"Whew!"
"Pavilion Master Yun, and Her Holiness Holy Spirit, what exactly is this about? Do you have some kind of stalking fetish? Do you enjoy following my Na'er around?"
A flicker of impatience crossed Su Jiu's eyes. Was this some unseen force of fate at work, or Tang Hao's doing?!
They really did seize every opening. Good thing he'd arrived early; otherwise, the consequences...
"Leng Wuduan, that's going too far! Stalking? Following her? Ya Li and I just happened to pass by. Who knew she'd happen to be here too?"
Leng Wuduan had arrived first, and Yun Ming's heart had already sunk. He knew this time they'd probably come away empty-handed, and he was already in a foul mood. Now Leng Wuduan had slapped two outrageous accusations on him out of nowhere. Yun Ming's expression darkened at once.
At the same time, he was now absolutely certain that the strange, familiar feeling he'd sensed last time had come from the silver-haired girl in Leng Wuduan's arms. There was no doubt about it!
Little Na'er and I are fated to meet!
Ya Li furrowed her brows. She knew that if you let an opportunity pass once or twice, you might not get a third chance. If they didn't seize this moment, they'd lose their chance. Next time, Leng Wuduan would keep Na'er under such close watch that they'd truly be fated to meet but destined to remain apart.
She immediately stepped forward and gently drew Yun Ming behind her, signaling him to wait and watch. She would handle things from here.
"Your Excellency Wuduan, could you tell us what Na'er's Martial Soul is?"
Su Jiu perked up, raising a hand to rub Na'er's head.
The instant their eyes met, Na'er understood the look in his eyes. Su Jiu was planning to tease the two people before them.
Na'er smiled and played along.
"Grandma Ya Li, my Martial Soul is the Silver Dragon Spear!"
Grand... Grandma?
The smile at Ya Li's lips stiffened, turning awkward. Did she really look that old?
"Huh? Brother Su, Grandma Ya Li doesn't look happy. Did Na'er call her the wrong thing?"
"No, no. Na'er's only nine this year, and I'm only twenty-seven. Those two are almost a hundred. They're old enough to be our grandfathers—no, great-grandfathers."
"So when Na'er calls her Grandma, she's actually saying she looks young!"
"Hehe~ Got it."
Saying she looked young?
Th-that really wasn't necessary.
Ya Li kept smiling, but the warmth was gone from her expression.
So what if she was older? Didn't Leng Wuduan know that talking about a woman's age in front of her was taboo?
Ya Li's favorability toward Leng Wuduan plummeted.
Su Jiu: I really have no taboos when it comes to people from Shrek. Besides, Leng Wuduan was the one who brought up your age. What does that have to do with Su Jiu?
"No wonder. So it's a spear-type Martial Soul. Na'er, the man beside me also has a spear Martial Soul. When it comes to spear techniques, no one on the entire Douluo Continent dares claim second place while he's alive! If you're thinking about your future, why not become his disciple? We'll pour every top-tier resource at our disposal into training you!"
Na'er lowered her eyes and thought for a moment. Then her clear eyes suddenly lit up. Su Jiu hadn't given her so much as a hint or suggestion, but the two of them had already reached an understanding.
Ya Li and Yun Ming both paused, thinking they had a chance.
"No need. Na'er doesn't need a teacher. Na'er only needs Wuduan."
Yun Ming, Ya Li: Huh???
Ya Li grew anxious.
"Na'er, you really need to think this through. This concerns your future... I wouldn't lead you astray."
"Enough! Your Holiness Holy Spirit, stop pressuring my Na'er. She doesn't want to, and no one can force her!"
"Besides, I'm a spear user too. Na'er will be learning from the greatest on the continent today. Surely that's better than leaving her in the hands of the runner-up from your side?"
Su Jiu stepped in front of Ya Li, his eyes full of sincerity. He really did use a spear. Wasn't Flame Demon Roar a spear?
"Leng Wuduan, you've humiliated us again and again. Do you really think we're so easygoing that you can push us around?"
Yun Ming could see it now. Leng Wuduan had been deliberately messing with them from the start. Both the big one and the little one were full of tricks.
So this was Na'er? A talented but immoral junior who didn't know her place? Shrek didn't need her after all!
