Huo Yuhao and the others stopped in their tracks, their gazes slowly sweeping across the surroundings.
Figures were gradually emerging from the darkness, some walking out from behind trees, some rising from the shadows, and others originally hidden among the dense treetops in midair.
The vast majority of these people were shrouded in dark and gloomy auras, clearly being Evil Soul Masters from the Holy Spirit Cult.
As for the remaining minority, various obvious soul guidance devices could be seen on them, clearly making them Soul Engineers from the Sun Moon Empire.
From the numbers of both sides, it could be seen that the main force of this trap, specially set up for the Three Douluo Nations, was still the Holy Spirit Cult.
The reason why the Holy Spirit Cult was willing to put in so much effort, aside from Xu Tianran promising them the living souls of three cities as reward, was also due to their confidence in their own strength.
To say the least, having two Limit Douluo holding down the fort within the sect was enough to make them feel that the strength of the Holy Spirit Cult looked down upon the entire continent.
Watching powerful Evil Soul Masters make their appearance one after another, the expressions of the powerhouses from the Three Douluo Nations turned a bit more solemn.
Although they were mentally prepared, when they truly saw so many Titled Douluo-level Evil Soul Masters appear simultaneously, their hearts still couldn't help but sink a little.
These Evil Soul Masters had actually grown into a force to be reckoned with, developing to such a scale without making a sound.
Sect Master Du Busi stood at the very front of the team, his gaze sweeping across the black-robed figures opposite them as he snorted. "What's the point of all this chatter? Isn't it still going to come down to true strength in the end!"
His gaze fell upon the figure directly ahead—that was Sect Leader Zhongli Wu of the Holy Spirit Cult, clad in a dark purple robe with his Face hidden beneath a hood, making his expression unclear.
Yet the steady and restrained Spirit Power fluctuation around him made Sect Master Du Busi not dare to underestimate him, because the opponent was also a ninety-eighth-rank Spirit Power cultivation.
As the words fell, Sect Master Du Busi took the lead in launching an attack.
Nine spirit rings surfaced one after another from beneath his feet. Under the infusion of Spirit Power, his body instantly shot up, expanding to a height of over ten meters. His muscles knotted and veins bulged, and like a moving mountain, he rushed toward Sect Leader Zhongli Wu's direction.
The moment Sect Master Du Busi made a move, it instantly detonated the situation.
Following his initial trouble-making, a chaotic battle suddenly kicked off across the entire forest.
The others didn't say another word either; each released their Spirit, their spirit rings lit up one by one, and figures rushed toward their respective locked-on targets.
In a flash, the light of various colored spirit rings flickered back and forth within the Demon Forest. The roaring sounds of Spirit Ability collisions and the aftershocks of Spirit Power bursts intertwined, illuminating the originally gloomy forest in flickering light and shadow.
Although the Sun Moon Empire and the Holy Spirit Cult had a large number of people, those who came from the Three Douluo Nations were also the elites among elites, and neither side had any weak opponents.
Although there was no one providing overall regional tactical command, everyone experiencedly sought out opponents suitable for themselves.
Soldier against soldier, general against general; Spirit Douluos found Spirit Douluos, and Titled Douluos found Titled Douluos.
However, there were exceptions among them. During the charge, Xuan Zi casually waved out a few attacks that accurately landed on the Spirit Douluo-level Evil Soul Masters of the Holy Spirit Cult.
Huo Yuhao clearly saw that Tang Ya, now the Holy Maiden of the Holy Spirit Cult, was blasted dozens of meters away by a single move from Xuan Zi.
Like a kite with a broken string, she crashed through two trees, heavily slamming onto the ground. A large mouthful of fresh blood overflowed from her mouth, and her aura instantly withered down.
It was unknown whether Xuan Zi's blow was intentional or if he purely swept past her with a casual wave.
But if Bei Bei were to see this scene, his heart would probably shatter.
Previously, because Yan Shaozhe was ordered by Elder Mu to reflect behind closed doors, he had never left Sea God Island until he was released after Elder Mu passed away.
However, his Spirit Power still remained at the ninety-fifth rank, failing to achieve a Breakthrough.
This time, dealing with the Evil Soul Masters, he had volunteered to join the battle.
In his view, possessing the power of light, he was born to be the nemesis of Evil Soul Masters.
Yet when he arrived at this battlefield and his gaze landed on a person opposite him, his entire body seemed to be nailed in place, stunned for a long time.
