Zhao Wuji moved.
As someone who had once fought his way out after being besieged by sixteen bishops of Spirit Hall, he understood very well that even a lion hunting a rabbit had to go all out. Even if the youth before him was only twelve years old, even if those six Hundred Thousand Year Soul Rings looked like a dream.
"Third Soul Skill, Gravity Boost!"
Zhao Wuji let out a low roar, and the yellow Soul Ring beneath his feet suddenly blazed.
The air seemed to solidify into cement in an instant.
A terrifying Gravity Field centered on him and crazily compressed toward Qian Mo. The ground beneath their feet groaned under the strain, the soil sank, and rubble cracked apart. Nearby parents and students, even those merely swept by the aftershock, felt their chests tighten as if a massive boulder were pressing down on them. Their legs went weak, and they fell to their knees.
Tang San gripped the tree trunk beside him tightly. His Purple Demon Eye was pushed to its limit, and cold sweat streamed down his forehead.
This was Zhao Wuji's signature technique! Within this gravitational environment, an opponent's speed would be reduced by at least thirty percent, while Zhao Wuji himself moved as freely as a fish in water.
However.
Qian Mo, standing at the center of the gravity storm, did not even blink.
He even raised a hand and gently tidied Zhu Zhuqing's bangs, which had been tousled by the gusts, then pinched her little cheek.
"The wind's a little strong. Your hair's all messed up." Qian Mo's tone was gentle, as though he was not facing the full pressure of a Soul Saint, but merely an afternoon breeze.
Zhao Wuji's pupils shrank sharply.
Ineffective?!
How was that possible! Even if you were a Titled Douluo, you should at least react to gravity control, right? Even a wrinkle in your clothes would do!
"Kid, who do you think you're looking down on?!" Zhao Wuji felt utterly humiliated. Rage surged into his heart, and his fifth Soul Ring instantly lit up.
A black Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring!
"Fifth Soul Skill, Gravity Squeeze!"
If the previous attack had felt like carrying a sack of rice, this was like hydraulic presses closing in from every direction.
Zhao Wuji's palms turned a brilliant gold. His Great Strength Vajra Palm was poised to strike as he charged forward like a bulldozer, carrying an overwhelming force as he slammed toward Qian Mo's chest.
"Get down!"
This palm strike was enough to shatter the skull of a Ten Thousand Year Soul Beast.
Qian Mo still did not move.
He did not dodge, activate a Soul Skill, or even assume a defensive stance after Martial Soul Possession.
He merely stood there with his hands behind his back, a faintly mocking smile at the corner of his mouth, allowing those golden palms, capable of splitting mountains and cracking stone, to strike solidly against his chest.
Tang San closed his eyes, unable to bear the sight of blood and flesh flying everywhere.
"Bang!"
A dull, heavy impact rang out.
Then.
"Crack—!"
The crisp sound of breaking bones drilled clearly into everyone's ears.
Tang San's eyes snapped open.
The scene he had expected, Qian Mo vomiting blood and flying backward, did not appear.
Instead.
The one who flew backward was Zhao Wuji.
"Aaargh—!!!"
An incomparably miserable scream tore through the sky.
Zhao Wuji's rugged face twisted into a mess, all his facial features twitching. His right wrist bent at an unnatural ninety-degree angle, white bone shards piercing through the skin as blood poured down.
Like a baseball hit by a home run, he traced a graceful arc through the air. Accompanied by a series of sonic booms, he crashed violently into a wooden building over a hundred meters away.
"Boom!"
Dust billowed everywhere.
That was Shrek Academy's only cafeteria.
At that moment, it completely collapsed.
The entire area fell silent.
Only the wind's mournful howl passed through the ruins.
Qian Mo patted nonexistent dust from his chest and sighed. "Teacher Zhao, that massage strength was decent, but your technique needs work. Remember to trim your fingernails next time."
What kind of monster was this?!
He had taken a Soul Saint's Great Strength Vajra Palm head-on with his physical body, emerged completely unscathed, and even shattered the other man's bones from the rebound?!
