"Yuhao, you should already know about the matter."
After the meeting ended, Elder Song informed Chen Junting and his four companions that Wang Dong'er had previously been bestowed a Divine Trial by their ancestor Tang San, selecting her as the inheritor of the Sea God throne, and that this was done right in front of the Sea God Family. Chen Junting and the others acutely sensed the problem.
Something was wrong. This was exceptionally wrong!
Even Wu Feng clearly knew there was an issue.
(Wu Feng: What do you mean 'even Wu Feng'?! You guys are discriminating! Discriminating against my brain full of wisdom!)
Thus, after Elder Song said she was going to see off the representatives of the various major powers—which was actually just giving Chen Junting and his group space to discuss—Chen Junting hurriedly brought Huo Yuhao and the other to the main hall.
His very first action was to shield the six of them. At the same time, he also activated the countermeasure that Electrolux had left on Wang Dong'er, only then feeling at ease to broach the topic of the Divine Trial.
"Mhm, I already know."
Huo Yuhao clenched his fists tightly, his eyes filled with resentment! He had clearly seen through Tang San's scheme. His eyes were bloodshot, evidently furious to the extreme.
Seeing him like this, Chen Junting knew he clearly needed some time to calm down. So, after leaving him with the words "Remember, regain your rationality first" and "No matter what, watch your wording, after all, this is the Sea God Pavilion," he turned his head to ask about Wang Dong'er's intentions.
"Dong'er, what are your thoughts regarding this Divine Trial?"
"I... actually, I'm still considering it."
A hint of hesitation flashed through Wang Dong'er's eyes.
But it was exactly this hesitation that made Huo Yuhao anxious! Knowing it was a trap, how could she still walk into it?!
He almost forgot Chen Junting's warning. Just as he wanted to speak out, he suddenly felt a sharp pain on the top of his foot and sharply drew in a breath of cold air.
Right at this moment, Wu Feng, who was sitting opposite him, quietly retracted his foot from under the table as Huo Yuhao gasped.
This stomp immediately earned Wu Feng an appreciative glance from the others, and it was also this stomp that brought Huo Yuhao's rationality back.
Sensing Huo Yuhao's inner worry, Wang Dong'er's hand covered the back of his, her tone full of comfort. "Don't worry, Yuhao, I have my own calculations."
But this wasn't a matter of having calculations or not! It was plainly asking for Dong'er's life!
At this thought, Huo Yuhao looked pleadingly at his Big Brother Junting, clearly wanting him to persuade Wang Dong'er.
But the response he received was Chen Junting's silence. He knew this was Tang San's open scheme.
Time was constantly pushing forward, and he could no longer hold back. If this continued, it would be too late. So, he had to bring her to his territory and let this "daughter" of his die.
Moreover, her death would be perfectly justified, without arousing anyone's suspicion. After all, if a Divine Trial is bestowed and one fails to complete it, wouldn't they just have to die!
Now, there was no room for Wang Dong'er to object. Because the rules of the Divine Trial were like a clause in the Divine Realm's constitution; even the other God Kings of the Divine Realm had no right to interfere.
However, an open scheme was still just a scheme; it wasn't as if there were no covert methods to deal with it. Furthermore, resources could also be utilized rationally.
"Dong'er, when are you preparing to go participate in the Divine Trial?"
This sudden question made Wang Dong'er freeze for a moment.
It seemed to take a long while before she spoke: "Big Brother Junting, I'm still hesitating."
"The fact that you're hesitating means you already have an answer in your heart." Chen Junting propped his hands on the table, pressing the backs of his hands against his chin. "If you don't mind, the Sea God Family doesn't mind, and that guy..." he pointed to Wang Dong'er's glabella, "...doesn't mind either, I want you to take Yuhao and the others with you."
"Ah?"
As soon as these words came out, quite a few people were bewildered.
Only a few reacted, their eyes lighting up! Gu Tianchen, for instance, gave a thumbs up and said meaningfully, "Old Chen, great idea." Ning Tian was even more eager, asking if she could bring "all the young people of the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect along, treating it as a group training session."
But just as most people were still confused, suddenly, a powerful and oppressive soul power fluctuation transmitted from outside the academy, rolling toward the Sea God Pavilion like a surging tide.
Everyone's hearts jolted in alarm, and they stood up one after another, looking out of the pavilion. Among them, Chen Junting's brows furrowed first. As someone who had seen a lot, he acutely perceived that this soul power even surpassed his master's, reaching roughly the level of the Evil Emperor.
Such tyrannical pressure, such a familiar aura... Looking across the entire continent, there was probably only one person!
