9. Beat Up the Turtle

Chapter 9: Beating the Turtle

"Senior Sister."

The Black-haired Youth, who had just been looking fierce, instantly deflated.

"Senior Sister."

Her emotionless eyes swept over the crowd. When a certain refined young man came into view, at an angle no one noticed, the corner of this inner courtyard senior sister's mouth lifted slightly.

"Are you causing trouble at my stall?"

An Zhen's gaze landed on the Turtle Shell Youth, who had activated his martial soul.

Zhang Lexuan's eyes followed, settling on Xu Sanshi. Though her gaze showed no fluctuation, it was enough to make Xu Sanshi hastily explain, "Senior Sister, I..."

"It's him!"

The lively Beautiful Girl called out.

"He cut in line, tried to force a purchase, and bullied our Yutong."

"I paid. He didn't give Nannan face, so he didn't give me face." Xu Sanshi said coldly.

"Yutong, Wang Dong, are you two alright?"

An Zhen came over to the two girls and asked with concern.

"I'm fine." Wang Dong shook her head, speaking angrily, "This guy just cut in line, threw down money, and tried to grab the Milk Tea. Yutong wouldn't give it, and he grabbed her wrist so hard it left marks."

"Yutong."

An Zhen reached out, took the girl's slender arm, and gently lifted her sleeve. On her fair skin were bright red finger marks.

Mess with my people!

"What face do you have, Little Turtle!"

The cold-faced youth turned and cursed.

No wonder this guy couldn't win her over—his nature clearly hadn't changed. And now he was still acting arrogant and domineering, cutting in line, forcing a sale, and bullying lower-grade students with his strength.

"Kid..."

Xu Sanshi was about to throw out a threat when he caught sight of the Long Black-haired Beauty standing nearby. The words he was about to say got choked back.

"How much? I'll pay."

"Apologize to my people, or we go to the Battle Soul Arena." An Zhen really wanted to hit someone.

Hit him hard!

"!" The anger Xu Sanshi had just suppressed flared up again. Making him bow his head and apologize in front of his crush? Impossible.

"You're pushing it, kid!"

Xu Sanshi turned to look at Zhang Lexuan. "Senior Sister, he asked for this. Whatever punishment comes after, I'll take it. But I only activated my martial soul because Tang Ya used a hidden weapon on me."

"That's because you bullied my junior brother first."

The refined young man stepped forward.

"What's all the commotion?"

An aged voice rang out. An old man with messy hair, greasy clothes, and chewing on a chicken leg walked over slowly.

"Xuan Zi."

Zhang Lexuan bowed respectfully.

"Xuan Zi."

Seeing even the inner courtyard senior sister do this, the surrounding students, even those who didn't recognize him, quickly bowed.

"What happened?"

An Zhen looked at Wang Dong. "Wang Dong, could you make a Milk Tea for Taotie Majesty and explain what happened?"

"Ah? Oh."

The startled girl snapped back to reality at An Zhen's reminder. This slovenly old man before her was actually Taotie Douluo.

The legs of some nearby students who hadn't understood went weak.

Damn, so this Milk Tea really was endorsed by this big shot.

Xu Sanshi's face instantly went pale. He'd thought it was just some student's clever trick.

The story was simple.

Jiang Nannan was interested in the Milk Tea, but even after the discount, it was still expensive for a common student, so she wanted to haggle. Up to that point, everything was normal. Huo Yutong, since An Zhen hadn't said anything about it, felt she couldn't lower the price on her own. Then someone tried to play the hero—threw down money, tried to take the Milk Tea by force, but didn't expect Huo Yutong to notice. In the struggle, he grabbed her wrist and scratched it. Tang Ya saw this and stepped in...

"Little Xu."

"I-I'm here."

The Xu Sanshi who had been so arrogant just moments ago now looked like a quail.

A big shot slowly spoke while munching on a chicken leg and sipping milk tea, "This matter really was your fault to begin with."

His dim eyes glanced at Huo Yutong, who was being shielded by An Zhen. "How about this—no need to go to the Battle Soul Arena. You'll fight right here."

"If you win, you pay a thousand Gold Soul Coins. If you lose, you pay four Xuan Water Pills and apologize."

"Xuan..." Tang Ya felt something was off. No matter how you looked at it, this guy was just trying to stand up for Yutong, and besides, she was a freshman. Xu Sanshi was a sixth-year student.

"Fine, deal!" An Zhen agreed directly.

Tang Ya was deflated. Seriously, what was this guy doing? Couldn't he see the sixth-year uniform the other person was wearing?

"Little Xu." An aged voice rang out.

"Agreed. Since you, elder, have spoken, I'll definitely agree."

Even with the Dragon Whisker Needle inside him, bullying a freshman was as easy as breathing.

"Then clear the space."

An old hand gently patted Xu Sanshi's shoulder, and a golden thread thinner than a strand of hair was flicked out, turning into a grain of rice that Xuan Zi casually tossed to Tang Ya.

Xu Sanshi was overjoyed!

Seeing the faint smile curling at the corner of An Zhen's mouth, he thought, Kid, you're finished.

"It's over, it's over!"

Tang Ya said in a dejected tone.

"Teacher Xiao Ya, is he really that strong?" Huo Yutong asked worriedly, her wrist being treated with some unknown liquid by Tang Ya.

"As much as I hate this guy, I have to admit he's got real skill. Xuanming Turtle—a mutated Martial Soul. Same cultivation level as Beibei. Both are top-tier beast Martial Souls. One's called the strongest attacker in the outer courtyard, the other the strongest defender."

"If that Dragon Whisker Needle hadn't been pulled out just now, your friend might have had a sliver of a chance. But now? Not a single one."

