The clamor on the training ground slowly picked up again.
Hearing Flender call him, Su Zui nodded at him, his expression still calm.
He turned to Ning Rongrong beside him and said gently, "Rongrong, the dean is calling me. He probably wants to talk about improving the cafeteria. I'll go see what he wants."
Though Ning Rongrong was still smoldering with anger and had a bone to pick with Flender,
she listened to Su Zui nonetheless. She silently released her little hand from his and obediently stayed where she was, waiting for him to return.
Seeing how puffed up and yet sensible Ning Rongrong was, Su Zui couldn't help raising a hand and brushing the tip of her nose. Then he turned and walked toward Flender.
Flender watched Su Zui approach, a particularly complicated look in his eyes.
But with so many people around, he said nothing more. He simply nodded slightly to Su Zui. "Xiao Zui, there are too many eyes and ears here. It's inconvenient. Let's talk in my office."
One behind the other, the two slowly walked away along the path through the trees.
Xiao Wu, Ma Hongjun, Zhu Zhuqing, and the others watched Su Zui leave, their gazes now filled with genuine awe.
After all, on the Douluo Continent, strength had always been revered above all else.
And today, Su Zui had used the most undeniable strength to prove to everyone that he was the strongest student in all of Shrek Academy.
Yet no one noticed that, at this very moment, a lone figure had been hiding in a patch of grass some distance away.
A certain Titled Douluo with a giant hammer pressed himself tightly into the shadows, concealing every trace of his presence.
Deep in his eyes, profound wariness churned as he fixed a gloomy gaze on Su Zui's departing figure.
Wasn't this brat's talent a little too heaven-defying?
Tang Hao even suspected that his own grandfather, Tang Chen, hadn't possessed talent to rival this brat's.
At that thought, a flash of cold killing intent flickered in Tang Hao's eyes.
But the killing intent lasted only an instant before Tang Hao suppressed it.
Su Zui is a member of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, after all...
Tang Hao continued weighing the pros and cons.
Though Su Zui was indeed immensely talented, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and the Clear Sky Sect had some ties. If he really struck and killed Su Zui, it would likely harm the friendship among the Upper Three Sects.
Besides, the Clear Sky Sect had already offended the behemoth that was Spirit Hall.
If they offended the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect as well...
Tang Hao loosened his grip on the hammer slightly.
The Clear Sky Sect was no longer the greatest sect under heaven as it had once been.
He was now gravely injured, his father was dead, and his elder brother was the only one left holding up the entire Clear Sky Sect. He absolutely could not make any more enemies for the sect!
Tang Hao convinced himself over and over again.
So what if Su Zui is talented?
Little San has Twin Martial Souls. Even if Su Zui's talent is greater right now, there's no way he can compare to Little San later on.
After much deliberation, Tang Hao decided to stay and watch how things unfolded.
What Tang Hao could never have imagined, however, was this.
He thought he was the mantis stalking the cicada, but he never imagined that a crafty oriole was lurking right around him.
In a large tree less than fifty meters from Tang Hao, Ghost Leopard Douluo's figure had merged completely with the darkness.
As an agility-attack-type Titled Douluo, his senses were exceptionally sharp, and he caught that fleeting trace of Tang Hao's killing intent with precision.
In an instant, Ghost Leopard Douluo's face darkened completely. He wished he could go out and off Tang Hao right then and there.
"Damn it, this Clear Sky Douluo has no shame. How dare he plot to harm my young master."
Ghost Leopard Douluo's expression was grim as he swiftly analyzed the situation.
Although Tang Hao was gravely injured, his Soul Power Level still made him a genuine Level 95 Super Douluo.
Moreover, Clear Sky Douluo's combat experience and the quality of his Martial Soul both surpassed his own.
If he couldn't kill Tang Hao in a single blow, the young master would be in danger.
Ghost Leopard Douluo's gaze turned ruthless, and his eyes involuntarily drifted toward the distant Spirit Hall.
"In any case, that damned Tang Hao already has killing intent toward the young master. I might as well go all the way and have the Great Enshrined come over and kill him outright."
