"Teacher Zhou isn't that kind of person!" Huo Yuhao suddenly shouted, his eyes turning red.
"I don't believe it!" Wang Dong shook her head.
"I don't believe it either!" Xiao Xiao clenched her little fists and shook her head as well.
"You..." Zhou Yi was deeply moved. She had already been prepared to defend herself.
"Enough!"
Xuan Zi roared angrily and glared at Qin Chuan, his voice icy. "You brat! You dare insult my Shrek Academy so brazenly. Do you really think you'll be safe just because you're hiding in the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy?"
"Are you threatening me?"
Qin Chuan stepped forward. Xiao Hongchen was dumbfounded by the sight. Was his brother-in-law really this fierce? Admiration welled up in him.
Xuan Zi stared fixedly at Qin Chuan, his expression growing increasingly hostile.
"Good. The one thing I've never feared in my life is a threat."
At those words, Xuan Zi froze for a moment. Behind him, Ma Xiaotao, Dai Yueheng, and the others all clenched their fists. No one had ever dared to ride roughshod over them like this.
Humiliation!
Utter humiliation!
Qin Chuan smiled calmly. "You'd better watch yourselves. If you accidentally get poisoned by my Death Spider Emperor poison in some future match, and don't get the antidote within a minute, your whole body will rot away and you'll die. I guarantee you'll experience a minute you'll never forget."
"You dare!"
Rage surged in Xuan Zi's heart, and he could no longer hold back from attacking Qin Chuan.
Golden Crocodile Douluo strode forward and came to stand in front of Xuan Zi. Their powerful auras clashed, and even the hotel trembled slightly.
"If you dare attack, I guarantee no one will leave here alive today!" Golden Crocodile Douluo said coldly, his threat unmistakable.
"Don't think I'm joking with you, either."
Xuan Zi looked at Qin Chuan and warned him word by word. His voice was icy as he said, "If anything happens to my students, or if anyone is killed during a match against your academy, then when I lose my temper, no one will be able to stop me."
"I'm warning you too. If anyone from Shrek Academy dares kill even one person from the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy, I'll kill two of yours. If you kill two, I'll kill four. I'll keep going until every last one of you is slaughtered!"
Qin Chuan matched his threat without backing down, a murderous glint in his eyes.
At that moment, Dai Yueheng, Ma Xiaotao, and Bei Bei were all stunned. An inexplicable chill crept up their backs. Their feet went cold as they stared fixedly at Qin Chuan, regarding him as their greatest enemy.
"Hmph!"
Qin Chuan swept his sleeve, patted the stunned Xiao Hongchen on the shoulder, and said calmly, "Let's go."
"Huh? Oh!"
Xiao Hongchen hurried after him, his earlier arrogance completely gone.
"Heh heh heh..." Golden Crocodile Douluo let out a low laugh, then turned and left with his hands behind his back.
At that moment, the air was oppressively tense. Xuan Zi was barely holding back his fury. His hands were clenched so tightly that drops of crimson blood trickled from between his fingers and fell to the ground.
"This boy must not be allowed to live." A cold look flashed through Dai Yueheng's eyes.
"What a vicious bastard!" Xu Sanshi gritted his teeth, deeply wary of him.
"Elder Xuan, what should we do from now on? I was still hoping to kill one or two people from the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy to vent my anger!" Ma Xiaotao asked hurriedly.
"I'll report this to the academy. This Qin Chuan will become a major enemy of ours, and he's especially hostile toward Shrek Academy. We can't afford to let our guard down."
Elder Xuan took a deep breath, then turned to the others and instructed them sternly, "A fight between us and the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy is inevitable. When the time comes, kill this Qin Chuan first. We must eliminate the threat for good."
"Yes."
Everyone nodded under the weight of the moment, unanimously regarding Qin Chuan as their greatest enemy and target.
"Elder Xuan, what if Qin Chuan is killed and the power behind him retaliates against Shrek Academy?" Xu Sanshi asked nervously.
"My Shrek Academy has stood firm for ten thousand years. Does a mere ant really think it can shake us?"
"Besides, the three great empires aren't pushovers, either. I'll discuss this with the Star Luo Empire's emperor today. Someone like him is simply too dangerous. We must step up our precautions."
An icy chill filled Xuan Zi's eyes. He, too, had formed a murderous intent.
"I even suspect... Qin Chuan might have some connection to the person who left those eight characters all those years ago."
Everyone's hearts stirred, and their expressions darkened.
As students of Shrek Academy, they naturally had to put the academy's honor first.
If Elder Xuan was right, and Qin Chuan was the one who had beheaded the statues of the First Generation Shrek Seven Monsters with his sword and left the words "A ten-thousand-year blood feud, settled today"—combined with what had happened today...
There was no doubt that he would become the academy's greatest threat.
The All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Fighting Tournament might be an opportunity—a perfect chance to eliminate a future threat to the academy.
"...Were all those things you said today true?" Xiao Hongchen asked, at a loss for words.
"I was warning them not to try anything underhanded." Qin Chuan smiled calmly, completely untroubled.
