He indeed wasn't targeting the hundred-thousand-year soul beast.
Whether it was Zhongli Wu or the Myriad Soul Douluo, the hundred-thousand-year soul beast was merely an excuse to make Shrek Academy lower its guard; the real purpose was to probe Ma Xiaotao.
Unsure what method the Myriad Soul Douluo used, the evil aura on Ma Xiaotao completely erupted. The rising flames were no longer as bright as before, shifting toward a dark red.
If her performance on the arena during the day had only made the Holy Spirit Church somewhat suspicious, then at this moment, Zhongli Wu and the Myriad Soul Douluo were certain that Ma Xiaotao was the Saintess they had been desperately searching for.
"Sister!"
Huo Yuhao shouted again, trying to wake Ma Xiaotao. The power of Ultimate Ice from his body covered toward Ma Xiaotao.
Under the instant clash of extreme heat and extreme cold, cracks immediately appeared on the hotel walls. Other teams staying in the hotel also rushed out of their rooms, wanting to see what had happened on the top floor.
"Senior."
The others from the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy had already gathered and came to Lin Xiao's side.
His gaze withdrew from Ma Xiaotao's side and glanced outside the hotel, where several powerful auras were still hovering in the air.
Lin Xiao quickly turned back. "Go, we're leaving here."
Just as the group hurriedly reached the ground floor, with a massive surge of soul power from the top floor, the roof of the Star Emperor Grand Hotel exploded with a boom. Countless fragments and debris fell.
Fortunately, there were many soul masters downstairs, preventing greater damage.
Xuanzi, who had been drawn away, instantly sensed something wrong. Ignoring the obstruction of several Guardian Douluo from the Star Luo Empire, he roared and landed heavily where the Shrek Academy group was.
Amid the swirling dust, Huo Yuhao was already sitting cross-legged on the ground with Ma Xiaotao, the power of Ultimate Ice pouring unreservedly toward her.
Ma Xiaotao still retained some rationality, cooperating with Huo Yuhao to suppress the evil fire in her body as much as possible.
As for the Myriad Soul Douluo who had just acted, he was long gone.
Several Guardian Douluo from the Star Luo Empire also realized something was off; they seemed to have misunderstood something. The person they stopped appeared to be from Shrek Academy.
Looking around, they couldn't find the person who had spoken earlier.
"What happened?"
Xuanzi saw Huo Yuhao and Ma Xiaotao nearby, his face filled with anger.
"Elder Xuan, just now someone tried to attack Yuhao. Xiaotao was anxious, and the evil fire in her body flared up again." Wang Yan hurriedly stepped forward.
"Where's the person who attacked?"
Wang Yan looked around upon hearing this. "He disappeared in the blink of an eye."
"Senior, what exactly is going on?"
Feeling the soul power fluctuations in the air, Ma Rulong looked at Lin Xiao with lingering fear.
"I don't know either." Lin Xiao shook his head.
While the two were speaking, another set of footsteps came from the street nearby. The light from illumination soul tools lit up the entire street. Star Luo Emperor Xu Jiawei was leading the imperial guards toward the Star Emperor Hotel.
With such an incident in the Soul Fighting Competition, even as emperor, he couldn't sit still.
Just after reaching downstairs, two figures soon appeared beside him, whispering a few words in his ear.
Xu Jiawei's expression visibly darkened. He was about to reprimand, but thought of something and held back the words.
Adjusting his expression, he looked up at the building.
"May I ask if it's a senior from Shrek Academy? Please come downstairs for a talk."
Xuanzi heard Xu Jiawei's voice and initially wanted to ignore it, but thinking of the Ice Jade Scorpion Left Arm Bone that Xu Jiawei had given them a couple of days ago, still in his hand, he finally snorted coldly and led the Shrek Academy group downstairs.
"Sorry for such a thing to happen at the Star Emperor Hotel—it's our Star Luo Empire's inadequate protection. We will provide compensation to each team staying in the hotel later."
"As for the specific situation, we will give everyone an answer soon after investigating clearly."
"This place just collapsed and is unsafe. Everyone else, please disperse quickly."
Xu Jiawei arranged everything in a few words. Soldiers nearby went to the perimeter to evacuate the crowd, and the team members in the hotel quieted down.
After doing this, Xu Jiawei stepped forward. "It must be the Taotie senior from Shrek Academy. May I know what just happened here?"
Although Xuanzi's brows were furrowed, for Xu Jiawei's sake, he responded, "It's this old man. As for what just happened, your Guardian Douluo should know better than I do."
Xu Jiawei's expression turned serious. He looked around, his gaze finally stopping on Cheng Gang, whose face was ugly.
Seeing everyone's eyes on him, Cheng Gang lowered his head slightly and explained in a low voice, "Your Majesty, a few days ago, a disciple from Shrek Academy displayed the aura of a hundred-thousand-year soul beast on the arena. I suspected..."
"Enough." Xu Jiawei interrupted him.
Though his tone wasn't harsh, Cheng Gang was a Titled Douluo after all. Xu Jiawei speaking to him like this clearly showed some anger.
"Shrek Academy is full of experts and is the number one soul master academy on the Douluo Continent. Can't they tell if it's a human or a soul beast?"
"I've heard those rumors you mentioned—they're clearly someone spreading lies. I didn't expect that you, as a Guardian Douluo, couldn't even distinguish that?"
Cheng Gang's face flushed red and pale, but he ultimately said nothing more.
Seeing this, Xu Jiawei turned to Xuanzi. "I'm truly sorry. It was my negligence, allowing rumors to spread and causing this misunderstanding."
Xuanzi glanced at Xu Jiawei, knowing that with these words, he was taking the responsibility upon himself, not wanting Xuanzi to pursue it further.
After all, he had publicly reprimanded him. Cheng Gang was a Titled Douluo and had initially acted against a soul beast, not intending to offend Shrek Academy. Xu Jiawei couldn't really impose any substantial punishment on him for this.
"How about this: tomorrow, I will speak to clarify the matter, guaranteed by our Star Luo Empire, to prevent such a thing from happening again. To startle everyone tonight, we will also provide compensation later."
Xuanzi gradually calmed down, his voice low. "Compensation isn't necessary. It's also because this old man never showed himself, leading to your misunderstanding."
"At this point, I can tell you clearly: this disciple of my Shrek has twin martial souls and absolutely cannot be a hundred-thousand-year soul beast in human form. After tonight, no one is allowed to disturb them over this matter."
"That is as it should be." Xu Jiawei smiled. "Why not invite the Taotie senior to the palace for a visit?"
"No need. This old man will stay here to prevent what happened earlier from repeating."
Xu Jiawei seemed not to catch the implication in Xuanzi's words, simply smiling and nodding lightly before looking at the people from the other academies.
"Tonight's incident was a misunderstanding. However, this place is no longer suitable for staying. Someone will soon guide you to other accommodations. Please rest assured."
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