Douluo Continent: The Eternal Order of the Azure Sky.

He paused, then lowered his head even further: "In the end, only five of the eleven elders were willing to go into battle. Please punish us, Grand Master."

After saying this, he knelt on one knee above the misty clouds.

The Titan flew into a rage, his brown eyes flashing with golden light, and growled:

"What? It's Tang Yunyue again! Is this little bastard trying to join forces with those old fogies to rebel?! Can't they see the teleportation channel that the Ascension Pavilion specially opened?"

Niu Tian reached out to stop the enraged Titan, his face revealing neither joy nor anger. He stepped forward and personally helped the kneeling old man to his feet.

"Elder Tang Qian, you flatter me. Please rise. The presence of all the elders is already a great honor for this sect master. The purpose of inviting you here is not to launch a major attack, but simply to add an extra layer of security to prevent anyone from escaping and leaking information."

Tang Qian stood up, his shame lessening slightly, and said in a deep voice:

"Sect Master, you are wise. Although there are only five of us, with our combined cultivation, we can set up the Haotian Locking God Formation, which is enough to isolate all aura and soul power fluctuations within a ten-mile radius of this place. There will be no leakage, and not even a mosquito will be able to escape."

He glanced at Niu Tian's expression, then changed the subject slightly, saying with a hint of hesitation:

"However, Shrek Academy has always had a good relationship with our sect. What do you think about us...?"

"Coward! Get lost if you're not going to fight!" Titan hissed impatiently. "My brother and I together can easily deal with that brat! Even if Shrek Academy finds out, do you really think they'd turn against our Clear Sky Sect for a little brat from the Sun Moon Empire?"

Tang Qian remained silent with a gloomy face. Behind him, an elder with a cold and hard face looked even more unpleasant, as if he was about to retort, but Tang Qian silently stopped him with a sharp look.

Niu Tian sighed softly, his gaze sweeping over the five elders before him, finally settling on the figures cleaning up the battlefield in the distance below. His voice was calm yet utterly authoritative:

“I understand Elder Tang Qian’s concerns. But the opportunity is fleeting. On the one hand, the divine power accumulated within my second brother and me has reached a critical point, and we will soon be in seclusion for our final transformation. Now is the time when we are at our peak. On the other hand, this place is far from Shrek Academy’s core territory and is located on the border between two countries, which is a godsend.”

"Don't worry, if we do it cleanly and efficiently, no one will know it was us. Given the long-standing friendship between our sect and Shrek Academy, even if they have doubts, they would never easily suspect us."

His gaze then turned to Tang Qian, and his tone became more meaningful:

"Furthermore, Elder Tang Qian, you've been stuck at the level 97 bottleneck for quite some time now, haven't you?"

"If this succeeds, the Ascension Pavilion will contain what you've always dreamed of."

A flicker of intense desire finally flashed across Tang Qian's usually calm and collected eyes. He took a deep breath, then bowed deeply, without the slightest hesitation:

"This old man will obey the Grand Master's command! I will exert all my remaining strength, even at the cost of my life!"

Niu Tian nodded, slowly turned around, and faced downwards again. The moment he turned, a pure and terrifyingly cold killing intent spread out like an invisible tide.

The once clear sky suddenly darkened, with leaden clouds surging and gathering from all directions, and muffled thunder rumbling outwards, seemingly echoing the impending carnage.

"Rumble..."

A muffled rumble of thunder rolled in from afar, and thick, leaden clouds had somehow covered most of the sky, as if foreshadowing a torrential downpour.

Below, Zhang Lexuan withdrew her gaze from the horizon, her delicate brows furrowing slightly before meeting Kong Tianxu's steady gaze, which then relaxed.

She clapped her hands:

"Alright, this Soul Hunting mission has been successfully completed, thanks to everyone's concerted efforts. Let's return to the academy immediately to report back."

Everyone agreed and activated their flying soul tools, transforming into streaks of light of various colors as they sped towards Shrek City.

The atmosphere on the return journey was noticeably more relaxed. After all, such a powerful team could fight even ordinary Title Douluos or even Super Douluos.

In the outer reaches of the Starfall Mountain Range, where even ten-thousand-year-old soul beasts are rare, it is indeed difficult to find an opponent, so one's vigilance naturally relaxes slightly.

Gu Fan and Hua Yao were even flying side by side, whispering to each other, with occasional light laughs.

Kong Tianxu's somewhat melancholy mood, which had been affected by the dramatic changes in the divine realm and the passing of the God of Destruction, seemed to be somewhat eased in this slightly more relaxed atmosphere.

