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Xuan Zi's deafening shout of "Enemy attack!" exploded like thunder within the hotel.
Gu La instantly reacted, a flicker of surprise crossing his mind: "Hmm? This time, Elder Xuan didn't slack off?"
He then sensed three sinister and eerie presences rapidly approaching; one was particularly concealed, heading straight for his area.
What Gu La didn't know was that Xuan Zi had been indulging in food in his top-floor room, trying to suppress his raging alcohol addiction, which kept him highly alert and vigilant. Thus, he keenly detected the murderous intent of the evil soul masters, who hadn't bothered to conceal it completely but were still lethal.
Without any hesitation, Gu La's eyes flashed with a brilliant light.
A dazzling golden glow erupted instantly, and the Angel Spirit Soul appeared behind him, spreading a holy aura.
Simultaneously, the Evolution Watch on his wrist lit up again, its intricate patterns flowing, guiding the power of the Angel Martial Soul to further concentrate and sublimate, emitting a sacred radiance tinged with an ultimate light capable of purifying everything.
But Gu La's movements did not stop there.
A thick, earthy dark golden armor instantly covered his chest, with rock-like textures faintly visible beneath his skin—partially attaching the Groudon Martial Soul!
Facing the unpredictable methods of Title Douluo-level evil soul masters, Gu La would never be careless or underestimate the enemy despite having the trump card for cross-tier battles. Dual defense was his ace against sudden attacks.
The attackers were none other than the Elders of the Holy Spirit Sect: Abomination Douluo, Myriad Souls Douluo, and Masquerade Douluo.
These three were a carefully selected combination by Zhongli Wu: Abomination Douluo was known for his obese body and terrifying fat defense, Myriad Souls Douluo excelled in controlling vengeful spirits for large-scale attacks and domain suppression, while Masquerade Douluo specialized in stealth, parasitism, and control.
Together, they could handle most emergencies. Despite internal conflicts within the Holy Spirit Sect, no one dared defy Zhongli Wu's strict orders.
According to the plan, Masquerade Douluo, thanks to his martial soul characteristics, almost completely masked his presence, like the deadliest shadow, quietly bypassing the outer defenses, directly targeting Gu La.
Meanwhile, Abomination Douluo and Myriad Souls Douluo created chaos on the periphery, intending to hold back Shrek Academy's teachers.
However, just as they revealed their attack intentions at the hotel's perimeter, planning to create chaos and attract attention, a terrifying pressure akin to the awakening of a prehistoric beast descended from above.
A figure with bristling hair and beard, emanating a violent soul power like a meteor, crashed down—it was the furious Xuan Zi.
"Filthy evil soul masters! You're courting death!"
Xuan Zi roared, the phantom of the Taotie Bull roaring behind him towards the sky.
Abomination Douluo and Myriad Souls Douluo felt the overwhelming soul power fluctuations far beyond their expectations, sending chills down their spines: "Taotie Bull! Why did Shrek send him here?!"
In their shock, both immediately unleashed their True Body.
Abomination Douluo transformed into a terrifying giant over ten meters tall, with foul-smelling grease and stitched marks all over his grotesque body.
Myriad Souls Douluo turned into a massive black banner entwined with countless wailing vengeful spirits. They even deployed their ultimate Level Nine attack soul-guided device, attempting to block Xuan Zi momentarily.
But before such an absolute power gap, all efforts were futile.
In his rage-induced state, every punch from Xuan Zi carried the power to shatter mountains and split the earth.
Abomination Douluo's once-proud fat defense crumbled like paper under Xuan Zi's fists, instantly deforming and splattering grease, eliciting painful howls.
Myriad Souls Douluo's Myriad Souls Banner was torn apart by Xuan Zi's fierce soul power shockwave, countless vengeful spirits screaming and dissipating.
Within just a few punches, the two Title Douluo were battered, their soul-guided devices nearly destroyed, their True Bodies barely holding together.
The fear of death overwhelmed them instantly. "Masquerade, hurry and act! We can't hold on!"
Abomination Douluo screamed desperately, exposing their infiltrating companion. Myriad Souls Douluo also shrieked: "This is tough! Xuan Zi's here! Hurry!"
Masquerade Douluo, who was searching for Gu La to strike, heard the cries and shouts outside, cursing inwardly, "Useless!"