"They... would really kill someone? But that's Shrek Academy." Xiao Hongchen found it hard to believe.
"Some sanctimonious hypocrites. Suppose someone from Shrek Academy kills you during a Soul Fighting match. They'll come up with hundreds or even thousands of excuses. They'll say you deliberately ran into my Soul Skill, or that you were killed because you hadn't mastered your skills. In short, they'll always put themselves on the moral high ground when judging others. That's the so-called number-one academy in the world."
"The same goes the other way around. Suppose you kill one of Shrek Academy's students. That old man just now was Xuan Zi. His Martial Soul is the Godly Taotie Bull, and he's a level-98 Super Douluo. You heard what he said."
"Typical: I can kill you, but you can't kill one of my people."
"As the saying goes, a life for a life and debts must be repaid. An academy like that has no reason to exist."
Qin Chuan patted Xiao Hongchen on the shoulder and said earnestly, "My grudge with Shrek Academy won't put you in the crosshairs. You'll run into them as the competition goes on, so you must be extremely careful."
"What about you? Are you planning to take on Shrek Academy by yourself?" Xiao Hongchen asked, frowning.
"You don't need to worry about me." Qin Chuan smiled easily.
"You dying wouldn't matter, but you can't leave Meng alone for the rest of her life, can you?"
Qin Chuan: "...You're my brother-in-law, but that still hurts. What do you mean, it wouldn't matter if I died?"
"You know, I've never liked you, ever since we were kids."
"Because I stole your sister from you?"
"That's not all... I've always lost to you. Before you showed up, I was the academy's number-one prodigy. Then you came along."
Xiao Hongchen laughed until he started crying.
"Six years. Six years! Do you know how I've been getting through these past six years? Every time we competed at making Soul Tools, I lost. I lost to you six years in a row. Do you have any idea what that's been like for me?"
Qin Chuan watched Xiao Hongchen cry in front of him for the first time. He wasn't any good at comforting people, so he slowly lowered the hand he had raised.
"Anyway, I'll tell Grandpa what happened today. You're the one who really needs to be careful."
"Don't get the wrong idea. I'm not worried about you. I'm just concerned that Meng might end up alone for the rest of her life."
Xiao Hongchen left, wiping away nonexistent tears as he strode off.
"What an interesting young man." Golden Crocodile Douluo shook his head with a laugh as he watched Xiao Hongchen leave.
"Big brother-in-law really is a hypocrite, but that's exactly my type."
Qin Chuan watched Xiao Hongchen leave, then returned to the room with Golden Crocodile Douluo.
"Little Young Master, now that you've provoked Shrek Academy, they'll surely bring this matter to the Star Luo Empire. You must be extremely careful during the upcoming competition," Golden Crocodile Douluo reminded him.
"Either don't offend them, or make the offense count. I've had enough of those people from Shrek Academy."
A sharp glint flashed through Qin Chuan's eyes. He continued, "They won't dare make a move in the short term, especially during the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Fighting Tournament. No one is allowed to stir up trouble, much less start a war between nations. They wouldn't dare cause trouble at a time like this."
"Their only chance is to face me in the competition. That's their only chance, their only opportunity to strike."
"Two Soul Emperors and one Soul King are nothing I can't handle. Besides, there are also a few Soul Ancestors and Soul Elders, and even two Soul Grandmasters."
The only one Qin Chuan truly feared was Wang Dong. As Tang San's daughter, she had a strand of Tang San's divine consciousness imprinted in her spiritual sea.
That wouldn't be triggered during a Soul Master duel. Only a simpleton like Huo Yuhao would probe someone else's spiritual sea.
"Whatever happens, we still need to take action," Golden Crocodile Douluo said.
The reason he had come to this era was to protect someone.
Qian Daoliu knew Qin Chuan wouldn't stay out of trouble. As it turned out, Qin Chuan really was a troublemaker. He had already made his position clear: "I'm going after Shrek Academy."
Then, the next day.
"Qin Chuan said it. What's it got to do with me, Qin Hao?"
Qian Renxue's Angel Soul Bone disguise skill really was a must-have for everyday life—and for killing and looting.
"Mother is on standby in Shrek City. Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo have already reached Star Luo City. With their Martial Soul Fusion Skill, I don't need to fear Xuan Zi alone."
"Besides... I still have three Grade 9 Fixed Soul Cannon Shells. If you really push me too far, I'll dump them all on Xuan Zi and let him experience the true power of Grade 9 Fixed Soul Cannon Shells."
The madness in Qin Chuan's eyes gradually receded, and his gaze cleared.
He pressed his fingers to his brow and sighed. "What's wrong with me? Why does even mentioning Shrek Academy upset me so much? Why does this madness keep taking over?"
"Could there be something wrong with my genes?"
"My big sister inherited Dad's Six-Winged Angel and turned out to be a little fool."
"They say sons take after their mothers. Our mom is a full-fledged lunatic, so... did I inherit Mom's crazy streak?"
Far away in Shrek City, Bibi Dong sneezed for no reason.
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