The Exotic Beast Family.
The council hall.
Dragon Duke Meng Shu sat at the head of the hall, his expression calm, though a hint of malice lingered between his brows.
Beside him, Chao Tianxiang gripped her Serpent Cane. Her aged face bore the same expression.
On their other side, Meng Yiran looked thoroughly displeased.
Below them stood a disciple of the Exotic Beast Family.
"Have you gotten to the bottom of it?"
Meng Shu spoke, his voice low.
The disciple bowed. "Reporting to the clan leader, we have. Shrek Academy is in a village outside Suotuo City's south gate. The academy has six teachers. Three have Soul Power fluctuations at the Soul Saint level, two are Soul Emperors, and one is a Soul Grandmaster."
"Suotuo City? Hmph!" Chao Tianxiang gripped her Snake-headed Cane tightly and stamped it down hard.
Meng Shu slammed his Dragon Cane against the ground. Several cracks spread across the earth. "Since we've gotten to the bottom of it, old woman, let's go!"
Chao Tianxiang let out a sinister laugh.
That day in the Star Dou Forest, Flender and Zhao Wuji had relied on having two Soul Saints to snatch the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent. They needn't show them any courtesy now!
"Yiran, wait here in the clan!"
"We'll be back shortly!"
Meng Shu lifted his Dragon Cane and strode forward.
Chao Tianxiang followed close behind.
As soon as the two stepped outside, several powerful members of the clan joined them, and they set off together.
At Shrek Academy, in its shabby courtyard.
Yu Xiaogang was training Dai Mubai, Ma Hongjun, Oscar, and Zhu Zhuqing.
Nearby, Zhao Wuji was using his Martial Soul Skills to assist Yu Xiaogang's training.
Flender watched with a beaming smile.
Just then.
"BOOM!!!"
The gates of Shrek Academy were blasted to pieces. Meng Shu and Chao Tianxiang stormed in with more than a dozen people.
Meng Shu's aged yet booming voice rolled across the courtyard like thunder. "Flender! Get out here, now!"
The smile on Flender's face instantly froze.
Zhao Wuji's expression changed slightly too.
Yu Xiaogang, along with Dai Mubai, Ma Hongjun, Oscar, and Zhu Zhuqing, all turned to look toward the gates of Shrek Academy.
At the same time.
The academy's other three teachers—Shao Xin, a Food-type Soul Saint; Li Yusong, a Soul Emperor; and Lu Qibin—also rushed out of their rooms and hurried to Flender's side.
The group braced themselves for a fight.
"This is bad!"
Flender furrowed his brows, his palms sweating.
"Could one of our enemies have tracked us down?" Zhao Wuji asked gravely.
He suspected himself first.
Among those present, he had the most enemies: Spirit Hall, the Strength Clan...
"Xiaogang, take the children and hide!" Flender said gravely.
"All right!" Yu Xiaogang knew the newcomers meant trouble. He turned to the four students. "Come with me!"
Each had their own thoughts, but they all knew that staying here wouldn't help Flender.
They had barely left when Meng Shu and Chao Tianxiang arrived with a host of powerful members of the Exotic Beast Family. The dozens of Soul Rings they carried completely overwhelmed Flender and the others in sheer numbers.
"Dragon Duke Meng Shu, Snake Matriarch Chao Tianxiang!" Flender took a deep breath and forced himself to stay calm. "Seniors, you've brought so many people to Shrek Academy today. May I ask what brings you here?"
"What brings us here?" Chao Tianxiang gave a cold laugh. "Flender, stop pretending you don't know! In the Star Dou Forest, you and that brute beside you forcibly snatched my Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent. Now we've come to your door, and you think you can act as if nothing happened?"
At that, Flender and Zhao Wuji both looked grim.
Flender knew there was no easy way out of this, but he still put on a smile and cupped his hands. "Senior, that's not quite how it happened..."
"The Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent was unclaimed. Though you found and hunted it first, we didn't know that at the time. We happened upon it, and it suited my student. Anyone else would have hunted it too."
"Hmph!" Meng Shu struck the ground with his Dragon Cane, making the earth tremble. Flender and Zhao Wuji both stepped back. "Enough nonsense. You two relied on your Soul Saint cultivation to cut in and steal the prey. Then, while I was away, you bullied my granddaughter. Don't think you'll get off lightly today!"
At that,
the smile vanished from Flender's face, replaced by a grave expression.
"Then what do you propose, Senior?" Flender asked in a low voice.
Meng Shu said nothing. He simply glanced toward the four people peeking nervously from the corner. "Which of you absorbed that Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent? Step forward!"
Meng Shu's roar made Oscar's heart pound. His face turned deathly pale.
"That handsome young man there," Chao Tianxiang said, pointing at Oscar.
Oscar swallowed nervously.
He'd been complimented, but right now he was terrified.
"That boy." Meng Shu lifted his chin. "Have him come over."
Flender frowned. "What do you mean by that, Senior?"
Zhao Wuji said sternly, "If you have a problem, take it up with us. Why make things difficult for a junior?"
Chao Tianxiang leveled her Serpent Cane. Her six Soul Rings blazed brighter than they had when Flender and Zhao Wuji had bullied her in the Star Dou Forest. "I told you to call him over. What are you babbling for? Keep it up, and we'll flatten this wreck of an academy!"
The tension suddenly spiked.
Flender took a deep breath and turned to Oscar. "Xiao Ao, come here."
Oscar's face was pale, but he steeled himself and went to Flender's side. Then he bowed slightly to Meng Shu and cupped his hands. "S-Senior."
Meng Shu looked him up and down, then suddenly asked, "What's your Martial Soul? What's your Soul Power level? How old are you?"
Oscar hesitated, then answered honestly. "My Martial Soul is Sausage. I'm at level thirty-one, and I'm fourteen."
"Sausage? To cultivate a Food-type Martial Soul to this level at such a young age, you truly have impressive talent," Meng Shu said mildly.
"Th-thank you for the praise, Senior..." Oscar gave an awkward smile.
Meng Shu watched Oscar for a moment, then turned to Flender. His voice was even, yet left no room for argument. "Flender, there's a simple way to settle this peacefully. Have this child join the Exotic Beast Family and become my disciple. From now on, he'll be one of us."
Flender's expression changed drastically. "That's impossible!"
Zhao Wuji was even angrier. "Meng Shu, you've gone too far! Oscar is a student of Shrek Academy. What gives you the right to take him just because you say so?"
"What gives me the right?" Meng Shu struck the ground with his Dragon Cane. Eight Soul Rings blazed in unison, and a terrifying pressure descended like a mountain. "Because I'm an Eight-Ring Soul Douluo! Because my wife and I can fight even a Titled Douluo together! And because I could flatten this shabby academy with a single swing of my Dragon Cane!"
The pressure forced Flender and Zhao Wuji back several steps. Their faces turned ashen.
Fortunately...
Meng Shu had deliberately avoided Oscar. Otherwise, Oscar would have been flattened on the spot.
"What's the matter? Didn't you bully this old woman because you were stronger back then? Why aren't you acting so smug and overbearing now?" Chao Tianxiang taunted.
As her voice fell,
the powerful members of the Exotic Beast Family who had come with them all stepped forward, their imposing presence bearing down on the others.