Realizing the plan was utterly exposed, he no longer hid. The aura of his Demonic Maggot Martial Soul burst forth, no longer fixated on the assassination of Gu La.
Instead, he moved like a ghost through the hotel corridors, injecting tiny, nearly invisible maggots into the bodies of anyone he encountered along the way.
Most of these were competitors and teachers from other academies preparing to rest or discuss tactics.
Their bodies stiffened instantly, eyes becoming vacant, with something wriggling beneath their skin, turning them into human shields controlled by Masquerade Douluo.
Only the area where the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy resided seemed to have a powerful soul-guided barrier instantly activated, isolating the maggots from entering.
Meanwhile, Gu La found Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng, who were equally stirred and ready for battle. But Gu La's brief words made Ma Xiaotao's heart sink:
"Three Title Douluo, all Elders of the Holy Spirit Sect. Elder Xuan is held up by two, and another has likely infiltrated the hotel."
Hearing "Title Douluo," even the fearless Ma Xiaotao's face turned extremely pale.
Soul Emperor versus Title Douluo, this was an insurmountable gap!
Gu La quickly made a decision: "Everyone evacuate towards the palace direction, leave this to us."
By "us," he meant himself and Ma Xiaotao. Although Xiao Xiao, Wang Dong, and others were worried, they knew staying would only be a burden. Under the cover of Dai Yueheng, Ling Luochen, and others, they swiftly evacuated.
Just as they burst out of the room, Masquerade Douluo's figure appeared like a ghost at the end of the corridor. Behind him were more than a dozen soul masters from various academies under his parasitic control, like marionettes.
"Found you, handsome little angel." Masquerade Douluo's voice carried a nauseating stickiness.
"Attack!" Gu La commanded in a low voice.
He and Ma Xiaotao wasted no words, their coordination reaching its peak at this moment. Ma Xiaotao's Evil Fire Phoenix Martial Soul ignited instantly, a violent flame erupting skyward.
Behind Gu La, the Angel Spirit Soul's glow intensified, the Holy Light guided by the Evolution Watch resonating and fusing strangely with the ultimate fire attribute under Gu La's precise control and Ma Xiaotao's gritted endurance.
"Screech—!"
A clear phoenix cry interwove with a solemn hymn. A torrent of golden-red light flames shot out like a spear of judgment, carrying the sacred will to purify evil and the ultimate high temperature to incinerate everything, blasting towards Masquerade Douluo.
Masquerade Douluo's pupils contracted sharply; he never expected a Soul Emperor and a Soul Elder to unleash such a terrifying fusion technique.
The Ultimate fire and Holy Light contained in the flames reached the pinnacle of suppression against his martial soul, causing the demonic maggots within him to feel a burning pain.
In haste, he released a dense, ink-green soul shield laden with parasitic spores.
Boom!
The light flames collided fiercely with the ink-green soul shield, exploding in blinding light and a violent energy shockwave, cracking the walls on both sides of the corridor.
Masquerade Douluo grunted, the surrounding maggots burned to ashes, his meridians scorched with pain, the shield violently fluctuating, forcing him back two steps.
Gu La and Ma Xiaotao also retreated simultaneously, blood surging. Especially Ma Xiaotao, bearing the immense pressure of fusing two ultimate attributes, her face turned pale, a trace of blood seeping from the corner of her mouth, her body trembling slightly.
But Ma Xiaotao's eyes were bright, her fighting spirit high. Despite the three-ring difference, she managed to barely withstand a hit from a Title Douluo!
"Die!" Masquerade Douluo, enraged and humiliated, was about to disregard the hostages and forcibly kill them. At this moment—
"Evil fiends, perish!"
Accompanied by a thunderous roar, the hotel walls were torn apart like paper by a ferocious force.
Xuan Zi's towering figure surged in amidst the overwhelming fury. The presence of the Taotie Bull locked onto Masquerade Douluo, making him feel as if he had fallen into an icy abyss.
Masquerade Douluo was best at self-preservation. Without hesitation, his body instantly transformed into a streak of ink-green light, abandoning most of the parasitized hosts, only bringing a few key hostages as shields, breaking through the wall at top speed to regroup with the battered Abomination Douluo and Myriad Souls Douluo outside.
Xuan Zi followed closely, standing before Gu La and Ma Xiaotao like an insurmountable mountain.
