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"Xu Yuan!"
Qiangu Dongfeng glared at Xu Yuan, who appeared to step out of nothingness, his teeth clenched with hatred.
He knew that today, Xu Yuan would make his move.
It was he who had personally killed Xu Yuan's parents. Now, everything had finally come to this moment of reckoning.
Qiangu Dongfeng felt a sense of relief that it had been delayed until now, giving him the illusion that Xu Yuan might forgive him due to his status and contributions to the soul master world.
But an illusion was just that. The reckoning would always come.
"Xu Yuan, though we have our grievances, I have ultimately contributed to the soul master world. Youā"
"You admit this is a personal vendetta?" Xu Yuan sneered.
If it's personal, then don't bring up public matters.
Your contributions to the soul master world mean nothing here.
This doesn't stop us from settling our scores.
Xu Yuan took each step forward through empty air.
The psychological pressure of a Super God level was immense.
Only those who had truly witnessed that great battle could deeply understand how terrifying Xu Yuan was. He could casually shift battlefields, and a single spear strike could pierce the heavens, shaking the earth.
In the eyes of all soul masters in the soul master world, Xu Yuan was already at the Super God level. In fact, during that great battle, Xu Yuan had already wielded the power of a Main God.
Qiangu Dongfeng knew there was no escape, so he took a deep breath, preparing to stall for time.
Federation forces, hurry up!
Just moments ago, he wanted to evade Xu Shengqun and the Federation forces flying towards Shrek City. Now, he hoped they would arrive sooner.
With Federation people present, he could use his contributions to the soul master world to bargain for his life, coercing the Federation into cooperation.
"Xu Yuan, your father went mad back then. He even agreed to cooperate with evil soul masters and intended to go to the Holy Spirit Sect!"
Qiangu Dongfeng explained as he retreated.
He was filled with regret at this moment.
Why did he think little of Xu Yuan's seven-level innate soul power back then?
However, regret was useless now.
Qiangu Dongfeng keenly noticed that Xu Yuan's steps paused.
What he said had piqued Xu Yuan's interest.
"Cooperate with the Holy Spirit Sect?" Xu Yuan showed an intrigued expression.
Since he had already met his living father, Xu Yuan hadn't discussed the details of Xu Zhi's death with him.
Now, hearing related details from Qiangu Dongfeng, he decided to listen carefully.
As for Qiangu Dongfeng's intention to stall, Xu Yuan also keenly noticed it.
But he didn't care.
Since it was Qiangu Dongfeng's choice, he would give him the qualification for both reputational and physical death.
Seeing that Xu Yuan was indeed interested, Qiangu Dongfeng felt a glimmer of hope.
Got him.
Qiangu Dieting, seeing this, also sighed in relief.
But he still remained on high alert.
A few years ago, he was one of the peak powers on the continent, but now his life was in others' hands, and they could crush him effortlessly. This feeling was torture for someone who had enjoyed half a lifetime at the peak.
"Ever since your father made progress in his research, he became obsessed with studying the martial souls of evil soul masters. I bought many evil soul masters for him to study, provided him with bodyguards to prevent backlash from evil soul masters, and did everything I could."
Qiangu Dongfeng steadied his mind, clearly describing the situation.
"He studied a total of twelve evil soul masters."
Twelve of them?
Xu Yuan was astonished.
He really devoted himself to research.
"I remember clearly; it was after studying a soul-stealing spirit martial soul that he started going mad."
Soul-stealing spirit?
"The soul-stealing spirit was originally a spiritual martial soul called Ling Po, a type of ethereal martial soul capable of directly attacking the soul. However, after its degeneration and mutation, it became the soul-stealing spirit, able to snatch people's souls and devour their will to cultivate."
Afraid that the content wasn't enough, Qiangu Dongfeng even elaborated on the origin and mutation of the soul-stealing spirit to stall for time.
"But apart from stealing souls, this martial soul itself had the power to influence one's will. Your father must have been influenced, mentioning more than once that he wanted to enter the Holy Spirit Sect."
Qiangu Dongfeng's body trembled.
"I am the Pagoda Master of the Spirit Pagoda. Why would he want to enter the Holy Spirit Sect and come to me?"
"What could I do to arrange his entry into the Holy Spirit Sect?"
"He kept coming to me despite being so crazy!"
His tone carried a hint of grievance, as if killing Xu Zhi was entirely out of necessity.
Qiangu Dieting, listening nearby, felt that his son had suffered an immense injustice.
It was clearly Xu Zhi's own fault!
Xu Yuan's face remained cold, completely unmoved.
He knew his father wouldn't be like that.
The soul-stealing spirit resolved one of Xu Yuan's doubts. It was likely a crucial piece of the puzzle regarding the true essence of the God King's Map.
