Douluo, my clone Groudon

Chapter 378 The Holy Spirit Cult, the Original Plan

Xuanzi's deafening shout of "Enemy attack!" resounded like thunder throughout the hotel.

Gula instantly realized what was happening, a hint of surprise flashing across his mind: "Hmm? Elder Xuan didn't mess up this time?"

He immediately sensed three cold and sinister auras rapidly approaching, one of which was particularly concealed and aimed directly at his area.

What Gula didn't know was that Xuanzi had been hiding in the top-floor room, indulging in a feast and trying to suppress his craving for alcohol with food, thus maintaining a high level of sobriety and vigilance. That's why he was able to keenly detect the evil spirit master's deadly killing intent, which he hadn't tried to conceal.

Without the slightest hesitation, a glint flashed in Gula's eyes.

A dazzling golden light burst forth, and angelic spirits appeared behind him, spreading a divine aura.

At the same time, the evolution watch on his wrist lit up again, its intricate patterns flowing and guiding the power of the Angelic Martial Soul to further condense and sublimate, its sacred radiance carrying a trace of the ultimate light that purifies all things.

But Gula's actions did not stop.

A thick, dark gold armor, imbued with the aura of the earth, instantly covered his chest, with rock-like textures faintly visible beneath his skin—Groudon's spirit, partially attached!
Facing a Title Douluo-level evil soul master with unpredictable and cunning methods, Gula would never be careless or underestimate his opponent just because he has the trump card of fighting beyond his level. His double defense is his trump card to deal with surprise attacks.

The attackers were none other than the elders of the Holy Spirit Cult: Abomination Douluo, Ten Thousand Souls Douluo, and Masked Douluo.

These three were a carefully selected combination by Zhongli Wu: the Abomination Douluo was known for his obese body and terrifying fat defense; the Myriad Souls Douluo was good at manipulating vengeful spirits to carry out large-scale attacks and domain suppression; and the Masked Douluo was skilled in concealment, parasitism and control.

The three of them working together were enough to handle most emergencies. Despite the infighting within the Holy Spirit Cult, no one dared to disobey Zhongli Wu's strict orders.

As planned, Masked Douluo used his martial soul's characteristics to almost completely eliminate his aura, like the most deadly shadow, quietly bypassing the outer perimeter and heading straight for Gula.

Meanwhile, the Abomination Douluo and the Ten Thousand Souls Douluo created chaos on the periphery, attempting to hold back the teachers of Shrek Academy.

However, just as they revealed their intention to attack outside the hotel, planning to create chaos and draw fire, a terrifying pressure, like that of a prehistoric beast awakening, descended from the sky.

A figure with bristling hair and beard, exuding a violent soul force, crashed down like a meteorite; it was the enraged Xuanzi.

"You scum of a demonic spirit master! You're asking for death!"

Xuanzi roared, and the phantom of the Taotie Divine Ox roared to the sky behind him.

The Abomination Douluo and the Myriad Souls Douluo felt the overwhelming and unimaginable surge of soul power, and were immediately terrified: "The Gluttonous Divine Ox! Why did Shrek Academy send him here?!"

In their shock, the two simultaneously unleashed their Martial Soul True Forms without hesitation.

The Abomination Douluo transformed into a terrifying behemoth over ten meters tall, its body covered in foul-smelling grease and stitches.

The Ten Thousand Souls Douluo transformed into a massive, jet-black banner entwined with countless wailing, resentful souls. They even unleashed their trump card, a level-nine attack soul tool, in an attempt to hold Xuanzi back for a moment.

But in the face of an absolute disparity in strength, all efforts are in vain.

In his rage, Xuanzi's every punch contained the power to shatter mountains and split the earth.

The Douluo of Hatred's proud fat defense was as fragile as paper under Xuanzi's fist, instantly dented and deformed, splattering oil everywhere, and letting out a painful howl.

The Myriad Souls Banner of the Myriad Souls Douluo was directly torn apart by Xuanzi's violent soul power shockwave, and countless vengeful souls shrieked and dissipated.

With just a few punches, the two Title Douluos were beaten into a sorry state, their soul tools were almost destroyed, and their martial soul bodies were on the verge of collapse.

The fear of death instantly overwhelmed them. "Masked, do it! We can't hold out any longer!"

The Abomination Douluo roared desperately, exposing his infiltrated companions. The Myriad Souls Douluo also screamed, "This is troublesome! Xuanzi is here! Quick!"

Masked Douluo, who was searching for Gula and preparing to make his move, heard the screams and shouts outside and cursed inwardly, "Useless!"

