Yan Shaozhe, You Bastard!

"Xuan Zi! Look at the good deeds you've done!"

Yan Shaozhe roared, his usual gentle and refined demeanor as dean completely gone, replaced by a face full of rage and disbelief.

"A full four! Four elites from Shrek Academy! They are the future hope of our academy, the main force for the next Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament! And just like that... they're gone?!"

Yan Shaozhe pointed at Xuan Zi, who was sitting in a wheelchair, his finger trembling slightly.

If it weren't for Xuan Zi's status as an elder of the Sea God Pavilion and Mu En's junior nephew, he would have really wanted to shove that greasy chicken leg right into Xuan Zi's nostrils.

Xuan Zi's expression was also extremely unsightly, his face pale, his eyes flickering, clearly guilty.

But he still stuck his neck out, trying to find an excuse for his outrageous mistake.

"Shao Zhe, you can't blame this entirely on me..."

Xuan Zi took a fierce bite of the chicken leg in his hand, vaguely defending himself.

"It's all that damned Crimson King! If it hadn't suddenly emitted its aura, how could I have been distracted? If I wasn't distracted, how could I have choked on the chicken leg? If I hadn't choked, how could I have lost those children?"

Speaking of which, Xuan Zi seemed to have found an outlet for his frustration, his voice suddenly rising.

"And that guy in the river! Yes, him! He completely misunderstood what I meant! Can you blame me? Huh? Can you blame me?"

Yan Shaozhe took a deep breath, suppressing the surging anger in his heart, and coldly looked at Xuan Zi, who was still shifting the blame.

"Enough!"

"I don't want to hear your meaningless excuses. All I want to know now is, how can we get those children back?"

Xuan Zi heard this, shrunk his neck, and helplessly spread his hands.

"Unless... we kill that guy in the river..."

"However, these legs of mine... are thanks to him."

Xuan Zi patted his numb thighs, a flicker of resentment flashing in his eyes.

Even as a Super Douluo, he was as helpless as an infant in front of Lin Feng.

"Since you know the importance of this trip, why were you so careless?!"

Yan Shaozhe finally couldn't help but roar.

"Eating chicken legs? Choking? Is this a mistake a team leader should make?! Even a first-year student from the outer courtyard wouldn't make such a low-level mistake!"

"Now that this has happened, how can we explain this to the children's parents? How can we explain it to the academy? You've simply broken the hearts of those children!"

Yan Shaozhe was heartbroken. The thought of the upcoming Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament gave him a splitting headache.

The original Shrek Seven Devils now only had three left.

Select replacements from the inner court again?

That would take time to develop synergy, and those hastily assembled teams would definitely not be as strong as the seven children who had been carefully trained.

"Shao Zhe, don't be too pessimistic. Things have already happened, we can only look forward."

Just as Yan Shaozhe was despairing, Xuan Zi suddenly extended his greasy finger and pointed at Ma Xiaotao, Dai Yueheng, and Ling Luochen, who were standing nearby. His words made it sound as if Yan Shaozhe was the main person responsible for this incident.

"Aren't there still three promising seedlings?"

A hint of madness flashed in Xuan Zi's eyes.

"Let all three of them jump in too! Then we'll have nine elite students!"

Hearing this, Ma Xiaotao and the other two in the corner were stunned.

Jump in all at once?

Entrust their lives to this unreliable Xuan Zi?

They had clearly witnessed everything that had just happened and knew very well how unreliable Xuan Zi was. They figured that Xuan Zi's unreliability years ago had also led to heavy casualties among Senior Sister Zhang Lexuan's generation of disciples.

They used to respect Xuan Zi, after all, as a Super Douluo and one of the academy's top powerhouses. But now... they had no trust in Xuan Zi at all.

"Roar--!"

The Crimson King's roar sounded, clearly getting closer!

Yan Shaozhe's expression changed, and he instantly sensed the terrifying beastly pressure.

He glanced at Xuan Zi in the wheelchair, then at the three of Ma Xiaotao, and made a decision in his heart.

"Let's go!"

Yan Shaozhe said nothing more, waved his big hand, directly swept up Ma Xiaotao, Dai Yueheng, and Ling Luochen, turning into a stream of light, and sped towards Shrek Academy.

He didn't even say goodbye to Xuan Zi.

"Yan Shaozhe! You heartless wretch! By seniority, I'm still your senior brother! How could you just leave me here alone?!"

Watching Yan Shaozhe's disappearing back, Xuan Zi was dumbfounded. He sat in his wheelchair, frantically waving the chicken leg in his hand, then cursed Yan Shaozhe.

"You're abandoning your fellow disciple! You've betrayed Elder Mu! You're not even human!"

However, his only response was the whistling wind and the increasingly close roars of the ferocious beast.

"Roar--!"

With a ground-shaking tremor, three massive dog heads emerged from the depths of the forest. It was none other than one of the Ten Great Ferocious Beasts, the Three-headed Crimson Demon Mastiff, Crimson King!

Staring at the six scarlet eyes fixed upon him, Xuan Zi's scalp tingled. The chicken leg in his hand instantly lost its appeal.

This Crimson King was a ferocious beast with 300,000 years of cultivation. If he were at his peak, Xuan Zi wouldn't have feared it at all. But now, with his legs crippled and suffering severe injuries, let alone fighting, he couldn't even run away.

"Damn it... I can only go all out!"

Xuan Zi glanced at the calm little river not far away, a flicker of determination flashing in his eyes.

Splash!

Without hesitation, Xuan Zi slammed his hands onto the armrests of his wheelchair. The entire person, along with the wheelchair, drew an ungraceful parabolic arc before crashing heavily into the river, kicking up a massive spray of water.

A moment later, the Crimson King approached the riverbank with heavy steps.

Before it stood a peculiar little beast.

The beast was no more than three meters long, its body covered in radiant golden fur, as if forged from pure gold. Its form resembled a lion or a tiger, with golden flames burning beneath its paws. Most uniquely, its forehead bore a single vertical eye, emitting a strange, heart-pounding glow.

It was the Auspicious Beast of the Star Dou Great Forest, the Three-eyed Golden Lion, the Imperial Auspicious Beast!

"Hmm? I clearly sensed that damned guy's aura, but why is it gone now?"

The Crimson King's six eyes were filled with confusion. It then looked at the Imperial Auspicious Beast with worry. This little ancestor really didn't make things easy, running all the way here. What if she encountered a powerful human? That would be trouble.

Just now, it had been very worried about encountering a damned human. Fortunately, she was safe and sound.

The Imperial Auspicious Beast blinked its vertical eye, curiously staring at the ordinary little river before it.

Within its perception, this river seemed to contain some peculiar law. Even its Fate Eye, capable of seeing through illusions, couldn't fully comprehend it.

Saying that, the Imperial Auspicious Beast took a step, about to approach the river.

"Absolutely not!"

The Crimson King was startled and quickly blocked the Imperial Auspicious Beast with its massive body.

"There's still the human's aura lingering here. He might be hiding in the river, waiting to ambush us."

The Crimson King vigilantly stared at the water's surface, its three heads simultaneously releasing powerful mental energy to meticulously scan the entire river.

However, the results of the scan shocked it.

It couldn't detect anything at all. This river was extremely strange!

While the Crimson King was stunned, the Imperial Auspicious Beast, unable to contain its curiosity, took advantage of the Crimson King's inattention. With a nimble leap, it directly bypassed the Crimson King's obstruction.

Splash!

The golden figure cut through the air, plunging headfirst into the mysterious river.