Douluo Dalu: Immortal Dragon Clan

In the dead of night, Xingluo City was completely silent.

On the shore of a lake in a forest on the outskirts of the city, the water shimmered with a cold, faint light, when a jarring scraping sound suddenly broke the silence.

A blood-covered hand clung tightly to the muddy bank, its knuckles white from the force.

Immediately afterwards, with a sudden burst of strength in his arm, a pitiful figure struggled to leap out of the lake, crashing heavily to the ground and splashing up a cloud of mud.

The man was covered in blood; his right arm was missing, the severed area a bloody mess; his left hand was missing three fingers, and the two remaining fingers were trembling slightly; his clothes were burned to tatters, the wounds were deep enough to expose bone, and blood dripped continuously from the wounds, forming a small pool of blood on the ground.

His hair was in even worse shape; half of it was singed and curled into black charcoal strands, while the other half was bald, clearly burned off in the flames.

"Fortunately... I'm lucky to be alive..."

A hoarse voice squeezed out of his throat; it was none other than the Gluttonous Douluo Xuanzi, who should have perished in the explosion of the Fire Lotus.

He miraculously survived Long Yaoyan's devastating flames.

At this moment, all that remained in his heart was boundless hatred and an intense obsession—he had to rush back to Shrek Academy as soon as possible and tear Mo Yan and Dugu Luo, those two bastards who had ruined everything for him, to pieces!

rustling... rustling...

Just then, a faint sound of footsteps suddenly came from deep within the forest.

Xuanzi's nerves tensed instantly. Despite his severe injuries, he still unleashed the pressure of a Limit Douluo, a ruthless glint flashing in his cloudy eyes: "Come out here!"

"Mr. Xuan."

A familiar female voice rang out, and the oppressive aura emanating from Xuanzi vanished without a trace.

He struggled to lift his head and looked in the direction of the sound. Under the moonlight, he saw a slender figure walking quickly towards him. It was Zhang Lexuan, the team leader of the Shrek team.

"Le Xuan!" Xuan Zi's eyes lit up with surprise, his despair seemingly lifted by a shot of adrenaline. "How did you get here?"

"I heard about what happened this afternoon and was worried about your safety, so I searched everywhere for you." Zhang Lexuan walked quickly to Xuanzi's side, squatted down, took out medicine and bandages from her waist bag, and skillfully bandaged Xuanzi's bloodied left hand with gentle and swift movements.

Watching Zhang Lexuan's busy figure and feeling the cool touch from her palm, Xuanzi's eyes instantly welled up with tears.

When he was at his most miserable and desperate, it was this girl who found him.

He choked up as he said, "Le Xuan, as expected, Elder Mu was right about you! You're much more reliable than that Yan Shaozhe! Come with me back to the academy. The future of Shrek Academy should be entrusted to you!"

"Mo Yan, this naturally evil girl, is someone who will destroy Shrek Academy's millennia-long glory. We must stop her as soon as possible!" Xuan Zi's voice turned gritted as he mentioned Mo Yan, his eyes filled with resentment.

"What about the Soul Master Competition?" Zhang Lexuan paused in her bandaging, looked up, and asked calmly.

Xuanzi was speechless for a moment when asked this question, as if something was blocking his throat.

"Yeah... what should we do about the Soul Master Competition?"

What will become of the academy's enduring glory?

Countless questions exploded in his mind, making his already chaotic thoughts even more tangled.

He was not Elder Mu after all, lacking Elder Mu's strategic wisdom. Faced with this dilemma, he panicked instantly. "Le Xuan, what do you think we should do?" Xuan Zi looked helplessly at Zhang Le Xuan, as if grasping at the last straw.

If Shrek Academy can't even maintain its basic dignity in this Soul Master Competition, and its millennia-old glory is destroyed by its own hands, how can it face Elder Mu and the ancestors of Shrek Academy?
Zhang Lexuan looked at Xuanzi, who was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, and was speechless to herself.

Even in this miserable state, all he can think about is Shrek Academy's eternal glory. This kind of "loyalty" is truly baffling.

Yet this very person, who constantly talks about the honor of the academy, makes frequent mistakes when leading the team, causing the deaths of many of the academy's talented students. It's truly baffling where he gets the confidence to claim "eternal glory" as his own.

"Elder Xuan, please calm down." Zhang Lexuan's voice remained calm, carrying a soothing power.

"Yes, calm down, I need to calm down." Xuanzi nodded vigorously, took a few deep breaths, but his mind was still in chaos, and he was unable to think calmly at all.

Seeing that Xuanzi had calmed down a bit, Zhang Lexuan continued, "How about this, Elder Xuan, you should go back to the academy to recover and tell them everything that happened today."

"I'll stay here to calm Mo Yan and the others down, try my best to prevent things from getting worse, and strive to retain our spot in the Soul Master Competition, as well as save face for the academy."

"Yes! Let's hold on!" Xuanzi's eyes lit up, and he quickly chimed in, "This little thing is nothing compared to the glory of ten thousand years! As long as we can preserve the academy's honor, it's all worth it!"

"..." Zhang Lexuan looked at Xuanzi, who was now acting like a madman, and nodded silently. "I understand, Elder Xuan."

"Le Xuan, you are such a good child!" Xuan Zi looked at her with satisfaction, his tone extremely solemn. "After this Soul Master Competition ends, I will definitely recommend you to the academy and put you in the position of Sea God Pavilion Master!"

"That Yan Shaozhe is so brainless, he doesn't deserve it at all... Pfft!"

Before he could finish speaking, a mouthful of blood suddenly spurted from Xuanzi's mouth, splattering onto Zhang Lexuan's white sleeve.

He looked down in disbelief and saw a short blade, gleaming like a silver moon, piercing his chest completely, his blood still dripping from the blade.

Xuanzi slowly raised his head and looked at Zhang Lexuan in front of him.

At this moment, Zhang Lexuan's face had lost its previous concern and gentleness, replaced by a coldness, her eyes devoid of any warmth, as if she were looking at an insignificant stranger.

“Le Xuan…you…you…why did you…” Xuanzi’s voice was broken and filled with confusion and pain.

He couldn't understand why a junior he trusted so much would suddenly try to kill him.

Before he could finish speaking, his body went limp and he collapsed heavily to the ground.

Blood gushed from the wound in his chest like a spring, staining the soil beneath him red.

He tried to use his soul power to suppress his injuries, but no matter how hard he tried, his soul power flowed out of the wound like an out-of-control flood, and he couldn't stop it at all.

Zhang Lexuan slowly drew her short blade, the silvery-moon-like blade stained with blood.

She looked down at Xuanzi, who was lying on the ground, her voice icy and devoid of any emotion: "Elder Xuan, for you, death is the best destination."

Xuanzi's gaze gradually became unfocused. He looked at Zhang Lexuan's cold face, then at the cold moonlight in the night sky, and finally, he closed his eyes helplessly.

The legendary Gluttonous Douluo, Ultimate Douluo Xuanzi, ultimately failed to return to Shrek Academy, which he had protected all his life, and perished on the shore of this quiet forest lake.

...(End of chapter)