Based on his past life's memories, Lu Jingming knew well that Xuan Zi was the typical type who never learned from his mistakes. Considering the side effects of his martial soul, he'd likely repeat the same errors later. However, this was ultimately an internal affair of Shrek Academy, and it didn't concern him much.
"Silvermoon Flood Dragon Emperor!" Xuan Zi's eyes instantly turned blood-red, like burning flames. He let out a long howl towards the sky, his voice filled with pain and fury. Immediately after, he sharply turned his head, staring fixedly at the ice-sealed Silvermoon Flood Dragon Emperor, the insane killing intent in his gaze seemingly wanting to dismember it.
"Elder Xuan, no!" Seeing Xuan Zi's expression, Han Ruoruo's face instantly turned pale, and a strong sense of unease welled up in her heart. She instinctively cried out, but everything happened too fast; it was already too late.
A strange beast roar suddenly sounded, and a massive illusory image of a Gourmand Divine Ox slowly emerged, obscuring the sky. Xuan Zi's muscles instantly swelled, as if inflated, directly tearing through his clothes. Mysterious earthy-yellow patterns appeared on his muscular upper body, exuding an ancient and powerful aura. Two gigantic ox horns slowly grew from his head, incredibly sharp.
Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black, red—nine soul rings successively circled his body, releasing powerful soul power fluctuations. At this moment, Xuan Zi's eyes were bloodshot, like a mad beast.
He transformed into a dazzling yellow light, enveloped in endless rage, and charged directly towards the Silvermoon Flood Dragon Emperor. Clearly, he intended to kill the Silvermoon Flood Dragon Emperor to avenge his deceased students.
Xuan Zi's movements were as fast as lightning. Everyone was stunned by the sudden turn of events, standing rooted to the spot, completely unable to react. However, there was one exception: Jingliu.
Jingliu, at some unknown point, already held a Sword of Ice in her hand. The sword emanated an bone-chilling coldness, causing the surrounding air to condense and form a thin layer of frost.
An ice-blue sword light flashed, like a cold moon streaking across the night sky, carrying endless coldness and chilling intent. In an instant, it struck the yellow light mass that had created a sonic boom.
"Boom—Crack!"
A violent roar sounded, and the yellow light mass exploded with a crash. The powerful impact was like a bomb detonating. Xuan Zi's figure flew backward uncontrollably, like a cannonball shot from a barrel.
Trees along the way were uprooted by this violent shockwave, sent flying like fragile straw, leaving behind a massive gully several hundred meters long on the ground, as if the earth had been torn open by a hideous wound.
When the rampant shockwaves and air currents gradually dissipated, they revealed Xuan Zi's body lying at the bottom of the hundred-meter gully. At this moment, he was buried under a large amount of rubble, with only a small portion of his body exposed.
Faintly visible, a large amount of crimson blood stained the rubble, looking particularly glaring under the sunlight.
"Pfft—!" Xuan Zi spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, which gushed like a spring onto the ground. His face was as pale as paper, utterly devoid of color, and he looked at Jingliu, who held the Sword of Ice, with terror and disbelief in his eyes.
At this moment, he deeply felt Jingliu's terrifying strength; just one sword strike had severely wounded him, a Level 98 Super Douluo, to this extent.
"If you wish to die, I can grant it to you," Jingliu's cold voice calmly sounded, like a cold wind in the depths of winter, sending shivers down one's spine.
"Your Excellency Xuě Yuè, please calm your anger! Elder Xuan was just impatient for a moment; he didn't intend to be your enemy," Han Ruoruo said, panicking, her voice trembling slightly. She quickly pleaded for Xuan Zi. At the same time, she cast an imploring look at Lu Jingming, hoping he could help mediate.
Wu Ming was also stunned by the scene before her. Xuan Zi's sudden action was completely unexpected.
And Xuan Zi's crushing defeat shocked her immensely. That was Shrek Academy's strongest individual on the surface, a Level 98 Super Douluo, standing at the current peak of combat power on the Douluo Continent! Yet, before Jingliu, he was so utterly vulnerable, defeated by a single powerful sword strike.
Wu Ming clearly saw Xuan Zi's wound: a horrifying sword cut from his neck to his abdomen, almost splitting him in two, revealing his crimson internal organs. If Xuan Zi hadn't been a Super Douluo with a top-tier beast martial soul and powerful vitality, that single sword strike would have killed him on the spot. Even so, Xuan Zi was now severely injured and had lost all combat ability.
Lu Jingming frowned slightly. Although he was displeased with Xuan Zi's attempt to kill the Silvermoon Flood Dragon Emperor, he still shook his head at Jingliu, saying, "Teacher, forget it. For the sake of Sister Ruoruo and Sister Wu Ming, spare him this once."
He didn't want to completely fall out with Shrek Academy right now; it wouldn't benefit him or the development of Hǎiyuān City. Killing Xuan Zi would undoubtedly create an unending feud with Shrek Academy.
It was just one Xuan Zi; he had many ways to kill him, but now wasn't the time. In his plans, excessively antagonizing Shrek Academy at this moment would only bring him many troubles and would not be conducive to Hǎiyuān City's stable development.
Besides, Xuan Zi hadn't succeeded in killing the Silvermoon Flood Dragon Emperor; instead, he had been struck by Jingliu's sword, suffering a complete loss. With Jingliu's terrifying sword intent, it would likely not be something Xuan Zi could recover from overnight. Physical injuries might not be difficult to heal with Shrek Academy's profound resources, but expelling the lingering sword intent from his body would be far from easy.
"As you wish," Jingliu nodded, slowly retracting the Sword of Ice in her hand. Instantly, the bone-chilling coldness around them also dissipated.
Seeing this, Han Ruoruo and Wu Ming both looked gratefully at Lu Jingming, their favorability towards him soaring.
They knew in their hearts that if Xuan Zi had truly died there, they would certainly face severe consequences upon returning to Shrek Academy.
Even if Xuan Zi's own negligence led to the death of students, as inner court disciples of Shrek Academy, and with Xuan Zi being a member of Shrek Academy's Sea God Pavilion and the Vice-Head of the Shrek Investigation Group, they couldn't just stand by and watch Xuan Zi be killed, neither by reason nor by sentiment.
Even if they held resentment towards Xuan Zi, in this situation, they had no choice but to plead with Lu Jingming and Jingliu.
"Thank you, Your Excellency Xuě Yuè, for your mercy."
Han Ruoruo respectfully bowed to Jingliu, then she and Wu Ming ran to help up the severely wounded Xuan Zi.
"Sister Ruoruo, you should take him back to Shrek Academy for treatment as soon as possible. With his injuries, if you delay, he will die." Lu Jingming reminded them, as if forgetting that his White Flower (possibly a healing ability or item) could completely heal Xuan Zi's injuries.