In the desolate sky leading to Thunder Dragon Valley, sharp, whistling sounds echoed as streaks of colored light zipped across the heavens at breakneck speed. On closer inspection, these weren't simply displays of soul power—they were actually a squad of the Heaven Dou Imperial Guards, surrounded by flickers of various spirit beasts and soul cores in flight. Each member wore an expression of absolute indifference, hands tightly gripping heavy metal chains.
At the other end of these chains, it was not cargo being dragged through the skies, but human figures—pulled violently aloft, battered faces smeared with blood and dirt, their expressions twisted by the forceful wind of high-speed flight. Some moaned in agony, others screamed in terror.
"Let me go! I'm Grandmaster! I am Yu Xiaogang! I don't deserve to be treated like this—!"
Dragged along like a dead dog, Yu Xiaogang's sharp cries rang out repeatedly. Once, his battered composure could inspire pity, but now it had given way to primal, overwhelming fear. Yet the Heaven Dou guards, responsible for escorting these prisoners, paid no heed. Not a single eyebrow was raised as they pressed on—their only focus to fulfill the transport mission assigned by His Majesty.
The flight stretched on for quite a while before, the squad's leader, gestured for the group to slow. The formation began to descend towards a relatively flat stretch of land below.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
As their altitude dropped, the prisoners were thrown down like ragged sacks, dragged several more meters until they eventually stopped, leaving behind horrifying trails of blood on the earth.
Soul masters assigned as prisoner escorts withdrew their martial spirits, landing gracefully. They didn't even glance at the felled and wailing captives. Instead, they crossed the broad square, retrieved supplies and rations from the storage, and quietly began eating their meal. For them, this was just another routine escort mission—after all, these prisoners were already doomed to die; any torture they suffered along the way was simply a bonus.
"You… you deserve to die…" Yu Xiaogang's face was smashed against the cold, abrasively rough ground. The tattoos on his face twisted like centipedes, convulsing in rage and pain. His eyes, filled with indignation, fixed on the soul masters calmly eating nearby.
Suddenly, a mud-and-blood-stained boot mercilessly stomped his head further into the earth.
"I think you're the one who deserves to die!"
A voice boiling with murderous intent rang out overhead—the speaker was Zhao Wuji, his martial spirit shattered. Once the mighty "Immovable King," he now had bloodshot eyes and a savage appearance, stripped of his rough cunning and left only with bottomless hatred. Zhao Wuji had once been the Vice Dean of Shrek Academy. Though not wealthy, he had lived freely—until calamity struck. A titled Douluo from a rival faction suddenly invaded the academy, destroyed his martial spirit without a word, and dragged him out like a corpse.
"You… Zhao Wuji! Why are you treating me like this?" Yu Xiaogang was nearly suffocating, the remains of his dignity slipping from his grasp. How could a mere Soul Sage be reduced to such humiliation?
"Should I stop?" Zhao Wuji sneered, his features twitching uncontrollably as he bared his teeth. "Let me show you now just how brave I can be!"
He lunged like a crazed beast. With hands and feet shackled, he couldn't use his limbs, but he opened his jaws wide and bit fiercely into Yu Xiaogang's torn face.
"Ahhh—!" The blinding pain of flesh tearing apart made Yu Xiaogang scream like a slaughtered pig. Blood spurted instantly, dyeing Zhao Wuji's mouth and jaw crimson.
Qin Ming, formerly Soul Emperor and once a prodigy with even brighter prospects than Zhao Wuji, now burned with a glare of desperate madness. His spirit shattered, his cultivation lost, he too was dragged around like the others—once destined for greatness, now facing public execution because of this so-called "Grandmaster."
"Barbarian!" Qin Ming let out a beast-like growl and attacked Yu Xiaogang, using his teeth to tear into whatever flesh he could reach—not as he had once met the man, but now filled with the single urge to kill.
"Flender! Are you just going to let these two berserk beasts kill me?" Yu Xiaogang screamed, wracked with agony, calling out for help. But Flender, the Four-Eyed Owl, lay not far off, caked in mud, glasses long lost. He ignored Yu Xiaogang's cries and stared blankly at the ashen sky, his face expressionless as still water.
He recalled the day he'd left on academy business, negotiating with sponsors to secure more funds. But when he returned, everything had changed—Jing Ling was gravely injured and near death. A titled Douluo had descended without mercy. Flender, a Soul Sage at level 78, host to the Four-Eyed Owl martial spirit, should have easily reached the realm of Soul Douluo in a few years, becoming one of the continent's foremost experts, head of a powerful soul master family. He'd envisioned that beautiful future countless times. Now, all was lost. His spirit broken, soul power gone, he'd been reduced to a cripple far worse than ordinary men, to be led to execution like a farm animal.
