Dai Mubai gritted his teeth and decided to trust Tang San one more time.
He said nothing more and kept running with the rock on his back.
However, they had no idea that Yu Xiaogang had no deeper reason for making them run with rocks on their backs.
He simply wanted to improve their physiques through this kind of training.
In the original story, if the Shrek Seven Devils had all run with rocks on their backs, it might have been meant to teach them to work together.
But Tang San and the other three were already birds of a feather. Why the hell would they need to run with rocks to build teamwork?
So Yu Xiaogang's training really was just an inefficient way to improve their physiques.
From the rooftop, Lan Minghua heard Tang San and Dai Mubai talking and nearly burst out laughing.
"You really believe him?! Dai Mubai's life is as good as over."
He'd already had little chance of catching up to Zhu Zhuqing. Now that he was trusting Yu Xiaogang, he had no hope left at all.
Lan Minghua naturally kept out of it. She wasn't his disciple, so why the hell should he worry?
However, he'd just heard something that really annoyed him.
"Flender, Flender. What, you want to be the next Ning Fengzhi?"
Lan Minghua narrowed his eyes and looked toward the room where Flender was.
Just moments ago, Flender had been muttering to himself at length.
He'd been weighing the pros and cons of having Lan Minghua at Shrek Academy, along with the benefits Flender himself could gain.
Lan Minghua didn't say anything. Shrek Academy was his.
But if Flender tried anything behind his back, he shouldn't blame Lan Minghua for being ruthless.
Lan Minghua ignored everything else, closed his eyes, and went back to lounging.
Meanwhile, Emperor Xue Ye and Xue Qinghe had arrived at the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
Inside the main hall, thousands of Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect disciples knelt on the ground, their cries filling the air.
Emperor Xue Ye's pupils trembled violently at the sight.
"S-Sect Master Ning really has met with disaster?!"
He'd held on to a final sliver of hope during the journey, thinking the news was just a false rumor spread by Spirit Hall.
But after seeing the state of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's disciples with his own eyes, he finally accepted the news that Ning Fengzhi had died.
He staggered and fell back into his seat.
Just then, a Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect disciple appeared, tears still streaking his face.
He said respectfully, "Your Majesty, Elder Bone requests your presence in the main hall. He'll tell you everything you want to know."
Emperor Xue Ye nodded and ordered, "Let's go in. I want to find out who killed Sect Master Ning. I'll make sure they pay."
Inside the main hall, Bone Douluo's face was frighteningly grim.
"Didn't Fengzhi say the Upper Three Sects stood together? Why haven't the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan and the Clear Sky Sect responded at all?"
He'd sent the news out quite some time ago, but there'd been no response.
Just as he was wondering about it, Emperor Xue Ye and his party entered the hall.
Emperor Xue Ye looked at Bone Douluo's grim face and sighed. "Your Excellency Bone Douluo, my condolences."
Bone Douluo nodded in acknowledgment, then said coolly,
"Your Majesty, ask whatever you'd like to know. I may be very busy after this."
"Your Excellency Bone Douluo, I want to know who was responsible for Sect Master Ning's death. Was it Spirit Hall?" Emperor Xue Ye asked gravely.
Bone Douluo shook his head. "It wasn't Spirit Hall. It was a Titled Douluo named Lan Minghua."
"What? A Titled Douluo could be so brazen? Isn't he afraid of retaliation from the Upper Three Sects and the Heaven Dou Empire?!"
Emperor Xue Ye was shocked. He hadn't expected Ning Fengzhi's death to have nothing to do with Spirit Hall.
Xue Qinghe's pupils contracted, surprise flashing through his eyes.
"So it wasn't that madwoman? Who exactly is this Lan Minghua?!"
He grumbled inwardly, racking his brain without being able to imagine such a turn of events.
Hearing Emperor Xue Ye's words, Bone Douluo could only smile bitterly to himself.
