Douluo Dalu II: The Peerless Tang Sect

Chapter 404 The Titan Ape says, "I still have to back down!"

"You little beast, I'm going to kill you!" Old Tang's eyes instantly turned bloodshot, his face flushed with anger, and veins of varying thickness bulged on his forehead. He roared at Zhu Ziyang, his voice hoarse, clearly showing that he was indeed furious.

"Tch!" Zhu Ziyang ignored Tang Lao's threat and slapped him hard across the face again, saying, "Behave yourself!"

"You, you, you..." Old Tang was completely dumbfounded. He never expected Zhu Ziyang to slap him again. More importantly, Zhu Ziyang's attitude was completely like treating him like a child. He had never suffered such humiliation. His eyes were bloodshot, blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, and he was so angry that he vomited blood and fainted.

"He's already dizzy?" Zhu Ziyang was a little surprised. Looking at the old guy who had slumped down like a dead dog in his hand, he felt bored and let go, throwing him toward the Titan Ape.

The Titan Ape quickly caught Tang Lao, his eyes filled with anxiety as if his own father had died, examining Tang Lao's injuries. Only after discovering he had merely fainted did he breathe a heavy sigh of relief, then glared angrily at Zhu Ziyang and roared, "Does Shrek Academy really intend to break ties with our Clear Sky Sect?"

"Huh?" Zhu Ziyang was so angry at the Titan Ape's question that he laughed. He retorted, "Are you kidding me? It was your Haotian Sect that injured our Shrek Academy elders first, not the other way around! Please get this straight, it was your Haotian Sect and our Shrek Academy that broke off relations!"

"What? Do you think that Shrek Academy should not only not hold your injury against Elder Xuan against us, but should also apologize to you?"

"..." The Titan Ape was momentarily at a loss, but that was truly his belief, and his expression betrayed his thoughts. He said, "Aren't you afraid of the Sea God's wrath? You must know, the Sea God's surname is Tang!"

"Just because the Sea God's surname is Tang, does that mean Shrek Academy has to worship the Clear Sky Sect?" Zhu Ziyang sneered. "How ridiculous! Even if the Sea God's surname is Qian, he's still a student of Shrek Academy. Does he think he can betray his master and ancestors? Humph!"

"You..." The Titan Ape was speechless, staring blankly at Zhu Ziyang. Zhu Ziyang's words were too disrespectful, but he was helpless. The strength Zhu Ziyang displayed showed that he was no match for him. In the end, strength was the only thing that mattered in this world. Even if his backer was the Sea God, distant water could not quench a nearby fire. So it was better to admit defeat when necessary.

"I'm asking you, is Xiao Xiao in your Haotian Sect?" Zhu Ziyang asked, seeing that the Titan Giant Ape was silent and knew that it had chosen to back down.

"She's been gone from Haotian Fort for a month or two." The Titan Ape answered Zhu Ziyang's question with a blank expression, but a strange light flickered in his eyes.

"Leave?" Huo Yuhao, who had been silent for a long time, immediately asked, "You mean Xiao Xiao is awake? Is that right?"

"Hmm!" The Titan Ape nodded silently.

"Then do you know where she went? Why didn't she go back to the academy?" Huo Yuhao asked anxiously and with great confusion.

The Titan Ape remained silent without answering. Seeing this, Zhu Ziyang immediately snorted coldly. The Titan Ape shuddered at the sound and quickly replied, "I don't know either. She said she was going to travel the continent. At this time, I don't know where she would be."

"I see." Huo Yuhao still had considerable concerns and doubts in his heart, but his happiness was also visibly growing. In any case, he already knew that Xiao Xiao had woken up and was able to travel across the continent, which meant that Xiao Xiao's physical condition was at least good.

"Where is Wang Dong'er?" Zhu Ziyang sensed something was off and asked.

"Dong, Dong'er..." The Titan Ape was taken aback, a trace of sadness clearly flashing deep in his eyes, but his face remained calm as he replied, "She should be with Xiao Xiao."

"Is that so?" Zhu Ziyang gave the Titan Ape a deep look. He clearly sensed an underlying meaning in the Titan Ape's words; at the very least, Xiao Xiao and Wang Dong'er's condition was definitely not as good as Huo Yuhao thought. However, he didn't pursue the matter further, as it wasn't necessary. He said, "I hope you're not lying to us, Yuhao, let's go!"

"Mmm!" Huo Yuhao was overjoyed. At least he had received news of Xiao Xiao, and at least he knew that Xiao Xiao had come back to life.