Having achieved results in this aspect of research, Xu Zhi was obviously very clear-headed.
Moreover, before Xu Zhi's accident, Xu Yuan spent every day with him. If he had truly gone mad, how could Xu Yuan not sense it?
Qiangu Dongfeng emotionally recounted everything again, finally waiting for his "savior."
His expression lit up, and he shouted towards Yu Guanzhi in the distance: "I've bled for the soul master world, I've contributed to the Federation. Are you going to let this madman attack a meritorious official just after the war ends? This will cause social unrest!"
Qiangu Dongfeng pointed at Xu Yuan, cursing him for targeting a contributor right after the war ended, which would incite societal turmoil.
Yu Guanzhi sneered.
Seeing Yu Guanzhi's expression, Qiangu Dongfeng inexplicably felt a chill.
His heart tightened unexpectedly, and his breathing halted momentarily, as if sensing a fatal crisis.
"Qiangu Dongfeng, your collusion with evil soul masters has caused significant damage to society. Today is the day of reckoning."
"I didn't! Yu Guanzhi, don't slander me!" Qiangu Dongfeng instantly reacted without thought, starting to proclaim his innocence.
Witnessing this, whether it was Xu Yuan, Xu Shengqun, or Yu Guanzhi, they all admired the man's quick response.
This guy who even hypnotized himself couldn't be tricked by coercion.
Fortunately, this time they had evidence.
"Thirty-five years ago, a tsunami occurred along the East Sea coast, with evil soul masters stirring up trouble. You sent investigators who falsely claimed it was a natural disaster, secretly detaining the evil soul master. Three years later, this evil soul master reappeared, severely injuring Leng Yaoju, who then disappeared."
"Twenty-one years agoā"
Yu Guanzhi presented the evidence he had gathered methodically.
Behind him, a journalist's face was flushed with excitement, capturing this scene.
Big news!
This was absolutely big news!
The journalist who had previously interviewed Xu Shengqun and Yu Guanzhi had been brought along, riding in Yu Guanzhi's mech, arriving above Shrek City.
At this moment, her face was flushed, emotions running high, as if reaching a climax.
"Ten years ago, Jin Yuan City was attacked by evil soul masters. Subsequently, you divided ten tons of Jin Yuan City's specialty sharp gold crystals into twenty portions, spending a fortune to hire twenty Saint Craftsmen to forge them."
"Five years ago, traces of the Underworld Emperor appeared in the southwestern seas. Again, it was you who took leave from the Underworld during the same period."
"..."
Qiangu Dongfeng's face turned deathly pale.
He looked at Yu Guanzhi, feeling a chilling sensation throughout his body.
Glancing at the flushed-faced journalist behind Yu Guanzhi, he felt even more despair.
Turning back to see the composed Xu Yuan, Qiangu Dongfeng revealed a look of resentment.
Why give me a chance to stall when you could easily kill me?
Qiangu Dongfeng knew everything was over.
Even Qiangu Dieting, who had silently praised his son earlier for stalling well, realized the situation was dire, wishing for death at this moment.
Damn it!
Sure enough, after listing Qiangu Dongfeng's crimes, Yu Guanzhi didn't stop.
"Qiangu Dieting, one hundred and twenty-four years ago, Hai Tian, who competed with you for the Pagoda Master position, was attacked by evil soul masters in the South Sea and died on the spot. At that time, the Federation couldn't identify that evil soul master. Now, it's confirmedāit must have been the Demon Emperor, right?"
"Stop talking!"
Qiangu Dieting sternly interrupted.
He looked at the journalist still excitedly filming and livestreaming everything, wishing to crush this person to death.
The mental force of a Spirit Domain expert could instantly kill an ordinary person.
However, a wave of spiritual energy spread across the heavens and earth.
"I said, she won't die."
One sentence, as if carrying the will of heaven, gathered the forces of heaven and earth, blocking Qiangu Dieting's sudden violence.
Turning around, Qiangu Dieting's eyes nearly bulged out, rapidly filling with bloodshot veins. An overwhelming hatred erupted from his eyes.
That was the only mistake he had ever made in his life.
Ā Heaven War Douluo Douluo, fighting heaven and earth, his willpower was indeed strong. After falling once, he never contacted evil soul masters again.
For others, it might have been hard to quit.
After all, the Holy Spirit Sect was such a useful knife.
However, this sole disgrace was exposed.
Qiangu Dieting was worried not for himself, but for the entire Qiangu family.
He knew full well how his family rose to prominence.
Even his only recorded wrongdoing was uncovered, clearly indicating that the Federation had investigated all the crimes of the Qiangu family.
