About a month after Chen Jieqi and the others returned from Suotuo City to Heaven Dou City.
Shrek Academy welcomed a group of uninvited guests.
That evening, the sun had not yet fully set, and a dark red glow still blazed across the horizon.
Someone pushed the courtyard gate open from outside.
They didn't knock. They shoved it open!
The gate slammed against the wall with a dull thud.
Flender rushed out of the house at once.
He stopped and saw four people filing in.
At the head was a middle-aged man in a red cardinal's robe. His face was lean, his eye sockets sunken, and the corners of his mouth curved in a faint, unreadable smile.
Three men followed behind him. Their steps were measured, their auras steady, and all three were Soul Saints.
Flender frowned and instinctively adjusted his glasses with his left hand.
The instant the Cardinal stepped through the gate, the three Soul Saints behind him released their Soul Power pressure.
It crashed down like an invisible wall. Flender and Zhao Wuji were forced back half a step,
the veins on Flender's forehead bulging, while Zhao Wuji clenched his fists.
The air seemed to freeze. Even breathing became difficult, as though a stone were pressing on everyone's chest.
The students hiding behind them hardly dared to breathe. Ma Hongjun's face flushed red, and beads of sweat broke out across his forehead.
Oscar's legs trembled. He instinctively took a step back and bumped into Ning Rongrong.
Ning Rongrong said nothing. She only bit her lip and stared fixedly at the Cardinal.
Tang San stood motionless, but he could feel the pressure pricking his skin like needles,
making the Eight Spider Lances on his back tremble faintly of their own accord.
The Cardinal glanced around the courtyard, and the faint smile finally surfaced.
"Dean Flender."
His voice was not loud, but in the silent courtyard, every word rang out clearly.
"I've heard a great deal about you."
Flender took a deep breath, suppressing the surging Soul Power within him, and said in a low voice,
"What does someone from Spirit Hall want with a run-down place like mine?"
"What do I want?"
The Cardinal chuckled.
"Dean Flender, there's no need to be nervous. I have come for only two reasons."
He held up two fingers.
"First, your academy's Tang San revealed an External Soul Bone at the Great Soul Arena in Suotuo City.
According to Spirit Hall's rules, every Soul Master's External Soul Bone must be registered with Spirit Hall."
He paused.
"I came today to ask Tang San to accompany me to Spirit City and complete his registration."
Flender's expression darkened.
"Second,"
the Cardinal continued, his voice turning colder,
"Zhao Wuji, vice dean of Shrek Academy, was once a fugitive wanted by Spirit Hall for many years.
Back then, he rampaged through the Soul Master World under the name 'Immovable Bright King,' repeatedly challenging Spirit Hall's experts and damaging its reputation.
In the end, he escaped the pursuit of sixteen Cardinals and disappeared for ten years."
His gaze passed over Flender and settled on Zhao Wuji by the wall.
"Zhao Wuji, did you think you could hide in this run-down place and no one would recognize you?"
Zhao Wuji said nothing.
His fists clenched even tighter, veins spreading from the backs of his hands to his forearms.
His dark face began to flush, but he did not move.
The Cardinal looked away and turned back to Flender.
"Dean Flender, I'll give you two choices.
First, hand over Tang San and let him come with me to Spirit City for registration and a thorough investigation. I can let Zhao Wuji's past go.
Second..."
His voice dropped, growing even colder.
"I will tear Shrek Academy out by its roots on the charge of 'sheltering a wanted criminal.'
You, Zhao Wuji, and all these students of yours—none of you will get away."
A deathly silence fell over the courtyard.
Flender stood in front of the gate, his face livid.
His lips moved, but no words came out. It was true that Zhao Wuji had once been wanted by Spirit Hall, and Flender had known about it.
If that charge was proven, the entire academy would be implicated.
Seeing his expression, the Cardinal's smile deepened.
"Dean Flender, surely you're not so unreasonable?
You'd sacrifice the entire academy for one student?"
Just then, a voice came from behind them.
"What if I refuse?"
Everyone froze.
