Lin Jie gave Zhu Zhuqing a subtle nod—then shook his head. With their hearts so closely attuned, Zhu Zhuqing instantly understood his meaning.
Zhu Zhuqing said calmly, "I can go with you. But you're not allowed to harm my teammates."
"That…" The golden-robed man hesitated. As someone who cherished flowers more than life itself, he couldn't bring himself to refuse the request of the owner of the Yearning Heartbroken Red. But this mission wasn't one he could decide on—after all, it had been issued by that person.
Just then, Lin Jie began walking toward Zhu Zhuqing. Dragon Duke instinctively tried to stop him, afraid he would throw his life away—but Lin Jie brushed off his concern. He wasn't walking in blindly—he had his reasons.
Chrysanthemum Douluo (Yue Guan) was torn, caught between Zhu Zhuqing's request and his inability to grant it. For a moment, he fell silent.
Then, he noticed a particularly bold young man walking straight toward him.
"You've got guts, kid. Walking over here by yourself? Not afraid of death?"
As Yue Guan spoke, Zhu Zhuqing looked as though she wanted to say something, but Lin Jie gave her a subtle signal to stay quiet—and she did.
Lin Jie stopped five meters away and said calmly, "I believe you won't kill me."
Yue Guan narrowed his eyes with interest. "Oh? And what makes you so confident I won't? You are one of my targets, after all."
At that, Lin Jie pulled out a token from his soul tool ring—a unique identification token that Hu Liena had once given him. She told him that if he ever came to Spirit Hall, this would help him find her.
Of course, Lin Jie didn't believe this token alone would make Chrysanthemum Douluo spare his life. What he was really doing was buying time. His Mind Net had already detected two powerful presences approaching at high speed.
He casually tossed the token toward Yue Guan.
Yue Guan didn't even flinch. He wasn't afraid of hidden weapons, and he was also curious—what could possibly give this kid the courage to stand in front of a Titled Douluo?
With two fingers, he caught the token, then glanced at it—and his expression immediately turned strange.
"How did you get this?" he asked sharply.
Lin Jie cleared his throat. "She gave it to me. What, did you think I stole it?"
No… something was off. Yue Guan frowned. Did this kid already know his identity?
But even if he did, so what?
That token—Hu Liena's personal disciple badge from Spirit Hall—was a symbol of extraordinary status. Yue Guan could instantly tell it was genuine. And given how close he was to Hu Liena, he also knew she would never give it to just anyone.
She was that person's disciple. In that person's heart, Hu Liena's status might even surpass that of most Titled Douluo.
Why would she give something so important to this kid?
After a moment's hesitation, Yue Guan had a thought. A possibility.
His tone shifted as he gave a soft, eerie chuckle. "Heh… I admit I'm surprised. But you don't actually think this token is enough to make me let you go, do you?"
"Of course not," Lin Jie replied with forced calm. "I only wanted you to take a look. As for sparing my life… well, that's not something I'd trouble you with."
In truth, Lin Jie was still inwardly nervous. Titled Douluo-level power was nothing to scoff at. He had once wondered whether his railgun, the electromagnetic cannon he had developed, could kill someone like this. Now he knew—even if it had enough firepower, it likely wouldn't hit its target. A Titled Douluo's reaction speed was simply too fast—they'd never just stand there and take it.
Just as Yue Guan prepared to act, a tall figure in white appeared, walking slowly toward them. A powerful, razor-sharp aura radiated from him—like an unsheathed sword that could slice the heavens.
The moment this aura appeared, Yue Guan, as a fellow Titled Douluo, felt it immediately. His eyes narrowed.
An old man had appeared beside the Shrek Academy students.
He wore spotless white robes, and his silver hair was neatly combed. In his hand was a sword roughly three feet long, pure silver and completely unadorned. His expression was calm, his eyes unreadable. He stood silently, without a word—but his mere presence seemed to declare supremacy over all creation.
"Sword Douluo Chen Xin!" Yue Guan cried out, face darkening.
The aura he had moments ago vanished. Even his palms began to sweat.
Sword Douluo Chen Xin.
