The more Xuan Zi thought about it, the more he felt that this possibility was terrifyingly plausible.
After all, the grievances between Shrek Academy and the Body Sect ran deep. Over the past several hundred years, the two sides had clashed fiercely countless times, competing over the title of "Number One on the Continent" and fighting for all kinds of resources.
This joint operation against the Bright Capital had only happened because both sides felt the enormous threat posed by the Sun Moon Empire's soul tool technology. It was a temporary alliance of convenience, born purely of shared interests.
In Xuan Zi's eyes, this fragile cooperation had never possessed even the slightest foundation of trust.
Because of that, it wasn't impossible for Poison Undying to secretly stab Shrek in the back—selling out Shrek's leader to the Sun Moon Empire in exchange for the survival of the Body Sect's core Elders.
The moment this thought fully formed, Xuan Zi's face flushed crimson with rage.
He connected it all to the mysterious and sudden withdrawal of the Shrek students under Bei Bei's leadership. Perhaps Poison Undying had already tipped Liu Yuan off in advance, which was why Xuan Zi himself had fallen straight into Ye Yulin's ambush tonight.
In his heart, Xuan Zi had already developed an intense, murderous grudge against Poison Undying. Gritting his teeth, he even swore inwardly that once the matters in the Bright Capital were resolved, he would personally lead Shrek's experts to storm the Body Sect and settle this blood debt once and for all.
Standing opposite him, Ye Yulin overheard Xuan Zi's muttering and let out a cold, contemptuous laugh.
"Settle the score with him?"
The core of the ninth-rank soul tool in Ye Yulin's hand flared once more, astral-blue energy gathering rapidly at the muzzle.
"Xuan Zi, you're overestimating yourself. Since the moment you stepped into this room, there has been no 'after' for you. The soil of the Bright Capital will be your final resting place."
Although doubt and unease churned in Xuan Zi's heart, his pride as a Level 98 Super Douluo would never allow him to be trampled upon so easily.
He snorted coldly, and his dark yellow spirit power erupted outward in a physical shockwave, pulverizing the surrounding furniture into dust.
"Just you?" Xuan Zi sneered. "A Soul Engineer who relies on external tools thinks he can keep this old man here?"
Before his words had even faded, Xuan Zi struck first.
He knew time was not on his side. The commotion from the imperial palace and the armory meant that the Sun Moon Empire's top-tier combat forces were already mobilizing.
"Martial Soul True Body—activate!"
Xuan Zi roared thunderously. His body expanded violently in an instant, thick dark yellow fur bursting forth as he transformed into a colossal Taotie Divine Ox clad in rock-hard scales.
The moment his Martial Soul True Body manifested, the terrifying gravity field directly blasted away the roof of the Duke Mansion's main building.
Raising an ox palm the size of a millstone, Xuan Zi slammed it forward.
This strike carried the extreme compression of Level 98 spirit power. Wherever it passed, fine black cracks spread through the air, signs that space itself was collapsing under the overwhelming force.
Ye Yulin's expression turned solemn.
After all, his cultivation was only Rank 93. In terms of raw level alone, he was inferior to Xuan Zi.
Without hesitation, massive starlight wings unfurled behind Ye Yulin—his own Martial Soul True Body. At the same time, his hands moved rapidly through the void, activating several pre-arranged ninth-rank soul tools at once.
"Starry Sky Cage! Sun Moon Divine Needles—fire!"
Dozens of beams capable of piercing mountains crisscrossed the air, rushing to intercept Xuan Zi's tyrannical palm.
However, Xuan Zi's strength as a Shrek Elder was anything but hollow.
A Level 98 Super Douluo's power was no mere title; it had already touched the threshold of a Limit Douluo.
Even as Ye Yulin unleashed multiple ninth-rank soul tools in succession, the beams shattered inch by inch before that mountain-like palm force.
Boom!
A violent explosion of energy erupted midair.
Ye Yulin was blasted backward hundreds of meters by the overwhelming backlash, smashing through two load-bearing pillars before barely stabilizing himself. His face turned pale.
Xuan Zi let out a disdainful snort.
He had no intention of fighting Ye Yulin to the death.
In his eyes, killing Liu Yuan was the true solution to everything.
"I don't care what ambushes you've prepared. I'll kill Liu Yuan first!"
His massive true body twisted, cruel red light flashing in his eyes. Accelerating once more, his gravity field crushed down on the area where Liu Yuan stood, the ground sinking inch by inch.
"Little beast—die!"
Xuan Zi's enormous claw, wrapped in dark yellow spirit power, came crashing down again. With Ye Yulin temporarily forced back and the distance so close, he was certain Liu Yuan was doomed.
But at that critical instant, an extreme chill burst forth from Liu Yuan's Sea of Consciousness.
Immediately afterward, a woman clad in an ice-blue gown appeared in front of him as if teleporting. Her beauty was peerless, yet her presence was as cold and unapproachable as an ancient glacier.
At first, Xuan Zi didn't even spare her a glance, assuming she was just another insignificant obstacle he would crush along with Liu Yuan.
To his shock, her long ice-blue hair moved without wind, and the air compressed by his gravity field froze instantly into countless tiny ice crystals.
"You want to harm my Master?"
Her lips parted slightly as she spoke, her voice calm and cold.
"Three Ultimate Techniques of the Snow Empress—Empress Palm: Great Coldness Without Snow!"
She gently pushed forward with a jade-like palm.
The strike seemed devoid of any worldly ferocity, yet the instant it collided with Xuan Zi's massive ox claw, his violent dark yellow spirit power dissolved at an incomprehensible speed, replaced by an indissoluble layer of deep blue ice.
Bang!
The collision echoed thunderously.
Xuan Zi's gigantic body was halted outright by that single palm and was even forced back three full steps.
He steadied himself, staring in disbelief at the peerlessly beautiful woman before him.
He could clearly sense it now—her aura was utterly different from that of a human Spirit Master. It was an incredibly pure and high-level Extreme Ice origin.
As a veteran Elder of Shrek, Xuan Zi was well-traveled and knowledgeable. Legends of the Extreme North flashed through his mind, and he instantly guessed her identity.
"This aura… the pinnacle of Extreme Ice."
Xuan Zi cried out in shock, his eyes filled with unprecedented horror.
"You're the ruler of the Far North—the Snow Empress?!"
He never imagined that the Snow Empress, long thought to have vanished, would appear here in human form, standing at Liu Yuan's side—and even addressing him as "Master."
"How could the Snow Empress take human form?" Xuan Zi's voice trembled. "And why would you follow a human junior like him?"
If he had been confident of victory against Ye Yulin alone, then facing this supreme existence—once ranked third on the Soul Beast List—even he felt crushing pressure despite his cultivation.
Liu Yuan slowly stepped out from behind the Snow Empress, his gaze toward Xuan Zi filled with calm mockery.
"Xuan Zi, there are many things you don't know," Liu Yuan said evenly as the cold wind swept across the ruined hall.
"Since you've recognized the Snow Empress, you should understand that no matter what you do, you won't be able to kill me today."
He paused, his eyes turning cold.
"And today, no matter what—you won't be leaving either."