"Retreat! Fall back!!" Xue Chen shouted in panic.
Too late. Once the cannons were pulled into the tornado, the gale expanded, swallowing soldiers.
This kind of gale was a group-killer—like mowing grass. Unless protected by solid terrain or the later-developed linked defensive soul tools, anything in front of it would be crushed.
Especially since Gale was a fifty-thousand-year soul beast, its power comparable to a Level 97 Super Douluo—its destructive force peaked.
Under the terrifying suction, no one could escape.
"Ah!!!"
Over two thousand elite troops were wiped out in an instant.
Su Wen's gaze never lingered on them. He simply stood with hands behind his back, watching Ye Xishui and the Title Douluo evil soul masters above.
Ju Zi's heart couldn't calm—this was his real strength?
Six or seven beasts; the weakest probably Super Douluo-level. If all six combined…?
Xuan Ziwen's mouth twitched. He thought he was doomed—turns out Su Wen was going to carve a way out.
Ke Ke clenched her fist and shouted, "Kill them! Don't leave any alive!"
Zi Mu was stunned.
A roar echoed in the sky.
At the same time, Snow Empress lowered her raised hand, her expression easing slightly. The sky's massive ice mirror was shattered by another Death God's Light, ice fragments scattering down toward Su Wen—
but a huge body intercepted them.
"What is this freak thing now?!!" Ye Xishui's face turned fully dark.
Snow Empress, that white ape, and now this vicious giant beast—each one struck her nerves.
The more ferocious-beast-tier creatures appeared, the more furious she became. This idiot should stop struggling and die obediently!
Though she could handle them, she suspected Su Wen had more—at least three beasts still unseen.
"End this quickly!" Ye Xishui ordered coldly.
A black-robed figure beside her cackled, spreading six wings. Aura surged.
Martial soul: Fallen Angel. Level 97 evil soul master, Third Worship—one of the Holy Spirit Cult's pillars.
"Understood." Another nodded, frowning.
Level 95 Super Douluo. Martial soul: Blood-Soul Octopus. A black-red octopus shadow formed behind him; countless tentacles shot toward Su Wen.
The remaining three—Second Elder Nangong Wan, Fourth Elder Nether Sword, Seventh Elder Demon Maggot—charged as well.
"Tsk… annoying."
Su Wen raised an eyebrow.
"Azure Luan, Ice Emperor, Big Eye!"
The battlefield shifted.
Azure Luan healed and restored the beasts' injuries and soul power; Ice Emperor and Snow Empress held defense; Big Eye, as a spiritual beast, controlled space-time authority—often appearing in front of the enemy the moment they thought they saw it…
But the fiercest was Little Gold (Xuan Ji), shining like it wore a golden heavy armor, fighting at the very front. Even when struck by the Death God Tower's blasts, it never retreated, charging Ye Xishui head-on.
"Damn it!" Ye Xishui gritted her teeth.
She was truly angered.
"Senior Ye, are you perhaps… not up to it? If it's too hard, why not rest a bit before fighting again?" Su Wen mocked with a smile from below.
Snow Empress and Ice Emperor guarded him in an ice-frost shelter; outside was Gale's tornado; farther out were Big Eye and Xuan Ji battling.
Even though Su Wen stood "alone" with hands behind his back, not personally attacking, the pressure made even Ye Xishui find it troublesome.
"Kid, you're indeed not simple. But if you underestimate an Ultimate's power, that's careless…"
Ye Xishui smiled.
"Everyone—back off!!!"
She shouted. Thick black-red aura surged. The Death God Tower's layers spun. Souls wailed, trying to escape, but were bound and imprisoned.
A normal attack needed only a few thousand souls.
But this wasn't her limit.
The tower held nearly a hundred thousand wronged souls.
When it swelled, Su Wen glimpsed the dense souls inside and felt his scalp tingle.
"Disrespect life, and sooner or later someone will teach you," Su Wen's expression tightened.
"Hahaha—respect? What a joke…" Ye Xishui laughed wildly, eyes vicious. "Kid, if you lived what I lived, you wouldn't speak so lightly."
"If you repay your hatred to those who made you this way, I'd bless you. But you take hatred gained from others and return it a thousandfold to unrelated innocents," Su Wen said softly.
"That's a coward."
