Chapter 204: The Withering Golden Tree and the Arrogant Xuan Zi
After completely losing its life, the Golden Tree, which had always maintained a facade of vibrant energy, withered away completely. The once endlessly radiant and lively ancient tree seemed to age countless years in a mere three seconds, completely withering away.
All the elders in the Sea God Pavilion were shocked and swiftly left the Pavilion, lining up outside with expressions of horror as they stared at the now withered Golden Tree.
Countless green leaves turned to ash before even touching the ground, as if they had been weathered instantaneously.
With the loss of its leaves, the previously lush branches of the Golden Tree now appeared stark and grotesquely twisted.
"How could this happen? What exactly occurred for the Golden Tree to wither like this?" Elder Song clenched his fists, his eyes filled with shock and fury.
The Golden Tree was the foundation of Shrek!
Since the establishment of Shrek Academy, the Golden Tree had always been the symbol of Shrek and the cornerstone of training for the inner court students.
The thousand-plus mimicry training rooms built beneath the Golden Tree had cost Shrek Academy considerable time and wealth. It was only now, ten thousand years later, that they had achieved their current scale.
The withering of the Golden Tree signified the dissipation of the millennium-long legacy of Shrek Academy—a loss not just symbolic, but of immense wealth.
Without the Golden Tree, the foundation for training inner court disciples at Shrek Academy was utterly destroyed!
"I don't know... Before this, the Golden Tree was perfectly normal, as if it had been destroyed in an instant..." Elder Zhuang's lips trembled, his old face filled with desolation.
As the only healing-system Title Douluo in the Sea God Pavilion, with a life plant spirit, he had the deepest connection to the Golden Tree out of all the elders.
Before the tree withered, he hadn't sensed anything amiss.
But of course, the Golden Tree itself masked its condition, and how could Elder Zhuang, a mere Title Douluo, sense it?
Even Mu En, who had merged his soul with the Golden Tree, only realized something was wrong when he did so, eventually identifying Xuan Zi as the culprit.
"Elder Zhuang! Are you sure?" Elder Song demanded sharply.
Among the many elders of the Sea God Pavilion, aside from the deceased Mu En and the Chicken Leg Douluo Xuan Zi, she was the most senior.
Naturally, she took it upon herself to take charge.
"I'm certain! Before this, I didn't feel any abnormalities in the Golden Tree!" Elder Zhuang said, sweating profusely.
The other elders shook their heads as well; like Zhuang, they hadn't sensed anything unusual either.
Only Yan Shaozhe clapped his hands suddenly, urgently reminding everyone, "And the teacher! Let's quickly connect with the teacher and ask if he knows anything!"
The others also snapped out of it, hastily channeling their spiritual power into the Golden Tree, attempting to communicate with Mu En's soul.
Didn't they, the Sea God Pavilion elders, know?
Mu En was indeed dead, but traditionally, Sea God Pavilion masters would merge their souls into the Golden Tree as their lives drew to a close, to ensure the inheritance of Shrek Academy.
They were the ultimate foundation of Shrek Academy.
Every Sea God Pavilion master merged into the Golden Tree could communicate with Tang San's divine consciousness and forcibly draw on the power of the Golden Tree to unleash strength close to that of a god.
The Light of the Sea God.
This ability had repelled countless powerful foes for Shrek and secured its legacy time and again.
Thus, when Du Busi came to Shrek and saw someone actually releasing the Light of the Sea God, he was shocked.
After Mu En's death, it was the same. As everyone sent their spiritual power into the withered Golden Tree to connect with Mu En's soul, a terrifying dark soul force instantly obliterated everyone's spiritual power.
Including Elder Song, all the Sea God Pavilion elders felt as if a heavy hammer had struck their heads, their heads uncontrollably snapping back.
Several weaker elders, under the spiritual backlash of this dark soul force, even had blood streaming from their noses and mouths like little snakes.
"Who is it!" Elder Song, with the highest cultivation, was the first to break free from the spiritual control. Her Azure Shadow Eagle spirit immediately manifested, and her nine soul rings twirled around her, her formidable aura soaring into the sky.
Elder Song's actions also snapped the others back to reality, and one by one, their spirits manifested.
Except for one Soul Sage level elder who had joined the Sea God Pavilion for his expertise in spirit theories.
Everyone else was at the level of a Titled Douluo.
More than a dozen Titled Douluos, most of them Super Douluos.
Yan Shaozhe, Xian Lin'er, Cai Meier, Qian Duoduo, the Coliseum's Elder Gong, Treasure Pavilion's Elder Lin...
One after another, the Titled Douluos rose into the air, surrounding the withered Golden Tree, blocking all possible escape routes.
As long as the owner of that dark attribute soul power showed himself, they would launch a thunderous assault, pouring a torrent of attacks on the enemy.
"Come out!"
In response to Elder Song's imposing demeanor, the owner of the dark attribute soul power within the Golden Tree didn't say a word, just let out a sinister, chilling chuckle.
"Hehehehehehe..."
This eerie, chilling laugh made the many Sea God Pavilion elders' scalps tingle.
But it was the most senior Elder Song who immediately recognized the owner of the voice.
"Xuan Zi?" She looked uncertainly at the withered Golden Tree, her voice full of shock and anger, "What exactly did you do? Come out!"
"Hehehe... Little Song..." Xuan Zi, cloaked in black, slowly walked out from the main gate of what used to be the Sea God Pavilion, his aura gradually expanding.
One soul ring after another rose beneath his feet, each one striking the hearts of the many elders present like a hammer.
Why?
Because the colors of the soul rings were horrifying!
Red, red, red, red...
Nine hundred-thousand-year soul rings!
Each ring emitted terrifying soul force fluctuations, each more intense than the last.
Starting from the second hundred-thousand-year soul ring, each one bore golden patterns, and by the time of the ninth hundred-thousand-year soul ring, there were five terrifying lines of golden patterns!
This meant that Xuan Zi's ninth soul ring had reached the level of five hundred thousand years!
"The taste of the Golden Tree... truly exquisite. Not only does it taste good, but it's also full of revitalizing energy haha..." Xuan Zi unabashedly released his terrifying aura, laughing wildly without any restraint.
"Hahaha... I am the strongest in the Douluo Continent!"
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(End of Chapter)