Watching his most prized disciple on the verge of being crushed into pulp, the Holy Dragon Douluo En Ci could no longer remain seated. With a furious roar, he flashed into the arena. The moment he stepped onto the stage, an overwhelming gravitational force surged toward him like a tidal wave. As a 98th-ranked Super Douluo, En Ci's expression shifted slightly—could this level of power truly be unleashed by a mere Soul King?
A trace of concealed coldness flickered in En Ci's gaze as he looked at Jing Shaoyu. If such a prodigy were allowed to grow unchecked, would their Star Luo Empire ever have a chance to rise again?
The projection of the Star Luo Continent above them descended lower and lower. En Ci immediately raised his hand, and a dazzling radiance erupted from his palm. A massive dragon claw emerged from the light, grasping toward the projection of the continent in the sky.
BOOM!
After a deafening explosion, the arena was bathed in light once more. The terrifying projection of the continent vanished as if it had never existed. On the stage, En Ci stood with his hands behind his back, exuding the demeanor of a grandmaster—though his furious expression somewhat undermined the effect.
Jing Shaoyu, hovering midair, frowned in displeasure at the referee when he saw the interference. However, the referee deliberately ignored him—after all, this was his superior. How could he dare intervene?
Realizing the match was effectively over, Shaoyu calmly retracted his Martial Soul and descended to the stage, his expression indifferent as he faced En Ci.
This was the first time Jing Shaoyu had seen En Ci, yet he instantly recognized his identity. The man's anxious and protective demeanor toward Long Yue told him everything he needed to know.
En Ci examined his disciple, who lay motionless and unconscious on the ground, his face darkening with fury. He turned to Jing Shaoyu and said coldly, "What a ruthless heart! You deliberately attempted murder!"
"Hah!" Shaoyu laughed mockingly. "Old fool, which eye of yours saw me trying to kill him? This is a competition. If he refused to surrender, was I supposed to just stand there and let him win?"
"How dare you!" En Ci bellowed in rage. "Such arrogance! Today, I shall discipline you in place of your elders!"
As he spoke, he raised his hand and swiped at Jing Shaoyu. A dragon claw infused with terrifying force swept toward him.
A flash of silver light—Cai Yue'er instantly appeared in front of Shaoyu, her eyes blazing with fury. How dare this man attack a student of Shrek Academy right in front of her, the academy's dean? The sheer audacity!
Yet before she could act, a streak of golden flames shot past her and Jing Shaoyu, striking En Ci's dragon claw.
"Agh!" En Ci recoiled in pain, immediately retracting his hand. His knuckles were now scorched, and his eyes widened in shock and disbelief.
"Who do you think you are? You presume to discipline my disciple?"
A breathtakingly beautiful woman of peerless grace stood beside Jing Shaoyu, her arrival unnoticed until now. Her gaze was icy, her expression arrogant, radiating an overwhelming sense of dominance.
"Who are you?" En Ci demanded warily, his heart pounding. This woman appeared no older than twenty or thirty, yet he couldn't see through her cultivation. How was this possible? He was a 98th-ranked Super Douluo, just one step away from a 99th-ranked Title Douluo! How could he fail to gauge the strength of a young woman?
Unless… she was a Title Douluo!
"Who I am doesn't matter. What matters is that since you dared lay hands on my disciple, you'd better be prepared to get beaten!" The woman's cold voice carried an overbearing tone that matched her domineering presence.
Her identity was unmistakable—Heavenly Phoenix Douluo Leng Yaoju!
Jing Shaoyu hadn't seen her since coming ashore, nearly two months passing in the blink of an eye. He never expected their reunion to happen under such circumstances. His eyes shone with joy as he looked at Leng Yaoju, though now was clearly not the time for teacher and disciple to catch up.
Without another word, Leng Yaoju struck at En Ci, her jade-like hand wreathed in golden flames, her aura magnificent and invincible.
En Ci's expression turned grave as he watched Leng Yaoju charge toward him. He was now absolutely certain—this woman before him was truly a Limit Douluo! Having no desire whatsoever to face such an opponent, he decisively retreated, grabbing Long Yue from the ground before vanishing from the arena in a flash.
Seeing this, Leng Yaoju immediately prepared to give chase.
"Teacher, let it go," Jing Shaoyu quickly called out to stop her. If Leng Yaoju really pursued this, who knew what terrifying consequences might follow? It could even spark a war between their two nations—that would be disastrous.
"Fine then!" Leng Yaoju nodded regretfully at Shaoyu's words before looking down at him with a brilliant smile. "A Yuan, you've truly astonished me! So impressive!"
