Beneath the Golden Tree on Sea God Island,
Yun Ming sat quietly. Seeing this, Jing Shaoyu immediately understood Yun Ming's thoughts and intentions. Unable to hold back, he stepped forward.
"Teacher, we don't actually need to stay," he said. "If the enemy wants to destroy the academy, let them. As long as the students and teachers survive, Shrek Academy will always endure."
Jing Shaoyu's reasoning was simple: lose the land but save the people, and both can be reclaimed; save the land but lose the people, and both are lost. Yun Ming's desire to live and die with Shrek Academy was, in truth, an irrational act. As long as the Skyreach Douluo lived, who in the Federation would dare claim Shrek Academy had fallen?
Yet Jing Shaoyu was not Yun Ming, nor could he comprehend the place Shrek Academy held in Yun Ming's heart.
Yun Ming shook his head and chuckled softly. "Shaoyu, you're oversimplifying things. I am the master of the Sea God Pavilion. All of you may leave, may abandon the academy—but I cannot. This is my duty!"
"As the master of the Sea God Pavilion, allowing the academy to fall into peril is already a dereliction of duty. If I were to forsake it entirely, how could I ever face my teacher or the sages of Shrek Academy? Moreover, the Golden Tree cannot be moved. The graves of past Pavilion masters cannot be moved. How can I abandon them for the sake of my own safety?"
In truth, Yun Ming was bound by his identity and sense of responsibility. It wasn't that he failed to understand Jing Shaoyu's logic—he was simply trapped by his position. He could not retreat, whether for the sake of Shrek Academy's past or its future.
Jing Shaoyu wanted to persuade him further, but Yun Ming cut him off. "Enough, Shaoyu. Say no more. If I do not survive this, the task of rebuilding Shrek Academy will fall to you. Go now—take the academy's accumulated resources and leave the Inner Academy. Evacuate the Outer Academy's students."
"Yes." Jing Shaoyu replied sorrowfully, compelled to obey Yun Ming's command.
While Shrek City was urgently evacuating its citizens, a cluster of buildings in the city's outskirts stood eerily desolate and silent.
This place had once been Spirit Transfer Pagoda's industrial park, but it had been abandoned centuries ago, becoming one of Shrek City's few uninhabited zones. It wasn't entirely devoid of people—mostly retired employees of the Spirit Transfer Pagoda—but compared to the rest of the city, the population here was sparse.
This was one of Spirit Transfer Pagoda's two remaining enclaves, and neither Shrek Academy nor Shrek City's administration interfered much with this industrial park.
Today, however, the park was unusually lively. Shrek Academy, Shrek City's defense forces, and the Tang Sect had joined forces to conduct a thorough search of the derelict grounds. Far from overlooking it due to its long abandonment, they scoured it with meticulous care.
The more desolate a place, the more likely it was to harbor darkness.
Elder Divine Eagle Douluo Dongfang Xiong of the Sea God Pavilion, Sacred Lion Douluo Yang Wudi of the Tang Sect's Douluo Hall, and Giant Cauldron Douluo Chu Heng, deputy commander of Shrek City's defense forces, were personally overseeing the inspection of the industrial park. The presence of three Titled Douluo underscored the gravity they attached to this task.
However, the joint inspection of the Spirit Transfer Pagoda's territory by the three parties undoubtedly provoked dissatisfaction from the Pagoda and directly drew the attention of its master, Qiangu Dongfeng.
Yet, Qiangu Dongfeng did not obstruct them. Instead, he generously cooperated with their efforts, even dispatching the Pagoda's staff to assist in the inspection. The three Titled Douluos were deeply grateful for his understanding and consideration.
With righteous solemnity, Qiangu Dongfeng declared to them, "The Spirit Transfer Pagoda is a part of the Federation and a local entity of Shrek City. In the face of potential danger, full cooperation is our duty."
Reassured, the three Titled Douluos proceeded to conduct a more thorough inspection of the industrial area.
Little did they know that after their departure, the ostensibly principled Pagoda Master's expression darkened instantly. With a grim face, he returned to his office, picked up his secret communicator, and dialed an unfamiliar number.
"You've been exposed. Yun Ming is hunting for you, and search teams are already in your area."
"Understood."