Knowing that his plan had been completely exposed, he no longer hid it. The aura of his Demon Maggot Martial Soul erupted instantly, and he no longer focused on accurately assassinating Gula.

Instead, it moved at high speed through the hotel corridors like a ghost, forcibly injecting tiny, almost invisible maggots into the bodies of the living people it encountered along the way.

Most of them were contestants and teachers from other colleges who were preparing to rest or discuss tactics.

These people instantly froze, their eyes became vacant, and something seemed to wriggle beneath their skin, becoming hostages in the hands of the Masked Douluo.

Only the area where the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy was located seemed to have a powerful soul guide shield that instantly activated, preventing the invasion of the demon maggots.

Meanwhile, Gula had found Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng, who were equally alarmed and filled with fighting spirit. The two were preparing to rush out of the room to meet the enemy, but Gula's brief words made Ma Xiaotao's heart sink:
"The three titled Douluo are all elders of the Holy Spirit Cult. Elder Xuan is being held back by two of them, and the third one has probably already infiltrated the hotel."

Upon hearing the title "Title Douluo," even the fearless Ma Xiaotao's expression instantly turned extremely ugly.

The Soul Emperor versus the title is an insurmountable chasm!

Gula made a quick decision: "Everyone else, evacuate towards the palace immediately. We'll take care of this."

The "we" he referred to were himself and Ma Xiaotao. Although Xiao Xiao, Wang Dong, and the others were worried, they knew that staying would only be a burden, so they quickly evacuated under the cover of Dai Yueheng, Ling Luochen, and others.

Just as they rushed out of the room, the Masked Douluo appeared like a ghost at the end of the corridor, followed by more than a dozen Soul Masters from various academies who were parasitized and controlled by him, like puppets on strings.

"Found you, handsome little angel." The Masked Douluo's voice had a nauseatingly sticky quality.

"Make your move!" Gula hissed.

Without exchanging a single word, their tacit understanding reached its peak. Ma Xiaotao's Evil Phoenix Martial Soul ignited instantly, unleashing a raging inferno that shot skyward.

The angelic spirit behind Gula shone brightly. Although the divine light and ultimate fire attributes under the guidance of the evolution chart were of different origins, they resonated and merged in a strange way under Gula's precise control and Ma Xiaotao's gritted teeth.

"Wow—!"

A clear phoenix cry intertwined with a solemn hymn, and a torrent of golden-red flames, like a spear of judgment, carrying the sacred will to purify evil and the extreme heat to incinerate all things, shot towards Masked Douluo.

Masked Douluo's pupils shrank sharply. He never expected that a Soul Emperor and a Soul Venerable could unleash such a terrifying fusion technique.

The extreme fire and holy light contained within that flame reached their peak in restraining his martial soul, causing even the demonic maggots within his body to feel a burning pain.

He hastily released a dense, dark green soul power shield containing parasitic spores.

Boom!

The radiant flames collided violently with the dark green soul shield, unleashing a blinding light and a violent energy shockwave that cracked the walls on both sides of the corridor.

Masked Douluo grunted, and all the surrounding demonic maggots were burned to ashes. His meridians felt like they were being burned, and his shield fluctuated violently. He was even forced back two steps.

Gula and Ma Xiaotao also retreated simultaneously, their blood surging. Ma Xiaotao, in particular, was under immense pressure from fusing two extreme attribute soul powers. Her face was pale, a trickle of blood even spilled from the corner of her mouth, and her body trembled slightly.

But Ma Xiaotao's eyes were bright and her fighting spirit was high. Despite being three rings lower in the ring, she actually managed to barely block a titled Douluo's attack!
"You're courting death!" Enraged, the Masked Douluo was about to disregard the hostages and forcibly kill the two. Just then—

"Evil, suffer death!"

With a deafening roar, the hotel walls were torn apart by the violent force, like pieces of paper.

Xuanzi's imposing figure, wreathed in raging fury, charged in. The aura of the Gluttonous Divine Ox locked onto Masked Douluo, instantly plunging him into an icy abyss. Masked Douluo's greatest strength was self-preservation. Without hesitation, his body transformed into a streak of dark green light, abandoning most of his parasites and carrying only a few key hostages behind him. He broke through the wall at top speed, joining the battered and bruised Abomination Douluo and Myriad Souls Douluo outside.

Xuanzi followed closely behind, standing in front of Gula and Ma Xiaotao, like an insurmountable mountain.