Perhaps the Federation couldn't uncover all the details, but their stance was already clear.
They aimed to destroy the entire Qiangu family.
Once the charges against him and Qiangu Dongfeng were established and they were killed, investigating the Qiangu family would face no resistance.
The entire Qiangu family would be finished!
Today wasn't just about their deaths; the entire family would perish, burdened with infamy. Even if the Qiangu family's bloodline survived for hundreds of years, it would forever be looked down upon, questioned by others.
"Alright, I've given you the qualifications to face judgment. Now, it's time for you to die." Xu Yuan announced the death sentence for the father and son.
Across the heavens and earth, chains began to appear.
"The anti-evil dragon truly suffered in your family."
Qiangu Dieting's heart, already sunk to the abyss, shattered completely.
"Since that's the case, it should be sealed."
The chains didn't fall on the father and son but extended in all directions, as if touching the plane's essence.
The heavens and earth trembled.
A massive hammer shadow appeared.
"Since you chose to be turtles, stay hidden properly."
Xu Yuan shouted, grabbing a chain with his right hand and fiercely swinging it, shattering the hammer shadow.
Yu Guanzhi swallowed hard, looking at Xu Yuan with fear.
If he wasn't mistaken, that hammer shadow was the descent of the plane's master, Tang Hao.
One chain shattered it.
Could Xu Yuan's strength surpass the plane's master by so much?
During the previous great battle, they only saw shadows, feeling that every move of the five great powers could destroy everything, yet it was hard to intuitively compare who was more terrifying.
From the Super God level onward, it was beyond mortal comprehension.
A normal Super God level, exerting full force, could already destroy the ecosystem of an ordinary plane and damage the essence of a life-bearing planet.
Though unable to blow up a star in one hit, they could indirectly destroy a planet alone.
"Xu Yuan, how ruthless you are!"
Qiangu Dongfeng's eyes nearly burst with anger, feeling the sudden weakening of his martial soul, as if finally realizing something.
His sense of responsibility toward the Qiangu family was evidently less than Qiangu Dieting's. Only now did he realize the impending disaster for his family.
"This is merely the price of your past actions."
Xu Yuan teleported in front of Qiangu Dieting, his right hand transforming into a spear, piercing through Qiangu Dieting's heart.
As Qiangu Dieting's consciousness faded, Xu Yuan grabbed a figure out of thin air with his left handāit was none other than Qiangu Qingfeng.
Qiangu Dieting's last shred of hope shattered, his life ending completely, losing all consciousness.
Seeing this, Qiangu Dongfeng was scared witless, retreating continuously.
A Limit Douluo, mighty as he was, now felt like a chicken facing Xu Yuan's slaughter, trembling all over.
He couldn't resist.
Playing politics all his life, Qiangu Dongfeng was still living in the past, failing to realize that true power could control life and death.
Witnessing Xu Yuan's strength, he laughably thought that gaining power could coerce Xu Yuan.
How utterly foolish!
At this moment, the despair before absolute power made him rediscover the bloodiest truth of this worldāsurvival of the fittest.
Even with the Federation's existence, this was unavoidable.
In the extraordinary world, the strong ruled, and the weak could only pray for the powerful's mercy.
The so-called order was established under the balance of power among the strong.
Xu Yuan held Qiangu Qingfeng in his left hand, turned around, and flashed in front of Qiangu Dongfeng.
"Do you know why killing you took so long?"
Xu Yuan's eyes were cold.
"My father back then was just an ordinary person.
Just as you are now, standing before me, you're nothing but an 'ordinary person.'"
With a wave of his right hand, a crescent-shaped spear beam pierced through Qiangu Dongfeng.
Everything happening here was being live-streamed, and the entire Federation fell silent.
Two Limit Douluo were killed like chickens.
Everyone developed a sense of awe for Xu Yuan, the Venerable Yuan.
"Qiangu Qingfeng, although I want to exterminate you completely, I must admit, you haven't done any evil. After thorough investigations, it turns out you've eradicated evil soul masters multiple times."
Xu Yuan glanced at Qiangu Dongfeng and Qiangu Dieting, revealing a mocking expression.
"They inherited the Coiling Dragon Staff possessing the power of the anti-evil dragon but colluded with evil. Yet, you, who didn't inherit the Coiling Dragon Staff martial soul, charged to the frontlines in eliminating evil soul masters."
Qiangu Qingfeng didn't know what happened here, but seeing his father and brother's corpses, he couldn't help but smile bitterly.
Hearing Xu Yuan's words, he fell silent, unable to utter a word of questioning.
Glancing at Yu Guanzhi and the journalist, he understood.
It seemed a trial had just taken place here.
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