"Heh heh!" Jing Shaoyu couldn't help but laugh at her praise, but before his laughter could fully form, an overwhelming exhaustion flooded his body, causing him to collapse uncontrollably.
"A Yuan!" Leng Yaoju caught him just in time, sparing him the embarrassment of hitting the ground.
"Soul Power depleted, physical strength exhausted. He'll be fine after a few days' rest." Cai Yue'er took Shaoyu's hand to examine him before sighing in relief. "You can leave him to Gu Yue and the others."
With that, Cai Yue'er flashed back to the VIP platform. "Your Majesty, your nation's Imperial Tutor's actions were truly disgraceful and detrimental to the friendship between our two countries!" she said coldly to Dai Tianling.
Tang Bingyao immediately chimed in from the side: "Indeed! We were invited by your nation to participate in this tournament, yet the Holy Dragon Douluo disregarded all decorum to attack our children. This is truly disheartening!"
The accusatory tones of Cai Yue'er and Tang Bingyao put Dai Tianling in an extremely foul mood, yet he could only force a smile—they held the moral high ground, and his side was weaker in strength. He couldn't help feeling some resentment toward En Ci in his heart.
"Our Imperial Tutor acted out of deep concern for his disciple—love makes one reckless," Dai Tianling still had to defend En Ci, after all, he was the strongest in the Star Luo Empire, the nation's pillar of support. "Fortunately, no irreparable harm was done. I beg your understanding, and I promise you'll receive proper compensation."
"Hmph!" Cai Yue'er snorted at this but said no more.
Seeing that Cai Yue'er wouldn't press further, Tang Bingyao inwardly sighed in relief. Truth be told, the moment Leng Yaoju appeared, he'd thought this diplomatic mission was doomed. Fortunately, though the two Douluo acted domineeringly, they still understood reason and knew what was truly important.
"Hahaha, as long as this doesn't affect the friendship between our two nations," he said with booming laughter.
"Absolutely, absolutely!" Dai Tianling immediately chimed in, bursting into laughter as well, "Hahaha!"
Cai Yue'er watched the two men laughing heartily while harboring ulterior motives, feeling nothing but disgust.
Seemingly having laughed enough, Dai Tianling stopped and said to Tang Bingyao, "That must be Her Excellency the Heavenly Phoenix Douluo. Might I trouble Chairman Tang to introduce me? I'd like to fulfill my duties as host."
"This..." Tang Bingyao's face showed a hint of embarrassment at the request. "Your Majesty, to be honest, Her Excellency the Heavenly Phoenix isn't part of our delegation. I really shouldn't disturb her. Perhaps Elder Cai could make the introduction instead? The relationship between Shrek Academy and the Spirit Pagoda is quite close."
"Right, right," Dai Tianling's expression darkened slightly at Tang Bingyao's refusal, but brightened again upon hearing the latter part. Smiling at Cai Yue'er, he said, "Elder Cai, might I trouble you to do me this honor?"
"I don't get along with her," Cai Yue'er flatly refused. "Find someone else."
Dai Tianling's expression soured at her rejection, assuming she simply didn't want to introduce him, unaware she was telling the truth.
Despite his displeasure, Dai Tianling maintained his smile. "How could that be? Isn't your academy's student Jing Shaoyu her disciple?"
This was the wrong thing to say. Cai Yue'er immediately bristled, her voice icy. "Who said Jing Shaoyu is her disciple? Jing Shaoyu is clearly the personal disciple of Shrek Academy's Poseidon Pavilion Master, the Skyreach Douluo, and the successor to the Poseidon Pavilion Master! He has nothing to do with the Heavenly Phoenix!"
Both Dai Tianling and Tang Bingyao were stunned. They hadn't expected Cai Yue'er's outburst, nor such explosive news. For a moment, they were at a loss. Cai Yue'er had no intention of staying either, vanishing instantly.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the arena, Jing Shaoyu was helped down by Leng Yaoju.
"Shaoyu (Brother/Little Yu/Brother Yu/Class President), what's wrong?" The six girls immediately crowded around, calling out in a cacophony.
Watching the flock of chattering girls, Leng Yaoju felt irritated. "Quiet!" she snapped. "He's just exhausted from showing off. Take him back to rest and he'll be fine."
Cowed by her authority, the girls fell silent. Gu Yue and Na'er took Jing Shaoyu from her, and the group escorted him away from the stadium.
Nearby, Dai Yun'er and the Monster Academy team watched their departure with complex expressions. The vivid memory of Long Yue's miserable defeat lingered—they'd never imagined the mighty Dragon King could be so thoroughly beaten!