Chapter 77: Breaking the Mirror, Shattering Illusions
Emperor Xingluo Xu Jiawei was silent for a long time, unable to speak. Finally, it was Princess Jiujiu by his side who voiced the question weighing heavily on his heart.
"Grandpa Qin," Princess Jiujiu asked, "being suddenly pulled out of seclusion… won't that cause the mind to go astray?"
The Protector of the Nation, whom she called Grandpa Qin, nodded solemnly. "You're right. Fortunately, the Medical Immortal Douluo wasn't in deep meditation this time—only in ordinary seclusion. Otherwise, the consequences would have been catastrophic."
"The damage… was not too great?" Princess Jiujiu repeated his words with uncertainty.
Grandpa Qin nodded again. "Correct. Although the damage wasn't devastating, being forcefully awakened from seclusion will inevitably cause trauma. The shock is severe enough to make someone fear ever entering true seclusion again. As for the specific harm this time…" He shook his head gravely. "It's hard to say, but it definitely won't be minor."
Xu Jiawei and Princess Jiujiu fell silent.
Moments ago, they had thought the Medical Immortal Douluo's actions—manipulating the competition to favor the Sun Moon Royal Soul Instructor Academy—were excessive, merely to spite Shrek Academy.
But now they realized: the Medical Immortal Douluo had shown restraint. If she had truly acted out of anger, she would have gone far beyond rigging a match; she might have outright killed Shrek's students. After all, forcibly ending someone's seclusion was tantamount to an attempt on their life.
Yet even under such circumstances, she was still treating and saving people here.
It was beyond mere bullying—it was sheer humiliation for her.
After a long pause, Xu Jiawei sighed deeply, swallowing back the urge to curse. He turned to his sister.
"Jiujiu."
"Yes, Royal Brother?"
"Retrieve a high-level soul bone from the royal treasury. Send it, along with some rare treasures, to appease His Majesty the Medical Immortal Douluo. Be sure to properly soothe her anger."
"Understood, Royal Brother."
On Shrek Academy's side, things were not much better.
Elder Xuan held onto the Medical Immortal Douluo, ordering her to heal their injured students. His tone was casual, treating her as if she were one of his most ordinary subordinates.
The Medical Immortal Douluo ground her teeth until they nearly cracked. But facing a Level 98 Assault System Titled Douluo while she herself was only a Level 95 Support System Douluo, she could do nothing but endure it.
The treatment was forced upon her; the anger buried in her heart grew deeper with every passing second. By the time Zhang Lexuan learned of the situation, it was already too late. Even if she had known earlier, what could she have done?
As an eight-ring Soul Douluo, merely a prospective member of the Sea God Pavilion, Zhang Lexuan held no authority to oppose Elder Xuan.
At most, she could only kneel and apologize after the treatment was complete.
"I'm so sorry to trouble you, Your Majesty Medical Immortal," Zhang Lexuan said, bowing deeply.
"It's not your fault," the Medical Immortal Douluo said coldly. "I won't hold it against you."
"Oh, so you mean it's my fault?" Elder Xuan's voice suddenly boomed out, cutting through the tension. "I asked you to save a few students and you refused? These are Shrek's future! If anything happens to them here, don't blame me for tearing this empire apart!"
Zhang Lexuan's heart nearly broke hearing those words. Elder Xuan was blatantly forcing the Medical Immortal Douluo to obey, giving her no room to breathe.
"Enough, Lexuan. Get up," Elder Xuan said with a grunt. "Let me tell you something: it's already Shrek's mercy that she even became a Titled Douluo alive. Think about it—in ten thousand years, aside from her, has any Angel Spirit user even reached Soul Saint?"
His words were sharp and merciless.
"As the remnant of the evil Spirit Hall, we could've easily severed their inheritance completely. And yet she dares to plot against Shrek? Hmph! If I were younger, I would've crushed that little angel like a bug!"
The Medical Immortal Douluo's fists trembled in anger. But what could she do? Against someone like Elder Xuan, she couldn't even win against a Soul Saint, let alone a Titled Douluo.
It was precisely because of Shrek's dominance that she had survived to this point.
Besides her, no other Angel Spirit users had made it to the Soul Saint level across the entire continent—even in areas overrun with Evil Soul Masters. Shrek knew exactly who the real enemy was.
"What are you staring at?" Elder Xuan barked again. "It's already merciful that I didn't punish you further. Or did you really think the Sun Moon Empire's trash could give you some advantage over Shrek?"
"Hmph, ridiculous! Shrek has accumulated glory for thousands of years. You think one little tournament can tarnish that?"
Elder Xuan sneered as he spoke. "Just wait and see. When the Sun Moon trash struggle against random academies, the entire continent will once again marvel at Shrek's strength."
After finishing his rant, Elder Xuan lazily settled onto a recliner placed near the stadium, drinking wine and munching on roasted meat as if without a care in the world.
In truth, his words carried weight. Shrek's prestige, built over ten thousand years, wasn't so easily shaken.
"Ha! Expecting those Sun Moon fools to defeat Shrek? Unless they produce a hundred-thousand-year spirit ring user, it's impossible!" Elder Xuan scoffed.
"Even Shrek only had Tang San himself achieving that ten thousand years ago. Expecting it from the Sun Moon Soul Instructors? I'd sooner expect an Evil Soul Master to reform first!"
He took another long gulp of wine, his contempt evident.
Meanwhile, on the arena, the match between Sun Moon Royal Soul Instructor Academy and Ningfeng Academy was about to start.
After the referee announced the match's start, Xiao Qiang stepped forward, signaling Ma Rulong to leave everything to him. Calmly, he pulled out his weapon—Mirror Flower, Water Moon.
Then, in a seemingly casual gesture, Xiao Qiang combed his hair back, slicking it into the same stylish, confident look as Aizen.
In that instant, his entire aura changed.
"Break it—Mirror Flower, Water Moon."
His voice was calm and smooth, without a single ripple.
But the spirit rings that erupted around him were anything but ordinary.
Behind Xiao Qiang, Ma Rulong, Lin Xi, and the others all revealed impressive spirit ring configurations: two yellow, two purple, two black—the best combinations for six-ringed Soul Emperors.
Yet none of them compared to Xiao Qiang.
Two yellow, one purple, two black, and—
One red!
Puff puff puff puff puff puff!!!
Around the stadium, countless spectators gasped, eyes wide with disbelief.