"What's wrong? Now that your ugly crime has been exposed, are you trying to silence me?" The Soul King man continued to sneer coldly.
Despite having a Zhuge Divine Crossbow pointed at his head, he showed no fear and kept provoking Tang San.
"Xiao San, calm down." Dai Mubai stepped forward and quickly snatched the crossbow from Tang San, afraid he might act impulsively.
Soon after, Flender also shook off his sorrowful emotions. His mind was still clear, and he had no reason to doubt Tang San.
Xiao San treated Xiao Gang like his own father—how could he possibly commit patricide? There was no motive for such a crime.
"I think it was you who killed Xiao Gang and came here to sow discord!" Flender chose to believe Tang San and directed his accusations toward the Soul King man.
When the Shrek members heard this, they suddenly realized the truth. Tai Long even stood in front of Tang San and declared, "Third Young Master has a kind heart, and he upholds justice. He's a role model for us all! Do you think your words alone are enough to prove he killed the Master? Do you have any evidence?"
"My eyes are the evidence." The Soul King snorted, still convinced that Tang San was disguising himself to gain everyone's sympathy.
"Shut up!" A hoarse voice from Liu Erlong came from the side.
Her eyes were bloodshot, and she was filled with killing intent. In an instant, she appeared in front of the man, reached out, and grabbed his head, lifting him off the ground.
Her anger boiled, and she was ready to kill. She could do anything in her current state.
"Tell me, what really happened to Xiao Gang? Was it you who harmed him?"
The Soul King laughed, his mouth full of bloody foam, making him appear pitiful. He replied, "I've said it many times—the murderer is among you. If you don't believe me, fine, but you attack your benefactor. Now I see it clearly: all of you from Shrek are disgusting worms, deceived by a killer. You are utterly foolish!"
Pfft!
As the last word left his mouth, the Soul King's head suddenly exploded with a loud pop. His brain matter and blood splattered everywhere, even shattering his eyeballs under the pressure of Liu Erlong's soul power.
Liu Erlong stood there, cold and indifferent, without a trace of emotion. She had crushed his skull without hesitation. Blood and brain matter stained her face and hair, yet her eyes remained calm, exuding only cruelty.
The Soul King's head had been reduced to a bloody mess, with only the skin of his face remaining intact. It was a grotesque and bloody scene.
Ugh!
The sight was too much to handle, and several people immediately started retching, their faces pale from disgust.
Even Tang San and Dai Mubai, who were usually tough, felt as if they had swallowed a dead fly, leaving them nauseous. For a long time afterward, they wouldn't be able to eat.
Chen Xuan felt his stomach turn. The scene was so revolting that even he struggled to endure it.
Time passed, and over ten days went by as the group of over a thousand people traveled through the desert.
During this period, the army had crossed two deserts and was now entering a red rock terrain.
"Strange, we've walked dozens of miles, but there are no birds or beasts. It's too quiet," Qin Ming had been paying attention for a while and noticed the anomaly.
Flender nodded. This area was unnervingly quiet, and with the dangerous terrain ahead, extra caution was needed.
They were approaching a canyon-like region with towering cliffs on either side—an ideal spot for an ambush.
The army had to pass through the middle, and if a crisis occurred, the narrow terrain would put them at a significant disadvantage.
Qin Ming and Liu Erlong entered the carriage, warning the students to stay vigilant.
Both Liu Erlong and Tang San were still consumed by grief over the Master's death. Over ten days had passed, and neither had been able to move on.
The two were practically broken, detached from the world and steeped in sorrow.
While Flender was also deeply saddened, he knew that the dead could not come back to life. As the protector of the children, he bore a heavy responsibility and understood that he couldn't waste his energy dwelling on the past.
The others were handling it better. Since their bond with Yu Xiaogang wasn't as deep, they were initially upset, but they moved on more quickly.
Based on the Soul King's testimony, Chen Xuan concluded that Yu Xiaogang was indeed dead. There was no longer any chance of survival.
He had worried that something unexpected might happen, like Yu Xiaogang being miraculously saved, but luck can't be guaranteed.
With the Soul King's gruesome death, the Shrek group finally accepted Yu Xiaogang's fate, except for Liu Erlong and Tang San, who still held onto hope that the Master was alive.
This was a minor episode in their journey. The Heaven Dou army continued on its way, unaffected, and even the nearby Tianshui and Blazing Academies weren't disrupted.
...
After ten days of travel, the thousand-strong group had crossed mountains and deserts, covering six to seven hundred kilometers, drawing closer and closer to Spirit Hall.
The Heaven Dou Royal Army was now stepping into a barren wasteland, with rocky hills and endless yellow sand. There was little greenery, and even the signs of small animals were rare. This area seemed lifeless.
The group of over a thousand included not only the Heaven Dou Army soldiers and teachers leading them but also nobles, sect disciples, and many others.
Their pace was slow and leisurely as they entered a canyon area, the cliffs on both sides towering like walls over a hundred feet tall.
The silence along the way was unsettling—no birds, no insects—just dead silence.
Halfway through the canyon, chaos suddenly erupted.
Boom!
A loud, deafening sound echoed, shaking the earth. The mountains trembled slightly as the air filled with the rumble of falling rocks.
From both sides of the mountains, rows of black-clad figures appeared, pushing down massive boulders that tumbled down the slopes. Hundreds of rocks came crashing down, densely packed, aiming directly at the Heaven Dou army.
"Enemy attack! Quickly, form a defensive formation!" General Roxen shouted, rallying the soldiers to form a defensive stance.
The academies, including Heaven Dou, Blazing, and Divine Wind, were the first to notice the attack. They all rushed out of their carriages, ready for battle.
Inside the giant Shrek carriage, everyone heard the commotion outside, the deafening crashes, the angry shouts of knights, and the screams of some academy girls. It was chaos.
"Senior Qin, what's going on? What's happening outside?" Dai Mubai called out.
The tremors from the crashing boulders felt like an earthquake, terrifying everyone inside.
Qin Ming's expression was grim as he warned the Shrek members, "We are under attack. Remember, prioritize your safety, stay calm, and prepare to fight!"
"Understood, Senior Qin!" the Shrek group responded.
Once the commotion outside subsided, the Shrek Seven Devils exited the carriage, ready for battle.
Meanwhile, in the carriage of the substitute group, Tai Long, sensing danger, ignored the risks outside and charged out first, eager to protect his comrades.
"Third Young Master, I'm coming!"
Jiang Zhu, nervous, grabbed Chen Xuan's arm and asked, "Xuan, should we go out and help?"
The earlier crashes had shaken her, leaving her body weak and her palms sweating.
"What's happening out there?"
Huang Yuan and Jing Ling were also frightened. The sudden quake had caught them off guard, and their hearts pounded in fear.
"Let's wait a bit before going out." Chen Xuan remained calm, having anticipated the situation.
If he remembered correctly, the attackers were from Spirit Hall, acting under orders from Pope Bibi Dong to target Tang San.
It appeared that the thousand-strong group had been attacked, but the real objective was only Tang San. The teachers and students from other academies were unharmed, with no casualties.
Unfortunately, the ordinary soldiers were not so lucky. They became the cannon fodder, sacrificing their lives without knowing why.
Spirit Hall had sent out soul masters, not regular people, while the Heaven Dou army was filled with common soldiers, making it an uneven match.
"Let's go see what's happening." Once the outside quieted down, Chen Xuan called to the others and led them out of the carriage.
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