Chapter 154: Breakthrough Failure! Elder Xuan Suffers Severe Injury
Inside the Sea God Pavilion office, the once sacred and tranquil aura of golden light had warped into a lethal, suffocating storm.
Elder Xuan sat cross-legged in the center of the wooden floor. His entire body had swollen grotesquely, resembling an over-inflated balloon on the verge of bursting. His exposed skin stretched tight, taking on a translucent, bruised purplish-red hue. Beneath the surface, thick veins bulged and twisted wildly, writhing like dying earthworms trapped under his flesh.
The Soul Power of his Taotie Divine Bull, usually as immovable and heavy as a primordial mountain, was being ruthlessly torn apart. Faced with the violent, overbearing radiance of the Radiant Dragon energy, his defenses shattered into useless fragments.
'Damn it... Get out! Get out, all of you!' Elder Xuan roared in his mind. He gritted his teeth, desperately mobilizing every last drop of his Soul Power to forcibly seal his middle Dantian. He tried to squeeze the rampaging energy of the Radiant Dragon Pill out through his pores.
However, the Radiant Dragon Pill contained the absolute purest origin essence left behind by Elder Mu before his death. The sheer quality of that energy stood at the absolute pinnacle of the world. Once it invaded his meridians and triggered a violent rejection, it simply could not be suppressed or expelled by mere brute force.
"Pfft—!"
A violent spasm wracked his chest, and Elder Xuan spewed a massive mouthful of blood. The dark crimson liquid carried faint, shimmering specks of dark gold. The moment it splattered against the ancient wooden floorboards, a harsh, hissing sound echoed as the sheer density of the energy corroded the wood.
His meridians teetered on the absolute brink of total collapse. Every inch of his skeleton groaned and cracked under the unbearable, crushing burden.
'No... This old man cannot die here...'His breathing grew ragged and shallow.'This old man still needs to become a Limit Douluo... This old man still wants revenge...'
Elder Xuan forced his eyes open. Thick, bloody veins completely covered his sclera, turning his vision into a blurred, crimson haze.
Deep within his lower abdomen, the black hole formed by his Soul Power had stretched far beyond its absolute limit.
Finally, that fragile, desperate equilibrium shattered completely.
"Boom—!"
A muffled yet utterly devastating explosion detonated like a thunderclap within the confines of the Sea God Pavilion office.
It was not a physical blast of fire and heat, but a pure, unadulterated energy shockwave birthed from highly compressed Soul Power instantly losing control.
Elder Xuan let out a shrill, agonizing scream. The invisible blast of air lifted his bloated body off the ground and sent him flying backward. He crashed violently into the massive, refined iron bookshelf lining the back wall.
The specially crafted, heavy-duty iron crumpled inward under the sheer force of the impact. Countless precious, ancient texts rained down, burying his broken body beneath a mountain of parchment and splintered wood.
Large, thick mouthfuls of blood continuously spilled down the corners of his mouth, pooling on the floor. His chest had caved in visibly. Several of his ribs had been violently snapped from the inside out by the rampaging currents of his own Soul Power.
He lay paralyzed within the ruins of the office, his limbs twitching involuntarily. The once suffocating, majestic aura of a Level 98 Super Douluo had withered away to a pathetic, flickering ember. He lacked even the basic strength to push himself up from the debris.
"How could it be... How could it be like this..."
Elder Xuan stared blankly at the ornate ceiling, his chest heaving as he gasped for air. Every ragged breath drew the heavy, metallic stench of his own blood into his lungs.
Sensing the catastrophic state of his internal meridians, now reduced to a mangled, shattered mess, a wave of intense, suffocating regret washed over his heart.
'This old man was too careless...'His mind raced through the agony.'Did that old ghost, Elder Mu, deliberately leave a trap inside the Radiant Dragon Pill? No, that is impossible... That was the pure essence of his entire life's cultivation. Could it really be that my Taotie Divine Bull Martial Soul simply cannot withstand the attribute of ultimate light?'
He had genuinely believed he had seized a heaven-defying stroke of good fortune. He never expected that very greed to drag him straight toward the gates of hell.
This miserable, pathetic fall from the absolute peak to rock bottom dealt an unmatched, crushing blow to his arrogant pride.
The massive commotion Elder Xuan had just caused echoed like a clap of thunder through the usually silent, solemn halls of the Sea God Pavilion.
The senior elders, whether they were discussing academy matters or meditating in secluded chambers, all sensed the terrifying anomaly in that exact instant.
The sudden, violent eruption of a Level 98 aura, followed immediately by its complete and utter withering, caused every single one of their hearts to jolt violently.
