Could it be... a fellow practitioner?
The atmosphere grew increasingly eerie. The Death God Envoy's back was already soaked in cold sweat as he stared intently at the youth, his gaze unfriendly. "Dare I ask who Your Excellency is, to dare block the path of this death god envoy?"
"A fellow who has only just touched the edge of death techniques and has already sacrificed his physical body—is he even worthy of calling himself the Death God Envoy? Does the Death God know about this?" Lu Cheng jumped down from the burly corpse slave with a beaming smile. His expression was gentle and warm, looking very much like some righteous young master.
This posture made one feel as if they were bathed in a spring breeze, yet the death god envoy felt even more creeped out.
Suddenly, a series of thunderous roars echoed from behind. The cave shook as if the earth were moving and the mountains were swaying, and that powerful aura drew closer and closer.
Exactly who are you? You aren't very old, but you put on quite a show. Get out of the way, and this seat will not hold today's reckless actions against you, otherwise—" The death god envoy's face looked grim.
"Otherwise what?" Lu Cheng sized up the Death God Envoy with great interest.
As the strongest Soul King of the Douluo Dalu II era, this man could indeed be described as "overpowered." After all, he could detonate corpses, using all the flesh and bone of a body as energy. The stronger the cultivation, the stronger the explosion. There were no corpse restrictions (no need to spend time or effort marking them), no cooldown, and it was instantaneous.
In certain specific locations, it was practically a BUG-level existence.
Especially on a battlefield or in places like this where people were piled up.
After a corpse detonated, the resulting shockwaves and corpse poison would all become sources of damage. Those killed by the corps explosion would then become the energy source for the next round of explosions.
Repeating in a cycle, the power would even increase geometrically.
In the simulator, he had also stayed in the Holy Spirit cult for a period of time. There were heaven-defying prodigies among the Evil Soul Masters, but they were far from being a match for this freak.
Therefore—
He would not let this guy go.
"Otherwise, once this seat escapes, I will surely kill you!!!" the Death God Envoy roared. Immediately, a deep purple soul ring rose from beneath his feet. The surrounding walls suddenly burst open, and countless corpses were thrown out from the cracks. They exploded violently in mid-air, forming a continuous chain of corpse explosions. Though the power wasn't as great as before, the momentum was by no means poor.
Poisonous mist rose everywhere.
The Death God Envoy cast a cold glance at the area obscured by the thick, dark green corpse poison. "This was originally reserved for that titled Douluo to stall for time. I didn't expect it to be wasted on you. But no matter, I still have the twelve corpse slaves—"
Just as he intended to regain control of the corpse slaves, his body stiffened again. He violently coughed up a mouthful of blood, his face turning pale as a sheet.
"Impossible, you actually... didn't die?!"
"Heh heh—"
A figure slowly emerged from the dark green, poisonous corpse.
Clean, flawless snowflakes fell around him, as if he were a king from the Far North. Ultimate Ice had restraining properties against most poisons, and corpse poison was naturally among them.
Thus, sensing the Ultimate Ice, the surrounding corpse poison dispersed as if seeing its natural enemy.
Lu Cheng's expression was calm, and the smile on his face slowly faded.
"Evil Soul Master? It's been a long time since anyone dared to use these flashy tricks in front of me—including those fellows who call themselves Evil Soul Masters. After all, the guys who dared to do such things... have all ended up in my stomach."
The corner of the Death God Envoy's eye twitched violently, suddenly sensing that something was very wrong.
It seemed he had provoked an extremely terrifying existence.
"Being devoured by the corpse slaves you refined and nurtured with your own essence and blood—want to give it a try?" Lu Cheng's lips curled into a smile, his eyes distant.
"No, no—"
"Can't wait?"
The smile on Lu Cheng's face completely vanished as he lightly snapped his fingers. "Then I shall satisfy you."
Roar!!!
In the next instant, the twelve corpse slaves pounced frantically toward the death god envoy. They were refined from the corpses of Soul Emperors and even Soul Saints; their bodies were impervious to blades, spears, water, and fire. Their hatred and resentment toward the Death God Envoy caused the latter to be disemboweled in a single moment. Blood splattered everywhere as he was devoured clean by the swarming corpse slaves; even his bones were crushed and swallowed.
One could see how deep the hatred was.
"All of them were pitiful people. Go now—"
Lu Cheng shook his head.
What is most feared is not death, but a life worse than death—having one's soul imprisoned within a vessel is eternal torture.
Thud!
Thud!
The twelve corpse slaves knelt on the ground and kowtowed three times with force. Then, their physical bodies gradually shattered and disintegrated, and their souls were finally set free.
"However—"
Lu Cheng slowly opened his palm. Looking at the terrified, trembling soul of the death god envoy, a kind smile appeared in his eyes.
"You just said—once you escaped, you would surely kill me."
Death God Envoy: " …"
Who the hell could have thought they would encounter such a freakish monster?
He was more like an evil soul master than he was. These ruthless methods and proficient soul-trapping techniques did not look like those of a novice.
"Please spare me! There's a treasure I collected at the bottom of this cave. I can take you there—AAAAAAHHHH!!!"
But before he could finish, he suddenly let out a piercing scream.
Even his soul became twisted and deformed.
A few seconds later.
Lu Cheng nodded slightly. He had just searched the sole. This guy did indeed have some skill. Regarding the corpse explosion, it wasn't his soul skill, but rather a skill he had developed on his own. His soul skill was more of a precise control plus an amplification of the explosion's power.
