Chapter 93 – The Double Standard of Shrek
Under the blinding light released by Xiao Qiang, ordinary people couldn't even open their eyes. But the strong light was useless against true powerhouses—those at the level of Title Douluo were far from ordinary.
Because of this, Tiansha Douluo Huang Jinxu was able to rescue the critically injured Xu Sanshi in time.
Because of this, Elder Xuan, who sat outside the competition stage drinking, could clearly see the entire scene of Xiao Qiang killing two Shrek students.
When he witnessed Xu Sanshi heavily wounded and two students outright killed, Elder Xuan could no longer remain seated. His soul power exploded forth, and the soul ring configuration of two yellow, two purple, four black, and one red appeared over the competition field. With a loud boom, he slapped his palm toward Xiao Qiang.
But Xiao Qiang was already prepared.
After all, in the original timeline, Elder Xuan had always allowed his students to kill others but never tolerated others killing Shrek's own. Xiao Qiang anticipated this hypocrisy.
With the long-replicated Soft Bone Rabbit Martial Soul activated, Xiao Qiang used Jiang Nannan's third soul skill—Teleportation, instantly appearing beside Beibei. Empowered by the spirit domain-level Mirror of Spirit, he suppressed Beibei instantly, even without needing to use the Sharingan.
He had already mastered the use of Mental Interference and Soul Impact, two skills that, even without soul rings, could be deployed in their low-tier versions. With that alone, Xiao Qiang took control of Beibei in the blink of an eye.
The next second, before Beibei could resist, Xiao Qiang severed his tendons and grabbed him by the neck, using him as a human shield. Then, using Jiang Nannan's fourth soul skill—Invincible Golden Body, he shielded himself from Elder Xuan's devastating palm strike.
Seeing Xiao Qiang restrain Beibei so swiftly, Elder Xuan's soul-powered palm froze in mid-air.
"Boy! Let go of Beibei! Or else I—"
Before Elder Xuan could finish speaking, a soul tool cannon blast had already exploded toward him and the rest of the Shrek contingent.
Elder Xuan instinctively raised a soul power barrier to shield everyone. His gaze turned grim as he stared at the Unbreakable Douluo, who had just saved Xiao Qiang's group, and Jing Hongchen, who stood beside him, soul cannon still smoking.
"If the younger generation can't win, then the older ones jump in? Shrek… Shrek! You people are truly shameless!" Jing Hongchen sneered coldly.
Seeing Shrek act without a shred of sportsmanship—beating not only the young but also bullying with the old—Jing Hongchen began to doubt whether sending Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen to Shrek for an exchange was the right decision.
"Stop with your nonsense!" Elder Xuan roared. "A life for a life! That boy killed students from my Shrek Academy—he must die today!"
His voice thundered with righteous fury, as if this was not a sanctioned life-and-death competition, but instead a case of cold-blooded murder.
Jing Hongchen couldn't help but laugh in rage. "Oh? What a magnificent Shrek Academy! In the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Competition, death is always a risk. And Shrek—your academy has always killed the most people! Yet today, you're demanding 'a life for a life'? You old bastard really have no shame."
Yet rather than feel ashamed, Elder Xuan only grew more arrogant, as if the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy was the one in the wrong.
"Bullshit! Can other spirit masters be compared to our Shrek Academy students?" Elder Xuan retorted fiercely. "They are all potential Titled Douluo candidates!"
He pointed toward the corpses.
"Bai Fan had the Withered Poison Iron Tree Spirit—a dual-attribute Soul King with both poison and defense. Among defensive spirit masters, his poison was unmatched; among poison types, his defense was unparalleled! And Ning Feng—though just an outer disciple with only level 48 soul power—possessed the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda and could use four spirit skills simultaneously. He was almost guaranteed to become the top auxiliary spirit master on the continent! And now, both of them were killed by you, and you dare say you're in the right?!"
Silence.
The entire venue fell deathly quiet.
Despite knowing that killing was allowed in the competition, the sheer conviction in Elder Xuan's words stunned the crowd. His righteousness sounded so sincere that even those who had just watched Shrek kill people felt confused.
But the facts remained: this was a life-and-death competition—and Shrek Academy had always been the most bloodthirsty.
How could they now accuse others of wrongdoing for doing the same?
"…Wait. Isn't killing allowed in the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Competition?"
"It absolutely is. And Shrek's students kill more than anyone! Didn't Shrek wipe out an entire team earlier this tournament?"
"Yeah, I saw it myself. That academy's team was utterly slaughtered. A six-ring Soul Emperor massacred three- and four-ring Soul Masters. There wasn't a single survivor! And in the match right after, the opposing team forfeited the moment they saw it was Shrek."
"Exactly. And that Soul Emperor—Dai Yueheng, I think—he went on to terrify every academy that followed. Most of them just gave up rather than die."
"So, it's fine for Shrek to kill others, but the moment someone kills Shrek students, it becomes a crime?"
The murmurs grew louder. Though Shrek Academy had long been held in high regard by the people of the Douluo Continent, what Elder Xuan had just done and said made many present deeply uncomfortable.
His behavior screamed, "Only Shrek can kill. No one can kill Shrek."
"Silence!"
With so much criticism swirling, Elder Xuan exploded with fury. His level 98 soul power radiated across the arena, forcibly silencing the crowd.
"The younger ones couldn't win, so the elders stepped in. Now you're stopping us from even speaking? Shrek Academy… truly shameless."
A cold voice broke through the silence.
"I said—killing deserves death, and that's final. Xiao Qiang must die today. Otherwise, how can I face the families of the students who perished?"
Xiao Qiang, unfazed, coldly raised his blade.
"I don't know whether I'll die today, but one thing's for sure—he will die first."
Seeing that the Unbreakable Douluo's defenses couldn't be easily broken and that the Snow Empress was safely sealed in his soul guide, Xiao Qiang stabbed Beibei without hesitation.
"You dare!?" Elder Xuan's voice cracked with shock. Beibei was the only great-great-grandson of Elder Mu, the spiritual pillar of Shrek. His life was irreplaceable.
Xiao Qiang sneered. "Shrek dares to cheat. Why can't I dare to kill?"
"Bullshit! When did Shrek cheat?!" Elder Xuan roared, his face red with fury. Whether he genuinely didn't know, or was simply denying it, was unclear.
"When did you cheat?" Xiao Qiang turned calmly to his teacher. "Teacher, did you record it?"
"Of course," Jing Hongchen replied.
A tiny soul tool insect flew from his palm, projecting a video in mid-air.
The footage showed Huo Yuhao secretly using shared vision during the match—a clear and undeniable violation of the rules.