At this moment, the Herrscher-form Snow Empress radiated an overwhelming aura, her pressure far surpassing Mu En.

Fierce winds howled as blizzards raged, and within an instant, the vast area within several hundred miles of Shrek City was completely covered in snow and ice, turning into a dead, frozen land.

Snow Empress gripped an ice sword condensed from snow and cold, looking at Mu En with cold eyes before swinging her sword without hesitation.

The slash seemed casual, yet contained terrifying power.

It was like an icy blue line gently drawn across a pristine white sheet, leaving a shocking blue scar between heaven and earth.

Wherever the sword's path passed, space itself was torn open, emitting a chilling crackling sound.

Faced with this sword that seemed to split heaven and earth, Mu En's pupils contracted violently, and a chill of death welled up inside him.

The power of this attack was simply too terrifying—he had no way to resist!

In this life-and-death moment, Mu En didn't hesitate. With his authority as Pavilion Master, he activated the hidden power of the Sea God Pavilion.

Shua!

A beam of blue-gold divine light shot up from Sea God Island.

This light surged like a vast tidal wave, continuously pouring out, carrying the aura of a true deity.

The next moment, Snow Empress' sword slashed fiercely into the blue-gold light.

Light burst in all directions as the two mighty forces clashed, letting out deafening thunder.

However, in the end, the sword light was gradually worn away by the blue-gold divine light and failed to break through this barrier.

"The Light of the Sea God! They actually used the Light of the Sea God!"

From afar, Du Busi stared in shock. The Body Sect had fought Shrek Academy before and had records of some of their hidden cards.

In the Body Sect's historical records, the Light of the Sea God was detailed as the strongest trump card of Sea God Island.

The Light of the Sea God carried the power left by Tang San, who had ascended to the Divine Realm ten thousand years ago—a last resort for Shrek Academy in times of desperate crisis.

Every use of the Light of the Sea God meant the Academy was facing life-or-death peril.

In the past, Shrek used it against the Body Sect. During the beast tide and the terrifying Beast God Di Tian, the Light of the Sea God had also appeared.

Now, once again, this mighty power shone forth to resist a deadly enemy—the Snow Empress.

"The Light of the Sea God, huh." Snow Empress frowned slightly. She'd heard of its power, knowing that even the Beast God Di Tian feared it, and that it was Shrek Academy's key to survival.

But in her eyes, this wasn't enough to stop her. Even if it was power left by the Sea God, he'd ascended for ten thousand years—how much could really remain?

Expression cold, Snow Empress raised one hand to the sky and the other to the earth, declaring icily, "Above all heaven and earth I alone am the honored one!"

Her voice wasn't loud, but it carried unparalleled authority, echoing across the battlefield.

The next instant, white ripples spread outward from her, sweeping over thousands of meters in the blink of an eye.

Where the white light passed, space itself was frozen—everything fell into silence.

Whether it was the mighty Light of the Sea God, Mu En's giant golden dragon, or Yan Shaozhe and the others below, all were immobilized in that instant.

Mu En's eyes filled with horror. His mind was still awake, barely able to think, but his body couldn't move at all.

Even his soul power seemed frozen, unable to be summoned.

Aside from his struggling thoughts, his body was completely out of his control—he was utterly trapped.

"It's over, Dragon God Douluo Mu En. I'll remember your name," Snow Empress said coldly, her voice emotionless.

She gathered the surrounding icy energy, forming a huge ice bow.

Snow Empress gently drew the bow. In the eyes of all those from Shrek Academy—filled with grief and despair—an ice arrow formed instantly.

As she released the string, the arrow became a dazzling white streak, flying like a meteor with a deafening sonic boom.

In an instant, the white arrow pierced the golden dragon's heart.

Puchi!

With a dull sound, golden blood sprayed out like a fountain, staining the sky.

The frozen space returned to normal.

At the same time, everyone regained their mobility, but they could only watch helplessly as the tragedy unfolded, powerless to stop it.

"Teacher!"

"Old Mu!"

"Ancestor!"

Cries of grief echoed across the sky as everyone stared in shock and sorrow at the golden dragon, now pierced by a gaping hole, golden blood raining down, hearts full of despair.

It all happened too fast—from Mu En's decisive use of the Light of the Sea God to block the killing blow, to Snow Empress freezing space and finally delivering a fatal blow. All these changes took place in less than a minute.

Yan Shaozhe and the others wanted to help, but Snow Empress's overwhelming power left them no chance. They could only watch their respected Mu En be killed, powerless to intervene.