This was the passive ability granted by the Golden-Eyed White Tiger Torso Bone—Indestructible Golden Body—combined with the Auspicious Beast Qilin Skull's Auspicious Beast Counterattack.
As long as the attack did not exceed Qian Mo's limit of endurance, the damage would be returned intact, or even doubled.
"Old Zhao!"
In the sky, Flender's eyes nearly split with rage.
He and Zhao Wuji had been old brothers for many years. Seeing his brother crippled, the dean, who had always been known for being stingy, completely saw red.
"You dare hurt my brother! No matter who you are, you'll pay the price!"
"Martial Soul Avatar—Cat Owl!"
Flender released a piercing eagle cry. His body rapidly expanded in midair, transforming into a massive Cat Owl with a wingspan exceeding ten meters.
The Seventh Soul Skill, Martial Soul Avatar!
This was a Soul Saint's strongest state, with all attributes greatly enhanced.
Flender flapped his wings, moving as fast as lightning. He appeared behind and above Qian Mo's head almost as if he had teleported.
His claws gleamed with a chilling light as they went straight for Qian Mo's neck.
That was his combat wisdom.
Since your frontal defense is invincible, then I'll strike when you're unprepared!
"Watch out!" Zhu Zhuqing instinctively wanted to act, but Qian Mo held her shoulder down.
Qian Mo did not even turn his head.
He did not even glance into the sky.
He simply raised his right hand and made a gentle grasping motion at empty air.
"Too slow."
Buzz—!
An invisible Golden Force Field instantly expanded.
Flender felt as though he had slammed at full speed into an invisible wall of sighs.
"Thud!"
A muffled impact sounded.
Flender's huge Cat Owl avatar abruptly stopped in midair. His entire face flattened from the collision, blood gushing from his nose as stars danced before his eyes.
Before he could react.
A Golden Giant Hand condensed from pure Soul Power appeared out of nowhere and grabbed the Cat Owl's enormous left wing.
As easily as grabbing a flapping chick.
"Get down here."
Qian Mo flicked his wrist.
The enormous Cat Owl was smashed brutally into the ground. The earth shook violently, and dirt sprayed three meters into the air.
"We're not done yet."
Qian Mo's expression remained blank as his hand rose again, then fell.
It rose, then fell.
Like a rag doll, Flender was held by one wing in that Golden Giant Hand and repeatedly smashed against the ground.
Once to the left, once to the right.
The rhythm was remarkably steady.
With every impact, the ground trembled three times over.
The surrounding students and parents had long since been scared senseless. One after another, they fled with their heads covered, terrified that the dreadful shockwaves would kill them.
"This is... this is a level seventy-eight Soul Saint?"
Tang San stared blankly at Flender, who had been smashed into a human-shaped crater. His worldview shattered into powder.
He activated his Purple Demon Eye, trying to analyze the path of Qian Mo's Soul Power, trying to find even the slightest flaw.
But all he saw was a vast ocean.
Bottomless and unfathomable.
That despair made even the hand gripping his hidden weapons tremble.
They were not even on the same level.
This was not a battle.
This was an adult disciplining an unruly brat.
"Bang!"
The final heavy blow.
Flender rolled his eyes, his tongue hanging out as he lay twitching in the deep pit. His Martial Soul Avatar was forcibly dispelled, returning him to the bespectacled middle-aged man he had been.
Only now, his glasses had shattered into pieces, and that profiteer's face had swollen into a pig's head.
The battle was over.
It had not even taken the time to brew half a cup of tea.
Two Soul Saints: one with broken bones, the other unconscious.
Meanwhile, not even the hem of Qian Mo's platinum robe had been disturbed.
He slowly walked to the ruins and looked down at these two once-arrogant "Monster Teachers."
"Cough, cough..."
Zhao Wuji crawled out of the cafeteria ruins, clutching his broken wrist. His face was pale, and his eyes were filled with fear and disbelief.
He had lost.
He had lost completely and utterly.
He could not even break through the other man's defense. What the hell was there left to fight?
