Chen An had already finished up on his end. After explaining the situation to Lin Ran, the two of them headed toward the little pair.
Meanwhile, things had gone a little awry for Zhu Zhuqing, just as expected.
In front of Shrek Academy.
Zhu Zhuqing was negotiating with a Little Witch—cough, a pretty young woman.
"Miss, I feel we were destined to meet. Would you be interested in joining our Phantom Star Academy?"
The line sounded familiar, because it was what Chen An had said when he recruited her, with just a few minor changes.
"Oh? But I already asked her first. How about you two compete for her?"
Zhu Zhuqing and Luo Xiaoshi had been here for a while. Shrek kept turning applicants away, and Luo Xiaoshi was in charge of inviting the rejected ones to join them.
At first, the applicants had all been skeptical, but Luo Xiaoshi had opened up about his past, and after that, things had gone smoothly.
His experiences and current level were the best recruitment pitch they could ask for.
When Zhu Zhuqing saw such a promising candidate, she had a strong feeling the girl could become her junior sister, so she took the initiative.
"Hey, brat! Where'd you come from? You dare try to poach people from Shrek?"
The old man stationed there was a teacher at Shrek, as well as a Soul Emperor at level sixty. He had been watching Zhu Zhuqing and Luo Xiaoshi the whole time.
He hadn't interfered earlier simply because they considered everyone Shrek rejected to be trash.
But now someone was trying to snatch away a truly promising candidate, and he immediately got worked up.
"Even if she stays with you, you'll just let her talents go to waste. She might as well come with us."
Zhu Zhuqing replied with a smile, but she had already quietly pinched the talisman Chen An had given her.
"Oh?"
The Soul Emperor immediately released his pressure, fixing Zhu Zhuqing with a sharp glare.
But she continued as if nothing had happened.
"Picking on someone weaker than you is all you can do? I'm just stating a fact. That guy behind you is a student at your academy, right? All looks and no substance—a complete waste."
The old man took this seriously. It was strange that the Soul Emperor's pressure hadn't fazed a young girl in the slightest.
Dai Mubai recognized Zhu Zhuqing as the woman who had fought him that day. He also realized she was his fiancée.
But even a Buddha couldn't endure that kind of verbal assault.
Before he could say anything, Zhu Zhuqing spoke first.
"From the looks of it, none of your students could even beat my junior brother."
"Bullshit! You think I can't beat him?"
Dai Mubai was still holding himself back. They were recruiting at the academy gates, and he represented Shrek's image.
"If that's true, then fight my junior brother and see."
"Fine. I won't interfere in a fight between juniors. Mubai, go fight him. Make sure you take good care of him."
Zhu Zhuqing breathed a sigh of relief. He'd finally taken the bait. She quietly put away the talisman, a faint smile appearing on her face.
She remembered that while they had been mingling in the crowd, Luo Xiaoshi had approached her and said:
"Senior Sister, why don't you provoke that old man later and then goad the guy behind him into fighting me? I want to have a match with him."
"Do you have a grudge against him?"
Zhu Zhuqing hadn't understood at the time. Her junior brother and Dai Mubai shouldn't have known each other, and if anyone was going to pick a fight, it should have been her. Why was he volunteering now?
She couldn't figure it out, but she'd already wanted to confront Dai Mubai. She simply couldn't stand him. And now that her junior brother had brought it up, she had one more reason.
"He rubs me the wrong way. It feels like our auras clash. Besides, he looks like a womanizer."
At that, Zhu Zhuqing couldn't help laughing. Luo Xiaoshi had looked at her in confusion, wondering what was so funny.
"Senior Sister, if there's no good opening, then forget it. The bigger picture comes first."
As it happened, Zhu Zhuqing neither agreed nor refused. Instead, she asked:
"What are your chances of winning?"
"If I can't beat him in three minutes, I'll call it a bust."
Just before they started fighting, Tang San and Xiao Wu arrived.
Watching the two men poised to fight from a distance, they learned what was going on and wondered how many moves Dai Mubai would need to take the other guy down.
"Dai Mubai, level 38."
