Douluo: I am the True Master

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In an instant, Mu En smiled with a sense of relief. 

Though his entire body was severely burned and both arms had been reduced to charred stumps, Mu En's smile at this moment was genuine and filled with contentment. 

"You've succeeded, Xuan Zi." 

The person who had arrived was none other than Xuan Zi, who had been in seclusion this whole time. He had finally broken through his previous bottleneck, reaching the pinnacle of the Douluo Continent—a Limit Douluo. 

Once carefree and unrestrained, Xuan Zi now appeared unusually somber. Large tears continuously streamed from his eyes. 

Kneeling halfway before Mu En, he bowed his head sorrowfully and said, "Forgive me, Elder Xuan. I've come too late." 

Mu En chuckled weakly, wanting to reach out and comfort him but realizing that he no longer had arms to do so. Attempting to speak, he found that his throat had been severely damaged by the earlier light wave. 

Even so, with a hoarse voice, Mu En managed to utter his final words: "Shrek is in your hands now." 

With those brief words spoken, the flame of life within Mu En finally extinguished. Yet, in his final moments, Mu En transmitted all the intelligence he had gathered during his battle with Kong Deming, the Level 10 soul engineer, directly into Xuan Zi's mind. 

This was the last thing he could do as the master of the Sea God Pavilion. 

Xuan Zi stood frozen for a moment, absorbing the final transmission. His eyes, which had been struggling to hold back tears, now overflowed like a torrential downpour. 

"Elder Mu…" 

After mourning for a while, Xuan Zi knew he could no longer linger here—it would be an insult to Elder Mu's dying wish. 

Carefully placing Mu En's remains into a storage-type soul-guided device, Xuan Zi straightened his posture and unleashed a terrifying aura of killing intent! 

"Sun Moon—" 

Xuan Zi gritted his teeth, his voice trembling with rage. In the next instant, he vanished from his spot, rushing toward Kong Deming at incredible speed. 

At this moment, Kong Deming's expression was grim. The group of Level 8 soul engineers who had served as the power source for his strongest attack were now scattering in all directions to avoid being annihilated. 

When Xuan Zi had intervened to save Mu En earlier, Kong Deming knew his troubles had just begun. 

Unlike Mu En, whose powers were aligned with light, Xuan Zi possessed not only earth attributes but also spatial abilities—gifts inherited from his Taotie lineage. 

It was precisely this spatial ability that allowed Xuan Zi to rescue Mu En from the devastating Silver Moon Divine Light Wave, a strike comparable to a godly attack. 

Though it was ultimately too late, Xuan Zi's repeated tardiness was not something to take lightly. 

"Hongchen, Xuan Zi is coming, and it looks like he's broken through to Level 99. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to intercept Mu En during that attack. 

Although the two of us aren't afraid of him, his abilities are quite restrictive against us. We can't hope to kill him, so let's stick to our original plan—keep him occupied here while covering the retreat of the others." 

Jing Hongchen nodded without objection. Though his Golden Toad Armor of Red Dust was a Level 10 soul-guided device, its functions were straightforward. He knew Xuan Zi's spatial abilities were difficult to counter, and combined with his formidable earth-element defense, Xuan Zi was simply beyond their ability to defeat. 

During their brief exchange, Xuan Zi, adorned with a pair of bull-like horns, had already appeared before them. 

"Die!" 

Xuan Zi didn't use any soul skills; a single punch sent Jing Hongchen flying backward, despite the latter holding a Level 10 soul-guided shield. 

At his level, every move was inherently imbued with soul skill power! 

Kong Deming, who had been lying in wait, unleashed another standard-level Silver Moon Divine Light Wave. 

Xuan Zi snorted coldly, instantly forming a thick earthen barrier on his side. 

Though the barrier was pierced through in an instant, it gave Xuan Zi enough time to close the distance to Kong Deming. 

Without hesitation, Xuan Zi delivered a full-powered punch. 

But his fist passed right through Kong Deming. 

Xuan Zi immediately realized that this was merely an illusion. 

However, before he could react, a massive silver moon slammed down on him, pinning him to the ground. 

Soul engineers were naturally weak in close combat. As a Level 94 Level 10 soul engineer, Kong Deming was well aware of this fact. Using illusions and misdirection was the proper way to deal with someone like Xuan Zi. 

Normally, such tricks would be useless against a Limit Douluo—just as they had been ineffective during his battle with Mu En. 

From this brief exchange, Kong Deming quickly deduced: 

"Xuan Zi has just broken through to Level 99, and his spiritual power isn't as strong as Mu En's. That's why he can't see through my Level 9 projection-type soul-guided device." 

Despite this realization, Kong Deming didn't underestimate Xuan Zi. 

After all, these small tricks only worked once. Once the opponent grew accustomed to them, they wouldn't fall for them again. 

Kong Deming did consider trying to kill Xuan Zi outright, but it was clear that the defensive capabilities of Xuan Zi's Taotie Divine Ox far surpassed Mu En's Holy Dragon. 

Moreover,

Just as Xuan Zi hit the ground, the earth began to tremble. 

At this moment, nine soul rings shone brightly beneath Xuan Zi. 

Though he only had one hundred-thousand-year soul ring, with the rest following a normal distribution, Kong Deming didn't dare underestimate Xuan Zi. 

Xuan Zi now stood firmly on the ground. 

In his right hand, a dense, earthen-yellow sphere of energy coalesced. The sphere appeared peculiar—its interior seemed solid, yet it was covered with segmented geometric patterns that floated independently, each emitting a strange glow. Some parts even flowed like water. 

But this wasn't the most important aspect. At this moment, the very heavens and earth seemed to resonate with Xuan Zi's presence. 

Though Xuan Zi didn't possess a fearsome self-created soul skill like Mu En's Dominion of Heaven, his martial soul came with an innate talent that everyone envied. 

Though Xuan Zi's Taotie Divine Ox wasn't a pure Taotie, it still reached the level of a Dragon King-tier martial soul. 

As the pinnacle of martial souls and having broken through to Level 99 by comprehending the true essence of his martial soul, Xuan Zi had now truly mastered the ultimate form of earth. 

Jing Hongchen flew back to Kong Deming's side, though the Level 9 soul-guided shield he held, already battered by Mu En, was now completely destroyed. 

But it didn't matter—the Sun Moon Empire was wealthy and had prepared multiple backups for him. 

Jing Hongchen frowned deeply as he looked at Xuan Zi. "This guy isn't as strong as Mu En, so why does he feel even harder to deal with?" 

Before Kong Deming could respond, Xuan Zi suddenly clenched his hand toward the two of them. 

A terrifying gravitational force instantly descended, causing Kong Deming and Jing Hongchen to crash heavily to the ground, bearing the crushing weight. 

Fortunately, Kong Deming's Silver Moon martial soul wasn't to be underestimated. As a celestial martial soul capable of influencing tides, Kong Deming himself possessed gravity-based soul skills, which momentarily countered some of Xuan Zi's effects. 

But the effectiveness of this counteraction quickly weakened. 

Kong Deming looked gravely at Xuan Zi. "Your martial soul is indeed fearsome—law suppression, is it?"

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