"Hahaha..."
Two tongues of flame erupted from the Death God Envoy's back, and he actually began to ascend.
Behind the Death God Envoy was a Class 7 flying soul tool loaded with a power cell, produced by the Illustrious Virtue Hall. He had gone to great lengths to purchase it from the Sun Moon Empire military camp; it was arguably the most valuable thing on him.
"Old man, come and get me! Your precious disciple is going to the grave with me! Hahaha..."
Xuan Zi, wary of hurting the hostage, obviously couldn't say something like, "You caught him, why should I back off?" He could only chase behind the Death God Envoy's heels.
What made Xuan Zi utterly furious was that a mere Soul King was actually more agile in flight than him, a Super Douluo! Darting up and down, the distance between the two sides grew further and further.
In truth, it wasn't that the Death God Envoy's flying skills were so superior, but rather that the performance of this flying soul tool was so excellent it could be considered the best in all of Shrek Academy!
On the surface, the Death God Envoy was arrogant and never stopped trash-talking, but in reality, he was constantly calculating his soul power and the storage of the power cell. He planned to stab Lan Xuanyu and throw him away at the most opportune moment to distract Xuan Zi so he could escape in the chaos.
Just as the Death God Envoy pulled out his third Class 6 power cell, Lan Xuanyu suddenly snapped his eyes open.
An opening!
Large patches of Blue Silver King vines erupted from Lan Xuanyu's hands, binding the Death God Envoy tightly.
The Death God Envoy's movements suddenly stuttered. With his momentum interrupted, he began to fall unsteadily from the sky.
"Die!"
Lan Xuanyu conjured a mixed light orb of Water, Fire, and Earth elements, then pressed it point-blank against the Death God Envoy's chest as the man held him.
Although this was a suicidal fighting style, Lan Xuanyu wasn't being completely reckless. He pre-condensed a large amount of Blue Silver King vines in front of him for protection and curled his body to minimize the impact area.
If I had known, I would have used my Hundred-Refined metal to make a vest for armor...
"BOOM!"
Lan Xuanyu and the Death God Envoy were blasted apart in the unstable elemental fusion explosion. The Death God Envoy turned into a blazing fireball and fell toward a cliff, while Lan Xuanyu was sent flying by the shockwave.
"Xuanyu!"
Xuan Zi was finally reliable for once, catching Lan Xuanyu just before he hit the valley.
After being caught in one explosion after another, Lan Xuanyu's strained nerves finally snapped. The moment he was caught by Xuan Zi, he felt as if his soul were leaving his body.
You old beast! Just you wait! When you die, I will definitely suck your Taotie bloodline dry!
Xuan Zi swallowed hard in nervousness. This was his disciple! Nothing could happen to him!
Xuan Zi didn't know how to protect a disciple, but he believed he was very experienced in how to treat a disciple in danger.
He first used soul power to seal the most severely damaged skin, then protected the meridians, using his powerful soul power to dispel the evil soul power the Death God Envoy had poured into Lan Xuanyu's body.
As for the corpse poison... Xuan Zi wasn't a healing-type Soul Master, so he had no immediate solution.
A few muddy tears rolled down. Without even looking, Xuan Zi knew that after taking that elemental explosion point-blank, Lan Xuanyu must be gravely injured...
"It's my fault... I've failed you..."
He glared with pure hatred at the distant cliff where the Death God Envoy had fallen while trying to flee.
Right now, what Xuan Zi wanted most was to rush over, find the Death God Envoy's corpse, and mince it into pieces—but clearly, Lan Xuanyu's life was more important!