Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent? Chao Tianxiang: A Bunch of Old, Weak, and Crippled Misfits Think They Can Steal This Old Woman's Prey?

Before Huang Yan could make a move.

His mental power caught a presence rapidly rushing this way.

"Hmm?

This is..."

Huang Yan looked down from above to investigate, a trace of surprise flashing through his eyes.

"A Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent?

Those cripples sure are lucky."

Below, the vigilant Zhao Wuji abruptly stopped and shielded Tang San and the others behind him with his only remaining left hand.

"Everyone, be careful!

Something's coming!"

As soon as the words left his mouth.

A strange venomous serpent with a huge fleshy crest and wings on its back suddenly burst out of the bushes, crashing toward them in a panic.

Recognizing what it was, Zhao Wuji first froze, then his eyes blazed with delight.

"It's a Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent!

Judging by its size and wings, it's definitely over a thousand years old!"

Zhao Wuji turned to Oscar, whose face was pale, and shouted:

"Xiao Ao, your third Spirit Ring is right here!

This beast is practically made for you!"

"Dai Mubai, Tang San, attack together!

Don't let it get away!"

Though the members of Shrek were injured or crippled.

This Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent seemed to have been frightened already and was in terrible shape.

Under Zhao Wuji's powerful Soul Power suppression, it took only a few moves for the thousand-year Spirit Beast to be pinned to the ground, on the verge of death.

"Quick!

Xiao Ao, get the knife and give it the final blow!"

Zhao Wuji clamped down on the serpent's head with his left hand and urged him on, panting heavily.

Oscar endured the agony of his severed wrist, gripping a short blade in his only remaining left hand as he staggered forward.

"Y-yes, Teacher Zhao..."

Just as Oscar raised the short blade, preparing to strike.

An aged yet full-throated shout suddenly rang out from the nearby woods:

"Stop!"

Immediately after, two figures sped out from between the trees and landed steadily before the members of Shrek.

One was an old woman holding a Serpent Cane.

The other was a short-haired young woman with a curvy figure and lovely features.

The old woman's sharp gaze swept over Zhao Wuji and the others.

It lingered for a moment on their miserable injuries, then she spoke coldly:

"My granddaughter and I spotted this Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent first and chased it all the way here.

Please show some mercy and hand it over to us!"

Zhao Wuji frowned and signaled for Oscar to hold off.

He looked the old woman up and down, then gave a cold laugh:

"Senior, Spirit Beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest belong to no one. Whoever catches one gets it.

You say you spotted it first, so it belongs to you? What proof do you have?"

The old woman wasn't ruffled. She brought her Serpent Cane down hard on the ground and pointed at a wound on the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent's belly:

"Look at that cane mark on its belly. I left it there.

I'm Chao Tianxiang. My friends in the Soul Master World do me the honor of calling me Serpent Granny.

My granddaughter Yiran wants this Spirit Beast, so please do us a favor."

"Serpent Granny?"

Zhao Wuji's heart tightened, but he refused to back down. Gritting his teeth, he said:

"So you're Serpent Granny of the Peerless Dragon and Serpent. I'm Zhao Wuji!

But this Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent is just as important to one of my students. I'm afraid I can't comply!"

"Zhao Wuji?

The Immovable Wisdom King?"

Chao Tianxiang gave a cold laugh.

Her gaze swept without restraint over Zhao Wuji's empty right sleeve, then over Oscar and Tang San behind him, both missing fingers or hands.

"If you were in your prime, I might have been a little wary of you.

But just look at the sorry state you're in now—a whole bunch of old, weak, and crippled misfits!

Do you think you're in any position to fight this old woman for something?"

"You!"

Dai Mubai, Tang San, and the others were instantly consumed by anger, yet their injuries left them fuming in silence.

Meng Yiran, standing beside Chao Tianxiang, looked even more disdainful. She gave a scoff:

"Grandma, why waste your breath on this bunch of cripples?

