Shrek City's Liu Family!

Sea God Pavilion.

Mu En sat by the window, holding a cup of hot tea.

Sunlight streamed through the window, falling across his aged face.

His gaze rested outside, looking toward the south of the city.

That was where Shrek City's South City Gate stood.

"This Liu Family is getting more and more out of line."

He murmured, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.

He had seen what happened just moments ago, perfectly clearly.

That good-for-nothing from the Liu Family had stopped Bai Lan and tried to abduct her.

Then Yinye had casually waved a hand and sent him sprawling into the dirt.

"He didn't kill anyone." Mu En nodded. "This kid's getting steadier."

With Bai Lan's current strength, if she had really killed that fellow,

he wouldn't have said a thing.

After all, Liu Minghui had brought it on himself.

He took a sip of tea, his gaze growing profound.

"However..."

He set down his teacup and looked toward Liu Mansion.

"The Liu Family really has grown too arrogant over the years."

"It's time to knock them down a peg."

Just then, footsteps sounded outside the door.

"Teacher."

Yan Shaozhe pushed open the door, walked up to Mu En, and bowed.

Mu En looked at him, raising an eyebrow slightly.

"You're here so early?"

Yan Shaozhe nodded, excitement plain on his face.

"Teacher, Bai Lan's situation... did it work?"

Mu En smiled.

"It worked."

Yan Shaozhe's eyes lit up. "The Ice Empress's contract succeeded?"

"More than succeeded."

"It succeeded spectacularly."

"The Ice Empress is now seven hundred thousand years old."

Mu En nodded, his eyes filled with awe.

The sight he had just witnessed appeared in his mind once again.

It had been truly magnificent.

Yan Shaozhe froze, then his eyes widened.

"Holy shit!?"

"Seven... seven hundred thousand?"

"Are you serious!?"

Mu En briefly recounted what had happened.

The contract with the Ice Empress.

Three evolutions.

From four hundred thousand to seven hundred thousand years.

No Heavenly Tribulation.

After hearing it all, Yan Shaozhe stood rooted to the spot.

It was a long while before he found his voice.

"Seven hundred thousand years... without a Heavenly Tribulation... that means..."

Mu En looked at him, his gaze profound.

"It means her age has been acknowledged by heaven and earth."

"She truly is seven hundred thousand years old."

"It's the acknowledgment of the Origin of Ice."

Yan Shaozhe drew a deep breath.

He knew what that meant.

A seven-hundred-thousand-year Ferocious Beast had willingly followed a seven-year-old child.

If word of this got out, the entire continent would be shaken.

"Teacher."

"What about the Snow Empress..."

Mu En waved a hand.

"The Snow Empress is waiting."

"She's waiting for Bai Lan to reach level forty."

Yan Shaozhe nodded, suppressing his shock.

At the same time, he felt relieved.

"The problem of Ultimate Ice is more or less solved."

"That child, Xiaotao, can be saved."

Mu En looked at him and suddenly asked:

"By the way, when you came in just now, did you see anything?"

Yan Shaozhe paused.

"See what?"

Mu En smiled and told him what had happened at the city gate.

Yan Shaozhe's expression darkened as he listened.

"The Liu Family?" His brow furrowed. "That good-for-nothing Liu Minghui?"

Mu En nodded.

Yan Shaozhe was silent for a moment, then said:

"Teacher, let me handle this."

Mu En looked at him. "How do you intend to handle it?"

Yan Shaozhe thought for a moment, then said:

"The Liu Family really has been getting more and more out of line over the years."

"They've been throwing their weight around the city, taking advantage of their ties to the academy."

"It's time they learned that Shrek City doesn't belong to the Liu Family."

Mu En nodded.

"Go ahead."

"Don't go too far, but don't go too easy on them either."

Yan Shaozhe bowed and turned to leave.

He stopped suddenly when he reached the doorway.

Looking back at Mu En, he asked:

"Teacher, what about Bai Lan..."

Mu En waved a hand.

"That kid knows what he's doing."

"You don't need to worry."

"If he really takes offense, Liu Minghui—and even the entire Liu Family—could be wiped out."

"Do you really think a seven-hundred-thousand-year Ice Empress is just for show?"

"Even if the Ice Empress doesn't act, Yinye, at four hundred thousand years, could wipe them out with ease."