"This impulsive idiot..." Tang Ya bit her Cherry Lips lightly, Wang Dong's dreamlike big eyes reflecting the silhouette of the black-haired youth.

"Xuan Zi, this isn't fair."

Under everyone's astonished gazes, the pink-and-blue-haired youth voiced his objection to the Super Douluo.

"Who told this kid to covet someone else's treasure?" The old man gnawing on a chicken leg said slowly. "And how do you know this isn't confidence in control rather than impulse?"

"Xu Sanshi, Soul Elder, Xuanming Turtle. Kid, you'd better surrender now."

"An Zhen, Soul Grand Master, World."

With that, under the confused stares of the crowd, the youth suddenly stepped back several meters, closed his eyes, and opened them a second later.

"Aren't you going to attack?"

"Heh." The short-haired youth, looking like a smug big shot, hadn't even activated his Martial Soul. "I'll let you have three moves."

Soul Power surged, but no matter how the crowd looked, they still saw no sign of Martial Soul Possession or any tool-type Martial Soul on the youth.

"Your left leg."

The youth announced softly.

A Golden Yellow Soul Ring lit up.

"Ah!"

A scream rang out.

Under everyone's stunned gazes, the sixth-year senior suddenly dropped to one knee, his face twisted in agony.

"Kid!"

Xuanming Turtle Possession.

His muscles bulged, and a formidable aura erupted from the fierce-looking young man.

Suddenly, Xu Sanshi felt something wet on his face.

"Pfft, big turtle!" Wang Dong, watching from the sidelines, burst out laughing, and soon the surrounding youths couldn't help but join in.

"Huh?"

Xu Sanshi was baffled. "My Martial Soul is the Xuanming Turtle!"

His Martial Soul was not to be insulted.

"Turtle Xu, your face!" Tang Ya shouted gleefully.

Pulling a mirror from his waist-mounted soul-guiding storage device, Xu Sanshi finally saw why he'd become a laughingstock.

On his left and right cheeks were written the words "Turtle" and "Turd."

When had this happened?!

He'd already activated his Martial Soul just now.

"Xu Sanshi, have you ever been bullied before?"

A cool, clear voice rang out.

"Just some trickery and deception!" Xu Sanshi dismissed it with contempt.

"Is that so?"

An Zhen took a step forward unhurriedly.

"Actually, I could strip your clothes off and write even more humiliating words on your body, but I'm not that much of a villain, and besides, there are so many young ladies here—wouldn't it dirty their eyes?"

The Golden Yellow Soul Ring lit up.

"Bluff—"

Xu Sanshi's roar cut off abruptly.

The laughter in the arena also cut off abruptly.

"Cough, cough, cough—"

The students watched in silence as the sixth-year senior knelt on the ground in pain, digging out the dirt that had somehow filled his mouth, along with a crushed milk tea cup.

Words carved on his face before.

Now dirt stuffed in his mouth.

When had it even happened?

Was this guy really just a Soul Grand Master?

"If it weren't dirt, it could've been piss and shit."

"Oh, right." The youth suddenly flashed a playful smile. "I left that milk tea cup there to show you I can stuff more than just dirt into your mouth."

"How dare you!" Xu Sanshi roared after spitting out the dirt.

"Why wouldn't I dare!"

"Even if your father were the emperor or a Title Douluo, it wouldn't change the fact that you could be eating shit and garbage at any moment."

An Zhen stated calmly.

What had seemed like a joke of a fight now made no one dare underestimate this freshman.

If even Xu Sanshi, hailed as the strongest in the outer courtyard, was like this, what about them?

"A little bit of strength, a little bit of praise, and you think you're above everyone else."

"Give me—ah!"

Xu Sanshi, who had just tried to gather strength and sneak an attack, fell to the ground, clutching his other leg—the one that had been perfectly fine—and screamed.

"No matter how good your background or abilities are, can they compare to Lord Taotie Douluo? Real big shots don't bully the weak, so why do you, a useless piece of trash with a shred of ability, dare to?"

At the entrance of Shrek Academy, all the earlier commotion seemed frozen in place.

Under the gaze of countless eyes, an unbelievable battle was unfolding.

"I understand you want to show off in front of the girl you like, but why did you have to bully my people?"

Looking at Xu Sanshi, who lay on the ground like a dead dog, having accepted the outcome and stopped struggling, An Zhen sighed, ended his retaliation, and spoke slowly:

"It doesn't feel good to be bullied, does it?"

"I've heard of Jiang Nannan—the most beautiful girl in the outer courtyard, born a commoner."

At the mention of his beloved's name, the youth lifted his head.

"A commoner. She might have had an unfortunate childhood, and over ninety percent of commoners' misfortunes come from the upper class, from nobles like you. She was bullied by nobles as a child. How could a noble young master's arrogant behavior ever win her heart?"

"I know you might say you and your family never bullied commoners, but when a sheep has been hurt by a gray wolf with sharp fangs and claws, won't it be afraid when it sees other animals with sharp fangs and claws? Won't it feel its wounds ache?"

"Arrogant and domineering, forcing sales, using your strength to bully lower grades—what difference is there between you and those people?"

After beating him thoroughly, An Zhen felt he had vented his anger.

Silence.

It was as if the world had pressed the pause button.

A voice, nearly choked with tears, rang out.

"I... I concede."

The youth, his face twisted in pain, propped himself up with his hands and climbed to his feet. But no amount of physical pain, no amount of others' mockery, nothing in the outside world could affect the grief-stricken youth at this moment.

In his misty, tear-filled eyes, the reflection of his dirt-stained hands appeared. For the first time, Xu Sanshi felt his own hands were so dirty.

Nan Nan, so this is how you've always seen me...