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

"Buzz!"

As the Death's Envoy glided forward, he executed a precise move—blinding strike (Yao Haoxuan), followed by an R-Flash (soul skill) to reposition, sending Yao Haoxuan hurtling towards Xuanzi, swapping their positions in an instant.

"Watch out!"

Wang Yan's eyes widened in alarm.

Still dizzy from the aftershock of the previous blast, he barely regained his senses when he saw Xuan Lao being targeted by a corpse bomb thrown by the Reaper's Emissary. Without hesitation, he ordered the reserve team to hit the ground again.

"Until next time!"

Having just pulled off an incredibly flashy play, the Reaper's Emissary turned with a flourish, dragging along the half-dead, barely intact Chen Zifeng as he dashed toward the secret passage.

"Damn it!" Xuanzi's face flushed red with anger.

To contain the corpse explosion, he had no choice but to temporarily abandon the pursuit.

After all, the area around him was filled with disoriented reserve team members who had just been knocked down by the shockwave, completely unguarded. If these students perished as well, he might as well kill himself out of shame.

Lowering Yao Haoxuan's body to the ground, Xuanzi's face was filled with grief and fury.

It was like a fully-equipped warrior being completely outplayed by a nearly defeated assassin—who, after executing a dazzling combo, managed to escape on a sliver of health.

In other words… he was red-hot with rage.

"Roar!"

Xuanzi let out a furious roar before bolting after the fleeing enemy.

As his figure disappeared into the distance, the battlefield gradually fell into silence.

Wang Yan rushed to assess everyone's injuries.

The sight before him was tragic and horrifying.

His heart sank.

What was once an undefeated, powerhouse team—strong enough to claim the championship with their eyes closed—was now reduced to this?

Would they even make it to the finals anymore?

"Brother! Are you okay?!"

Dai Huabin, bloodied and battered, stumbled forward, collapsing beside Dai Yueheng, his face filled with sorrow.

Zhu Lu also rushed to his side, full of concern.

The Dai family didn't have an official heir system—each sibling had to carve out their own path—so the relationships between the direct lineage brothers were relatively harmonious.

"Stop shaking me, dammit! If you keep shaking me, I really will die!"

Dai Yueheng coughed up blood, his chest rising and falling rapidly. Once he caught his breath, he struggled to sit up.

"What's the situation?"

"Among the main team, only Senior Sister Ling is lightly injured. Other than that, you and Senior Sister Xiao Tao are in the best condition. As for the rest… the rest…"

Dai Huabin turned away, unable to finish his sentence.

"Sigh…"

Dai Yueheng slowly closed his eyes, lost in thought.

Wang Dong coughed twice, wiping the blood from his mouth. Looking at the devastated battlefield and the half-dead Ma Xiaotao, he couldn't bring himself to make any sarcastic remarks. Instead, he let out a helpless sigh.

So this was the legendary Shrek Academy.

The most prestigious academy on the entire continent!

Before coming here, she had held it in such high regard, expecting greatness.

But what did she find?

A bunch of muscle-headed brutes, blinded by their own arrogance!

If they had just worn defensive soul tools, or if Xuan Lao had been following closely behind them, none of this would have happened!

The idealized version of Shrek Academy she once admired had just shattered into pieces.

"That evil soul master… he's really strong…"

Xiao Xiao murmured in distress.

Strong? What was strong about him?

It had always been like this—why didn't they reflect on themselves?

Had they worked hard enough? Had they trained enough?

Had their soul power even increased properly?

As he sprinted through the dark passage, setting off explosions to hinder Xuanzi's pursuit, the Death's Envoy was utterly exhilarated.

That old fool had been completely played like a puppet—a Titled Douluo, reduced to a joke at the hands of a mere Soul King! If word got out about this…

He patted the Recording Crystal in his hand.

A cheap soul tool imported from the Sun-Moon Empire, capable of recording everything that happened within an hour.

Carefully tucking it into his pocket, he smirked.

This would be his ultimate bragging material in the future.

After sprinting for a few more seconds—

A faint light appeared at the end of the passage.

"Finally!"

The Death's Envoy's eyes lit up with excitement.

"I'm outta here!"

At the exit of the cave, twelve lifeless corpses stood in neat formation—his final trump card.

"What a pity… if I had ten more years, a mere Titled Douluo would be child's play for me!"

He sighed regretfully.

These corpse puppets were his entire life's work—it had taken him ages to amass them, and now he was about to waste them all in one go.

"Hmph, Shrek Academy… just you wait…"

The Death's Envoy sneered, tightening his grip on the barely breathing Chen Zifeng, before changing direction and heading deeper into the Ming Dou Mountain Range.

"What?! You didn't catch him?!!"

Wang Yan's eyes widened in utter disbelief.

You're a Super Douluo, for god's sake!

The opponent was just a Soul King—without even the optimal soul ring configuration—and yet he got away?!

"…"

Faced with Wang Yan's outburst, Xuanzi slumped onto a rock, drinking heavily.

"Huff… huff…"

Wang Yan took a long moment to calm himself.

"What's the status now?"

Xuanzi finally spoke in a low voice.

"Among the main team, Yao Haoxuan is dead—only his skeleton remains. Gongyang Mo is severely corroded. Xi Xi is in a similar condition. They must be taken back to the academy for urgent treatment. Ma Xiaotao and Dai Huabin are seriously injured—at best, they'll need over half a month to recover. Ling Luochen has the lightest injuries—about a week of rest should do. As for Chen Zifeng… he's missing."

Wang Yan's voice was heavy.

"…"

Xuanzi was silent, a mix of anger and regret flashing across his face.

He took another deep swig of alcohol.

"What about the reserve team?"

"They only suffered minor injuries—nothing serious."

"Good. I'll take Xi Xi and Gongyang Mo back to the academy first. As for the competition… just do your best. I will request to resign from the Sea God Pavilion, and I alone will bear all responsibility for this failure."

Xuanzi said bitterly.

"…Fine."

Wang Yan nodded indifferently, then turned away, unwilling to speak further.

"Bear responsibility?"

What a joke.

Unless he publicly announced that this mission failure was entirely his fault, then he wasn't really taking responsibility at all.

Throwing a tantrum and quitting the academy?

That wasn't "shouldering the blame"—that was just running away.

Meanwhile—

The Death's Envoy, grinning from ear to ear, reveled in his victory.

This battle would make him famous!

Sure, he'd lost his past assets, but he'd soon rebuild his strength.

Once he reached the Sun-Moon Empire—the holy land of all evil soul masters—and joined the Holy Spirit Cult, his new life would begin.

As for Shrek Academy… revenge was a dish best served cold.

But in that instant—

His movement suddenly froze.

His instincts screamed at him.

The trees around him shook, and black crows burst into flight.

A shadow appeared on the treetop.

"A Soul King who escaped from Xuanzi… Looks like the Holy Son was right. This guy is impressive."

A cold voice murmured.

The Death's Envoy tensed.

"The Holy Son? Who are you?"

"Ninth Worshipper of the Holy Spirit Cult."

"Oh! A fellow comrade! We're on the sa—"

Before he could finish—

His head was cleanly severed.

"Who the hell is 'one of your own'?"

The last thing he saw was the man's look of disdain.

(End of Chapter)