Douluo: Martial Soul Iron-Eating Beast, Never a Slave

However, as his palm came down, Zhao Father noticed through the gaps between his fingers that Zhao Mu still looked completely calm, without the slightest trace of panic or worry.

His teeth lightly pressed together. Watching the movement of Zhao Mu's lips, Zhao Father understood what Zhao Mu was saying.

It was clearly:

"Heibai, use Rocket Headbutt!"

Rocket Headbutt?!

Compared to Zhao Mu's rather varied First Soul Skill, Zhao Father was actually more familiar with Rocket Headbutt. After all, Zhao Mu had improvised it right in front of him after obtaining his second Soul Ring.

Although he had always said Zhao Mu was messing around, Zhao Father actually approved of the techniques Zhao Mu had developed. They were highly practical.

But Heibai had just been thrown more than ten meters away. At that distance, there was no way it could use Rocket Headbutt in time.

Yet just as Zhao Father thought this, the situation on the field seemed to suddenly change.

In that instant, Zhao Father's vision went dark, as though some enormous creature had suddenly slammed into him.

Although the impact could not seriously injure Zhao Father, caught off guard and unable to react in time, he was sent flying.

With a loud bang, the massive Zhao Father crashed hard onto the open ground several meters away from Zhao Mu.

Pushing himself up from the ground, Zhao Father immediately looked toward Zhao Mu, clearly curious about what had sent him flying.

When he focused his eyes, he saw that the black shadow that had knocked him away was actually... Heibai, whose current build was nearly the same as his own?!

Heibai?!

It really was Heibai?!

Heibai raised both arms high and howled.

The Panda King had finally shown its might. Did they really think it was some sickly oversized cat?!

They dared to flip it over, so it would send them flying!

An Iron-Eating Beast always repaid its grudges!

Could it really have been as Zhao Mu said? Had Heibai used Rocket Headbutt to knock him flying?

But Heibai had clearly been thrown more than ten meters away!

With those short little legs, how could it possibly have rushed back to Zhao Mu in time and used Rocket Headbutt to knock him away?

And even if Heibai had used Rocket Headbutt, it should have struck him from behind. How had it charged into him from the front?

Zhao Father's head was filled with questions, and he could not help looking toward Second Grandfather and Zhao Ru, who were watching from the side.

They said onlookers saw things more clearly. The two of them should have seen it better.

Second Grandfather and Zhao Ru were equally stunned. They had indeed seen what happened, and precisely because they had seen it, their shock was even greater, their faces filled with disbelief.

"What exactly happened just now? How did Heibai suddenly return to defend you? Could it be that this little fellow can use Teleportation?" In the end, Zhao Father chose to directly ask Zhao Mu, the instigator.

Other than Teleportation, Zhao Father could not think of any reasonable explanation.

Second Grandfather and Zhao Ru had naturally seen it clearly. What they had witnessed was Heibai, who had been thrown away, suddenly vanishing without explanation. When it reappeared, it was already standing in front of Zhao Father.

Could it really have been Teleportation?

Facing their questions, Zhao Mu did not keep them in suspense. He simply smiled and explained.

"Father, this isn't Teleportation, nor is it some advanced technique. You've merely overlooked one important point."

Zhao Father and the other two were even more confused. "What did we overlook?"

Zhao Mu smiled. "Although Heibai is an independent living being, it is also my Martial Soul!"

"Soul Masters can choose Martial Soul Possession or dismiss it, and I can likewise choose to summon or recall Heibai."

"It's just that Heibai doesn't like being recalled and prefers staying in the real world after being summoned, so I never recalled it."

"In fact, Heibai's existence is equivalent to other Soul Masters using Martial Soul Possession. During this time, my Soul Power has constantly been slowly consumed. But over this period, I discovered that this uninterrupted consumption has given me far more Soul Power capacity than other people."

Simply put, he had a much larger mana pool!

"Just now, Father, you threw Heibai more than ten meters away. It couldn't possibly rush back in time, so I simply dismissed its summons, then immediately summoned it again. After being summoned again, Heibai would appear by my side."

As he spoke, Zhao Mu and Heibai demonstrated it again.

Before the three of them, Heibai vanished right before their eyes. Not long afterward, it strangely reappeared to Zhao Mu's left.

