Chapter 62: The Wrath of Du Busi! "You said, who do you want to kill?"
Liu Yuan held Vina tightly against his chest, pushing his Qilin Steps to their absolute limit.
His boots blurred into azure afterimages, kicking up clouds of dust as they finally breached the oppressive boundary of the Star Dou Great Forest. The damp, rotting scent of the ancient woods faded, replaced by the dry, coarse soil of the borderlands. The suffocating aura of death that had clung to their skin thinned out with every mile they covered.
They had officially crossed into the territory of the Star Luo Empire.
This was not Vina's first time treading upon Star Luo soil. As the esteemed princess of the Heavenly Soul Empire, she had accompanied numerous diplomatic missions in the past. The complex maps of the border terrain and city distributions were practically carved into her memory.
Resting securely in Liu Yuan's arms, she quickly scanned the horizon, matching the distant mountain ridges to her mental map. She raised a slender finger, pointing toward the northwest. "Go that way," she urged, her voice steady despite the lingering adrenaline. "About thirty li from here is a major border stronghold. Dingbei City. The city lord there has met my imperial father on several occasions. We can find sanctuary there."
Liu Yuan did not waste a single breath on hesitation. His figure dissolved into a streak of blue lightning, tearing across the barren plains. Barely half a quarter of an hour later, the towering stone walls of Dingbei City loomed before them.
Inside the City Lord's Mansion, the atmosphere shifted from mundane bureaucracy to sheer panic in the blink of an eye. The moment Vina presented her royal token, the city lord nearly tumbled out of his grand mahogany chair. His face drained of color. Daring not to show even a sliver of negligence, he immediately ordered a total lockdown of the estate. Trembling hands retrieved a high-tier, long-distance communication soul device, a rare artifact exclusively supplied by the imperial family.
A hum of soul power filled the sealed room as a projection screen flickered to life. Through the glowing interface, Vina established two critical connections: one to Princess Xu Jiujiu of the Star Luo Empire, who happened to be conducting a border patrol nearby, and another to the Heavenly Soul Emperor, seated far away in his imperial capital.
Time was of the essence. Vina kept her report ruthlessly concise. She deliberately omitted the shocking details of how Liu Yuan, a mere Soul Elder, had manipulated the battlefield to slaughter a Soul Saint. Instead, she delivered the cold, hard facts. They had been ambushed by a Title Douluo-level Evil Soul Master. Ju Chui Douluo was currently burning his life force at the edge of the Star Dou Great Forest to buy them time. She and Liu Yuan had managed to break through the blockade and secure temporary safety.
On the other side of the projection, the Heavenly Soul Emperor shot up from his throne. His knuckles turned white as he gripped the armrests, his face contorting into a mask of livid fury.
Meanwhile, Princess Xu Jiujiu reacted with the swift, decisive pragmatism of a seasoned royal. The moment she confirmed their coordinates, her voice cut through the transmission, sharp and authoritative. She promised to mobilize the absolute strongest combat forces in her vicinity and ride out at maximum speed.
The silence that followed the disconnected call was heavy, thick with agonizing tension. Yet, when the gears of a massive imperial machine began to turn, results manifested with terrifying efficiency.
Barely half an hour had passed when a violent sonic boom shattered the quiet skies above Dingbei City.
A streak of golden light descended toward the City Lord's Mansion like a falling meteor. Princess Xu Jiujiu, the esteemed little princess of the Star Luo Empire, touched down in the courtyard, flanked by a squad of heavily armored elite guards.
But it was the figure stepping out of the shadows behind her that truly suffocated the air in the courtyard. A terrifying pressure rolled outward, heavy enough to mimic a collapsing mountain or an overturning sea. This was one of the pinnacle powerhouses of the Star Luo Empire. A Rank 95 Title Douluo.
Heaven-Propping Douluo.
