As the sea soul beasts slowly retreated, the casualties from this incident were quickly tallied.
The total number of deaths reached 362, with 198 from the Douluo Continent and 164 from the Star Luo Continent.
The number of injured, both severely and lightly, amounted to 1,455, with the majority also coming from the Douluo Continent.
In fact, the Douluo Continent's delegation had a higher average strength than the Star Luo Continent's.
However, at the beginning of the battle, many of the Douluo Continent's teams instinctively gathered around Shrek Academy, becoming collateral damage. This led to the death toll on the Douluo Continent's side greatly surpassing that of the Star Luo Continent.
Of course, the ones who suffered the heaviest casualties were from Shrek Academy.
Among the Title Douluos, Cai Yue'er was barely holding onto life, while Tang Yinmeng had perished.
The casualties among Soul Sect to Soul Douluo level disciples were also severe. Of the two inner-court disciples at the Soul Douluo level, one had died, and the other was seriously injured.
All three Soul Sages had been slain.
Among the six Soul Emperors, only the severely wounded Shen Yi survived.
As for the Soul Kings, they should be grateful to Xia Yi.
Thanks to Xia Yi, only Lin Pingzhi remained alive among the Soul Kings who had been sent on this exchange mission.
Among the Soul Ancestors, Xie Xie, Xu Lizhi, and Le Zhengyu had all perished.
In total, Shrek Academy lost thirteen prodigies.
However, while Shrek Academy suffered the most severe losses, they were not the ones who suffered the worst.
That unfortunate title belonged to the Star Holy Sword Ye Clan.
Aside from Ye Xinglan, who was with the Shrek Academy team, the Ye Clan had sent three members.
Leading them was Ye Xinglan's mother's elder sister, along with two younger disciples who were Ye Xinglan's cousins.
Originally, they were supposed to exchange sword techniques with the Super Douluo Crying Blood Douluo Chu Tiange from the Star Luo Continent, who had already comprehended the divine essence of the sword.
But during the battle with the sea soul beasts, Ye Xinglan's aunt and one of her cousins were killed and devoured by the beasts.
The only survivor, Ye Wuque, was then cut in half by Lan Muzi's sword.
The exchange spots for this delegation to the Star Luo Continent had been precious.
Despite the seemingly large number of people aboard the ships, a third of them were staff, attendants, and mecha squads.
The remaining spots had to be distributed among numerous sects, clans, organizations, and associations.
The Ye Clan was not as powerful as Shrek Academy, so obtaining three spots had already been quite an achievement.
But the Ye Clan had never expected that all three of their members would die.
And Ye Wuque had even died at the hands of someone from Shrek Academy.
Ye Xinglan truly did not know how she would explain this when the powerful figures of her clan arrived.
After collecting Ye Wuque's corpse, she locked herself in her room.
No matter how much Xu Xiaoyan knocked, she refused to respond.
In short, aboard the two massive ships, apart from Xia Yi, Gu Yue, and Wu Jin, everyone was shrouded in an air of despair.
There was not the slightest joy from having defeated the sea soul beasts.
If they had truly died at the hands of the sea soul beasts, then so be it.
But these people had died so unjustly.
Had Cai Yue'er not deliberately provoked the Demon Spirit Great White Shark King, Xiao Bai, none of them would have had to die.
"Sigh!" Both Pan Wen and Sima Lanxiao sighed heavily. With such a major incident, their political careers were as good as over.
Amidst the seething glares of those who wished to tear Shrek Academy apart, reinforcements from both the Federation and the Star Luo Continent finally arrived.
A streak of red, a streak of blue, and a streak of white simultaneously appeared in their field of vision.
Although Leng Yaozhu had set out after Chen Xinjie, she had caught up with him.
Chen Xinjie landed on the Far Ocean, while Leng Yaozhu, sensing Xia Yi's presence, landed on the Star Luo.
"You're alright! I was scared to death just now." Leng Yaozhu rushed into Xia Yi's arms, holding onto him tightly, completely ignoring the gazes of those around them.
Upon hearing that the sea soul beasts had attacked the Star Luo and Far Ocean, she had been utterly terrified.
Although the Phoenix Soulmate Jade was undeniably powerful, it could only be used once.
"Don't worry, I'm fine!" Xia Yi held the fiery beauty in his arms.
"Where's Yue'er?" Leng Yaozhu suddenly asked.
"In her room. She said she's going into seclusion." Xia Yi's expression darkened.
"Seclusion?" Leng Yaozhu's eyes flickered with understanding. She quickly grasped why Gu Yue had chosen to go into seclusion. Casting Xia Yi a flirtatious glance, she teased, "It's all your fault! Now I won't even be able to see Yue'er easily."
"I've been wronged! I didn't want her to go into seclusion either." Xia Yi looked aggrieved.
