Shrek Three Musketeers

As he stepped into the Star Dou Forest once more, Ye Liangchen breathed in its natural aura and immediately felt refreshed and at ease.

"This time, we'll head toward the area where Thousand-Year Soul Beasts live. Hopefully, we can quickly find a suitable Soul Beast for Little Chen."

"Little Chen's Second Soul Ring will already be a thousand years old. I wonder how those major powers will react when they see it later?"

"We'll do our best to protect him as he grows! As long as he has the strength to protect himself, there'll be nothing to fear."

Ye Liangchen felt that Lan Xiao Die and the others were worrying a little too much. Now that he had Di Tian as muscle, as long as he did not court death, reaching Titled Douluo would be absurdly easy.

Two days later, the group arrived in a valley and discovered a Three-Leaf Begonia tree fifty meters tall.

Three-Leaf Begonia, a type of Plant Soul Beast, was also aggressive. Once attacked, it would swing its branches to lash at its enemies.

Sensing Ye Liangchen's group approaching, the several-dozen-meter-tall Three-Leaf Begonia tree immediately whipped its branches toward them. Its entire body radiated purple Soul Power.

Swish, swish...

Dozens of branches danced through the air like long whips, rubbing against the wind and producing sharp swishing sounds.

Ye Liangchen felt that this was practically the thousand-year tree demon from A Chinese Ghost Story. But in the Douluo World, weren't thousand-year Plant Soul Beasts simply thousand-year tree demons?

Chirp, chirp...

"Judging by the fluctuations of its Soul Power, this tree is probably close to four thousand years old."

Lan Xiao Die released her Spirit, using her powerful aura to suppress the Three-Leaf Begonia tree.

"If its age were a little lower, it would be perfect for Little Chen."

Shui Lingfeng and Su Lin both felt that this Plant Soul Beast's age was a little too high for Ye Liangchen at his current level.

"Let me try! I think I can absorb it."

Ye Liangchen stated his position directly. He wanted this Three-Leaf Begonia for his Second Soul Ring. After examining it carefully, he estimated that this Spirit Ring was around 3,800 years old.

"No! It's too risky!"

Shui Lingfeng and the other two immediately refused. They had originally planned to find the little fellow a Spirit Ring between two and three thousand years old, but this one was nearly double that. The gap was far too great.

"Aunt Lan! I think I can give it a try. If it doesn't work, you can interrupt my absorption of the Spirit Ring."

Ye Liangchen waved his fist, not taking this Spirit Ring seriously at all. Over the past two years, he had cultivated all sorts of divine techniques like he had cheats enabled. His physical strength was several times greater than it had been two years ago. A mere thousand-year Spirit Ring was child's play.

"Then let Little Chen try."

Seeing Ye Liangchen's insistence, Lan Xiao Die could only agree to let him try. Besides, she felt that this little fellow would continue creating miracles.

"Alright, then."

Shui Lingfeng and Su Lin had also witnessed Ye Liangchen's heaven-defying talent, so they agreed to let the little fellow absorb this Spirit Ring. If things truly went wrong, they could interrupt him.

Ice Seal.

Mystic Ice Thorns.

Bang! Bang! Bang...

Under Lan Xiao Die's powerful soul skill attack, the Three-Leaf Begonia tree was nearly fatally wounded. A face even emerged from the center of its trunk, complete with eyes, mouth, and nose, constantly letting out hissing sounds.

"Little Chen! Attack the face in the center of the trunk. That's its spiritual core." Su Lin urged Ye Liangchen to act quickly.

Swish, swish...

Ye Liangchen flicked out the Lan Yan Sword in his hand, and it pierced straight into the Three-Leaf Begonia tree's spiritual core, instantly ending its life.

Buzz...

Dark purple Soul Power slowly rose from the Three-Leaf Begonia tree, gradually condensing into a large purple ring.

Buzz...

Ye Liangchen sat cross-legged on the ground and summoned the Goddess of Life Spirit. Using his mind to connect with the Spirit Ring, he began absorbing the 3,800-year-old ring.

"Little Chen! Be careful. Don't force yourself."

Lan Xiao Die, Shui Lingfeng, and Su Lin stood around Ye Liangchen, extremely tense and terrified that something might happen to the little fellow.