Xu Jiujiu strode through the heavy oak doors, her usually composed face pulled tight with anxiety. She bypassed the kneeling city lord entirely, rushing straight to Vina and grasping her hands. Her sharp eyes darted up and down Vina's figure, searching for any trace of blood or dark soul power. Only when she was absolutely certain her counterpart was unharmed did her shoulders drop in a heavy sigh of relief.
Given the life-or-death stakes, neither Xu Jiujiu nor Heaven-Propping Douluo spared a single glance for the young man standing quietly in the corner. To their heightened senses, Liu Yuan merely registered as a Rank 30-something Soul Elder—insignificant in a battle of this magnitude.
Heaven-Propping Douluo stepped forward, his expression carved from glacial ice. He offered Vina a curt, respectful nod before his deep, rumbling voice filled the room. "Princess Vina. Give me the exact coordinates. How long can that old bull Ju Chui hold his ground?"
Vina snatched a tactical map from the city lord's desk, her finger stabbing down on a specific ridge bordering the Star Dou Great Forest. She quickly marked the epicenter of the clash between Ju Chui Douluo and Old Ghost Tree-Infant.
"Elder Luo has already stalled them for a considerable amount of time," she urged, her voice tight. "But the enemy is an Evil Soul Master. Her methods are twisted, highly corrosive, and completely unpredictable. Senior, I beg of you, you must pull him out alive!"
Heaven-Propping Douluo did not waste breath on empty promises. A concussive ring of compressed air exploded beneath his boots, shattering the stone floor tiles. In the blink of an eye, his massive frame dissolved into a blinding golden comet, tearing through the roof and vanishing into the distant horizon. The sheer velocity of a Title Douluo defied the naked eye. It was a race against the grim reaper; he had to cross that distance before Ju Chui Douluo's life force burned out completely.
With her own soul power rank being insufficient to survive the shockwaves of a clash between Title Douluos, Princess Xu Jiujiu had no intention of becoming a liability on the front lines. Instead, she ordered the preparation of a reinforced, high-speed soul carriage to advance toward the border and provide tactical support, heavily escorted by the City Lord's elite guard.
As they moved to board the luxurious carriage, Xu Jiujiu naturally assumed the quiet youth would mount a horse and ride alongside the outer perimeter guards. What happened next caught her entirely off guard.
Vina did not dismiss him. Instead, she reached out, her pale fingers naturally intertwining with Liu Yuan's. There was no hesitation, no attempt to maintain the aloof distance expected of an unmarried imperial princess. She simply led him up the carriage steps and pulled him into the plush interior, having him sit shoulder-to-shoulder right beside her.
This blatant display of intimacy instantly triggered Xu Jiujiu's razor-sharp political instincts.
Settling into the seat opposite them, the Star Luo princess finally took a proper look at the young man. Despite sitting across from foreign royalty, his posture was relaxed, his dark eyes placid and unreadable. He lacked the nervous deference common among youths of his age.
"Vina," Xu Jiujiu began, unable to suppress her curiosity any longer. "Who might this be?"
Vina turned her head to look at Liu Yuan. A fleeting, unmistakable warmth softened her gaze before she looked back at Xu Jiujiu, her posture regaining its graceful, diplomatic poise. "This is Liu Yuan. He is the personal disciple of the Body Sect's Sect Master. And also my... good friend."
She delivered the words 'good friend' with a perfectly even tone, but the subtle, affectionate curve of her lips betrayed her entirely. To someone as careful as Xu Jiujiu, it was as clear as day.
Xu Jiujiu arched a perfectly groomed eyebrow, her mind racing. 'Good friend? Please. That look screams that she has already handed her heart over on a silver platter.'
The personal disciple of the Body Sect's master, paired with the most favored princess of the Heavenly Soul Empire. The political implications were staggering. This was no mere youthful romance; this was an ironclad alliance in the making.
As one of the most outstanding successors to the Star Luo throne, Xu Jiujiu knew exactly how to play this game. She remained entirely ignorant of the fact that this seemingly ordinary youth had just orchestrated the gruesome death of a Rank 70 Soul Saint while only possessing Rank 39 soul power. Yet, the sheer weight of the title 'Personal Disciple of the Body Sect' demanded absolute respect.
