Watching the three little ones hooking their fingers together, the Shrek crowd across from them was furious at being ignored.
But Rui'er's sudden words instantly extinguished their thoughts of diverting the enemy to save themselves.
It was common knowledge in the Soul Master World that Soul Beasts had to reach a hundred thousand years before they could speak.
Xuan Zi was still getting beaten off to the side, and they wanted to divert the enemy to save him. But the child across from them had a hundred-thousand-year Soul Beast protecting him. What were they supposed to do?
What else was there to say? They surrendered!
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible! How could that Lion Dog possibly be a hundred-thousand-year Soul Beast? How could that kid have a hundred-thousand-year Soul Beast protecting him?!"
Furious and afraid in equal measure, Xu Fangmiao was already nursing a grudge over the slap he'd taken earlier. His expression twisted with rage.
Pointing at Fang Le and the others, he shouted like a madman.
How could some country bumpkin from outside Shrek have such a powerful backer? Could he really just get away with slapping him like that?!
And if things went on like this—
Where was the dignity of the Mysterious Underworld Sect? Where was the glory of Shrek?
Impossible!
As a sect disciple and a student of Shrek Academy, his pride was more than twice that of an ordinary person!
His intense indignation made him search for every possible explanation, racking his brains to account for what he was seeing.
"Fake! It has to be fake! Right! Right!! It's just a beast with a special ability that lets it speak early! Shrek's library even has records of such things!
"Captain, let's attack together! If we swarm them, they won't be able to beat us!"
His mad, boastful rant had actually gotten one thing right: Di Lingrui really was special.
But as the Emperor Auspicious Beast, she had the Golden Dragon bloodline, a naturally powerful physique, and control over light and fire attributes that were close to the ultimate level.
Though she had only cultivated for fifteen thousand years, she was already strong enough to match an ordinary hundred-thousand-year Soul Beast.
"Xu Fangmiao, get a hold of yourself!"
Smack!
Seeing her teammate already lost in madness, Wu Ming went up and slapped him across the face.
Meanwhile, Han Ruoruo, standing at the front, stared gravely at Rui'er, who was currently acting cute with Fang Le.
"Lexuan, this..."
Though she was the captain, after spending so long together, this gentle, moonlike junior sister—who could keep everything in perfect order—had long since become the true heart of their team.
"She's not a hundred-thousand-year Soul Beast, but her actual combat strength should be no different from one!"
Golden light gleamed from the scales covering her body, and her hair resembled a lion's mane. She was most likely the offspring of a dragon-type Soul Beast and a lion-type Soul Beast.
As for her golden scales, they ruled out the less dangerous possibilities. Her dragon bloodline most likely came from either the Radiant Sacred Dragon King line or the Golden Dragon King line. She hadn't yet shown any ability to control her attributes, but that possibility couldn't be ruled out.
And then there was her extraordinary ability to speak despite being younger than a hundred thousand years. Though the library had records of such exceptions, it also noted that these Soul Beasts had unfathomable abilities and couldn't be fought head-on.
All this showed that the Soul Beast before them was no ordinary creature. She was likely a super Soul Beast on the same level as a Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear or a Titan Giant Ape, and she might well be able to fight far above her level.
Zhang Lexuan had a solid grasp of theory. Just by observing Rui'er's appearance, she'd already made a rough estimate of her abilities.
And she'd gotten most of it right.
Yet the more she thought it over, the more alarmed she became.
They couldn't win. There was absolutely no way.
"Don't be scared! I've been wanting to test myself anyway! Don't worry, Rui'er won't join in! I'll fight you all by myself!"
Just as Zhang Lexuan and the others were starting to consider retreat, Fang Le's clear voice rang out again.
The boy's spirited challenge was bold and self-assured, but to the Shrek crowd, it was an eyesore.
Such boastful words and such a spirited bearing should have belonged only to Shrek's own geniuses.
Yet now, this carefree boy stood across from them, while they themselves were like stray dogs, already thinking of retreat.
Kill him!
