"What is going on?!"
A female voice, filled with confusion and surprise, suddenly rang out. A third person had burst in!
Regarding this voice, Wang Zhong inexplicably felt a sense of familiarity.
"Senior Sister Shangguan!" Wang Zhong looked at the newcomer. Dressed in a striking ink-wash gown and possessing a beauty that transcended the ordinary, it was Shangguan Lanyou, one of the undefeated quintet from the academy.
"Wang Zhong!"
"How did you get here? And who is this guy? Why has this place become like this?" Shangguan Lanyou asked consecutively, her delicate eyebrows furrowed.
Though these were three rapid-fire questions, from her lips they carried an inexplicable grace, like the gentle flow of a stream.
"Senior Sister, you should leave quickly."
"This guy before us is definitely not a benevolent being. He is one of the elders of the Sacred Spirit Sect, and his strength is definitely at the peak of Titled Douluo!"
Wang Zhong glanced at the extraordinarily elegant senior sister and earnestly advised her to retreat.
Shangguan Lanyou stopped her advance, her brow furrowed in confusion. "The Sacred Spirit Sect? I don't recall such a sect or power on the continent."
"They are a group of rats hiding in the shadows, brutal and cruel! Before you arrived, this was a vibrant town. But this fellow here, he slaughtered every living being in the entire town, turning it into a blood purgatory."
Wang Zhong explained simply, while simultaneously guarding against the Blood Demon, lest he make a move at this moment.
However, the Blood Demon's blood-red eyes narrowed slightly, his gaze towards Wang Zhong and Shangguan Youlan filled with inquiry and confusion.
He actually couldn't see through this Shangguan Youlan who had suddenly appeared. Moreover, a chill that made him uneasy emanated from her.
The red light in his eyes flickered erratically. Suddenly, the Blood Demon seemed to recall something. He shifted his gaze away from Shangguan Youlan and fixed his eyes on Wang Zhong with icy malice.
"Such a cruel fellow, and such bloody methods." Shangguan Youran's usually calm tone and demeanor finally showed a change. She looked at the Blood Demon with disgust. Her martial soul, the Hollow Flute, appeared between her slender jade fingers, and six spirit rings, two yellow, two purple, and two black, rose from beneath her feet.
"Wang Zhong, what is your current strength?"
"Soul Emperor." Wang Zhong answered truthfully to Shangguan Youlan's inquiry.
"Both of us are Soul Emperors. Facing a peak Titled Douluo, we have no chance of winning in a one-on-one fight!"
"I will assist you! If we work together, perhaps there's still a chance!" Shangguan Lanyou suggested seriously and earnestly.
"Alright!"
Wang Zhong agreed immediately without hesitation. Although his strength couldn't be judged solely by his spirit power level, the words 'Blood Demon' and 'Sacred Spirit Sect' couldn't be assessed by conventional means either.
Raising the Hollow Flute in his hand to his lips, the six spirit rings beneath his feet began to rotate slowly. A clear and long flute melody sounded, and a transparent circular defensive barrier enveloped both Wang Zhong and Shangguan Youlan.
Simultaneously, two visible waves of sound rolled towards the Blood Demon.
"Second Spirit Ability, Defense."
"Third Spirit Ability, Charm."
"Fourth Spirit Ability, Illusionary Confusion."
Three spirit abilities in a row were unleashed. Shangguan You closely watched the Blood Demon. With Wang Zhong's warning, she dared not be careless.
However, the Blood Demon was different from humans. He was a peculiar form of death. The so-called Charm and Illusionary Confusion were useless against him.
Noticing the Blood Demon's lack of reaction, Shangguan Youlan's expression changed.
"Is this guy also immune to mental attacks!"
"Fifth Spirit Ability, Annihilation."
"Sixth Spirit Ability, Static."
Slowly moving towards Wang Zhong, Shangguan Youlan activated both her fifth and sixth spirit abilities simultaneously. But the result was the same; the Blood Demon didn't even bat an eyelid.
"Wang Zhong, be careful of your senior sister. Something is not right with her!" the little fox in his sea of consciousness warned loudly.
Wang Zhong's expression remained unchanged, but his vigilance in his heart reached its limit.
"Wang Zhong, what exactly is this guy?"
"He doesn't even have a heartbeat, breath, or spirit power!"
Only now did she also realize the Blood Demon's abnormality and frantically inquired. Even she found it difficult to remain calm in the face of such a monster.
Wang Zhong did not act rashly, and he also observed the Blood Demon being attacked by Shangguan Youlan.
"I don't know!"
"Within the Sacred Spirit Sect, every elder is extraordinary."
"I once fought Ning Wudi, the Man-Demon. He excelled in physical combat, his every move possessing the power to shatter mountains and split the earth. He was terrifyingly powerful."
"In front of him, my strength was pitifully weak. If not for Sister Xue's Angel martial soul being able to fuse with my Tree martial soul to form the Twelve-Winged Angel, its pure solar and sacred power would have absolute restraint over Ning Wudi. I would have died in the Star Dou Great Forest long ago."
Wang Zhong gravely recounted his past encounter with Ning Wudi.
Although his gaze was fixed on the Blood Demon, his peripheral vision had caught a fleeting but exceptionally conspicuous flash of red light rising from Shangguan Youlan's eyes.
This discovery confirmed the suspicion in his heart.
The first time he saw Shangguan Lanyou, he felt an inexplicable sense of unreality about her. Furthermore, he sensed a terrifyingly strong bloody aura emanating from her.
This initial impression had instilled in him a deep-seated wariness of Shangguan Lanyou.
Especially upon seeing her again in this place, this wariness had reached its peak!
Earlier, the Blood Demon had said his ability was control, and anything soaked in blood would obey him.
In this thorny hell, how could a mere Soul Emperor like her have entered! There was only one answer…
The Blood Demon tacitly allowed it! Or rather, she understood the Blood Demon's weaknesses within this domain too well, and walked in with ease.
Wang Zhong wanted to ascertain who Shangguan Lanyou truly was!
"You fought against the Man-Demon in the Star Dou Great Forest!"
"That's a Titled Douluo! You actually survived!" Shangguan Youlan's astonishment was evident.
"It was just luck."
"Without Sister Xue, I wouldn't have survived, let alone killed the Man-Demon." Wang Zhong took a deep breath, stepped forward two paces, and faced the Blood Demon directly.
Upon hearing that Wang Zhong had killed the Man-Demon, the Blood Demon's expression became uncertain and surprised.
Ning Wudi's strength ranked fourth in the Sacred Spirit Sect, the strongest after the Sect Master and the two Guardians! This person had resurrected even earlier than him, and had died again.
Why was this the case?
"Leave the rest to me." Clenching his fists and letting them hang at his sides, Wang Zhong's spirit power surged, and a powerful, heavy pressure rushed towards the Blood Demon.
"So that's how it is!"
"So it was you who killed the Man-Demon..."
*Swish!*
Her slender palm, with fingers like a blade, as if the sharpest divine weapon in existence, easily pierced Wang Zhong's back and emerged from his chest.
A fresh heart, pulsing in her palm. Bright red and warm blood flowed from between her fingers, a few drops trailing down her arm, staining her ink-wash gown.