The academy's powerhouses unhesitatingly met the Fixed-Amunition Spirit Tool Shells whistling in from all directions, their multi-colored Spirit Power radiance colliding head-on with the shells, which trailed eerie exhaust flames in mid-air.
Explosions erupted one after another, resounding continuously over Shrek Academy like rolling, muffled thunder.
Violent shockwaves swept outwards in wave after wave, causing the surface of Sea God Lake to ripple with turbulent undulations.
Spirit Abilities and firelight intertwined, dyeing the originally bright sky a gloomy, dark red, as if the apocalypse had arrived.
Tang Wulin looked up at the sky, his mouth wide open, his usually steady eyes filled with disbelief.
He clenched his fists, his voice trembling slightly: "Those shells... they are at least Level 7 Fixed-Amunition Spirit Tool Shells!"
"Just who is it that dares to launch such a lethal attack against Shrek Academy?"
Xie Xie stood beside him, his throat bobbing several times before he managed to squeeze out a sentence: "Could I have actually guessed it right? Could it really be the Holy Spirit Cult? But how dare they?"
"This is Shrek Academy, the number one academy on the continent! Have they gone mad?!"
"Do not doubt it, it is the Holy Spirit Cult."
Huo Yuhao's voice suddenly came from behind the two of them; his Spirit Eyes had already captured the figures of the attackers in the distance.
On the distant horizon, a vast expanse of thick, purple-black mist was rapidly approaching. Amidst the churning mist, countless figures clad in black robes could be faintly seen standing in the air.
At the very front of this evil mist, a massive, purple skull phantom slowly emerged. Ghostly green flames burned in the skull's eye sockets, and its mouth opened and closed as if it were silently grinning, emitting a nauseatingly evil aura.
Huo Yuhao was all too familiar with this aura; in the entire continent, aside from the Evil Soul Masters of the Holy Spirit Cult, no other force would display such evil and madness so unscrupulously.
Huo Yuhao's Spirit Domain Realm mental force spread rapidly towards that direction like an invisible giant net. However, when his mental force touched the core area of that purple-black evil mist, an evil will, powerful enough to make his heart shiver, struck back like a venomous snake.
He abruptly withdrew his perception, his expression becoming increasingly grave.
Recalling the unprecedentedly serious expression on Yun Ming's face just moments ago, he already had a judgment in his heart: this crisis was likely far more serious than any they had encountered before.
This was definitely not a harassing sneak attack on a whim by the Holy Spirit Cult, but a long-planned, large-scale offensive.
He suddenly shouted: "Follow me to the Sea God Pavilion!"
Just a moment ago, Elder Jin had sent him a voice transmission, telling him to head to the Sea God Pavilion.
If Sea God Island was the safest place in Shrek Academy, then the Sea God Pavilion was the safest place on Sea God Island.
"Level 12! You actually dare to defy the world and use Level 12 Fixed-Amunition Spirit Tool Shells!"
Yun Ming's roar exploded from above Sea God Island like thunder from the Nine Heavens.
That voice, laden with monstrous anger and disbelief, was clearly transmitted into the ears of everyone in the academy.
Huo Yuhao and the others, who had already retreated into the Sea God Pavilion, heard this and their expressions changed in unison.
Before this, although they felt that this attack was of an unprecedented scale, they could not figure out what trump card the Holy Spirit Cult had to dare to confront the behemoth that was Shrek Academy.
Now, Yun Ming's roar, like a thunderclap, had revealed the answer: Level 12 Fixed-Amunition Spirit Tool Shells—this was the Holy Spirit Cult's true killing move.
Tang Wulin suddenly raised his head, his face filled with shock: "Level 12? There are actually Level 12 Fixed-Amunition Spirit Tool Shells? Isn't the highest Rank for Spirit Tools only Level 9?"
The others had similar expressions. The power of a Level 9 Fixed-Amunition Spirit Tool Shell was already equivalent to the attack of a Limit Douluo; they didn't dare to imagine how powerful a Level 12 one would be.
Huo Yuhao had been in contact with Spirit Tools since he was young, so naturally, he knew more.
Because of this, his expression was even heavier than the others as he explained: "Level 12 Fixed-Amunition Spirit Tool Shells—looking across the entire Douluo Continent, only three have ever been manufactured."
"That was thousands of years ago, when all the top Spirit Tool Grandmasters of the entire continent were gathered, and countless manpower and material resources were expended, exhausting countless resources, to barely forge those ultimate weapons."
