In reality, Cai Yue'er and Lan Muzi both knew why the sea soul beasts were blocking their way.
These past few days, Tang Wulin had been subjected to daily special training by Muye. If it had only happened once, it wouldn't have been an issue. But it had been happening every day, meaning Tang Wulin was almost never on the ship.
If, even under such circumstances, Cai Yue'er and Lan Muzi still failed to notice, then they were unfit to lead a team and might as well end their own lives.
Cai Yue'er deliberately provoked the Demon Soul Great White Shark King, preventing Pan Wen and Sima Lanxiao from negotiating with the sea soul beasts.
By taking direct action, Pan Wen, Sima Lanxiao, and the soul masters on the ship had no choice but to follow their lead and fight against the sea soul beasts.
If they had chosen to negotiate, the Demon Soul Great White Shark would have revealed the entire sequence of events.
At that point, the Great White Shark King would have only demanded Tang Wulin alone to atone for his actions.
If that happened, Pan Wen, Sima Lanxiao, and the other soul masters on board would likely choose to hand over Tang Wulin rather than fight alongside them against the sea soul beasts.
With only Shrek Academy's forces, they stood no chance against the sea soul beasts.
To drag the others into this battle, Cai Yue'er had decisively chosen to provoke the Demon Soul Great White Shark King, ensuring that Pan Wen and Sima Lanxiao had no chance to negotiate.
Cai Yue'er's plan succeeded.
Now, nearly all the soul masters on both ships were fighting alongside them against the sea soul beasts.
But Cai Yue'er hadn't expected the cost to be so high.
"Yin Gong Douluo!" Cai Yue'er cried out in anguish.
Tang Yinmeng, also known as Yin Gong Douluo, was, like Yang Mu Douluo Lan Muzi, a disciple of Long Yeyue.
She was a true core member of Shrek Academy.
Despite being under thirty, she had already reached Rank 94. She was undoubtedly destined to become a Hyper Douluo in the future.
And now, she was gravely wounded.
"Ah——!"
Lan Muzi let out a furious roar, frantically channeling his soul power into Tang Yinmeng's body, trying to sustain her failing, slowing heartbeat.
But Tang Yinmeng was too badly injured.
The Demon Shark Fang had pierced her body and exploded inside her.
She was barely clinging to life, held together only by Lan Muzi's desperate efforts.
Lan Muzi was filled with regret.
He regretted conspiring with Long Yeyue to sabotage Yali.
If they hadn't schemed to keep Yali away, she would have been on the ship right now.
With Yali present, Tang Yinmeng's life would have been saved, no matter what.
"Your Holiness, Holy Spirit Douluo, Xia Yi!"
Suddenly, Lan Muzi remembered.
Hadn't they detained Yali to deal with Xia Yi?
Xia Yi!
He vaguely recalled Yali mentioning before that Xia Yi's first soul skill was an incredible healing ability.
Lan Muzi clung to this as his last hope and started scanning the battlefield for Xia Yi.
At this point, nearly all the soul masters were engaged in battle with the sea soul beasts.
Yet, despite scanning every battlefield with his spiritual power, Lan Muzi could not find Xia Yi.
After searching for a while, he finally spotted Xia Yi—sitting on the ship's mast, eating a watermelon.
Seeing Xia Yi so relaxed, Lan Muzi's fury erupted.
They were all fighting for their lives, and yet this guy was just sitting back and watching the show.
"Xia Yi!"
Lan Muzi, holding the barely-breathing Tang Yinmeng, flew over to Xia Yi, gritting his teeth.
He never imagined he would one day have to beg Xia Yi for help.
"What do you want?" Xia Yi asked calmly.
"Save Meng'er for me!"
Lan Muzi spat out these words with great difficulty.
It was humiliating to ask for help from someone he had been planning to trap.
Originally, he had wanted to ask Xia Yi why he wasn't fighting against the sea soul beasts.
But Tang Yinmeng's injuries were too severe.
He had no time for anything else.
"If I were injured and you had the ability to save me, would you take the opportunity to kill me instead, or would you save me?" Xia Yi asked with a faint smile.
Lan Muzi's pupils shrank violently.
"I don't understand what you're saying," he said.
"Does he already know about our plan? Impossible. Only a handful of people know about it—there's no way he could have found out," Lan Muzi reassured himself.
"If you don't understand, then so be it," Xia Yi said, shaking his head. "Who are you? Do we know each other? Why should I help you save someone?"
"Do healing-type soul masters need a reason to heal the wounded?" Lan Muzi countered.
"Well, if you put it that way, I have nothing more to say."
Xia Yi jumped down from the mast.
Damn it.
He had been looking forward to an entertaining show, but his good mood had been completely ruined by this guy.
If Xia Yi intervened, he might not be able to fully heal Tang Yinmeng, but he could at least keep her alive until Yali arrived.
But Lan Muzi's self-righteous attitude disgusted him.
Even if he did save her, he would feel sick to his stomach.
"As a healing-type soul master, aren't you afraid of being condemned for turning a blind eye to the injured?" Lan Muzi questioned loudly.
Xia Yi shook his head, too lazy to respond.
"If you want to guilt-trip me, you should first make sure I have a conscience to begin with."
Seeing Xia Yi remain unmoved, Lan Muzi finally became desperate. He shouted at Xia Yi's retreating figure:
"What will it take for you to save Meng'er?"
"Announce the truth about the plague in the northern villages of Star Luo City in front of everyone, and I'll help you."
Xia Yi's voice was indifferent.
"You…!"