His icy gaze swept over the three evil soul masters, finally settling on the soul masters under parasitic control, his killing intent almost materializing:
"Filthy scum of the Holy Spirit Sect, dare to assassinate my Shrek students, unforgivable!"
The terrifying soul power of a Level 98 master pressed down like a tsunami. Abomination Douluo and Myriad Souls Douluo were already injured, and Masquerade Douluo was heavily drained. Feeling the palpable threat of death, their faces turned ashen.
But they knew that turning to flee now, leaving their backs to an enraged Super Douluo, would be a guaranteed death sentence.
Myriad Souls Douluo struggled, his voice hoarse: "Hmph, Xuan Zi, I never thought Shrek valued this Angel Martial Soul so much, even sending you old gluttons to babysit. Too bad, the Sect Leader personally ordered the annihilation of the Angel Martial Soul. Your Shrek… can't protect him!"
"Ridiculous!" Xuan Zi's hair and beard bristled, his fierce aura surging again, "A bunch of maggots living in darkness dare to threaten my Shrek? Die!"
The Taotie Bull exhaled steam, poised to unleash a thunderous strike.
"Wait!" Masquerade Douluo sharply stopped him, waving his hand. Several deeply parasitized soul masters, their faces ashen, were pushed forward by an invisible force.
"Xuan Zi, look clearly! These are geniuses and teachers from various high-level soul master academies. If you dare to make a move, I'll immediately let the maggots inside them drain their essence blood, causing them to explode! Do you want Shrek to become the target of everyone?!"
Xuan Zi's movement halted abruptly.
His gaze swept over the hostages, recognizing uniforms from famous academies of the Tian Hun Empire, Dou Ling Empire, and even Star Luo itself. His expression turned extremely grim.
Several imperial patron-level strong figures from the Star Luo Empire, alerted by the attack alarm, were now nearing the vicinity. Their powerful auras faintly detectable added to the complexity of the situation.
Xuan Zi wrestled internally. Though powerful, he couldn't guarantee instant removal of all parasites while protecting everyone.
Suppressing his anger, his voice turned icy: "Release them! Otherwise, I swear, I will uproot your Holy Spirit Sect, hunt you down to the ends of the earth, and not spare a single one of you!"
Masquerade Douluo knew time was pressing and they needed a quick resolution: "Hand over that Angel Soul Master!" This was Zhongli Wu's core command.
"Never!" Xuan Zi firmly refused, without any room for negotiation.
Masquerade Douluo hadn't expected success anyway and immediately changed his demand: "Then hand over that soul-guided device on his wrist that can evolve Ultimate Light!"
He pointed at the Evolution Watch on Gu La's wrist, whose light had yet to fully recede.
Though the three didn't understand soul-guided devices, the Holy Spirit Sect had high-level Soul Mentors, even venerating a Level Nine Soul Mentor. Unable to bring back the person, capturing this artifact threatening the sect's foundation and studying a countermeasure would be a great achievement.
All eyes instantly focused on Gu La's wrist.
Xuan Zi also looked at Gu La, his gaze complex. A soul-guided device, no matter how precious, was ultimately a lifeless object, but it was Gu La's personal treasure.
And here were dozens of living lives, including elites from other forces.
If Shrek's actions led to their tragic deaths, the pressure Shrek would face would be unimaginable.
Internally, he leaned towards handing over the soul-guided device but had to respect Gu La's personal wishes. And asking him to persuade Gu La, he couldn't bear the humiliation!
Gu La deliberately displayed a look of struggle, hesitation, and reluctance, as if undergoing intense mental conflict.
He glanced at the angry Xuan Zi, at the controlled hostages, then at the Evolution Watch on his wrist. Finally, he clenched his teeth, his expression becoming "resolute":
"...Alright, take it." With a touch of "bitterness," he quickly removed the Evolution Watch and forcefully threw it towards Masquerade Douluo.
A flash of wild joy appeared in Masquerade Douluo's eyes as he grabbed the flying wristwatch.
It felt warm in his hand, the overwhelming Holy Light attribute within making the maggots inside him uneasy, confirming it as genuine.
He quickly inspected it. With his perception as a Title Douluo at such close range, he detected no self-destruct mechanisms or traps in the soul power fluctuations.
Indeed, Gu La hadn't tampered with it at this moment.