The man had directly killed Fengzhi, and yet the emperor was asking whether he feared retaliation from the Upper Three Sects and the Heaven Dou Empire?
If he'd really been afraid, none of this would have happened.
Still, Bone Douluo patiently shared the information he'd gathered.
"From my investigations over the past few days, Lan Minghua belongs to a faction called the Heavenly Dragon Gang. There are at least two Titled Douluo in the gang, including him."
"What? Two Titled Douluo?!"
Emperor Xue Ye was stunned. So he was the fool here all along.
Lan Minghua was a Titled Douluo himself, and the faction behind him was at least on par with the Upper Three Sects.
He was the one who should be afraid.
But Emperor Xue Ye was, after all, the ruler of an empire. He quickly calmed down and asked gravely,
"Then, Your Excellency Bone Douluo, what do you have in mind?"
"Of course I'll avenge Fengzhi. I'll wipe out that so-called Heavenly Dragon Gang. I hope Your Majesty will lend the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect your support." Bone Douluo didn't mince words.
Emperor Xue Ye furrowed his brow, concerned. "The Heaven Dou Empire and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect could win, but wouldn't the price be too high?"
The cost of moving against a faction with at least two Titled Douluo would be steep.
The Heaven Dou Empire wouldn't cripple itself over one Ning Fengzhi.
After all, Spirit Hall and the Star Luo Empire were always watching them closely.
Bone Douluo understood Emperor Xue Ye's concerns. He leaned closer and whispered,
"Your Majesty, all you need to do is have someone..."
Meanwhile, the Clear Sky Sect was also in turmoil.
Because Tang Hao had woken up.
Seeing him awake, Tang Xiao finally breathed a sigh of relief and asked anxiously,
"Hao Di, who hurt you this badly? Was it Spirit Hall?!"
The pacing's a little slow over these two chapters. The next one will move faster. I got completely wasted last night, and my head's still heavy after waking up.
"Hao Di, how are you feeling now?"
In his daze, Tang Hao heard someone calling him and struggled to open his eyes.
A familiar face came into view, easing the tension in his body a little.
"Cough, cough... Big Brother, I'm all right for now."
Even so, humiliation and fury filled Tang Hao's heart.
He was the mighty Clear Sky Douluo, yet someone had beaten him until he couldn't fight back at all.
More importantly, everything that had happened in the Star Dou Great Forest had become a memory he could never erase.
With nowhere left to turn, he had no choice but to swallow his pride and return to the Clear Sky Sect, which he had once dragged into his troubles.
Some of the worry left Tang Xiao's face, but seeing Tang Hao's left leg and right arm gone still filled his heart with pain.
"Hao Di, with your strength, who could have hurt you this badly? Was it Spirit Hall?"
Tang Hao was about to answer when, with a sudden BANG, someone violently kicked the door open.
"Tang Hao, you still have the nerve to come back to the Clear Sky Sect! Even Tang Xiao won't be able to protect you today!"
Led by the Seventh Elder, members of the Clear Sky Sect stormed into the room and glared at Tang Hao on the bed.
Tang Xiao quickly stood up and stepped in front of Tang Hao. "Are you trying to rebel? How dare you barge into the Sect Master's room!"
Before he'd even finished speaking, he released the Soul Power of a Titled Douluo, trying to intimidate them.
But the Seventh Elder sneered and nodded to several disciples beside him, who were only Soul Grandmasters.
The Soul Grandmasters showed no fear and stepped toward Tang Xiao and Tang Hao.
"Although I'm no match for you, Tang Xiao, would you dare attack your fellow sect members for a traitor like Tang Hao?"
A smug look appeared on the Seventh Elder's face.
He hadn't been idle over the past few days. Instead, he'd secretly gathered sect disciples whose loved ones had been killed by Spirit Hall because of Tang Hao.
Every one of them held a deep grudge against Tang Hao.
The parents of the Soul Grandmasters who had stepped forward had been killed by Spirit Hall.
Before you continue