Suffering such a fatal wound, Mu En's mighty true body could no longer hold.

The golden dragon's form faded, and Mu En's body dropped from the sky like a severed kite.

Everyone saw clearly—a gaping hole in his chest, his powerful heart gone, blood still pouring out, soaking his robes.

Mu En felt his body grow cold, his consciousness fading.

The howling wind seemed to play his final requiem, the cries of Yan Shaozhe and the others reaching his ears, filling him with guilt and helplessness.

He forced his heavy eyelids open and looked at the aloof Snow Empress, a bitter smile tugging at his lips: "So this is the power at that level? Truly awe-inspiring! Sorry, Snow Empress, I couldn't let you fully enjoy yourself!"

Even after giving his all, using the Sea God Pavilion's hidden strength and the Golden Tree's power to briefly return to his prime, against the Herrscher-form Snow Empress, he was still so small and powerless.

As cold spread rapidly from the hole in his chest, Mu En's entire body became encased in ice.

In his final moments, he looked back at Shrek Academy one last time.

The familiar buildings, filled with memories, now seemed more precious than ever.

His eyes were full of worry and reluctance. Shrek Academy, the place he had protected his whole life, now faced an unprecedented crisis.

Xuan Zi was competent but not a leader, Yan Shaozhe and others only average, and the younger generation like Ma Xiaotao had not yet matured—none could support the Academy's future.

He was truly uneasy. The Snow Empress's sudden attack was completely unforeseen.

He'd thought he had time to arrange things, to prepare Shrek's future.

But death arrived like a storm, shattering all his plans.

He could only pray silently that Shrek would survive this disaster.

The next moment, Mu En's thoughts faded into eternal silence, his consciousness dissipating.

His body became a crystal-clear ice sculpture, which, under the grieving eyes of Yan Shaozhe and the others, shattered into countless ice crystals, drifting down to cover every inch of Shrek Academy—like a sorrowful silver mourning veil.

"Dragon God Douluo… has fallen!" Du Busi stared blankly, his face full of terror and disbelief.

He looked fearfully at the Snow Empress, like a demon god in the sky.

Because he was far enough away, he'd avoided the spatial freeze, but even so, he deeply felt that terrifying freezing power.

Even the Light of the Sea God, Tang San's trump card, was helpless against this.

Dragon God Douluo—a peerless Limit Douluo—had no power to resist Snow Empress's attack.

Such terrifying power made his heart tremble with fear.

"Go! Now! Back to the Sect!" Du Busi didn't dare linger, shouting desperately.

The Snow Empress was so strong—who knew if she'd wipe out the Body Sect next?

After all, the Body Sect had once hunted hundred-thousand-year soul beasts en masse and had deep enmity with many soul beasts.

Facing such a powerful soul beast, the Body Sect felt no sense of safety.

No further urging was needed—his followers had already fled in terror.

Hearing his order, they turned and ran, desperate to get away before the Snow Empress noticed, fearing they'd share Mu En's fate.

Curious as they were about Shrek's fate, their lives were more important.

…

"Nothing happened?" Lu Jingming frowned, full of confusion.

Mu En had just fallen, but the back-up he expected from Tang San never appeared.

"Looks like your Sea God doesn't really care about that Academy," Herta smirked, mocking.

"Probably. The important thing is the Golden Tree, not Shrek Academy. As long as the Golden Tree's untouched, he won't act," Lu Jingming analyzed after thinking.

In his view, Tang San had left many safeguards, but, being tightly guarded by the God of Destruction, could only use them with great risk—so unless absolutely necessary, he wouldn't act.

To Tang San, Shrek Academy was just a tool to guard the Golden Tree.

Just like the Tang Sect he'd built, where all the secret skills and medicines were just nerfed versions—only the Clear Sky Sect, his blood relatives, got special treatment.

From the matter of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, Lu Jingming saw Tang San's different attitudes toward the three powers: the Tang Sect, Shrek, and the Clear Sky Sect.

Both the Tang Sect and Shrek had no clue about the Well's location, while Clear Sky had a detailed map.

So, even if Shrek was in crisis, unless the Golden Tree was threatened, Tang San's hidden hand likely wouldn't activate.

Thinking this through, Lu Jingming became curious about Shrek Academy's next choice.

Now that Mu En had fallen, and with the terrifying Snow Empress present, Shrek's ability to resist had been destroyed.

In such desperation, would Shrek fight to the death, or hand over Huo Yuhao?

Lu Jingming was eager to know the answer.