Judging by the side effects of Xuan Zi's martial soul, he'd likely repeat the same mistake in the future. Still, this was ultimately an internal affair of Shrek Academy and had little to do with him.
"Silvermoon Flood Dragon King!" Xuanzi's eyes instantly turned blood-red, like burning flames. He howled at the sky, his voice filled with pain and anger.
Then, he suddenly turned his head and stared fiercely at the frozen Silvermoon Flood Dragon King, a crazed murderous intent in his eyes, as if he wanted to tear it to pieces.
"Elder Xuan, don't!" Seeing Xuan Zi's expression, Han Ruoruo's face turned deathly pale, a strong sense of unease flooding her heart.
She instinctively called out to stop him, but everything happened too quickly—it was already too late.
A strange beast's roar suddenly echoed out, and a massive spectral image of the Godly Taotie Bull slowly appeared, blotting out the sky.
Xuan Zi's muscles instantly swelled as if inflated, directly bursting through his clothes.
His muscular torso was covered with mysterious earthy-yellow patterns, exuding an ancient and powerful aura.
Two huge, razor-sharp bull horns slowly grew from his head.
Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black, red—nine soul rings circled around him, releasing a powerful soul power aura.
At this moment, Xuan Zi's eyes were bloodshot, like a crazed beast. He turned into a brilliant yellow light, carrying endless fury, charging straight at the Silvermoon Flood Dragon King.
Clearly, he wanted to kill the Silvermoon Flood Dragon King to avenge his fallen students.
Xuan Zi moved with lightning speed. Everyone was stunned by this sudden turn of events, unable to react in time.
Except for one person—Jingliu.
At some point, Jingliu was already holding an icy sword.
The blade radiated bone-chilling cold, freezing the surrounding air into a thin layer of frost.
A flash of icy blue sword light, like a cold moon slicing through the night sky, carrying endless chill and killing intent, instantly struck the streaking yellow light.
Boom—CRACK!
A deafening explosion rang out as the yellow light burst apart, sending out a shockwave like a bomb.
Xuan Zi's body shot back uncontrollably like a cannonball.
Trees along his path were uprooted by the wild shockwave, tossed aside like fragile straw, leaving a huge trench hundreds of meters long in the ground, as if the earth itself had been split open.
As the rampaging shockwaves and airflow gradually faded, Xuan Zi's body was revealed at the bottom of the trench.
He was half-buried under rubble, only part of his body visible.
Bright red blood stained the stones above him, glaring under the sunlight.
"Pfft—!"
Xuan Zi spat out a mouthful of blood, gushing onto the ground.
His face was pale as paper, utterly drained of color. He looked at Jingliu, who held the icy sword, his eyes filled with disbelief.
At that moment, he truly felt Jingliu's terrifying strength. With just a single sword strike, she had seriously injured him—a rank 98 Super Douluo.
"If you want to die, I can grant your wish." Jingliu's cold voice sounded, as chilly as a cold wind in winter, sending shivers down everyone's spine.
"Your Excellency, please restrain your anger! Elder Xuan was just acting rashly, he has no intention of opposing you!" Han Ruoruo hurriedly pleaded, her voice trembling.
She quickly begged for Xuan Zi's life, glancing imploringly at Lu Jingming, hoping he would also speak up. Wu Ming was equally shocked by the sudden turn of events—Xuan Zi's attack was completely unexpected.
His miserable defeat was even more shocking.
After all, Xuan Zi was Shrek Academy's strongest expert, a rank 98 Super Douluo, standing at the pinnacle of Douluo Continent's power!
Yet before Jingliu, he was so easily defeated—just one sword strike and he was down.
Wu Ming saw Xuan Zi's wound clearly—a terrifying sword cut from his neck to his abdomen, nearly splitting him in two and exposing his crimson organs.
If Xuan Zi weren't a Super Douluo with a top-tier beast martial soul and immense vitality, that sword would have killed him instantly.
Even so, Xuan Zi was now seriously injured and completely powerless.
Lu Jingming frowned slightly. Although he was unhappy about Xuan Zi trying to kill the Silvermoon Flood Dragon King, he still shook his head at Jingliu and said, "Teacher, let it go. For the sake of Sister Ruoruo and Sister Wu Ming, spare him this time."
He didn't want to completely fall out with Shrek Academy yet; that wouldn't benefit him or the development of Haiyuan City.
Killing Xuan Zi would only make Shrek Academy his sworn enemy.
Just Xuan Zi alone—there were many ways Lu Jingming could kill him, but now was not the time.
In his plans, becoming enemies with Shrek Academy at this stage would only bring endless trouble and disrupt Haiyuan City's steady growth.
Moreover, Xuan Zi had failed to kill the Silvermoon Flood Dragon King and, instead, been severely wounded by Jingliu.
With the terrifying sword intent Jingliu left in his wounds, Xuan Zi's recovery would be neither quick nor easy.
Shrek Academy's vast resources might heal his physical injuries, but purging the residual sword intent from his body would be a major challenge.
"As you wish." Jingliu nodded, slowly putting away her icy sword. Instantly, the biting cold in the air dissipated.
Han Ruoruo and Wu Ming gratefully looked at Lu Jingming, their impression of him soaring.
They knew that if Xuan Zi had died here, there would be no peace for them when they returned to Shrek Academy.
Even though Xuan Zi's negligence had led to their classmates' deaths, as inner court disciples, and with Xuan Zi being a Sea God Pavilion member and vice-captain of the Shrek Supervisory Group, they could not stand by and watch him die.
No matter their resentment, in this situation, they had to beg Lu Jingming and Jingliu for mercy.
"Thank you, Your Excellency, for sparing him," Han Ruoruo said respectfully to Jingliu, then hurried over with Wu Ming to help the severely injured Xuan Zi up.
"Sister Ruoruo, you'd better take him back to Shrek Academy for treatment as soon as possible. With injuries like his, any delay could be fatal," Lu Jingming reminded as if forgetting that his own White Flower ability could completely heal Xuan Zi.
Han Ruoruo and Wu Ming nodded, seemingly forgetting that Lu Jingming had just healed them with his power.
The three exchanged a knowing glance, a hint of a smile in their eyes.
PS: Read advanced chapters at patreon.com/AbsoluteCode