"What is going on? This aura... is it Elder Xuan's?" Yan Shaozhe shot up from his seat, all the color draining from his face.
"That direction is Elder Xuan's office! Could it be that he was attacked?" Xian Lin'er rushed out from the opposite corridor, her eyes wide with shock and confusion.
"Impossible. The Sea God Pavilion's defenses are absolute. Who could possibly sneak in silently and launch a lethal strike against a Level 98 Super Douluo?" Another elder shouted, his voice tight with panic. "Could it be that Elder Xuan suffered an accident while cultivating?"
"Quick! Go and see! A Soul Power fluctuation of this magnitude definitely means something catastrophic has happened!"
The senior elders cast aside all their usual dignity and composure. One by one, they activated their movement techniques, transforming into rapid streaks of light as they rushed toward the top floor at maximum speed.
When the group violently pushed open the heavy double doors to Elder Xuan's office, the miserable, devastating scene before them caused a collective, sharp intake of breath.
The entire spacious office had been reduced to a chaotic wasteland. The priceless, antique mahogany furniture lay splintered into thousands of jagged wood chips. Elder Xuan lay slumped within the twisted wreckage of the iron bookshelf like a beaten dog. He was completely drenched in his own blood, his life force flickering so weakly that it seemed his breathing might stop at any given second.
"Elder Xuan!"
Yan Shaozhe cried out in horror. He dashed forward, dropping to his knees to carefully support the old man's shoulders. The moment his hands made contact, a violent chill shot straight down Yan Shaozhe's spine. Elder Xuan's skin was terrifyingly hot, practically boiling, and the Soul Power inside his body was rampaging chaotically, completely devoid of any order, like a hopelessly tangled knot of coarse hemp.
"How could he sustain such horrific injuries? What exactly happened here?" The senior elders crowded around, their faces painted with sheer disbelief and panic.
"Quick! Go invite Elder Zhuang over immediately! Mobilize the absolute best healing Soul Masters in the academy, hurry!"
The normally tranquil Sea God Pavilion descended into absolute chaos.
Before long, the top healing Soul Master of Shrek Academy arrived in a frantic sprint, flanked by several anxious senior elders.
After a tense, rapid flurry of diagnostic techniques and the application of initial stabilizing lights, the healing Soul Master pulled back. He wiped a thick layer of cold sweat from his forehead and shook his head grimly at the surrounding crowd.
"Respected senior elders, Elder Xuan's injuries are extremely bizarre." The healer's voice trembled slightly. "His meridians have suffered massive, widespread ruptures, and his internal organs have sustained severe concussive damage. Most terrifyingly, his Soul Origin appears to have been violently impacted by some kind of incredibly high-level, overbearing power."
The healing Soul Master lowered his voice, his tone growing even more grave. "My initial treatment can only temporarily stabilize his deteriorating condition. The internal trauma this time is simply too severe. Without at least three to five months of absolute rest, I fear Elder Xuan will be completely unable to recover his cultivation base. During this period, he absolutely cannot use even a fraction of his Soul Power."
Upon hearing this grim prognosis, the expressions of every senior elder present turned exceptionally ugly.
Shrek Academy was already in a weakened state following recent events. If Elder Xuan, their sole remaining pillar of absolute strength, was incapacitated for several months, the academy would be left entirely vulnerable. If any hostile forces chose this exact window to launch an attack, the consequences would be utterly catastrophic.
Yan Shaozhe looked down at Elder Xuan, who had finally recovered a faint glimmer of clarity in his eyes. He could not stop his brow from furrowing as he asked, "Elder Xuan, what exactly happened to you? Deep inside the Sea God Pavilion, how could you possibly sustain such devastating injuries?"
Elder Xuan leaned weakly against the soft cushions someone had placed behind him. His bloodshot eyes darted slightly, taking in the scene.
Looking at the deeply concerned, confused faces of the surrounding senior elders, his heart skipped a nervous beat. He absolutely dared not tell these people the actual truth.
If they found out that he had secretly embezzled the Radiant Dragon Pill that Elder Mu had explicitly left for Liu Yuan, and that he had nearly crippled himself because of his own selfish greed, the fallout would be apocalyptic. His esteemed position as the acting Pavilion Master would be stripped from him instantly, and his lifelong reputation would be dragged through the mud and completely ruined.
Forcing down the rising panic, Elder Xuan endured the excruciating, stabbing pain in his collapsed chest. He deliberately let his face fall into an expression of desolate, tragic sorrow. When he finally spoke, he forced his voice to sound incredibly hoarse and broken.
"Everyone... This old man has failed Elder Mu. I have failed Shrek."