He could clearly feel that the special soul imprint connected to Ye Xishui's life was becoming increasingly active and intense.

I wonder how the maids are doing on the Sun and Moon side. Once the last mission is complete, we can stop worrying about Shrek and go straight home.

A fleeting thought crossed his mind.

"Tianxu." A voice came from the side and behind. Kong Tianxu turned around and saw that it was Gu Fan driving the flying soul tool to come closer.

"I really have to thank you for your timely intervention during this mission." Gu Fan smiled and said sincerely, "Especially when dealing with that scorpion tiger, if it weren't for your quick reaction, I might have suffered a great loss."

Kong Tianxu's future is immeasurable, as anyone can see. Even though he is from the Sun Moon Empire, Gu Fan is happy to maintain a good relationship with him.

"You're too kind. We're all in the same team, it's only right." Kong Tianxu nodded slightly, then remembered his earlier strange behavior, "Judging from your reaction earlier, you seemed to harbor particularly resentment towards that ghost scorpion, or rather, the scorpion tiger?"

Gu Fan's smile faded slightly. After a moment of silence, he said frankly:

"To be honest, I actually grew up in a tribe in the Starfall Grassland area. I grew up with the horned-scaled horse herds, and every horned-scaled horse was like a brother or sister to me. When I saw it slaughtering horned-scaled horses, I couldn't control my emotions for a moment, so please forgive my behavior."

He scratched his head sheepishly, then his eyes brightened with determination:

“I’ve already made up my mind. After graduating from Shrek Academy, I will return to the Douling Empire to join the army. The Imperial military has promised me that I will at least be the commander of a main legion when I return. But in the end… I still requested to return to the Starfall Grassland for garrison duty.”

"Although the garrison rank in the Starfall Grassland is high, promotion seems difficult, right?" Kong Tianxu casually asked.

“Protecting this grassland and empire that gave me birth is what I should do,” Gu Fan replied without hesitation, then gave a bitter smile. “And to be honest, if war really breaks out in the future, I really don’t have the confidence to fight you. Being a garrison commander is enough for me to retire comfortably in the position of legion commander.”

Kong Tianxu glanced back at him and said with a faint smile, "Senior Gu Fan is joking."

However, Gu Fan's eyes were incredibly serious: "What I said is true, and there are quite a few people in the academy who think like me, at least in the outer academy at present."

He patted Kong Tianxu on the shoulder, and Kong Tianxu's smile also faded.

"Then I wish Senior Lonely Sail all the best in his future endeavors."

"Hehe, thanks for your kind words." Gu Fan laughed heartily, took Hua Yao's hand beside him, and the dark blue-black Heavenly Horse Martial Soul wings on his back suddenly solidified and unfolded, his soul power surging.

"Gentlemen, the return journey is long, we'll clear the way for you!"

Before he finished speaking, his second spirit ring lit up, and a semi-transparent cyan-black shield was about to spread out from him to reduce wind resistance for the team.

In that very instant—

Between the thick, leaden clouds above, a faint, almost invisible glimmer of blue light flickered.

Kong Tianxu's spiritual sea was as if startled by a lightning tribulation, instantly boiling over! An unprecedented deadly warning, like billions of ice needles, pierced through every inch of his senses in an instant, and every cell screamed wildly!

They arrived so quickly!

"careful!"

He let out a sharp shout.

However, it was too late. The dark and heavy clouds above suddenly exploded without warning!

Five terrifying, jet-black, giant hammer phantoms, as large as city gates, carrying a savage, earth-shattering pressure, tore through the clouds and crashed down on the crowd below with the force of Mount Tai!

The first to be hit were Gu Fan, who was flying at the forefront and preparing to release the protective shield, and Hua Yao, who was slightly to the side.

Faced with such an overwhelming difference in strength, they couldn't even utter a complete cry of surprise.

"puff--"

Like two bubbles being crushed, Gu Fan and Hua Yao, along with their surrounding soul power shields and flying soul tools, instantly transformed into two wisps of tragically beautiful and rapidly spreading crimson mist upon contact with the dark hammer shadow, completely dissipating in the raging airflow.

The terrifying force of the giant hammer phantom as it crashed down was such that even at a height of nearly a thousand meters above the ground, the aftershocks still caused the earth below to tremble violently, creating deep, bottomless cracks!

"Do not--!"

Ma Xiaotao and Zhang Lexuan's horrified cries were drowned out by the boundless roar and howling air currents that suddenly erupted between heaven and earth.