"It is said that in order to manufacture these three God-Slaying-level shells, the research progress of Spirit Tools across the entire continent was stagnant for a full thousand years."
He paused, his gaze fixed on the two brilliant rays of light above in the sky that were being firmly blocked outside the defensive line by Yun Ming.
Even from such a great distance, that world-destroying sense of oppression still caused his mental force to instinctively sound a sharp alarm.
His voice grew deeper: "Level 12 Fixed-Amunition Spirit Tool Shells are also known as God-Slaying-level Spirit Tool cannons."
"Because such weapons have already transcended the limits of the mundane. Even if a true deity were to descend, they would be reduced to ash under such a strike."
Huo Yuhao's words caused everyone around him to gasp.
Na'er and Gu Yue exchanged a glance, both seeing a trace of undisguisable shock in the depths of each other's eyes.
They had gained a brand new understanding of human power.
If the name "God-Slaying" was just human imagination before, now, as two former Divine Rank powerhouses, they could responsibly say that the Level 12 Fixed-Amunition Spirit Tool Cannon indeed possessed the ability to kill deities!
They had not expected that human wisdom and creativity had reached a level sufficient to threaten deities.
This race was far more terrifying than they had imagined.
Xie Xie still hadn't recovered from the shock, his voice floating: "Since there were only three, where did the Holy Spirit Cult get them from?"
Huo Yuhao narrowed his eyes slightly and said coldly: "Naturally, someone helped them. It seems that Shrek's actions over these years have indeed made many in the upper echelons of the Federation very dissatisfied."
This sentence made everyone around fall silent. Once upon a time, Shrek Academy was a lighthouse in their hearts, an immortal lighthouse representing justice and glory, guiding countless Spirit Masters forward.
They once made entering Shrek Academy their lifelong dream and considered becoming a member of Shrek an supreme honor.
But when they came into close contact, they gradually realized that the path guided by this lighthouse was not necessarily entirely correct, and the lighthouse itself was not untainted.
However, at this very moment, these things were no longer important.
When the nest is overturned, no egg remains intact. If Shrek were truly destroyed today, it was likely that none of them would be able to escape.
After a moment of silence, a rare trace of worry appeared in Na'er's silver eyes, and she murmured: "Teacher... can he block the Holy Spirit Cult's attack?"
She was a strand of the Silver Dragon King's soul, and logically, humans and Spirit Beasts were natural enemies; the life or death of humans had nothing to do with her.
But ever since she transformed into human form and entered Shrek Academy, Yun Ming had sincerely treated her as a Disciple, teaching and protecting her.
That care, like that of a teacher and father—Na'er didn't say it out loud, but she remembered it clearly in her heart.
Therefore, Na'er, who should have been completely indifferent to the life or death of humans, was now somewhat worried about Yun Ming's safety.
Xu Xiaoyan, standing beside her, spoke up to comfort her: "The Pavilion Master is the strongest person on the continent; he will definitely be fine."
But as she spoke, her voice unconsciously lowered; this comforting statement was clearly lacking in confidence.
The massive, sky-covering canopy of the Golden Tree bloomed with dazzling golden radiance. A vast and majestic power of light poured down from the canopy like a tangible substance, transforming into a semi-transparent golden dome that firmly enveloped the entire Inner Court.
The Fixed-Amunition Spirit Tool Shells crashed against that layer of golden light shield, stirring up intense ripples and emitting teeth-aching sizzling sounds, yet they were unable to break through this seemingly thin barrier.
And within the Sea God Pavilion, there was another, even more solid layer of golden light shield protecting the pavilion itself; this was the final line of defense for the Sea God Pavilion.
However, the expression on Huo Yuhao's face did not relax at all because of these two layers of defense. Just moments ago, he had received another voice transmission from Elder Jin.
Elder Jin said that his Origin had been constantly devoured by the Blue Silver Emperor, and his existing power might not be able to withstand this attack.
Huo Yuhao's expression became even heavier, but he did not speak this information out loud.
Tang Wulin and the others, although their strength was not bad, were still too weak in the face of a disaster of this level. Knowing the truth would only make them more fearful and flustered, and they would be unable to do anything else.
However, Huo Yuhao had already made a secret resolution in his heart: if Elder Jin's defense was broken, he would have no choice but to expose all of his full strength without reservation.
He did not know if he would be able to protect everyone with his current means.
But he had to do it, and he could only do it.
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A/N:
I hope all of you are enjoying this story so far. I would appreciate some Power Stones if you can spare any. Leave a review if you like the story. Thank you.