Beat him down!
Get him!
One thought after another stirred in Zhang Lexuan and the others' minds, urging them to unleash their Soul Skills at once and smash them into that arrogant brat's face.
"Those guys across from us are only Soul Elders and Soul Ancestors. Why won't you let me fight? I could finish them off in a few moves!"
While the Shrek crowd was still wavering, Rui'er was already eager to give them a few hard hits.
Her little—not-so-little—paws fumbled at Fang Le, and she looked every bit like an energetic child.
Just like the four Douluo nations, Shrek didn't have a good reputation in the Star Dou Forest.
Di Tian often said that Shrek was full of crazy bastards.
He'd told her to keep her distance if she ran into them, or she'd turn stupid. Who could've guessed his words would come true? The entire Soul Beast race had been thoroughly outmaneuvered by the Tang God King. Like fools, they'd carried the fortune of the Soul Beasts and become high-grade fusion materials for stitching Tang Wutong together.
Now that she'd run into them face-to-face, Di Lingrui's paws were itching to get at them.
"Stop trying to stir up trouble. Getting close to Shrek brings misfortune. Be good, and I'll buy you candy after the fight."
He stopped Rui'er's mischief-making paws, then, as if soothing a child, popped a piece of candy—he didn't know where he'd gotten it—into her mouth as she was about to act cute again. Only then did she settle down and move aside.
Better safe than sorry. As the auspicious beast of the Star Dou Forest, Rui'er was better off staying away from Shrek's filthy things.
"Mmm... (munch, munch)... The candy isn't tasty... (munch, munch)... (gulp) I want meat. Mmm... I want candy too!"
"If it's not tasty, why do you want more...?"
"This piece isn't tasty. Maybe the others will be!"
"Fine, fine~ I'll buy you both when the time comes!"
Watching Rui'er make her demands with such righteous confidence, Fang Le reluctantly agreed. Then, pressing down the corners of his mouth to stop them from rising, he turned toward the Shrek crowd, still caught in indecision.
"What, is that all the courage people from Shrek have? Didn't you say that someone who didn't dare cause trouble was a mediocrity? Giving up already?
"And you call yourselves geniuses? Shrek's glory? Heh~"
His string of taunts left even the usually composed Zhang Lexuan blushing, let alone the others.
"Fight him! Shrek's glory cannot be insulted!"
But the first to speak after they'd all gotten worked up wasn't one of Zhang Lexuan's seven companions. It was Xuan Zi, who was still being beaten.
He held his ground against Di Tian's Dragon God Claw, but that one sentence seemed to use up the last of his strength. He fell right back into Di Tian's endless beating.
"Heh~ You've still got enough strength to talk? Looks like I haven't hit you hard enough!
"I'll teach you to talk!
"I'll teach you to hunt Soul Beasts!
"I'll teach you to set fires!
"I'll teach you to destroy the forest environment!
"I'll teach you... Hmph... Protect the forest! Every dragon's duty!"
Seeing Xuan Zi still shouting and screaming under his fists, Di Tian gave his face another thorough working-over.
He beat him until he didn't even have the strength to cry out.
(Di Tian: I was strangling him while I hit him.)
(Xuan Zi: Hit me all you want! At least let me have some air, you bastard!)
(Di Tian: You get beaten and still expect to breathe? Why do you always dream up such nice things? Dragon God Claw!)
Faced with Xuan Zi's endless beating, the Shrek crowd could only let out mournful whimpers, like helpless husbands.
"Elder Xuan!"
On one side was their beaten senior, and on the other was an opponent whose strength they couldn't fathom. The Shrek crowd all looked to Zhang Lexuan, who stood at the very front.
They wanted her to make the decision.
Though Zhang Lexuan was steady by nature, she was never short on the courage to charge ahead.
She took one step forward, her Soul Rings flashing as she stood before the others.
"I'm Zhang Lexuan, a fourth-year student of Shrek Outer Court and a Level 49 Soul Ancestor with a Tool Spirit. Please instruct me!"
Before you continue