"I'm Han Ruoruo, a fourth-ring Tool Soul Ancestor, a student of Shrek Outer Court."
"I'm Wu Ming, a student of Shrek Outer Court..."
"..."
With Zhang Lexuan leading the way, the remaining students followed right behind, announcing their names and releasing their Martial Souls.
In no time, they had formed an array in the alley:
Two-three-two formation: warriors and tanks in front, control and mages in the middle, support and assassins in the rear.
"Wow! Such a luxurious lineup against just me? I'm truly overwhelmed by the honor!"
Looking at the Shrek students across from him, who had released their Martial Souls and arrayed themselves in a solemn formation, Fang Le wore an expression of delighted surprise.
The joy and amazement on his face made it seem that if he weren't holding a sword, he might have applauded Zhang Lexuan and the others for respecting the fight so much.
Fang Le took a step forward. The Shrek students took a step back.
"Whoa! Are you seriously backing away?
Don't panic~ I'm not some kind of monster."
Seeing Zhang Lexuan and the others retreat, Fang Le's delighted expression vanished. In its place, he put on a wounded look.
"What an actor!"
"Something's wrong with his head!"
"Evil Soul Masters are all nuts!"
They didn't say it aloud, but the wary, slightly evasive looks in the Shrek students' eyes said it all.
Fang Le simply ignored them. An actor only had a first act and the next act. He could never stop.
"Still too nervous? To ease the tension, allow me to introduce myself. I'm Fang Le, six years old, a nineteenth-level Soul Master. As for my Martial Soul...? You could say it's myself.
"I have a healthy routine: early to bed and early to rise, late to bed and late to rise. I get ten hours of sleep every day, and a good night's rest keeps my mind sharp.
"I don't smoke. If someone occasionally persuades me to drink, I'll have a little low-alcohol liquor. My chances of lung cancer or alcoholic liver disease are extremely low.
"I'm sworn against gambling and drugs, an exemplary, well-rounded citizen under socialism.
"My personality is mature and steady, with just a tiny bit of childishness.
"I'm empathetic and have a slight tendency to cry easily. Although I can sometimes be a little neurotic, that's just like my occasional fits of eccentricity: it hardly ever happens.
"When I can, I do good deeds. I don't consider myself a bad person, but I don't want to be a living Bodhisattva, either. I accept my own mediocrity and ordinariness perfectly.
"All in all, I'm just an ordinary Soul Master, plain and simple, without much strength.
"Right now, I only want to test my current ability to defend myself while fighting back in self-defense, so there's no need for any of you to be so tense. After all, I'm so very plain and ordinary."
The Shrek students across from him couldn't help but freeze for a moment at that long string of self-introduction, modeled after that of some ordinary office worker.
His little face was solemn, though every now and then he made a few small gestures (some of them unfriendly toward men). Combined with his babyish cheeks, not yet grown out of because of his age...
He was a serious little adult~
So cute!!
Behind the others, Jiang Nannan and Rui'er, watching the show, wished they could scoop him into their arms and hug him to pieces.
Standing opposite him, Zhang Lexuan and the others felt an inexplicable chill creeping down their backs after hearing Fang Le's long confession.
It was ridiculous. This little runt was only at level nineteen, not even a Soul Grandmaster, yet somehow he made them feel a powerful sense of danger.
He was like a poisonous snake facing them in the dark. If they made even the tiniest mistake, he would sink his fangs into them.
Mm—not dead, then badly wounded.
The oppressive atmosphere was like a pressure cooker already up to pressure.
Frustration, anger, fear—one kind of pressure after another kept building inside.
"Bang!"
In the end, the pot exploded.
"You despicable, shameless Evil Soul Master! Stop pretending to be pitiful! I'll capture you, cripple your Martial Soul, and grind you into dust!!!"
Already rattled by having been beaten, Xu Fangmiao now needed an outlet as all those emotions finally erupted. He needed to wrap his inner weakness in overwhelming force.
"Xuanming Defense!"
"Mystic Ice Shield!"
"Shield Charge!!! Die, brat!"
His Soul Rings flashed. This defender, who should have been guarding the very front of the formation, was the first to attack.
As he unleashed his Soul Skill, black light swept over Xu Fangmiao, sharply boosting his defense. His physique and strength increased as well.
His charge forward was no ordinary rush, either.
With his Soul Skill's enhancement, Soul Power surged through him, and his feet left prints an inch deep in the ground as he charged.
Unlike Ye Zhiqiu, who had appeared in Douluo I and wore his tortoiseshell on his back when he possessed his Martial Soul, the Xuanming Turtle Martial Soul belonged to the "protagonist" faction. Though it was also a turtle-type Beast Martial Soul, its possession form was far more elegant.
While it enhanced the user's physical abilities, the hardest part of the turtle's shell became a shield in the Xuanming Turtle Soul Master's hands, serving as the main means of defense.
Its defensive power ranked among the best in the entire Soul Master world.
But the shield in Xu Fangmiao's hands, normally used for defense, was now covered in rows of sharp ice spikes as he charged at Fang Le.
Xu Fangmiao was like a rhinoceros barreling forward, the shield in his hand its horn. He was confident that this blow would smash the hateful little Evil Soul Master in front of him to his knees.
As expected of someone from a major sect, the combination of Soul Skills was truly top-notch.
That wasn't criticism. From Fang Le's perspective, the combination was already quite good.
It had defense and offense. He could protect his teammates from a fixed position or charge ahead and block attacks. He was already a competent tank.
But—
It still wasn't enough!
Fang Le's assessment and Xu Fangmiao's charge took place in the blink of an eye.
In just a few blinks, Xu Fangmiao had reached Fang Le and raised his shield to smash it down.
Seeing Fang Le standing motionless, almost dazed, a savage grin spread across his face. He didn't notice Fang Le's eyes, fixed with keen interest on the shield he had raised.
"Bang!"
The massive shield came crashing down, its tremendous impact producing a dull boom.
There was no sand or gravel flying, so there was no "smoke but no injury." There was only...
"Something's wrong! That sound was wrong!"
Xu Fangmiao was just about to gloat, but the quiet around him (aside from Xuan Zi howling) made him freeze.
Too quiet!
He hurriedly looked beneath the shield.
"Oh-ho! That had some force!"
It wasn't smoke but no injury. It was no smoke, no injury (after all, there hadn't been an explosion, and they weren't in the back hills).
The little figure held a greatsword horizontally and had easily blocked his full-force blow.
He looked so casual as he commented, as if he hadn't just taken the full-force strike of a Soul Elder, but rather a bottle of mineral water tossed at him.
Mm...a 200-milliliter bottle.
"But next time, you can put a little more force into it. I can take it. And don't hit people in the face, really... Mm... So please allow me to get a little revenge."
Looking at the spiked shield coming down toward his handsome face, a faint smile rose on Fang Le's adorable little face.
"Could you lower your face a little? I can't reach.
"Never mind... I'll go to the trouble of standing on tiptoe!!
"Please accept this little return gift!"
Before you continue