Beneath the Sky Screen, the audiences in the two worlds wore different expressions.
In the Black World, those who had still wanted to offer a few words in defense of their Dai Mubai fell silent.
They watched the scene in the White World: the six-year-old child whom the Star Luo Emperor guarded like a precious treasure. Then they looked at their own prince, sprawled on the ground, doing nothing but blaming his misfortune.
A feeling of "being furious at iron for not becoming steel" spread through everyone's heart.
So, not every member of the Star Luo Imperial Family was cold and heartless.
As it turned out, as long as you proved your worth, so-called rules were nothing more than stepping-stones for the strong.
Just then, the scene on the Sky Screen changed.
The White World's view did not cut away. It remained outside the Prince's Mansion.
Although the Star Luo Emperor had ordered Dai Weisi to get lost and return to confinement, the eldest prince clearly wasn't satisfied.
He climbed to his feet, half his face swollen like a risen bun.
He didn't dare glare at the Star Luo Emperor.
Those eyes, filled with venom and malice, fixed on Dai Mubai, who stood behind the emperor.
The meaning in that look was clear.
Don't get cocky.
Father can protect you for a while, but he can't protect you forever.
Given the chance, I'll kill you.
His naked hostility was enough to make anyone's spine go cold, even through the Sky Screen.
The Black World's audience tensed.
They knew that look all too well.
Back then, Dai Weisi had used that very expression to drive Dai Mubai to the brink, step by step, until he became a stray dog.
And yet.
Faced with that vicious glare, six-year-old Dai Mubai didn't hide behind his father.
Instead, he took a step forward.
The little figure emerged from behind the Star Luo Emperor's wide dragon robe.
He raised his head and looked Dai Weisi straight in the eye.
He said nothing.
Dai Mubai simply looked quietly at the so-called elder brother. A golden-red glint suddenly flashed in his clear eyes.
It wasn't the gaze of a human.
It was the gaze of a ruler of the jungle, a king of beasts—a gaze that looked down upon life itself.
Humm.
The air trembled faintly.
Behind Dai Mubai, there was no dazzling light show of Martial Soul Possession. Only an exceedingly faint phantom flickered into view and vanished.
It was a White Tiger.
With wings on its back, it looked down upon all creation.
The phantom appeared for less than the blink of an eye. Even the Star Luo Emperor, standing right beside him, failed to notice it.
But Dai Weisi saw it.
In Dai Weisi's eyes, the one standing opposite him wasn't his six-year-old younger brother at all.
It was a Primordial Fierce Beast, its gaping jaws wide open, ready to devour its prey at any moment.
A fear rising from the depths of his soul instantly shattered his psychological defenses.
It was the absolute suppression of a superior over an inferior.
It was the bloodline crushing of the Radiant Holy Tiger over an ordinary White Tiger.
"Ah!"
Dai Weisi cried out.
His legs suddenly went limp, as though their bones had been pulled out.
Thud.
In full view of everyone,
the usually arrogant and domineering eldest prince dropped straight to his knees in front of Dai Mubai.
Both knees hit the ground.
He fell hard, and the crack of his knees striking the ground rang out clearly.
Everyone was stunned.
Even the Star Luo Emperor was taken aback, unable to understand what his eldest son was trying to pull now.
Dai Mubai looked at Dai Weisi, trembling on his knees before him, without a trace of mockery on his face.
He merely said coolly,
"Why is my elder brother showing me such a grand courtesy?"
"I'm not worthy of it."
After that, he couldn't be bothered to look at Dai Weisi again. He turned and took the Star Luo Emperor's hand once more.
"Father, let's go. I want to see the Spirit Bone."
The Star Luo Emperor came back to himself, shot his kneeling eldest son a disgusted glance, and snorted. Then he led Dai Mubai away.
Dai Weisi was left kneeling alone. Cold sweat had soaked through his back. He was trembling, unable even to find the strength to stand.
Black World.
After a brief silence, thunderous cheers erupted.
"Good!"
"He's on his knees!"
"That's so satisfying! Now that's a real man!"
In taverns and on the streets, countless people clapped and cheered.
"See that? That's what you call presence!"
"He didn't even have to lift a finger. One look, and he scared Dai Weisi to his knees!"
"This Dai Mubai from the White World is only six, yet he's already so imposing. What'll he be like when he grows up?"
The more people praised the White World's Dai Mubai, the more disdainfully they looked at the Dai Mubai of the Black World.
Inside Shrek Academy,
Flender pushed up his glasses and let out a heavy sigh.
Zhao Wuji was even more blunt. He curled his lip and said,
"If our Mu Bai had even half of his courage... No, even a tenth, he wouldn't have ended up like this."
Ma Hongjun muttered under his breath,
"Boss Dai used to run the moment he saw Dai Weisi. Forget making him kneel—if Dai Mubai didn't kneel to him, that alone would've counted as guts."
Every word struck home.
