Chapter 217 Bai Xuanzi: Something's not right!
Golden divine power rippled across the surface of Lake Seagod within the Void Arena. The dominance displayed by Lu Li, Su Mu, and other newcomers transformed the originally fierce All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Elite Tournament into a showcase of the White Order's achievements.
However, beneath this peaceful and prosperous facade, a murderous intent powerful enough to completely alter the landscape of the continent is spreading wildly from the borders of the two great empires.
[In the scene depicting the sky.]
The camera abruptly shifts from the brightly lit Shrek City to the cold, desolate mountains of the far north.
Amidst the swirling snowflakes, hundreds of dark figures flew rapidly close to the horizon. Leading the pack was the Undying Poison, shrouded in a thick, emerald-green poisonous mist.
Behind him followed the core elders of the Body Sect.
Meanwhile, in the shadows of the jungle on the other side, the Star Luo Empire's Title Douluo group had also completed its assembly.
Each of them wore a high-level concealment soul tool, taking advantage of the lull in their training during the Shrek Academy tournament to avoid all the early warning outposts set up on the border by the Sun Moon Empire.
"Sect Master, we've entered the airspace of the Sun Moon Empire. Those useless soul-guided devices are probably watching Shrek Academy's performance right now, right in front of the projection array." An elder of the Body Sect spoke with undisguised contempt.
[Poison Undying let out a chilling laugh, his emerald green eyes fixed on the distant outline of Mingdu: "This is our chance. The Sun Moon Empire, relying on its soul-guiding technology, has crossed the line in resource allocation in recent years. If we kill their emperor tonight and destroy those workshops that manufacture war tools, Douluo Continent will return to the era of soul masters. This is not just invasion, this is annihilation!"]
Two massive, powerful teams converged in a valley outside Mingdu. The leader of the Star Luo Empire's assassins produced a top-secret map marking the vulnerabilities in the imperial palace's defenses—a spy they had planted over millennia.
"Let's proceed. After the decapitation, make sure to take all the core technological data. As for the civilians... they are a necessary sacrifice for justice." The leader of the Star Luo Death Squad coldly issued the order.
When the Soul Masters of the Underworld witnessed this scene, they erupted in unprecedented condemnation.
"Shameless! This is utterly disgraceful to the entire Douluo Continent!" A rogue Soul Master from the underworld suddenly stood up, his eyes bloodshot as he pointed at the sky. "On one hand, they used the pretext of participating in the Shrek Academy Tournament to cover their tracks, while on the other hand, they mobilized the nation's top military forces to carry out this despicable sneak attack. Poison Undying and the Star Luo Emperor, are these the 'leaders of the continent' they speak of?"
"We strongly condemn this act of aggression!" The people of the Sun Moon Empire were gripped by extreme anger and panic. "They keep claiming it's for the sake of balance, but in reality, they're just jealous of our development. How is this killing under the guise of justice any different from Bai Tang San of the White World?"
Inside Mingde Hall, Kong Deming and Jing Hongchen's faces were extremely gloomy.
"Elder Kong, although our defense matrix is powerful, if we are beheaded at close range by a powerhouse like Poison Undying, the consequences will be unimaginable." Jing Hongchen's palms were covered in cold sweat. He looked at the sky and then at the White Dimension officials who were still leisurely watching the game in Shrek City. He was so anxious that he stamped his feet. "Why haven't those people in the White World noticed the problem yet? Have they really been completely deceived by these few games?"
Kong Deming sat at the head of the table, his hands gripping the armrests tightly: "The White Order's sensing array shouldn't be completely unresponsive to the movements of such a powerful figure. If Bai Xuanzi doesn't take action soon, the future of Mingdu will truly be ruined by these greedy gamblers!"
Inside the Shrek Academy's main hall in the dark world, Hei Xuanzi, watching this scene, revealed an extremely despicable sense of excitement. His previous dejected demeanor vanished, and he even paced before the throne with a hint of smugness.
"Did you see that? Did you all see that?" Hei Xuanzi pointed at the Poison Undying army marching in the sky and shouted to the students and teachers around him, "Even without Shrek Academy's involvement, the Heavenly Soul Empire and the Star Luo Empire would still bomb Mingdu and carry out decapitation missions! This is enough to prove that the source has never been me, but these greedy imperial families!"
He took a big gulp of wine, his face flushed with excitement: "As long as their plan succeeds, as long as the Mingdu of the White World also experiences a massive explosion, then it will definitively prove that Shrek of the Black World is merely a victim!"
"We've simply been swept up by these prevailing trends. I'd like to see how you people who keep proclaiming the greatness of the White Order will refute me when the Ming capital of the White World is reduced to ashes!"
Hei Xuanzi had now completely sided with the invaders. He desperately hoped that the tragedy of the White World would repeat itself, so that he could completely whitewash himself morally.
The scene shifts back to Shrek City.
The cheers within the Void Arena erupted like a tsunami. At this moment, the Shrek team was engaged in their second round of matches.
[Because Lu Li and Su Mu's performances were so dazzling, this match attracted the attention of the vast majority of top experts across the continent. Lu Li didn't use any wide-area destructive soul skills; instead, he precisely controlled the gravity field of the Star Sword, restricting every movement of his opponents within a pre-set logical loop.]
"Pay close attention to your opponent's soul power nodes. Any martial soul creates a feedback window the instant it's activated. If you seize this window, you won't need to waste extra soul power on a head-on confrontation." Lu Li explained the essence of Bai Xu's combat techniques to the entire arena via mental amplification while fighting.
[The Shrek team won another round of matches, bringing the atmosphere of the entire opening day to its peak.]
The contestants were so engrossed in appreciating Lu Li's techniques that none of them realized that thousands of miles away in Mingdu, the shadow of death had already loomed over every household.
However...
Seeing this, the Soul Masters of the Underworld lost all interest in watching the exquisite matches.
"What is Bai Xuanzi doing? Has his brain, which is said to be able to calculate the order of planes, malfunctioned at this moment?" A Soul Master was sweating profusely with anxiety.
"What's so interesting about those same old tactics! Poison Undying has already led his men to the gates of Mingdu City!"
"If Bai Xuanzi doesn't realize this soon, the history of the White World will repeat itself. That's half a city's worth of civilians! Is there really no way to change this?"
The public's anxiety reached its peak at this moment.
Just outside Mingdu City, Poison Undying had already raised his hand, his emerald green soul power compressing between his palms, preparing to unleash a poisonous fog attack that would cover the entire city.
The scene suddenly switched back to the Sea God's Pavilion.
Bai Xuanzi, who had been resting with his eyes closed, suddenly opened his usually calm and indifferent golden eyes.
He didn't look at the arena before him, but turned his head, his gaze seemingly piercing through the void, landing directly on the distant west.
"Something's not right."
(End of chapter)