Leaning forward slightly, Xu Jiujiu extended a slender, gloved hand, offering Liu Yuan a flawless, elegant smile. "So it is a brilliant talent from the Body Sect. I have long admired the prestige of your esteemed sect. The situation earlier was chaotic, and I allowed my manners to slip. Please forgive my neglect, Young Master Liu Yuan."
Liu Yuan reached out, his grip firm but brief, offering a polite, measured handshake. "Princess Xu Jiujiu is too polite. Under the circumstances, your swift response is what matters most."
His tone was perfectly neutral—neither overly deferential nor obnoxiously arrogant. Sitting across from a powerful royal of a neighboring empire, his heart rate did not spike, nor did his gaze waver. This absolute composure, this quiet confidence, caused Xu Jiujiu to silently elevate her evaluation of him by several notches.
Meanwhile, hundreds of miles away, within the opulent halls of the Heavenly Soul Imperial Palace.
The moment the communication screen faded to black, the Heavenly Soul Emperor barked out two absolute, highest-tier imperial decrees.
First, Shadow Douluo—another Title Douluo stationed near the southern border—was to abandon his post immediately and burn his soul power to reach the rescue coordinates at maximum velocity.
Second, the imperial intelligence network was to use its most secure, highest-speed transmission channel to deliver a single, urgent message directly to the gates of the Body Sect.
When that wax-sealed secret letter breached the heavily guarded gates of the Body Sect, the ensuing reaction caused the very foundations of the mountain to tremble.
Deep within his private study, Du Busi unrolled the parchment. His eyes scanned the ink. A second later, a terrifying, emerald-green poisonous fire erupted from his skin. The massive, centuries-old ironwood desk before him didn't even catch fire—it was instantly corroded into a pile of fine, gray ash.
"Damned Evil Soul Masters!"
Du Busi's roar detonated like a thunderclap, echoing across the entire mountain range and rattling the eardrums of every disciple in the sect. "Daring to lay hands on my personal disciple! Have you all grown tired of breathing?!"
He didn't bother summoning his elders. He didn't waste a single second on preparations. Stepping out of his study, he tore through the space outside the Sea God Pavilion. His towering figure dissolved into a catastrophic beam of emerald light, ripping through the clouds and leaving a toxic green trail across the firmament. He shot toward the edge of the Star Dou Great Forest with the manic, terrifying velocity of a Level 98 Super Douluo out for blood.
This time, the old monster was truly, unequivocally intent on slaughter.
Liu Yuan was not just a talented student. He was his sole personal disciple, his designated successor, the future master of the Body Sect. Whoever dared to touch a single hair on Liu Yuan's head was actively trying to sever the very roots of the Body Sect!
Meanwhile, on the scarred wastelands bordering the Star Dou Great Forest.
The clash of titans had long since bypassed the white-hot stage. It had devolved into a grim, grinding meat grinder of a death match.
Ju Chui Douluo was a horrific sight. His heavy armor was shredded, his burly body bathed in his own blood. The massive, pitch-black head of his martial soul—the Giant Hammer—was caked in thick, dark red gore. He had overdrawn his soul power to such a severe degree that the webbing between his thumbs and index fingers had completely split open. Fresh blood continuously slid down the thick iron handle, making his grip dangerously slick.
It had to be admitted—Old Ghost Tree-Infant was absurdly, sickeningly resilient.
If this were a pure contest of absolute destructive power and physical defense, she would be vastly inferior to Ju Chui Douluo, a man who had spent decades refining his blunt-force trauma. But she was a Title Douluo-level Evil Soul Master. Her martial soul, the grotesque 'Infant-Devouring Mother Tree', possessed a regenerative factor that bordered on the perverse.
Thousands of pitch-black, writhing tree roots blotted out the sky. Ju Chui Douluo had already swung his hammer hundreds of times, using his domineering, explosive strength to smash the wooden tendrils into splinters. Yet, every single time, the roots would violently regrow. Accompanied by the shrill, phantom wailing of crying infants, the black wood stitched itself back together, surging forward in an endless, suffocating tide.
