Chapter 291: The Explosion That Should Not Have Happened
When Xiao Qiang saw a mushroom cloud rising from the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy, his mind froze.
As someone who had read the original Douluo Dalu II and was now a high-ranking official of the Sun Moon Empire, Xiao Qiang had naturally taken precautions to avoid repeating the tragedy from the original timeline. Though he believed Huo Yuhao was unlikely to succeed in blowing up the arsenal, Xiao Qiang had still taken the initiative before the Continental High-level Soul Master Academy Competition began. He had personally ordered the complete clearance of all explosives from the underground arsenal beneath Mingde Hall.
Logically speaking, the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy should have been immune to such an attack. With nothing explosive left underground, and given Shrek Academy's outdated soul guidance technology, it should have been impossible to penetrate the defenses from below. Even if Shrek deployed fixed-type soul guide shells, they shouldn't have reached this deep.
So then… what was happening now?
"Xishui! What the hell are you doing? Are you insane? Blowing up the Academy just for your Death Tower!?"
The explosion had caught the attention of every party present. In the blink of an eye, the Extreme Douluo Ye Xishui had already rushed to Long Xiaoyao's side. He seized the moment to confront her directly.
"It wasn't me! I didn't give any order!" Ye Xishui snapped back. "Yes, my Death Tower requires many souls to function properly, but I already promised you—I wouldn't initiate any large-scale slaughter unless absolutely necessary! I've been planning to gradually accumulate souls during the war. The tower just needs to be fully charged before it ends."
Ye Xishui had indeed completed the construction of the Death Tower, but because of Long Xiaoyao's protection—and his limits—she had yet to activate it. Long Xiaoyao, after all, was guarding her closely while also restricting her activities. He didn't want her to fall too far into darkness.
She understood his concerns. And given their plan to make the Holy Spirit Church the future state religion of the Sun Moon Empire, they had been relatively restrained in cultivating evil soul master powers. Otherwise, just as in the original story, they could have used Mingdu's destruction to catapult many of their leaders into breakthroughs.
But the Holy Spirit Church had not done that. They could have easily butchered millions for power—but they didn't. Doing so would have drawn the wrath of the world, and Long Xiaoyao might have been the first to walk away from them. He loved Ye Xishui, yes, and he wanted to protect her—but he was still human. He still had a conscience.
After hearing Ye Xishui's firm denial, Long Xiaoyao turned his gaze to the high-ranking evil soul masters beside him.
"Which one of you did this?" he growled. "Step forward now. If I find out who did it, I will make sure they don't die easily."
The group looked at one another in confusion. No one stepped forward.
Scorpion Tiger Douluo, Zhang Peng, stepped up and bowed. "Great Priest, this was not our doing. Without your order or the leader's, none of us would dare take such drastic action. And even if we wanted to initiate a massacre, the Sun Moon Royal Soul Instructor Academy would never be our target—it would draw too much attention."
Long Xiaoyao's expression darkened. "If not you… then who? Shrek?"
"It's Shrek," Xiao Qiang said coldly.
"Shrek?" Long Xiaoyao was stunned—but only for a moment. Then realization struck him. It was the Academy that had been attacked. And if Shrek truly couldn't afford to lose this war, this kind of desperation… made sense.
Without delay, Long Xiaoyao contacted Beibei through a soul guide communicator. With Xuanzi missing in action and Yan Shaozhe currently occupied, Beibei was the next most trustworthy representative of Shrek.
"Senior Long," Beibei greeted him respectfully.
"Beibei, do you know what just happened at the Sun Moon Royal Soul Instructor Academy?"
"Uh…" Beibei hesitated, then sighed. "Yes, I know."
"What exactly happened?"
Before Beibei could respond, a calm yet determined voice cut in.
"Senior Long, please don't blame Brother Beibei," Huo Yuhao said. "It was me. I planned the attack and executed it alone. This has nothing to do with the others. I am willing to take full responsibility."
Huo Yuhao didn't know who Long Xiaoyao was, but Beibei's respectful tone made it clear he was an elder worthy of reverence—an elder on their side. And in Douluo Dalu, that meant he deserved respect. Huo Yuhao believed in stepping forward when it mattered.
But Long Xiaoyao merely laughed—a cold, furious laugh. "You'll take the responsibility? What gives you the right? What power do you have to take responsibility?"
He continued, his voice like steel: "You used a Level Nine fixed-type soul guide shell to blow up a major institution in the capital. That blast was thrown into a densely populated area and triggered a chain reaction in the research facilities in Mingde Hall. Do you understand how many innocent civilians died? The death toll could reach into the millions! And you think you can take responsibility?"
"I…" Huo Yuhao was speechless.
In the original story, when he made the same declaration, everyone around him simply accepted it. He was the hero. He was Shrek's future. So his so-called 'responsibility' amounted to a slap on the wrist—barely even that. Even He Caitou had comforted him, saying not many civilians had died.
But Long Xiaoyao wasn't Xuanzi. And this timeline had changed.
Huo Yuhao wasn't the irreplaceable pillar of Shrek anymore.
And Long Xiaoyao was not about to let him off with a few words.
"Heh… Moon, this is the Shrek you wanted me to protect?" Long Xiaoyao sneered. "The real evil soul master is this one!"
With that, Long Xiaoyao crushed the soul guide communicator in his palm, severing all ties with Shrek.
"Big Brother, I…" Huo Yuhao tried to speak.
"Don't, Yuhao." Beibei sighed. "Go back to Shrek. We'll deal with this later."
"…Alright."
Just as Huo Yuhao and his group turned to leave, a powerful figure appeared before them, seemingly out of nowhere.
A tall man stood in their path, with a domineering aura and a pair of heterochromatic eyes—one gold, one crimson. His body radiated strength and authority.
The battlefield grew tense again.
A new player had entered the stage.