Chief Examiner

"Xiao Wu!"

Lu Yuan had been patiently eating melon seeds when a familiar voice suddenly came from behind him.

"Brother!"

Xiao Wu instinctively sprang up, wanting to rush over, but Lu Yuan caught her with one hand and pinned her against the tree trunk.

"You belong to me."

"Understand?"

His warm breath brushed against the Girl's ear. Xiao Wu's body stiffened, and she stopped struggling.

"Answer me!"

"Do you understand?"

Xiao Wu was so aggrieved she was on the verge of tears. She hurriedly nodded. "I understand."

"Good."

Lu Yuan nodded in satisfaction and released her.

Ignoring the trembling Xiao Wu and the brain-frozen Ma Hongjun beside her, Lu Yuan fixed his gaze straight ahead.

Tang San.

Zhu Zhuqing.

Ning Rongrong.

Lu Yuan nodded inwardly.

Very good. All familiar faces.

Tang San quickly came before Lu Yuan. He swept his gaze over Lu Yuan, hatred flashing through his eyes, but when he saw that Xiao Wu was unharmed, he finally let out a sigh of relief inwardly.

"Brother!"

Xiao Wu instinctively wanted to leap over and throw her arms around Tang San.

But when she sensed two benevolent gazes fixed on her, Xiao Wu fearfully stopped herself and lowered the arm she had just raised.

Just as soul beasts needed no reason to kill Soul Masters, Soul Masters needed no reason to hunt soul beasts.

In other words, if she angered this devil and he killed her on the spot to take her spirit ring, he would not bear the slightest condemnation, nor would Spirit Hall issue a wanted order for him.

But if a Soul Master killed a noble—or even a commoner—by accident, the Soul Master would have to bear responsibility!

Of course, they could choose not to.

The price would be a full-scale pursuit by Spirit Hall's Enforcement Team.

The kind that would not end until one side died.

Watching Xiao Wu's aggrieved appearance with heartache, Tang San's eyes turned red, bloodshot veins filling them as he stared fixedly at Lu Yuan.

It was this person!

This person had forcibly stolen Xiao Wu away from his side!

"Lu Yuan!"

Tang San's hoarse voice emerged from his throat.

Even just from his voice, one could feel the resentment and hatred in Tang San's heart. It was easy to imagine just how overwhelming his negative emotions were at this very moment!

Ning Rongrong shot Tang San a strange look, then shifted her feet and stood beside the icy Zhu Zhuqing.

Although standing next to a cold Ice Block made her feel rather uncomfortable, it was still better than standing beside a demonic soldier with blood dripping from its blade.

Who knew what unreasonable things this abnormal-looking person might do?

She was a Support-type Soul Master.

Her combat ability was among the weakest of all Soul Masters!

Learning to protect one's own safety was a required lesson for every Support-type Soul Master.

Of course, if one had a highly coordinated defense-type Soul Master, there was no need to learn it.

Lu Yuan smiled gently.

"It seems you finally remember who I am."

"Yes!"

Tang San suddenly raised his head and laughed toward the sky. Then he lowered his head, his tone turning cold and sinister.

"Your name is Lu Yuan."

"Like me, you came from Holy Soul Village."

"When we were six, you used despicable and shameless means to steal the academy admission spot from me. Fortunately, I reacted in time and took that admission spot back from you."

"After that, you petty man who knew you had no face left to show mysteriously disappeared from Holy Soul Village."

"So..."

"Showing up here... did you think everyone had forgotten the things you'd done?!"

"Or perhaps..."

"Have you decided you're no longer afraid of death, so you dare stand before me?"

Looking at Tang San's provocative expression, Lu Yuan smiled pityingly. He raised his hand and gave Tang San a resounding slap, then calmly took out a tissue from his Storage Space and wiped his hand. Finally, he tossed the tissue onto Tang San with a look of disgust.

Whoosh!

A silent tearing sound cut through the air.

A jade-like fist slammed fiercely into the air before Lu Yuan.

Tang San cursed under his breath with an ugly expression, his body shooting backward.

A dense swarm of all kinds of unidentifiable hidden weapons rained down on Lu Yuan.

Blazing Flame swept across the sky, melting all those hidden weapons made of ordinary materials into molten iron.

"A coward who uses hidden weapons to hurt people!"

Ma Hongjun forcefully curled his lip, trying to put on a contemptuous expression.

However, because the injuries on his face had not fully healed, his contemptuous look ended up as an utterly bizarre expression instead.

Although Ma Hongjun had briefly harbored some doubts just now, he had never expected that this scoundrel who had slandered Boss would strike first!