"It's your fault, it's your fault!" Leng Yaozhu giggled, then turned to survey the situation on the ships.
Seeing the bodies and the wounded scattered across the decks, her delicate brows furrowed slightly.
Besides Leng Yaozhu and Chen Xinjie, the Grandmaster of the Star Luo Empire, the Divine Realm Douluo Enci, had also arrived at the same time.
Seeing the corpses lined up on the deck, both Chen Xinjie and Enci's eyes immediately filled with killing intent.
"What exactly happened?" The terrifying aura from Chen Xinjie and Enci nearly suffocated Pan Wen and Sima Lanxiao.
Especially Chen Xinjie—when he became enraged, the entire ocean seemed to roil with fury.
But in just a moment, he restrained his aura.
"Peak Quasi-God!" Leng Yaozhu's face changed slightly. Rumors had long suggested that Chen Xinjie might be a Quasi-God, but no one had ever confirmed it.
Yet just now, in that fleeting instant, she had felt an aura no weaker than Yun Ming's from him.
The strength of Yun Ming needed no explanation.
But Chen Xinjie's aura was not weaker than his.
This meant that Chen Xinjie had been hiding his true strength all along.
Like Yun Ming, he had already reached the peak of the Quasi-God realm and was perhaps even half a step into godhood.
How could Leng Yaozhu not be shocked?
She had originally thought that even if Chen Xinjie was a Quasi-God, he had only recently stepped into the realm. She had never expected him to already be at the pinnacle.
"Why envy him? I believe that soon, you won't just be a Quasi-God—you won't even care about True Gods," Xia Yi said with a smile.
Leng Yaozhu shook her head with a wry smile. After stepping into the Limit Douluo realm, she had realized just how difficult the path to becoming a Quasi-God was. "Yu Lai might be able to, but as for me… forget it. I'm already satisfied with my current cultivation."
"You may be satisfied, but I am not." Xia Yi gently embraced Leng Yaozhu, placing a light kiss on her fiery red hair. "You and I are destined to be together for a hundred years, a thousand years, ten thousand years—forever. We will both become gods and never be separated. So, Zhu'er, don't say such disheartening things, alright?"
"Mm! I won't say such things again." Listening to Xia Yi's gentle words, Leng Yaozhu nodded obediently, curling up in his embrace like a kitten.
His words filled her heart with hope for the future.
"I will cultivate diligently," she murmured as she leaned into Xia Yi, both of them gazing out at the endless ocean in a scene of warmth.
If not for the corpses lying nearby, ruining the atmosphere.
"Heavenly Phoenix Douluo!" Chen Xinjie's gritted voice suddenly broke the moment.
He could not tolerate public displays of affection.
Especially in this situation.
"Sea God Douluo, what is it?" Leng Yaozhu asked.
Chen Xinjie's gaze swept over Xia Yi and Leng Yaozhu before he clenched his teeth and asked, "If I'm not mistaken, Master Xia Yi should have the Phoenix Heart Jade. So why did he not use it to save the people on these two ships?"
"It's not like I was the one who lured the sea soul beasts here. What does this have to do with me?" Xia Yi scoffed, curling his lips in disdain. "I'm sure you already know what happened. If you want to vent your anger, go after the real culprit. Why are you coming at me?"
"You clearly had the power to drive away the sea soul beasts, yet you chose to turn a blind eye, causing so many people to die tragically. Do you not feel even a shred of guilt?" Chen Xinjie asked coldly.
Before Xia Yi could respond, Leng Yaozhu suddenly lifted her head and glared at Chen Xinjie, her gaze sharp as a blade. "Sea God Douluo, watch your words. I'm warning you, don't even think about shifting the blame for this onto my husband, or don't blame me for being impolite! Just because the tiger hasn't bared its fangs, do you take me, Leng Yaozhu, for a weak kitten?"
Even though she knew Chen Xinjie was a peak quasi-god, at this moment, she showed no fear at all.
It was because of what Chen Xinjie had just said to Xia Yi—"causing so many people to die tragically."
This entire disaster had been caused by Shrek Academy.
So how did it suddenly turn into Xia Yi's fault, according to Chen Xinjie?
Leng Yaozhu would never allow Chen Xinjie to pin this crime on Xia Yi.
Chen Xinjie was very shrewd. He knew that at this moment, everyone absolutely loathed Shrek Academy.
Even he himself had no way to absolve them.
Right now, anyone who spoke on Shrek Academy's behalf would immediately be scorned.
But he still wanted to do something for Long Yeyue.
The moment he saw Leng Yaozhu, an idea formed in his mind—to drag Xia Yi down with them, deliberately shifting all the attention onto him.
If the people on the ships found out that Xia Yi had the power to save them yet chose not to, then their hatred toward Shrek Academy would, to some extent, be redirected onto Xia Yi.
(End of Chapter)