"Zhu Zhuqing, you want to drop out too? Why?!"
Flender's voice rose in shock as he urgently asked.
Everyone's gaze instantly focused on Zhu Zhuqing, their faces filled with confusion.
Dai Mubai in particular clenched his fists, his eyes dark and gloomy.
Meeting everyone's gaze, Zhu Zhuqing spoke in a cool voice without the slightest hesitation:
"I have loftier ambitions!"
Who could fail to hear the implication in those words?
She clearly thought Shrek Academy was beneath her ambitions!
"Zhu Zhuqing!"
Dai Mubai interrupted with an angry shout, striding forward in fury as he snorted coldly:
"Don't forget the marriage agreement between us! Without the approval of me, your fiancé, you're not going anywhere!"
In his view, Zhu Zhuqing had been born as a member of the Dai Clan, as his possession. How could he allow her to act so willfully?
"You disgusting bastard ruled by your lower body are unworthy of being my, Zhu Zhuqing's, man!"
Zhu Zhuqing raised her eyes. There was not the slightest trace of attachment in her gaze as her cool yet resolute voice rang out:
"I, Zhu Zhuqing, hereby tear apart the marriage agreement between us! If you refuse, then I will divorce you!!"
Breaking off an engagement, divorcing a husband!
Either of these things was as shocking as a bolt from the blue in this era!
Once word got out, the party whose engagement had been torn apart or who had been divorced would have no face left to show!
"You! What did you say?!"
Dai Mubai's face flushed red with rage. Pointing at Zhu Zhuqing's nose, he roared:
"This engagement was personally arranged by both our families and both sets of parents! How dare you alter it as you please?!"
Zhu Zhuqing said nothing. She raised a hand and drew a delicate little dagger, its blade gleaming coldly.
Before anyone could understand what she was doing, she sliced her hand through the air, and a lock of black hair fell into her palm.
"Our bodies and hair are gifts from our parents. Today, I use my hair in place of my parents. From this day onward, the engagement between us is severed with a single cut."
"You may also take it as—I am divorcing you!"
With that, Zhu Zhuqing tossed the lock of hair away. It slowly drifted down before Dai Mubai.
"Gasp—"
No one had expected Zhu Zhuqing to be so utterly decisive, leaving no room for reconciliation!
"You! You dare humiliate me like this! I'll kill you!!!"
Dai Mubai's eyes turned scarlet as the White Tiger Martial Soul possessed him in fury, and he charged at her to kill.
"Mubai, no! Why get angry with a woman who doesn't know what's good for her?!"
Murder at the academy would damage its reputation. Flender hurriedly stopped him, then glared sharply at Zhu Zhuqing and snapped:
"Zhu Zhuqing, without Shrek's guidance, you'll never amount to anything in this life! Do you think you can get far on your own?!"
Seeing the dean speak up for him, Dai Mubai's emotions eased somewhat, and he immediately sneered in agreement:
"Zhu Zhuqing, you were born as my possession. Without me, without Shrek, this is all you'll ever amount to in your life!"
Zhu Zhuqing remained unmoved and declared word by word:
"I am myself, not anyone's possession. Whether I amount to anything is not for you to decide!"
"Perhaps I am not as good as any of you present right now, but that may not be the case in the future!"
"Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river—never look down on a poor young woman!!"
Her words rang like a hammer strike, leaving everyone present silent.
Flender's chest heaved as he was left speechless. Pointing at Zhu Zhuqing for a long while, he finally squeezed out:
"Fine! Fine, what a 'never look down on a poor young woman'! You're so confident? Good! The Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament will be held in two and a half years. Do you dare participate? Then I'll see what you're capable of!"
Zhu Zhuqing turned and left, leaving behind only one resolute sentence:
"Then we'll meet on the battlefield in two and a half years!!"
Flender trembled with rage, unable to say a word.
Dai Mubai stared fixedly at her retreating back and roared through gritted teeth:
"Zhu Zhuqing, just wait! In two and a half years, I'll make you regret today's decision!"
Meanwhile, on the other side of Shrek Academy.
Ning Rongrong, who had been crying, also heard the argument from Zhu Zhuqing's side.