Zhu Ziyang leaped away with Huo Yuhao, leaving Haotian Fortress. The Titan Giant Ape watched Zhu Ziyang leave and finally breathed a sigh of relief. However, just as he was about to pat his chest to calm himself down, he heard Zhu Ziyang's warning.

"When that old guy wakes up, tell him to keep a low profile from now on and stop being so arrogant! Oh, and you too, the same goes for you. Don't jump out and cause trouble again, or you'll end up like that green snake!"

Titan Ape's body suddenly froze, and a great sense of sorrow welled up in his heart.

Returning our gaze to Zhu Ziyang and Huo Yuhao, they had reached the foot of the mountain. Huo Yuhao was radiating excitement and joy. He said to Zhu Ziyang, "Senior brother, this is wonderful! This is wonderful! Xiao Xiao is alive! I want to go find her!"

"Yuhao, I advise you not to be so optimistic." Zhu Ziyang looked at Huo Yuhao, who was so excited, and although he couldn't bear to pour cold water on him, he still advised him, "This matter is full of strange things."

"..." Huo Yuhao's excitement visibly cooled, and he became much calmer. He spoke up, "Senior brother, do you mean that person is lying to us?"

"It's hard to say." Zhu Ziyang shook his head and analyzed, "I hope he's lying to us, but if what he said is true, then things will be troublesome."

"This..." Huo Yuhao's expression froze. He understood Zhu Ziyang's meaning and felt a surge of panic. "Senior brother, this..."

"If what that person said is all true, then we should think about why Xiao Xiao didn't return to the academy immediately after waking up, but instead went to travel the continent," Zhu Ziyang analyzed. "There are only two possibilities. The first possibility is that Xiao Xiao has amnesia and doesn't remember what happened before, which is why she didn't return to the academy immediately."

"The second possibility is that she is controlled by the Sea God!" Huo Yuhao continued Zhu Ziyang's words, his face very ugly. After experiencing so many things, if he couldn't even see through this, then he would be too stupid.

"I hope it's the first one!" Zhu Ziyang said with a sense of helplessness.

"Senior brother, I want to go find Xiao Xiao!" Huo Yuhao expressed this desire again. He was now eager to find Xiao Xiao and see what tricks the Sea God was up to!

"There's no need," Zhu Ziyang shook his head and refused his request. He said, "Since the Sea God's target is you, he will definitely make Xiao Xiao appear in front of you on her own. So there's no need for you to go looking for her. You might as well wait in the academy."

"That makes sense!" Huo Yuhao's eyes lit up upon hearing this, and he said, "Alright, then we'll wait for you at the academy!"

After returning to Shrek Academy, Zhu Ziyang began his final preparations before inheriting the position of the God of Death.

He gave Fifth Huan'er two bottles of Origin Golden Elixir, letting her use one and giving the other to Ma Xiaotao. Then he summoned the three elders, Xian Lin'er, Cai Mei'er, and Elder Lin, and instructed them on the academy's affairs after his seclusion. Upon hearing that Zhu Ziyang was preparing to take that final step, the three elders were overjoyed and assured him that they would take good care of the academy's affairs.

Zhu Ziyang met with Huo Yuhao again, gave him a bottle of Origin Golden Elixir, and told him that he would be going into seclusion for a period of time. He told Huo Yuhao not to act impulsively in any situation and to consult with Xian Lin'er and the others. Huo Yuhao seriously agreed.

Then Zhu Ziyang left the academy and found Qian Lingyi, who was traveling across the continent. Qian Lingyi had been traveling for two years and her cultivation had reached the Title Douluo realm; she only needed one more spirit ring to become a true Title Douluo. Zhu Ziyang then accompanied Qian Lingyi to hunt for her ninth spirit ring. Within the Sun Moon Empire, they found a Sun Insect King with 100,000 years of cultivation. Through physical means, he persuaded it to become Qian Lingyi's spirit, and Qian Lingyi's cultivation jumped to level 94, which was quite astonishing.

Zhu Ziyang told Qian Lingyi that he was preparing to go into seclusion to receive the divine throne and asked her what she planned to do next. Qian Lingyi's answer was straightforward: to continue traveling the continent and eliminating evil soul masters. Zhu Ziyang was not surprised by Qian Lingyi's answer, so he left her a bottle of Origin Golden Elixir and then parted ways with her.

In the final period, Zhu Ziyang came to Mingdu and stayed in the Mingdu Imperial Palace for several days before returning to the Tianyuan Pavilion of Shrek Academy.

After arranging everything, he had a month to spare. His mind was now as calm as still water. With a thought, he disappeared from Tianyuan Pavilion.

(End of this chapter)