And the moment he attacked, he used something as despicable as hidden weapons!

What Soul Master regularly used hidden weapons?

And such a huge swarm of them at that?

One look was enough to tell that he was a coward who hid his head and showed his tail!

Yet he, Ma Hongjun, had actually believed this scoundrel's lies for an instant.

Anger flared in Ma Hongjun's eyes, swollen to the size of mung beans.

"Phoenix Fire Line!"

A long, straight stream of flame shot toward Tang San.

Tang San snorted coldly.

Several dozen thick Blue Silver Grass vines wove themselves into a crude shield.

"Heavenly Moat!"

Lu Yuan sighed softly and made a slicing gesture with his hand. A huge, square Spatial Barrier appeared in the unavoidable path of Ma Hongjun's soul skill.

The Phoenix Fire Line struck what seemed like an invisible enormous shield and scattered in every direction.

"You are neither an examinee nor the Chief Examiner, so taking action without authorization is inappropriate."

Seeing Ma Hongjun's confusion, Lu Yuan explained calmly.

Ma Hongjun nodded and withdrew his Martial Soul.

Looking at the vine shield Tang San had created after the flames dissipated, Ma Hongjun spat disdainfully onto the ground.

"What the hell is that!"

Tang San's face turned livid. "Say that again if you dare!"

"I'll say it again! What the hell is that! Pah!"

Ma Hongjun was the sort who yielded to kindness but not force. After speaking, he deliberately spat again.

"Looks like I went too easy on you just now!"

Along with that hearty laughter, a powerful pressure suddenly descended.

Ma Hongjun looked as though he had seen a ghost. He cautiously glanced around and stammered, "Boss Zhao?"

After a gust of wild wind swept past, another person had appeared out of thin air in the arena.

Oh, no—two people!

It was just that one of them was tucked under the other's arm.

Zhao Wuji tossed Dai Mubai, who looked like a dead dog, onto the ground. Looking at Ma Hongjun, a malicious smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

"What? Not happy to see me?"

Ma Hongjun's little face twitched, apparently pulling at one of his wounds. He sucked in a breath of cold air from the pain, but still hurriedly forced a smile.

"Happy, of course I'm happy!"

"Two more for the extra test."

Zhao Wuji took out some incense and handed it to Lu Yuan.

Two more for the extra test?

Looking at Dai Mubai coughing violently on the ground, Ma Hongjun suddenly had an ominous premonition.

"Boss..."

"Little Fatty, you should be calling him Chief Examiner now!"

Watching Zhao Wuji's retreating back, Ma Hongjun's lips twitched several times, and he nearly cursed out loud.

Was there anyone more shameless than this?!

They had just been beaten up, and now they had to undergo another trial?

Didn't that mean the beating they had taken earlier was for nothing?

Dai Mubai coughed violently a few times and looked blankly at his surroundings.

When his gaze swept over Zhu Zhuqing, it suddenly froze.

The senses that Zhao Wuji had forcibly smoked unconscious had finally recovered somewhat, and Dai Mubai hurriedly moved closer.

"Zhuqing, listen to my explanation."

"Get lost!"

"..."

Lu Yuan coughed lightly and clapped his hands.

The field immediately fell silent.

Ignoring the gazes filled with excitement, embarrassment, hatred, coldness, complicated emotions, and pleas for mercy, Lu Yuan shrugged helplessly.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I'm delighted that you've passed the first three trials. Now, welcome to the Fourth Trial."

"I am the Chief Examiner for this trial."

"There are two ways to pass."

"The first is to hold out until the incense burns out."

"The second is to defeat me—or kill me."

"To help you recognize the cruel reality of this world sooner, and to save myself some precious time, I personally have a suggestion."

"You'd better come at me together!"

Lu Yuan spread his hands with a smile. "Now, you may discuss your tactics."

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Let me explain: it wasn't that I forcibly arranged for the protagonist to fight the Shrek Seven Devils. (Without Oscar, they only count as the Six Devils.)

If you carefully read the earlier chapters, you would know that when the protagonist asked Flender for the position of Chief Examiner, Flender had already suspected that the protagonist wanted to become captain of the Shrek Battle Team.

So, bringing Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun over was simply to see whether the blade would break or the whetstone would shatter. The victor would become captain without any dispute.

Especially since it was six against one—no matter which side lost, they would have no grounds for complaint.

The protagonist had actively asked for the position, while Dai Mubai had the advantage of six against one. In Flender's arrangement, that counted as balanced.

In other words, Flender intervened according to his own ideas; it wasn't the plot forcibly inserting this without any prior setup.