Renowned as the strongest offensive Titled Douluo in the known world—his attributes completely countered Yue Guan's.
Among all the Titled Douluo on the continent, Chen Xin was one of the few who thoroughly restrained him.
Yue Guan turned serious, ignoring Lin Jie entirely. "Chen Xin, are you really planning to get involved?"
The man was indeed the Sword Douluo of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan, one of its twin guardian Douluo. Among known Titled Douluo, few could rival him in raw attack power.
The moment Lin Jie saw him arrive, he knew the crisis had passed.
Chen Xin spoke softly, but his words cut like blades.
"Yue Guan. You call yourself a Titled Douluo, yet here you are bullying a group of children. Aren't you afraid of becoming a laughingstock?"
"The students of Shrek Academy are friends of my Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan. Are you sure you still want to act?"
Then, he raised his eyes and looked skyward. "And the one up there—don't you plan on coming out?"
A dark figure materialized in the air, then instantly descended beside Yue Guan.
It was another Titled Douluo: Ghost Douluo.
Yue Guan's voice turned cold. "Old Ghost. Looks like things aren't going well."
Ghost Douluo didn't respond. Instead, he looked toward a hill in the distance.
There, a plainly dressed figure walked out—Ning Fengzhi.
In his hand, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda glowed brightly, with seven Spirit Rings rotating around it.
At his side stood none other than Crown Prince Xue Qinghe of the Heaven Dou Empire.
Seeing Ning Fengzhi arrive, Yue Guan's and Ghost Douluo's expressions grew even darker.
If Ning Fengzhi weren't here, the two of them could possibly fight Chen Xin to a standstill. But with Ning Fengzhi—widely known as the strongest support-type Spirit Master on the continent—the outcome was no longer in question.
Yue Guan didn't hesitate.
"Fine. You win today. But don't think this matter is over."
He gave Ghost Douluo a look, and both vanished at the same time.
The moment they disappeared, the black-clad attackers began to retreat like a receding tide. Even the bodies of their fallen were taken away, leaving no trace behind.
"Father! You're here!"
Now that the danger had passed, Ning Rongrong forgot all about keeping her identity a secret. She ran toward Ning Fengzhi joyfully.
In the distance, the recently allied Godwind Academy and Blazing Academy teams looked stunned.
So… Shrek Academy had been hiding the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan's heir all along?
And they just casually summoned three Titled Douluo and two Spirit Douluo?
Who the hell were these people!?
Ning Fengzhi gently patted Rongrong's head with a soft smile.
"I'm not here to protect you, Rongrong. His Majesty asked me to escort the Crown Prince."
As the heir to the Heaven Dou Empire, Xue Qinghe naturally wouldn't be sent off with only a few hundred royal knights. Before departure, Emperor Xue Ye had personally requested Ning Fengzhi's protection. That's why Ning Fengzhi and Sword Douluo had been in the group all along—discreetly guarding Xue Qinghe.
They hadn't appeared earlier because they'd been held up protecting the prince. But the moment the threat was gone, Ning Fengzhi had immediately come to check on his daughter.
Watching the black-clad men retreat, Lin Jie smiled faintly. He glanced at Dragon Duke and Serpent Lady, then walked over to Zhu Zhuqing, gently supporting her.
"You okay?"
"I'm fine. What about you?" she asked, shaking her head.
Lin Jie chuckled, "Me? What could possibly happen to me?"
With the threat gone, everyone finally relaxed.
Crown Prince Xue Qinghe stepped forward and calmly instructed the Royal Knights to clean up the battlefield, tend to the wounded, and reassemble the caravan.
The earlier ambush hadn't caused many casualties among the other academies or the Royal Knights. The black-clad attackers had held back against everyone else—but not Shrek. They'd gone all out trying to kill them.
The casualties? Mostly their own.
Once everything was in order, Xue Qinghe approached Ning Fengzhi.
"Teacher, what should we do now?"
Ning Fengzhi smiled faintly.
"Proceed as planned. With Sword Douluo here, they won't dare act again."
"Yes, Teacher."
Xue Qinghe saluted, then gave the order for the caravan to resume its journey.