10 punches, 15 punches, 20 punches...
At some point, Xuan Zi had already stopped struggling.
Even his upper body had become a blurred mess of flesh and blood.
"Huff..."
Poison Not Dead let out a long breath as if relieved of a heavy burden.
He returned to his normal human size, but Qin Xiao did not see much excitement in his eyes, rather a hint of fatigue.
"Although Shrek Academy is antagonistic to us, its importance is self-evident. Only they have enough influence to unite The Three Great Empires of Douluo and fight against the Sun-Moon Empire."
Once Shrek Academy loses such a superpower to deter the three empires, their say will not be as significant as before, and if one day there really is a battle with the Sun-Moon Empire, I fear the three empires will become scattered sand.
Then the outcome will surely be defeat or a state of living hell.
From the perspective of the grand scheme of things, I should spare him his dog's life.
But...
To hell with the grand scheme of things, I just want to kill him and destroy Shrek Academy to avenge my brother."
Qin Xiao nodded slightly after listening to Poison Not Dead's words, also agreeing with his idea.
"However, there's one thing I must remind you, the Body Sect is yours, it has nothing to do with me."
"Kid, what are you talking about? If you don't want to join the Body Sect, why did you come with me?"
"So you're saying I can leave?"
Poison Not Dead yelled in a fit of rage, "You stay right there!"
Heavenly Soul Empire, surrounded by mountains.
The gate of the Body Sect was located here.
In a tranquil garden environment, a handsome young man was slowly savoring high-quality tea, enjoying the beautiful view, looking quite comfortable.
"Boss, boss..."
Just then, an urgent voice broke the calm.
A young man with an ordinary appearance and a somewhat plump figure broke into his line of sight.
"What's the matter, all in a panic?"
The young man displeasedly placed the teacup in his hand on the table.
The fatty anxiously said, "Boss, something big has happened."
"What big thing?"
"The Elders, they've all returned, did you know that?"
"Didn't they arrive at the sect yesterday? Isn't that a good thing? Or did they suffer heavy losses this time?"
"Not exactly."
"Then it's either the Sect Master or one of the Elders who's injured."
"That's not it either."
Watching the fatty keep denying his guesses, Long Aotian became confused, "Then what has happened, to get you so worked up?"
"I heard that this time the Sect Master brought back someone with tremendous talent, quite likely a stumbling block on your path to becoming the Young Sect Master," the fatty finished, carefully watching Long Aotian, closely observing the young master's reaction.
To his surprise, not only did Long Aotian not erupt in anger, but he also smirked, "This matter, I knew about it ever since the Elders set off."
"Boss, and you're still this calm?"
"What of it?" Long Aotian smiled faintly, "I've seen plenty of young people with decent talent in our Body Sect, and aren't I still the one surpassing them all? I've already undergone the second awakening, and I'm of the Silver Rank..."
At this point, he paused and looked up at a forty-five-degree angle to the sky, "With my talent and strength, among the younger generation, it is quite lonely. I'm actually hoping for someone who can compete with me..."
There was no denying that these words were full of pretense.
The fatty by his side was stunned.
In his heart, Long Aotian's figure suddenly grew taller.
"Boss is indeed the boss, such a manner is unmatched."
"I bow to you..."
The fatty said sycophantically.
Long Aotian waved his hand impatiently, "Get lost, get lost. Stop annoying me..."
However.
Before the fatty could even respond, a sound like the tolling of a great bell suddenly rang out above the sect.
Dong, dong, dong, a total of nine distinct echoes reverberated unceasingly above the sect.
Long Aotian and the fatty's expressions changed simultaneously.
The Sect Main Hall's bell ringing nine times represented the highest level of preemptive alert.
Could it be that a powerful enemy was attacking?
With this thought, the two of them hurriedly ran towards the direction of the Sect Main Hall.
...
When Long Aotian and the fatty arrived at the Sect Main Hall, they were momentarily stunned.
In their imaginations, the area in front of the hall should have been thronged with countless disciples, each with a serious expression and a murderous look in their eyes.