It had to be said that, when faced with a promotion and a raise, Ghost Leopard Douluo's intellect rivaled that of a certain Einstein, and his ruthlessness was no less impressive.
If anything really happened to the young master, he might as well not return to Spirit Hall. He could just find somewhere to wander the world.
Besides, Tang Hao had an old grudge with Spirit Hall.
More than a decade ago, it was Tang Hao who had grievously injured Pope Qian Xunji.
If not for that hammer blow from Tang Hao, His Holiness the Pope would not have been gravely wounded, nor would he have been killed by Bibi Dong.
Therefore, this Tang Hao was the chief culprit behind the murder of the Pope!
Compared with the young master's safety, the Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast beside Tang San seemed less important.
What is one Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone? It's not as if I don't have one. The young master's safety is what matters most to all of Spirit Hall!
For a time, the two Super Douluo each harbored ulterior motives.
Meanwhile, Flender and Su Zui had entered the office.
Naturally, they had no idea that Tang Hao and Ghost Leopard Douluo had ushered in the great age of Douluo battles of wits.
Shrek Academy was so poor that there was no need to hide it anymore.
Even Flender's dean's office was just an ordinary little cottage that served two purposes.
The front half was his office, and the back half was his bedroom, separated only by a white wall.
The furnishings were sparse and old.
A wooden desk with peeling paint and a few faded wicker chairs offered none of the trappings a dean should have had, yet the setting gave Su Zui a sense of warmth.
He remembered that in his previous life, the office of his orphanage's director seemed much the same.
It had always been so plain.
Before he knew it, Su Zui felt a little closer to Flender.
Flender had long since grown accustomed to this, and he showed no awkwardness at all.
He walked up to the desk, deftly took out two ceramic tea mugs, poured a cup for himself and one for Su Zui, then pushed Su Zui's cup in front of him.
Having done that, Flender pushed up his glasses and got straight to the point without much small talk.
"Xiao Zui, how many Soul Skills did you use in that fight just now?"
He already had a guess in mind, but he still wanted to hear Su Zui say it himself to confirm his deduction.
Su Zui picked up his teacup, his fingertips lightly rubbing its warm side, and answered honestly, "Two."
There was nothing to hide. After all, he had already shown the effects of both Soul Skills.
Deliberately concealing the answer would only make him look guilty.
The only thing Su Zui needed to hide now was his External Soul Bone.
Unless he had absolutely no other choice, he would not reveal its skills.
Just as I thought... Flender marveled inwardly.
With only two Soul Skills, he had crushed an opposing six-person team in a dozen or so seconds.
Such combat power was truly terrifying.
Then Flender leaned forward slightly, even his voice trembling a little. "Xiao Zui, I want to know: is your current Soul Power Level that of a Soul Ancestor... or a Soul King?"
A twelve-year-old Soul King was simply a tale from the Arabian Nights.
Yet the combat Su Zui had displayed left him no choice but to guess in that utterly absurd direction.
Su Zui smiled. "A Soul Ancestor."
Then he added, "Dean Flender, have you ever seen a twelve-year-old Soul King? I've already been cultivating with all my might just to reach level forty at my age."
Hearing Su Zui's words, a strange expression appeared on Flender's face. He didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
He really wanted to retort, Never mind a twelve-year-old Soul King—you're the first twelve-year-old Soul Ancestor I've ever seen.
An ordinary Soul Ancestor would have done well just to dominate Dai Mubai throughout a fight.
Yet Su Zui had single-handedly crushed a six-person team. Was he really a normal Soul Ancestor?
Su Zui naturally saw through Flender's doubts and asked with a smile, "Dean Flender, do you think the strength I showed today was far beyond that of a Soul Ancestor?"
Flender nodded heavily, his expression exceptionally solemn. "That's right. The strength you showed today was simply too great. It completely surpassed my imagination. By all rights, a Soul Ancestor's destructive power could never reach that level."
Flender swallowed a mouthful of tea and said with some difficulty, "The Soul Skills and strength you displayed just now seem to have reached a level... that has no counter."