"I understand."

Responding to Ye Liangchen's mental call, the Spirit Ring floated over and settled around the goddess spirit.

Boom...

A powerful surge of energy battered Ye Liangchen's body. It felt as though ants were biting him all over. It hurt a little, but he could still endure it.

Hah...

Ye Liangchen shouted and simply circulated the Primordial Chaos Sutra, drawing upon the Spirit Ring's energy to temper his body.

Calming his mind and opening his Spiritual Sense, he felt the changes within his body. As the energy tempered his flesh, crackling sounds rang out all over him. It felt like he was getting a Thai massage—painful, yet pleasurable, and incredibly invigorating.

Ha!

Three hours later, Ye Liangchen finally succeeded in absorbing the Spirit Ring and advanced to Soul Grandmaster. He let out a long roar as a powerful aura shot into the sky from his body, and his Soul Power broke through to Level 23.

Because Ye Liangchen had used much of the Spirit Ring's energy to temper his body, it only raised his Soul Power by three levels.

"Aunt Lan, Grandma Dean, Teacher Su Lin! I succeeded."

Ye Liangchen withdrew his Spirit and gave a simple, adorably foolish grin.

"Success! Little Chen has set another record."

"His Second Soul Ring reached 3,800 years. What limit could possibly mean anything in front of Little Chen?"

The hearts Lan Xiao Die and the others had been holding in their throats finally settled. For a full three hours, they had hardly dared to breathe.

"Little Chen! You're amazing. Your teacher is proud of you."

Su Lin was so excited that she immediately pulled the little fellow into a huge hug and kissed his face several times.

"Little Chen! Your Second Spirit Skill is Life Blessing. Use it and let Grandma Dean see how effective it is."

Shui Lingfeng said with a chuckle. She also wanted to see whether this little fellow's support Spirit Skill could rival the Spirit Skills of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda.

"Okay, Grandma Dean."

"Buzz, buzz..."

At Ye Liangchen's summons, the breathtaking figure of the Goddess of Life appeared behind him. Two rings, one yellow and one purple, flashed into view, dazzlingly brilliant.

"Second Spirit Skill: Life Blessing."

As the skill activated, three radiant beams of light shot from the Goddess of Life's hand and entered the bodies of Lan Xiao Die and the other two women.

"My Life Blessing can raise all of someone's attributes by 30%. The enhancement lasts for ten minutes. With my current Soul Power, I can enhance at most twenty people, and I can only use this Spirit Skill five times. The number of people and uses will increase as my Soul Power rises, and the attribute boost will also increase as my Soul Rings improve."

"This Life Blessing Spirit Skill can also support myself."

Ye Liangchen slowly explained the Life Blessing Spirit Skill to the three women. But when they learned that it granted a 30% boost to all attributes, they were all stunned.

"Thirty percent to all attributes? That means our attack, Soul Power, defense, speed, strength, and everything else have all increased by 30% right now. Our overall combat strength has doubled. That's just too outrageous."

"As far as we know, the first few support skills of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda are strength, speed, Soul Power, defense, attack, and so on. Each Spirit Skill supports only one attribute..."

"But Little Chen's Second Spirit Skill covers every attribute at once. No wonder he said before that the Goddess of Life Spirit was the strongest support Spirit. He really was right."

Having witnessed Ye Liangchen's absurdly powerful Second Spirit Skill, Lan Xiao Die and the others were incredibly excited. If this skill were used in a team battle to strengthen their allies, they could unleash an instant burst of power and end the battle outright.

Ye Liangchen, however, did not find it all that shocking. After all, Uncle Big Sausage Oscar's Fourth Spirit Skill, Pink Sausage, could also boost all attributes by 10%. His own skill was only 20% stronger.

Ye Liangchen scanned the changes on his game character panel with his mind and discovered that two weapon crates in the weapons and equipment section had been unlocked. He was immediately delighted. Something had finally happened after so long—it truly had not been easy.

Even Tang San next door had started making hidden weapons for self-defense. What kind of weapons and equipment would he get?

Spirit Skill attacks in the Douluo World were, frankly speaking, energy attacks. Tang San's hidden weapons were equivalent to weapons of mass destruction in this world. The Goddess of Mercy's Tears hidden weapon could even kill gods, which showed that physical attacks were more lethal than energy attacks.