At this moment, a vast voice resonated. "Shrek Academy, a guest has come to visit."
At first listen, this voice didn't seem loud, but once it rang in the ears, it carried a rolling thunder. The momentum created by just a few simple words actually enveloped the entire Shrek Academy, giving the whole academy the feeling of dark clouds pressing down on the city, threatening to crush it—like continuous, roaring ocean waves, seemingly about to ruthlessly destroy everything.
The faces of Yan Shaozhe and the others, who had already returned to the academy, changed drastically. Elder Song's expression grew even more severe as she snorted coldly, "Preposterous!"
With a wave of her hand, she led the crowd to dash toward the source of the sound waves. At the same time, her aura burst forth, enveloping the entire academy.
This was because the numerous students had already been oppressed into a sorry state by this powerful might. Their faces turned pale one by one, and the weaker ones were already teetering, on the verge of passing out.
As for the inside of the Sea God Pavilion at this moment, "It's the Sea God Douluo who was with the Sea Princess Clan back then."
Tianmeng Ice Silkworm had already emerged from Huo Yuhao's body, informing everyone of the situation. "My senses are absolutely correct, it's him! And the number of Title Douluo he's brought numbers a full ten!"
"Furthermore, they have absolutely locked onto us!"
"What about their cultivation? How is it?"
Chen Junting asked while a white light burst from his body, forming a domain that enveloped everyone. Under the deliberate focus of so many Title Douluo, let alone a Soul Saint, even a Soul Douluo would find it hard not to be affected.
"Specifically?" He scratched his chubby head, and then Tianmeng Ice Silkworm repeated the question, seemingly wanting to confirm if he had heard wrong. "Mhm... forget it, there's no need."
Just as Tianmeng was about to answer, Chen Junting stopped asking. Instead, with a slight hardening of his expression, he said to Gu Tianchen: "Old Gu, take them into your Void Gate. Without my notification, don't let any of them out."
"Wait, actually—" Wang Dong'er wanted to say something, but "Alright."
Upon hearing just this one word, they felt the world turn upside down, and the next second, they disappeared. The entire hall of the Sea God Pavilion was left with only Chen Junting and Ning Tian, who had chosen to stay.
Before Chen Junting could speak, Ning Tian preempted him. "I'll augment you."
"Perhaps it hasn't reached that point yet." He wanted to reassure her, but clearly, he didn't reject Ning Tian. Instead, he held her soft hand with one of his own, and a sky-piercing sword intent burst forth. "Let's go!"
High in the sky at that same moment, "Guest?"
"If an evil guest arrives at the door, do they also require a welcome?"
At this time, Elder Song's questioning voice, cold yet laced with sarcasm, rang out in the sky above Shrek Academy. A bright, azure-green light shot up into the sky, its brilliance truly dazzling to the eye.
By her side, tyrannical auras suddenly erupted one after another, shooting into the sky like waves of air.
On the opposite side, the members of the Sea God Family each had a rich blue light shooting into the sky. A rough count showed there were nearly twenty of them, and every beam of light that shot into the air was condensed and did not disperse. Only the leader appeared ordinary, yet even so, he completely overshadowed the brilliance of the light pillars behind him.
It could be said that the experts of the Sea God Family were neatly lined up and aggressive; none of them were anything less than top-tier experts. This was because Soul Masters without flight abilities could only hover like this upon reaching the level of Soul Douluo, and only Title Douluo could fly for extended periods.
In other words, of the twenty people in the air, ten were Soul Douluos and ten were Title Douluos.
The leader, Sea God Douluo Chen Juntao, was tall and stalwart, his long robes fluttering in the wind, exuding an otherworldly temperament.
Yet, facing such a Limit Douluo, Elder Song had already led the Shrek Academy contingent to step forward fearlessly. At this moment, the two sides were locked in a standoff, the atmosphere as tense as a drawn bowstring, ready to snap at the slightest touch.
"Sea God Douluo, what is the meaning of your Sea God Family leading these twenty people to trespass on our Shrek Academy without cause?" Elder Song questioned loudly, her voice echoing across the entire city.
At this moment, countless students in the Shrek Academy teaching buildings were leaning against the windows, staring blankly at the scene in the distant sky. After all, a standoff between top-tier experts was a rare sight, and they seldom got to witness one. Only the inner court students were not particularly curious; after all, not counting the battlefield, this had already happened twice within the academy alone.