Look at that one with the knife. He's already missing a hand, and in that state he still thinks he can absorb the Spirit Ring this young lady wants?

Just chase them off!"

"Bastard!

Who are you calling a cripple?!"

Oscar trembled with rage, his eyes bloodshot as she struck a nerve.

Ning Rongrong stood to one side. Though she resented Oscar, she was still furious to hear an outsider insult Shrek.

She hadn't left Shrek yet.

So when Chao Tianxiang said that.

She was insulting Ning Rongrong too.

It only strengthened Ning Rongrong's resolve to leave Shrek.

Once she returned from this Spirit Hunt, she would leave Shrek Academy!

"What?

Was my granddaughter wrong?"

Chao Tianxiang stepped forward and released the pressure of a Soul Emperor without the slightest restraint, directing it straight at Zhao Wuji.

"Zhao Wuji, I don't want to take advantage of you while you're down.

Hand over the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent, and I'll let you cripples leave.

Otherwise, when my old man gets here, you won't be able to leave even if you want to!"

Up in the treetops.

Huang Yan lounged against a tree trunk, watching the tense standoff below and silently laughing.

"Tsk, tsk. 'A whole bunch of old, weak, and crippled misfits.' That old woman sure knows how to cut deep.

But she's right on the money."

Huang Yan shifted into a more comfortable position, with no intention of getting involved.

"Go on, fight. Better yet, fight until both sides are badly battered.

This show just keeps getting better."

"Come to think of it, I asked Dugu Bo to recruit Meng Shu and Chao Tianxiang.

But I haven't seen Dugu Bo.

Has he still not found Meng Shu and the others?

Or did Meng Shu and Chao Tianxiang bring Meng Yiran to hunt for a Spirit Ring in the Star Dou Great Forest before Dugu Bo could get here?"

Zhao Wuji's expression shifted between light and dark as he clenched his only remaining left hand, his knuckles turning white.

He knew Chao Tianxiang was telling the truth.

If Dragon Duke Meng Shu was here too, then with their battered, defeated forces, they would likely all die here today.

But he couldn't stomach simply giving up a Spirit Ring they'd already caught.

"Senior Serpent Granny, since Dragon Duke isn't here.

You're only a Soul Emperor. I doubt you'll find it so easy to snatch this from me, Zhao Wuji!"

Zhao Wuji gritted his teeth and stood his ground.

"Even with one arm gone, I'm still a Soul Saint. If we fight to the death, nobody's coming out of this in good shape!"

"Oh?

Zhao Wuji, are you determined to make an enemy of me?"

Chao Tianxiang's gaze turned icy. She slammed her Serpent Cane down, her Soul Power surging.

Just as the two sides were about to clash, Tang San suddenly stepped forward, enduring the pain in his severed fingers as he spoke in a low voice:

"Senior, please wait!"

Chao Tianxiang gave him a cold glance:

"What right does a junior with a severed finger have to interrupt?"

Tang San took a deep breath and replied neither humbly nor arrogantly:

"Senior, since we both need this Spirit Beast, a fight would only leave both sides badly battered.

Why not follow the rules of the Soul Master World and have the person who needs the Spirit Ring decide who gets the Spirit Beast through a duel?"

"A duel?"

Meng Yiran looked as if she'd just heard the funniest joke in the world. Pointing at Oscar's bandaged wrist, she let out a scornful laugh:

"Him?

A cripple who doesn't even have a hand left dares to duel me?

I'm afraid I might accidentally kill him!"

"Sorry this update came a little late today! ┭┮﹏┭┮"

"It's Tuesday, and the trial period ends today. Since the novel debuted on QQ Reading, it'll go on sale at 50,000 words—that is, on Wednesday. Readers on Qidian can switch to QQ Reading and buy a membership to read all novels on the site for free.

As for updates, tomorrow there'll be at least 6,000 words, three chapters.

I'll see whether I can add more. The author's already burned out!"