Ye Liangchen indulged in wishful fantasies, hoping the game equipment would give him something like a Desert Eagle, an Assault Rifle, or a Barrett. Then he could do whatever he wanted.

This trip to the Star Dou Forest had successfully obtained a thousand-year Soul Ring for Ye Liangchen—and it was even a 3,800-year Soul Ring. It had been perfect.

Two days later, Ye Liangchen's group arrived in Suotuo City, known as Barak's granary, covered in dust from their journey. They planned to rest in Suotuo City for a day, so they once again checked into the most luxurious Rose Grand Hotel.

Suotuo City was Barak's second-largest city, surpassed only by Barak City. It was also a granary, with a highly developed economy, and the empire stationed heavy troops in the city.

At noon that day, Lan Xiao Die and Su Lin went into the city to buy daily necessities. Ye Liangchen followed along to take a look and experience the local customs of Suotuo City. Shui Lingfeng was old and too lazy to walk around, so she stayed at the hotel to wait for them.

To make sure Ye Liangchen had fun, Lan Xiao Die and Su Lin also took him to the Soto Grand Spirit Arena to watch Spirit battles and broaden his horizons.

"Little Chen! So, what did you think? Were today's Spirit battles exciting?"

At dusk, the three returned to the Rose Hotel. Along the way, Su Lin continued explaining various things about Spirit battles to Ye Liangchen.

"They were okay. If I could compete, I'd definitely make you money."

There were betting pools for Spirit battles, which was one of the business methods used by all Spirit Arenas. Unfortunately, Lan Xiao Die would not allow Ye Liangchen to participate.

"It's already good enough that we let you watch. You still want to compete? If you expose yourself, it'll be troublesome." Lan Xiao Die chuckled. She did not want the little fellow taking risks, especially when they were not short on money.

"I wouldn't even need to use my Spirit to crush those Soul Grand Masters competing."

Ye Liangchen did not take opponents of the same level seriously at all. There was no need for him to even summon his Spirit.

"We know you're very strong, but not now. We'll talk about it in a few more years."

Lan Xiao Die rubbed the little fellow's head and led him toward the Rose Hotel.

Just then, three drunken men came down the street ahead. One of them was around 1.75 meters tall, dressed extravagantly, with a head of golden hair and a fairly handsome face. Most notably, his eyes had double pupils, making him look rather striking.

The other two men beside him were quite unusual. One was a fat man in red leather armor, with a head of red hair. He was round as a ball, with a small mustache at the corners of his mouth. His tiny eyes darted over the passersby, and whenever he spotted a pretty woman, he immediately wore a lecherous expression.

The other man was even stranger. He did not look very old, yet his hair was grayish white. Even the beard on his face was grayish white, giving him the appearance of someone old and past his prime.

"Wow! Boss Dai, look! Top-quality beauties!"

When the Red-Haired Fatty saw Ye Liangchen and the other two, his eyes immediately lit up. Especially upon seeing the two women's voluptuous figures, he cried out in surprise, his eyes gleaming with lust.

Although the two women had concealed their stunning faces behind veils, that faintly visible, hazy beauty only made people's imaginations run wilder.

"Where? Let me see."

"Wow! They really are top quality!"

"Huh! There's even a little handsome guy. He's actually better-looking than me!"

"Come on! Let's go introduce ourselves."

The blond man smoothed his hair and walked toward Ye Liangchen's group of three, with the Red-Haired Fatty immediately hurrying after him.

"Boss Dai, Fatty, isn't this a bad idea?" The bearded man was more timid and called out from behind.

"Xiao Ao! What are you afraid of? Today, I'll teach you how to pick up beautiful women, hahaha..."

Using his drunkenness as an excuse, the blond man strode toward Ye Liangchen's group with a hearty laugh.

"Aunt Lan! Teacher Su Lin. A handsome blond guy is walking toward us."

Ye Liangchen quietly told the two women, nearly bursting into laughter. Judging by that blond fellow's manner, he was probably here to flirt with them. Ye Liangchen thought the guy was truly fearless.

"He's only a Soul Grandmaster. Giving him a lesson will be enough," Lan Xiao Die said calmly. Seeing Ye Liangchen struggling not to laugh, she did not know whether to laugh or cry.