At this very moment, Chen Juntao's gaze calmly swept over the crowd before finally landing on Elder Song as he slowly spoke:
"You must be the person in charge of Shrek Academy. You should know that we have no ill intentions; on the contrary, we seek cooperation. However, Wang Dong'er is the Sea God's inheritor. According to the rules, she must go to the Sea God Family to accept the inheritance. I hope Shrek Academy can accommodate us."
The moment the words "Sea God Family" and "Sea God Inheritor" were spoken, the expressions of the older teachers floating behind Elder Xuan, who knew the general background of the Sea God Family, were filled with shock, wondering if they had heard false information.
A Sea God Inheritor—what kind of concept was this?! It was simply a myth walking into reality.
They never expected that Wang Dong'er would have such a background.
But immediately after, these teachers were stunned again. Since she was the Sea God Inheritor, wasn't this a good thing? Why wouldn't they let Wang Dong'er leave with the Sea God Family?
Whatever, the academy has its own judgments anyway. Figuring this out, everyone felt another shudder. No wonder the other side dared to invade so unscrupulously; they were actually experts of the Sea God Family.
Only the senior elders who knew the truth maintained their unchanged expressions; they were all old foxes, and there was no sign of them being easily swayed.
Elder Song stared at Chen Juntao, her gaze not shifting a single inch. "Cooperation is cooperation. Moreover, you were the ones who came to us initially; ultimately, you are the ones who need our help."
"Are you going to turn hostile before this cooperation is even achieved?"
As a woman, Elder Song was also sharp-tongued. However, her tirade only made Chen Juntao frown slightly, showing no signs of anger. Just as he was about to speak, Elder Song let out a cold snort: "Heh—accommodate you? Dong'er grew up studying at our Shrek Academy; this is her home. You say you'll take her away just like that, what do you take our Shrek Academy for? Besides, we had an agreement previously; could it be that you're planning to go back on your word?"
These words indeed left Chen Juntao unable to refute. After all, he also knew the whole story. Regardless of the process, the result was indeed as stated.
So Chen Juntao said, "We will give your academy satisfactory compensation, whether it be heavenly treasures, earthly rarities, soul bones, or soul rings."
Unexpectedly, Elder Song's attitude remained resolute.
"No!"
Relative to a future Sea God, she knew very well which was more important.
This time, Chen Juntao's tone finally carried displeasure and an unquestionable edge: "Everyone from Shrek, this is the final ultimatum. This matter concerns the great inheritance of my Sea God Family; please do not obstruct us. Otherwise, don't blame us for being discourteous!"
As he spoke, the experts of the Sea God Family released their powerful soul power one after another. For a moment, light dazzled, soul power overflowed, and the entire sky was enveloped by this formidable force.
Elder Song and the others showed no weakness, releasing their own soul power to confront the Sea God Family. But they saw the Sea God Douluo Chen Juntao take a step forward, and just this one step...
Buzz—
The gap in strength was revealed!
Although Elder Song was already a Level 98 Super Douluo, facing the demigod-level Chen Juntao, she clearly couldn't hold out for even a breath before falling completely on the back foot. The other experts of the Sea God Family were also extraordinary in strength, and the Shrek Academy side gradually found themselves struggling.
This was the strength of the Sea God Family! If one were to truly compare the power of factions across the entire Douluo Plane, perhaps if the Sea God Family claimed to be second, there truly wouldn't be a single faction that dared claim to be first. Even the Star Dou Great Forest wouldn't do, unless one counted the Silver Dragon King who was healing at the bottom of the lake.
Because the forces the Sea God Family could mobilize were not merely the strength of their group of Sea Soul Masters, but also the Sea Soul Beasts.
Just as Elder Song and the others were about to be completely suppressed, "The Nine Treasures manifest with Glazed Tile, Nine Treasure True Body! Fourth is Soul, Sixth is Attribute!"
In the distance, a Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda slowly rose. Two streams of light, one green and one blue, shot out, radiating onto the bodies of all the teachers and senior elders of Shrek Academy like a beacon, instantly elevating their auras by a whole level!
Even Elder Song forcibly withstood the pressure brought by Chen Juntao, even though Chen Juntao hadn't seriously made a move.
"Who is it!?"
The Sea Dragon Douluo and the others looked in the direction the streaming light had flown from, simultaneously feeling a jolt of alarm. Because from beginning to end, they hadn't detected anyone else approaching them.
Only Chen Juntao's expression remained unchanged as he stared at the newcomer.
As for Elder Song and the others, their pressure was shared by the newcomer's aura, and they unanimously let out a sigh of relief. At the same time, their hearts palpitated at this moment: the gap between their strength and the Sea God Family was massive!
And at this moment, "It's me."
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