On the arena, the woman announced her name, saying, "Mingdu Soul Engineer Academy, Xu Tianzhen!"
Upon hearing this name, He Caitou was instantly stunned, his gaze somewhat vacant, and an unstable aura rose around him. However, he quickly recovered, suppressing the violent fluctuations in his heart and showing no unusual signs. Nevertheless, his eyes were no longer as honest as before, becoming sharp and subtly filled with hatred.
He Caitou's change caught Zheng Zhan's attention, but he did not perceive the hatred in He Caitou's eyes, only taking it as a prelude to He Caitou preparing to go all out.
"The match begins!" Zheng Zhan announced.
In an instant, the arena became quiet. The imagined first clash did not occur, because after Zheng Zhan announced the start of the match, neither Xu Tianzhen nor He Caitou made a move immediately. Both stood in their original spots, enveloped in a strange atmosphere.
"Sister Xiaotao, something's wrong. Get ready to act!" Zhu Ziyang was the first to realize He Caitou's abnormality. He immediately nudged Ma Xiaotao, who was nestled in his arms, and said.
"Really?!" Ma Xiaotao, eager for chaos, immediately sat up, looking excitedly at the arena.
The second person to notice He Caitou's abnormality was Xu Tianzhen. The girl was horrified to discover that the big man opposite her suddenly had a different face. Although his complexion was still dark, he had become much more handsome. More importantly, his facial features bore some resemblance to her brothers!
"You, you..." The child felt terrified, pointing a finger at He Caitou and questioning, "Are you a human or a ghost?!"
"Heh heh, Xu Tianzhen, long time no see!" He Caitou, having regained his true appearance, looked darkly at this cousin who used to follow him around. His heart was filled only with hatred, devoid of any joy of family reunion. His voice was cold, his expression somewhat deranged, and he roared, "Xu Jiusong killed my entire family. Today, I will make him taste the pain of losing loved ones too! Die!"
With that, He Caitou moved. His entire body was instantly covered in densely packed spirit tools, followed by a barrage of explosions. He unleashed all the spirit tools on his person, including a seventh-grade spirit tool cannonball!
In an instant, the arena was filled with at least a hundred spirit tool cannonballs of varying sizes and powers. These spirit tool cannonballs, gathered together, would at the very least reduce the arena by half, if not level it completely.
Xu Tianzhen was already terrified. By the time she remembered to defend herself, a fourth-grade spirit tool cannonball had already struck her. The fourth-grade spirit tool cannonball exploded with a roar, and Xu Tianzhen was immediately blasted into the air. At this moment, she had completely sobered up. No matter who this person opposite her was, at this very moment, he was coming for her life. Therefore, Xu Tianzhen, blasted into the sky, immediately unleashed her Spirit with all her might, while also activating her invincible shield.
As the first spirit tool cannonball exploded, the nearly hundred subsequent spirit tool cannonballs detonated one after another, as if receiving a command.
At this moment, the entire venue fell into a deathly silence. Besides the continuous explosions, only He Caitou's almost frenzied laughter remained.
"This, this... is Cai Tou perhaps overdoing it a bit?" Xu Sanshi asked Bei Bei, who was beside him, with a wide-open mouth and a dazed expression.
"Don't ask me, I don't know!" Bei Bei replied, also looking dazed.
"First Senior Brother, Second Senior Brother, something's wrong. Third Senior Brother's condition isn't right!" Although Huo Yuhao was also very surprised, due to his Spirit, he immediately noticed He Caitou's abnormality and quickly spoke.
On the arena, Zheng Zhan finally reacted. Without time to think, he immediately rushed into the explosion, attempting to rescue Xu Tianzhen. This was the current Emperor's only daughter! If she died on the arena, and especially in a competition he was presiding over, then even ten Zheng Zhans would not be enough to quell the Emperor's wrath!
Zheng Zhan desperately wanted to rush out and yell at He Caitou, "You damn bastard, you already escaped, why did you have to come back?" That's right, Zheng Zhan had already confirmed that He Caitou was the late Emperor's only son. When He Caitou revealed his true appearance earlier, Zheng Zhan naturally saw it, which plunged him into deep confusion. That's why he couldn't stop He Caitou's actions in time or rescue Xu Tianzhen before the explosion began.
Now, Zheng Zhan could only pray to the heavens, hoping that the life-saving items on Xu Tianzhen were strong enough to withstand an explosion whose power could already rival an eighth-grade spirit tool cannon.
"Bastard, what is Zheng Zhan doing?!" On the VIP platform, Xu Tianran was furious, slamming his fists onto the armrest. He stared anxiously at the arena and roared, "If anything happens to my little sister, I will make Zheng Zhan and the Tang Sect people pay with their lives!"