"Right." Yan Shaozhe found that perfectly reasonable, nodded, and left through the door.

Mu En picked up his teacup again and looked out the window.

Sunlight fell across his face.

A faint smile touched his lips.

"The Liu Family..."

He murmured.

"I hope you know what's good for you."

Liu Mansion.

The main hall.

Liu Minghui knelt on the ground, head lowered, trembling all over.

A middle-aged man in his fifties sat before him.

The Liu Family's head, Liu Zhenshan.

An Eight-Ring Soul Douluo.

"What did you say?" Liu Zhenshan's voice was cold.

Liu Minghui stammered, "Father, I... I just saw those two girls were pretty and wanted to go over and get acquainted..."

"Get acquainted?" Liu Zhenshan sneered. "You call that getting acquainted? You were trying to abduct them!"

Liu Minghui didn't dare speak.

Liu Zhenshan stood and walked over to him.

"Have you found out who they are?"

Liu Minghui shook his head.

"N-no... not yet..."

Liu Zhenshan raised his hand!

Slap!

He struck Liu Minghui across the face.

Liu Minghui went flying, crashed into a pillar, then fell to the ground.

"Useless!" Liu Zhenshan cursed. "You didn't even know who they were, and you still dared to make a move?"

Liu Minghui held his face, not daring to say a word.

A woman beside them rushed over and helped Liu Minghui up.

"Husband!" she shrieked. "Why are you hitting our son? They were just two women! With the power of the Liu Family, who could we possibly be afraid of offending?"

"You're an Eight-Ring Soul Douluo, after all!"

Liu Zhenshan glared at her.

"What a foolish woman!"

"What do you know?"

He returned to his seat and sat down.

"That woman sent someone flying with a casual wave of her hand."

"She's at least a Soul Saint."

"And that's the bare minimum! There's no telling what her real level is!"

He looked at Liu Minghui, his eyes burning with furious disappointment.

"You provoked someone above the Soul Saint level, and you expected to walk away unscathed?"

"Do you think Soul Saints are just for show!?"

"Did it never occur to you that she might be an Eight-Ring Soul Douluo, or even a nine-ring Titled Douluo?"

"There have been plenty of young Eight-Ring Soul Douluo and nine-ring Titled Douluo over the past ten thousand years!"

"When someone has reached a high level and has the help of heavenly treasures, they can maintain a youthful appearance!"

Liu Minghui's face turned deathly pale.

An Eight-Ring Soul Douluo?

A nine-ring Titled Douluo!?

Had he provoked someone that terrifying?

Surely not?

"Father..." he stammered. "Th-then what do we do?"

Liu Zhenshan was silent for a few seconds.

Then he spoke:

"Investigate."

"Find out who those three people are."

"If they aren't what I suspect..."

A ruthless glint flashed in his eyes.

"Anyone who dares lay a hand on someone from the Liu Family has to pay the price."

Before long,

Word arrived.

Liu Zhenshan sat in the main hall, listening to his servant's report.

"Head of the family, we've found out."

"Those three went to Shrek Academy."

Liu Zhenshan furrowed his brow.

Shrek Academy?

"Go on."

"That child is a student at Shrek Academy. His name is Bai Lan. He enrolled at six, and he's seven this year."

"The two women aren't students. They've been by his side the whole time, so they're probably... bodyguards or something."

Liu Zhenshan fell silent.

A student at Shrek Academy.

With bodyguards at the Soul Saint level or higher.

What kind of background did this child have?

"Anything else?" he asked.

The servant shook his head.

"That's all for now."

Liu Zhenshan waved him away.

He sat in his chair, brows tightly knitted.

Shrek Academy.

He couldn't afford to provoke it.

But—

If they left Shrek Academy, perhaps...

"Master!" a panicked voice called from outside.

Liu Zhenshan looked up.

A servant stumbled in, his face deathly pale.

"Something's wrong! Someone from Shrek Academy is here!"

Liu Zhenshan's pupils contracted.

He sprang to his feet.

"Who?"

The servant stammered, "It... it's Dean Yan Shaozhe!"

Liu Zhenshan's expression changed.

Yan Shaozhe.

The Dean of the Martial Soul Department in Shrek Academy's Outer Courtyard.

A Titled Douluo.

Why had he come in person?

Could it have something to do with that mysterious Bai Lan?

"Quick, go greet him!"