"Jie jie jie... Old fool, look at what you've protected!"
"You're a dignified Title Douluo, yet you can't protect anything!"
The Death God Envoy looked down at Xuanzi and let out a wild, mocking laugh.
Of course, he was only saying all this under Zhang Peng's instructions.
"You wretched scum! How dare you insult me!"
Xuanzi's eyes turned blood-red as he shouted, his two horns spinning rapidly. A terrifying pressure surged out from him as he prepared to give chase—until he suddenly heard a weak voice next to him.
"Elder Xuan, are you trying to kill me?"
It was Huo Yuhao, flushed purple in the face and pinned to the ground under the immense pressure.
He never expected that, after narrowly escaping from the evil soul masters, he'd immediately suffer this kind of disaster.
The pain—was unbearable!
Xuanzi froze for a moment, his overwhelming aura halting instantly.
Crap, he'd let his rage against the evil soul masters cloud his mind and completely forgotten that Huo Yuhao was still nearby.
At that moment, a thousand-year purple soul ring lit up on the Death God Envoy's body. The twelve corpse puppets surrounding Xuanzi began to swell violently.
"Corpse Explosion Technique!"
"Not good!"
With his 98th-level cultivation, Xuanzi naturally sensed the danger. He immediately lunged toward Huo Yuhao while channeling his soul power.
Boom boom boom!
A chain of explosions followed as the twelve corpses detonated one after another.
Just before the explosion, a blue icy glow surrounded Huo Yuhao, shielding him. Xuanzi's earth-yellow soul power also wrapped protectively around him.
When the smoke cleared, a massive crater was left behind, still smoking.
Zhang Peng had already taken the Death God Envoy and vanished without a trace.
"Yuhao, are you okay?"
Xuanzi looked at the dazed and dizzy Huo Yuhao with concern.
But to his surprise, Huo Yuhao stared blankly at him, then instinctively recoiled, pointing a trembling finger and muttering:
"Evil soul master…"
Xuanzi was stunned and quickly turned around, thinking those two evil soul masters had returned—but there was no one behind him.
Who was Huo Yuhao referring to as the evil soul master?
Xuanzi figured the explosion must've rattled Huo Yuhao's brain. He grabbed Huo Yuhao by the shoulders and flew toward the rest of the group.
"Ah, damn it… How am I going to explain this now? I've… I've made another mistake!"
On the way, Xuanzi was filled with remorse.
He had once led students into the Star Dou Forest to hunt soul beasts, but due to his negligence, most of them were slaughtered. That failure had left a permanent scar on his heart.
Back then, the soul beast responsible had been slain on the spot—he had at least avenged the fallen students. But this time, he had watched helplessly as the evil soul masters escaped.
The more he thought about it, the more unsettled he felt. His eyes were bloodshot with frustration.
"What will happen to Shrek's honor now!"
When Xuanzi returned to the underground cavern, the scent of blood was even more pungent.
The heavily wounded inner court students had been gathered together. Aside from the already deceased Yao Haoxuan, the worst off were Gongyang Mo and Chen Zifeng.
Both lay on the ground, severely injured and unconscious. While Xixi was also unconscious, her injuries were relatively less severe.
Ma Xiaotao, Dai Yueheng, and Ling Luochen were bleeding from the nose and mouth, clearly heavily injured, but they remained conscious.
Compared to the tragedy among the inner court Seven Disciples, the outer court students had fared much better. With Huo Yuhao's spiritual detection sharing and their distance from the explosion's center, they had sensed the danger in time and reacted quickly.
"Yuhao!"
Seeing Elder Xuan return carrying Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong rushed over first, followed quickly by the rest of the outer court students.
"Elder Xuan, what about the Death God Envoy?"
Wang Yan asked with a face full of hatred. Their strongest team members from Shrek had suffered devastating losses. As their supervising teacher, he couldn't avoid the blame, and his hatred toward the Death God Envoy ran deep.
He knew that with Elder Xuan's strength, dealing with someone like the Death God Envoy should have been easy.
He brought this up now, in front of everyone, hoping to give them some closure, and to rebuild team morale. After all, they still had to compete in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament.
Xuanzi's face flushed red as he looked at Wang Yan and the others, all of them watching him expectantly. He felt deeply embarrassed.
"I couldn't kill the Death God Envoy. He escaped."
"What?!"
Wang Yan was stunned, unable to believe his ears. The others were equally shocked.
A heavy silence fell over the group. No one spoke for a long time.
…
In the sky above, the wind howled past.
"Your Eminence, how did I do just now?"
The Death God Envoy removed his hat, revealing a skeletal face—his skin thin as paper, stretched tightly over bone, and his eyes glowing faint green with a bootlicking expression.
"Not bad," Zhang Peng replied coolly.
Not bad? He thought the guy had practically given an Oscar-worthy performance. Xuanzi must be fuming right now.
"Your Eminence, thank you for saving me. I don't know how to repay you."
The Death God Envoy looked at Zhang Peng with sincere gratitude.
Seeing Zhang Peng's seemingly pleased expression, he had a sudden idea.
"Words can't express my gratitude. I've drifted through life for so long… If you don't mind, I'd like to take you as my foster father."
Zhang Peng came to an abrupt stop in midair and looked at the Death God Envoy, who was just about to kneel. He grabbed him by the collar and lifted him back up.
"No need for all that. If you must thank someone, thank our Holy Son."
"Holy Son?"
The Death God Envoy was confused, his expression puzzled.
He'd been active in the Mingdou Mountain Range and had never heard of a "Holy Son."
"That's right. You'll understand in due time."
Zhang Peng's eyes narrowed. A dim, ghostly chain appeared in his hand, and he slapped it onto the Death God Envoy's forehead.
"Your Eminence… you…"
The Death God Envoy never expected Zhang Peng to suddenly make a move.
The ghostly chain pierced his skin and burrowed directly into his spiritual sea.
Zhang Peng simply watched silently. After a moment, the Death God Envoy's vacant gaze gradually focused again.
"Everything I have belongs to the Holy Son!"
The Death God Envoy murmured fervently, his eyes now filled with fanaticism.
Zhang Peng nodded in satisfaction.
His three-day, three-night journey hadn't been in vain. The Young Lord's mission was complete.
"Take this token and report to the Holy Spirit Cult's branch in the Star Luo Empire."
Zhang Peng flicked a token into the Death God Envoy's hand and said no more.
…
Far away, in a hotel room thousands of miles distant.
Jiang Jue slowly opened his eyes, a gray glint flashing deep within them.
"Looks like it's done. A living heart demon—how will Xuanzi handle that?"
He had sent Zhang Peng all the way to the Mingdou Mountain Range for two reasons: to seize the Spirit Source of the Skydream Iceworm, and to save the Death God Envoy.
And saving the Death God Envoy—was all about Xuanzi.
A living Death God Envoy would be like a thorn in Xuanzi's heart, festering slowly. When it finally bloomed… that would be the moment his heart demon took hold.
"After all, once the heart develops a crack, it's nearly impossible to mend."
"And only then… will my fourth soul skill reach its full potential."
"Xuanzi… has great potential as an evil soul master."
Jiang Jue looked at the gray soul power forming in his hand and whispered, his eyes deep and calculating.
(End of Chapter)