"Luo Xiaoshi, level 23."
As soon as the levels were announced, the crowd erupted. Everyone was talking about how Luo Xiaoshi could dare to fight someone at level 38 when he was only level 23.
"Are you sure you want to fight?" Dai Mubai asked coldly.
By now, he was starting to regret fighting. If he won, people would say he was bullying someone weaker. It wouldn't earn him any praise. If he lost, he'd be disgraced.
There was nothing to gain either way.
"Enough talk. It's a fight to the death. If you've got what it takes, kill me."
Zhu Zhuqing, watching from behind, furrowed her brows. That didn't sound like something Luo Xiaoshi would say.
All she could do now was quietly take out the talisman again, just in case. If things went wrong, she would still have to save him.
"Fine."
With that answer, Dai Mubai had no intention of holding back. He decided to strike first.
"Second Soul Skill: White Tiger Intense Light Wave!"
A milky-white orb of light shot from his mouth straight toward Luo Xiaoshi. He could have dodged it, but he had no intention of doing so.
Most martial arts contained something called "momentum." Once you built it up, you charged forward without looking back.
Besides, a rough assessment told him the energy ball wasn't very powerful.
His Golden Body could easily take it head-on.
"Arhat Golden Body!"
A fight wasn't a turn-based game, and the techniques Chen An had taught him weren't just for show.
Luo Xiaoshi immediately responded. His first Soul Skill wouldn't help here and would only waste a great deal of stamina.
So he went straight into his second Soul Skill, Spirit Monkey Transformation. On top of that, he kept layering the boosts from the Great Sage Scripture. Before long, his momentum was already approaching the threshold of level thirty.
He brought the Five-Tiger Bagua along with him, swinging it with a rush of wind.
"This kid knows how to build momentum? Could his master have been secretly teaching him? No, that can't be right."
The people present still didn't think Luo Xiaoshi could win. Only Zhu Zhuqing and Tang San could truly see what was going on.
And Tang San still believed his own cultivation methods were the best in the world.
"Qilin Step flies like a steed; Yin-Yang Agility strikes, and no shadow can be found."
With the Five-Tiger Eight-Trigram Staff's techniques and the Spirit Monkey's agility, Luo Xiaoshi soon had Dai Mubai completely off balance.
Dai Mubai activated his third Soul Skill, White Tiger Vajra Transformation, and his first Soul Skill, White Tiger Guardian Barrier. His body hardened and his abilities improved, but he also started spinning like a top.
Even more than a top that had suddenly started spinning.
"Ha!"
Another blow landed. Dai Mubai staggered back several steps and spat out a few mouthfuls of blood.
"You lose!"
Luo Xiaoshi raised his wooden staff and pointed it at Dai Mubai, a smile tugging at his lips.
He had to admit, with that gesture, he looked like he was saying, "Who else but me?"
But from the look of him, Dai Mubai had no intention of admitting defeat in front of such a huge crowd.
He spat in fury. "Damn it!"
Then he threw himself into the attack, apparently so humiliated that he went straight for the kill this time.
He wanted to take Luo Xiaoshi down in one move and wipe away the stain on his reputation.
"Huh?"
Luo Xiaoshi had already started to lose steam. If he tried to raise his staff to block now, he probably wouldn't be able to stop the blow.
His expression darkened. He thought that if he'd known this would happen, he should have hit harder earlier. Now he'd probably go home and get chewed out by his teacher again.
Dai Mubai's attack was already upon him. He had no choice but to take it head-on. Then he had another thought: If I'm not getting out of this unscathed, neither are you.
"Heh, take your grandpa's staff!"
He was used to trading blows. This was the same move he'd used against the Long-Armed Ape.
Now it came down to who had the tougher hide.
"Bang!"
The blow landed, but it wasn't the expected exchange of injuries. Instead, a middle-aged man flew out from the crowd, his hair mussed and his signature goatee swaying.
He shoved Dai Mubai aside, then struck Luo Xiaoshi in return.
"Hmph. Is everyone from Phantom Star Academy this bloodthirsty? It seems you're badly in need of discipline."
Before you continue