Blood flew everywhere. The force in the stomp that Long Yue had just delivered could even have bent a thick plate of steel.
Shouts of horror broke out from the audience.
Dai Yun’er’s eyes widened in shock. She covered her mouth as she sucked in her breath.
Long Yue didn’t seem to be satisfied. He jerked his right foot up again. But before he could land it on Tang Wulin, the soul barrier got broken by a red beam of light, and a figure flew over in a split second and slammed into the Dragon King.
To everyone’s amazement, heavy as Long Yue was, he got knocked flying as if he were weightless.
An instant later, En Ci was on the stage, standing in front of Mu Ye.
“Who are you?” En Ci demanded, giving off an aura so powerful that the soul barrier shattered into pieces.
Mu Ye was hovering in mid-air, looking coldly down at the old man, holding in his right hand a bloodred sword about 10 feet long, his body shining a dark golden.
En Ci was startled by the frightening aura emanating from the man. As a rank 98 Titled Doulou, he had never been impressed by anyone’s power, until now.
When Long Yue had lifted his foot the second time, Elder Cai had shot out from the audience at the same time as Mu Ye, but the latter beat her in arriving.
By then Tang Wulin’s seven teammates had arrived at the stage as well, but the two men’s auras kept them from getting closer. When Gu Yue saw his horribly dented chest, she felt her heart caught in her throat, shaking uncontrollably.
Long Yue picked himself up, his eyes still red with fury, and charged savagely at Mu Ye.
“Enough!” En Ci boomed as he waved his hand. Suddenly a golden shaft of light descended from the sky and landed on Long Yue, instantly rendering him unable to move.
“This is a competition?!” Elder Cai’s anger flared.
“I’m sorry. Long Yue lost control of himself,” En Ci said apologetically. “But Tang Wulin has signed a death waiver, hasn’t he? Anyway, there is no point in arguing who is right or wrong right now.” He turned to look at Tang Wulin, who was lying unconscious on the ground.
Mu Ye snorted. The red sword flew into the air and disappeared. He landed beside his disciple, putting his right hand on him.
Tang Wulin’s battle armor had fused back into his body, his chest caved in, the golden scales shining faintly.
Mu Ye picked up the blood-covered boy gently, darted an angry glance at En Ci, and turned into a beam of light that shot off into the distance.
“I’m afraid I need an explanation, Your Grace,” said Tang Bingyao, leader of the delegation. “Why didn’t the referee stop Long Yue when it was obvious the match was over?”
Dai Tianling’s face was dark with anger; he had never thought the fight would end this way. “I apologize. We’ll look into it and make things right for you. I’ll make sure Tang Wulin gets the best medical treatment possible.”
The audience suddenly seemed to have lost all interest in the result of the match, judging by the way they looked at Long Yue. Standing there on the stage was not a hero, but a monster who had succumbed to his killing intent.
The Dragon King’s immense power would be useful to the empire, to be sure, but if he lost control on the street like he had, it would be disastrous, especially for people who weren’t soul masters.
“What do we do? Where is that man taking him?” Xie Xie asked, worried. Tang Wulin was his best friend, who always gave him a lot of help in his training.
Gu Yue was still shaking, tears streaming down her cheeks. She closed her eyes, attempting to calm herself down, but failed miserably.
“He took Wulin away, so he must be still alive,” Ye Xinglan said. “We should get back to the hotel in case that man needs to find us.”
Yuanen Yehui nodded. “I’m sure Wulin will be all right. He has a strong healing ability.”
Xu Xiaoyan burst into tears.
Gu Yue whirled and ran towards the exit of the stadium. The other students of the Shrek Academy followed after.
Elder Cai watched as her students left. Maybe none of this would have happened if I had let Wu Zhangkong be with them. I will never forgive myself if he dies.
“If Tang Wulin dies, I will kill Long Yue.”
Elder Cai turned to find Wu Zhangkong beside her, his eyes icier than ever. Without waiting for a reply, he flew off in a flash.
This sudden turn of events had entirely soured the match. Only a few people were excited that Long Yue had taken the championship. Most people were wondering if Tang Wulin was still alive.
With the help of En Ci, Long Yue finally managed to regain control of himself. He remembered everything he had done. With a dark look on his face, he stepped off the stage.
“Is his martial soul too powerful for him to control?” Dai Tianling asked En Ci.
En Ci sighed. “Yes,” he admitted. “I have tried a lot of different ways to help him, but the Mountain Dragon King’s power is almost impossible to tame. I won’t let him leave the academy until I find a solution.”
Dai Tianling nodded. He didn’t blame his master for not stopping Long Yue before it was too late, because he knew he was looking out for the Star Luo Empire.