Douluo Dalu 2: You are an Evil Soul Master, but also a good person ?

"You're saying they charged straight in?"

At the border of the Xingluo Empire, inside a White Tiger military tent—

A shirtless Dai Hao, his body still steaming from a rigorous training session, wiped his sweat with a towel and asked in surprise.

"Yes, Marshal. The young master and that female captain from Shrek Academy took the intelligence report and rushed straight into the mountains without a second thought. I even overheard the female captain saying she wanted to finish the mission quickly so they could focus on the tournament…"

Duleisi smiled bitterly.

"…"

Dai Hao froze for a moment.

These evil soul masters had been hiding in the Mingdou Mountains for five years, unchecked by either military force.

That wasn't just because they were near the border and difficult to deal with.

Even his personal guards had fallen victim to these evil soul masters before.

Their cunning and slipperiness were far beyond imagination.

"Forget it. With that one person there, what trouble could a few Soul Kings possibly cause?" Dai Hao shook his head, feeling he was overthinking.

"Besides, this is the true elite of Shrek Academy—what could possibly go wrong?"

Nightfall.

Wang Yan furrowed his brow and hesitated before suggesting to Ma Xiaotao, "Should we ask Elder Xuan to follow us in? This cave is long and narrow. If a large explosion occurs, I fear…"

"Teacher Wang Yan, if you're scared, you don't have to go," Ma Xiaotao sneered.

"As members of Shrek Academy's Inspection Corps, how can we be afraid of evil soul masters? If we hesitate at every little thing, then what's the point of the Corps?"

Hearing this, the other official team members remained expressionless.

But it was clear they all stood with Ma Xiaotao.

In Shrek Academy, strength ruled. Especially in the inner court—whoever had the biggest fist made the decisions. Wang Yan, an old scholar who couldn't even defeat them in battle, had no right to dictate their actions.

"…Fine, I suppose."

Wang Yan smiled bitterly.

"All official members, follow me!"

With a wave of her hand, Ma Xiaotao vanished into the darkness.

Vice-captain Dai Yueheng followed closely behind, along with the other five official members.

Wang Yan sighed and shook his head.

Maybe he was just overthinking it. After all, these were the strongest prodigies of Shrek Academy's inner court. A swift battle was the right approach.

If he hadn't heard Wang Dong's murmurs earlier, he wouldn't have even considered this.

"All reserve members, follow me!"

Wang Yan also steeled himself.

After passing through a tunnel, their field of vision opened up.

Following Wang Yan's lead, Wang Dong and the others entered the cave's depths.

Up ahead, their senior brothers and sisters were already slaughtering the evil soul masters, striking with overwhelming force.

Everything was going smoothly. Because it was nighttime, many evil soul masters were resting and were caught completely off guard—blood and flesh splattered everywhere.

Dai Yueheng, with his White Tiger Martial Soul activated, tore a Soul King apart with his bare claws.

Ma Xiaotao, wielding her Evil Phoenix flames, burned groups of evil soul masters alive.

Gongyang Mo demonstrated the terrifying power of an auxiliary-type Soul Master, covering the team in radiant, seven-colored light.

Xixi, moving as swiftly as a leopard, darted in and out of battle, leaving behind blood and carnage.

The inner court seniors' powerful display filled the reserve members with admiration.

Even Wang Dong, despite disliking Ma Xiaotao's intelligence, had to acknowledge her strength as a Level 68 Soul Emperor.

It seemed she had been overthinking things.

Wang Dong finally relaxed.

But in the very next moment—

From deep within the cave, an eerie voice echoed:

"Those who dare oppose the Envoy of Death—shall perish!"

As the voice reverberated, Gongyang Mo was the first to notice something was wrong. His eyes widened in terror.

"Something's wrong with the corpses! Everyone, get away from them—!"

But by the time he realized it, it was already too late.

Boom!

The earth trembled violently.

The entire cave shook as if an earthquake had struck.

The countless corpses—freshly slain by Shrek's students—had been turned into human bombs, detonating all at once.

Their flesh, skin, and bones became nothing more than tools of destruction.

The stronger the deceased, the greater the explosion.

For the reserve team, who were farther from the battlefield, the damage was relatively minor. They only suffered temporary deafness, a few mouthfuls of blood from the shockwaves.

But the official team, positioned right in the center of the explosion—there was no better word for their state than catastrophic.

Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng, closest to the blast, were sent flying like ragdolls, embedding themselves into the cave walls.

At least they had defensive capabilities—Ma Xiaotao's Evil Phoenix flames offered decent resistance, and Dai Yueheng's White Tiger form had high durability. Though severely injured, at least they still had all their limbs.

Ling Luochen, a mage, had been standing farther away. Thanks to Gongyang Mo's last-second warning, she managed to cast a protective shield around herself and two others. Though still blasted away and coughing blood, she was the least injured among them.

The others weren't so lucky.

Xixi was slightly better off, but large portions of her skin had been corroded away, revealing raw, bloody flesh and even exposed bones. Despite the agony, she could still barely stand.

Gongyang Mo had received a temporary shield from Ling Luochen, but he had been too close to the blast. His shield was instantly shattered, and he was left screaming in agony, rolling on the ground, his face and body corroded beyond recognition.

His hair had been completely burned away. His scalp was now a mess of exposed, cratered flesh, his wails of pain sending chills down spines.

But compared to Chen Zifeng, Gongyang Mo was lucky.

Chen Zifeng, a sword-type martial soul user, was a glass cannon. Half of his body was completely gone. He lay on the ground, his lifeblood draining away, his unfocused eyes filled with despair.

He couldn't even scream. Blood gurgled in his throat, drowning any sound he might have made.

The most pitiful of all was Yao Haoxuan—he had been at the very center of the blast.

He had died instantly, his body obliterated.

"ROARRR!!!"

Xuanzi finally arrived.

Seeing the absolute carnage before him, his breath came in ragged gasps, his eyes burning red with fury.

The terrifying aura of a Titled Douluo surged forth from his body.

"Who did this?!"

Meanwhile, deeper in the cave—

"What the hell? Another one?!"

The Death Envoy was utterly dumbfounded.

He had been about to let out a triumphant laugh—only to have it stuck in his throat when a powerhouse at least at the Titled Douluo level charged in.

Had he just stirred up a nest of Shrek students or what?

A bunch of Soul Kings and Soul Emperors were one thing—but where the hell did this old monster come from?!

"Get over here!"

Xuanzi's muscle-bound body ripped through his clothing as he reached out. A swirling yellow vortex appeared before him, exuding a monstrous suction force.

Deep in the cave, the Death Envoy's face changed dramatically as he was forcibly pulled toward Xuanzi.

For the first time, everyone got a clear look at him—

His soul ring configuration: Yellow, Yellow, Yellow, Purple, Purple.

Just a trash-tier soul master, someone every Shrek student outclassed in raw talent alone—yet he had nearly wiped out Shrek's official team.

"Heh… trying to capture me? Keep dreaming!"

The Death Envoy's mind spun rapidly as he caught sight of Yao Haoxuan's corpse and the barely-alive Chen Zifeng—

A sinister plan took shape in his mind.

(End of Chapter)