Chapter 260: Blood-Soaked Youths and Shattered Faith
Zhang Lexuan, bound and subdued by the three Zhongli brothers, no longer spoke. She knew resistance was meaningless now. Declaring her refusal to serve the so-called Holy Son alongside the other "saints" would only bring about more jeers from her captors.
She would bide her time. She would conserve every sliver of soul power, waiting for the moment she could meet this Holy Son face-to-face. Then, even if it cost her life, she would unleash every ounce of power left in her to drag them all to the grave with her.
"You're silent now?" one of the Zhongli brothers sneered. "I thought you'd have some of that righteous bluster. But this works too. Less noise. I just wonder—once you've birthed the Holy Son—will you still stay quiet? Hahahaha!"
Without another word, the three brothers whisked her away toward the Holy Spirit Church hidden within the Sun and Moon Empire, intending to offer her as a living gift to their so-called Holy Son.
. . . . . .
"Is this… all that's left?"
Poison Douluo stood rooted in place, staring at the surviving students before him. The formidable Rank 99 Limit Douluo had tears glistening in his aged eyes.
This operation—this supposed training mission—had been led by Elder Xuan and included the elite youth from both Shrek Academy and the Body Sect. Every one of them had spirit power above rank 55, many of them Soul Emperors before reaching the age of twenty.
They were the future of Shrek and the Body Sect.
Among them were talents destined to become Soul Douluo, Titled Douluo, even Super Douluo.
Now… they were gone.
Among the deceased were silver- and bronze-ranked Body Martial Soul users. Worse, Long Aotian—future Patriarch of the Body Sect—and Zhang Lexuan—perhaps the greatest prodigy in Shrek since Huo Yuhao—had both perished. Poison Douluo was nearly driven mad with grief.
From the dozens who had gone, only a handful had returned: Beibei, Vina, Xiao Xiao, Wang Dong'er, and Huo Yuhao.
The loss rate exceeded two-thirds.
"Grandpa… Aotian… Aotian was eaten by the Crystal Bear!" Vina sobbed in despair, collapsing into Poison Douluo's arms.
He trembled with rage. The fury threatened to explode—but he held it in.
The last beast tide had already strained Shrek and the Body Sect to their limits. Even then, they'd relied on the remnants of Moon's soul to suppress Di Tian's involvement. But that trick wouldn't work again.
There was no remnant now.
And Di Tian, now with nothing restraining him, wouldn't fall for the same tactics twice. If another beast tide broke out, he and Xuan Zi would have to face the strongest soul beasts head-on.
While Xuan Zi might manage to deal with Xiong Jun, Poison Douluo knew he couldn't last against Di Tian.
Even worse, the last beast tide had captured Bi Ji, who had tried to broker peace. That betrayal had unified the soul beasts under one banner. If war resumed, Red King—though weaker than Di Tian—would lead the mid-level battlefield.
Red King's 300,000-year cultivation made him equivalent to a Rank 97 human Douluo.
And Shrek no longer had anyone at that level.
Song Lao had died. Jin Peng, who could match a Rank 97 Douluo, had also fallen. Yan Shaozhe, at Rank 96 and without a second martial soul awakening, was now their third-strongest fighter—and even he couldn't match Red King in battle.
To make matters worse, Bi Ji, a healing-type Limit Douluo, would now participate in battle herself.
She would become the final straw that broke Shrek's already fractured back.
"We retreat for now," Poison Douluo finally said through gritted teeth. "Shrek and the Body Sect will remember this. We are not strong enough now—but one day, these soul beasts will pay with blood."
And so, they did not seek revenge against the Crystal Bear—did not risk another beast tide.
Instead, they gathered the shattered remains of their fallen students and salvaged whatever soul bones they could recover.
. . . . . .
"Muxue…"
Huo Yuhao stared silently at the lifeless form of Muxue, grief churning within his chest.
"Yuhao, don't be like this," Wang Dong'er said softly, approaching him. "Muxue wouldn't want to see you like this."
Huo Yuhao had originally been slated to be in the same squad as Muxue. However, because he and Wang Dong'er shared a Martial Soul Fusion Technique, the two were kept together to maximize their compatibility in combat—especially for evasion and speed.
"If… if we had used our Martial Soul Fusion Technique on the Crystal Bear back then… do you think Muxue and the others would still be alive?" he asked bitterly.
Wang Dong'er shook her head slowly. "No. We couldn't. You didn't tell me everything, but I can feel it. You haven't trained with me since we came back, and your spirit has changed. You know it better than anyone."
She paused, then continued. "Your aura—it's different. It doesn't feel like a normal soul master anymore. I don't know what you've become, but your spirit fusion with me—it's no longer the same. It used to release our 'Withered Golden Road in the Brilliance'… but now, if we were to fuse again, it would become something else. Something unknown. That wasn't the time to risk it."
"I see…" Huo Yuhao replied softly, as if he'd already expected her words. Indeed, he knew himself—and his spirit—better than anyone.
. . . . . .
In the Sea God Pavilion at Shrek Academy—
"Xuan Zi! You dare show your face here?! Look at what you've done!"
Du Bu Si roared as soon as Elder Xuan returned, his rage boiling over. The usually calm and wise Pavilion Master now seemed moments away from striking his fellow elder.
"How could you? Knowing your condition—and yet you still led those children into the Star Dou Forest?! Are you working for the empire?!" he shouted, shaking with grief and fury.
"Please, Pavilion Master, calm yourself!" Yan Shaozhe interjected, stepping in front of Xuan Zi. "The dead cannot be brought back. No matter how you punish Elder Xuan, it will not undo what has happened."
The elders who had once been part of the original Shrek all stood with Xuan Zi. They would not let him be thrown to the wolves.
Faced with the fury of Du Bu Si and the silent judgment of everyone else, Xuan Zi sighed.
"I know I've committed a grave sin. For this mistake… I will leave the Sea God Pavilion of my own accord."
Du Bu Si froze.
Even in his anger, he hadn't expected those words.
But Xuan Zi had made his decision.
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