Chapter 147: Elder Xuan Takes the Dragon Pill! Liu Yuan's True Body Martial Soul Secondary Awakening?
Inside the Sea God Pavilion, the radiant leaves of the Golden Tree lost their luster in a single breath. The gentle, ancient life force that had perpetually bathed the grand hall receded like a dying tide, leaving behind a hollow chill.
On the simple wooden bed, Elder Mu's chest, which had been rising and falling with agonizing weakness for days, fell completely still. The Dragon God Douluo, the absolute pillar who had guarded Shrek Academy for a century, quietly closed his eyes. Having delivered his final testament regarding the survival of the academy, he slipped away into the eternal dark.
Elder Xuan knelt heavily beside the bed. The small wooden box resting in his calloused palms felt as heavy as a mountain range.
He stared blankly at Elder Mu's withered, peaceful face. His lips trembled. A low, hoarse wail tore from his throat, sounding like a wounded beast.
"Elder Mu—!"
On that day, the ancient bronze bells of Shrek Academy tolled nine times in succession. The dull, heavy rings rolled across the entirety of Shrek City, carrying a weight that suffocated the streets.
The academy ground to an absolute halt. All teaching activities ceased. Students and instructors alike spontaneously donned coarse white mourning clothes, gathering in the central plaza. Thousands of heads bowed in absolute silence, the only sound being the muffled sobs echoing across the stone tiles.
Inside the Sea God Pavilion, the surviving elders stood with reddened eyes, tears spilling down their wrinkled cheeks. The grief for the old Pavilion Master was raw and absolute.
In the days that followed, Shrek Academy hosted a funeral of unmatched scale.
Delegations from every major faction across the continent arrived to pay their respects. Yet, beneath the surface of their solemn bows and offered incense, calculating gazes darted across the academy grounds. Hidden agendas simmered behind every mourning veil.
As the acting Pavilion Master, Elder Xuan stood at the very front of the procession. His face was a blank, stony mask. Throughout the endless ceremonies, his hands remained rigidly clamped around the wooden box containing the Radiant Dragon Pill. His knuckles were bone-white from the sheer force of his grip.
However, when the final rites concluded and the last of the opportunistic guests departed, Elder Xuan did not move toward the academy gates. He did not set off for the Body Sect to fulfill Elder Mu's dying command.
Late at night, the moon hung like a silver scythe over the Forbidden Land behind Shrek Academy.
Cold moonlight washed over Elder Mu's freshly carved tombstone.
Elder Xuan stood entirely alone before the grave. The night wind tugged at his messy robes. He clutched the wooden box against his chest, his normally murky eyes flashing with a chaotic, sinister light.
Elder Mu's dying instructions echoed relentlessly in his mind: take the Radiant Dragon Pill, go to the Body Sect, and make amends with Liu Yuan. Beg for forgiveness. Secure Shrek's future.
But the moment that thought surfaced, another memory violently overwrote it. Liu Yuan's cold, indifferent face. The crushing, suffocating humiliation of being forced to his knees in public at Star Luo Plaza. Du Busi's arrogant, booming laughter echoing across the arena.
His jaw locked. A thick vein pulsed violently at his temple. The shame burned like acid in his veins, eating away at whatever rationality he had left.
"Elder Mu... I am sorry."
Elder Xuan spoke in a low, gravelly whisper. The words sounded harsh and grating in the dead silence of the graveyard.
He slowly raised the wooden box, his rough fingers tracing the smooth grain of the wood. The conflict in his eyes melted away, replaced by a feverish, burning greed.
"You wanted me to bow to Liu Yuan. You wanted me to break my spine for that boy. I cannot do it."
His breathing grew ragged. "What is Liu Yuan? Just a lucky junior! A brat who stumbled into power! Why should we, the glorious Shrek Academy, have to beg him for our survival?"
Elder Xuan stepped closer to the tombstone, his tone twisting into a morbid, desperate obsession. "Now that you are gone, Shrek is no longer the absolute authority of the Douluo Continent. We have lost our Limit Douluo. We have lost our shield."
He sneered, the sound bitter and cold. "In this world where the strong prey on the weak, what peace can be bought with gifts and apologies? Without absolute martial force, bowing will only invite slaughter!"
He slammed his hand over the wooden box, his eyes turning bloodshot and fierce. "Therefore, instead of handing this Radiant Dragon Pill to an outsider like Liu Yuan, it is better to keep it for myself!"
"As long as I consume this pill, supplemented by Shrek's ten thousand years of accumulated resources, I will break through that final barrier. I will become a true Limit Douluo!"
His voice rose, echoing off the silent graves. "When that time comes, if Liu Yuan dares to bare his fangs at Shrek, I will strike him down myself! I will wipe the Body Sect from the face of the earth! Absolute power... that is the only way to completely solve the problem!"
Elder Xuan did not realize how far he had fallen. He did not see how completely his twisted pride had shattered Elder Mu's vision of peace.
He shoved the wooden box deep into his robes, turned his back on the grave, and walked away into the darkness without a single backward glance.
In his mind, the path was clear. As long as he seized that power, Shrek's glory would endure. As for Elder Mu's humble compromise, it was already dead and buried.
As the mourning bells of Shrek finally faded, the news of the Dragon God Douluo's death sprouted wings, sweeping across the entirety of the Douluo Continent like a hurricane.
Inside the opulent Imperial Study of the Star Luo Empire palace.
Emperor Xu Jiawei slumped back into his golden dragon throne. The intelligence report in his hand crumpled under his tightening grip. The usual regal confidence on his face had completely evaporated, leaving behind a deep, exhausting dread.
He looked up at Princess Xu Jiujiu standing beside the desk. He let out a long, heavy sigh.
