Chapter 72

Long Xiaoyao gave a faint smile and said, "Yeah! This old immortal of mine is still alive. Too bad Mu En passed away before me." As he spoke, a hint of deep sorrow flickered in his eyes. Huo Yuhao, hovering beside Yan Shaozhe, could tell the old man's feelings were completely genuine.

The ease on Yan Shaozhe's face had vanished completely at this moment; he never imagined that among the experts Jing Hongchen had sent to intercept them would appear such a formidable figure.

Who is Long Xiaoyao? He is the Dark Holy Dragon who, together with Mu Lao, was known as the Black and White Holy Dragons of old! The Dragon Emperor Douluo Long Xiaoyao, the Dragon God Douluo Mu En.

Long Xiaoyao's martial soul is the Dark Holy Dragon, the dark extreme to Mu Lao's Light Holy Dragon, representing the two pinnacles of dragon-type martial souls. Back then their cultivation levels were roughly equal. Later, for unknown reasons, the Dragon Emperor Douluo Long Xiaoyao suddenly vanished from sight. And when he disappeared from the continent, Yan Shaozhe had not yet been born, so naturally he had never seen this mighty expert.

Taking a deep breath, Yan Shaozhe struggled to calm his turbulent emotions, then bowed slightly and said, "Yan Shaozhe pays respects to Senior Long. I never imagined I would be fortunate enough to meet you in my lifetime."

Long Xiaoyao sighed and said, "It's me who dares not go see Mu En! I owe him too much. If he hadn't passed away, I wouldn't have come out wandering lightly. But now that he's truly gone, I regret it. I have never had the courage to face him and apologize. Sigh..."

Yan Shaozhe's heart stirred slightly as he said, "Senior Long, I heard from my teacher that back then you and my teacher were the closest of friends. Although you possess the Black Dragon martial soul, you are upright and unyielding. Today this is..."

Long Xiaoyao shook his head and said, "Mu En indeed never told you about what happened between us back then. He was just saving face for me. Forget it. Out of respect for Mu En today, I will spare your lives."

Although Yan Shaozhe didn't understand why Long Xiaoyao had appeared here to oppose them, from his demeanor it seemed there was some unspoken difficulty. His eyes narrowed slightly and he gave a wry smile, saying, "Senior Long, are you really going to bully the weak with your strength?"

Long Xiaoyao said, "A request received, a duty fulfilled. I owe someone a great favor and must act on their behalf. Here's what I propose: you withstand three of my attacks, then hand over the ring that brat holds, and you may leave. I will spare your lives. But that girl must stay here."

Yan Shaozhe panicked inside and said, "Senior Long, we..."

Long Xiaoyao raised a hand, and the air suddenly twisted violently; the latter half of Yan Shaozhe's sentence could not be spoken. His eyes turned icy, a faint blue light flashing in their depths: "My mind is made up; further talk is useless. Be careful."

As he spoke, Long Xiaoyao did not release his martial soul; he lifted his right hand and pointed a finger at Yan Shaozhe's direction.

Yan Shaozhe flickered into motion, shielding Huo Yuhao behind him, and a layer of intensely bright white light burst from his body, a resounding phoenix cry echoing across the heavens as a golden phoenix materialized behind him.

Yan Shaozhe circled his hands and thrust both palms outward; the phoenix cry instantly became piercingly sharp. Even within Yan Shaozhe's protection, Huo Yuhao felt as if his very soul were about to be torn apart.

If the sky were a huge balloon, then Long Xiaoyao's finger thrust would be like puncturing that balloon.

A massive black hole three meters in diameter appeared out of nowhere before Yan Shaozhe, like a monster opening its maw to devour him and Huo Yuhao whole.

The white light in Yan Shaozhe's palms suddenly flared and slammed into the black hole. Instantly, seventeen consecutive explosions rang out in the air, shaking his body so that he trembled midair and, in the blink of an eye, was flung backward a thousand meters.

"Magnificent Phoenix, what a splendid phoenix martial soul! No wonder you are Mu En's direct disciple." Long Xiaoyao did not pursue, merely nodding at Yan Shaozhe.

At this moment Yan Shaozhe's face was grim; names can be faked, but cultivation cannot. The cultivation of this Dragon Emperor Douluo before him is indeed on par with his teacher's. Even the Sect Master of the Body Sect, Du Budie, who is likewise an Ultimate Douluo, would probably fall short of him.

"There are two more left." Long Xiaoyao said calmly.