His icy gaze swept over the three evil soul masters, finally settling on the soul master who was being parasitized and controlled; his killing intent almost materialized.
"Those scum of the Holy Spirit Cult dared to assassinate my Shrek Academy students! Unforgivable!"

The terrifying soul power of level ninety-eight pressed down on the three of them like a tsunami. The Abomination Douluo and the Myriad Souls Douluo were seriously injured, and the Masked Douluo was also greatly exhausted. The three of them felt the death threat that was as real as a physical one, and their faces turned pale.

But they knew that if they turned and ran at this moment, leaving their backs to a furious Super Douluo, they would be certain to die.

The Soul Douluo, barely holding on, said in a hoarse voice, "Hmph, Xuanzi, I didn't expect Shrek Academy to value this Angelic Martial Soul so much, even sending you, the old glutton, to act as a babysitter. Unfortunately, the Vice Leader personally ordered the erasure of the Angelic Martial Soul, so Shrek Academy... can't protect him!"

"What a joke!" Xuanzi's hair and beard bristled with rage, his violent aura surging once more. "A mere bunch of maggots who can't stand the light of day dare to threaten Shrek Academy? Die!"

The Taotie Divine Ox spewed steam, poised to unleash a thunderous attack.

"Wait!" Masked Douluo shouted to stop them. He waved his hand sharply, and the soul masters who were deeply parasitized by the demon maggots and whose faces were ashen were pushed forward by an invisible force.

"Xuanzi, look carefully! These are all geniuses and teachers from various advanced Soul Master academies. If you dare to make a move, I'll immediately have the demonic maggots inside them drain their life essence, causing them to explode and die. Do you want Shrek Academy to become the target of everyone's wrath?!"

Xuanzi's movements abruptly stopped.

His gaze swept over the hostages, recognizing the uniforms of several famous academies from the Heavenly Soul Empire, the Fighting Spirit Empire, and even the Star Luo Kingdom. His expression turned extremely ugly.

Several royal retainers of the Star Luo Empire, who had received the attack alert, were also approaching the vicinity. Their powerful auras were faintly visible, further complicating the situation.

Xuanzi struggled internally. Although he was strong, he could not guarantee that he could instantly remove all the parasites and protect everyone.

He suppressed his anger, his voice as cold as ice: "Release them! Otherwise, I swear I will uproot your Holy Spirit Cult and hunt you down to the ends of the earth, and I will never let any of you go!"

Knowing that time was of the essence and that a swift victory was necessary, Masked Douluo commanded, "Hand over that angelic soul master to us!" This was Zhongli Wu's most crucial order.

"Don't even think about it!" Xuanzi refused decisively, leaving no room for negotiation.

Masked Douluo, who had no hope of success to begin with, immediately changed his tune: "Then hand over the soul tool in his hand that can evolve into the ultimate light!"

He pointed to the evolution watch on Gura's wrist, whose light had not yet completely faded.

The three of them were unfamiliar with soul tools, but the Holy Spirit Cult had no shortage of high-level soul masters, and even revered a level nine soul master. Even if they couldn't bring back the person, bringing back this artifact that threatened the foundation of the Holy Spirit Cult and figuring out how to counter it would still be a great achievement.

All eyes immediately focused on Gula's wrist.

Xuanzi also looked at Gula, his gaze complex. A soul tool, no matter how precious, is ultimately an inanimate object, but this was a treasure belonging to Gula personally.

Before them lay dozens of living lives, including elites from other factions.

If Shrek were to cause their tragic deaths, the pressure Shrek would face would be unimaginable.

He was inclined to hand over the soul tool, but he had to respect Gula's wishes. Besides, he couldn't bear the humiliation of having to persuade him!
Gula deliberately showed a struggle, hesitation, and resentment on his face, as if he were having a fierce internal struggle.

He glanced at the furious Xuanzi, then at the hostages under his control, and then down at the evolution watch on his wrist. Finally, he gritted his teeth, his eyes hardening with resolve.
“…Alright, here you go.” His movements carried a hint of “grief and indignation” as he quickly untied the evolution chart and forcefully threw it at Masked Douluo.

A hint of wild joy flashed in Masked Douluo's eyes as he grabbed the flying wristwatch.

The warm, smooth texture and the immense, sacred light power contained within made the demonic maggots inside him feel uncomfortable, but it also convinced him that this was definitely the genuine article.

He quickly checked and, with his Title Douluo perception, he did not detect any self-destructive or trap-like soul power fluctuations at such close range.

Gula did not do anything at this time.