She had also noticed the contents on the Sky Screen. Her reddened eyes suddenly lit up.
She was already sick of staying at this rotten Shrek for even another moment. Chang'an was the place she longed for!
Seeing that she had stopped crying, Oscar hurriedly moved closer.
Chanting a disgusting incantation, he produced a steaming Sausage and leered:
"Rongrong, you must be tired after crying for so long, right? Here, have one of my super invincible big sausages to restore your strength. Hehehe."
Ning Rongrong abruptly slapped it away, her brows rising as she angrily scolded:
"Disgusting thing, get lost! Your lousy academy isn't worthy of this young lady's status at all. I'm dropping out too!"
After saying that, she sprang to her feet and chased after Zhu Zhuqing's retreating figure.
A fierce fury flashed through Oscar's eyes. He hurried over to Flender and angrily said:
"Dean, that little Witch Ning Rongrong has dropped out too. What do we do?!"
Flender had been so enraged by one change after another that he could not even speak.
Yu Xiaogang, standing nearby, merely snorted coldly. His face was full of disdain as he said to everyone:
"If they want to leave, let them leave! Shrek will continue operating without them, but without Shrek, they'll never achieve anything!"
"What 'never look down on a poor young woman'? It's nothing more than the self-comfort of the incompetent, a dying fantasy!"
Tang San stepped forward as well. Staring at the backs of the two women as they left, his eyes brimmed with killing intent:
"If I encounter them again in the future, I won't show mercy. Traitors who betray the academy like them already have a death sentence hanging over their heads!"
On the other side of the sea, in the distant Sun Moon Continent.
It too had fallen into shock because of Chang'an City.
Sun Moon Empire, Mingdu Imperial Palace.
"Unexpected, truly unexpected!"
Emperor Xu Tianyang had previously been determined to conquer Douluo Continent, but now he looked utterly dejected:
"There is actually a force on that continent capable of controlling Soul Tools, and theirs are even more advanced than ours!"
One had to know that this was not the Sun Moon Empire ten thousand years later. At present, the highest-grade Soul Tools were only Class Eight.
Yet a secluded little city on Douluo Continent possessed Class Ten Soul Tools. How were they supposed to contend with that?
"Father Emperor!"
Crown Prince Xu Tianlong stepped forward, still high-spirited:
"In your son's opinion, a secluded force like Chang'an City certainly will not interfere in wars between nations."
"We should first locate Douluo Continent and investigate it thoroughly before taking action. There is no need to worry too much for now!"
Emperor Xu Tianyang sighed and nodded. Looking up at the Sky Screen, he said solemnly:
"I only hope the next ranking displayed by the Sky Screen will favor us. Otherwise, it will be difficult for me to fulfill my grand ambition of unifying the entire world!"
Evil Demon Forest, core restricted zone.
Watching the Sky Screen announce the completed Power Ranking overhead, Xiedi let out a frenzied roar:
"There are actually so many beings in this world who surpass The Emperor? The Emperor refuses to believe it! The Emperor will not accept this!"
His several sons, the Evil Eye Tyrants, were equally incredulous.
But they did not dare question the Sky Screen's authority, so they all fawned over him:
"Father, the world is vast, and anything is possible. No matter what, you are still the strongest being on the Sun Moon Continent!"
"That's right. Why compete with those unreachable beings outside? Looking across the Sun Moon Continent, you are an invincible existence!"
"Those so-called experts and Soul Tools of the Sun Moon Empire are nothing but children and their toys in your eyes!"
Xiedi did not listen at all. He was distraught and ground his teeth in fury.
After breaking through to eight hundred thousand years with the Heaven-Sent Reward, he had originally thought himself completely invincible beneath the heavens.
But then, damn it, there was the million-year Deep Sea Demonic Whale King, the divine beast Silver Dragon King, the Magic Beasts of Chang'an City...
And those were only the powerful figures among soul beast factions. The powerful figures among the human factions had not even been mentioned yet, including several Rank Ninety-Nines...
"Ah—!"
In a fit of rage, Xiedi rammed his head into an ancient towering tree that had stood beside him for countless years.
"I don't want to live anymore!!!"
Before you continue