"Is this Shrek's way of welcoming guests?" Qian Mo looked down at him, his voice cool.
Zhao Wuji gritted his teeth, just about to say something defiant.
Then Qian Mo tapped a fingertip.
Two soft, milky-white spheres of light drifted out and landed on Zhao Wuji and Flender respectively.
[Auspicious Healing].
The next second.
A tingling sensation came from Zhao Wuji's broken wrist. The twisted bones actually began to reset and heal at a visible rate.
The pig-headed swelling on Flender's face also rapidly subsided, and his breathing became steady.
In merely three breaths.
More than half of both men's injuries had healed!
This kind of method... was practically a miracle!
Zhao Wuji froze.
Flender woke up as well. He touched his face, utterly bewildered.
What was this supposed to be?
Beat someone half to death, then heal them?
This felt worse than killing them! It was naked humiliation, and a display of absolute control—I can make you die if I want, and I can make you live if I want.
"Two deans."
Qian Mo smiled as he crouched down, bringing his gaze level with theirs.
It was clearly a gentle smile, yet it made both men feel a bone-deep chill.
"Does that mean I passed the entrance examination?"
Flender swallowed and glanced at the terrifying crater beside him, then at the pile of priceless Deep Sea Silver Diamonds on the table.
They could not beat him.
And he was paying more than enough.
What student was this? He was an ancestor!
"P-Passed." Flender forced out the two words, his heart bleeding. "Of course you passed! From today onward, you are Shrek Academy's... Core Students!"
"No."
Qian Mo shook his head, stood up, and swept his gaze across the crooked Shrek Academy signboard.
"From today on, I make the rules in Shrek."
He turned toward Flender, amusement in his eyes.
"Dean, you have no objections, right?"
Flender opened his mouth, wanting to argue, wanting to defend the dignity of a dean.
But when he saw Zhu Zhuqing behind Qian Mo, still expressionless and ready to fire off another Soul Skill at any moment, he obediently lowered his head.
"N-No objections." Flender gritted his teeth, but had no choice but to shout, "Admit them! Admit them immediately! Li Yusong, where the hell are you? Hurry up and handle the paperwork for these two little ancestors! Arrange the best dormitory!"
What nonsense about only accepting monsters?
Before absolute strength and money, that was all bullshit!
In the distance, Tang San and Xiao Wu watched the scene with mixed feelings.
Tang San especially.
He had always believed that as long as he worked hard enough, combined with the Tang Sect Secret Arts, he could establish himself in this world.
But today, Qian Mo had taught him a lesson.
The name of that lesson was: some gaps cannot be bridged through hard work alone.
"Let's go, wife."
Qian Mo turned around and held out his hand to Zhu Zhuqing.
Zhu Zhuqing stepped forward, took out a handkerchief embroidered with plum blossoms from her bosom, and gently wiped Qian Mo's hand, which had not a speck of dust on it.
Her movements were natural and intimate.
As if the violent maniac who had slapped a Soul Saint flying just moments ago had not been him.
"Tired?" Zhu Zhuqing asked softly, her voice carrying a trace of barely perceptible tenderness.
"A little. My hand's sore." Qian Mo naturally leaned his weight against her like a boneless man. "That Cat Owl was too heavy. He should lose some weight."
Flender, who had just climbed back to his feet, slipped and nearly fell over again.
Watching the two of them flaunt their affection as if no one else existed, Dai Mubai, who had just been carried back from afar, felt another arrow pierce his chest.
He spat out a mouthful of Old Blood.
Killing the body and stabbing the heart.
This was the real deal—killing the body and stabbing the heart!
With an arm around Zhu Zhuqing, Qian Mo swaggered through the academy gates.
As he passed Tang San, he stopped.
He turned his head.
Those deep golden Eyes swept casually over Tang San.
He said nothing.
Yet the mockery in that single glance made Tang San feel like an unweaned child, holding a wooden sword and preparing to challenge a dragon.
"Shrek..."
Qian Mo's voice drifted over on the wind.
"Interesting."
"I hope you can bring me some amusement. Otherwise... this money will have been far too wasted."
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