What he didn't know was that, at the very beginning of its creation, Gula had already embedded an extremely secret, miniature positioning soul guide driven by special soul power deep within the core array of the evolution table.

It periodically sends out weak, specific frequency signals that only Gula can accurately detect.

This was exactly what Gula had planned: to use a soul tool that could be "copied" to lure evil soul masters into attacking, in exchange for an opportunity to find the Holy Spirit Cult's lair or important stronghold.

In his eyes, these evil soul masters and titled Douluo were all "experience packs" waiting to be harvested in the future, which could accelerate the evolution of his angel soul spirit and the growth of his own cultivation. He could not easily perish here.

"Gula, the academy will surely retrieve this item for you, or provide you with equivalent compensation," Xuanzi's voice transmission rang in Gula's ear at just the right moment, tinged with a hint of shame.

Masked Douluo, having obtained the evolution chart, felt reassured and said to Xuanzi, "Xuanzi, can you let us go now? In ten minutes, I will naturally dispel the parasite, and they will return to normal."

“Five minutes.” Xuanzi said decisively, his aura imposing. “I’m only giving you five minutes to leave. If even one of you is injured, I will take your lives no matter where you are.”

Masked Douluo frowned: "Ten minutes, otherwise we won't be able to outrun you, a Super Douluo, in your pursuit."

Just as Xuanzi was about to weigh his options, Gula's voice rang out again, carrying a warning: "Elder Xuan, be careful, they have flying soul tools, those things are extremely fast."

Gula knew the power of advanced flying soul tools, and the Holy Spirit Cult must also have similar reserves. When they came to the capital of the Star Luo Empire, the evil soul masters would most likely bring them with them.

Xuanzi suddenly realized that he had almost fallen into a trap.

His eyes hardened: "Five minutes, not a second more. If you keep arguing, I'll risk losing a few lives to keep you all here."

The level 98 soul power acted like a tangible shackle, firmly locking the three of them in place.

Masked Douluo glared at Gula, who had ruined his plans, filled with hatred, but he also knew that Xuanzi meant what he said.

He weighed the pros and cons: Xuanzi's cultivation was profound, and although forcibly dispelling his demonic maggots might fail and lead to the death of the hostage, it was not entirely impossible.

However, if they were to massacre the elites of various academies here, it would be tantamount to exposing the Holy Spirit Cult to the public eye and making them a public enemy of the continent, which would seriously contradict the Holy Spirit Cult's strategy of temporarily lying low.

"...Okay, five minutes then."

Masked Douluo gritted his teeth and agreed. Without further hesitation, he joined forces with Abomination Douluo and Ten Thousand Souls Douluo. The three of them quickly activated their advanced flying soul tools, transforming into three streaks of light and speeding towards the dark horizon outside Star Luo City without looking back, disappearing in an instant.

Xuanzi's powerful mental energy kept track of the direction the three had left, while also keeping a close eye on the hostages.

Time ticked by, the atmosphere growing increasingly tense. After a little over four minutes, the hostages who had been parasitized suddenly shuddered, the deathly gray on their faces quickly fading, their eyes regaining their clarity. They then collapsed to the ground in agony, retching. The wriggling sensation under their skin disappeared, but their bodies were extremely weak.

Xuanzi immediately stepped forward and checked them one by one. His powerful soul force swept through their bodies and confirmed that the demon maggots had indeed been annihilated remotely by the Masked Douluo without leaving any hidden dangers. Only then did he breathe a long sigh of relief.

At this moment, several royal retainers of the Star Luo Empire also flew to the scene, the leader of whom also possessed an unfathomable aura.

Xuanzi briefly recounted what had happened, emphasizing the arrogance of the evil spirit master and the loss of the evolution chart.

The worshippers looked grave and said they would immediately increase security and issue a warrant for the arrest of the evil spirit master.

When the news reached the palace, Emperor Xu Jiawei of the Star Luo Empire was furious. To allow evil soul masters to attack the tournament contestants and steal Shrek Academy's important soul tools on his own territory was a slap in the face to the Star Luo Empire!
He immediately ordered a nationwide manhunt for the three evil spirit masters and dispatched Princess Xu Jiujiu with generous gifts to personally visit Shrek Academy's hotel on behalf of the royal family to offer condolences, with a particular focus on comforting Gula, who had suffered "huge losses."

Furthermore, it was announced that due to the chaos caused by the attack and the need for many contestants to rest and recover, the finals of the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Battle Tournament would be postponed for three days.

(End of this chapter)