He realized bitterly that it was he who had led his old brothers into this trap—Zhao Wuji, Qin Ming, Shao Xin, Lu Qibin, Li Yusong… weren't they all promising men once?
In the end, Flender's indulgence toward Liu Erlong, negligence of Yu Xiaogang's issues, and attempts at superficial harmony at the academy—all these had led him step by step into this irredeemable abyss. He could no longer save himself, let alone anyone else.
"Zhao Wuji! Get off him!" Liu Erlong finally shouted when she saw Yu Xiaogang torn between the two men. She staggered forward, heavy shackles rattling, intent on stopping them. But suddenly, a fat figure hurled itself sideways, delivering a vicious kick to her ribs.
Bang!
Caught off guard, Liu Erlong was sent flying, crashing into the ground and kicking up dust.
"Damn it, are you going to start in too?" Usually cheerful, the chubby Shao Xin's face now quivered with rage. "You're just an illegitimate child, showing off at the academy—did you ever really think you were important?" Before he finished, Lu Qibin and Li Yusong—also shackled—rushed over, joining in to kick Liu Erlong where she lay.
"Damn! No wonder Yu Luomian looks down on you. You're second-rate!"
"Relying on your strength to trouble others, I've been watching you since long ago!"
"If it weren't for you two, I never would have ended up like this!"
Swearing, the thuds of kicks, Liu Erlong's muffled groans, and Yu Xiaogang's screams filled the square. Flender lay motionless, an empty shell, without the strength or will to intervene. Deep down, he knew his old friends were right: he and Liu Erlong had led everyone to hell. Now, former comrades, reduced to wild beasts, tore into each other with primitive savagery, venting their hatred and despair in the most pitiful of ways upon this desolate plaza.
After a while, the guards resting nearby frowned, set down their water skins, and, with soul power, forcibly separated the brawling group. "Enough!" a cold voice from one of the Soul King-level guards barked. "Behave yourselves. You'll have plenty of chances for trouble once we arrive!"
He swept his eyes over the battered crowd, pausing for a moment longer on Yu Xiaogang, whose cheeks were missing two chunks of flesh, then turned and walked away.
Liu Erlong struggled to stand. Her body was covered in mud and footprints, her former beauty nowhere to be seen. But she no longer cared about herself. She stumbled to Yu Xiaogang's side, sobbing, "Xiaogang! Xiaogang, are you alright? Does it hurt?"
Yu Xiaogang was in too much pain to speak, breathing heavily, eyes unfocused.
At that moment, the soul master who had dragged Yu Xiaogang before approached—holding a steaming bowl of noodles. The prisoners had not eaten a real meal in days, and the hearty aroma made their mouths water. Yu Xiaogang was no exception.
The young soul master picked up a bite of noodles with his chopsticks, waving them before Yu Xiaogang's face with a seemingly innocent smile. "Hear that slurping sound—"
Yu Xiaogang's focus sharpened as he stared at the noodles just before his nose. He gulped, glancing fleetingly at the master. Even in this dire state, the "Grandmaster" title still meant something—at least someone knew to offer "respect." He opened his mouth, eager to eat.
But at that instant, the youth's smile vanished, replaced by a naked look of disgust. He jerked the noodles away, lifted his other hand as if to slap Yu Xiaogang, reconsidered, then instead delivered a sharp kick to Yu Xiaogang's belly.
Bang!
Yu Xiaogang tumbled across the dirt like a ragged sack.
"What are you staring at?" the soul master spat, cursing. "Because of scum like you, we've had to keep flying for days, with barely enough food! And you still want more? Hmph!" With that, he spat on the ground and stormed off.
Wracked with pain, Yu Xiaogang writhed. His face and belly ached so much he could barely move, twitching pitifully like an insect.
Catching sight of this, a sudden luster flashed in Qin Ming's exhausted eyes. Without hesitation, he sprang from the ground and bit hard into the helpless Yu Xiaogang—fire wolf broken, but still with fangs.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!"
A shattering scream of agony rent the air and echoed across the square, so horrifying that it jolted even the eating soul master guards into freezing, looking up in shock.
In the next breath—
Liu Erlong gaped, mouth wide, eyes bulging, rendered speechless by the horror before her.
Even Flender, from his trance, finally looked up, but then closed his eyes again, blank and defeated.
…