Lan Muzi's eyes widened in horror.
Now he was certain—Xia Yi knew everything.
At that moment, Tang Yinmeng, unable to even speak, struggled to breathe. Even the slightest exertion caused blood to flood her esophagus.
She weakly opened her eyes and saw the hesitation on Lan Muzi's face.
With great effort, she shook her head slightly.
Though Lan Muzi had never told her Long Yeyue's full plan, she had guessed some of it.
If Lan Muzi really exposed Long Yeyue's scheme—spreading a plague among ordinary people—it would ruin Long Yeyue and Shrek Academy's reputation forever.
She would never forgive herself if that happened because of her.
For the sake of Long Yeyue and Shrek Academy's name, she would rather die.
"Meng'er! I…"
Tears streamed down Lan Muzi's face as he held the dying Tang Yinmeng.
He couldn't betray Long Yeyue and Shrek Academy.
But he also couldn't bear to watch Tang Yinmeng die in his arms.
Seeing his hesitation, Tang Yinmeng used the last of her soul power to rupture her own organs, ending her life instantly.
"Meng'er…!"
Lan Muzi screamed in agony, slapping himself hard.
He hated himself for cooperating with Long Yeyue and Cai Yue'er's schemes.
"I'll remember this! If I ever get the chance, I'll make you pay!"
Lan Muzi's eyes were filled with venom as he glared at Xia Yi's retreating figure.
"If not for the scheme against you, Teacher wouldn't have used a plague to stall the Holy Spirit Douluo. It was because of you that the Holy Spirit Douluo couldn't save Meng'er in time. Meng'er is in danger because of you, yet you're not even willing to save her."
After blaming himself, Lan Muzi quickly shifted all the responsibility onto Xia Yi.
Screech… Screech…
The Demon Soul Great White Sharks' attacks did not stop because of Lan Muzi's shouting. This time, they targeted the people around Tang Wulin.
Two of the Demon Soul Great White Sharks that had escaped yesterday recognized Tang Wulin and secretly pointed him out to the Demon Soul Great White Shark King.
Screech, screech…
Hundreds of Demon Soul Great White Sharks launched their Demon Shark Fangs attack simultaneously.
Countless Demon Shark Fangs tore through the air.
Xu Lizhi was the first to react—he grabbed Ye Xinglan and threw her back onto the deck.
Screech, screech!
In an instant, Xu Lizhi was pierced through and then blasted into pieces.
Xie Xie turned into several afterimages, attempting to dodge.
However, the Demon Shark Fangs seemed to have eyes of their own—dozens of them struck him instantly, riddling his body like a sieve.
Yue Zhengyu tried to escape by flapping his Angel Wings, but as soon as he ascended, he was shot down.
Xu Xiaoyan was already frozen in fear, standing motionless.
Watching his companions die one after another, Tang Wulin was filled with immense regret.
Had he known it would turn out this way, he would never have cooperated with Muye to kill those Demon Soul Great White Sharks.
Seeing Xu Xiaoyan petrified with fear, he gritted his teeth and stood in front of her.
He activated Golden Dragon Tyrant Body to its fullest, trying to shield Xu Xiaoyan from the incoming Demon Shark Fangs.
"Brother!"
Na'er clenched her teeth and stepped in front of Tang Wulin.
Screech, screech…
A dozen Demon Shark Fangs struck her instantly.
"Na'er!" Tang Wulin cried out in anguish.
Taking advantage of the brief pause in the sharks' attacks, he leaped forcefully, bringing Xu Xiaoyan and Na'er back onto the deck.
"I bet correctly… Di Tian and the others really wouldn't let me die."
Blood trickled from Na'er's mouth, but a faint smile appeared on her face.
She could feel it—the moment the Demon Shark Fangs hit her, their power was weakened a hundredfold or more.
Though gravely injured, she was not in life-threatening danger.
Yuanen Yehui, clad in her Battle Armor, transformed into a massive Titan Giant Ape, but even her huge body was struck by the Demon Shark Fangs, sending her crashing into the ship's hull and knocking her unconscious.
A mecha pilot rescued her onto the deck.
"Xu Lizhi! Xie Xie! Yue Zhengyu!"
In the air, Cai Yue'er watched as one Shrek Academy genius after another perished, her heart filling with immense regret.
At that moment of distraction, the tentacle of a ferocious beast—an octopus—instantly wrapped around her body.
Its terrifying suction cups latched onto her Battle Armor, and with a powerful pull, it forcibly tore the armor off.
Along with the armor, her clothes were also ripped away.
However, before the people on deck could catch a glimpse, the ferocious octopus spewed a mouthful of ink, instantly covering Cai Yue'er.
"Ahhh…!"
A bloodcurdling scream that barely sounded human echoed across the sea.
Covered in the octopus's ink, Cai Yue'er's skin began to melt away like it had been doused in boiling oil.
In truth, Cai Yue'er's strength was not weaker than that of this ferocious octopus—in fact, she was slightly stronger.
However, she could only unleash her full power during a full moon night.
Furthermore, the ocean was the domain of sea soul beasts.
On top of that, she had been momentarily distracted, giving the ferocious octopus the perfect opportunity to land a decisive attack.
At that moment, on the deck, Muye stared intently at the battlefield.
He could sense it—an unseen force was aiding the sea soul beasts.
It was this force that had interfered when Tang Yinmeng was struck.
It was also this force that had secretly influenced the attacks on Tang Wulin's companions.
Unless he could identify this force, he would never feel at ease.
(End of Chapter)
—— (To Be Continued)