However, this is just the beginning.

A beam of azure light, far more concentrated, faster, and more terrifying than the five giant hammers, followed closely behind the five hammer shadows and shone from the deepest core of the shattered cloud layer.

Its power was so great that it arrived first after it started, and in an instant it surpassed the five black giant hammers that were suspended in mid-air and blocked all directions. Like a blue comet falling from the sky, it rushed straight towards Kong Tianxu!

The light rapidly magnified, vaguely revealing a gigantic dragon claw covered in ferocious blue scales. Even before the claw arrived, the overwhelming pressure that imprisoned the space had already dimmed the light of Ma Xiaotao's phoenix true form, suppressing her to the point of being unable to move. Zhang Lexuan was even more horrified.

"This aura... could it be a Limit Douluo?!"

Zhang Lexuan was filled with horrified shock. Without hesitation, she flicked her jade finger, and a point of red light shot out from her fingertip, soaring into the sky. It exploded hundreds of meters in the air, turning into countless tiny golden-red light spots that formed a complex and eye-catching Shrek distress signal in the sky, spreading as far as possible under the gloomy sky.

"Haotianzong!"

Faced with this seemingly divine punishment, a fatal blow capable of shattering the minds of any Soul Master below the Title Douluo level, Kong Tianxu roared in anger.

Then--

"Om-!"

A majestic aura, seemingly originating from the ethereal void, suddenly erupted from behind Kong Tianxu!

A blazing golden light, like liquid gold, instantly engulfed his entire body! A majestic phantom, as if cast from gold, appeared behind him in an instant. The phantom's eyes were indifferent, looking down upon all living beings, radiating the supreme power to destroy all laws and command heaven and earth!

Original Martial Soul, Gold-level Second Awakening, Complete Form!

Kong Tianxu did not attempt to block or dodge the giant azure claw that was already within arm's reach and could crush mountains, nor did he even look at the earthy yellow, violent light and shadow that followed closely behind the azure claw, carrying a pressure as heavy as the earth itself.

His gaze was fixed on the five giant hammers of Haotian, arranged in some mysterious formation and emitting dark light, in mid-air, and the five gray figures that were faintly visible behind the hammers.

Enveloped in dazzling golden light, he seemed to transform into a golden lightning bolt tearing through the void, advancing instead of retreating, charging headlong straight towards the deadly core of the formation in the sky!

"court death!"

Above the clouds, Niu Tian sneered inwardly. Facing his full-force attack, the Azure Sluggish Divine Claw, instead of dodging or evading, it dared to be distracted? It was tantamount to courting death!

He activated his divine sense, and the five fingers of the azure-scaled giant claw suddenly closed, about to crush the overconfident golden figure into a pulp in his palm.

Success!

However, just a fraction of a second before the giant claws closed, Niu Tian's cold smile suddenly froze.

wrong!

A chilling aura, seemingly capable of freezing even the soul, erupted without warning from the palm of his dragon claws, which were about to close.

A pair of seemingly delicate and fragile, yet radiating an extremely cold power that made him feel a chill, steadily rested between his fingers as they were about to close.

Crystal-clear ice spread wildly from those two palms, instantly covering the blue scales on the dragon claws with frost, and the palm lines burst forth with an eternal roar of wind and snow!

"Get out of the way!" From behind, Titan's roar and violent fist force arrived at the same time. The earthy yellow light condensed into a giant fist that was no less powerful than the Azure Sluggish Claw, and slammed it hard towards the owner of the pair of icy hands.

"boom--!"

The dull, muffled sound of the impact was like two stars colliding! A visible circular shockwave spread out in a spherical shape, instantly clearing away the thick clouds in the sky and evaporating a huge void.

To the astonishment of all the Haotian Sect elders who witnessed this scene, the petite figure swayed slightly, and the illusory true form of the ferocious Titan Giant Ape was actually shaken back a step!

How can it be? !

Titan's heart was filled with shock. He was now a level 98 Super Douluo, possessing the Titan Giant Ape Super Beast Martial Soul, and all his soul rings and soul bones were bestowed by divine power and produced and consumed by himself. With his extremely rich Titan bloodline, his strength and physique were absolutely invincible among his peers! How could he be defeated head-on by a figure that looked like a girl?

"No snow during the Great Cold... You are... the Snow Emperor?!"

Niu Tian finally recognized the iconic extreme cold technique, but facing the female humanoid figure completely covered in dark blue armor, he still let out a low growl of surprise and uncertainty.