Two yellow, two purple, four black, one red—nine soul rings blazed into existence with blinding radiance. Xuan Zi's eyes and dishevelled hair had already turned a deep brownish-yellow.
A terrifying aura surged forth like a tidal wave; even Shrek's students instinctively circulated their soul power to resist the pressure Xuan Zi unconsciously released.
The five attackers did not retreat a single step. In an instant, soul rings of every colour rose around them.
Just as Xuan Zi had sensed, not one of the five was below the nine-ring level. The leader's rings were only black and red.
Six ten-thousand-year black rings and three hundred-thousand-year blood-red rings—such a soul-ring configuration was utterly unheard of.
It wasn't just the leader; the yellow century rings around the other black-cloaked figures were equally scarce.
Wang Dong's twin martial souls had already given him one yellow and two purple rings—far beyond the optimal configuration—and that had shocked everyone at Shrek. Yet in front of these people, it seemed perfectly ordinary.
Xuan Zi glanced back at the Shrek students, his heart turning ice-cold.
If he were alone, even if outmatched, he might still escape. But with the students here, only one path remained: fight to the death.
At that thought, Xuan Zi roared again. Thick yellow light instantly filled the sky, and his body transformed once more.
Body like a sheep, giant horns like an ox, eyes beneath his armpits, tiger fangs and human claws—Xuan Zi seemed to become a colossal monster in the blink of an eye. In moments, he stood over thirty meters tall. With one stomp, intense yellow light exploded outward, sending the three weaker black-cloaked figures flying.
"I'll hold him. The rest of you, go after the Saintess."
"Yes, Cult Master."
Cult Master?
Xuan Zi was still puzzling over the title when a dragon's roar suddenly rang in his ears.
This was no martial soul carrying dragon blood like his own—it was a true dragon. Though its form was grotesque, reduced to nothing but bone, the draconic presence was undeniably real.
The surrounding storm grew even more violent, blurring everyone's vision.
Seeing the three black-cloaked figures heading for Shrek's students, Xuan Zi ignored the bone dragon. He slammed both palms into the ground. A ring of yellow light instantly spread outward.
The three attackers felt their feet sink; their bodies plummeted uncontrollably.
But the moment Xuan Zi struck, the bone dragon's claw was already descending upon him.
Green flames danced in the bone dragon's sockets. As its wings spread, visions of mountains of corpses and seas of blood unfolded. Countless wailing, resentful spirits screamed; their shrill cries echoed through the sky. The chilling aura completely suppressed Xuan Zi's momentum.
"Evil soul masters—"
Xuan Zi's aura faltered. The three words hissed through clenched teeth. After witnessing their techniques, how could he not understand?
Evil soul masters were indeed stronger than ordinary soul masters, but breaking through to Titled Douluo was also far harder for them. How had so many appeared at once?
Such a thing had never happened in the entire history of the Douluo Continent.
Before Xuan Zi could fully process it, the bone dragon's claw descended again.
He stomped the ground, spun, and met the dragon head-on. Dragon wings unfurled, gales howled, and Xuan Zi's feet sank deep into the earth—yet he barely blocked the strike.
Before he could catch his breath, another figure attacked. A pair of hands emerged from a black cloak, tiger claws raking toward his back.
At that instant, a strand of starlight sliced through the illusory sea of blood and struck the tiger's claws.
Though the starlight looked faint, its power was overwhelming. The cloaked figure retreated swiftly; its hood fell, revealing a face.
"Senior Taotie, by His Majesty's command, we escort you back to Shrek Academy." Two towering figures followed the starlight and landed beside Xuan Zi. One of them cried out, "Scorpion Tiger Douluo Zhang Peng?"
"Hmph. So you're Star Luo's Guardian Douluos—Star Shatterer and Giant Hammer?" Now unmasked, Zhang Peng made no further attempt to hide. His gaze swept over the newcomers. A tiger's roar sounded, and a bloody aura instantly rose around him.
Xuan Zi exhaled slightly and glanced at Star Shatterer Douluo. "How did you know about this?"
"Do you remember the incident at the Star Emperor Hotel a few days ago, senior? His Majesty ordered an investigation and discovered suspicious traces. Fearing harm to Shrek Academy, he sent the two of us to escort you."
Star Shatterer Douluo's expression grew grave. He had guessed the journey might be dangerous, but never expected so many Titled Douluos—especially that bone dragon, which instinctively filled him with dread.
"This one is difficult. Please escort the disciples back to Shrek. I alone will hold them here."
"Senior Taotie—"
"Go!"
Xuan Zi's eyes blazed yellow. His nine soul rings ignited like burning flames. A bizarre weapon appeared in his hands; he swung it heavily toward the bone dragon.
"What are you waiting for? Chase!" The one addressed as Cult Master was naturally Zhongli Wu. Seeing Xuan Zi's intent to keep him here, he barked at the others, then turned back, his long staff dancing through the air.
"Chase!"
Seeing the two from Star Luo already fleeing with Shrek's students, Zhang Peng gave a low command. Several figures split off and encircled ahead.
"Fifth brother, the thing you prepared earlier?"
"Don't worry, Second Brother. The Saintess used her power multiple times today. The timing should be perfect."
A voice answered from afar. The moment the words ended, a commotion erupted among the Shrek group shielded by Star Shatterer and Giant Hammer.
Giant Hammer Douluo turned. Flames instantly surged upward, blocking his vision. In mere breaths, the fire turned dark crimson.
" Sister Xiaotao!" Huo Yuhao reached out as usual to suppress Ma Xiaotao's evil fire, but the moment his hand touched the dark-red flames, he jerked it back.
From the very start, the sudden change caught everyone at Shrek off guard. All their miraculous feats on the tournament stage were child's play before these Titled Douluos.
Everything they prided themselves on was useless in a battle of Titled Douluos. They could only watch as Xuan Zi stayed behind alone.
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