At this moment, once the battle situation unfolded, he directly and recklessly charged toward that direction.
"Feng'er, is that you?! How could you join the Holy Spirit Cult?!"
Yan Shaozhe's voice echoed across the battlefield, causing quite a few Evil Soul Masters of the Holy Spirit Cult to turn their heads in surprise and glance over.
As for the "Feng'er" in his mouth, she was naturally Fengling, the current sect leader's wife of the Holy Spirit Cult.
The two of them had a deeply engraved romance in their youth. Yan Shaozhe's Spirit was the Bright Phoenix, while Fengling's Spirit was the Dark Phoenix. One was light and one was darkness, as if they were a match made in heaven born together.
But the longer they stayed together, Fengling's Spirit began to experience some unspeakable mutation, shifting gradually from the Dark Phoenix to an evil Phoenix.
An evil Phoenix—this was definitely an evil Spirit. According to the rules of Shrek Academy, this called for executing them on the spot.
However, Yan Shaozhe at that time remembered their old relationship and ultimately let her go. Ever since then, the two of them had never met again.
No matter what, he never expected that after many years, the two of them would actually reunite on such a battlefield intertwined with blood and fire.
With a stern expression, Fengling hovered in midair. Those dark red eyes carried not the slightest bit of emotion, as if the person standing before her was merely a stranger unrelated to her.
Hearing Yan Shaozhe's call, her gaze fluctuated slightly for an instant, but she quickly returned to iciness and sneered, "Why I joined the Holy Spirit Cult—shouldn't you be very clear about that?"
Yan Shaozhe's heart tightened, memories of the past surging up like a tide, yet Fengling did not give him any more room for reminiscing.
A streak of dark purple Spirit Power had already condensed in her hand, resembling an unfolded-wing Dark Phoenix. Carrying a sharp and resolute aura, it slashed toward Yan Shaozhe.
Coupled with the fact that her cultivation was already a bit higher than Yan Shaozhe's, this blow directly pierced through his protective Spirit Power, striking him down from midair in a single hit.
Yan Shaozhe's figure plummeted from the air like a bird with broken wings, heavily crashing into the forest land and kicking up a cloud of dust.
As a Super Douluo, Yan Shaozhe naturally wouldn't be killed in a single move.
But this blow was definitely not comfortable either; his Face suddenly paled, and immediately a mouthful of fresh blood couldn't help but spurt out.
A huge bloody gash appeared across his chest, flesh and skin rolled outward, and the edges shimmered with charred traces corroded by evil Spirit Power. The Phoenix flames on his body also dimmed by a few shades at that instant.
Xian Liner, who was fighting the Crow Douluo, the fifth elder of the Holy Spirit Cult, not far away, caught sight of this scene out of the corner of her eye and couldn't help frowning slightly.
In her heart, she couldn't help but secretly curse: how could she have taken a fancy to him back when she was young?
Thinking about it, Yan Shaozhe only had that physical appearance left that was passable; as for his personality and character, one could only say they were completely unwatchable.
Seeing her actually letting her mind wander during a battle, Crow Douluo Wuyun instantly became furious. "You dare to get distracted while fighting me?!"
Hearing this, Xian Liner pulled back her thoughts, her gaze falling back onto her opponent, no longer dwelling on those old matters.
Although Zhuang Yusen was also a Super Douluo, he was a support system Spirit Master and did not directly participate in frontal slaughter.
Standing at a position towards the rear of the battlefield, a Tree of Life Spirit that was entirely emerald green and exuded a soft glow floated above his head, and wisps of recovery light full of vitality were continuously cascading down toward their side's injured companions.
He glanced at Yan Shaozhe, secretly shook his head, and a trace of disappointment flashed through his eyes.
However, he still split off a wisp of recovery light, letting it land on Yan Shaozhe. That warm green glow gently enveloped the wound on his chest, slowly peeling outward the evil power that was eroding him, and this wound immediately began to heal slowly as well.
Xuan Zi, on the other hand, glanced at Yan Shaozhe and couldn't help letting out a cold snort.
That scene just now had been seen by everyone present; this time, Yan Shaozhe had truly embarrassed himself to the extreme, even dragging down and tarnishing a bit of Shrek Academy's Face along with it.
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A/N:
I hope all of you are enjoying this story so far. I would appreciate some Power Stones if you can spare any. Leave a review if you like the story. Thank you.