Shrek City, the Tang Sect……

  “Bam!” A dull slap could heard as Bei Bei stood up with a grave and gloomy look on his face. Xu Sanshi, He Caitou, Ye Guyi, Jing Ziyan, and Ji Juechen sat on both sides of the table, along with Xiao Xiao, Jiang Nannan, Na Na, and Mo Xuan. Besides Xuan Ziwen and Gao Dalou, almost all of the Tang Sect’s inner circle was here.

  “Three days! You guys have been back for three days, and we still haven’t heard anything from our little junior brother. In terms of time, he should have returned before you with his flying-type soul tool, whether he travelled across the ocean or land. But so many days have gone by, and where is he? Who can tell me where he is?” Bei Bei’s voice became higher, and anger that was seldom seen on him filled his scholarly face.

  Xu Sanshi and the others had successfully returned with the hostages, and came back to the Tang Sect a few days ago. However, their elation and joy from successfully accomplishing their mission quickly dampened as they discovered that Huo Yuhao hadn’t returned, and they hadn’t heard a single thing from him.

  Bei Bei had received all their reports, and then consoled them before he went to Shrek Academy with a gloomy face.

  Three days had gone by, and nobody from either the Tang Sect or Shrek Academy had heard anything from or about Huo Yuhao.

  For the Tang Sect, every single hostage added together wasn’t as important as Huo Yuhao. This was the same for Shrek Academy, too!

  What was even more disadvantageous for them was that the Sun Moon Empire had increased their monitoring and surveillance of the Douluo Continent’s three native empires exponentially, as well as on Shrek Academy, which had rescued the hostages, and continued to send army after army towards their borders.

  The Star Luo Empire and the Heavenly Soul Empire did the same. Their hostages had been saved, and the Sun Moon Empire hadn’t recovered their strength. This was the best opportunity for these two empires to deal a heavy blow to the Sun Moon Empire, and neither empire was stupid. What were they waiting for, if not for this chance to weaken their enemy?

  The Dou Ling Empire was positioned behind the other two empires, but their survival was closely related to the other two. The Dou Ling Empire had already deployed a huge army with seven Titled Douluo towards their borders, and a great war could break out within a short period of time.

  Under such circumstances, both Shrek Academy and the Tang Sect would have an exceptionally difficult time if they wanted to send someone into the Sun Moon Empire to search for Huo Yuhao.

  Therefore, they could only choose to wait for now. They had waited for three days, and those days had gone by without any news of Huo Yuhao. Starting from the time Xu Sanshi and the others had separated from Huo Yuhao, eight full days had gone by, and the rage that Bei Bei had been suppressing in his heart finally erupted uncontrollably.

  Bei Bei didn’t mention it explicitly, but everyone understood that Huo Yuhao’s decision to return to Sunrise City so that he could help Nan Qiuqiu save Nan Shuishui wasn’t a wise one. However, the mission was empathic and righteous. Could they blame Huo Yuhao? No, because everyone else would have done the same if they had been in his shoes.

  Xu Sanshi forced a laugh and said, “If only I had stayed behind then.”


  He Caitou said, “How could you have stayed back? Our plans outside required you to transport us over long distances, and who could have taken over for you? Yuhao’s decision was right. He is adept at concealing himself, and he was the least likely to run into trouble by staying behind amongst all of us. We have to trust him, and trust that no danger will happen to him. Eldest senior brother, don’t be too impatient and flustered. Being flustered will accomplish nothing, because we can only continue waiting. The borders have been locked down so tightly, so it’s normal that little junior brother is taking a little longer to return.”


  Bei Bei’s expression settled down a little, and he returned to his seat. “I’m sorry, I haven’t been in the right state of mind over the past few days. Actually, I should be the one to blame for this matter. I should have been the one following him. Little junior brother has been through so much hardship recently, and Dong’er is still in a deep slumber. I’m really afraid that something’s happened to him. If something does happen to him, how do we explain it to Dong’er after she wakes up?

  “The Academy is even more worried than I am, and Elder Xuan sends people almost every day to inquire if Yuhao has returned. Yuhao is younger than us, but he’s always been so steady, no matter what he does. He naturally understands that we worry about him, and he will return as quickly as possible if he’s alright. The tight surveillance soul tools of all kinds on the borders would spell great trouble for us, but he possesses formidable spiritual power, and he’s by himself. I’m sure it won’t be difficult for him to hide and make it back discreetly. Therefore, even though I’m not willing to admit this, I can be almost a hundred percent sure that he’s run into some kind of trouble. I just don’t know whether he’s run into a big problem, or a small one.”


  Xu Sanshi said, “Sister Xiaotao is in Sunrise City too, and she has regained her mind and her consciousness with Yuhao’s help. She has eight soul rings, and her element is as close as it gets to Ultimate Fire. Yuhao should have a chance to escape with her help even if he’s caught by evil soul masters. Let’s wait for another two days, and if we still have no news about him, we will invite the Academy to come out. No matter what, we have to find some way to infiltrate the Sun Moon Empire to search for him.”


  Bei Bei nodded and said, “That’s all we can do.”


  “Boom, boom, boom!” A thunderous boom rang out right at this moment. This deafening boom startled the Tang Sect’s members even though they were inside a conference room.

  He Caitaou glanced out of the window confusedly and muttered, “Such loud thunder. Eh, why is the sky getting dark?”