Ju Chui Douluo, on the other hand, had no such luxury. Every laceration, every bruised organ, every drop of spilled blood remained permanent. With the enemy constantly regenerating while he slowly bled out, even the vast, oceanic foundation of a Title Douluo could not withstand the sheer war of attrition.
His knees buckled. With a heavy thud, Ju Chui Douluo collapsed onto one knee, using the handle of his massive hammer as a crutch just to keep himself upright. His chest heaved like a broken bellows, pulling in ragged, bloody breaths.
'Am I really going to die here today?' he thought, his vision blurring as he stared up at the twisted, frenzied canopy of the black Mother Tree. A bitter, suffocating unwillingness clawed at his throat.
"Damn it all!" he spat, a glob of bloody phlegm hitting the dirt. "I am the dignified Ju Chui Douluo! The Luo family has built its reputation on unyielding strength for generations! Am I truly destined to rot as fertilizer for this vile, degenerate Evil Soul Master?"
A miserable, rattling laugh escaped his lips. Gritting his bloodstained teeth, he forced his trembling muscles to obey, slowly pushing himself up against the weight of his heavy hammer. The flickering light in his eyes hardened into the cold, absolute resolve of a dying man.
"Fine!" he roared, his voice cracking with raw soul power. "History is penned by the victors! But even if my bones break today, I am dragging you down to the deepest pits of hell with me, you wretched old ghost!"
His soul rings flared, preparing to detonate. His only lingering regret was that he would never know if Her Highness Vina and that sharp-eyed youth, Liu Yuan, had managed to reach safety.
High above, standing atop the grotesque canopy of her martial soul, Old Ghost Tree-Infant looked down upon him. Her withered, bark-like face was twisted into a sickening knot of frenzied, sadistic pleasure.
She sneered, her voice echoing like grinding stones. "Don't be so anxious to die, Old Dog Luo."
She gestured with a gnarled hand, the black roots writhing in anticipation beneath her feet. "Once I've dismantled your stubborn old bones and fed your marrow to my precious tree, I'll hunt down that delicate little princess and that double-pupiled brat. I'll send them down to the underworld to keep you company."
Her eyes burned with a venomous, hateful light. "I will string them up, and I will let the royal bloodline of your precious Heavenly Soul Empire drain out, drop by drop, into this very wasteland!"
However, just as that shrill, cackling laughter tore from her throat, the entire sky abruptly darkened. It wasn't the natural setting of the sun—it was an eerie, suffocating eclipse of light.
The thick Death Qi that had dominated the battlefield was instantly shredded. In its place, a domineering, highly corrosive, and world-ending emerald-green mist violently crushed the atmosphere. The sheer oppressive weight of it made the very earth groan.
A streak of emerald light tore through the horizon. It was so unfathomably fast that it completely bypassed the limits of human perception.
Right as Old Ghost Tree-Infant raised her arms to command the final, lethal strike, her maniacal laughter was choked off.
Without a single ripple of warning, a massive, calloused hand tore straight out of the empty void. Like an inescapable iron pincer, it clamped directly around her throat. The sheer, apocalyptic physical force behind that grip instantly shattered her protective soul power barriers as if they were made of brittle glass.
Du Busi's face, contorted with a murderous intent so dense it was practically liquid, materialized inches from Old Ghost Tree-Infant's widening eyes. Every single strand of his wild hair seemed to be ablaze with a toxic green fire fueled by pure, unadulterated rage.
His gaze was a bottomless abyss, as cold and dark as the deepest pits of the underworld. He hoisted the Title Douluo-level Evil Soul Master into the air by her neck. She was already trembling violently, her previous arrogance completely annihilated by primal terror.
Staring into her terrified eyes, Du Busi parted his lips and spoke, his voice a low, rumbling earthquake that promised absolute agony.
"You said... who is it you want to kill?"
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