As he spoke, he forced himself to cough violently, hacking up another dark pool of blood onto his robes. That utterly miserable, pathetic display instantly struck fear and sympathy into the hearts of the watching elders.
"This old man..." He wheezed, clutching his chest. "This old man was merely attempting to forcibly break through the final bottleneck... to reach the Level 99 Limit Douluo realm."
Elder Xuan slowly raised his head. He expertly masked his deceit, allowing his eyes to reflect a deep, unwavering determination to face death. He lowered his voice, injecting a heavy dose of righteous sorrow into his tone.
"Elder Mu has just left us. Our Shrek Academy no longer possesses an absolute Limit Douluo powerhouse to hold the fort and deter our enemies."
"I see the danger with my own eyes, and I am burning with anxiety in my heart! As the person with the oldest seniority remaining in Shrek, and the one closest to that legendary realm, if I do not step up, who will? What if that madman Du Busi from the Body Sect decides to attack? What if the Sun Moon Empire suddenly launches a full-scale war? Who will be left to protect our ten-thousand-year foundation?"
He paused, letting out a ragged, painful sigh. "I know full well that attempting to break through to the absolute limit is fraught with extreme danger. I know I should have proceeded steadily, accumulating my strength over years. But the current situation waits for no one! I would rather risk exploding and dying right here, right now, just to fight for a sliver of a future for Shrek."
"Unfortunately..." A bitter, self-deprecating smile touched his bloody lips. "I was still short by just a single, thin line. I fell short of success at the very last moment, and suffered the terrifying backlash of the realm itself."
Elder Xuan delivered these words with such practiced, raw sincerity that he practically convinced himself. He perfectly captured the tragic, bleeding aura of a great hero forced to the end of his road.
The surrounding senior elders listened in absolute silence, their eyes filling with deep awe and deep respect.
A few of them had initially harbored faint suspicions that Elder Xuan might have been dabbling in some forbidden, crooked cultivation path. But hearing this desperate, impassioned confession, those doubts vanished like smoke. They immediately felt a surge of guilt for even questioning him. In their eyes, Elder Xuan was a fiercely loyal servant of Shrek, a man willing to sacrifice his own life for the future of the academy.
"Elder Xuan... You... you are too foolish!" Yan Shaozhe's eyes grew visibly red, his voice trembling with heavy emotion. "Although Elder Mu is no longer here to guide us, we still have everyone else. We can stand together! How could you gamble your own life so recklessly? If something truly fatal happened to you today, Shrek would truly collapse!"
"Yes, Elder Xuan, we all deeply appreciate your noble intentions," Xian Lin'er added, her tone softening. "Please, just rest and focus entirely on recovering from your injuries. Leave the academy's external matters to us to handle."
"Elder Xuan is truly the unwavering pillar of Shrek. This sheer courage to sacrifice oneself for the greater good... it is something we are deeply ashamed to admit we lack," another elder murmured respectfully.
The senior elders stepped forward one after another to offer words of comfort. Every sentence they spoke was laced with deep recognition and absolute reverence for the old man.
In their view, Elder Xuan had willingly crippled himself solely for the sake of protecting their home.
Finally, after repeatedly urging the healer to spare no expense and telling Elder Xuan to rest well, the senior elders quietly exited the ruined office, their faces heavy with solemn determination.
As the heavy, damaged doors were carefully pulled shut, the ruined office fell into a dead, heavy silence once more.
Elder Xuan lay motionless on the makeshift bed the healer had arranged. He extended his senses, feeling the concerned auras of the elders slowly fading down the corridor. He let out a long, shuddering sigh of relief. The tragic, tense expression he had worn instantly melted away, replaced by cold calculation.
'Phew... I finally managed to muddle my way through that disaster.'The corners of Elder Xuan's mouth curled upward into a faint, incredibly smug arc. Although his broken body still hurt like absolute hell, the sheer satisfaction of watching that entire room of old, experienced powerhouses being effortlessly spun around by his lies gave him a twisted sense of intellectual superiority.'This bunch of naive idiots from Shrek are still as easy to fool as ever,'he sneered internally.'As long as my image as a tragic, self-sacrificing hero is firmly established, absolutely no one will ever suspect me of being responsible for the disappearance of that Radiant Dragon Pill. Once my injuries finally heal, I will find a way to slowly scheme against that little bastard Liu Yuan and the Body Sect.'
However, just as Elder Xuan was deeply immersed in his own smug, self-congratulatory thoughts, outside the building, a solitary figure was currently walking at a brisk, purposeful pace directly toward the main entrance of the Sea God Pavilion.
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