But what he didn't know was that during its creation, Gu La had embedded a highly concealed micro-location soul-guided device deep within the core array of the Evolution Watch, driven by special soul power.
It periodically emitted weak signals at a specific frequency that only Gu La could precisely capture.
This was part of Gu La's original plan: use a replicable soul-guided device to attract the evil soul masters' attack, gaining an opportunity to locate the Holy Spirit Sect's lair or important base.
In his eyes, these evil soul master Title Douluos were future "experience packs" waiting to be harvested, accelerating his Angel Spirit Soul's evolution and his own cultivation. He couldn't afford to lose them here.
"Gu La, the academy will definitely retrieve this item for you or provide equivalent compensation." Xuan Zi's timely voice transmitted in Gu La's ear, with a hint of shame.
Masquerade Douluo, now holding the Evolution Watch, felt reassured and said to Xuan Zi: "Xuan Zi, can you let us go now? In ten minutes, I'll naturally lift the parasitism, and they'll return to normal."
"Five minutes." Xuan Zi's tone was firm, his imposing presence overwhelming. "I only give you five minutes to leave. If anyone gets hurt, I'll hunt you down to the ends of the earth and take your miserable lives."
Masquerade Douluo frowned: "Ten minutes, otherwise we won't escape your pursuit as a Super Douluo."
Xuan Zi was about to weigh the options when Gu La's voice rang out again, carrying a reminder: "Elder Xuan, beware, they might have high-speed flight soul-guided devices, which are extremely fast."
Gu La was well aware of the prowess of advanced flight soul-guided devices. The Holy Spirit Sect certainly had similar reserves, likely brought to the capital of Star Luo Empire.
Xuan Zi suddenly realized he had nearly fallen for it.
His gaze hardened: "Five minutes, not a second more. Any more nonsense, and I'll risk losing a few lives to keep all of you here."
The Level 98 soul power acted like a tangible shackle, firmly locking the three in place.
Masquerade Douluo gave Gu La, who had ruined his plans, a deep glare, hatred filling his heart, but he knew Xuan Zi meant what he said.
He weighed the pros and cons: Xuan Zi's profound cultivation might fail in dispelling his maggots, potentially leading to the hostages' deaths, but it wasn't impossible.
And if they massacred elite contestants from various academies here, it would expose the Holy Spirit Sect openly, making them public enemies of the continent, severely contradicting their strategy of temporary dormancy.
"...Fine, five minutes."
Masquerade Douluo reluctantly agreed. Without further delay, he regrouped with Abomination Douluo and Myriad Souls Douluo. The trio swiftly activated advanced flight soul-guided devices, transforming into three streaks of light, rushing headlong toward the dark horizon outside Star Luo City and disappearing instantly.
Xuan Zi's powerful spiritual power remained locked onto their retreat direction, while closely monitoring the hostages.
Time ticked by minute by minute, the atmosphere heavy enough to solidify. At four minutes and a bit, the parasitized hostages' bodies trembled violently, the ashen hue on their faces rapidly fading, their eyes clearing. They then collapsed, vomiting painfully as the feeling of something wriggling beneath their skin disappeared, though their bodies were extremely weak.
Xuan Zi immediately approached, checking each one. His powerful soul power scanned their bodies, confirming that the maggots had indeed been remotely annihilated by Masquerade Douluo, leaving no hidden dangers, allowing him to breathe a sigh of relief.
At this point, several imperial patrons of the Star Luo Empire also arrived on the scene, led by someone with similarly unfathomable aura.
Xuan Zi briefly recounted the events, emphasizing the audacity of the evil soul masters and the loss of the Evolution Watch.
The patrons' expressions turned grave, pledging to immediately increase vigilance and issue a wanted notice for the evil soul masters.
The news reached the palace, infuriating Emperor Xu Jiawei. An attack on contestants during the tournament in his territory, seizing Shrek's crucial soul-guided device, was a slap in the face of the Star Luo Empire!
He immediately ordered a nationwide manhunt for the three evil soul master elders and dispatched Princess Xu Jiujiu with valuable gifts to personally visit the Shrek team's hotel, especially focusing on appeasing Gu La, who suffered "great losses."
Furthermore, due to the chaos caused by the attack and multiple contestants needing rest and recovery, the finals of the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Duel Soul Tournament were announced to be postponed by three days.
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