Yun Ming's words made Su Jiu laugh. He thought he'd been patient enough. Otherwise, Yun Ming would have been shot dead by his spear long ago. He wouldn't still be standing here barking in front of him.
Then again, killing Yun Ming at this point wouldn't be worth it.
He still needed Yun Ming to draw Qiangu Dongfeng's fire. He didn't want his Leng Family to take a Little Boy missile out of nowhere, so he'd let Yun Ming off this time.
But Su Jiu still wanted to teach Yun Ming a lesson.
"Heh~ Yun Ming, I'll throw those words right back at you!"
"You, Yun Ming, and you, Ya Li! You've kept coveting and approaching my Na'er again and again. You were the ones who first harbored ill intentions toward her, yet now you're pretending to be innocent victims, washing your hands of all blame and turning around to accuse us!
"The way you carry yourselves makes me sick to my stomach. You're hypocrites!"
"Heh~ You're baring your teeth at me? From the look of you, you want to fight me? Yun Ming, as it happens, I've recently reached the Limit Realm, and I've been looking for a punching bag to test myself on. Looks like I've just found a free one!"
"Enough!"
At that moment, Ya Li once again reached out and restrained Yun Ming, whom Su Jiu's words had enraged. Her brown eyes were full of warning.
She had never doubted Yun Ming's strength, nor had she ever thought he would lose. But this fight absolutely could not happen. And Yun Ming, as the Pavilion Master of Shrek, especially could not make a move!
For one thing, Leng Wuduan's fighting methods were far too bizarre, completely defying common sense.
His style was nothing like that of traditional Soul Masters across the continent, who fought face-to-face in direct combat.
Before Leng Wuduan even appeared, his opponents had already fallen without a sound. His attack range was far beyond the limits of an archer-type Soul Master—absurdly so.
For another, more than half of the top combatants on Douluo Continent had now been forced by Leng Wuduan into the Abyss Battlefield, leaving the continent more bereft of its strongest fighters than ever.
To prevent the Holy Spirit Cult from taking advantage of the situation to launch an attack and to keep the continent stable, Yun Ming absolutely couldn't suffer any mishap, let alone die.
Even if they had to swallow this humiliation today, Shrek had no choice but to grit their teeth and bear it!
Su Jiu: Don't you think you're overestimating yourselves?
"Yun Ming, let's go!"
Ya Li's voice had lost all its usual gentleness. A heavy, oppressive aura surrounded her, and her expression was utterly serious.
Yun Ming had been brimming with fighting spirit and fury, but that aura instantly brought him back to his senses. Then Ya Li forcefully dragged him toward Shrek Academy.
"Your Excellency Wuduan, we'll meet again another day!"
Su Jiu smiled. No need to wait for another day. They'd meet again soon.
He took Na'er with him and stepped into the void. In the blink of an eye, they landed atop a clock tower in the southeastern corner of Shrek City.
It was noon. The sky was clear and bright, the breeze still, the leaves hanging motionless. It was a fine, crisp day—the perfect weather for a sniper rifle.
"Na'er, don't you think it's strange how we've run into those two twice now? Both times when I wasn't by your side. Once could be a coincidence, but twice..."
As Su Jiu's voice fell, Na'er's pupils suddenly contracted, and a wave of unease surged through her.
She clutched Su Jiu's hand tightly and looked up at him, her eyes full of fear.
So she'd been watched in secret all along!
"Brother Su..."
"Don't be afraid. I can't punish the person really pulling the strings just yet, but his wife is right there. We can collect a little interest from her."
As he spoke, Su Jiu summoned Flame Demon Roar, braced it in his hands, and immediately activated the Soul Power Imaging Module.
The Life Core of Douluo Planet—the Golden Ancient Tree, which connected to the whole world and nurtured countless lives—appeared in sharp detail before his eyes.
Through the intensely focused Soul Power imaging, he saw a vast, pitch-black "vacuum zone" wrapped in layers around the tree's trunk. That boundless, mysterious power was, in all likelihood, the legendary divine power!
"Na'er, move farther away from me, and use Soul Power to cover your ears. This next shot is going to be very loud..."
"Huh? Oh, okay..."
Na'er obediently called up Soul Power to block her ear canals and eardrums, then clamped both hands over her ears...
Before you continue