The moment Yan Shaozhe stepped onto the stage, Jing Hongchen landed from the side, blocking his way. His voice was cold and sharp as he demanded,
"What does Shrek Academy mean by this? Are you intending to interfere with the normal proceedings of the Soul Master Tournament?"
Yan Shaozhe's expression hardened. "Hall Master Hongchen, she is an inner-court student of Shrek Academy—my personal disciple. I'm taking her back with me!"
"Utter nonsense! She's an evil soul master!"
Jing Hongchen's voice was filled with scorn. He questioned sternly,
"Are you saying Shrek Academy's inner-court students are evil soul masters now? Or is it that your academy has dealings with evil soul masters—so you took one as your disciple?"
"Jing Hongchen! You slander me with your lies!" Yan Shaozhe roared, pointing at Ma Xiaotao. "You all saw her during the last Soul Master Tournament! She's a student of Shrek Academy, a soul master with the Evil Fire Phoenix martial soul!"
"But now," Jing Hongchen retorted, "she is the Black Phoenix!"
"That was forced upon her—by the soul tools of your Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy!" Yan Shaozhe glared at Jing Hongchen, his voice trembling with fury.
At that moment, Ma Xiaotao broke free from Jiang Shengyu's ice restraints and charged toward them.
Jing Hongchen raised his hand; a palm strike flashed out as several soul tools launched from his wrist, instantly binding Ma Xiaotao and restricting her movements.
Then he looked back at Yan Shaozhe coldly. "It is the duty of all soul masters on this continent to eliminate evil soul masters."
"That duty belongs to Shrek Academy," Yan Shaozhe said in a low, steely tone.
"Who's to say Shrek Academy won't show favoritism?" Jing Hongchen shot back. "From your reaction, Dean Yan, it seems you can't bring yourself to kill her. Regardless of who she once was, she is an evil soul master now! At her level of power, who knows how many lives she's taken? Even if she could be restored, does that erase everything she's done?"
His words struck a chord among the spectators.
"Exactly! She slaughtered countless people as an evil soul master—how can she just be forgiven after 'recovering'?"
"There's no such easy redemption!"
From the side, Jiang Shengyu spoke up,
"Dean Yan, you said it yourself—no matter who they are, once they've become an evil soul master, they can never be saved."
Hearing his own words thrown back at him, Yan Shaozhe froze in place. Shock and realization flickered across his face as he stared at Jiang Shengyu.
Meanwhile, Jiang Shengyu swung his sword toward Ma Xiaotao.
But in that critical instant, a blood-colored puppet appeared between them, blocking Jiang Shengyu's strike.
Threads of blood shot out from its body, wrapping around Ma Xiaotao's limbs and lifting her high into the air.
Everyone looked up—Zhongli Wu was hovering above them, having just rescued Ma Xiaotao!
After pulling her free, Zhongli Wu didn't linger for even a second. He turned and shot into the distance like a crimson streak.
Kong Deming reacted immediately, his figure flashing upward as he gave chase. Jing Hongchen, Yan Shaozhe, and several others followed in pursuit.
But Zhongli Wu's speed was astonishing—within moments, he had vanished beyond the borders of Mingdu. Those who had given chase could only return empty-handed.
Back on the stage, Jing Hongchen raised a hand and with a single sweep killed all the remaining members of the Holy Spirit Sect. Then he said gravely,
"The one just now—he likely possessed the strength of an Ultimate Douluo."
"An evil soul master who's an Ultimate Douluo…"
Yan Shaozhe's pupils contracted sharply.
Jiang Shengyu and Jiang Qingtong exchanged stunned looks.
"How could that be?"
"How did Zhongli Wu become an Ultimate Douluo? The last time we saw him, he was only a Level 98 Super Douluo!"
Could it be because he absorbed the life force and energy of so many titled Douluo-level evil soul masters?
Jing Hongchen turned his gaze toward Yan Shaozhe and the elders from Shrek standing behind him. "Regarding this evil soul master incident," he said coldly, "Shrek Academy owes the entire continent an explanation."
"This has nothing to do with Shrek Academy!" Yan Shaozhe protested with a deep frown.
"If you hadn't interfered, we might have already eliminated her!" Jing Hongchen shot him a cold glance, then said no more. He stepped down from the stage and went to find Kong Deming.
In the stands, the representatives of the other sects and academies all turned their eyes toward Yan Shaozhe. None of them cared about the details of how Ma Xiaotao became an evil soul master—they only saw that she had led a group of them and defeated everyone before her.
If not for the intervention of Tianyin Douluo, the Healing-type Titled Douluo, there would have been countless deaths.
And now Yan Shaozhe still wanted to protect her? It ignited public outrage.
Jiang Shengyu sheathed his Twilight Sword and turned to jump down from the stage, catching Jiang Qingtong in his arms as she leapt down after him. Jiang Feixin followed, landing nearby—and spat at Jiang Shengyu as she passed.
Jiang Shengyu: "…"
Crazy woman.
Elder Song called Yan Shaozhe back, urging him to discuss matters calmly and plan their next move.
Meanwhile, Jing Hongchen found Kong Deming. His expression was grave as he asked,
"Teacher, that man—he was Zhongli Wu, the leader of the Holy Spirit Cult, wasn't he?"
Kong Deming nodded slightly. "Without a doubt. It was him."
"But junior brother once said he was only a Level 98 Super Douluo—how could he have become an Ultimate Douluo?" Jing Hongchen frowned deeply. The difference between a Super Douluo and an Ultimate Douluo—especially an evil one—was vast beyond measure.
"With Ye Xishui and Long Xiaoyao—both Ultimate Douluo—by his side, and after devouring the blood essence and energy of so many evil soul masters, his breakthrough isn't entirely surprising." Kong Deming shook his head, then quietly gave Jing Hongchen several instructions.
Jing Hongchen listened carefully, nodding as he absorbed his teacher's words.
Elsewhere, Xu Tiannan was still in utter shock. At his side, Ye Xishui lounged casually and said with a faint smile,
"Well? Now do you see? The Holy Spirit Cult's strength is unmatched on the continent. Even if all the powers joined forces, they wouldn't be our equals."
The soul tool exoskeleton on Xu Tiannan shimmered as he stood abruptly, gripping his chair. "Lord Death God," he said to Ye Xishui, "I believe our cooperation will be… most fruitful."
Later, back at the Mingdu Grand Hotel, Xuedi found Jiang Shengyu and Jiang Qingtong and said,
"There's something strange about Zhongli Wu's soul power fluctuations."
"Oh?" The two looked at her in surprise.
Xuedi explained,
"To reach the realm of an Ultimate Douluo, one must condense a second soul core. There are two ways to form it: Yin-Yang Complementation and Positional Resonance. The soul power waves produced by each are distinct—but I didn't sense either from Zhongli Wu."
If that were the case, then unless Zhongli Wu had somehow created a third, unknown form of soul core resonance—he hadn't truly broken through at all.
Realizing this, Jiang Shengyu and Jiang Qingtong spoke in unison:
"A pseudo–Ultimate Douluo!"
Xuedi nodded. "Exactly. It seems he used some unknown method to temporarily possess the power of an Ultimate Douluo—but in terms of cultivation, he hasn't truly stepped into that realm."
Author's Note:
In this story, Limit Douluo and Ultimate Douluo mean the same thing — both refer to the peak of human strength in the Douluo world.
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