His words struck her heart.
Her face darkened.
In years, no one dared speak to her like this.
"Of course—someone like you, a madwoman who wants to wipe out the entire continent, isn't worth my words, and doesn't deserve to hear them…"
"Just know this: the Holy Spirit Cult is a rat nest hiding in the continent's darkness. Sooner or later I'll drag you out one by one and… clean it all up."
"Die!!"
Ye Xishui unleashed the Death God Tower's full-power strike.
Even if it consumed decades of gathered souls, Su Wen's heart-piercing words made her lose control.
Many villains want both: to commit evil without restraint, yet still wear a "you don't understand me, my life is tragic" mask. One person wronged them becomes "the whole world owes me," so they justify enjoying the world's "apology."
But if that lie is torn open—
then they throw tantrums and kill to silence.
"Loveless," Su Wen mouthed calmly.
Ye Xishui understood his lips, her face twisting.
At the same time, Pride of the Ice and Snow Empresses, Wind Tornado, and all the beasts' ultimate moves slammed in like they cost nothing.
"BOOM!!!"
A world-shaking blast.
The thick ice shattered into powder. Steel battleships were ground apart. The sea blasted outward like a mushroom cloud.
"So insane…" Zhang Chen frowned. Even as a Level 95 Super Douluo, facing Su Wen he'd probably only be able to flee.
This martial soul was too overpowered.
The other four stood onshore, the shockwaves dissipating before them, yet the battle zone's sea surface collapsed dozens of meters. Seconds later, distant waves surged back in.
A thousand-layer swell.
"To force the Grand Elder to use her ultimate… heh, even I may not be worthy," Ye Cheng said.
"If we gave him more time, he'd become the Holy Spirit Cult's mortal enemy. But fortunately, after this battle, he'll be wiped out. Even if we offend Mu En at full strength, it's worth it."
"Yes…"
Everyone agreed.
Still a teenager, already matching an Ultimate Douluo—give him time and it'd be unthinkable.
As the sea calmed, and the beasts and even the Abyss Stealth Ship vanished, they felt they had witnessed a monster's fall.
"Fall" was usually for the strongest. Even they weren't worthy of the word.
But for that youth—they all agreed.
"Let's go." Ye Xishui scanned the area, a hint of joy in her eyes. "Su Wen is dead. The Holy Spirit Cult can rest easy."
"The Grand Elder is wise!!!" The five bowed.
…
Some time later.
Under the calm sea, a huge shadow appeared—something massive about to surface—then sped away, splitting waves.
"Tsk tsk. Looks like I'm dead," Su Wen said with a smile, peering through the glass cabin. Far in the bay, troops were already arriving to clean up and would soon scan this area.
Why fake death?
Because he really couldn't beat Ye Xishui—especially with helpers.
Still, the battle mattered: he'd tested her depth. In a one-on-one, he only had a chance to mutually destroy. Ultimate Douluo truly stood at the continent's peak—unmatched.
That final Death God's Light—he'd barely managed to teleport everyone into Poké Balls and still almost died.
All six beasts were severely wounded…
Death God Douluo was indeed terrifying.
"Aren't you alive and well?" Ke Ke said blankly.
"In the Sun Moon Empire's eyes, I'm dead," Su Wen chuckled, flicking Ke Ke's forehead. "Of course, you all are too."
"Going back?" Ke Ke asked.
"Not going back. With the hall master captured, if we return, we can't explain ourselves," she said weakly.
"The real secrets are on us. Perfect time to go to Shrek. Your soul-forging can't satisfy me anymore—I want to meet Shrek's forging grandmaster," Xuan Ziwen said, smiling with arms crossed.
"Wherever you go, I go." Ju Zi bit her lip and hugged Su Wen's arm.
"I…" Zi Mu looked at everyone and could only nod.
He feared that if he objected, Xuan Ziwen would toss him into the sea.
"Then we go to Shrek Academy," Su Wen said, relieved. "The academy won't treat you poorly."
Humanoid soul-tool acquired, Xuan Ziwen brought back as a "buy one get one," Ju Zi as an unexpected bonus, Ke Ke a tagalong, and Zi Mu… honest enough, but for now he couldn't be allowed to roam around Shrek.
The Sun Moon Empire trip ended—perfectly.