"Aunt Lan! Teacher Su Lin, don't say anything. I can handle this myself." The other party was only a Soul Grandmaster, so Ye Liangchen felt there was no need for the two women to act.

"Alright! Then we'll rely on Little Chen to protect us. Today, Senior Sister and I will be weak women."

"Little Chen! You said you could fight a Soul Grandmaster without using your Martial Soul. Auntie will be watching your performance today."

Seeing Ye Liangchen itching for a fight, the two women exchanged smiles. The little fellow had grown up and could protect them now, which made them feel very gratified.

"Aunt Lan! Just watch me!" Ye Liangchen promised the two women that he absolutely would not use his Martial Soul.

"Hi! Two beautiful ladies, out shopping?"

The blond man arrived before Ye Liangchen's group, tossed his hair, struck what he believed was a dashing pose, and greeted Lan Xiao Die and Su Lin.

Lan Xiao Die and Su Lin did not respond. They merely watched quietly.

"Brother! These two are your older sisters, right?"

Seeing that Ye Liangchen was relatively young, the blond man assumed he was the two beauties' younger brother. He even took the initiative to greet Ye Liangchen in an attempt to build rapport.

"Blond brother, who are you?"

Ye Liangchen smelled alcohol on him. So the guy was a drunkard!

"What do you mean, blond? My name is Dai Mu Bai."

"Hey! Brother, what's your name?"

The blond man introduced himself, startling Ye Liangchen. He had not expected it to be this guy. Then the fatty and the bearded fellow in the distance must be Fatty Ma and Oscar.

Judging by the timeline, Dai Mu Bai should have been around twelve years old by now. It was about time for him to arrive at Shrek.

Ma Hongjun and Oscar had been brought here by Flender since childhood. Now, together with Dai Mu Bai, they often roamed the pleasure quarters and had become the Shrek Three Musketeers.

"May I ask what you want with us?" At that moment, Su Lin deliberately asked Dai Mu Bai.

"Two beautiful ladies, my name is Dai Mu Bai, also known as Young Master Dai. Let's get acquainted and become friends. How about we go to the Rose Hotel and talk about life?"

When Dai Mu Bai saw one of the beauties take the initiative to speak to him, he immediately thought he had a chance. In any case, he had money. Whenever he encountered beautiful women, he believed he could win them over by throwing money at them.

"What friends? Isn't it just for that sort of thing?"

"Little brother! Someone wants to bully your big sister. You have to protect me!"

Su Lin's acting instincts kicked in. She quickly grabbed Lan Xiao Die's hand, deliberately hid behind Ye Liangchen, and put on a pitiful appearance.

Damn it! This woman had actually started acting. Ye Liangchen was speechless. The key was that his Aunt Lan was playing along with Su Lin too.

"Brother Dai, we don't want to get acquainted with you. Please leave," Ye Liangchen said calmly to Dai Mu Bai.

"Boss Dai! Have you succeeded?"

At that moment, the round Fatty Ma also ran over to Ye Liangchen. His pair of lecherous little eyes stared at Su Lin and Lan Xiao Die, making Ye Liangchen furious.

"Fatty! What are you looking at?"

"Roar..."

Ye Liangchen threw out a Dragon Fist, his Soul Power forming the phantom of a dragon. The powerful blast of Soul Power struck the ground in front of Fatty Ma, kicking up a cloud of dust.

"Fatty, stop staring. Keep looking, and I'll beat you up," Ye Liangchen warned coldly.

"What? If women are beautiful, aren't they meant to be looked at?"

"Boss Dai, these two beauties are even hotter than the ones you hooked up with before. Hurry up and show off your specialty! Just don't forget your brother here afterward!"

Using his drunkenness as an excuse, Fatty Ma openly appraised Su Lin and Lan Xiao Die. A lecherous gleam filled his little eyes, and drool continuously streamed from the corner of his mouth.

Whoosh, whoosh...

Bang...

Ye Liangchen could not take it anymore. In a flash, he appeared before Fatty Ma and drove a full-force punch into his stomach.

"Argh..."

Fatty Ma's round body was sent flying five meters away. He rolled across the ground for quite a distance, continuously crying out in pain.

"Fatty, are you alright?"