But in reality...
There indeed were many people gathered, but everyone's faces were filled with smiles...
Compared to everyone else, Long Aotian, with his tense expression, seemed somewhat out of place.
"What's going on here?"
Long Aotian was bewildered.
At that moment, Jinpeng, an elder dressed in golden robes, waved at Long Aotian, "Aotian, you've arrived just in time. We just received the news that the Sect Master has returned, and is currently at the foot of the mountain. I rang the bell to quickly gather everyone here.
Alright, let's all go together to welcome the Sect Master. Oh, and you, stop being so uptight. Wear a smile and show some enthusiasm."
With that, Jinpeng led everyone out towards the gate.
Long Aotian nodded blankly, "Okay, okay..."
Before long, everyone was gathered at the gate.
Fortunately, the entrance to the Body Sect was large enough to accommodate everyone.
Jinpeng and others all fixed their gaze on the distance, waiting with great anticipation.
Accompanied by a series of clip-clop footsteps, the figures of an old man and a youth became increasingly clear to the crowd as they approached.
Without a doubt, the two were Qin Xiao and Poison Not Dead.
...
"Haha, kid, do you see that? The dozen or so people in the front row are Titled Douluos from our sect, followed by dozens of Soul Douluos. With such a foundation, we are definitely second to none in Soul Land," Poison Not Dead said while stroking his beard and introducing them to Qin Xiao.
However, Qin Xiao replied indifferently, "What I want to stress is that this is your sect, and it has nothing to do with me. Unless you give me the Hundred Thousand Year Spirit Beast Embryo first."
Poison Not Dead laughed upon hearing this, "Let's talk about that when the time comes; no rush. By the way, you should recognize Old Jin, right? The young man next to him is our Body Sect's number one genius, Long Aotian, the top of the younger generation. With Twin Martial Souls, Silver Rank second awakening, his strength is exceptionally strong, and he could very well become your rival."
Qin Xiao said, "Why would I compete with him?"
He really didn't like Poison Not Dead's remarks; the old fellow was always thinking of setting him up, pitting him against enemies before anything had even started.
"You don't understand the perks of being the Body Sect's Young Sect Master..."
Poison Not Dead pointed towards a place in the crowd, "Look over there..."
Upon hearing this, Qin Xiao followed Poison Not Dead's finger and saw an extremely beautiful girl with a very delicate demeanor.
Her long black hair trailed behind her, and even from a distance, one could sense the subtle gentleness emanating from her, as her beautiful eyes shimmered like flowing water.
Seemingly around fifteen or sixteen, she was at the age where a girl's youth is most vibrant. Her goose-yellow martial outfit stood out even in the depth of night. The slightly oversized garment concealed her graceful figure within.
"Kid, do you see her? What do you think? Are you moved or not?"
"Let me tell you, her name is Vina, a twin-souled Martial Soul with high talent. She also holds a very precious identity as the Princess of the Heavenly Soul Empire. Haha, whoever becomes the Young Sect Master of the Body Sect will have the chance to marry Vina.
You know, Vina is quite extraordinary, the future heir to the Heavenly Soul Empire. Marrying her is like having the Heavenly Soul Empire as a dowry."
Poison Not Dead secretly transmitted his voice to Qin Xiao, also smiling quite indecently.
He didn't believe he couldn't win over Qin Xiao.
Unfortunately for him, Poison Not Dead had miscalculated.
Because Qin Xiao knew very well that once the Sun-Moon Empire started a war with The Three Great Empires of Douluo, the first to go would be the Heavenly Soul Empire.
What use is a kingdom on the brink of extinction to him?
Even now, with the changing landscape of Soul Land and a future where the Heavenly Soul Empire might not be doomed, Qin Xiao still wasn't interested.
After all, he was once one of the rulers of the human realm...
Seeing Qin Xiao silent, Poison Not Dead chuckled to himself, "He's moved, the kid is finally moved..."
"It's difficult for a hero to overcome the barrier of beauty, as the saying goes."