"Mm!"
"What… what happened to me?"
Huo Yuhao slowly got up from the ground, rubbing his aching head and muttering to himself.
"That soul master actually didn't kill us?"
"He even kept his word…"
At this moment, inside the Sea of Spirit, the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm also regained consciousness and said in surprise.
"Wait — Brother Tianmeng, my Starlight Blue Sapphire is gone!"
After standing up, Huo Yuhao immediately checked his storage ring. When he discovered that the Starlight Blue Sapphire he had just obtained was missing, he felt as if the sky had collapsed.
That was something he had to bring back to Shrek Academy!
"It must have been taken by that evil soul master just now. Damn it… When I become strong enough, I definitely won't let him go!"
A flash of cold fury passed through Huo Yuhao's eyes as he spoke bitterly.
"Forget about that for now. Think of a way to get out first — this underground tunnel is about to collapse!"
The Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm urged him as soil and debris kept falling.
Things can be lost and found again, but once your life is gone, everything is gone.
"Brother Tianmeng… maybe we shouldn't have come down here in the first place. If we hadn't, we wouldn't have run into that evil soul master."
The Darkgolden Terrorclaw appeared in Huo Yuhao's hand as he spoke with a trace of sadness, then fled toward the tunnel they had come from.
"If we hadn't come down, we would've already been caught in the violent battle above."
"From now on, let's just stay in Shrek Academy as much as possible. Outside of Shrek, danger is everywhere."
The Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm said helplessly, also feeling a wave of weakness. Having just lost 250,000 years of spiritual origin, it needed proper rest.
"Yuhao, be careful. The battle above is almost over — I'm going to rest for a while."
Huo Yuhao said nothing, only swinging the Darkgolden Terrorclaw and digging upward through the tunnel.
Meanwhile, in the core area of Mingde Hall.
Jing Hongchen's face was iron-blue. Vast waves of red light kept surging from his body, but all were intercepted by Du Busi above him.
"Du Busi has already broken through to the level of an Ultimate Douluo… but why is he holding back?"
Clearly, Du Busi was only blocking Jing Hongchen's attacks and protecting the members of the Body Sect behind him, without displaying the true might of an Ultimate Douluo.
"Du Busi, why—"
Just as Jing Hongchen was about to speak, he suddenly realized something. A chill ran through his body and he roared in fury.
"Bastard! You actually dare—"
Du Busi had blocked him and the experts of Mingde Hall for only one purpose — the hundred-thousand-year soul beast embryo in the underground core chamber.
They had been fighting here while his home was being robbed!
Cursing angrily, Jing Hongchen immediately turned and flew toward the interior of Mingde Hall.
"So you've realized it? But you can't change anything."
Du Busi raised an eyebrow. The plan was already mostly complete — how could he allow Jing Hongchen to interfere now?
He instantly transformed into a terrifying green storm and descended from the sky, carrying an overwhelming aura as he crushed toward Jing Hongchen.
It was clear he intended to kill him, completely ignoring attacks from other powerful soul engineers.
Left with no choice, Jing Hongchen turned back to fight. He relied only on powerful Grade 9 soul tools — in raw strength, he was far inferior to Du Busi.
The two clashed again, but Du Busi merely toyed with him, making Jing Hongchen feel unbearably stifled.
Fortunately, Du Busi's restraint also kept Mingde Hall's losses to a minimum.
"Whoosh!"
Moments later, a black-clothed figure shot out from underground and appeared beside Du Busi, transmitting a message secretly.
Du Busi nodded slightly, a smile appearing on his face. His deep voice echoed across the core area.
"Withdraw!"
Immediately, all Body Sect members retreated in perfect order through the blasted tunnel, while several titled elders and Du Busi himself stayed behind to cover the retreat.
Judging by their coordination, this was clearly not their first time doing something like this.
"The soul tool… is this one."
A trace of mockery appeared in Du Busi's eyes as he extended his right hand, pointed his thumb downward, shook it slightly, and vanished.
Killing the heart without killing the body.
"Chase!"
Jing Hongchen roared and shot toward the tunnel as a streak of light, followed by the experts of Mingde Hall.
But just as Du Busi entered the tunnel, he collapsed the entrance behind him. Mingde Hall's people couldn't pursue.
By the time they dug it open again, Du Busi and the Body Sect were long gone.
"Hall Master…"
Lin Jiayi approached Jing Hongchen with a trembling voice, head lowered.
"How is it?" Jing Hongchen asked, trying to calm himself.
"The warehouse is fine. Nothing is missing. All high-level soul tools are still there."
Jing Hongchen finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"So they were after the hundred-thousand-year embryo… This grudge will be repaid."
"What about casualties?"
"Seven dead — four died in the initial explosion. The injured are still being counted."
Another small relief.
"But…"
Jing Hongchen's heart tightened.
"But what? Speak clearly."
Lin Jiayi clenched his teeth.
"Experimental Subject No. 1… is missing."
"What?!"
Jing Hongchen nearly collapsed.
Subject No. 1 represented the pinnacle of Mingde Hall's soul tool research — even as a prototype, it was the crystallization of thousands of years of the Sun Moon Empire's achievements.
This loss was something he absolutely could not bear.
"Who else knows?"
"No one. I sealed the chamber and changed the access code immediately."
"Good. No one else must know."
Then Jing Hongchen gave a series of cold orders:
Seal all witnesses. Leak equals death.
Monitor all high-end auctions — buy it back at any cost.
Search all personnel. No trace may be ignored.
Repair the underground base immediately.
Rebuild defenses — especially underground.
Finally:
"Shrek's exchange students — any casualties?"
"No. Only Huo Yuhao remained; he has minor injuries and is being treated."
"Good."
As Jing Hongchen left for the palace, four hours had already passed.
Then he saw a familiar figure waiting ahead.
His pupils shrank.
It was that person — the one he both hated and loved.
(End of Chapter)