"Jiujiu... Elder Mu has passed away. This is a disaster for us."
Xu Jiawei rubbed his temples, his voice strained. "Although Shrek Academy lost to the Body Sect in the tournament, Elder Mu's mere existence was the most solid barrier for the three empires of the original Douluo Continent. He was the anchor."
"Now that the barrier has shattered, our Star Luo Empire stands exposed."
Princess Xu Jiujiu bit her lower lip, her beautiful eyes clouded with deep anxiety. She understood the terrifying deterrent of a Limit Douluo better than anyone. "Brother is right. With Shrek losing its supreme guardian, the Sun Moon Empire will not sit still. They will likely make their move immediately. The days ahead... will be bathed in blood."
Meanwhile, deep within the Sun Moon Empire palace.
Upon receiving the encrypted intelligence, the Sun Moon Emperor did not show a shred of solemnity. Instead, a low chuckle escaped his lips, quickly escalating into a suppressed, manic laughter that echoed off the cold metallic walls.
He stood before a massive floor-to-ceiling window, gazing out at the sprawling, industrialized horizon of his empire. His eyes burned with naked ambition.
"With that old relic dead, Shrek is no longer a threat."
He turned sharply, his imperial robes snapping through the air. "Notify the Soul Engineer Legions! Command Mingde Hall to immediately escalate the research and production of the latest Stationary Soul Cannon Shells! The hope of unifying the Douluo Continent is finally within our grasp!"
His voice boomed with absolute authority. "Pass on my decree! Accelerate the mobilization of our national strength! The era of soul masters is ending!"
In a lightless, subterranean corner of the continent, within the blood-soaked headquarters of the Holy Spirit Cult.
Two terrifying figures sat in absolute darkness. Slowly, Ye Xishui and Long Xiaoyao opened their eyes.
The moment their eyelids parted, the thick scent of blood in the air seemed to boil, turning suffocatingly dense.
Ye Xishui let out a cold, raspy snort. Her aged voice dripped with endless, chilling killing intent. "With that old fool Mu gone, looking across this entire continent, other than Di Tian hiding in the Star Dou Great Forest, there is no one left who can suppress us."
She turned her head slightly into the shadows. "Xiaoyao. The era that belongs to us is finally dawning. The order of this world is long overdue for a rewrite... and it will be written in blood by our Holy Spirit Cult."
In stark contrast, within the grand halls of the Heavenly Soul Empire, the reaction was entirely different.
The Emperor paced back and forth across the polished marble floors, his face flushed, his fists clenched in sheer, unadulterated excitement.
The Heavenly Soul Empire had always tied its fate to the Body Sect. For years, Shrek Academy had suppressed them purely through the existence of Elder Mu. Now, that absolute ceiling had collapsed.
"Shrek is old and decaying!" The Emperor laughed, his eyes flashing with aggressive intensity. "Without Elder Mu, what qualifications do they have to compete with the Body Sect?"
He slammed a fist into his open palm. "The Body Sect not only has Du Busi at the peak of his power, but they also have Liu Yuan! That boy is the absolute future! As long as we buy that child enough time, wait for him to reach his peak... our Heavenly Soul Empire will have the absolute strength to unify the continent! The Body Sect is the true foundation of our nation!"
While the outside world churned in turbulence and the geopolitical chessboard was violently overturned, deep within the remote, mist-shrouded mountains of the Heavenly Soul Empire, the Body Sect remained isolated.
Du Busi stood atop the highest viewing platform of the sect's main peak. The fierce mountain winds whipped his green robes around his massive frame. He gazed far into the southern horizon, toward Shrek City, a rare trace of complex nostalgia softening his usually fierce eyes.
"You stubborn old ghost..." Du Busi murmured, his booming voice reduced to a low sigh. "After fighting for so many decades, you actually went ahead and died before me."
He slowly withdrew his gaze, the softness vanishing, replaced by the sharp, calculating edge of a supreme predator. He knew exactly what Elder Mu's death meant. The fragile balance of the Douluo Continent had shattered. A chaotic, blood-soaked era was already knocking on their doors.
"Now, we see who has the strength to stand firm in the coming storm."
Just as the heavy weight of the future settled over Du Busi's shoulders, the air behind him warped.
Boom—!
From the distant valley where Liu Yuan's secluded residence was located, a terrifying, alien aura erupted without warning.
It was a presence that felt like the fabric of space itself was being violently torn apart. It carried a heavy, suffocating weight—a supremacy that looked down upon all living beings as nothing more than dust.
The sky above the normally tranquil Body Sect violently churned. The clouds were ripped into a massive, swirling vortex. A blinding pillar of purple-gold light shattered the roof of Liu Yuan's residence, shooting into the heavens like ten thousand divine swords piercing the firmament.
The entire sect was thrown into absolute shock.
On the training grounds, elite disciples collapsed to their knees, clutching their chests as their bloodlines instinctively trembled in terror. Deep within the mountain, secluded elders snapped their eyes open, looking up at the sky in sheer horror.
The nostalgia on Du Busi's face was instantly wiped away. His jaw dropped, and then, a wild, ecstatic grin split his face.
He did not care about maintaining the dignified image of a Sect Master. His massive body blurred, transforming into a streak of green lightning that tore through the sky, appearing instantly in the mid-air directly above Liu Yuan's shattered roof.
"This aura... this absolute suppression from deep within the bloodline..."
Du Busi stared fixedly into the swirling purple-gold vortex below. His own powerful pupils contracted to the size of pinpricks. His massive chest heaved, his voice turning hoarse and trembling from pure, unfiltered excitement.
"Could it be... did that brat actually succeed?"
He clenched his fists, the air around him cracking under the pressure. "Did he really complete the Secondary Awakening of his Body Martial Soul?!"
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