The Dai Mubai of the Black World, slumped on the ground, wore a face twisted with rage.
He clutched the grass so hard that his nails broke, drawing blood.
"That was Martial Soul suppression!"
"That was bloodline suppression!"
"That Dai Weisi was just a loser! He got scared into kneeling!"
He shouted himself hoarse, trying to defend the last pitiful scrap of his dignity.
"If I had a Radiant Holy Tiger, I could make him kneel too!"
"This isn't fair! It's not that I'm inferior to him—it's that my Martial Soul is inferior!"
But no one paid any attention to his helpless fury.
They looked at him as if he were a clown.
It was hard enough to admit someone else was exceptional. Admitting that another version of yourself from a different world was ten thousand times stronger was harder still.
The scenes on the Sky Screen shifted, and time raced forward.
[White World]
[Time: Three months later]
[Location: Star Luo Empire Royal Soul Hunting Ground]
The scene showed a lush, green primeval forest.
This was where the Star Luo Imperial Family kept Spirit Beasts. Though it wasn't as dangerous as the Star Dou Great Forest, many powerful Spirit Beasts still lived there.
A group of people made their way through the woods.
At the head of the group was Dai Mubai.
Three months had passed. His aura had grown even more refined. Though he was still only six, every gesture carried the composure of a powerful expert.
Two royal retainers followed behind him. Both were Soul Douluo-level experts.
The Star Luo Emperor had specially assigned them to protect him.
"Your Highness, the Diamond Tiger's territory lies ahead."
One of the retainers spoke respectfully.
"According to our intelligence, there's a four-hundred-and-twenty-year-old Diamond Tiger there. It would be just right for your First Spirit Ring."
"The Diamond Tiger excels at killing and has good defenses. It's a perfect match for your White Tiger Martial Soul."
It truly was the best possible choice.
According to Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang's theory of the Ten Core Competencies, the limit for a First Spirit Ring was four hundred and twenty-three years.
This Diamond Tiger was practically tailor-made for Dai Mubai.
And yet.
Dai Mubai stopped walking.
He shook his head and looked toward the depths of the forest. From that direction came a series of heart-stopping roars.
"No."
Dai Mubai spoke, his voice childish but firm.
"I want that one."
The retainer followed his gaze, and his expression immediately changed.
"Your Highness, that's the Thunder Demon Tiger's territory!"
"There's a Thunder Demon Tiger nearing a thousand years old in there. Never mind its violent nature, just its age alone..."
"That Spirit Beast is nine hundred years old, maybe even close to a thousand!"
"A thousand-year-old Spirit Ring for your first? Absolutely not! Your body would explode!"
The two retainers turned pale with fright.
If anything happened to this young master, the Star Luo Emperor would skin them alive.
But Dai Mubai only smiled.
"Four hundred years is the limit for an ordinary talent, not for me."
"My Martial Soul is the Radiant Holy Tiger, the progenitor of the White Tiger."
"If I only absorbed a few-hundred-year Yellow Soul Ring as my First Spirit Ring, that would be an insult to this Martial Soul."
"I want the ultimate in attack power."
"I want that Thunder Demon Tiger."
"Let's go."
Black World.
Seeing this, the people who had been laughing at the Black World's Dai Mubai were stunned.
"Is he crazy?"
"He wants to absorb a Spirit Ring from a beast that's nearly a thousand years old for his first?"
"And it's a Thunder Demon Tiger, with such a violent attribute?"
"Has this kid gotten carried away? Does he think he's immortal just because he awakened a good Martial Soul?"
Yu Xiaogang was sitting on the training grounds at Shrek Academy. The moment he saw this, he jumped to his feet.
His stiff face bore a deeply scornful expression.
"Ignorant!"
"Utterly foolish!"
Yu Xiaogang pointed at the Sky Screen and shouted, using the moment to assert his authority:
"The limit for the First Spirit Ring is four hundred and twenty-three years! That's an ironclad rule, a truth I arrived at after studying countless sources!"
"The human body has its limits. No matter how powerful the Martial Soul is, how could a six-year-old body withstand the energy of a Spirit Beast nearly a thousand years old?"
"What's more, he chose a Thunder Demon Tiger!"
"The White Tiger Martial Soul is powerful, but it isn't purely a Thunder-type Martial Soul. He's supposed to follow the path of Metal-type attacks."
"Metal represents killing; thunder represents frenzy."
"When these two extremes of energy collide inside the body, there's only one possible outcome—he'll explode!"
Yu Xiaogang grew more agitated with every word, spittle flying everywhere.
"This is what happens when you don't have a renowned master to guide you!"
"Even if he's a peerless genius, when it comes to Martial Soul Theory, he's a complete idiot!"
"He's bound to learn a painful lesson this time!"
"He could even explode!"
"My theory can't possibly be wrong!"
"Otherwise, I wouldn't be Yu Xiaogang!"
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