Chapter 90 An Enraged Mu En! Xuan Zi, You Useless Trash!
Before the wailing amidst the rubble had subsided, Xuanzi had already forcibly broken free from the near-paralyzing shock.
He looked at the blood all over the ground, his once rosy face now as pale as paper.
He knew that now was not the time to be in a daze; if he delayed any longer, even the few disciples who were clinging to life would not survive.
"Quick! Take everyone back to the barracks!"
Xuanzi let out a shrill roar, his voice trembling noticeably.
His soul power surged wildly, transforming into a giant soul power hand, which carefully lifted the unconscious Gongyang Mo and Xixi, and then personally picked up Chen Zifeng, who had lost both legs and was in shock from the pain.
Despite their broken bodies, Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng, supported by Wang Yan, Huo Yuhao, and others, staggered out of the cave.
Along the way, Xuanzi increased his speed to the extreme, but his heart rate was even faster than his movement speed.
He didn't even dare to look back at Yao Haoxuan's body, which was being carried by Huo Yuhao and Bei Bei and was completely soaked in blood.
In less than half an hour, the incomplete and battered army rushed back to Duke White Tiger's camp in a sorry state.
"Physician! Quickly summon all healing-type Soul Masters!" Dai Yueheng roared with his last ounce of strength as soon as he stepped into the central command tent.
The military camp instantly descended into chaos.
Duke Dai Hao of the White Tiger Army arrived quickly with several high-ranking generals and more than a dozen military doctors.
However, when these military doctors, who were used to seeing life and death, saw what was happening before them, they all gasped in shock.
Inside the central command tent, the stench of blood was so strong it was suffocating.
Yao Haoxuan's body was laid flat on the cold ground, his remains mutilated due to the force of the explosion.
Several senior physicians glanced at him and shook their heads helplessly, whispering to Dai Hao, "Your Grace, this young man... is completely dead. Even a god couldn't save him."
"What about Chen Zifeng? Can his leg be reattached?" Xuanzi grabbed the doctor's collar, his eyes bloodshot, and asked rapidly.
The doctor was nearly suffocated by Xuanzi's level 98 aura of power. He looked at Chen Zifeng on the operating table, whose legs were severed at the root and whose wounds were charred black by the evil poison, and sighed with difficulty:
"Senior, this student's leg… was instantly shattered by that evil power containing a deadly poison. The severed limb cannot be recovered, and the poison has already seeped into the bone."
"We can only save his life, but he will probably never be able to stand up again; he's ruined."
"boom--!"
Xuanzi felt another loud bang in his head, and he let go of his hand as if all his strength had been drained.
Then, one bad news after another came in.
Although Xixi and Gongyang Mo survived, their internal organs were severely damaged and the toxins could not be completely eliminated, causing them to fall into a deep coma and require at least several months of rest.
Although Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng suffered slightly less severe injuries, the evil poison had entered their bodies, obstructing their soul power circulation. They were unable to use high-intensity soul power for combat for a short period of time.
This means that the main team, which Xuanzi had placed high hopes on and considered itself the "strongest in ten thousand years," was completely wiped out in a warm-up battle against bandits.
At this moment, Duke Dai Hao of the White Tiger turned around.
The seasoned commander's eyes now held an undisguised skepticism. He looked at Xuanzi and said in a deep voice, "Elder Xuan, my military scouts clearly reported that there was only one Soul King in that cave. With your cultivation level, if you were present, how could you have allowed the children to be injured like this?"
Xuanzi's face turned a deep purplish-red in an instant. He lowered his head, his hands clenched tightly, but he couldn't utter a single word.
Huo Yuhao also raised his head at this moment, his bright eyes still bearing traces of tears.
He looked at Xuanzi, his tone calm, but every word was like a sharp blade piercing Xuanzi's heart: "Elder Xuan, you said that you sensed some strange soul power around you and needed to deal with it, so you asked us to enter the cave first."
"But... where were you when that level of explosion happened? If you could have stopped it at the cave entrance for even a moment, Senior Haoxuan might not have died."
