When the Shrek Academy group saw the red Soul Ring on Ye Qiong,
they all froze.
Zhao Wuji's pupils contracted sharply.
"A Hundred Thousand Year... Soul Ring?"
"How is that possible... How could he..."
Tang San's pupils also contracted sharply.
This man's Soul Ring Configuration was even more outrageous than Phainon's.
Hadn't his teacher said Soul Rings all had their limits?
But now, Phainon, whom he had fought, had shattered that theory, and the man before him had shattered it too.
Could his teacher be wrong?
Though the thought crossed his mind, Tang San still forced his doubts down and said nothing.
Ye Qiong didn't speak. He merely gave the baseball bat a light swing,
and the next instant, a wave of air swept over them, sending the Shrek group stumbling backward.
Zhao Wuji's face turned deathly pale.
This man was far stronger than he had imagined.
Seeing Ye Qiong step forward, Phainon also came up, and three Soul Rings rose from beneath his feet.
One yellow, two purple.
When Dai Mubai saw the two purple Soul Rings, especially the age of the second one, he sucked in a sharp breath.
"A five-thousand-year third Soul Ring? And it's light attribute?"
Hearing this, Tang San's heart sank again.
Last time at the Soul Fighting Arena, Phainon's second Soul Ring had been a thousand-year one, and that alone had already made him doubt his teacher's words.
Now Phainon's third Soul Ring was five thousand years old, while Ye Qiong standing before him was even more outrageous.
So, were those limits on Soul Ring ages his teacher had talked about actually right or not?
Ye Qiong put away his Martial Soul and looked at them impassively.
"So, do you still want me to explain myself?"
Zhao Wuji was silent for a long time. At last, he gritted his teeth and spat out a single word.
"Leave."
Ning Rongrong wasn't willing to accept this and wanted to say more, but Oscar held her back.
"Don't be rash."
Tang San gave Ye Qiong a long look, then turned and left with Zhao Wuji.
Watching them walk away, Ye Qiong's lips curled upward.
The protagonist? I'm the one who puts protagonists in their place.
He turned to Phainon.
"Did you get your Soul Ring sorted out?"
Phainon nodded.
"Yeah. A five-thousand-year light-attribute Soul Beast for my third Soul Ring."
Ye Qiong patted him on the shoulder.
"Nice work."
Phainon scratched his head with a grin.
"Well, Teacher Tribbie helped us. We couldn't have handled that many on our own."
Ye Qiong smiled and shook his head, then opened the system. Sure enough, all three missions were complete.
[All three missions complete. Rewards: 4,000 Stellar Jades and one special card. Please claim them.]
Ye Qiong didn't inspect the rewards right away. Instead, he looked at Tribbie.
"Teacher Tribbie, let's head back."
Tribbie nodded and raised her hand gently.
The next moment, the Golden Triangular Gate appeared out of thin air.
Just as Ye Qiong was about to step through the portal, the system suddenly displayed a new mission.
[Improve the cultivation aptitude of five disciples who are not Chrysos Heirs. Reward: 2,000 Stellar Jades per disciple. Complete all five to receive one special card.]
Elsewhere, the Shrek group found an open patch of ground to rest.
Tang San sat beneath a tree, saying nothing.
Xiao Wu walked out of the woods just then.
Her face was pale, and her eyes were swollen and red. She had clearly been crying.
The moment Tang San saw her, he rushed over in excitement and hugged her.
"Xiao Wu! Are you all right?"
In his arms, Xiao Wu shook her head.
"I'm fine. That Titan Giant Ape let me go."
Tang San breathed a sigh of relief and released her.
"That's good."
Xiao Wu noticed how pale Tang San looked. She lowered her eyes to his body, and her brows immediately knitted together.
"Brother, how did you get hurt? What happened?"
Tang San clenched his teeth.
"We ran into a Man Faced Demon Spider just now. We fought."
"And then?"
Tang San told her what had happened, his voice full of resentment.
"That gray-haired guy suddenly showed up and killed the Man Faced Demon Spider with one swing of his bat. He stole the Soul Ring too."
At the words "gray-haired," Xiao Wu's heart inexplicably tightened.
"Gray-haired? What did he look like?"
Tang San thought for a moment.
"Gray hair, amber eyes, looked pretty young. But the Soul Ring on him..."
Zhao Wuji chimed in from beside them.
"That man's called Ye Qiong. He's the dean of Amphoreus Academy, and he has a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring."
At that, Xiao Wu's face turned deathly pale.
A Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring...
His Seventh Soul Ring was a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring...
That Soul Ring definitely belonged to Da Ming.
Her hands began to tremble.
Noticing something was wrong, Tang San hurried over.
"Xiao Wu, what's wrong?"
Xiao Wu managed to force a smile.
"It's nothing. I'm just a little tired. Is that man... really strong?"
Zhao Wuji nodded.
"Very strong. And that Phainon under him has a five-thousand-year light-attribute third Soul Ring. Damn it, they're even more monstrous than our Monster Academy."
Xiao Wu bit her lip tightly and didn't ask anything else.
She was already sure.
That Ye Qiong was the enemy who had killed Da Ming.
But she didn't dare tell Tang San.
Not yet.
Zhao Wuji stood up.
"All right, if you've rested enough, let's set off. Oscar still needs a Soul Ring, and Tang San just broke through level thirty, so he needs one too."
Everyone packed up and continued deeper into Star Dou Great Forest.
Before long, they came across three people in an open area.
There was an old man and an old woman, with a girl of about fourteen or fifteen beside them.
Seeing the two elders, Zhao Wuji clasped his hands in greeting.
"I'm Zhao Wuji of Shrek Academy. May I ask who the two seniors are?"
Meng Shu glanced at him.
"I've never heard of you. But from the look of you, could you be Zhao Wuji, the Immovable Wisdom King?"
Chao Tianxiang also looked over the Shrek group.
Zhao Wuji felt a little awkward, but remained polite.
"That's me. May I ask which direction you two seniors came from?"
Meng Shu pointed behind him.
Zhao Wuji followed his finger with his eyes, and his heart stirred.
That was the direction Amphoreus Academy had gone.
"May I ask if you've run into a group of people? Was there a gray-haired young man leading them?"
Chao Tianxiang's face changed instantly.
"You know that bastard?"
Zhao Wuji furrowed his brows.
"What? You've had trouble with them too, senior?"
Meng Shu snorted.
"Just a moment ago, we wanted to follow them and see if we could find a Soul Ring for our granddaughter. But the red-haired woman among them spotted us."
Chao Tianxiang continued, her face somewhat pale.
"That red-haired woman was unfathomably powerful. She carried us around like a couple of chicks, and then their dean shook us down for a hefty sum before letting us go. They're bullying people just because they have a powerful person backing them."
Hearing this, Zhao Wuji felt inexplicably more at ease.
So it wasn't just Shrek that had taken a hit.
Meng Shu looked at Zhao Wuji.
"What about you? Have you got a grudge against them too?"
Zhao Wuji told them what had happened with the Man Faced Demon Spider.
When Meng Shu heard the story, he sneered.
"That dean clearly isn't a good person."
Chao Tianxiang nodded too, then looked at Zhao Wuji.
"The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Zhao Wuji, why don't we join forces?"
"Well..."
Zhao Wuji hesitated for a moment, then slowly replied,
"Then let's..."