Douluo: In an extraordinary world, with unparallel understanding!

Join my Patreon to be 30 chapters ahead of the webnovel releases:

patreon.com/ZeroMoney

I would appreciate your help if you could join my Patreon and support me because it would keep me motivated. 

******

Yan Shaozhe was in torment. 

Two massive phoenixes—one blazing gold and the other black and crimson—clashed in midair, shaking the heavens and earth. 

Roar! 

A deep, beast-like bellow echoed behind Yan Shaozhe as a colossal Taotie Divine Bull charged into the battlefield. 

"Evil Soul Master!" 

Xuanzi harbored deep hatred for Evil Soul Masters. The moment he saw one at the Super Douluo level, he immediately chose to assist in the battle. 

With Xuanzi's support, Yan Shaozhe easily suppressed Feng Ling. 

After a brief exchange, Xuanzi noticed Ma Xiaotao in the corner and let out an enraged roar. 

On the enormous body of the Taotie Divine Bull, nine dazzling soul rings flared to life. 

Earthen yellow energy coalesced, forming a massive orb that shot toward the black-crimson phoenix. 

Meanwhile, deep within the Sun-Moon Mountain Range, Zhongli Wu suddenly opened his eyes, staring toward the western battlefield. 

"Him again?" 

Yan Shaozhe was in agony. He left Feng Ling to Elder Xuan and turned his own attacks toward Ma Xiaotao. The immense golden-red phoenix radiated blinding light and searing heat—hellfire descended. 

Ma Xiaotao had to die. 

Yet, just as Yan Shaozhe's attack was about to strike, a chillingly familiar aura erupted. 

The Death God Puppet appeared in front of Ma Xiaotao. A blood-red glow pulsed from its form, and in an instant, it expanded, blocking the incoming firestorm completely. 

"It's you!" 

The moment Yan Shaozhe recognized Zhongli Wu, a deep-seated fear gripped his heart. 

Zhongli Wu's strength was monstrous. 

A Rank 98 Evil Soul Master, he had used the Holy Spirit Cult's secret techniques to elevate his soul rings to an inhuman level. His power was beyond measure—even with Elder Xuan present, Yan Shaozhe wasn't confident in a victory against this man. 

But most of all, he feared the Death God Puppet's aura of death. 

That deathly energy resonated far too well with his own martial soul. If he were seriously wounded again and infected by that aura without immediate treatment, his martial soul might undergo an irreversible, malignant transformation. 

Yan Shaozhe was perplexed—he couldn't understand why this was happening. 

One thing was certain: until he uncovered the root cause, he had to avoid further clashes with Zhongli Wu. 

Especially given the disparity in their soul power. 

"Elder Xuan, retreat!" Yan Shaozhe took one last look at Ma Xiaotao before turning to shout the command. 

"Don't chase them." 

Zhongli Wu halted Feng Ling, who was about to give pursuit, and instead fixed his gaze on Yan Shaozhe's retreating figure. 

"Master, why not pursue? This is our home turf." 

Zhongli Wu's expression carried a cryptic edge as he stared into the distance. 

"Feng Ling, your Phoenix Martial Soul awakened into an Evil Phoenix, and Ma Xiaotao's Evil Fire Phoenix has now fallen into darkness. So tell me… wouldn't it be possible for Yan Shaozhe's Bright Phoenix to mutate into a Death Phoenix?" 

During their last encounter, Zhongli Wu had already noticed his attacks affecting Yan Shaozhe's martial soul. He had corrupted many martial souls before, but Yan Shaozhe was a Super Douluo. His martial soul—the Bright Phoenix—was meant to counteract death itself, yet it had been so easily tainted. 

It almost made Zhongli Wu wonder if Yan Shaozhe was his long-lost son. 

Definitely not his brother—he was a full generation older, after all. 

"I didn't expect that after two years, he would be able to purge my deathly influence. But I can feel it—an infected Bright Phoenix is no longer the same as one untouched. Even after expelling the death energy, the difference remains." 