"What's the point of bullying us juniors?" At that moment an angry, clear voice rang out, causing Long Xiaoyao, who was about to strike again, to pause.

Huo Yuhao flashed out from behind Yan Shaozhe, his eyes brimming with grief and indignation as he glared at Long Xiaoyao and said, "You have no right to utter my teacher's name. You are not worthy to be his friend. There's no need for your hypocritical talk of three attacks; unless you kill me today, there is no way I will hand over this ring. Even if I sent it into another dimension, I would not give it to you."

Just as Yan Shaozhe never expected Jing Hongchen to find such a powerful opponent, Huo Yuhao likewise never imagined he would bring Yan Shaozhe and Xian Lin'er such enormous trouble. From Yan Shaozhe's tone he could tell they faced an expert of Mu Lao's generation, whose cultivation might even approach Mu Lao's. Such a terrifying presence was already beyond what they could withstand. When Long Xiaoyao repeatedly invoked Mu En's name and repelled Yan Shaozhe, Huo Yuhao could no longer hold back and shouted his condemnation.

"Junior brother, don't speak nonsense." Yan Shaozhe said anxiously, "Senior Long is renowned equally with my teacher, known as the wielder of the Black Dragon martial soul of the Black and White Dragons duo, bearing the title Dragon Emperor. He can be said to be one of the few remaining top-tier Soul Masters in the present day."

"Junior brother? Are you also a disciple of Mu En?" Long Xiaoyao showed no reaction to Huo Yuhao's scolding; instead he was surprised by his identity.

Huo Yuhao straightened his chest and said, "Indeed, I am my teacher's closed-door disciple. You must be at least two hundred years older than me. If we were the same age, you would certainly not be my match. If my teacher were still alive, how would you dare to lay hands on members of Shrek Academy?"

Huo Yuhao's conduct was far from impulsive; he could see that this Dragon Emperor Douluo thought highly of himself and was actually reluctant to fight his fellow disciples. Yan Shaozhe, however renowned as a hundred-year-famous Ultimate Douluo, could justify Long Xiaoyao's attack despite losing face. But Huo Yuhao himself? Still under twenty, would a fame exceeding two hundred years Ultimate Douluo like Long Xiaoyao directly strike him? Moreover, there is still the bond of incense with his teacher.

Thus, Huo Yuhao stepped out during a gap in Long Xiaoyao's attacks, voiced his condemnation, and used his body to shield Yan Shaozhe from behind.

Long Xiaoyao narrowed his eyes, focusing his gaze on the vertical eye on Huo Yuhao's forehead: "A third eye. Quite a unique martial soul and sensation. You say I bully the weak with my strength; fine. How about you attack me instead? I will use only the same fifty-rank soul power as you. If you can shift me even a fraction in place, you win. I don't even want that ring on your hand. I never imagined Mu En, nearing the end of his life, would still take on a disciple like you; I'm curious what ability of yours attracted him."

Huo Yuhao turned his head to look at Yan Shaozhe. Yan Shaozhe likewise did not expect such an outcome; in a flash of thought he nodded at Huo Yuhao.

It was clearly better for Huo Yuhao to make the move than for him. As the Dragon Emperor Douluo Long Xiaoyao, it would be utterly impossible for him to harm such a junior. If he lost, handing over those materials would be fine anyway—they were scavenged from Jing Hongchen. He had always believed Huo Yuhao's greatest strength lay in creating miracles. With twin martial souls and extreme martial souls, even when the Dragon Emperor Douluo uses only soul power of the same rank, it is not impossible that...

At the very least, it could buy some time.

Why did he delay departure without panic? Not only to distance himself from the other students, but also to await reinforcements. When Huo Yuhao mentioned the possibility of an ambush, he had already sent out a secret signal. He believed reinforcements were already en route.

Huo Yuhao pointed toward the ground and said, "Then let's fight down there." Long Xiaoyao seemed intrigued by him, chuckling, "I forgot you can't float in midair yet. All right, let's go down."

Yan Shaozhe glanced at the nearby surging black mist, a hint of worry in his eyes. Although he had confidence in Xian Lin'er, if the enemy could summon a deity like Long Xiaoyao, why couldn't they call forth other experts? If another Title Douluo arrived, Xian Lin'er would be in serious trouble. From Long Xiaoyao's tone, it seemed he had no intention of letting her go.

