Excluding Oscar

Xiao Wu's eyes sparkled with little stars. "What else did you expect? Little Six is really strong."

At that moment, Zhu Zhuqing stood up. "I'll go help."

As they spoke, Ning Chuan launched another flying kick, striking a young man from Canghui Academy.

The man took Ning Chuan's airborne kick to the chest, spat out a mouthful of sour liquid, and flew backward.

At last, the other three completed their Spirit Body Possession. Their Spirits were a deer, a goat, and a horse, all fairly weak Beast Spirits. They only had two Spirit Rings each, one white and one yellow—not even the optimal Spirit Ring configuration.

"Bastard, go die!"

Seeing Ning Chuan knock down another of their men, the horse Spirit Master's first and second Spirit Rings lit up. Brown light flared from his body, and his palms transformed into hard hooves as he punched at Ning Chuan.

Ning Chuan dodged the first few blows. As the horse-hoof Spirit Master swung his right fist at him, green light flickered around Ning Chuan's right hand. He clenched it into a fist and met the attack head-on.

Bang!

The hoof cracked. The horse Spirit Master recoiled in pain, only for Ning Chuan to chop him across the side of the face with a backhand strike, knocking him to the ground.

"We don't even need to help, do we?"

Ning Rongrong swallowed hard at the sight.

When Ning Chuan had fought Zhao Wuji earlier, Zhao Wuji had been strong enough that it had been difficult to see much. But against these low-level Spirit Masters, Ning Rongrong finally witnessed just how powerful Ning Chuan truly was.

Without even using his Spirit, he could crush several Battle Spirit Masters in Spirit Body Possession with Soul Power alone.

The horse Spirit Master could be considered the strongest of the three. Seeing him beaten so badly, the other two were instantly scared out of their wits.

"Enough." Ye Zhiqiu, Canghui Academy's teacher, finally could not bear to watch any longer. He waved for his students to retreat, then looked at Ning Chuan and the others. "I don't know what this Southern Sky Academy of yours is, but you'd better call out your teacher. Otherwise, this matter will not end today."

"Mystic Tortoise Possession!"

As he spoke, rings of black ripples spread from Ye Zhiqiu's body. His powerful aura forced Tang San, Xiao Wu, Zhu Zhuqing, and Ma Hongjun to summon their Spirits just to withstand it.

Black light flickered across Ye Zhiqiu's body. His limbs shrank by a third, and he transformed into a humanoid tortoise.

Five Spirit Rings rose around him—white, yellow, yellow, purple, purple. He was clearly a Spirit King.

As for Ning Chuan, he did not summon his Spirit Rings. He merely called forth the Green Bamboo Bee Cloud Sword, unleashing a powerful spiritual pressure. The instant his aura erupted, it directly suppressed Ye Zhiqiu in return.

Ma Hongjun knew Ning Chuan's strength. Even Zhao Wuji had suffered greatly at his hands, so what was this old tortoise worth? With all seven of them joining forces, wouldn't taking him down be effortless? Following suit, he said, "You think an old tortoise like you deserves to meet Southern Sky Academy's teacher? The few of us are more than enough to deal with you."

"Bastard!" Ye Zhiqiu's Spirit was the Mystic Tortoise, and the word "tortoise" was precisely what he hated most.

Just as he was about to attack, the innkeeper came running out, trembling. "Esteemed Spirit Masters, this humble shop is only a small business. It really cannot withstand your destruction. Please take your fight outside."

"Fine, we'll fight outside. Do you dare?" Ye Zhiqiu had yet to recover from Ma Hongjun calling him an "old tortoise."

"Why wouldn't we? Let's go."

As Southern Sky Academy's chief student, Ning Chuan naturally would not refuse the challenge.

After saying that, everyone headed outside. The people from Canghui Academy walked in front, while Ning Chuan's group of seven followed behind.

Tang San instinctively wanted to explain the theoretical knowledge he had "learned" from Yu Xiaogang. "That old man's Spirit is the Mystic Tortoise, a fairly excellent water-element Spirit. I suggest..."