"What are your plans?"
"The arrow is already on the bowstring."
"Good. Best of luck."
After ending the call, Qiangu Dongfeng sat at his desk, his eyes flickering with cold malice. Yun Ming, even if you're prepared, what does it matter? Our target has always been you and the Sea God Pavilion from the very beginning.
At the same time, in a secluded and hidden chamber, a sinister ritual was nearing completion.
The room was vast, approximately thirty meters high and over fifty meters in both length and width. The arched ceiling stretched from its center to the walls, covered in sprawling crimson demonic patterns that nearly enveloped the entire space.
At the room's center, twelve Soul Douluo-level individuals sat cross-legged in a circle, chanting eerie incantations. Behind them, their Soul Rings hovered—ninety-six in total—creating a breathtaking and unsettling spectacle.
Beneath these Soul Douluos, even more intricate and malevolent demonic patterns were etched into the ground. More horrifying still, scarlet blood had pooled into small streams around these patterns, flowing into the grooves and staining them. The blood itself emitted a sinister glow.
Along the outer perimeter of the room stood over a hundred figures, all clad in black robes with hoods obscuring their faces, revealing only their left hands. The blood flowing across the floor was continuously drawn from the slits on their wrists.
The stench of blood permeated the air, casting an aura of dread and unease over the chamber. Logically, such intense blood energy should have attracted outside attention, yet the room remained undisturbed, showing no signs of abnormality.
It was utterly bizarre.
At the heart of the circle formed by the twelve Soul Douluos lay a violet-black hexagram, exuding a heavy aura of destruction. At its center stood a cylindrical object, three meters tall and two meters in diameter. Though its base color should have been silver-white, it was now entirely covered in pulsating violet-black demonic patterns that emitted a piercing light.
The top of the cylindrical object tapered into a cone, extending downward into layered structures resembling wings. The immense energy filling the room surged into it like rivers flowing into the sea, while the object itself acted like a bottomless abyss, devouring both the energy and the blood without restraint.
Faced with its endless demand, the hundred black-clad figures in the outer circle and the twelve Soul Douluo in the inner circle quickly grew emaciated as their energy drained away. Yet, not a single sound escaped them—their eyes burned with nothing but fanaticism.
The same scene was unfolding in the adjacent room, with the only difference being that the core formation there was an ink-green hue, exuding an even more devouring aura.
Blood sacrifice!
This was an inhumane ritual of blood sacrifice!
As night fell, search teams nearby noticed the two buildings.
"Let's check over there," Divine Eagle Douluo Dongfang Xiong said gravely, pointing at the structures. Something about them unsettled him—they were too quiet, their light dimmer than the surrounding area, as if something was consuming the radiance.
"Agreed. I was thinking the same," Sacred Lion Douluo Yang Wudi responded. Due to his Martial Soul, he had noticed the eerie buildings earlier than the other two. The faint traces of light elements lingering in the air filled him with unease.
Seeing that both Dongfang Xiong and Yang Wudi wanted to investigate, Giant Cauldron Douluo Chu Heng nodded in agreement, and the three advanced toward the buildings.
The moment the three Titled Douluo approached, disaster struck.
A pitch-black nail shot out from the darkness, piercing straight through Chu Heng's heart before he could react. Thick black mist instantly engulfed him, snuffing out his life before he could even scream.
"Ambush!"
Dongfang Xiong and Yang Wudi were horrified. Chu Heng had been their equal in strength, yet he had been killed in an instant. Fear gripped them as they immediately reacted, unleashing their Spirit Avatars—the Azure Shadow Divine Eagle and the Light Lion manifesting in full force.
A Tang Sect signal flare exploded in the sky, alerting everyone in Shrek City, who began rushing toward the location.
But Dongfang Xiong and Yang Wudi would never see it. A colossal azure skull swallowed them whole before they could resist, leaving them to die in utter despair.
Their final thought was bitter regret—if only they had been Super Douluo, they might have stood a chance against a Limit Douluo.
Thus, the first three victims of this assault had fallen. The deaths of three Titled Douluo signaled the beginning of a brutal and bloody conflict.
The azure skull that had devoured the two Douluo transformed into a black-robed figure, his aura unfathomably deep. His face was hidden beneath a dark hood, but his presence radiated fervor and excitement.