Zhao Father and the others understood the logic, but they had fallen into a mental trap. Since Heibai had always followed Zhao Mu, they had subconsciously regarded it as something like a pet and completely forgotten that Heibai was Zhao Mu's Martial Soul.

Though it seemed like a very simple maneuver, to Zhao Mu, it was an incredible ability. No matter where Heibai was, it could instantly return to his side at any time. It was practically a limited form of Teleportation.

Zhao Father and the other two naturally understood this as well. Their previous concerns that someone might target Zhao Mu vanished with this move.

As long as Zhao Mu and Heibai could instantly reunite, no one could lure Heibai away like Zhao Father had just done and then attack Zhao Mu. Heibai could appear beside Zhao Mu at any time. Anyone who wanted to harm Zhao Mu would never be able to bypass Heibai.

Awoo, awoo, awoo~

Heibai truly did not like being recalled by Zhao Mu, but if it was only for a short while, it could still accept it.

Of course, the prerequisite was extra food!

After explaining, Zhao Mu turned back to Zhao Father. "Father, then let's continue!"

Zhao Father did not move. Instead, he withdrew from Martial Soul Possession. "I said that if you could withstand that last wave of attacks, I would agree to let you go out and see the world."

"Before, we were worried that you would encounter danger after leaving, so we planned to let you go only once you had enough strength. But now that Heibai can stay close and protect you, we naturally have no reason to keep stopping you."

"And the incense has already burned out."

Hearing this, Zhao Mu turned to look and saw that the last bit of ash had already fallen to the ground.

Although Zhao Ru was reluctant, she still respected Zhao Mu's choice.

"Thank you, Father! Thank you, Mother! Thank you, Second Grandfather! I'll go back and pack later."

"You brat, what are you in such a hurry for? Are you really that eager to leave us? Now that we've agreed to let you go out, what's wrong with staying home for another two days? You don't even know how to spend more time with your mother."

Zhao Mu nodded. He was certainly attached to the place where he had lived for six or seven years. At that moment, it suddenly felt like when he had once left home to attend university—leaving his hometown, going off alone...

No.

This time, Heibai would be by Zhao Mu's side!

Over the next few days, Zhao Mu did not focus too much on cultivation. Instead, he set aside time to spend with his parents.

Heibai, free from training, naturally ran wild. And because they would soon be leaving, Zhao Ru prepared plenty of food for Zhao Mu and Heibai. The smile on Heibai's face never disappeared.

Zhao Santai also took the opportunity to give Zhao Mu some advice.

"Mu'er, if you encounter any trouble after going out, you can try going to a place called Shrek Academy. Your second uncle teaches there, and the academy's instruction is more professional. With your second uncle there, you'll have someone you know and feel more at ease."

Professional?

Did Shrek even have any professionals?

Or rather, did Shrek have any normal people?

Go to Shrek Academy?

Not even a dog would go!

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From the headmaster to the teachers—no, even the students—did Shrek Academy have a single normal person?

Headmaster Flender was greedy for money, and he could indulge Ma Hongjun in visiting brothels and listening to music. His values could not be much better! The key was, how old was Ma Hongjun? Zhao Mu, who had received modern education, simply could not understand it.

As for Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang, two hundred words had been omitted here. Everyone could imagine it themselves.

As for the remaining students, the girls were either spoiled, willful young misses or brainless love-struck fools, while the boys were lecherous little hooligans.

Those who kept close to vermilion turned red, and those who kept close to ink turned black. Idiocy was contagious, so Zhao Mu had better stay far away from them.

As for the professionalism Zhao Father mentioned?

Wasn't it just running while carrying rocks and actual combat in the Soul Fighting Arena? Even without Shrek Academy, he could do that himself.

And there was one even more crucial point: Shrek was poor!

If he wanted his future Soul Rings to be stronger, he needed better heavenly treasures. Could Shrek help him obtain those? Forget heavenly treasures—Shrek probably could not even afford Heibai's meals.

"Heibai, would you go somewhere that couldn't even provide food?"

Awoo, awoo, awoo~

Heibai glanced sideways at Zhao Mu, its pitch-black, gleaming eyes full of disdain.

If there was no food, only an idiot would go!

Still, Zhao Mu did not outright reject his father. After all, his father meant well and was thinking of him.

"If I get the chance, I'll go find Second Uncle!"

Zhao Mu did not ask why his father had news of his second uncle, Zhao Wuji. In any case, it had little to do with him.