Chapter 265: Half a Step Back—Protect Them All!
"Ah-choo!"
In a luxurious room of Heaven Dou City, Jiang Chen, lying against Ye Xinglan's delicate body, suddenly sneezed hard.
"Why does it feel like something terrible just happened…" he muttered.
"What?" Ye Xinglan turned her head slightly, sitting cross-legged on the bed, her fair ankles peeking out from under the white sheets, a vision so pure it bordered on dangerous beauty.
Both looked out the window as dark storm clouds rolled and thunder rumbled across the sky above the Spirit Transmission Tower. The pressure of the coming storm pressed down upon the city's hearts, but soon, a beam of calm light rose from the tower's spire, soothing the fear of its citizens.
Heaven Dou's residents had long grown used to such scenes.
Once in a while, they'd witness thunder tribulations no other cities could see—usually meaning that Zhen Hua, the Divine Craftsman, was performing another Heavenly Refinement.
Besides ten-thousand-year soul beasts crossing their heavenly tribulations, only a Divine Craftsman could summon such a storm.
However, because Zhen Hua's health had long since declined, it had been years since he last attempted one. No one imagined who could possibly afford the price it took to make him forge again.
At the Blacksmith Association's Heavenly Forge Platform, Zhen Hua stood firm, hammer raised, unblinking beneath the swirling thunderclouds. Each hammer strike on the Spirit Gold released radiant life energy, bathing him in vitality even as he faced the heavenly bolts above.
This Heavenly Forge Platform had been co-built by the Federation and the Association for his exclusive use, surrounded by carved pillars of rare metals inscribed with intricate arrays that both resisted heavenly forces and increased the chance of crafting success.
After all, Heavenly Refinement was more than forging—it was surviving the transcendent baptism of heaven and earth. Failure was always a possibility.
Boom!
A blinding bolt descended like a thunderous pillar, thick as a barrel, its light scorching the world.
During Heavenly Refinement, all living creatures were supposed to avoid the vicinity lest the heavenly wrath shift its focus.
But Zhen Hua's target—the divine-class metal—carried its own life signature. The wrath of heaven struck the metal, not the man. If it were otherwise, even he would've been erased in an instant.
Watching nearby, Xiong Jun sat cross-legged in his true form—the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear. Golden fur shone under the beating lightning, each spark deflected harmlessly by his fifty-eight-thousand-year-old body.
He had long experienced tribulations more fearsome than this. Compared to those, the heavenly thunder of smithing was almost gentle.
Not maintaining his human form, he stared intently as the Divine Craftsman worked, absorbing every detail of the sacred moment when metal itself transcended to divinity.
Then—the critical moment arrived.
The heavens split open, and the Spirit Gold began to transform—its essence shedding and reforming under divine judgment.
For Zhen Hua, forging divine metal with the Spirit Gold was a guaranteed success. More than that, the life energy of the metal replenished the vitality he had lost in countless past refinements.
This—this was the miracle of Spirit Gold.
…
"Blue! Silver! Entangle!"
Golden vines erupted across the battlefield like burning threads of divine life, spreading across the entire shoreline until they shimmered like a sea of molten sunlight.
The aura of the Golden Dragon King burst forth, saturating the field. Within that oppressive majesty, Long Yue and Zhuo Shi found their strength magnified once again.
Their martial souls trembled as though alive, eyes glowing crimson with primal rage as they locked upon the Deathbringer.
Moments earlier, when the barrier shattered, Tang Wulin had instantly grasped the enemy's intent.
He might not be a Shrek student, but he would never stand idle while an Evil Soul Master slaughtered before his eyes.
Breaking his fourth seal by sheer will brought him pain beyond measure—but also power beyond reason.
The ancient might of the Golden Dragon King thundered through him.
He glanced toward the blood-soaked Evil Soul Master for only a fraction of a second—yet that was enough.
"Get lost!"
A thunderous roar shook the air—Zhuo Shi had recovered, infused with strength beyond his prime thanks to the surge in Wulin's bloodline.
"Well now," he thought with awe, "so this is the boy… No wonder."
He finally understood why Mu Chen had wanted Tang Wulin to study under him. From his own disciple Wu Zhangkong, he had heard whispers that the boy carried the blood of the Golden Dragon.
He had not expected that this bloodline could actually amplify the power of others.
Golden Dragon blood—perhaps even purer, nobler than the Mountain Dragon King itself.
Most of the dragon clan hadn't even heard of the Golden Dragon King, let alone humans.
Zhuo Shi inwardly sighed. What a pity…
This child wasn't a Shrek student.
Still, perhaps… perhaps he could persuade him to transfer?
Shrek was his true home!
He brushed the thought aside for now and clenched his fists.
"This time, you won't escape!"
Even with only half of his strength recovered, Zhuo Shi was already far beyond what Deathbringer could handle.
Facing the charging crimson dragon, Deathbringer's face twisted in panic.
"No! Impossible—how are you already restored!?"
He fell back, shoving his surviving minions forward to block him—anyone, anything to stop the blow.
But Zhuo Shi's wrath showed no mercy. Ten—no, eleven—Evil Soul Masters were struck down in a single red wave, their bodies shattered or broken beyond repair.
"Damn it!"
Just as the dust began to settle, reinforcements streaked across the horizon—students and envoys from Shrek Academy had arrived.
"I've come to help!"
They were the academy's inner-court geniuses—the continent's brightest stars, each one chosen through countless trials, each one a future Title Douluo in the making.
"Good! Excellent!" Zhuo Shi roared. "Let's make sure not a single Evil Soul Master leaves this place alive!"
Deathbringer's blood-red eyes twitched, veins bulging in frustration as he looked from the encircling Shrek forces to his incapacitated followers.
"Fine… fine… FINE!"
His body quaked with fury, and his voice broke into a deranged cackle.
"In that case—stay! All of you! Become my corpse puppets!"
(END CHAPTER)
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