"Now, everyone—begin!" he roared.
(Newest chapter first released on 69shu!)
"Hahaha, I can't wait any longer!"
"It's finally about to begin!"
"Come, let us announce our return to this world!"
"..."
Around the black-robed figure appeared others clad in similar dark attire, each with unique forms. Though their auras couldn't compare to the black-robed leader, they all exuded terrifying levels of darkness, death, and malevolence.
As these figures emerged, a brilliant flash suddenly illuminated Shrek City's night sky. Then came a sight no one would ever forget—clusters of light trailing dazzling flames streaked across the heavens, descending upon various districts of Shrek City, with the majority hurtling toward Shrek Academy.
Fixed Soul Guided Cannon Shells! And all of them ninth-grade Fixed Soul Guided Cannon Shells, launched from Shrek City's outer districts, leaving Shrek City's defense forces and Tang Sect no possibility of interception.
Sea God Island.
Yun Ming, Ya Li, and Jing Shaoyu's group of six stood atop the Golden Tree, having seen Sacred Lion Douluo Yang Wudi's distress signal.
"Finally lost patience, have they?" Yun Ming showed no urgency upon seeing Tang Sect's call for aid. Though anxious, he knew the true mastermind hadn't yet revealed themselves.
Because the Heaven Dou City terrorist attack hadn't occurred—or rather, the Holy Spirit Church hadn't yet implemented their Heaven Dou City terror plan—the name "Holy Spirit Church" remained unknown to both Shrek Academy and Tang Sect.
Ya Li, Jing Shaoyu, and the others around Yun Ming wore expressions ranging from tension to concern. Everyone clearly understood that events about to unfold would alter Shrek Academy's future trajectory—perhaps even influence the entire Federation's development.
"My god, what are those?" Xu Xiaoyan suddenly pointed skyward, covering her mouth with a gasp.
The others noticed too, for in the darkness, the flaming trails of Fixed Soul Guided Cannon Shells were impossible to miss.
"Missiles! At least two hundred!" Ye Xinglan's voice trembled slightly as she shouted. "And they're launched from within the city! Shrek City's missile defense systems might not intercept them!"
"Damn it! No ordinary faction could produce so many Fixed Soul Guided Cannon Shells!" Wu Siduo's face twisted with anger. "Could Federation military be behind these terrorists?"
"Is that possible?" Mo Hentian, also shaken by the overwhelming number of shells, asked with a quivering voice.
No one could answer.
As silence fell among them, dozens more light clusters shot from Shrek City—Fixed Soul Guided Cannon Shells not targeting the city, but the incoming projectiles instead.
These were emergency interception missiles launched by city defense forces and Tang Sect. Because the enemy's launch positions were too cunningly placed, Shrek City's missile defense and interception systems proved useless. The defenders could only attempt direct counter-fire with their own shells.
Yet the numerical disparity was too great. The city's interception efforts were but a drop in the bucket—they simply couldn't mobilize more Fixed Soul Guided Cannon Shells on such short notice.
If this were an ordinary world, the people in the city would have no choice but to await death. But this was, after all, a world of the extraordinary, where individual might could often overturn seemingly inevitable doom.
Streaks of light erupted from all directions of Shrek City, shooting into the sky in the blink of an eye. They radiated formidable brilliance and auras, each beam carrying immense power as they dispersed across the heavens to intercept the incoming Fixed Soul Guided Cannon Shells.
These figures were naturally the powerhouses from the Sea God Pavilion, the Tang Sect, the city's defense forces, and other factions within Shrek City. They would never stand idly by and let those shells detonate over the city.
"Boom—"
With the first deafening explosion resounding above Shrek City, a violent blast erupted like a colossal firework, illuminating the sky as bright as day. Then came the second, the third, the fourth…
One after another, explosion after explosion, the dazzling bursts resembled breathtaking fireworks—yet in truth, they were venomous serpents bringing death.
While the many powerhouses intercepted the shells aimed at Shrek City, those targeting Shrek Academy continued their unrestrained flight through the sky, plummeting rapidly toward the academy.
Yun Ming gazed at the barrage of at least a hundred Fixed Soul Guided Cannon Shells, his expression grim.