"Cripple her cultivation. That's enough," Yun Ze gave his answer.
Letting Long Yeyue go was impossible. She was a Quasi-God—only a fool would release a tiger back to the mountain.
Not killing her, but merely crippling her cultivation, was already giving Chen Xinjie face.
Though in truth, Yun Ze knew this would not stop Chen Xinjie from harboring hatred toward the Dragon-Phoenix Hall. Whether she was killed or crippled, resentment was inevitable.
At Long Yeyue's age, losing her cultivation—combined with her severe injuries—meant she likely wouldn't live long anyway. It was effectively the same as death.
But there was still a difference between killing her directly and indirectly causing her death.
Chen Xinjie's anger might not lessen—but at least the Dragon-Phoenix Hall would have grounds to justify themselves.
That was enough.
The Myriad Demon King and Lin Yi both nodded.
Yu Guanzhi's face filled with urgency. Why were these people so stubborn? Crippling Long Yeyue was no different from killing her!
But in truth, from the moment the Dragon-Phoenix Hall slaughtered members of the War God Hall, Chen Xinjie was already enraged. Long Yeyue would only add fuel to the fire.
"Haha! Good decision!"
Watching secretly, Qian Gu Dongfeng laughed again.
Long Yeyue had once come to the Spirit Pagoda headquarters to reprimand him. Seeing her about to be crippled filled him with delight.
"Today, I'll drag you all down with me!"
Long Yeyue roared hoarsely.
In the next instant, she began burning her life essence. Rather than being crippled meaninglessly, she would rather perish together with them.
Lin Yi and the Myriad Demon King both changed expressions and prepared to kill her immediately—
"Roar—!"
A majestic dragon's roar suddenly resounded, carrying a heaven-shaking dragon's might.
It did not come from Long Yeyue.
It came from Gu Yuena.
She had pushed her quasi-Dragon God bloodline to its absolute limit.
The supreme dragon pressure descended upon Long Yeyue. Her body trembled, and her martial soul flickered momentarily.
The Nine-Colored Divine Dragon's cold eyes stared at her like a monarch gazing down upon a subject.
Gu Yuena mobilized all her spiritual power, unleashing the strongest spiritual attack she had ever used.
Two beams of nine-colored divine light shot from the dragon's eyes. They vanished the moment they appeared, crossing space itself and striking—
Not Long Yeyue's spiritual sea.
But her Dark Holy Dragon martial soul behind her.
Long Yeyue was a veteran Limit Douluo, her spiritual power at the peak of the Spirit Domain Realm—stronger than Gu Yuena's.
Direct mental assault would only result in backlash.
So, following Yun Ze's reminder, Gu Yuena targeted her martial soul instead.
This spiritual attack differed from ordinary ones because it incorporated the Dragon God's remnant soul obtained in Dragon Valley.
The effect was immediate.
The Dragon God's soul directly shattered the Dark Holy Dragon martial soul.
With her martial soul destroyed, Long Yeyue's soul power froze instantly.
In that moment, she was no different from an ordinary person.
Without soul power, her life-burning stopped. She couldn't even remain airborne. Her body fell.
Lin Yi reacted instantly, striking with his palm and shattering her dantian—along with the soul core within.
"Ahhh—!"
Long Yeyue screamed in agony.
Her soul power burst outward like a breached dam, uncontrollably dissipating.
An overwhelming weakness swept through her body. Despair filled her eyes as darkness overtook her consciousness.
She fainted.
Lin Yi tossed her toward Yu Guanzhi, cushioning her fall with soul power so she wouldn't die from the impact.
Yu Guanzhi caught her and watched her soul power continuously leak away.
He sighed.
"If only she had never provoked the Dragon-Phoenix Hall…"
After unleashing that spiritual attack, Gu Yuena swayed, her face pale, on the verge of collapse.
Yun Ze steadied her. The Emerald Dragon King soul spirit carried them, so there was no danger of falling.
"Brother Ming, run!" Yali cried, grief-stricken.
Guan Yue and Zang Xin's deaths had already devastated her. Now Long Yeyue was ruined.
Yun Ming had gone mad.
Watching familiar faces fall one by one was like knives carving into his heart.
Without another word, his broken battle armor ignited.
His aura surged.
He, too, began burning his life force.
And he activated his greatest trump card—
The power of a divine position.
Golden lines intertwined behind him, weaving together into a massive, mysterious symbol.
Seeing it, Di Tian and Lin Yi's expressions changed drastically.
"Divinity?!"
Both were well-versed in divine matters. The moment they sensed the aura, they recognized it.
Gu Yuena's eyes widened in shock.
Yun Ze, however, remained calm, his gaze steady.
Yu Guanzhi and the others were equally horrified. Even from a distance, they could feel the terrifying energy radiating from Yun Ming.
Xiong Jun and Xia Bin broke apart and stopped fighting, staring at Yun Ming in disbelief.
All battles ceased.
Yun Ming, empowered by divine authority, became the center of the battlefield.
"Elder Jin, Elder Zhao… after I die, Shrek Academy will be entrusted to you."
Yun Ming's voice echoed across heaven and earth.
With so many media outlets present, he knew his words would reach Shrek Academy.
Indeed, teachers and students alike were watching the broadcast. Many were already in tears.
The Elders he addressed were watching from Sea God Pavilion, alongside its members.
Earlier, without media coverage, they hadn't known the situation. By the time they did, it was too late.
Shrek Academy lay in the continent's center.
Mingdu was in the west—thousands of miles away.
Even a Limit Douluo would need hours to cross such distance.
And sending reinforcements would require at least a dozen Titled Douluo—leaving Shrek City undefended.
They dared not take that risk.
If enemies seized the opportunity, Shrek's foundation would truly fall.
Inside the wooden hut of Sea God Pavilion, the atmosphere was heavy.
No one spoke.
Fists clenched.
Eyes bloodshot.
They watched in silence.
"Today's tragedy stems from Yun Ming's carelessness, causing grievous losses to Shrek Academy."
"My mistake is so great that even death cannot atone for it. I have no face to return to Shrek, nor to face its ancestors."
Yun Ming's voice trembled.
Regret consumed him.
If only he had not been so careless—
If only he had brought Elder Jin and Elder Zhao—
This catastrophe would never have unfolded.
(End of Chapter)