  It was still morning, but everyone could see that the sky outside the conference room’s window was darkening at an alarming rate, to the point where the conference room also darkened.

  “Let’s take a look outside.” Bei Bei got to his feet and swiftly stepped outside, and everyone else followed behind him.

  Everyone walked out, and their expressions grew solemn.

  Their judgment from inside the conference room was right. The sky was getting dark, and it was getting dark really quickly. However, there was an abnormal feeling about this phenomenon.

  If the weather were changing, dark clouds would roll over the skies, winds would blow, and they would gradually appear randomly. The sky would become gloomy and darken as a whole.

  However, what they could see were neat black colors far beyond the horizon, and this black mass was swiftly spreading towards Shrek City, as if an enormous army were invading them.

  This scene seemed as if there was a curtain in the sky that was slowly being pulled up, and causing the entire world to go dark.

  “Something is wrong. Caitou, quickly inform teacher Xuan. Sanshi, you will immediately head to the Academy to ask about what’s happening. Nannan, Xiao Xiao, you two will proceed to the top of the city wall, and relay any information as quickly as possible. Use flying-type soul tools to travel there and back. Quickly gather the Tang Sect’s other members, and get everyone to prepare for any unforeseen circumstances.” Bei Bei seemed especially calm, and swiftly delegated duties to everyone.

  The Tang Sect’s members began to move immediately.

  However, Xu Sanshi had just gotten off his feet when a dense voice boomed across the entire city.

  “Every disciple from Shrek Academy’s inner courtyard, assemble at the southern city wall!”


  This voice was all too familiar to the Tang Sect; it came from Elder Xuan! A jade-green flare surged into the sky at the same time, exploding high in the sky and transforming into an exclusive avatar of Shrek as green light permeated the heavens. It was very eye-catching.

  Many of the people here were from Shrek Academy, and their expressions immediately changed when they saw this firework. This signal didn’t just signify danger; it meant that voluminous amounts of enemies were about to invade the city!

  How could that be? Shrek Academy was located within the Douluo Continent’s core regions, and the Academy had very good relationships with all three empires. Where did these enemies come from? Even if it was the Body Sect attacking them, they wouldn’t suddenly launch an invasion against Shrek Academy at a time when the Sun Moon Empire posed a great threat to everyone.

  Shrek Academy had always been fair to everyone, but they were an Academy, after all. They accepted talents and prodigies from all over the world, and they produced similar talents. They weren’t like sects, who would only nurture and develop their own strength. For as long as Bei Bei could remember, this was the first time that Shrek Academy had released an emergency signal such as this one.

  What is happening??Bei Bei could hear that Elder Xuan’s voice was stable, but there was a thread of anxiety and worry amidst that steadiness. What did the sudden change in the sky bring?

  “What do we do, Bei Bei?” Xu Sanshi asked Bei Bei.

  Everyone’s eyes turned towards Bei Bei, and he lowered his voice as he said, “Get on the southern city wall, everyone. Na Na, you will remain, and when teacher Xuan comes out, kindly ask him to lead our brethren from the Tang Sect’s Soul Tool Hall to transport the soul tools that we have crafted and stockpiled to the southern city wall. Be quick.”


  “Yes,” Na Na nodded hurriedly.

  Bei Bei waved his hand and immediately led the Tang Sect’s members towards the southern city wall.

  ——


  At Shrek Academy’s southern city wall……

  Ever since Shrek City was established, the highest part of the city wall and the strongest and most meticulous defenses across the entire city had always been on the southern side of the city. The reason was simple: this direction was facing the Great Star Dou Forest!

  Ever since the Great Star Dou Forest’s uprising, the southern city wall had been further fortified.

  The southern city wall was fifteen hundred feet tall, and two hundred feet wide. It stretched across more than five kilometers, and it could accommodate more than ten thousand people to fight on its walls at the same time.

  Shrek City’s army was more or less connected to Shrek Academy. Shrek City didn’t have a lord; the city’s defense fell to Shrek Academy’s Sea God’s Pavilion. Almost every city defense officer was a powerful individual who had graduated from Shrek Academy.

  If someone had to choose a city across the Continent with the highest concentration of soul masters, Shrek City would undoubtedly take the top spot!

  The soul engineers in the Sun Moon Empire’s Radiant City could also be called soul masters, but Radiant City was densely populated, and their soul engineer to citizen ratio couldn’t compare to the density of soul masters in Shrek City!

  Shrek City’s current chief defense officer was named Shi Xing. He was a tall middle-aged man, looking a little more than forty years old. He had a square and flat face, big eyes, and thick eyebrows. He had a muscular frame, and he gave others a towering and imposing feeling with his mere presence.

  He was forty-eight years of age, and could be said to be in the prime of his life. When he was studying at Shrek Academy, he had once had a nickname, “the Time Magician”. Afterwards, when he became a Titled Douluo, his title was Time; the Time Douluo, Shi Xing!

  Three years ago, the previous chief defense officer had resigned and returned to Shrek Academy’s inner courtyard to enjoy his retirement, and Shi Xing had become Shrek City’s chief defense officer with a unanimous vote from the Sea God’s Pavilion. He was responsible for everything that had to do with the city’s defenses.

  Their city defense officer was actually a Titled Douluo. Possibly only Shrek City could afford to have such a luxurious arrangement.

  At this moment, the Time Douluo, Shi Xing, was standing on the city wall and gazing far into the distance with a dour look on his face. More accurately, he was staring to the south!