"I, Oscar, have a big sausage."

Buzz, buzz...

Oscar immediately ran over from the distance, activated his Martial Soul, summoned a sausage-like Martial Soul, and fed it to Fatty Ma.

"My God! That bearded guy's Spirit is actually a sausage?"

"But his chant is way too sleazy! Just as sleazy as his Sausage Spirit, hahaha..."

The moment Oscar uttered his sleazy chant, it immediately drew laughter from the people on the street, who stopped to watch.

"Ah...! Boss Dai! Avenge me!" Fatty Ma took Ye Liangchen's full-force punch and lay on the ground, howling in pain.

"Hey! Look at that sleazy fatty. That handsome young man knocked him flat with one punch."

"That fatty and the blond-haired man actually tried to harass the handsome young man's sisters. They deserved the beating."

"That handsome young man is so handsome!"

"Those two masked beauties are obviously peerless beauties. Since the handsome young man is their younger brother, of course he'd be handsome too."

The onlookers on the street praised Ye Liangchen, Lan Xiao Die, and Su Lin while condemning Fatty Ma and Dai Mu Bai. In everyone's eyes, good looks were justice.

When Dai Mu Bai saw Fatty Ma knocked down, he could no longer sit still. As the boss, he had to stand up for his underling.

"You beat up my brother! Kid, so you're a Soul Master too? Looks like we'll have to fight today."

"Awoo..."

Dai Mu Bai immediately summoned his Spirit. A king character appeared on his forehead, his hands became as sharp as tiger claws, and a white tiger manifested behind him. Two yellow soul rings rose from his body.

"Dai Mu Bai, Evil Eye White Tiger Spirit, Level 25 Assault-Type Battle Spirit Master." Before the battle began, Dai Mu Bai even announced his Spirit and level to Ye Liangchen.

"That blond-haired man is actually a Level 25 Soul Grandmaster?"

"That handsome young man is in trouble now."

When the distant onlookers saw Dai Mu Bai summon his Spirit, they all began to worry for Ye Liangchen.

"My name is Wu Ming, a 23rd Level Soul Grandmaster. As for my Spirit, wait until you can force me to use it."

"Swish, swish, swish..."

Ye Liangchen directly activated the Five Elements Tracing Steps, instantly rushing to Dai Mu Bai's side and unleashing the Five Elements Divine Fist as he began fighting him.

"White Tiger Body Shield."

"White Tiger Light Wave."

Seeing that his opponent was as fast as lightning, Dai Mu Bai was startled and immediately unleashed his soul skills. White light burst from his body, forming a Protective Barrier, while he spat a white orb of light toward Ye Liangchen.

"Roar..."

"Awoo..."

"Roar, roar..."

"Hiss, hiss..."

"Chirp, chirp..."

Ye Liangchen used the Five Elements Tracing Steps to deftly evade the opponent's soul skill attacks. The Dragon, Snake, Tiger, Leopard, Crane Five Divine Fists came forth one after another, transforming into phantom images of five beasts as they battled Dai Mu Bai.

"Bang, bang, bang..."

Dai Mu Bai had never seen anything like this before. His opponent had actually used Soul Power to form five creatures—a dragon, snake, tiger, leopard, and crane. Although they were merely phantoms condensed from Soul Power, they possessed immense strength and endlessly changing forms, quickly leaving him completely disoriented.

"Ahh... ooh..."

Three minutes later, Dai Mu Bai had been beaten senseless. His face was bruised and swollen as he lay on the ground, letting out miserable cries.

In the distance, Fatty Ma and Oscar's jaws dropped. Even Fatty Ma's Evil Fire had been frightened back down.

"Boss Dai is actually getting beaten down by that kid, and the other guy hasn't even summoned his Spirit."

After beating Dai Mu Bai into a pighead, Ye Liangchen walked up to him and calmly said, "Well? Feeling satisfied now?"

After saying that, he turned and left, leaving behind a figure with his back to the crowd.

"My God! That handsome young man is amazing! He knocked his opponent down without even using his Spirit."

"He's really so handsome!"

Some of the girls on the street were captivated by Ye Liangchen's formidable combat power. Dreamy expressions appeared on their faces, and pink little stars seemed to sparkle endlessly in their eyes.