Huo Yuhao, being exceptionally clever, read Yan Shaozhe's meaning from his gaze, felt a stir in his heart, and said, "Senior Long, how about we make another bet? What do you think?"

Long Xiaoyao chuckled and said, "A bet? To me, that word is rather novel. Go on."

Huo Yuhao said, "The battle between our academy's Dean Xian Lin'er and that Scorpion Tiger Douluo seems, from what we can see, to be evenly matched, right?"

Long Xiaoyao nodded and said, "Not bad. In a one-on-one scenario, the chance that they end up both losing is seventy percent."

Huo Yuhao said, "You've also noticed that I only have fifty-rank cultivation, making me a five-ring Soul King. So, what do you think would happen if I joined their fight?"

Long Xiaoyao laughed: "Little brat, you're quite confident! Do you really think you could participate in a battle between Ultimate Douluos?"

Huo Yuhao also laughed, his smile somewhat sly, which only intrigued Long Xiaoyao more: "What I want to bet with you on is this."

Long Xiaoyao gave a faint smile and said, "Little brat, you're trying to kidnap me, aren't you? Although I know you're setting a trap for me to fall into, I haven't encountered anything this interesting in many years—how could I refuse to join your wager? All right, let me see how you can settle the battle within one minute."

As he spoke, there was no visible movement from Long Xiaoyao—just as if he had taken a single step, he was already several kilometers away. At his level of cultivation, he is virtually an earthly immortal, his command over space and his own soul power having reached the point of complete freedom.

"Yuhao." Yan Shaozhe whispered, "Do you have confidence?"

"En." Huo Yuhao nodded.

Yan Shaozhe said nothing more. If it were another student, he would surely deem them arrogant, but Huo Yuhao is different—this junior brother whom his teacher constantly praises has already created far too many miracles. Back when he hadn't even reached three-ring cultivation, he turned the tide in the finals of the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Duel Tournament; what strength that was!

The light of Huo Yuhao's flying soul tool behind him flickered; under his skillful control it lifted his body to hover in midair. A low chant began to issue from his lips—a sound following a special frequency and rhythm. Even if Yan Shaozhe couldn't understand it, Long Xiaoyao, who had been watching him from afar, would find it equally incomprehensible.

A faint white light began to glow from Huo Yuhao's pupils; when his eyes turned completely white, the sky itself seemed to brighten.

Although the sun's rays had been dimmed by the dark clouds brought by the Scorpion Tiger Douluo, at this moment, under Huo Yuhao's incantation, the sunlight seemed to grow stronger.

The sensation was most direct for Yan Shaozhe, who stood closest to Huo Yuhao; he clearly felt that a miraculous attractive force had arisen on Huo Yuhao's body, drawing in and absorbing the light elements from the surrounding air to a great extent.

Yan Shaozhe's attribute is light, sharing the same origin as Mu Lao; although he is a Light Phoenix rather than a Light Holy Dragon, his perception of light elements is also extremely keen.

At that moment a blue light descended from the heavens, striking back the Scorpion Tiger Douluo Zhang Peng.

The person had not yet arrived, but the sword was already there.

As the drifting smoke cleared, a long sword appeared before everyone's eyes; the Shrek crowd widened their eyes in disbelief.

Scorpion Tiger Douluo Zhang Peng also turned pale with shock; he clearly felt a power that made him tremble from within approaching. The beast souls he had painstakingly condensed actually broke free of his control and scattered in all directions.

If the War God Douluo Xian Lin'er failed to seize such an opportunity, her title of Flying Valkyrie would be in vain.

A massive azure dragon suddenly appeared in midair; Xian Lin'er let out a resonant dragon cry, stepped upon the azure dragon, pointed her spear forward, and in an instant transformed into a bolt of azure lightning like a thunderbolt from a clear sky, blasting toward Zhang Peng.

Zhang Peng, after all, was a Super Douluo; facing such a predicament he still did not panic, as his figure retreated at high speed, his ninth soul ring finally shone. The Scorpion Tiger True Body instantly dispersed, turning into countless black shadows that scattered. Amid the azure lightning, at least a third of the black shadows were instantly vaporized. When Zhang Peng reappeared, he was already kilometers away. His face turned deathly pale, and with a "wah", he spat out a mouthful of fresh blood.

"Who is it?" Long Xiaoyao wondered, he actually couldn't sense the opponent's aura.

"Your grandpa."

"Illuminating Myriad Rivers"

Huo Yuhao was shocked.

(End of chapter)