In truth, he was quite interested in this corpse explosion.
After all, if he built a good relationship with Old Electrolux in the future, he might be able to get some necromantic spells or even half a plane from this treasure chest of a sage. If the undead within could be combined with self-detonation, could he create an infinitely recyclable undead bomb?
Casually rolling the whole mass—which had dimmed further after being ravaged by the soul search—into a ball, he tossed it into his mouth, crunched it up, and swallowed. Lu Cheng's eyes lit up. "Mental type—tastes pretty good."
It could be considered making the best use of everything. Having been used to being the Holy Son of the Holy Spirit Cult, he had developed a good habit of never wasting such "talent."
"This little fellow indeed has some tricks; a pity he went astray—" In the spiritual sea, that cloud of gray mist surged, condensing into an aged figure whose eyes held a hint of pity.
"Then—Old Electrolux, do you think the undead can self-detonate?" Lu Cheng asked with interest.
If things like the undead could self-detonate, that would be fun. After all, these things were essentially immortal and indestructible. They could even turn ordinary humans into more undead after killing them—a calamity-like existence.
"In principle, naturally they can. All things in this world can explode—" Electrolux nodded slightly.
His eyes showed a slight look of surprise.
"Let me think—it does seem somewhat interesting."
Having said that, he sank back into the spiritual sea and fell silent.
…
Lu Cheng glanced at Xuan Zi in the distance, who was charging over aggressively like an invincible bull, dust flying along the way. Countless corpse explosions had only slowed his speed.
Lu Cheng shook his head.
His figure vanished.
Inside the cave.
Wang Yan's hair was disheveled, and his eyes were bloodshot. Looking at the mess on the ground and the many inner academy disciples who were either unconscious or heavily injured, his eyes nearly split with grief. These were the main forces of Shrek Academy for the competition. Setting aside what would happen in the upcoming tournament, whether these backbone forces of the Inner Academy could recover from their injuries and reach their former peak was a question.
And even if they could recover, it wasn't guaranteed they wouldn't be left with hidden injuries, and they would waste a lot of time during their golden cultivation period, being overtaken by other geniuses of the same age.
"How is it?"
A figure stepped into the cave, his gaze calm and rippless.
—
"Ma Xiaotao, Ling Luochen, and Gongyang Mo have light injuries and will be fine after half a month of rest. But Dai Yueheng was at the very front of the battlefield and is the most heavily injured. There are also Yao Haoxuan, Xi Xi, Chen Zifeng, and others who were also affected by the second wave of corpse explosions. Corpse poison has seeped into their bodies. If they aren't treated in time, their lives are in danger—"
Wang Yan's eyes lit up the moment he saw Lu Cheng, as if he had seen his pillar of support. He spoke with difficulty.
At the same time, he seemed to be asking what to do next.
Lu Cheng nodded slightly, indicating he understood.
He glanced at Ma Xiaotao in the distance.
The latter had been using her martial soul's true body at the time. Although she was at the core of the explosion, she was in better condition than the other Inner Academy disciples, at least able to stand and move.
"Useless."
Lu Cheng indifferently spat out those two words.
The latter's body suddenly stiffened. She stood frozen in place, looking at that indifferent gaze. She unconsciously lowered her head in guilt, her eyes flickering. It was as if that indomitable Inner Academy Senior Brother, the Holy Son of the Holy Spirit Cult, had reappeared. The pressure made her scalp tingle.
She was submissive and at a loss.
"As the captain, you hold the lives of the entire team in your hands, yet you only thought about charging in blindly. After all these years, I thought you had made some progress—I didn't expect you to still be this stupid," Lu Cheng said indifferently.
Ma Xiaotao's pretty face turned pale as she clenched her fingers.
This scene left everyone dumbfounded.
The awakened Ling Luochen, Gongyang Mo, and even Wang Yan and the many Outer Academy disciples all had looks of astonishment.
This was the Inner Academy's Fire Demoness, who had a violent temper and would explode at the slightest provocation. To think she would be lectured like a child like this without a shred of anger?
"Of course, I don't mean to praise the rest of you either—"
Lu Cheng glanced indifferently at the other inner academy disciples.
"As the elites of the Inner Academy and the sharpest spear and shield of the Supervisory Group, to show this kind of performance, you aren't much better than Ma Xiaotao."
"Kid, what do you mean?"
Xuan Zi panted heavily, his eyes bloodshot, as he walked in step by step, staring intently at Lu Cheng with a murderous look.
"I just want to say that everyone present is trash."
Lu Cheng spoke with a light laugh. The smile on his face was still gentle, but at this moment, it was laced with extreme sharpness and edge.
"Including you—Xuan Zi."
The scene suddenly fell silent.
Everyone looked on in bewilderment.
"An academy that treats the lives of its elite Inner Academy Disciples as a joke is not far from destruction. Xuan Zi, so your so-called extermination of Evil Soul Masters is just charging in recklessly like this, disregarding everything to deliver heads?"
Lu Cheng said with a beaming smile.
"I only see elite disciples who haven't even learned the Art of Dragon Slaying being sent to a dragon's den to slay a dragon. As an academy that nurtures talent, Shrek's contribution is truly great."
"You look more like Evil Soul Masters than the Evil Soul Masters themselves."
Notes:
Changed Death Messenger to Death God Envoy.
Try D: Charity King, It's from the same author as this one.
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