Xiao Wu's left hand shot out like a spirit snake, so fast that it left only a blur. It slipped with pinpoint accuracy through the gap between Dai Mubai's hastily raised arms and clamped around his throat!
Her five slender fingers held terrifying strength. In an instant, they cut off Dai Mubai's breath and stifled most of his Soul Power circulation!
At the same time, Xiao Wu clenched her right fist. A layer of visible pink Soul Power shimmered around it as she slammed it into Dai Mubai's lower abdomen!
BAM—!!!
The muffled crash made everyone's teeth ache!
Dai Mubai's eyes bulged. A brief groan of pain escaped his throat, and his whole body flew backward as if struck head-on by a battering ram. His feet left the ground, his body curled, and he sailed through the air like a boiled prawn!
CRASH! SMASH—!
He toppled three or four sturdy wooden tables and benches in succession before finally coming to a stop amid the wreckage. He slumped to the floor, unable even to groan for a moment, his body curled up and twitching in pain.
And that wasn't all!
Xiao Wu's figure blurred again, and she appeared beside Dai Mubai just as he hit the ground, as if she had teleported!
She grabbed his collar, twisted her waist, and swung her arm. With ease, she tossed Dai Mubai—who was far taller and much sturdier than she was—into the air like a sack of sand!
Dai Mubai's soul nearly left his body. The world spun around him.
As the onlookers watched in horror, Xiao Wu lightly tapped the ground with her toes and sprang upward again. She moved even faster than before, reaching Dai Mubai while he was still in midair, with nowhere to brace himself!
A pink glint flashed in her eyes. Her entire presence suddenly grew heavy, and she cried out sharply, "Thousand-Jin Drop!"
Her petite frame seemed to weigh a thousand jun in an instant. Bearing down with unstoppable force, she bent her right knee and stomped hard toward Dai Mubai's back!
THUD—!!!!
Another muffled impact that made everyone's hearts tremble!
The immense force smashed Dai Mubai into the floor. His body met the hard boards with a sickening crunch of compressed bones.
He spat out a mouthful of blood, along with pieces of his internal organs. His vision went black, and he lost consciousness completely, lying there like a heap of mud, his life hanging in the balance.
Xiao Wu landed lightly beside him and dusted off her hands. She didn't even glance at the unconscious Dai Mubai on the ground.
Instead, she turned her gaze on Tang San and the others, their faces deathly pale and their bodies rigid.
"Now, do you still want us to apologize?"
Tang San's Adam's apple bobbed. He swallowed dryly, cold sweat already soaking his back.
He lowered his head and clenched his teeth, not daring to say a word.
He could clearly feel that Xiao Wu had grown even stronger since she left Notting Academy half a year ago!
The sheer gap in strength and speed left him without the slightest urge to fight back.
Oscar clutched his wound, trembling in terror, his wits scared out of him.
Ma Hongjun was the first to recover. Enduring his pain, he opened his hoarse, rasping voice and screamed toward the stairs.
"Teacher Zhao!!! Teacher Zhao Wuji!!! Come down here, quick!!! Someone's picking on Shrek!!! Boss Dai's about to get beaten to death!!!"
In truth, Zhao Wuji had sensed everything that happened in the tavern with his Soul Saint-level perception.
When he first sensed the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda Martial Soul, he'd felt a headache coming on. He'd planned to stay out of it and let the juniors, Dai Mubai and the others, handle things themselves. Even if the situation got out of hand, he could always brush it off as "kids fooling around."
But he'd never imagined that the pink-dressed girl in the opposing group, the one who looked the smallest and most harmless, would be so terrifyingly strong!
Her attacks had been vicious and decisive. In just a few moves, she'd knocked Dai Mubai unconscious!
Now, he had no choice but to step in.
Heavy footsteps sounded as Zhao Wuji came slowly down the stairs, his face dark.
His gaze swept across the wrecked hall, then over the badly injured Oscar and Ma Hongjun, and finally the unconscious Dai Mubai, whose life was uncertain.
At last, his eyes settled on Xiao Wu, who had just withdrawn her aura. His expression was so gloomy it seemed ready to drip with anger.
"Which blind fool dares lay a hand on someone from Shrek Academy?!"
Zhao Wuji's voice boomed like thunder, rattling the windows of the hall.
"It was them, Teacher Zhao! They did it!"
As if he'd grabbed a lifeline, Ma Hongjun pointed at Xiao Wu and the other two, accusing them through his tears.
"We... we just saw they were alone and wanted to go over and make friends, get to know them... But they... they suddenly attacked us, Teacher Zhao!"
He pointed again at Dai Mubai, lying in a wretched heap on the floor. "Boss Dai only spoke up because he couldn't stand watching them act like that, and then they ambushed him and beat him into this state!"
"Teacher Zhao, you have to stand up for us!"
Zhao Wuji's gaze swept over the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda in Ning Rongrong's hand once more as he weighed the pros and cons.
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was certainly powerful, but the other side had attacked and injured his students first. As their teacher, he had every right to defend them.
As long as he didn't actually kill them, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect wouldn't have much ground to protest if he taught these arrogant young girls a lesson.
With that in mind, he snorted and said coldly to Xiao Wu and the others, "Whatever started this, you injured students from Shrek Academy. You owe Shrek an explanation!"
"Shameless!" Ning Rongrong trembled with fury, her teeth clenched. She had never met anyone so brazenly shameless, someone who could twist right and wrong so completely!
"Everyone at Shrek Academy, from top to bottom, is cut from the same cloth! You're absolutely shameless!"
Zhao Wuji merely shot her a cold glance and ignored her. He had clearly decided to use his power to force the issue and get his "explanation" first.
Just then, a calm yet unmistakably clear voice drifted down from the top of the stairs.
"An explanation? Shouldn't Shrek Academy be the one to give me an explanation first?"
Everyone looked up. A black-haired youth in simple black clothes walked slowly down the stairs, his handsome features composed and his gaze calm.
Half a step behind him followed a hulking man in dark gold half-armor, built like an iron tower.
Zhao Wuji turned toward the voice and looked over Zhao Linchuan and Jin Da.
Zhao Linchuan was young and gave off no discernible aura. Jin Da was burly, but Zhao Wuji couldn't sense any especially strong Soul Power from him either. Zhao Wuji immediately dismissed them.
"You injured my students, and now you're turning around and demanding an explanation from me?!"
Zhao Wuji laughed in anger, his voice shaking dust from the rafters. "Kid, who do you think you are?!"
For crying out loud!!! Ning Rongrong rolled her eyes beside them, cursing everyone at Shrek Academy from top to bottom in her heart.
Before you continue