Tang San rambled on at length. In essence, he proposed using their speed advantage to keep Ye Zhiqiu occupied, while using Ma Hongjun's flames to counter the Mystic Tortoise's water attribute.

In short, they were no match for Ye Zhiqiu. They could only stall him and should not even think about winning.

How could Ning Chuan let Tang San have his way? "Everything you said is based on Ye Zhiqiu being strong enough."

After coming to Shrek, the original Yu Xiaogang had devoted himself to turning the Shrek Seven Devils into a team belonging to Tang San alone. What he wanted was division.

And while he was at it, he wanted to display overwhelming strength and have Tang San begin cultivating his Second Spirit ahead of time.

"Then what do you suggest?" Tang San frowned and glared at Ning Chuan.

"Break through the surface by striking a single point." Ning Chuan lowered his voice. "Water-element Spirits generally choose ice-type Spirit Rings. Fatty can use the clinging nature of his Phoenix flames to limit his Spirit Skills. Tang San will restrain his movements, Zhuqing will launch a surprise attack, and Rongrong will support me first. I'll knock him into the air and leave him suspended there, then Xiao Wu can act when the opportunity arises. Leave the rest to me."

Compared to Tang San's, Ning Chuan's tactic was undoubtedly simpler, clearer, and more efficient. Everyone could not help but praise it, and though Tang San was displeased, he could not argue when even Xiao Wu supported it.

But Oscar was unhappy. "What about me?"

"You're a Food Spirit Master. You're not suited for the battlefield. Just handle the support work."

Ning Chuan said it casually.

Oscar clenched his teeth so hard that his molars nearly shattered. He had originally intended to have everyone ostracize Ning Rongrong, creating the illusion that she would never find another friend beyond them. Then, when she was at her most desperate and helpless, he would offer her a helping hand and thereby achieve his goal of courting her. Yet unexpectedly—

Ning Chuan, Xiao Wu, and Zhu Zhuqing were clearly all on Ning Rongrong's side. Tang San was Xiao Wu's hopelessly devoted simp, while Ma Hongjun was a fence-sitter.

Now, aside from the drained Dai Mubai, he himself had apparently become the one being excluded.

A short while later, everyone arrived outside the town. Because the Spirit Rings on their bodies were so eye-catching, quite a few spectators had followed them out from town.

By then, Ye Zhiqiu had calmed down considerably. Recalling Ning Chuan and the others' ages and Spirits, he worried that Southern Sky Academy might truly be some extraordinary academy. He said gravely, "Han Li, I'll give you one more chance. It's not too late to admit your mistake."

"There's no need for more words."

Ning Chuan did not waste any breath. Since they had decided to fight, there was no need to dwell on who was right or wrong.

"Attack!"

At Ning Chuan's command, Ma Hongjun's first Spirit Ring suddenly lit up, and he spewed out a purplish-red stream of flame.

At the same time Ma Hongjun unleashed his Phoenix Fire Line, Zhu Zhuqing's first Spirit Ring lit up as well. She circled around from the side, her speed nearly twenty percent faster than usual.

As Ning Chuan sent out a streak of Sword Qi from afar, his heart stirred. She had increased her own movement speed through her Spirit Skill. It seemed Little Cat had truly been working hard these past two days.

Zhu Zhuqing's First Spirit Skill, Hell Stab, was a close-range single-target attack. Her claws suddenly extended, doubling her speed in an instant as she swiftly struck the enemy with them.

Its effect was quite good, but its weakness was obvious: she could only attack in a straight line.

That was why Ning Chuan had suggested she try applying the effect of her First Spirit Skill to herself, thereby increasing her speed.

From the looks of it, she had already gained some understanding.

Tang San was also startled by Zhu Zhuqing's speed, but his movements were no slower. Both Spirit Rings lit up at once, and several blue-black vines covered in spikes swept toward Ye Zhiqiu.