Xuanzi felt a burning pain on his face, a sensation even more unbearable than being whipped by Mu En.
He could feel the gazes of the generals, soldiers, and Wang Yan and others around him.
The reverence that once filled their eyes was replaced by disappointment, anger, and incomprehensible disgust.
The humiliation he suffered this time was no less than the humiliation he felt when he knelt before the Body Sect.
Then it was because of his arrogance, but this time it is because of his incurable gluttony.
However, what terrified Xuanzi even more was yet to come.
"Wang Yan." Xuanzi's voice was hoarse, his tone revealing a deep sense of frustration and fear.
"Make arrangements to send a few military escorts to... to take Hao Xuan's body back to Shrek Academy. Also, Xi Xi, Gong Yang Mo, and Chen Zifeng, who are seriously injured, will only die if they stay here. They must be sent back to the Golden Tree and asked Elder Mu to use his life force to prolong their lives."
Upon hearing the name "Elder Mu," Xuanzi's body trembled violently.
He was terrified.
He truly couldn't imagine how furious the Dragon God Douluo would be when Yao Haoxuan's cold corpse was carried to the Sea God Pavilion, and when the news of Chen Zifeng's broken legs reached Mu En's ears.
He dared not imagine how Moon would treat him when he returned to Shrek Academy alone after the Soul Master Competition ended.
Should his cultivation be crippled? Or should he be expelled from the school altogether?
Either way, for Genji, who valued his reputation above all else, it was a torment worse than death.
"Elder Xuan... what about us?" Wang Yan looked at the remaining seven reserve team members, his voice choked with emotion.
Xuanzi waved his hand listlessly, turned around, not daring to look at the wounded soldiers, and said in a wooden tone, "Continue on... I will continue to take care of the rest until we reach Xingluo Imperial City."
Having said that, he staggered out of the tent like a soulless zombie and disappeared into the night.
Three days later.
Shrek Academy, Sea God Pavilion.
The once tranquil and peaceful golden tree was now filled with an extremely oppressive grief.
When Yao Haoxuan's coffin was carried into the main hall, and when several seriously injured and dying disciples were sent back, Mu En, who had been resting with his eyes closed on the recliner, suddenly opened his eyes.
Looking at Chen Zifeng, who had lost both legs and was in a semi-mad state on the stretcher, and at Xixi and Gongyang Mo, whose breathing was as weak as candlelight, Mu En's originally calm soul power suddenly erupted with extremely terrifying fluctuations.
"Xuanzi—!"
Mu En suddenly stood up, and in that instant, the entire Sea God Pavilion trembled violently, and the leaves of the golden tree emitted a series of mournful cries.
After listening to the report from the soldier who led the way, Mu En was so angry that he trembled all over when he heard that Xuanzi had abandoned his post because he sensed "abnormal fluctuations," which ultimately led to his disciples rushing into the center of the corpse explosion without any protection. His previously stable injuries almost relapsed.
"Useless! Utterly hopeless waste!"
Mu En slammed his cane against the armrest beside him, shattering it. His angry curses echoed throughout the hall: "I thought he would have learned his lesson from the last time with the Body Sect and would have learned what the big picture meant! But he actually... he actually ruined this generation of elites that I had carefully nurtured!"
Yan Shaozhe, Xian Lin'er, and the others stood aside, their faces pale, unable to utter a single word of advice.
They knew very well that with one of their main players dead, one seriously injured, and several others wounded, it meant that Shrek Academy's undefeated myth was likely to come to an end in this tournament.
"Wait for him to come back!" Moon's eyes blazed with an unprecedented fury, his tone icy cold.
"I must settle this blood debt with him personally! This time, we absolutely cannot let it go so easily!"
Meanwhile, Xuanzi, who was far away on his way to Xingluo City, suddenly shivered.
He looked in Shrek's direction, his eyes filled with unbearable fear. He could only lead his remaining troops, dejected and broken, towards the arena where he would be judged, in the afterglow of the setting sun.
(End of chapter)