Yu Xiaogang walked out of the house. His steps were slow, but each one was steady.
His face was pale, and his hands trembled faintly, but he did not back down.
He went to stand beside Flender.
He hesitated for a moment. When Tang Hao had given him the token, he had warned him,
"Don't take it out unless there's no other choice."
Then he took the token out of his Soul Tool.
It was pitch-black, with intricate patterns carved along its edges. The only thing on its face was a hammer.
Yu Xiaogang moved slowly, as though performing a solemn ritual.
His hand trembled, but he did not hesitate.
The moment the token appeared, the Cardinal's expression froze.
His pupils contracted, and the faint smile vanished completely.
He stared at the token as if he had seen something that should not exist.
He recognized it. Everyone in the Soul Master World did.
It was an Elder Token of Spirit Hall. There were only six in existence, with the Upper Three Sects each holding one.
They represented the Clear Sky Hammer, the Seven Kill Sword, and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon.
Each one represented the will of a Titled Douluo.
The one in Yu Xiaogang's hand belonged to the Clear Sky Sect.
It had once belonged to the Clear Sky Douluo—Tang Hao.
The Cardinal's back muscles tensed sharply. He glanced around despite himself.
His gaze swept over every window, every shadow, every patch of darkness, as if that man might step out from any corner at any moment.
He could disregard Yu Xiaogang's influence, but he could not disregard a Titled Douluo who might appear at any moment.
And this was the youngest Titled Douluo on the continent, the Clear Sky Douluo who had hammered the former Pope to death.
"Grandmaster, you..."
The Cardinal's voice changed. It was no longer contemptuous; it was now thick with barely suppressed apprehension.
Yu Xiaogang looked at him and spoke each word distinctly.
"I stake this Elder Token on the fact that Tang San and Zhao Wuji have done nothing wrong.
As for Zhao Wuji's wanted notice, go back and tell Bibi Dong to come speak with me herself."
The whole courtyard fell silent.
The Cardinal stared fixedly at the token, his chest heaving.
His lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he only gave a sharp wave of his hand.
"Let's go."
He turned and strode toward the gate. The three Soul Saints followed, moving much faster than they had on the way in.
At the gate, the Cardinal stopped and looked back.
"Grandmaster,"
he said, his voice calm again, though a trace of menace now ran through it.
"You may protect him for a while, but you can't protect him forever.
And Zhao Wuji's wanted notice won't disappear just because you have a token."
Then he left. The four men disappeared into the night as abruptly as they had arrived.
The gate closed again, but the courtyard remained deathly silent.
No one spoke.
Flender stood where he was, his back soaked with cold sweat.
Zhao Wuji leaned against the wall and slowly sank to the ground, bracing himself with both hands as his shoulders trembled faintly.
Tang San stood frozen in place, his nails digging into his palms. His face was pale, his lips pressed into a thin line.
Blood seeped between his fingers and fell to the ground, one drop at a time, spreading into a dark red stain,
like a blooming otherworldly flower. He felt no pain.
Only a voice deep in his heart kept asking,
"Why me? Why is Spirit Hall targeting me?
Is it the External Soul Bone? Or... something else?"
For the first time, he realized with absolute clarity that without strength, he didn't even have the right to choose.
Zhao Wuji got to his feet without a word, went back inside, and shut the door.
Flender stood outside and heard a faint sound from within, like a fist thudding against the wall.
He raised a hand to knock, then lowered it again. He stood outside the door in silence for a long time.
That night, Ning Rongrong lay in bed, staring blankly into space. She could not fall asleep for a long while.
She thought of the way Chen Jieqi had looked at her: calm and respectful, without fawning over her because she was Sect Master Ning's daughter,
and without showing any less patience because of her spoiled behavior.
She had once thought he was lecturing her. Now she suddenly realized that when he looked at her,
he saw neither the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect nor "Sect Master Ning's daughter."
He saw only her.
She turned over and buried her face in her pillow. She didn't know what she was thinking,
but she knew she wanted to go see Heaven Dou City.
But Shrek's peace lasted only three days.