07: Vago Rock Emperor!

"Do you know that Mr. Zhongli is a guest official of my Eastern Palace?!"

"Mr. Zhongli is a scholar of unparalleled brilliance, a genius seen only once in a thousand years."

"My Eastern Palace" was generally how an Empress or Crown Prince referred to themselves.

The Crown Prince resided in the Eastern Palace and could refer to himself as either "my Eastern Palace" or "I, the solitary one."

Xue Qinghe's face darkened. She had only just recruited Zhongli as a Crown Prince's Mansion Guest Official, and someone had already come knocking to slap her in the face!

This was not merely slapping Zhongli in the face—it was slapping Xue Qinghe in the face!

If anything happened to Zhongli, wouldn't her think tank be wiped out before it even began?

Just as she had said, Zhongli was a genius seen once in a thousand, perhaps ten thousand years.

Heaven had given him wisdom and a mutated Martial Soul, yet had not granted him Innate Soul Power. Perhaps Heaven envied his talent.

"Who exactly are you people? Who sent you to harm Mr. Zhongli?!"

Xue Qinghe kept a stern face, killing intent flashing through her eyes.

The moment those words were spoken, the Shrek group was completely dumbfounded.

No way. This useless trash was actually that important?

The Crown Prince cared about him this much?

Ning Rongrong, in particular, looked utterly bewildered.

She had met Xue Qinghe before. He had the same disposition as her father, Ning Fengzhi—gentle and refined, kind to everyone.

He was an exceptionally wise Crown Prince.

Even in all the rumors about the Crown Prince, there had never been any mention of him losing his temper.

Yet for a piece of trash with no Soul Power, he—he had actually become angry!

Flender and the others' eyelids twitched. They had only just arrived in Heaven Dou City, yet they had offended not only the Heaven Dou Fourth Prince, but also the Heaven Dou Crown Prince.

The Fourth Prince, to put it bluntly, was merely the biggest playboy around, one without any real authority.

He could only rely on the influence of his uncle, Xue Xing.

But the Crown Prince was different!

This man would become the future Heaven Dou Emperor. Even now, he already held considerable power!

"Damn it, Little White really rammed into an iron wall this time."

Zhao Wuji muttered with an ugly expression.

Shrek Academy's traditions—bullying the weak, fearing the strong, and protecting their own—were fairly normal.

After all, in a fantasy world, if one did not bully the weak and fear the strong, they would not even know how they died.

Zhao Wuji and the others did not think Dai Mubai had done anything wrong. They merely felt that he had provoked someone he should not have.

"Hey, you, whatever-Crown Prince!"

At that moment, a young girl about one meter seventy tall stepped forward, her legs accounting for two-thirds of her height.

She had a lovely face, but she looked somewhat arrogant and domineering...

That was perfectly normal. She had been spoiled.

Whether it was the Sky Azure Bull Python, the Titan Giant Ape, or Tang San, they had all spoiled Xiao Wu instead of guiding her properly. That was how she had developed such an arrogant and domineering personality.

"Is a useless piece of trash with no Soul Power like Zhongli really worth protecting so fiercely?"

"He can't compare to my Third Brother. His wisdom is unmatched, and he is pure and noble."

"Unfortunately, my Third Brother would never care for some guest official position of yours!"

Tang San's mouth opened slightly, but he hesitated to speak.

Xiao Wu was speaking such "hard truths." Though his wisdom was unmatched, he did not want to get entangled with the Royal Family.

"Ah..."

Tang San rubbed his nose. Why could Xiao Wu not keep a lower profile?

"Hmph!"

"What did you just say, you rabbit?!"

Paimon planted her hands on her hips and angrily shouted at Xiao Wu.

"Zhongli is not useless!"

"Other than liking to freeload, he has so many other virtues that you could talk about them for three days and still not finish!"

Xiao Wu did not hear any of Paimon's later words.

She had only heard the first sentence!

"You rabbit..."

"Rabbit!"

Impossible. Absolutely impossible!

A coincidence. It had to be a coincidence!

How could this little thing, with no Soul Power enhancement, possibly see through her true form?

It had to be fake!

Right, it must have been the rabbit-ear accessories in her hair that made this little thing mistake her for a rabbit.

Though she had guessed correctly, as long as Xiao Wu refused to admit it and pretended not to hear, would that not solve everything?

"Oh? You little thing even know how to defend your Master."

"No, I don't!"

"You bad people!"

Paimon stamped her foot, but there was nothing she could do. She could only sulk by herself.

A flash of earthy yellow light passed through Zhongli's eyes.

At over six thousand years old, he had long since learned to remain calm in the face of anything. Even when faced with the provocations of ants, he could turn a blind eye.

However, he shared the same weakness as the Shrek group!

That was protecting one's own!

When ants provoked him, he could ignore them.

But Paimon had come with him to Douluo Continent. More importantly, she was his contractor.

"Zhongli, they're bullying people!"

Paimon angrily returned behind Zhongli and began complaining.

Zhongli said nothing after hearing that. Just as Xue Qinghe was about to speak, Zhongli took a step forward, and earthy yellow light burst forth!

Xue Qinghe and Zhu Zhuqing froze, muttering inwardly, Why does this feel so familiar?

His amber-like pupils glimmered with golden light as an incomparably powerful pressure erupted from Zhongli's body.

"???"

Wait, something was wrong!

He—he was not usel...

"Vago Rock Emperor!"

This power, this "scent" of pressure, was far too familiar!

It was the figure she had always dreamed of during the nights of the past.

Xue Qinghe was utterly stunned. She had searched for him a thousand times in the crowd, only to find him when she turned around, standing amid the dim lights.

"It's him. It's definitely him!"

Xue Qinghe's entire body trembled. There was fear, excitement, and an indescribable feeling mixed in as well.

As though recalling something, Zhongli paused, then took another step. When his foot landed, a heaven-shaking transformation occurred upon his body.

Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black, red.

Nine standard Soul Rings slowly rose from beneath his feet, while a pair of earthy yellow dragon horns appeared atop his head.

"Boom..."

Everyone stared in horror and instinctively retreated several steps.

"A Titl—"

"A Titled Douluo!"

"No, he is a Titled Douluo with a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring!"

Flender and the others trembled all over. Cold sweat dripped from their foreheads, and their backs were soaked as well.

Paimon: "???"

Paimon looked at Zhongli in confusion, her little eyes filled with huge questions.

Since when did Zhongli have these rings too?

Though Paimon loved to talk, she would selectively forget things that should not be said.

For example, Zhongli's true identity.

Whenever she introduced him to others, she would only say that Zhongli was an ordinary, good-for-nothing Zhongli.

Not Morax, who had ended an era, nor the Vago Rock Emperor who protected Liyue.

"Hmm?"

Qian Renxue and Zhu Zhuqing were equally puzzled. They did not remember the Vago Rock Emperor having Soul Rings.

What was going on?

Of course, the Zhongli before them still deserved their utmost attention. After all, he was an incomparably terrifying "Titled Douluo"!

Judging by his appearance after Martial Soul Possession, his Martial Soul had to be a dragon Martial Soul!

And he even possessed a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring...

The group trembled violently. Dai Mubai in particular had gone pale, his eyes empty and lifeless.

He had only just provoked Dugu Bo, and now Zhongli had appeared, someone countless times stronger than Dugu Bo...