At this moment, Xu Tianran had not realized that He Caitou on the stage was Xu Tianhe. His first reaction was a competition error, not premeditated murder, although the outcome was the same, the motive was not.
At the same moment, Xu Tianzhen's protector finally made his move. Like Zheng Zhan, he had been plunged into deep shock and doubt by He Caitou's appearance, missing the first opportunity to rescue Xu Tianzhen. When he came to his senses, he also immediately rushed into the explosion, joining Zheng Zhan in the rescue of Xu Tianzhen.
Everything happened too suddenly, and everything occurred in a flash, leaving no time to fully grasp the beginning and end of the matter. From He Caitou releasing nearly a hundred spirit tool cannonballs to Xu Tianzhen being engulfed in the explosion, from Zheng Zhan rushing into the explosion to Xu Tianzhen being rescued, all these events took less than three minutes.
When Xu Tianzhen was brought out of the explosion by Zheng Zhan, her face was pale, and she was severely injured. If she hadn't been a princess with numerous defensive spirit tools, she probably wouldn't have survived long enough for Zheng Zhan's rescue.
The explosion lasted for five minutes before gradually subsiding. On the arena, Xu Tianzhen stood, supported by Zheng Zhan and her protector. Zheng Zhan looked at He Caitou with complex emotions, while Xu Tianzhen's protector's face was filled with fury. If Xu Tianzhen hadn't held him back, he would have likely rushed up and torn He Caitou to shreds.
"How hateful!" He Caitou looked at Xu Tianzhen, whose face was pale but whose life was not in danger, his face filled with unwillingness and anger. If he hadn't retained a shred of sanity, he would have probably rushed up to deliver a finishing blow right in front of two Titled Douluo.
"You're Brother He, aren't you!" Xu Tianzhen, who had narrowly escaped death, was not angry but instead asked with sorrow, "Why do you want to kill me? I remember you used to dote on me the most, didn't you?"
"Hahahaha!" He Caitou heard this and burst into frenzied laughter. "Dote on you? I wish I could kill you! So that your ungrateful father and elder brother can also experience the pain of losing loved ones!"
"What?!" Xu Tianzhen was stunned. Although she didn't understand what He Caitou had gone through all these years, she could tell that he believed the deaths of her granduncle, cousin, and younger cousin were caused by her father and brother. She immediately explained, "That's not how it is, Brother He! Imperial Granduncle and the others were killed by Evil Soul Masters, not by my imperial father. My imperial father has already avenged them!"
"Ah hahahaha!" He Caitou heard this and immediately burst into laughter, tears streaming down his face. He had no intention of arguing further with Xu Tianzhen. Since he had chosen to expose himself today, he was already prepared for a fight to the death. So, he directly looked at the VIP platform and shouted, "Xu Tianran, do you still recognize me?"
Because He Caitou used his spirit power, his voice spread throughout the entire venue. The quietness of the venue made his voice exceptionally clear. The audience was somewhat bewildered, but many realized that a major event might be about to unfold.
"Xu Tianhe!" Xu Tianran also recognized He Caitou at this moment. Wasn't he the one who escaped from his granduncle's family more than a decade ago? To appear in the Soul Master Competition, and in such a manner, Xu Tianran felt his face being slapped repeatedly.
He Caitou did not get a response from Xu Tianran and continued to shout, "What a pity, I couldn't kill your sister, couldn't make you taste the pain of losing loved ones! Oh, no, how could someone like you care about loved ones? Your legs and your manhood were probably crippled by your own brothers, hahahaha, how gratifying! What if you got the throne, you're still a useless cripple, aren't you? You even have to give the throne to someone else's son, hahahaha!"
"Xu Tianhe, you're looking for death!" Xu Tianran's rage instantly ignited, and he roared uncontrollably, "Wei Hong, kill him for me!"
Wei Hong was Xu Tianzhen's protector. Upon receiving Xu Tianran's command, he immediately shook off Xu Tianzhen's hand and charged directly at He Caitou. As a Titled Douluo, Wei Hong wanted to kill He Caitou, and He Caitou had no room to resist.
A large saber appeared in his hand, and behind him, two yellow, three purple, and four black spirit rings revolved. The large saber, with its sharp blade, slashed towards He Caitou.
Just as the saber was about to cleave He Caitou in half, a graceful figure instantly appeared on the arena. A clear, melodious phoenix cry echoed, and a high kick directly struck Wei Hong. Wei Hong immediately flew backward, crashing heavily onto the ground, and then spat out a mouthful of fresh blood before falling unconscious!
Severely injured with one kick!
The graceful figure revealed her true appearance, her charming face filled with an unyielding dominance.
"What kind of nobody are you, to dare touch a disciple of my Shrek Academy!"