A new idea took root in Zhongli Wu's mind. 

Steal the sky and swap the sun? 

"Elder Xuan, you shouldn't have shown yourself." 

This battle had yielded no benefits. Worse, it exposed the fact that the two of them had infiltrated the Sun-Moon Empire. 

Shrek's strategy had always been to remain hidden for as long as possible. After all, Sun-Moon was the very heart of the Sun-Moon Empire. Once discovered, escaping wouldn't be easy. 

The previous battle in Sun-Moon had been meticulously prepared by the Sun-Moon Empire and the Sun-Moon Hall. They had preemptively accounted for potential encounters with Evil Soul Masters and Elder Xuan's group, ensuring that the city's defensive systems could be activated without hesitation. This, in turn, highlighted the sheer strength of Sun-Moon's military capabilities. 

"Are we still heading to Sun-Moon?" 

"Yes, we must. Shrek's most elite students are there—how could we not go?" Xuanzi responded firmly. 

If the Sun-Moon Empire decided to turn on them after the tournament, their presence could at least provide some protection for the students and a chance to escape. If they didn't go, the students would have no hope at all. 

The battle's aftermath soon attracted the Fire Phoenix Soul Engineer Regiment's attention. 

Fire Phoenix Douluo personally arrived at the scene, her expression grave. 

"Evil Soul Masters!" 

Sensing the residual soul power lingering in the battlefield, her heart grew heavier. 

A Super Douluo-level Evil Soul Master—right near the Sun-Moon Mountain Range! 

Damn it! 

"Who was the other party?" 

Even though the traces of soul power weren't entirely clear—or rather, even though Fire Phoenix Douluo had never personally experienced the soul power of the individuals involved—she could still make an educated guess. 

There weren't many forces capable of deploying two Super Douluo. 

The presence of radiant flames, combined with the phoenix cries heard during the battle, pointed directly to Shrek's Yan Shaozhe. 

And the thick, earthen-yellow energy lingering in the air carried a heavy earth attribute. 

It couldn't be confirmed with absolute certainty that it belonged to Shrek's Xuanzi—but if one of them was Yan Shaozhe, then the other was highly likely to be Xuanzi. 

With Shrek's tournament team having recently entered the empire, this speculation became even more plausible. 

"I didn't expect not only Bright Phoenix Douluo Yan Shaozhe to personally lead the team but also for Xuanzi to follow in secret." 

Luan Feng quickly analyzed the situation and ordered her subordinates in the Soul Engineer Regiment to relay the findings back to Sun-Moon. 

"Hmph. They crossed the border without permission—hunt down Xuanzi at full force!" 

A sharp glint flashed through Luan Feng's narrow phoenix-like eyes. 

A Rank 98 Super Douluo had entered their territory without authorization and had now been exposed. That meant no matter how they acted, they would have justifiable grounds to retaliate. 

The Fire Phoenix Soul Engineer Regiment was fully mobilized, deploying all available detection soul tools. 

"Block every route leading to Sun-Moon." 

"Elder Xuan, looks like we'll have to take a detour," Yan Shaozhe said with a wry smile, helpless in the face of the Fire Phoenix Soul Engineer Regiment's swift response. 

Even from a distance, they could already sense the deadly threat ahead. 

There was no doubt—this regiment had at least an eighth-ranked stationary soul cannon. 

They even seemed to have an ample supply of ninth-ranked soul tools. 

For the first time, Yan Shaozhe truly experienced the sheer frustration of facing the Sun-Moon Empire's technologically advanced army. 

Individually, none of the soul masters in the regiment were a match for them. In fact, with just the two of them, they could have easily overwhelmed their opponents. 

But because of the presence of soul tools, they were completely restrained. 

The moment they rushed out for a decisive strike, they could be met with a barrage of soul cannon fire in an instant. 

Sneak in? 

Impossible. 

The entire area was saturated with detection soul tools—scanning soul power fluctuations, mental fluctuations, and even monitoring the movements of the surrounding elemental energy with absolute precision.